The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Ignorance major cause of death in rural areas – Medical Guild

    The Guild of Medical Directors of Private Hospitals of Nigeria on Saturday attributed the high rate of morbidity and mortality in the rural areas to ignorance.

    The National President of the Guild, Dr. Tony Phillips, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sideline of a medical outreach at the Baruwa community in Kuje Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory.

    The exercise was organised by the Guild of Medical Director’s Wives of Nigeria.

    NAN reports that the outreach is a preamble to the 21st National Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the guild scheduled to hold from October 31 to November 2 in Abuja.

    Phillips said the guild observed that health care was focused more in the urban areas than in the rural areas, adding that many of these communities did not have health care centres.

    “As you can see, a big community like this has no health care centre; it is as a result of this that we decided to reach out to the rural area because that is where the problem lies.

    “So, if we can take care of the rural areas, the incidence of deaths among the children and women will reduce.

    “Instead of people having to rush to the urban areas for medical attention, they can be treated right in their communities, thereby reducing the pressure at the centre,” he told NAN.

    Phillips said the purpose of reaching out to communities in the FCT was to have insight into the realities of the state of their heath care and make recommendations to the relevant authorities.

     

     

  • Gunmen kill policeman in Kaduna

    Unknown gunmen on Saturday night attacked a police check point at  Ungwan Dosa  in  Kaduna metropolis, killing  a policeman and injuring another.
    The injured policeman is  said  to be receiving treatment at  St Gerard Catholic Hospital, Kaduna.
    The State Commissioner of Police, Olufemi Adenaike who confirmed the incident said that one of the attackers has been arrested while some of the rest  escaped with bullet wounds.
    The police boss said that they were yet to ascertain whether the attackers were armed robbers or members of the Boko Haram Group.
    However, unconfirmed reports have it that three policemen were involved in the attack and were rushed to the St. Gerard Hospital where one of them died.

  • ‘Nigerians are born hustlers’

    ‘Nigerians are born hustlers’

    Kresten Buch, founder of 88mph, a South African based company that invests in tech startup business was recently on an exploratory visit to Nigeria. In this interview with Blessing Olisa, Buch speaks on his experience with startups and impression about Nigeria after during the visit.

     

    What is 88mph all about?

    88 mph is all about trying to create new businesses that take advantage of the high penetration of mobile internet because the mobile internet penetration suddenly has exploded in Africa. There are industries you can disrupt using the mobile internet. E commerce is one where there is no more retail, but suddenly, there is another way of distributing goods by people buying them online. That is one example. There are a lot of other examples including mobile money and other services where you somehow use the distribution which you can do on devices. So 88mph is basically there as an opportunity because of the high penetration of devices. We want to fund and put money into young companies that want to take advantage of that opportunity. It is about creating these businesses; that is the central part, basically by taking smart people and helping them build companies.

    What informed the concept of investing in startup businesses?

    I have a history in web and mobile internet and I have built a couple of businesses myself so it’s something that I understand and have worked with for a long time and then at a point, I felt that it could be good for me, to become an investor and invest and help other entrepreneurs to build their companies instead of building new companies. So I like the fact that we do a lot of investing in different companies so we get to touch, learn, understand and help other entrepreneurs to build their companies.

    Does this imply that you get enough returns on investments?

    Normally when you invest as early as we invest, then you know it takes a number of years to build a successful company to the point where you can sell it or make a lot of money. It is not something that takes three months or six months or twelve months, it takes years. Say 3, 4, 5 years. So like we started 2 years ago, it is hard to effectively say how good the returns will be. Obviously, we think and hope that they will be good, but it is too early to say whether what we are doing is a failure or success.

    So what has been the outcome of your investments in Kenya and South Africa?

    I don’t have the exact statistics, but we have a couple of companies that are looking really good. We have a Kenyan startup that is doing well. Now it is past 250-300 thousand dollars revenue per year. We have a South African company that is doing really well; we raised additional 1.8 million dollars from Singapore investors, doing well, and doing a kind of factoring service and we have a music startup that is doing well. We also have a text service which is also doing quite well in South Africa. But it is still too early to tell whether these companies will be successful, but the model is that out of 30 companies we invested in, we expect 25 to either go down or it doesn’t really become what we want it to be and the other 5 have to pay for all the failures. I mean that’s the model. You can’t expect to win all the time.

     

    Isn’t it too much loss if 25 investments fail?

