The Nation Newspaper

Category: City Beats

  • Fashola urges doctors, others to reduce maternal mortality

    lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola yesterday urged doctors to display a high sense of professionalism in the discharge of their duties.

    Speaking when members of the Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria (SOGON) visited him at the Lagos House, Ikeja, ahead of their Annual General Meeting AGM and Scientific Conference starting on Thursday, Fashola said the highest award the nation should seek is the reduction of maternal and child mortality rate and attainment of the Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 by 2015.

    SOGON president Dr Fred Achem had told Fashola of plans to confer him with honorary membership of the society during its AGM.

    Fashola noted: “This can only be the symbol of that award. The ability to say that no life will be lost through maternal and child mortality in the country”.

    He said the 36 states had improved their health facilities, adding that the onus now lies on practitioners to improve on the experience and professionalism, which he said were lost in the last few years.

    Fashola also urged the Society’s leaders to ensure that erring members were punished.

    “There is need for the health practitioners to create sanctions and rewards. People who drop the ball must be punished. If a pregnant woman dies, while under the administration of a professional, we must ask questions. If this practice is back in place, the standard in the health sector will rise. If the professionals get it right, we will be back where we should be in the health sector worldwide”, he said.

    He urged doctors to improve on care giving to their patients in order to build confidence and trust.

    Fashola said: “When patients who have need for them search for them where they believe they must be, they must be available there. When patients look at the face of their doctors and nurses, they must see compassion. They must see affection and care”.

    “Nigerians who go abroad for medical treatment, all they needed is to see someone who believes that they are special. The difference is the courtesy the patients receive from the medical practitioners”.

    Earlier, Achem praised Fashola for his administration’s strides in the provision of qualitative healthcare, especially the building of 57 Primary Health Centres in all the state’s councils.

    Achem, who briefed reporters after the visit, lamented the slow pace of realising the MDGs relating to health because of what he calls the lack of political will of the Federal Government.

    He said: “If we had adopted maternal mortality review 10 years ago, our maternal mortality rate would have reduced. Only three countries in Africa have been able to meet the DGs standard. These are the countries that have achieved 75 percent reduction. But we are still far from these countries. We hope that since we have adopted the maternal death review, there will be reduction.

    “The problem we have is that the Federal Government cannot prescribe measures for the states. And the good thing about the issue is that, for the National Health Council adopting the new measure is like all the states adopting the plan to reduce maternal mortality in the country”.

  • Hoodlums attack principal, teachers

    THE police were drafted in yesterday to restore peace in Ejigbo, Osun State when a school principal and two teachers were attacked by unknown hoodlums.

    The hoodlums were said to have attacked the principal of Baptist High School for allegedly sending home a female pupil last Friday over her mode of dressing.

    It was gathered that the hoodlums, who stormed the premises as early as 8.00 am, demand reasons for the principal’s action.

    The situation was said to have degenerated into a scuffle.

    The Ogiyan of Ejigbo, Oba Omowonuola Oyesosin, has intervened and ordered that the principal and the teachers, who were injured during the fracas, be taken to his palace for safety.

     

  • Community seeks protection

    The Obele Esepe Community Development Area (CDA) in Badagry on the outskirts of Lagos, has appealed to police Commissioner Umar Manko to restore peace there.

    Claiming that the area has come under the terror of hoodlums, the community’s leaders said people now lived in fear.

    A resident said: “We no longer sleep. All we hear at night and most times in the day are sporadic gunshots between the warring parties. The police should come to our rescue before they kill all of us”.

    The community’s chairman, Chief Gambo Maro, sought protection from the police before people were killed.

    He said: “Some people invaded our community with guns and cutlasses claiming they are fighting over land dispute that is already being handled by the court. Some of our members were attacked by these invaders. Some were attacked at gun point and with cutlasses. They were robbed; children and their mothers were beaten in broad day light and the fears have continued to live with us”.

     

  • Corps member donates library

    National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, Anu Omotunde-Young, yesterday handed over a well equipped library to Ilupeju Junior Secondary School in Odi Olowo Local Government Area of Lagos State.

    The 25-year-old graduate of Business Economics from Lancaster University in North England, said she was inspired by her quest to improve the reading culture among pupils.

