Author: The Nation

Senator-elect for Nasarawa West district Ahmed Wadada, has urged Muslims to take advantage of the Ramadan period to exhibit the acts of total submission to the will of Allah and sacrifice.

Wadada said this yesterday in an interview with newsmen in Keffi town, Keffi Local Government Area of Nasarawa State on the ongoing Ramadan fast.

According to the Senator-elect, Muslims across the country and the world must take advantage of the Ramadan season and pray fervently for sustainable peace and unity.

“Ramadan period is a season whereby Muslims embark on daily fasting for 30 days from sunrise to sunset to show total submission and sacrifice to the will of Allah.

“You can only observe the Ramadan period if you have fully submitted yourself to Allah. It also signifies sacrifice,” Wadada said.

He said the holy period also provides a prime opportunity to unify the people, adding, ”because they are now acting in unison by engaging in fasting and prayers together.

“He is fasting. You are fasting. She is fasting. They are fasting. So, it unifies the people because they are now acting in unison,” he said.

According to Wadada, the Ramadan period should not just be carried out and forgotten easily but should have a positive impact on the lives of Muslims who participated in the fasting.

“A Muslim that sacrifices, unifies and submits will ensure orderly happenings in his or her dealings whatsoever.

“So, if you are a good Muslim that knows what the holy Ramadan period connotes, then you cannot be seen treating anybody unjustly, ” he said.

Wadada said that a good Muslim during Ramadan fast would naturally be fair and just in whatever he was doing whether in politics, trading, teaching, coaching or in his matrimonial life.

“You will not be acting ungodly to anybody regardless of his religious, political and tribal background, you will try to be fair and just to all.

“So, the period of Ramadan is a period of reflection for us to always do the needful in accordance with the teachings of Allah” he said.

The Kaduna State Deputy Governor, Dr Hadiza Balarabe, has advised pregnant women and nursing mothers to ensure their children are fully immunised against polio and other preventable child killer diseases.

She made this known at the annual Ramadan preaching organised by the Federation of Muslim Women Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN) held at Sultan Bello Mosque, yesterday in Kaduna.

She urged the women in the state to inculcate the habit of visiting hospitals for routine checkups during and after pregnancy.

Balarabe explained that if children were not fully immunised from polio, it posed great danger to other children in the community.

“If one child contacts the polio virus, about 20 other children are susceptible to contract the disease in the community.

“Any claim that polio vaccine prevents pregnancy is false because since 1989 when the vaccine came and has been in use, there is no evidence showing that it causes infertility.

“It’s important that we all practise hygienic living by regularly cleaning our environments because it is a key in preventing the spread of diseases.

“In this state, out of  100 children, only 62 per cent are fully immunised, we need between 85-90 per cent immunisation cover for the children population to protect all children from polio virus,” Balarabe said.

She further said that the people in the state were still experiencing an outbreak of measles in some communities.

 “This is due to low immunisation coverage because children that have not taken the vaccines put other children in danger.’’

The Deputy Governor expressed worry over the low skill birth attendance by women in the state, saying out of every 100 women who attended antenatal clinics, only 10 per cent gave birth in health facilities.

She described the situation as being responsible for the high rate of infant mortality in the state.

By Arafat Anifowoshe and Balikis Nofiu

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has enjoined Muslims to practise the lessons of Ramadan, which are compassion, love for oneself and neighbours, to make Lagos a better place.

He spoke at the weekend at the 2023 Annual Ramadan Prayer (1444 A.H) with the theme: “Indeed, After Difficulty, Comes Ease (Q94:5)”, at the State House Mosque Complex, Ikeja.

Sanwo-Olu said Muslim faithful must practise what they were taught during the Ramadan and throughout the year.

The governor, represented by Deputy Governor Dr. Kadri Hamzat, said compassion and love must be shown, while help must be rendered to those in need and “the less privileged, so that we can raise everyone’s standard across the state.”

Sanwo-Olu urged the gathering to commit President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu into the hands of the Almighty Allah for a successful tenure and to surround him with good people, who had the interest of Nigerians and the country at heart, “as he steers the ship of the country effective May 29.”

The governor, berating the high rate of vices, said it was important to re-examine the country fundamentally, noting that family structure was breaking down, “therefore the need for religious leaders to act quickly before things get out of hand, as the government alone cannot do it.”

He advised Muslim clerics to, during their sermons, preach values, good virtues and manners, among others, saying they should tell their congregation the teachings of Allah and not necessarily what they wanted to hear.

