The Nation Newspaper

Category: Insight

  • Nigerians don’t present malaria cases on time

    Nigerians don’t present malaria cases on time

    Dr. Festus Uriri, a medical doctor at the Military Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, speaks on the persistently high rate of malaria infection and death, the apathetic attitude of Nigerians towards the disease and the need to take it more seriously.

    Why is malaria suddenly resistant to drugs?

    When you talk of an organism being resistant to a particular drug, number one, it has to be due with abuse of that drug; I mean people using it too regularly without recourse to doctor’s prescription. If you’ll recall, in those days, we used chloroquine and it was very effective in treating malaria. But when it was becoming less effective, we introduced quinine for resistant malaria. With the advent of modern medicine, we came into the age of ACT, Atemisinin Combination Therapy. It’s actually a combination therapy. This combination has to do with artemether and Lumefantrine in different proportions. In some, we have them in single dose while in some; we have them in double dose. Another reason for the parasite resisting the drugs is the use of substandard anti-malarial medications. Some dealers will just go out to countries where they manufacture these drugs and deliberately instruct them to lower the standard. If for instance Atemisinin, Lumefantrine combination is supposed to be 40, 80; they will tell them to make it 20, 40; but they will write 40, 80 on the drug to deceive people. This is cheaper on purchase and naturally earns them more profit in terms of monetary returns, but it gave malaria an edge. If you want to talk of malaria medication that you will guaranty you result, they’re actually expensive. Take for instance, paluta. The original paluta originally was about twelve thousand naira and above. But now you can get paluta of three thousand five hundred dollars. So it depends on where these drugs are being produced and where they’re coming from. There are some that cannot enter some developed countries but which you’ll find everywhere here. And this is causing a lot of resistance from the organisms. The scenario is the same with antibiotics.

    These days, malaria seems to come with symptoms entirely different from what we used to know. Can you shed some light on this?

    The commonest symptoms for malaria are headache, bitter taste in the mouth, lack of appetite, generalised body weakness. Generalised body weakness can come in the form of sharp headache in the morning that will just come and go, and which may eventually become constant. It can also come in the form of muscle pain or what we call myalgia. And when you don’t receive treatment in time, the patient can start vomiting; he can start having abdominal cramps, abdominal discomfort, increased temperature. Now one of the major problems with malaria infection is that when the temperature rises to 39 to 40 degree centigrade especially in children, they can start having convulsion. And that is why we ask mothers to use water to sponge the children to lower their temperature.

    Statistics show that death rates from malaria, especially in the sub-Saharan Africa has persistently being on the high side, why is this so?

    First of all, people don’t present at the hospitals in time. This could be due to the economic situation in the country. A lot of people don’t even have money to eat; so when they’re sick, they go to the chemist on their street, who just mixes some drugs for them to take. By the time you see them in the hospital, the thing has got to a stage in which you really need to do a lot to get them back on track.

    According to the World Health Organisation, over 438,000 died from malaria infection globally last year, but Nigerians still largely regard it as a trivial disease. Why is this so?

    That is because malaria has lived with us for so long that it does not sound threatening to us anymore. If you mention something like HIV, you will see how people will cringe.

    A corollary to this attitude is the fact that people have adopted the habit of just going over to a chemist or pharmacist and purchasing an anti-malaria drug over the counter to swallow. What is your message for people in this category?

    We need to do a lot of public enlightenment on the danger of this habit and discourage it. We need to put jingles on TV and radio. The various local governments should organise their health workers to reach out to their neighbourhood and tell them about the devastating effects of malaria. All hands must be on deck if we really want to conquer malaria. The truth is that malaria is being taken for granted. People only decide to take malaria seriously when it has gotten to a particular level, which is very wrong.

    What steps would you recommend for someone who as much as suspects that he or she has malaria?

    See the doctor and do some investigations. The ideal thing is to carry out some investigations before beginning treatment, so that you can know the level of parasitimia in the blood.

    Recently, a young man died in a neighbourhood in Ikotun, and his neighbours were disappointed because according to them, they still saw him hale and hearty the day before. Does malaria kill so fast and suddenly?

    A lot of Nigerians have other health conditions that they may not want to mention. For instance a patient may come to the doctor in the consulting room and when you see the vital signs and tell him “Ah Oga, your BP is high o, you’re getting hypertensive,” the next thing you get is “I reject it in Jesus name.” Once you bring down the blood pressure and he gets out of that problem for which he came for consultation, such a person will never take his drugs again. And that’s why people in this part of the world die prematurely. In developed countries, the patient would rather ask, “What do I do?” So in the case of the man in question, I really don’t think it was malaria, although I don’t have the facts. He probably had some other ailment that he didn’t disclose or pay enough attention to. But be that as it may, malaria remains as lethal as ever.

    How deadly really is malaria? The fatality figures from WHO and even the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, NIMR is scary.

    If you ask me, that figure is even an underestimation, because it does not capture those people who die of malaria in the remote African villages. So people should take it seriously. And that’s why in the treatment of malaria, you have the profelaxis and the therapeautic. Profelaxis is prevention, and we apply this to the sickle cell disease patients more, because malaria is one of the commonest things that can precipitate crisis for them. For the average individuals, you can just decide that you want to be taking anti-malaria drugs every month or every two months, depending on how often you come up with malaria. The therapeautic is when the patient actually came down with malaria and you have to treat. People often wonder how come doctors hardly fall sick, but that’s because we adopt the prophylaxis method once we see the signs.

    The theme for this year’s World Malaria Day is “Ending malaria for good,” how realistic is this for Nigeria, say in the next ten years?

    If our government is committed, it is achievable in ten years. All they need do is work towards vaccination. There are vaccines for malaria, which have not been released probably due to the selfish reasons of the powers that be. You know most of the pharmaceautical companies are surviving on malaria drugs, so by the time they release the vaccines to the public, some of these companies would shut down.  So there is some kind of international conspiracy. In those days, we had problems with cholera, yellow fever, polio, even tetanus, but when the vaccines became available, the rate of infection lowered tremendously.

  • Malaria, still a deadly menace

    Malaria, still a deadly menace

    Following the recent commemoration of this year’s World Malaria Day, Gboyega Alaka takes another look at the lackadaisical attitude of Nigerians towards the disease, drawing attention to the scary statistics and why a more serious and holistic attitude needs to be adopted.

    43-YEAR-OLD Jaiyejeje was good-looking, lovable and quietly ambitious. Although his early adulthood was tough, with unemployment dogging his way for years after school, Jaiye soon found his forte in paint design and architecture and things suddenly picked up for him. Jobs rolled in and of course good cash. In no time, he relocated to Ikorodu, where new houses were springing up and his services were more in demand, as against his Ikotun residence, where he grew up and spent most of his youth. He also bought a piece of land and simultaneously began building his own house. Life seemed good and prospects for the future even better. And then the sad news broke. Jaiye died.

    His death was undoubtedly the saddest news in his Ikotun neighbourhood, where he still maintained his old apartment. Many swore they saw him a couple of days before his sad demise. Some even said they saw him driving his Sienna bus car the day before and swore he wasn’t looking an inch sick. And yet he died. Gradually news filtered out that he had died of malaria; and then the outrage doubled. Malaria? Does malaria kill? Isn’t it just a matter of getting one of the approved malaria drugs and swallowing them to instruction? How could malaria kill somebody just like that?

    News had it that Jaiye had been rushed to the hospital in the night after suddenly falling grievously ill; and then the sad news the following day.