    We might even re-invest in some of the guys who failed because it’s doing a new thing which is super hot. You cannot expect that when you try new things, you will succeed. I mean, Bill gates failed in his first company and his second company was Microsoft which want pretty well. So just because you failed once or failed twice doesn’t mean you cannot succeed the third time. So even if you are super good, brilliant and talented, you could fail because trying something new is super hot so, we want to succeed as much as we can, but failure is a natural part of doing something new. Hopefully, the entrepreneurs will learn something from the failures and some of them will come back and we can re-invest in them.

    From your experience in start up businesses, what do you think are the main challenges facing startups in Africa?

    I think there are a number of challenges. We are very much alone in investing in the ticket sized investment. We invest from 15,000 to 100,000. Very few investors invest in that ticket size. Most of the investors don’t want to invest less than 2 to 5 million dollars because it doesn’t make sense for them to make small investments because they have big funds. So, one of the big challenges is the very early stage of the ecosystem or investment. It’s the investment we put in, but there is also the next stage where the company needs 250 or 400 thousand dollars after they have been through our programme and there is no one to pick them up. That is definitely a major challenge and it is something we are trying to solve by getting more high networked individuals involved. There are a lot of individuals in African that have a lot of money but they are investing them in property. Some of the activities we have and will be doing especially here this year are boot camps, trying to bring people together and giving them introductory learning about the difference of investing in tech to investing in real estate. What startups are about, what you should look for. They are two very different things and we think that the reason you don’t invest in tech is because you have very limited knowledge about it. It is something new and we think it is very important to bring people to invest in startups. It is not a lot of money compared to these big projects. So if we can convince maybe a 100 people in Nigeria that will make a huge impact for a lot of companies.

    What indications do you have about startup businesses in Nigeria?

    I have only been here six days and I haven’t met a lot of companies. Some companies have applied for the programme in our other locations and actually liked some of them, but because they were based in Nigeria, it was too hard. It didn’t make sense to take them to Cape Town or Nairobi because they were doing something local. We could see that there was definitely an interest, I also think that Nigerians are born hustlers from what I have seen and they seem to be very savvy people. I haven’t been here for long, but I have a very good feel for the people here. I haven’t started doing any business, but I think that in general, Nairobi is slightly overhyped and I think Nigeria is the opposite. Nigeria doesn’t deserve all the bad stories it’s getting. So far, I’m quite excited about here and I don’t really see that a lot of things I’ve been told about Nigeria. But I think that is how it is a lot of times. If you only listen to what is in the press, you get a lot of bad impression. I think Nigeria is a bit hard-hit on that account, but hopefully, we can do something to change that.

    What prospects do you have for the take-off of the startup program in Nigeria?

    We aim towards April next year, but there are some things we need to fix here.  Definitely, infrastructure is a big issue here like it also was in Nairobi. Things here are really expensive so we need to solve getting space. We also had money for Nigeria in the fund but every time we go into a new country, we do a separate fund and in that separate fund we want to have local investors because it is very important we have that to get the local network and local buying. So we are looking for local investors, well connected that can put in fifty thousand to hundred thousand dollars because they like what we are doing and they also want to invest on individual companies. But we want to secure a couple of things and I’m quite confident that we’ll meet them. We’ve already met someone here, but one thing is being interested and the other thing is putting the cash down. So we’ll see.

    Are funding and infrastructure all you need for your business to succeed?

    We also need a local program manager. Although we haven’t signed anyone yet, there looks to be some good people and we can sort that easily but space and funds are our major challenges.

    So how do you think Nigerians will benefit from your investment programme?

    Well, we invest in companies that solve problems. So hopefully, our investment will lead to some successful companies that solve problems for consumers. All the companies that fail will definitely have learnt something. I also think that getting entrepreneurs and building their own businesses is a good opportunity.

    So from your experience, what do you think start up businesses need to succeed?

    I think that you need to have a diversified team, preferably people who have different skills other than yours. You have to have people with the right long-term attitude and persistent because startup is not like making the quick buck. You need to have strong persistence and determination because this is going to take some time. ‘Staying power’ is what we call it. A diversified team with good team members will help you to create good products.

    Staying in power will definitely require a great deal of patience and perseverance.

    Yes, it is not the first product that might get taken up by the market, it may be the third, fourth or fifth. If you just try once and it fails then you drop it and go do something else, you’re never going to succeed in startup. Google now is like 15 years old but they failed a lot internally before they came out. It’s not all of their products that work. They had a product (YouTube) that failed and then they bought YouTube. There is a lot of failure, but that persistence is important.

    What do you think government in this continent should do to assist startups?

    They should do as much deregulation as they possibly can. From speaking with most startup businesses, they always come back to say that have problems with government regulations. Government should make it easy by lowering barriers to entry. Startup needs money and investors that will help them succeed, but most times, government cannot provide that because government doesn’t fundamentally know how to business.