    Omotunde-Young said she spent about N500,000 on the project, with support that she received from friends and family members who believed in her cause.

    She said she chose the school because she did her primary assignment there.

    “I also thought that since the school did not have a library and it’s a big school and there are students coming from Yaba, Mushin, Oshodi and Ilupeju, so I felt with students from all these communities yet with no library, I said am not just going to provide the books, am actually going to provide where they can go to read and not just anywhere they can read, but where they can be comfortable to read. So they can choose during their leisure time to go to the library rather than the football field”.

    Omotunde-Young urged the government to establish a library fund, while on corporate bodies should invest in building libraries, adding that the multiplier effect cannot be overemphasised.

     

     

     

     

     

    “If there are conducive reading centres and libraries, pupils will be encouraged to keep reading, it becomes a habit then they learn new words, their sentences are better, grammar is better and then it’s not so hard to read their books ahead of exams because they are used to reading”, she said.

    She hailed the Lagos State Government for initiating the Lagos Eko Project targeted at equipping public schools with modern learning facilities and libraries.

    The school Principal, Mr. Omotayo Michael, said the library would go a long way to encourage pupils to read at least a book every week.

    The project, he said, got the backing of the school because it would improve the dwindling reading culture.

    “When Anu told me about the project, we were all in support of it and I even wrote a letter to the NYSC Coordinator in Lagos to tell him that it was her Community Development Project and we are supporting it with all our heart and as soon as it’s ready, we would make room available to use. Am glad it’s a success today”, Michael said.

  • Promo winners get prizes

    Three lucky customers who emerged winners during the raffle draw at the just concluded Ikeja City Mall promo have been presented with their prices.

    Ahmed Ojikutu a businessman came first and was presented $1000 shopping voucher and an all expense paid trip to Obudu Cattle Ranch for two. While Ajiteru and Pat Ikwunze, the first and second runner up, were presented $900 and $600 shopping vouchers respectively.

    The Mall’s account Manager, Kunle Olukoju said “We are pleased to make the wishes of consumers become realities and we will continue in this act of rewarding customers. At Ikeja City Mall, we say it and act it, encouraging loyal customers.”

    The winners are expected to use their vouchers within the mall.

  • ‘Stop violence against women journalists’

    There has been a call to end violence against women journalists worldwide.

    The call was contained in a campaign launched by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in Lagos, yesterday.

    In a statement, the group said: “This campaign is a response to the numerous cases of women journalists being threatened, attacked, harassed, raped or even killed in the course of their profession.”

    According to the President, Gender Council, IFJ, Mindy Ram, women journalists are under bigger threat than their male counterparts when it comes to bullying, threats, rape and abuse.

    In a statement to mark the International Day for the elimination of violence against women which holds on November 25 of every year, the Vice President, Gander Council, IFT, Fatimah Abdulkareen said: “The safety of women journalists must be guaranteed, even as we encourage them to come into the profession.”

    Abdulkareem, who is also Vice President, Gender Council of the Federation of African Journalists said this year, six women journalist had been killed in the line of duty.

    She said: “Rebecca Davidson, of New Zealand, deputy head of programme at the Dubai-based Arabian Radio Network was killed on February 8 while on assignment in the Seychelles. Rahmo Abdulkadir working for Radio Abudwaq was shot in Towfiq district in north Mogadishu, Somalia capital. Banu Lu, from the Urumqi Evening News died on April 18 in an accident while conducting interviews on a construction site in Urumqi capital of Northwest China. Habiba Ahmet Abd Elaziz from UAE-based Xpress newspaper was killed on August 14 together with four other journalists in Egypt .Yarra Abbas ,television correspondent for Al-Ikhbariyah TV was killed on May 27,while covering clashes near the border with Lebanon. French reporter Ghislaine Dupont,who worked for Radio France International (RFI) was abducted and shot dead on November 2 together with her male colleague Claude Verlon in the Malian northern city of Kidal.”

    She urged media houses to step up the fight against violence against female media workers; because respect for gender quality is an important step, adding that the media must be accountable for mainstreaming gender in all their activities.