    Typically, Jaiye’s neighbour’s reaction and incredulity at his death and its cause largely typifies Nigerians attitude and disposition towards Malaria. For many, it is one illness no-one needs worry about. A few herbs here and there or some of the World Health Organisation’s approved drugs should suffice. Few, if any even think it is something to bother a doctor over and it is not unusual to see friends turn a friend who has visited a doctor on account of malaria into a butt of jokes.

    Many even think it is too ordinary an illness to earmark such time for, especially in the middle of their very busy schedule.

    For some however, it is as a result of poverty, as they literally calculate everything in naira and kobo. They believe going to a hospital would make them cough out more money than the mere five hundred naira or so that a pack of the drugs would have cost them. They are also quick to rationalize that the doctor would not give them anything order than the commonplace malaria drug that they know too well.

    But is malaria such a trivial infection? Is it so, so harmless, like many think?

     

    Lethal as ever

    Signals emanating from medical experts and health statistics from the World Health Organisation, WHO and other health agencies, including the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, NIMR is however in antithesis with this position.

    An updated 2015 World Health Organisation’s Top 10 facts on malaria states that about 3.2 billion people – nearly half the world’s population – are at risk of malaria. It states further that 214 million malaria cases were detected that same year, while a whopping 438,000 resulted in death.

    In addition, it said the infection is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa, as the region recorded 89 per cent of the cases, with 91 per cent of it culminating in death.

    Elsewhere in the report, the global health body also says children under five are particularly susceptible to infection, illness and death. It expatiates that more than two thirds (70%) of all malaria deaths occur in this age bracket and that in 2015 alone, about 305,000 African children died before their fifth birthdays.

    As if determined to exterminate humanity, the report also says the disease literally lays siege on the human foetus by afflicting pregnant women, leading to spontaneous abortion, premature delivery, stillbirth, severe maternal anaemia and death of the pregnant mother. Malaria is also said to be responsible for about one third of preventable low-birth-weight babies. To this effect, WHO recommends “intermittent preventive treatment at each scheduled antenatal visit, after the first trimester.”

     

    Nigeria, highest in death rate

    Last year at the commemoration of the World Malaria Day/World Intellectual Property Day in Abuja, the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James Entwistle, declared that Nigeria has the highest number of malaria cases in the whole wide world. He said the country boasted an unenviable estimated 100 million malaria cases get annually, with about 300,000 deaths.

    The US envoy attributed the high spread of the disease and casualties in the country to widespread of fake and substandard medicines. He said the unhealthy habit is “contributing to the alarmingly high number of malaria deaths and costs of health care” in the country.

    Quoting the Nigerian Malaria Strategic Plan 2014-2020, Mr. Entwistle said “Malaria is responsible for 60 per cent of outpatient visits to health facilities, 30 per cent of childhood deaths and 25 percent of deaths in children under one year, and 11 percent of maternal deaths.”

    In plain language, the ambassador said “Stolen malaria medicines often transported or stored in sub-optimal conditions decay and become ineffective, putting patients at risk for treatment.”

    He said “parasites, a by-product of this decay causes malaria, potentially mutate and become resistant to drugs.”

    He also lamented that the criminal activities of counterfeiting drugs deny legitimate businesses return on investment and ultimately discourage growth in the nation’s pharmaceautical industry.

     

    ‘Ending malaria for Good;’ still a long way for Nigeria

    Early last week, the Nigeria Institute of Medical Research, NIMR, Lagos said not less than 51 million Nigerians tested positive to malaria parasite in 2015. The deputy director of the institute and head, Malaria Research Programme, Dr Sam Awolola made this declaration at a forum in commemoration of this year’s World Malaria Day in Lagos.

    The deputy director lamented that Nigeria, with such huge malaria burden, is still far from achieving this year’s theme of “End Malaria for Good.”

    He said Nigeria’s fact sheet according to the 2014 and 2015 World Malaria reports testify that the nation is still far from pre-elimination stage, not to talk of elimination.

     

    Deadlier than the statistics

    Dr Festus Uriri, a medical doctor at the Military Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, is however of the opinion that the figures being bandied either by the World health organization of the NIMR are largely underestimated because they do not reflect cases and deaths in the remote African villages, where there are no medical facilities, let alone data taking.

    Like the Ambassador Entwistle, he literally lays the blame for the rise in cases of malaria and deaths, and the growing resistance to drugs by the parasite at the door-steps of dealers in substandard drugs. But first, he blames it on abuse of the drugs.

    Even though he maintains that malaria is as deadly as ever, he does not think Jaiye’s death should be blamed totally on malaria. According to him, malaria hardly kills with such speed.  In his words, “A lot of Nigerians have other health conditions that they may not want to mention,” but which may be responsible for such sudden illness and death.

  • OGONI OIL SPILL Echoes as the clean up begins

    OGONI OIL SPILL Echoes as the clean up begins

    The  federal government has announced its readiness to commence the much awaited clean up of Ogoni Communities degraded by many years of incessant oil spillages. Olugbenga Adanikin examines the mood of the people and leaders of the affected communities .

    THE oil spill in my community in Gokana local government has cost me my health, entire livelihood and forced a compulsory separation from my four years old Denis. It is so sad that I could not provide for his needs such as common clean water, because it is no longer common to us here in Ogini land’.

    This was the agonizing testimony of 32-year old Vincent Mbora, a popular farmer, who survived and fed his family with proceeds from his farm until Goi, his community, became degraded due to oil spillage from the controversial Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).

    Another indigene of the degraded community, a mother of four, whose late husband was a victim of the spill, similarly shared her predicament on how the situation forced her children into street begging in neighbouring communities in order for the family to survive the perilous times.

    As the federal government commences the clean up of the numerous communities that fell under the harrowing impact of degrading oil spillage, the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), is lamenting the health hazards which the oil spillage had caused the communities.

    A visit to various locations in Goi and Patrick Creek showed completely polluted river, having oil on its surface. Obviously, there are no surviving water creatures living underneath. The mangrove swampy area, that would have served multi-purpose needs is also totally destroyed by thick black crude oil. Visible erstwhile farmlands in the environment, with traces of yam, cassava and maize tendrils, are now soaked with oil.

    As a result, for over a decade, the people of Ogoniland endured harsh living conditions borne out of the need to survive. Even a first time visit to the community may need not be told of the hopeless level of the poverty afflicting the people courtesy of the many years of unabated oil spillage that left several communities in sorry states.

    Couples with the alarming governmental abandonment that is visible in the lack of basic social infrastructure such as power, potable water and good road network, the effect of oil degradation has in no doubt, left the Creek communities of Ogoniland in a state of socio-economic powerlessness.

    It was gathered that the only source of drinking water has since been contaminated with carcinogenic benzene, a chemical said to be 900 time higher than the acceptable World Health Organisation (WHO) standard. The lingering negative environmental impact on these communities attracted global outcry such that stakeholders and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), kept advocating for a quick remedy process to salvage the situation.

    Many years of struggle

    The journey to remediation commenced in 1996 when the Federal Government decided to take the bull by the horn. Chief Alex Akinyele, who was Chairman National Reconciliation facilitated a sub- committee known as the Ogoni Negotiation Committee to look into the several issues raised at the commission by Ogoni people.

    After the inauguration with prominent Ogoni indigenes as members, the committee attracted attention to the communities in many ways but such was never adequate as the land remained devastated and the people redundant. Not much was heard of the committee after the Akinyele committee winded up.