    There is a lot of regulation which hinders innovation for startup companies because as a corporate venture, you have lawyers and accountants and all types of people, but as a startup, you just don’t have the resources to deal with it.

    So you are trying to solve problems, but regulations just face you every time you try to come up with a new solution, then of course, you are never going to solve any of the problems.  So we believe that government should not necessarily give money or funds to startups, but should work very hard on figuring out how to make it as easy as possible for someone to create a business and to solve some of the problems in the industries and sectors that are struggling. They should figure out how to lower the barrier for people to fly in and solve some of the problems.

     

  • Anglican Church may break up over homosexuality

    Three hundred and thirty one  Anglican Bishops worldwide have threatened to pull out of the church if the American and European communion refuse to renounce homosexuality.

    They gave the warning  at the second Global Anglican Future Conference, GAFCON,  in Nairobi, Kenya attended by  1358 delegates,  including 331 Bishops representing tens of millions of faithful Anglicans worldwide, including Nigeria.

    Anglican Bishop of Enugu Diocese and of the south-east chapter of the Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Bishop Emmanuel Chukwuma who disclosed the outcome on arrival at Akanu Ibiam international airport Enugu said different communion of the Anglican church may secede if they insist on imposing homosexuality on the church.

    Different Bishops of the Anglican Church from the South east that arrived the airport from Nairobi agreed that what Bishop Chukwuma said was their opinion, stressing that they will severe their relationships if their pro-gay Bishops do not back down.

  • Motorists to pay 5% fuel charge soon, says FERMA

    Nigerians will soon begin to pay the 5 percent Fuel User Charge, the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency( FERMA) has said.

     The road maintenance agency said  arrangements are nearing final stage to ensure implementation of the five  percent fuel Users Charge as stipulated in the 2007 FERMA Amendment Act.
    However, in preparation for the heavy traffic situation during the Christmas festive period, the agency has identified certain critical dual-carriageways for special repair focus.
    The roads, among others to be covered to ensure zero porthole include Abuja- Kadua-Kano road, Onitsha-Owerri road, Umuahia-Aba-Port Harcourt road, 9th Mile- Obolo Afor-  Otukpo road.
    The agency has said implementation of the Fuel users Charge is  imperative to the effectiveness of  its operations considering dwindling funds currently confronting most agencies of governing.
    Managing Director of FERMA, Mr Gabriel Amuchi made the disclosure  on Saturday  in Abuja  at the end  of a three-day workshop for Zonal Coordinators of the agency.
    He however pointed put that inputs of stakeholders on parameters that will ensure smooth implementation of the policy as well as as the approval of the National Assembly are paramount.
     “We are worried about the non-implementation of the fuel users change, we are working on the issue as it would enhance the operations of the agency, all the parties involved like the National Assembly, are concerned and are looking at all the parameters to ensure smooth implementation,” he said.
    Amuchi who disclosed that  the agency is prepared for the dry season, disclosed that, ahead of the yuletide festivities, FERMA want to respond to all the challenges that follows heavy rains in Nigeria.
    He said: “We need to intensify on our operations and increase tempo of work to guarantee smooth movement during the Yuletide. We are dealing with 35,000kms of federal roads.
    “About two years ago, about 75 percent of the federal roads were in deplorable condition, but today, about 80perecent of the roads are in fair condition. FERMA has procured new equipment to facilitate road maintenance”.
  • What you should know about your body

    What you should know about your body

    People find it difficult to understand their body make-up or chemistry. Sometimes you tend to wonder why you react the way you do – how you respond to stimuli, why the eyes blink after some seconds and how you never get tired of breathing.

    Here are some things you should know about the body:

    •  Splashing cold water on the face helps you calm down-  When you splash water on the face, three changes occurs in the body within few seconds:

    -the heart rate slows down up to 25 percent
    -the blood flow to the limbs are reduced, just to make sure the brain and the heart receive enough oxygen.
    -there is a blood shift that occurs only during deep dives. This allows the blood plasma and water to pass through organs to protect them against the increasing pressure.
    You could try it before business meeting or simply a date. You can activate this reflex by using a cold wet towel.

    • There are between 2 and 5 pounds of bacteria in the body:

    According to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, (HNM) of Maryland, every person hosts 2-5 pounds of live bacteria. Some of them are actually helpful and we depend on them for survival. The bacteria found in yoghurt (lactobacil), is proven to be useful for easing diarrhoea caused by antibiotics. The largest population of bacteria in the body is found in the intestines.

