The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • JUSUN strike: Osun magistrate moves sitting to police command

    JUSUN strike: Osun magistrate moves sitting to police command

    By Toba Adedeji, Osogbo

    A mid the strike embarked on by Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) to demand financial autonomy, a magistrate in Osun State, Dr. Olusegun Ayilara, yesterday moved sitting to the police headquarters in Osogbo.

    Dr. Ayilara, prosecutors, lawyers and two clerks were permitted to enter the police conference hall. The Nation gathered that the magistrate took the decision to decongest police cells. Twenty suspects were arraigned for offences such as kidnapping, robbery, murder, rape, among others.

    No charge was read, as plea of the suspects were not taken.

    However, some counsel applied for bail for their clients in the case of minor offences and some suspects were granted bail.

    Magistrate Ayilara ordered the remand of 10 suspects at Ilesa and Ile-Ife correctional centres, while some were returned to police custody.

     

  • Man dies in gas explosion at Obasanjo Library

    Man dies in gas explosion at Obasanjo Library

    By Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

    One man has died in a gas explosion at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) Abeokuta, Ogun State.

    Another man was said to be critically injured.

    The organisation said the explosion occurred yesterday about 11am in the main event centre of the complex.

    OOPL said the”technical vendors” were servicing the air conditioning units when the blast happened.

    Managing Director Vitalis Ortese, in a statement, said, “The explosion emanated when a pair of technical vendors were conducting routine servicing of the air conditioning units. There have been reports of similar incidents across the state in the last one week, which calls for investigation by the appropriate authorities.

    “The explosion, which occurred at about 11.04 am, unfortunately, led to the death of a technical vendor and serious injury of the second vendor.

    “The emergency team of the Library immediately took action to prevent further damage and subsequently moved the injured to the hospital.”

    OOPL said everyone else at the facility was unhurt.

    Governor Dapo Abiodun has commiserated with the families of the victims of the recent gas explosions in Abeokuta.

     

  • Community appeals to Makinde over encroachment on land

    Community appeals to Makinde over encroachment on land

    By Segun Showunmi, Ibadan

    Residents of Orisumbare community in Oluyole Local Government of Oyo State yesterday appealed to Governor Seyi Makinde to intervene in the illegal encroachment on their land by government officials.

    The community said most of the lands are farms, which served as their means of livelihood, adding that they have nowhere to go if their land was taken by the government and houses on the land were demolished.

    Speaking on behalf of the affected residents, Mr. Adetunji Adekunle said that the state government acquired some land in the area for trailer park during the administration of former governor Lamidi Adeshina, which the people believed was for the development of the area.

    Adekunle said the developer employed by the current administration is trespassing beyond the boundary of the land earlier acquired by the government, adding that their farmlands had been destroyed by tractors and some of their houses on the land were also marked for demolition.

    He said: ”We think engaging the government in a legal battle may not yield fruitful result. This is why we are appealing to the government to release our land.”

    Adekunle implored the government to intervene in the matter before it degenerates into violence.

  • Council poll: Oyo declares today public holiday

    Council poll: Oyo declares today public holiday

    By Yinka Adeniran, Ibadan

    Oyo State Government has declared today as a public holiday.

    The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Seyi Makinde, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, confirming the development, said the governor approved the holiday to enable the state conduct a hitch-free local government election.

    He urged residents to go about their activities peacefully, while coming out en masse tomorrow to vote.

    Adisa said: “Governor Makinde has authorised the declaration of May 21 as a public holiday.

    “The declaration is to enable residents participate in the council elections.

    “Indigenes and residents are enjoined to go about their activities peacefully, while trooping out en masse to their polling booths to perform their civic responsibility tomorrow.”

    The authentic Mogaji in Ibadan land have asked residents to exercise their franchise in the local government election holding tomorrow.

    They said they are confident that security of life and property is guaranteed during the poll.

    The Mogaji, in a letter by their spokesman, Wale Oladoja, hailed the governor for considering the plight of the people at the grassroots.

    He said: “We want our people to come out en-masse tomorrow to exercise their franchise. Everybody should be rest assured that there won’t be crisis during the election.

    “The government has put measures in place to ensure security of lives and property before, during and after the poll. We praise the governor for considering the plight of the masses, by conducting elections into local governments.