    After several efforts between 2005 to 2009, it became evident that the affected communities needed to be sanitised and the people, gainfully engaged, if an epidemic of unimaginable proportion was to be averted. To this end, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) was commissioned by the Federal Government to do comprehensive assessment of the spillage induced environmental destruction of Ogoni communities.

    UNEP’s report was presented to former President, Goodluck Jonathan in August 2011. Unfortunately, the administration could not implement the elaborate report, which appeared satisfactory to the Ogonis, because of its perceived inclusiveness. There were various agitations and protest for its quick implementation.

    A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), the Environmental Rights Actions (ERA)/Friends of the Earth held several

    protests, wrote petitions and press briefings to advocate for the implementation.

    However, some had attributed incompetence and lack of required know how to the delay in implementation. Eventually, on 16th July, 2012 the immediate past government set up the Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Project (HYPREP) to design the implementation frameworks.

    At this stage, it was decided that the Federal Ministry of Environment should spearhead the entire remedial process as against Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources initially assigned with the responsibility. But until 2014, nothing really serious was achieved.

    Now the clean up begins

    President Muhammadu Buhari had, on resumption of office, promised to restore their livelihoods and end the sufferings of the affected communities by cleaning the oil devastated communities. And, as against continuous procrastinations, the federal ministry of environment has now completed plans to commence real clean up exercise of the Ogoni oil spill.

    It is no more news that the clean-up exercise is long overdue considering the disastrous effect on livelihood of Ogoni inhabitants. After about five years since the submission of the UNEP report, the ministry finally disclosed plans to embark on the clean-up before end of the second quarter.

    But the seemly resilient people were already losing hope. After about five different consultative meetings with relevant stakeholders and numerous visits to the affected communities including polluted sites, the Environment Minister, Amina Mohammed, recently told the communities that the clean up would commence in “few weeks.”

    During the last stakeholders meeting held with representatives of the affected communities in PortHarcourt, the Minister sought the cooperation of the communities. It is expected that the clean-up which would take about 25 years to be completed, would eventually restore the livelihood of the people.

    But beyond that, Mohammed said it was important to also consider life after the clean up. Meanwhile, the affected community wanted a situation where they would be fully considered in the entire process of the UNEP report implementation. But the Minister was quick to inform the audience that the clean-up was not about money-sharing but a deliberate effort to bring respite to the people.

    She emphasised it was no political affair, thus need for all stakeholders especially from the state government to actively partake in the cleanup process especially in terms of security. Mohammed said, “Security is very important to the clean-up process of Ogoni Land and roles of the State government is so vital.

    They will participate actively when and how. We need to sensitise the people better also so they will know what we want to do. It is not about sharing money. It is about investing in the future of the people of Ogoni Land. In the next few weeks, we will begin to roll out the time line.”

    The demands

    The meeting which was attended by this reporter was a replica of a town hall gathering, where affected communities were offered the opportunities to give inputs before the final remediation commences. The Minister personally anchored the discussion that featured questions and answers.

    During the meeting, the participants sought for equal representations as well as full inclusion. President, National Union of Ogoni Students, Barizasi Dume, demanded for youth empowerment as a core post clean-up agenda. Women folks on their part sought for capacity building for women before, during and after the exercise.

    President, Federation of Ogoni Women Association (FOWA), Gladys Nwanam, emphasised that when women are empowered, it would have multiple effects on the entire family. Ogoni Women leader, Mrs. Veronica Goi reiterated the need for women development, stressing that women were always at the receiving end when issues of empowerment are discussed.

    So, she advised the Minister to first focus on the primary affected communities before extending to other communities in the Niger Delta region. “Let us train these women, not to go to Geneva. No. So when the UNEP report is being implemented, they will know the area they can fit in.

    Don’t train the youths alone because without the women, the youths cannot function effectively. So train both youths and women. So, by the time you want to commence cleanup, you can do it in a conducive environment.”

    Consultants who were also present at the stakeholders meeting were quick to pull the Minister’s attention to the fact that the indigenes best understand the terrain and should be given an opportunity to consult for the ministry.

    Lamentations

    The Commissioner for Environment, Prof. Roseline Konya described the UNEP report as unbiased thus accepted by majority of the Ogoni inhabitants. She said it ought to have been implemented since 2011 but the State had patiently waited for additional five years for the project to commence.

    Konya commended federal government decision to kick-start the clean-up, adding that “what is required is confidence building on all sides. This can be done by building the capacity of youths in Ogoniland and translating the UNEP report into actual cleaning, restoration, projects that will manifest in the physical to the benefit of all.

    “Let us stop playing politics with it. We cannot afford to play politics with issues bordering on our people drinking water

    contaminated with carcinogenic benzene that is 900 times above acceptable World Health Organisation (WHO) level.” she added.

    However, a popular Ogoni activist and President, Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), Mr. Legborsi Saro disclosed that, “the delay in the implementation of the UNEP report has had some negative consequences on the health of our people including an increased mortality rate resulting from organ failures.

    “We believe that these negative experiences could have been averted had the government given the desired attention to the report when it was released in August 2011.” But the Environment Minister, Amina Mohammed restated need for adequate security and peace for effective implementation of the UNEP report on the clean-up.

    She said the sensitisation became necessary to ensure interest of every affected community including women, children and youths are captured in the clean-up process. Earlier, ýProf. Ben Nani, a respected scholar in the community urged the Minister to setup a trust fund and inaugurate a board that would manage the trust.

    Nani emphasised important role of the board before the cleanup could commence.ý Fortunately, the Minister disclosed plan to consider inputs from the various stakeholders such as to setup a committee on training of women and youths, equal representation in terms of expertise, indigenous communication with the people and setting up of board members.

  • Grazing reserves: Lasting solution or more problems?

    That activities of Fulani cattlemen have become a potential time-bomb across the country is no longer news, Taiwo Alimi examines the cases for and against grazing reserves as solution.