  • Demolished property owners get N26.5m

    Some owners of houses demolished for the Okota-Itire Link bridge in Lagos have a cause to smile. They received N26,550,000 from the state government yesterday as compensation.

    The three beneficiaries, who received their cheques at the State Secretariat in Alausa Ikeja, said the development had ended their six years wait for the money.

    A beneficiary, Elder Sylvester Okeke, praised the government for keeping its promise.

    He said: “My house was one of the houses demolished for the expansion of the new road. Well, am very grateful, the governor has done his best by approving our payment though it came after a long time. My house was demolished in December 2007 and we are getting compensation in 2013, there were ups and downs but we thank God”.

    Okeke, who received N15, 680,000, said the compensation was only for the property as the land was not taken into consideration.

    “They say they have a formula for deciding what to give us, my house was a two-storey building, according to the approval, they say they are not paying for the land, but the building on the land, so other property owners got compensation according to the value of the property and those who had their documents”.

    He said the property owners had earlier taken the government to court to stop the demolition but later opted to settle out-of-court after the promise of compensation.

    On his plans for the compensation, Okeke said: “Lagos is my home, despite that I am an Igbo man. I am comfortable here more than any other state. I am very happy with the development.”

    The other beneficiaries, Mrs. Esther Falodun and Alhaja A. Adegbenro, who got N5, 235,000 and N5, 635,000, thanked the government for the gesture.

    Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Lands Bureau Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola said the gesture was in fulfilment of Governor Babatunde Fashola’s promise to ameliorate the suffering of those affected by the project.

    Muri-Okunola, represented by the Director, Land Services, Mr. Babatunde Oyegbola, said when the project started in 2008, Fashola approved compensation for t claimants whose

    properties were affected.

    He said eight other claimants got N31.5million compensation in 2010. “When paying compensation, we have to be sure that the people are the ones entitled to the compensation, we have to do inspections and valuations, we also have to ensure that the right people are being paid, so we check title documents”, Oyegbola added.

    The houses of those compensated so far, he said, were demolished before the construction of the bridge.

     

  • Truck crushes expectant mother, others to death

    Tears flowed freely at Oshodi Bus Stop in Lagos yesterday as an expectant mother, her unborn baby and four other women were crushed to death by a sand-laden truck.

    The truck belonging to a church lost control after its brake failed and ran into a garage near the Oshodi bridge on the way to Apapa where the women stood.

    The truck ran into three other vehicles before hitting the women. The impact forced out the foetus of the expectant mother.

    Angry youths and social miscreants rushed to the scene, barricaded the road and attempted to torch the truck.

    They wanted to lynch the driver, who attempted to flee before he was rescued by policemen from the nearby Makinde Division.

    Eyewitnesses said the truck was descending the bridge at Oshodi but lost control as it was approaching the service lane.

    The driver ran into a motor park and a market near the service lane.

    Commuters at the bus ran to avoid being hit. Traders who abandoned their wares and ran came back to meet them destroyed.

    Mr Samuel Ogundayo, the Oshodi Unit Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, said 19 people were involved in the accident.

    “A tipper had a brake failure; 19 people were involved but eight died instantly.

    “They have been taken to the General Hospital in Ikeja and the Oshodi Health Centre,’’ Ogundayo said.

    An official of the Lagos State Transport Management Authority, who pleaded anonymity, said five persons died and five were injured.

    He said the bodies had been deposited at the General Hospital and the wounded taken to the Trauma Centre in Oshodi.

    The State Police Command spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), said: “Today, at exactly 1200 hours, a fatal motor accident occurred at Oshodi Motor Park. When officers from Makinde Division led by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) got to the scene, they discovered that the accident was caused by a tipper carrying sand, along the Apapa/Oshodi Expressway, inwards Mile 2 on the service lane.

    “The truck with registration number JJJ824XD which is owned by the Lords Chosen Church lost control due to brake failure and ran into three stationary vehicles in the motor park. Five yet to be identified female pedestrians lost their lives. One of the deceased, a pregnant woman whose foetus also gushed out bought the causuality figure to six. About five persons were also injured.

    “We have apprehended the driver of the truck, one Lawrence Nwaodu (45). The four vehicles involved in the accident have been taken to the office of LASTMA. Calm has also returned in the area as policemen were able to handle the situation”.