    “We know that local government is the closest arm of government to our people. Governor Makinde has fulfilled his promise. Let us support his administration and make the state great again.”

     

  • ‘Herbal medicines are nature’s safest cure for ailments’

    ‘Herbal medicines are nature’s safest cure for ailments’

    By Adekunle Yusuf

    A traditional doctor, Mrs Funmilola Lawrence-Ogidan,  has described herbal remedies as nature’s safest cure for most  ailments.

    Speaking with reporters in Lagos, she explained that while synthetic medical drugs almost produce side effects in patients, herbal remedies do not.

    “I have tried and tested both western and herbal medicines and I can tell you categorically that God has provided us with every single herb we need for our good health. The herbs that we have all around us will do us a whole lot of good work when we treat them right. Herbal medicines perform healing miracles in us.

    “We haven’t reached that stage where western medicine would be totally replaced by herbal remedies for all ailments. Having alternatives helps us all. I believe that most western medicines originate from our own local herbs but with a lot of synthetic processes that deplete nature and produce side effects,” she said.

    A certified member of the Nigeria Association of Medical Herbalists and National Association of Nigerian Traditional Medicine Practitioners, Mrs Lawrence-Ogidan, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Global New Herbal Life (GNHL), owns arguably the largest health farm and NAFDAC-certified factory for producing herbal remedies in the Southwest.

    Her passion for herbal remedies grew when she had to heal her protracted barrenness with herbs after western medical methods had failed her.

    She said: “I had serious hormonal disorder that stopped me from getting pregnant for many years. I did IVF severally. I was given different injections daily, but the minute I started using my own herbs, everything started going back to normal. To the glory of God, I had my own baby. It was normal delivery even at that age. There were no issues or complications at all with the pregnancy or after the delivery.”

    She has produced over 70 tried and tested ready-to-drink and ready-to-rub herbal remedies with stunning testimonials, details of which she shared in her press interview.

    “Unlike before when I used to suffer from malaria and fever often, we now have a one-time herbal cure and with our modern factory equipment and attending technology, we are able to do a lot of toxicology tests to ensure that our herbal remedies come in the right dosage.

    ‘’So, now, we produce in safe quantities and with NAFDAC-approved scientific quality that can be sold without reducing the component of herbs that we use.” Asked if her fever remedy can cure COVID-19, her carefully weighed words were: “COVID-19 and its many variants have further opened our eyes to the limitations of western medicine. A whole lot of people went back to ginger, garlic and other herbs. I believe that herbal remedies would get us farther going forward,” she added.

  • LASUTH records feat in head, neck surgery

    LASUTH records feat in head, neck surgery

    By Adekunle Yusuf

    Surgeons at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) have performed a successful microvascular tissue transfer in the head and neck on a patient, thus eradicating large disfiguring defects. The hospital has continually made giant strides in improving lives with its vision to be a centre of excellence in healthcare delivery.

    The tertiary healthcare institution in the commercial city of Nigeria has over the years provided high-quality tertiary healthcare services to patients across the country and beyond. The teaching hospital is now positioned as a quaternary hospital and has continually promoted the development of cutting-edge surgical expertise to deliver the best possible outcome. Several high-end health solutions have been delivered thereby saving many lives and enhancing the quality of living.

    Recently, surgeons at the hospital performed a microvascular free tissue transfer in the head and neck. According to Dr Eyituoyo. Okoturo, head of maxillofacial surgery unit of the Dental Department, LASUTH, most malignant tumors of the head and neck cannot be adequately treated without extensive surgery that leaves large disfiguring defects. Reconstruction has evolved over the last century from the mere filling up of defects with local or regional flaps to microvascular free tissue transfer to ensure precise facial contour and restoring of function.

    “The technique involves the transfer of a distant tissue (donor tissue) along with its vascular supply to a recipient site (defect site) of the same patient and re-establishing donor tissue blood flow from the recipient blood vessels by microvascular re-anastomosis of both sets of blood vessels (i.e., donor and recipient arteries &veins) with the use of an operating microscope.