    SOME people call them ‘merchants of death’ and ‘bloodthirsty cattlemen’, but sitting face to face with Ibrahima Bello(27) and Boubacar Jalloh a.k.a Dogo at the popular Kara Livestock Market along Lagos-Ibadan expressway, this reporter did not see or feel any immediate danger.
    They are both bony-slim and dark, though; Dogo is taller, reaching up to 6.6feet. He, apparently, got his nickname due to his stature, as Dogo is a Hausa name reserved for extremely tall persons.
    At a first glance, it is impossible to classify these otherwise gentle-looking Fulani herdsmen, locally called Mbororo’en, as everything but bloodthirsty.
    They both wear their hair low, and covered with wide hand-woven hats, to keep off the scorching sun. Dogo’s skin is shining dark and he has shaved off all traces of hair on his chin and mouth.
    Dogo (37), is the leader of a five-man team and though, he has been through four states and dozens of localities in the western region of Nigeria, he has not picked up any local dialect or the national language, English, which are dominantly spoken by indigenes.
    The Fulani herdsmen are clad in colourful but beaten trousers, which stop at the knee. Their tops, resemble a short version of traditional gown, popularly called ‘Dandogo’ and ‘Agbada’ by the Hausas and Yorubas respectively in Nigeria.
    Crouching in a sitting position, behind them, 47 cows and bulls graze in different positions. While some are on their fours, some stoop to feed on dry grasses while others move around, Dogo and Bello seemed at peace with themselves and their environment.
    A second and careful scrutiny, however revealed more. Their ‘staff of office’ lay half on their laps and ground. It is a long and smooth, strong pole with a rounded-shape head that is used to direct the cattle and pass instruction to them. It can also be a lethal weapon, when the need arises, as the head is capable of breaking the toughest object.
    Attached to the midriff of Dogo is a conspicuous leather belt that also serves to hold up his trousers. Actually, it is a pouch for a dagger.
    Bello also wears a shorter version of the belt on his left arm, housing a shorter and slimmer dagger.
    Dogo and Bello represent millions of nomadic Fulani Herdsmen that have become terror to farmers from the west of the country; Ondo to Edo states, the eastern to southern parts of the country; Enugu to Port Harcourt, the mid-belt; Benue to Nasarawa states and northern part; Kano to Adamawa.
    Eyewitnesses Account
    Of course, people of Nimbo in Uzor-Uwani Local Government of Enugu State will not forget Fulani herdsmen in a long while. Tuesday, 26th of April, would remain indelible in their minds, as Mbororo’en stole in, like death, at dawn. Famous for their agricultural and hunting expedition, the sleeping community was unprepared for the friends turned foes that invaded their sleep that early morning.
    Emeka (surname withheld) was lucky to be alive to tell his story. He survived the orgy of destruction by whiskers. ‘I heard the booming of guns first. Been a light sleeper, I only had one opportunity to look through the window before ducking through the back door and escape into the bush.’
    He returned five hours later to fully understand the carnage that had spread through the village. “I counted five corpses and many burnt houses.
    Another indigene, Ugochukwu (surname withheld) corroborated Emeka’s account, though, with a slight edge. “The Fulani herdsmen numbering around 50 took us unawares at around 3am, and the casualty would have been more if not for the bravery of our youths who, on sensing the impending danger, quickly rang the town bell, but unknown to them the Fulanis had laid ambush. The men on hearing the bell started coming out to the village square to know what was going on and that was when the herdsmen started shooting sporadically and we had to scamper for safety.”
    He said that went on until 6.30 am, when the men came out from their hiding places, assembled to arm themselves, and pursue the Fulanis who ran away through a neigbouring Kogi village.
    “When headcount was later taken, six villagers lay dead. There remains were deposited at the Bishop Shanahan Mortuary at Nsukka. Two houses, a car, and some motorcycles were also set ablaze,” Ugochukwu added on the conflicting casualty figures.
    Port Harcourt based Soibi Max-Alalibo also live to tell his encounter with Fulani herdsmen in the Garden City.
    “The other day, I almost had a faceoff with these herdsmen at Eagle Island road, behind the Rivers State University of Science and Technology. They were off-loading cows from a trailer on a major road unmindful of the nuisance they constitute. Just one word on why they should be courteous, and they almost pounced on me. They threatened to ‘butcher’ me like a cow”
    As he was alone, Alalibo smartly swallowed his pride and today can share this tale. “It would have cost me my life if I had argued with them, as they had brought out daggers and stick to attack me”
    The Agatu people of Benue state, also known for their dexterity in farming, staged a protest at the Federal Capital City Abuja few weeks ago to let the whole world know about the fatal sting of Fulani herdsmen in their community.
    Reports from the area have it that hundreds of persons have lost their lives following series of attacks by Fulani herdsmen. Villages including Okokolo, Akwu, Ocholonya, Adagbo, Ugboku and Aila were reportedly razed and many killed.
    According to Adoka Adaji, secretary of Opiatoha K’Idoma, a socio-cultural organisation of Idoma sons and daughters, “Over 300 Agatu people have been killed and maimed in one week of attack in the hands of Fulani herdsmen. There is no concerted effort by the state government to abate the attack, killings, and destruction. On the other hand, there are no identifiable camps to cater for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), which include mostly women and children; we call on the Federal Government to establish a full military base in Agatu, otherwise the area will soon become history.”
    The reality is that the menace of Fulani herdsmen is real. In-fact it has become a routine exercise in many farming settlements in the northern parts of Nigeria, so says former Senate President David Mark, who hails from Benue State.
    “What we see happening in Agatu today can be likened to happenings in the North-East and we call for urgent action by the Federal Government to put a stop to the senseless carnage ravaging Agatu. I also urge Benue and Nasarawa state governments to close rank and take steps to check the carnage.”
    Nasarawa, Taraba, Plateau, Katsina, Kano
    For ages, farmers in Taraba, Nasarawa have had to sleep with one eye owing to the incessant clashes between them and Mbororo’en.
    Last September, ten people were reported killed, while three others were missing in a clash between Fulani herdsmen and Tiv farmers at Serking Gudu village in Ibbi local government of Taraba State.
    The conflict was fuelled by the mysterious death of a Fulani man that was found in the bush between Serking Gudu and Dooshima villages of Ibbi LG.
    According to the chairman Ibbi local government Mkavga Orhembaga, it soon escalated to full blown war between the host community, Tiv and the renters, who had settled in Tiv land since the turn of the century.
    “In the afternoon when people were in their farms, the Fulanis went after the Tiv people in their farms, killing eight of them. Another person suspected to be a teacher who came from Plateau to teach in one of the primary schools within the village was also killed by the Fulani,” Mkavga said.
    Taraba indigene, Aliyu Usman was born and bred in Barkin Ladi, Plateau State. He relocated to Lagos in 2010, when tribal wars and clashes between his people and Fulani herders became a daily occurrence.
    Usman, who now acts as intermediary between Fulani cow owners and buyers at the Ogun State Cow Market, said Fulani herdsmen and farmers had been involved in bloodbath clashes for many years over grazing lands in Plateau, Taraba, Benue, and Nasarawa, since he was a kid.
    “These clashes have caused untold destruction of farmlands, loss of property worth millions of naira and sadly led to death of many Nigerians, even innocent people,” recalled the 36 year old who ran away from home when unknown gunmen killed his father in his farm six years ago.
    Usman gave further insight into these clashes. “As a kid I know that in most villages of the six council areas of Plateau North senatorial district including Barkin Ladi, Riyom, Jos North, Jos East, Bassa, and Jos South, Fulanis are like our neighbours and when they originally came they were peaceful. It was when they started laying claim to some grazing areas, and insisting on setting boundaries that our elders began to kick against it. That led to face off between them and the Beroms (locals of Barkin Ladi) accusing the herders of bringing their cattle to graze on their inherited farmland, thereby destroying the crops, the herders on their part have accused the Beroms of stealing and selling off their cattle.”
    Accusation and counter accusation, Usman lamented usually lead to disagreement, distrust, wanton destruction, and killings.
    From Benue to Taraba, Nasarawa to Plateau, Katsina to Kano and of recent Oyo to ondo, Edo to Rivers, and Enugu to Abia state, the crises have near-similar birth and undercurrent.
    An average Fulani Herder
    The reporter’s obligation to hear all sides of a story led this reporter to Kara Livestock Market, where Jalloh, Bello, and Usman operate. How the Mbororo’ens kept their cool in the midst of public hullabaloo and media backlash, all against them and their folks, was a mystery until Usman, my guide and interpreter explained to me. “Fulani herdsmen don’t understand any other language other than their own; Fulfulde and Arabic. Some of them understand a little Hausa. They do not speak English or the local dialects. They hardly listen to radio, the voice they are familiar with is that of their cattle, and they hardly relate with people outside their lineage.”
    Usman has been doing business with for three years and that made them to loosen up and react to indirect questions from the Nation’s reporter.
    Cattle as epicenter of Fulani being
    Fulani people places premium attention on seniority, rank and class, hence Jalloh did most of the talking while the younger assistant, Bello exhibited a dumb emotion. It was as if he was not there.