    On Monday, a water tanker killed a pupil in Ajah , Lagos, sparking protest. Three other pupil involved in the accident are still in hospital.

    Braide urged motorists to ensure that their vehicles were in good condition always, adding that it will help to stem the rising tide of fatal accidents.

  • Ogun monarch hails road expansion

    Ogun monarch hails road expansion

    A traditional ruler in Ogun State, Oba Adedayo Shyllon Sogbulu, has said the ongoing expansion of the link road from Sango to Berger by the government will boost economic activities.

    He pleaded with residents to support the initiative, adding that it was part of Governor Ibikunle Amosun’s plan to fast-track development in the area.

    Speaking to reporters in his palace at the weekend, Oba Sogbulu said residents would only experience a short-term pain, adding that the long-term gain to communities in Ifo Local Government Area (LGA) will be unquantifiable.

    He said: “I am always in support of good programmes of the state government, such as the ongoing road expansion, to connect Sango to Berger. I believe this will bring development to our area because that road is the major gateway linking Ogun to Lagos.”

    Some houses have been demolished for the project in which the government has already invested billion of naira.

    Oba Shyllon, who hailed the governor for the initiative, said it was the second time an elected governor would bring development to the community.

    “After Chief Olusegun Osoba commissioned road projects in 2001, the governor after him neglected Agbado people until Amosun came to rescue us.

    “We thank Almighty God for giving us this messiah called Ibikunle Amosun, who is integrating our community in the developmental plan of the state through various initiatives in this area. We are enjoying dividends of his democratic government. If the road is completed, it would boost the commerce and residents of more than 500 communities associated with Agbado would get to their houses without hindrance. This is why I am urging people in this area to support the action of government; it is for general good,” he said.

    On security, the royal father said robbery and night crimes had reduced following the provision of Amoured Personnel Carrier (APC) to the police in Agbado.

    He said criminals had retreated to inner communities because of constant patrol of the area by security operatives, adding that there was need for more police stations in the area.

  • Protest as water tanker kills pupil in Lagos

    A water tanker yesterday crushed a pupil to death, sparking a protest in Ajah on the outskirts of Lagos.

    The pupil and five of his mates were on their way to school when the tanker ran into them as they attempted to cross the road.

    Three were injured and rushed to the hospital.

    Angry residents barricaded the highway after the accident chanting war songs.

    They demanded that pedestrian bridge be built for commuter safety.

    It was gathered that a protesters was shot by a policeman.

    Police spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), said:

    “Today, November 18, at about 0800hrs, Ajah Police Division received a distress call that there was a fatal motor accident. The Divisional Police Officer in company of the Divisional Traffic Officer raced to the scene.

    “On getting there, they discovered that it was an accident involving one Blue Mercedes Benz Water Tanker(truck) with registration number. XZ87JJJ and a black Toyota Prado Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) with registration number CB690AKD. Preliminary enquiry showed that while the Prado SUV gave way to the pupils to cross the road, the water tanker ran into the kids, killing one of them, while two others were injured and are currently receiving treatment at the hospital. “Based on the foregoing, residents, youths and indigenes got infuriated and barricaded the Lekki/Ajah expressway. They attributed their grievance to incessant accidents and lack of pedestrian bridge, which they had been asking for. The situation was later brought under control as the Area Commander intervened and appealed to them not to take the law into their hands which they obliged to and left the road at about 1330hrs. Meanwhile the area is calm and quiet now”.

    The Lagos State Government yesterday assured parents that its public schools are safe.

    The assurance came on the heels of concerns by parents over the fate of some pupils who fainted after inhaling noxious substances three weeks ago.

    The General Manager, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), Mr. Babatunde Shabi, said though all the 22 affected pupils had been discharged from hospital, investigation is still ongoing to unravel the source of the gaseous substance.

    He said though nothing incriminating had been established against the photographic laboratory involved the incident, it will remain shut until investigation is completed.

    Shabi said he would be meeting with the photo laboratory operators to establish the types of chemicals used to process photographs and to see if the alleged photo laboratory is hiding anything from investigators.