    “It provides the advantage of precise reconstruction of defects that ordinarily are not feasible with local flaps. Because of the technical difficulty associated with today’s facial reconstruction, it is now usually assisted with the use of computer-aided designs – computer-aided manufacturing (CAD-CAM) for bespoke reconstruction,” he added.

    LASUTH has continued to provide advanced cutting-edge medical practice to Lagosians and Nigerians at large. The hospital is presently the only hospital in Nigeria and one of the only two in Sub-Saharan Africa providing this mode of treatment.

  • PSN backs AfDB’s $3b intervention in Africa’s pharma industry

    PSN backs AfDB’s $3b intervention in Africa’s pharma industry

    The Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has commended the President and board members of the African Development Bank (AfDB) on its decision to invest $3 billion to build Africa’s pharmaceutical industry in the next 10 years.

    The AfDB is also supporting the Africa Centre for Disease Control (Africa CDC) with $28 million to strengthen its capacity to manufacture of vaccines in the continent.

    “Let’s finance in common and build a common positive story of innovation and investment in Africa, leveraging and mobilising all willing stakeholders. The days of pure aid are over. Africa is ready for sustainable investment,” Dr Akinwumi Adesina, AfDB President reportedly said.

    PSN President, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa said pharmacists could not agree more with Adesina on his intervention to assist Africa’s pharmaceutical industry. The COVID- 19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of Africa, especially Nigeria, who depended largely on import for basic needs including pharmaceuticals, Ohuabunwa said, adding that the continent needs visionary ideas that can transform its health sector.

    “The nationalism of Vaccines and Active Pharmaceuticals Ingredients (APIs) leaves us with no option but the likes of the foresight and forthright projections like this. Private businesses, especially the pharmaceutical sector, have been impacted negatively by the pandemic.

    “The disrupted supply chain made costs unpredictable and volatile. So this huge investment will ease our frustration of dearth of medicines and Active Pharmaceuticals Ingredients (APIs) and develop our local content through purposeful research tailored to need.

    “I pray that the products of actual implementation be all-encompassing to include the last line in the pharmaceutical care delivery, the community pharmacies, and devoid of clauses encumbering disbursement, for maximum impact. Any investment in the sector that will not translate to improvement in availability and access to medicines will grossly undermine the intention behind this transgenerational initiative,” Ohuabunwa said.

  • Consultant pharmacist competencies will boost vaccines production

    Consultant pharmacist competencies will boost vaccines production

    By Moses Emorinken, Abuja

    The Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) has said the new consultant pharmacist cadre approved by the Federal Government will improve the aesthetics of healthcare delivery across the country and boost the country’s local capacity to produce vaccines.

    Its Chairman, Prof Ahmed Mora, made this known in Abuja during the workshop to kick-start the implementation of the pharmacist consultant cadre within the healthcare system, in collaboration with the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists (Nigeria Chapter).

    With the recognition, the PCN is organising workshops in Lagos, Enugu and Kaduna to induct the fellows. The new consultants are expected to begin a new phase of their professional practice in the federal, states and local government levels as well as in the organised private sector for the benefit of patients and the healthcare system.

    Mora said: “We expect that the propensity and accelerated development of pharmaceutical products whether they are solid dosage forms or syrups or vaccines are now enhanced. With these new skills acquired by the production and quality control pharmacists, it is expected that prophylaxis, diagnostics, and curative components like vaccines will now be brought to bear because these consultants have been trained overtime but the recognition has not been there. Now the recognition is there in terms of remuneration and other packages, which will now serve as a motivator to do and give their best.”

    The Chairman of the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists (Nigeria Chapter), Dr. Chijioke Onyia, said what the new consultants are asking for is to be given a space to stand so that they can utilise those skills and competencies garnered to move the country forward health wise.

    PCN Registrar, Elijah Mohammed, emphasised that the new consultant pharmacist cadre is not supposed to be a cause for competition with other professionals in the health sector.

    “The issue is not about supremacy but the issue is about the patient, and this new concept is focusing on the patients. Before now, the pharmacy practice was product focused. But the new concept now is patient-focused, that is, pharmaceutical care; what are the impacts of these drugs on the patient, and how the patient can get better with the administration of the drugs.