    “We are a proud people, started Jalloh without funfair. He kept his face low as if he was not accustomed to meeting strangers. “We are Muslims and proud of our heritage as a keeper and tender of cattle. That is our heritage and we are proud of it.”
    That Fulanis share special ties with cattle, which cannot be taken too lightly. “It is the center of our being,” explained Jalloh. “My grandfather told me that the first Fulani man emerged from a river with a cow. The cow was his only companion until he founded the first Fulani settlement and started rearing a family.”
    He stressed that the number of their cattle determines wealthy people and women gravitate towards suitors with many heads of cows and bulls. “During wedding ceremony, bride price is only acceptable in cattle and our young men prefer to marry into families with hoard of cattle.”
    Even, young brides are not exempted from this cattle mania. “A bride is expected to bring cattle with her to the marriage for her to gain respect of the community and love of her husband.”
    Jalloh added that the best legacies a Fulani father can leave to his son are cows and bulls. “I started keeping livestock at age 5, and I’m training my sons to take over from me. Fulani don’t joke with their cattle”
    So, is the life of a cow more important than that of a man?
    Jalloh cast a quick glance at me before answering. “We are law abiding people. We like to live in peace, but people look down on us. They think we do not know what we are doing. They want to trample on us.” Jalloh was done with talking. After these words, he did not utter another word neither did he react to further questions.
    Usman informed that an average Fulani herdsman behaves very much like Jalloh and Bello. “He is reserved to a point of taciturn.” He portrays the ideal Fulani as one who has stoic sobriety, reserve, and strong emotional ties to cattle.
    His carriage conveys a proud reserve, almost a disdain toward non-Fulani. It is said that no one knows what a Fulani is thinking. The true Fulani is physically as well as psychologically distant from other people, especially non-Fulani. Moreover, he is discouraged from displaying strong emotions. His demeanor is taciturn, loathing the boisterousness of others. Wealth is not to be vulgarly displayed but carefully and quietly tended.
    The harsh reality is that nomadic Fulanis are tough nuts to crack. They are raised to know no fear and, to fend for themselves from a tender age. They also learn to live under harsh weather conditions while tending to their wares. While undergoing training, young nomads are told folklores of brave herdsmen and their conquests under very ruthless conditions, against wild animals and wicked rulers.
    Adolescent nomads take part in games that will harden them. The most prominent is one in which young nomads take turns beating each other across the chest with their walking sticks. No sign of pain or discomfort must be shown. Although adolescents have died in this ceremony, young men are eager to participate and display their scars with pride throughout their lives.
    Cattle Rustlers
    For Alhaji Lukmon Mafindi, chairman of Miyetti Allah in Taraba, rustlers are the biggest treat to herdsmen and it accounts for their migration to safer pasturing grounds. “You can’t take away somebody’s livelihood completely and you expect the person to keep quiet and calm. We have been losing cattle to rustlers across five local government areas of Wukari, Bali, Takum, Donga and Gassol of in the Northern part of the country. We made several complaints to security agencies and the government but nothing has been done, so, we had no choice but to cattle to safe places.”
    He noted that that partly accounts for their uncompromising and stiff nature.
    The Encyclopedia Africa described Nomadic Fulani as proud Muslim people who love to dominate others.
    Needless to add, Fulani herdsmen will attempt to dominate it environ if given the opportunity. They like to see themselves as the wisest and the best without equal.
    Grazing reserves to the rescue
    Before he zipped up, Jalloh had made it clear that grazing reserves would give them more comfort than to move their livestock all year round. “We used to have grazing reserves when I was growing up. It is people that don’t like us and government that took them from us”
    Luckily, as a permanent solution, the Nigeria government has come up with the idea of building ranches for herdsmen across the country. It plans to grass over 50,000 hectares of land across the northern belt in the next six months.
    To buttress Jalloh’s claim, Muhammad Rimindako, President of Billital Maroobe Pastoralists Association (BILMPAN) claimed that grazing reserves are not new to Fulani people. “One of the most prominent cattle ranch in Taraba state is Gwakwe Cattle Ranch, it is located in Donga local government area of Taraba state. Those places can be revived easily by the federal government”
    Rimindako explained that the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) under current Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari, facilitated the creation of two grazing reserves called Panyabo in Falgore and Mekiya in Gabasawa local government, both in Kano State. Almost all the grazing reserves are no more. They have become farmlands. As a result, unemployment bites hard on our youth. For instance, Rahama Roundabout to Tudun Wada (on the way from Kano to Tudun Wada local government area of the state) used to have grazing lands on all sides. Today, that has changed,” he lamented.
    According to a study titled ‘Fulani Herding System’ by Prof. Ismail Iro, “more than half of the Fulani in the study area do not plan to relocate. Ninety-eight percent of the respondents say they will remain in their current places if their livestock needs can be met.”
    Haruna Boro Hussaini, a cattle owner in Plateau State said local politics and ethnic pressure often force Fulani herdsmen to migrate.
    “There is a conspiracy to chase us out of Plateau, from Makera to Farin Lamba, where we used to live; now you will not find a Fulani man there. From Kasa to Foron, it is the same thing but we cannot leave Plateau State because our grandparents, parents and our children were born here. So, I think it is better to learn to live together instead of conspiring to chase us out because we are not going anywhere.”
    He added that grazing reserves would be a welcome idea for all Fulani people. “There should be ranches where cattle could graze without hindrance. The idea of Fulani herders moving their flock across farmlands, destroying crops will pitch them head to head with farmers is not what we want, so if areas of grazing are created it would put an end to a lot of crisis. This will also reduce accusations of cattle rustling thereby allowing peace to reign in the communities and the country at large.”
    Stakeholders in west of Nigeria, Oyo state, however, received the idea of grazing reserves with mixed feelings. While farmers are skeptical about the idea on the strength that vacant or free land is hard to come by due to expanding farming by locals as well as rising cost of land across the state that could spur owners to hold on to their property, herdsmen welcome the idea wholeheartedly.
    Head of Fulani herdsmen in the state, Miyetti Allah, said building of ranches will end the perennial conflicts between herdsmen and farmers.
    “We like the idea. If other parties agree to have it, we also support it because it will bring a permanent solution to the clashes between farmers and us. The crises are even too much for us now. If the idea succeeds, we shall be more than happy.”
    But, a traditional ruler, the Onikoyi of Ikoyi-Ile, Oba Ajayi Abdulyekin, doubted the practicality of the idea. He said the idea is unlikely to work because farmers are not willing to release their land for such purpose.
    He said: “I have told farmers about it but they rejected the idea. They said they were not ready to surrender their land to build ranches for Fulani herdsmen. So, I think we are yet to come up with a solution.”
    Similarly, the Chairman of Farmers Association in Oyo State, Ayoola Ajibesin, expressed doubts about getting land to use for ranches. “Government is asking citizens to go back to farming; and people are doing so. There is no vacant land that again. Only local governments can give land for such purpose but I doubt if they will be willing to do so.”
    But the Oyo State Government is upbeat about the idea.
    Explaining how the idea will work, the Permanent Secretary, Oyo State Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development, Adewale Atilola, said it is a simple idea but which requires following the process painstakingly to ensure it is a win-win situation for herdsmen, farmers, land owners and each community.
    “We are ready to support it so long it will curb incessant clashes between herdsmen and farmers. It is a better idea that will lessen our burden. However, we need to educate our people on the importance of ranches. Otherwise, they will react violently. Funding should be on 50, 30, 20 per cent ratio among federal, state and local governments respectively. The state government has some large expanse of land set aside for grazing reserve over 20 years ago; stressing that government could consider converting part of that land to ranches.”
    “There is one in Igangan in Ibarapa North Local Government which is 5,400 hectares wide. There is another one in Iwajowa Local Government totaling 8,040 hectares,” he added.
    Re-orientation
    Anthropologist and social commentator, Bayo Ogunbiyi is of the opinion that this is where national re-orientation and education should come in. “Most of the crisis we have in this country is fueled by social distrust, ethnic jingoism and lack of national unity. “ My point is that we do not think as Nigerians. We think first as an Igbo, a Yoruba, and Fulani. We distrust ourselves and that is the reason why after living together for ages, we still do not feel anything for ourselves. I do not see any reason why a Fulani man cannot owe lands in Yoruba land and vice versa for a Yoruba in the North. I think the government must work on that.”
    He added that education is also key, in order to teach host and renters that mutual understanding and social integration will keep us together than isolation and mistrust. “That is why whenever we are in a crisis; people sided with their kinsmen without first understanding the issue. We must change that mentality for us to remain as one Nigeria,” Ogunbiyi added.
    •Additional report from Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