Sanwo-Olu thanked Islamic clerics and leaders for their prayers and support during the just-concluded elections, and also expressed gratitude to Lagosians for their show of love

President Muhammadu Buhari has okayed reappointment of Dr. Sunday Etukudoh as provost/chief executive officer of Federal School of Medical Laboratory Technology (Science), Jos, Plateau State, for a term of four years, from August 18, 2022.

Minister of State for Health, Joseph Ekumankama, conveying the letter of reappointment to Etukudoh, in Abuja, urged him to consolidate and improve on his achievements.

He said: “See how you can surpass the record of what you have done. I want to remind you that the terms and conditions of your reappointment are based on the establishing status of the school…”

Ekumankama, a statement signed by the ministry’s Deputy Director of Media and Public Relations, Ahmadu Chindaya, reminded the provost of the responsibilities and expectations of the office, believing that he would justify the confidence reposed in him.

While thanking the minister for the increased and prompt release of budgetary allocations to the school, Dr. Etukudor said: “When I look back at the roads I have trod, the rivers without bridges that I have crossed, and how I started my journey at the school, it is an inspiration that service is worthwhile when human capacity is built with the fear of God.

“I want to assure you that with what the school is armed with, I will be able to do my best to ensure that we produce well-qualified and refined medical laboratory technicians and scientists.”

National President of the Road Transport Employer’s Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) Alhaji Musa Muhammed has congratulated Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat on their re-election.

He described it as a testament to the good works they are doing in Lagos.

Muhammed said: “Governor Sanwo-Olu’s re-election shows that he is loved by the people and they see his good works. The governor’s performance in security, health and infrastructure is second to none. The prompt payment of salary, among others, are reasons why the people voted for Sanwo-Olu because they want a continuity of good things.

“RTEAN will however implore Governor Sanwo-Olu not to relent in his efforts at making the state better. We pray he will continue to shine and prosper. We also beg to to reconsider the state RTEAN, we are neither thugs nor louts.”

The Nigerian Publishers Association (NPA) has said that the Copyright Amended Bill recently signed by President Muhammadu Buhari would attract more players to the industry and give more job opportunities to improving Nigeria’s economy.

The association said the Copyright Amended Bill which repeals the Copyright Act, Cap C28, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, will give more confidence to owners of copyright materials in Nigeria and offer them a favourable climate to operate just as their counterparts enjoy same privilege elsewhere in the world.

Recall President Buhari had on March 17 assented to the Copyright Act 2022 which provides for the regulation, protection and administration of copyright.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (House of Representatives), Nasiru Baballe Ila shortly after the signing of the Bill said it will protect the rights of authors and ensure just rewards and recognition for their intellectual efforts; provide appropriate limitations and exceptions to guarantee access to creative works among others.

He stated that the new Copyright Act expands the rights of authors, raises the sanctions for criminal infringements and addresses the challenges posed by digital and online use of copyright works.

NPA in a statement yesterday by the President/Chairman-in- Council, Uchenna Cyril Anioke, appealed to all book pirates to desist from their nefarious acts, as it would no longer be business as usual.

He stated that the president has demonstrated commitment to the growth of publishing and creativity at large, adding that the gesture would have a positive impact on the country’s economy.

“Nigerian Publishers Association had been yearning for this development for long and was happy to see it come to fruition”, he added.

While also applauding the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, the Director General of the Nigerian Copyright Commission, Dr. John Asein, commended the National Assembly for speedy passage of the bill.

He said it will go a long way in promoting creativity and encouraging more authors for the betterment of Nigeria at large.

Eighty-five students of tertiary institutions, all  Lagos Island indigenes, have received the Wasiu Eshinlokun-Sanni, undergraduate scholarship.

The awards were classified into N100,000, N85,000 and N75,000 categories.

Beneficiaries were presented with the award and consolatory prizes during the 11th Wasiu Eshinlokun-Sanni 2022/2023 annual awards, at Lagos Island Local Government secretariat.

Eshinlokun-Sanni, deputy Speaker of House of Assembly, said the initiative was part of efforts to fulfill the government’s pledge to the people.

He said: “This is not just a renewal of the social contract between the people and the elected, but a show of repositioning of trust.  Let me resate our commitment that we shall not let you down.

“In furtherance of not letting you down, may it be noted that today, we further our annual steps toward the fulfillment of our convention to our people …’’_

Chairman of Lagos State Universal Basic Education (LASUBEB), Wahab Alawiye-King, advised beneficiaries to take advantage of the scholarship and be serious with their studies.

A beneficiary, Miss Agboola Funmilayo, a student of Lagos State University (LASU), thanked the lawmaker for the gesture, and promised to do her best.

Forty market men and women from Igbehinadun, Oja Oba and Ajewole Markets, as well as Gala sellers also got N25 million to boost their businesses.