    “Therefore, there is no room for competition among professionals because everybody has his own field of endeavour. With this, we should be expecting an increase in the level of Nigeria’s healthcare delivery to move from the position it is now to a better one. It is pertinent to note that today’s event is the opening ceremony that will kickstart a series of zonal sensitisation workshops targeted at consultant pharmacists in order to familiarise them with the newly approved cadre as well as the attendant responsibilities. Pharmacists have been equipped with vast skills sets, which are yet to be fully deployed to achieve the desired result.

    “I am confident that with this new cadre, there would be abundant opportunities to deploy every skill set acquired during the consultancy training and to enable pharmacists bring their specialised knowledge to bear on the healthcare system in Nigeria.”

    According to the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health, Abdulaziz Abdullahi, the government recognises that pharmacists are integral to achieving the goals and objectives of the strategic health sector reform in Nigeria.

    Thus, the creation of the consultant pharmacist cadre by the National Council on Establishment (NCE) is part of the overall effort of the government to reposition the pharmacy profession for the provision of more improved and quality healthcare services to the people.

    “It is also hoped that this will stem the tide of brain drain to other parts of the world in search of specialisation and better remuneration. As you may be aware, the creation of the consultant cadre for pharmacists in civil public service in Nigeria was based on well-coordinated government processes and procedures. For the recognition of the need to improve the pharmacist practice in Nigeria, the NCE granted the approval for the inclusion of the pharmacist consultant cadre in the civil/public service.

    The minister said its departments and parastatals/agencies have since been directed to recognise and accept the students of the West African College of Pharmacists (WACP) for residency programme and provide necessary assistance to make the programme a success.

    The National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission has also been directed to include consultant pharmacists in the specialists’ allowance for consultant healthcare professionals – to be placed on Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) 13-15, which is the equivalent of the Salary Grade Level (SGL) 15 -17. This is to develop the requisite manpower needed to feed the newly created cadre, he added.

  • ‘Why I’m seeking second term’

    ‘Why I’m seeking second term’

    By Tajudeen Adebanjo

    The Chairman of Ojokoro Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Hammed Idowu Tijani, said he was seeking a second term in office to consolidate projects carried out so far.

    According to him, more developmental projects will be evenly spread across all the wards if re-elected.

    Tijani otherwise called HID spoke yesterday during his official declaration for re-election at Ojokoro Mini Sports Centre, Lagos.

    He said he had reconstructed more than 14 roads with drainage and asphalt.

    Tijani said free exercise books and writing materials were always distributed to pupils in all public primary schools at the beginning of every session.

    “Moreover, New Oko-Oba Primary school and Gbeleyi Primary schools 1 and 2 were rehabilitated, while GCE and JAMB forms were distributed to indigent students on regular basis,” he said.

    He noted that the Primary Health Care Centre (PHC) at Isokan has been rehabilitated with modern medical equipment.

    “Similarly, the PHC at Alagbado was upgraded to provide 24-hour medical services. Other medical facilities in the LCDA were also given facelift,” he said.

    According to him, some of the footballers discovered in talent hunt organised by the council are currently playing in Ukraine.

    “We have empowered our women and youths and placed the aged on monthly stipends. We also provide official vehicles for workers’ union and political office holders,” he said.

    He thanked Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, party leaders and members and the people of the council for the privilege given him to serve.

  • Senator donates roofing sheets for market reconstruction

    Senator donates roofing sheets for market reconstruction

    The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Content and the lawmaker representing Oyo Central, Senator Teslim Folarin, has donated multi-million Naira roofing sheets for the reconstruction of Agodi Gate (Araromi) Auto Parts Market.

    The senator on April 6 visited the market, which was gutted by fire, not only to sympathise with the victims, but also to pledge personal and Federal Government’s support towards rebuilding it.

    A few days after his visit, officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) visited the market, following a request letter of support written by the three-term senator, dated April 5.

    Bundles of roofing sheets were handed over to the leadership of the market by Folarin’s delegation led by the former Commissioner for Environment, Lowo Obisesan.

    The market leader, Alhaji Raheem Ewebiyi and the President of the market, Aare Moruf Ishola, thanked Senator Folarin for his contributions to the reconstruction of the market.

    The lawmaker advised traders to observe fire safety precautions at markets, to prevent future fire outbreaks.