  • How Nigeria, Africa are bleeding cash

    How Nigeria, Africa are bleeding cash

    Illicit financial flows (IFFs) have been blamed for poverty and under-development in Africa. In the last four years, the Africa’s High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) chaired by former South African President Thabo Mbeki, has been in the forefront of sensitisation and finding solutions to illicit-related crimes on the continent following a report on the disappearance of about $854 billion from Africa between 1970 and 2008.  Assistant Editor Bola Olajuwon, who has been covering the activities of the panel during the period, reports.

    TODAY in Nigeria, the sleaze daily being discovered by the anti-corruption agencies and the Office of Auditor-General of the Federation are frightening. But the citizens are no longer surprised. They expect more news of such pillage from the past administrations, especially by officials of former President Goodluck Jonathan administration. But the revelations coming from the so-called Panama Papers from the files belonging to Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca, by International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) have added a new dimension to how corrupt public officers will go to hide their ill-gotten money in safe havens.

    However, before the revelation of corruption under the last administration by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), a continental body, African Union (AU)/United Nations Economic Commission for Africa’s (UNECA) High-Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs), chaired by former South African President Thabo Mbeki, had few years ago, as part of its sensitisation and advocacy campaigns, visited Nigeria and other top African countries affected by corruption and other modes of illicit financial flows. When the elder-statesman visited Jonathan, he presented damning reports on how IFFs might lead Nigeria into financial calamity. But the administration was not swayed. It later increased the tempo of pillage until the twilight of its tenure.

    Concerned about the increasing dimension of IFFs, the Mbeki panel late last year, again gathered stakeholders in Nairobi, Kenya and Accra, Ghana on another round of sensitisations on how to implement recommendations from the reports submitted to a summit of African Union (AU) Heads of States and Governments. The workshop was organised by ECA, African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) and others to consider ways of implementing the findings of the panel and seek global cooperation.

    The former South African President and his colleagues on the panel lamented that IFFs were becoming huge and increasing in dimensions from the initial $854 billion that disappeared from the continent between 1970 and 2008.  “That is why we are asking political leaders in East Africa, West and Central Africa, North Africa and South Africa regions to be responsible for their nations.” Mbeki called on governments to establish strong regulations in tax collection and customs.

    New Sherriff in town

    At the meetings, President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-graft stance and plans to recover stolen funds earned the panel’s backing. However, former South African president, who noted that he had not followed what Buhari’s administration was doing, said the body would support the Federal Government’s plans to recover stolen assets, adding that the  plan would encourage other African governments, if it succeeds.

    His words: “Certainly, if President Buhari or Nigerian government is attending to that, we would applaud that. We would say it is a very correct step to take to ensure that indeed these outflows, which left the country and the continent illegally, must return.”

    Shocks as reality dawns

    It was surprising that few weeks after the meetings ended, there were reactions to revelations on pillage by actors under the former administration took over the greatest percentage of the nation’s mass media. A former judge of International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague Prince Bola Ajibola, who seldom comment on national issues, was forced to speak on the alleged theft of N1.34 trillion by 55 privileged Nigerians.

    Ajibola said some of the people entrusted with public offices were emboldened to embark upon “stinking and primitive” theft of such funds because the nation’s sanction mechanism had become a huge “ruse”. His words: “What has become of our country? Is it descending into nothingness or abyss, that about 55 people would steal N1.34 trillion within seven years? This is a serious situation in need of saviour and once we are not saved from it, we shall all be doomed. The people are doing it with impunity and recklessness, knowing well that everything that has to do with sanction is just a ruse.”

    A former Chief Justice of Nigeria,  and Nigeria’s ex-Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, were also among several other Nigerians and civil rights organisations, who declared support for the President’s anti-corruption war after the multiple revelations of the sleaze deals. The two elder statesmen, acting under the auspices of the Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development, in a statement in Abuja, urged Buhari to  tackle  corruption.

    Also, a former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Prof. Charles Soludo, accused the former President of running the apex bank the way former Ugandan President, Idi Amin, ran his country. He said it was regrettable that in spite of the CBN’s statutory independence, it ended up being a victim of high-wire politics under the administration.

    He said: “Imagine a scenario where a president can order the CBN to create an intervention fund for national stability and CBN literally ‘prints’ say, N3 trillion, and doles it out cash to the Presidency to prosecute an election campaign or for just about anything he fancies. It is a scary thought. We are going down a dangerous path that ruins the economy. I don’t know any other country where such is tolerated, except perhaps what I watched in a movie about Idi Amin and his governor of central bank. Recent revelations regarding the ‘arms-gate’ and the apparent abuse of the CBN as ATM by the presidency should get reasonable people thinking.”

    The United States (U.S.) Secretary of State, John Kerry, among other global leaders, also gave Buhari’s anti-corruption campaign a pass mark.

    At the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland, Kerry referred to Buhari’s fight against corruption in Nigeria and how individuals kept money meant for arms deal.

    The U.S. Secretary of State said: “It has been reported that over 50 people, including government officials stole over $9 billion in Nigeria”.

    International dimensions

    To add to the discovery of corrupt practices, reports from the leaks from the files belonging to Panamanian law firm indicted, among other global leaders, Senate President Bukola Saraki and other Nigerians for running secret offshore firms. Others allegedly implicated are ex-Senate President David Mark, Saraki’s wife, former Delta State Governor James Ibori, Laolu Saraki, Obi Asika and Olufela Ibidapo. The report further confirmed Nigeria’s not dignifying top position in the web of the continent’s IFFs since most African leaders linked so far with the Panama files are Nigerian leaders and officials.

    There were strong indications during the week that the EFCC has started probing the allegations against indicted Nigerians. A top source, who spoke in confidence with The Nation, said the EFCC has already obtained a copy of the Panama papers and it was studying the files. The source said: “We are studying all the documents and definitely, we will investigate the allegations against all the Nigerians implicated in the Panama papers.