    • Laughing when you get tickled is a panic response. That’s why you can’t tickle yourself.  According to scientist discovery, the feeling we get when someone tickles us is a panic response.
      However, when you touch your ticklish spots the brain is prepared for it and doesn’t respond with panic.
    • Needing to pee improves impulse control
      Research suggest that holding your pee can actually help control impulses and allow you to make better and  clear headed decisions. Though the logical thing to do at the time pee comes is to visit the toilet. Try doing it while having to pee.
    • There’s a scientific explanation for why the car trip home feels shorter than the car trip away.
      The wait seems longer because you look forward to getting there with high expectations.
      Because home is very familiar it has a rich mental representation. That makes home feel like a larger geographical area than the less mentally familiar destination.The most efficient way to shorten the amount of time perceived on a trip is simply falling asleep in the car.
    •  The chills you get when listening to music are caused by the release of dopamine in your body – Dopamine is a neurotransmitter. It is a chemical messenger that helps in the transmission of signals in the brain and other vital areas. Dopamine naturally produced by your brain makes you feel good. You get a rush of dopamine in response to pleasurable activities like food or sex.
      The release of dopamine during music explains why such a high value is put on it and why music can manipulate emotions.

    Source-www.readersdigest.ca

  • 16 rebels executed in Iran

    At least 16 rebels have been hanged in Iran in retaliation for the deaths of at least 14 border guards in an ambush, say Iranian news agencies.

    The rebels were “linked to groups hostile to the regime,” the attorney general of Sistan-Baluchistan province was quoted as saying.

    BBC reports that they were hanged in prison in Zahedan, north-east of Saravan, where the border deaths took place overnight.

    It is not clear what link, if any, those hanged had to the border attack.

    One report suggests they may already have been tried and convicted, but their executions brought forward following the ambush.

    Friday night’s attack in a mountainous region outside Saravan, on the south-eastern border with Pakistan, was blamed by Saravan’s Member of Parliament, Hedayatollah Mirmoradzehi, on “anti-revolution guerrillas.”

    But reports that a rebel group called Jeish Al-Adl had claimed responsibility for the ambush were “not confirmed,” Mr. Mirmoradzehi told local Tasnim news agency.

    An armed Sunni group, called Jundallah, has carried out a number of attacks against the state in recent years.

    The Sunni Muslim population in Sistan-Baluchistan complains of discrimination by Iran’s Shia establishment.

     

  • Omeruo impresses Mourinho in Chelsea training

    Omeruo impresses Mourinho in Chelsea training

    Kenneth Omeruo has caught the eye of manager Jose Mourinho during Chelsea training, MTNFootball.com reports.

    “Kenneth has impressed Mourinho at training with Chelsea and it is looking very good for him now since his surgery for a shoulder problem,” the player’s adviser Chika Akujobi informed MTNFootball.com

    “The ‘Special One’ has taken special interest in the player. He wants to give him a chance but first Kenneth must regain full match fitness.”

    Mourinho is expected to soon take a decision on the immediate future of the 20-year-old defender, whether he stays put at Chelsea or goes on a short-term loan.

    Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi, has already said he hopes to call up Omeruo for next month’s World Cup final playoff against Ethiopia in Calabar.

     

     

  • Tanker explosion kills six in Kaduna

    Six persons were killed on Friday night in a fire from a tanker explosion in Maraban Jos, Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Federal Road Maintenance Agency had constructed a trailer park at the Maraban Jos axis of the Kaduna-Zaria expressway to reduce the high rate of fires caused by petrol tankers and accidents caused by articulated trucks parked along the road.

    Alhaji Abdullahi Kwarau, the Chairman of Igabi Local Government Council, said the accident, which occurred on Friday night, involved two fuel-laden tankers.

    He appealed to the state government to expedite action on the construction of more trailer parks on major roads in the state to avoid a recurrence of such accidents.

    Governor Mukhtar Yero of Kaduna State, who condoled with the families of those who died in the accident, urged drivers, particularly those of petrol tankers, to be extra vigilant while driving or parking their vehicles.

    He assured the people that efforts were underway to ensure the timely completion of new trailer parks being constructed in Igabi, Kagarko and Birnin Gwari local government areas.

    Yero said the state government was also collaborating with FERMA to ensure the speedy completion of ongoing road projects to forestall recurring accidents on the major roads.

     

  • Photo: Coca-Cola wins award for excellence in food processing

    Photo: Coca-Cola wins award for excellence in food processing

    Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited has been awarded the Industry Award for Excellence in Food Processing by the Nigerian Constitute of Food Science and Technology.

    The award was presented by the Minister of Health Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu,  at  the 37th Conference and Annual General Meeting of the group held in Abuja.