    Speaking on the leak Mbeki said: “Over the past few days, there has been a furore in the global community regarding reports on ‘the Panama Papers’, an enormous leak of more than 11 million documents, which are said to date back up to four decades and are allegedly connected to a Panama law firm. According to ICIJ, this firm has, in all that time and possibly longer, helped establish secret shell companies and offshore accounts for the rich and the powerful globally. On an even graver note, data from these documents show that that the firm worked with more than 14,000 banks, law firms, company incorporators and other middlemen to set up companies, foundations and trusts for customers. In a time such as this when the issue of curbing IFFs, brought on by practices such as tax evasion and the use of Tax Havens, is one of Africa’s priorities, the release of these Panama Papers is most welcome.

    “The Panama Papers elaborately bring to light issues that the AU/ECA High Level Panel (HLP) on IFFs from Africa vigorously underscored in the findings in its report released and endorsed by African Heads of State and Government in January 2015. Not least significant in these findings were matters relating to tax havens and/or financial secrecy jurisdictions and the lack of transparency with regard to the beneficial ownership of firms.”

    The information released in the Panama Papers, Mbeki noted, “thus far strongly confirms the findings in the HLP report”.

    Why the Mbeki’s panel?

    The Mbeki panel, which includes nine other members, was established by Joint AU and ECA Conference of Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and inaugurated in February 2012 in Johannesburg, South Africa with the aim of determining the nature and patterns of illicit financial outflows; establishing the level of such outflows from the continent; assessing the complex and long-term implications of IFF, consulting and sensitising African governments and other stakeholders, including development partners, on the scale of the issue and finally, proposing policies and mobilising support for practices that would reverse these outflows.

    The Mbeki panel was inaugurated based on a report from Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington D.C. based research and advocacy organisation, that Africa lost about $854 billion in illicit financial outflows from 1970 through 2008.

    Aside the GFI report claiming that data for a 39-year range from 1970 to 2008 shows that an approximately $854 billion was pilfered away, at also claimed that total illicit outflows might be as high as $1.8 trillion. Of this, sub-Saharan African countries experienced the bulk of IFFs with the West and Central African region posting the largest outflow number. Nigeria tops four other countries with $89.5 billion as the highest outflow measured. It is followed by Egypt ($70.5 billion), Algeria ($25.7 billion), Morocco ($25 billion), and South Africa ($24.9 billion). The GFI report also asserted that such outflows from the entire region outpaced official development assistance going into the region at a ratio of at least 2 to 1; and growing at an average rate of 11.9 per cent per year.

    GFI director, Raymond Baker, emphasised the import of the statistics, saying: “The amount of money that has been drained out of Africa – hundreds of billions decade after decade – is far in excess of the official development assistance going into African countries… Staunching this devastating outflow of much-needed capital is essential to achieving economic development and poverty alleviation goals in these countries.”

    However, at the conclusion of its continental-wide consultation with stakeholders, which ended with participants from West and Central African countries in Ghana, Mbeki himself joined others in seeking concerted and broad-based actions through continental-wide political will, participation of every citizen, global partnership and cooperation among others in fighting the menace of IFF.

    However, the support received by the panel could be linked to its being established by African organs themselves – the AU and ECA.

    Since the 1990s, perception-based measures have been influential in determining levels of corruption on the continent. The fourth ECA African Governance Review report argues that such measures misrepresent realities in Africa and are misguiding policymakers and investors.

    A lone voice from Nigeria on IFFs

    Nigerian Ambassador and Permanent Representative to AU and UNECA, Paul Lolo, was the only Nigerian government official and diplomat to speak on IFFs when the news broke that Nigeria topped a report on IFFs. In an interview, he said though he was yet to study such report, he warned that people should be careful about quoting data owing to the method of gathering them. He said people should not forget that Nigeria might feature prominently in a data of IFFs’ nature because of the population when compare with the population and size of other countries on the continent. Lolo added that the Federal Government was tackling some issues that might have been raised in the IFF report through its transparency and accountability programmes.

    But to Nigerians who are taking money out to other countries, he told them: “Such people must remember that today, they may have visas to go and enjoy in their mansions in foreign countries, tomorrow this may change, because the home countries where such mansions are built may deny them visas to those properties. Such property may be confiscated and they may be prosecuted.”

    The envoy noted the experience of African dictators like the late President Mobutu of Zaire, who owned four mansions in Switzerland but was denied visa to visit and stay in them at the twilight of his life time.

    Nigeria and IFFs

    The Mbeki panel found that in some African countries, the institutional architecture for responding to IFFs was at best uneven or, as in several key instances, non-existent. It cited lack of transparency, secrecy and the difficulty of obtaining information and systematic data remain key challenges across the board. “Even where the institutional set-up is elaborate and extensive, as is the case with Nigeria, we remain concerned about the effectiveness of the relevant institutions, including the lack of cooperation and coherent operations among the various agencies. We also learned of concerns about retaining skilled people in public service in Africa due to the large gap in remuneration between the public and private sectors. We heard reports that large corporations had attempted to recruit skilled accountants and lawyers who had worked for government on cases related to IFFs,” the panel said.

    The panel mentioned some of the related institutions in Nigeria as including: Nigerian Ministry of Finance, Central Bank of Nigeria, EFCC, Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Commission (EFCC), Federal Inland Revenue Service, Nigeria Custom Service, Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative, Nigeria’s Code of Conduct Bureau, Special Control Unit against Money Laundering, Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit and Nigeria Police. The panel said in Nigeria, capacity exists within the Customs to monitor oil exports, but the authority to monitor them and other exports was transferred by the Federal Government to other agencies.

    The report indicated that despite the various institutions and their efforts aimed at curbing IFFs and related problems, the magnitude of the challenges experienced by these institutions overwhelm their implementation capacities.

    The Mbeki panel’s report claimed that its studies showed that Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which have huge oil/gas and mineral sectors, were quite vulnerable to the IFFs in their mono-economies, especially in extractive industries.

    However, the panel noted that the inability of Nigeria and others to establish the precise quantities of their natural resources that are exported serves to aggravate poor record-keeping and data collection -well-known bane of development planning on the continent.

    However, the link of Nigerian extractive industry to IFFs by Mbeki and the consequences of effect on IFFs had been supported by a claim by Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole that a minister under Jonathan allegedly stole over $6 billion.

    The panel’s fear over the implication of unaccountable management of revenue has been further strengthened by Nigeria’s woes in the area of dwindling revenue from crude oil sales, the discovery of Shale oil, fall of oil price in the global market and abandonment of the country’s oil by the U.S. and South Africa.

    Also recent data by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that a decline was recorded in revenue accruable to the Federal Government from the petroleum sector, as the country’s earnings from crude oil export dropped to N5.271 trillion for the nine month period, January to September 2015.

    The arguments against IFFs

    Nigeria’s Information and Culture Minister Lai Mohammed gave a semblance of how corruption was responsible for the endemic poverty in the country. He noted that whereas Nigeria’s national budget has increased from just over N900 billion in 1999 to over N6 trillion in 2016, poverty has also increased almost by the same proportion

    ‘’The reason is not far-fetched: Appropriated funds have mostly ended up in the pockets of a few looters. When the money meant to construct roads are looted, the end result is that the roads are not built and the people suffer and even die in avoidable road accidents. When the money meant to provide electricity is looted, we all are perpetually sentenced to darkness. When the money meant for healthcare is pocketed by a few, we are unable to reduce maternal and infant mortality. These are the costs of corruption,” the minister said.

    Also, the Commissioner for Economic Affairs, AU Commission Dr. Anthony Mothae Maruping, told The Nation in Accra, that Africa has streamlined its endeavours in the Agenda 2063 and they must be fulfilled through domestic resources mobilisation.

    On why African countries must take this line of action, he said: “Official Development Assistance (ODA) has history of being selective, laden with conditions, broken promises and often unfulfilled commitments. Similarly, foreign direct investment (FDI) has habitually side-stepped Africa, except when it comes to extractive industry. Heavy reliance, therefore, will be on domestic resources mobilisation (DRM), which is a broad subject in itself. Viability of DRM depends, among other things, on combating IFF, which erodes tax bases, drains the financial sector of liquidity and thus frustrates financial deepening, cause external account imbalances, and leads to heavy indebtedness etc.”

    Also commenting on the IFFs scourge, Acting Director, International Cooperation Department of Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Alex Ekeanyanwu, submitted that it was very unfortunate that Nigeria is afflicted by this cankerworm. According to him, “a major consequence of the above scenario is that funds that should have be used to create wealth, develop infrastructure, provide social amenities, develop human capital and create employment are lost.”

    Solutions

    The Executive Secretary of an AU organ, African Capacity-Building Foundation (ACBF), Prof. Emmanuel Nnadozie, one of the key organisers of the Kenya and Ghana workshops on IFFs, said the AU’s agency would contribute to the validation of the programme document under preparation to tackle IFFs.

    “ACBF wishes to play a critical role in coordinating and building capacity of countries in their efforts to stem IFFs.

    “It will also support joint activities with partners such as sub regional workshops, implement capacity needs assessment initiatives to curb IFFs, design appropriate capacity development intervention, and contribute to the efforts for resources mobilisation,” he said.

    Prof. Fabian Ajogwu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and head, Kenna Partners law firm, said one of the things that must be done is “working towards harmonising our laws, to be able to block these loopholes, to be able to block the issues of theft, to be able to deal with the issues of corruption and also to be able to tackle the issues of under-declaration and non-declaration of resource trading”.

    The lawyer, who has authored several commercial law books and handled high profile national and international cases with emphasis on aviation, defence, energy and financial services sectors, however, warned: “First of all, states need to articulate the steps that must be taken in imposing documents. It is not for short-stock angle debate. It is a big problem. Approaches should be articulated on how to deal with the problem. It is not ‘one cap fits it all’; different states have different problems on how their funds are moved out illicitly. Once we find that out, the HLP needs to be localised now that the report has been received. In terms of the largest illicit fund areas, it is non-declaration or under declaration of resource trading. You may call it crude theft, mineral theft and inter-companies arrangement that deprive the state of what is due. Now, having said that, the question may then be, how do you deal with the issue of corruption?

    To the Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay, the implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, would ensure speedy trial and effectively eliminate existing challenges to criminal justice in the country.

    Sagay assured that the era, where looters of public funds manipulate the criminal justice system through delay, was over with the introduction of the ACJA 2015.

    He said a thorough understanding of the provisions of the Act and its effectively application by trial judges would allow the criminal justice system function to the benefit of all.

    The necessity for final onslaught on IFFs

    The EFCC’s Director of Operations, Mr. Olaolu Adegbite, in an interview with The Nation said fighting IFFs was topical in the operations of the agency and the Federal Government’s anti-corruption agenda. He said the issue of IFFs was not new to the EFCC since the commission is saddled with the obligations of enforcing laws relating to economic and financial crimes. He emphasised that the agency was committed to tackling illicit financial crimes since they were at the root of Nigeria’s and African nations’ financial resources flows to other continents, poverty and under-development.

    Also, Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, at the sideline of the conference of African Ministers of Finance and Economic Planning in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, said with the decline in oil revenue, the government had “begun strengthening our tax revenue collection agencies and processes”. She said: ‘’We are also expanding our tax base by trying to bring as many people and organisations that are in the informal sector not paying tax into the tax net.”

    To the Executive Secretary, West Africa Tax Administration Forum (WATAF) Babatunde Oladapo: “The inability to implement the recommendations of the HLP on IFFs in timeous manner has cost African countries a lot.  One can imagine a situation in Africa where massive flow of illicit money out of the continent is facilitated by a global shadow financial system comprising tax havens, secrecy jurisdictions, disguised corporations, anonymous trust accounts, fake foundations and money laundering techniques.

     “On the long haul, stemming the flow of IFFs will be beneficial to the Nigerian economy as it will stimulate accountability, transparency and healthy competition among local and foreign owned conglomerates with the attendant benefit of increased tax revenue available to government for development purposes.”

    However, with the unfolding discovery about Panama Papers, the Federal Government must  again go to the drawing board on the fight against corruption and IFFs from criminal and commercial perspectives. The discovery has further strengthened the claims in the Mbeki report about Nigeria’s topmost position in the hierarchy of the continent’s IFFs’ scourge.

    Luckily, the former head of secretariat of Mbeki panel, Dr. Adeyemi Dipeolu, who was also director of Capacity Building of ECA, is chief economic adviser to the President. He should be able to see through the implementation of the panel’s reports and recommendations.

  • JAMB: Furore over computer based test

    JAMB: Furore over computer based test

    Taiwo Alimi, captures the changing faces of JAMB at 38, and issues around UTME’s Computer Based Test.

    TOYIN, 17, left her abode at Alagbole, a bubbling suburb of Ogun State, at exactly 5:30 am in order to get to the quiescent settlement of Magboro, Ogun State before 7 am. High in spirit and with extra bounce to her feet, she was to sit for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), her first attempt, on the fateful Saturday morning of February 27, 2016.

    When she returned home at 9:15 pm, she looked depressed and dejected as she dragged her feet wearily in frustration, for she was unable to do the Computer-Based Test (CBT), though to no fault of hers.

    She recounted her ordeal: “I had eagerly looked forward to my first UTME. It is the only thing standing between the university and me,” started the young school leaver who got straight As in the 2015 West Africa Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations (WASSSCE) “I had spent countless nights reading and getting ready for the exams. My parents also paid a private English tutor to brush me up. I was ready.”

    Toyin got to the CBT centre  along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway early enough and joined hundreds of other candidates for the 2016 CBT, as put together by the organising body, the Joint Admissions Matriculation Board (JAMB). What luck! She thought, to be among the first set of students to jump-start the exercise at her centre. But what she got was a baptism of fire.

    “I began to feel uneasy and hungry when the organisers had not called us in by 11 am. That hunger turned to apprehension and anger when they came out at 1 pm, to inform us that they were having problem with the server.” By this time, the crowd of students and parents had tripled with the addition of the 12 noon and 3 pm examinees.

    Left at the mercy of innate desire, scotching sun and awful general condition, the multitude of young, bold and restless candidates, mostly teenagers, could no longer control their emotions. At first, they reacted in hush grumble. But their mumuring soon grew harsh and then, they started throwing objects into the building and at the organisers.

    “JAMB officers were the first to disappear from the scene before security men forcefully dispatched us. I left for home when it became dark and apparent that no one could sit for the exams,” Toyin recalled. A week later, Toyin returned to the place to do the CBT alongside over 700 others. But that first impression of JAMB, she said, ‘left a sour taste in my mouth, and brain.”

    JAMB has always been an institution of contrasts. It has always looked for new ways to invigorate its prime product, the UTME, which is responsible, since 1978, for placing teeming teenagers and adults into Nigeria’s universities, polytechnics, and other institutions of higher learning annually. Sadly, it is yet to deliver its winning recipe, even with its latest CBT formula.

    According to JAMB statistics, 1.5 million candidates registered for the 2016 UTME, and each coughed out an average N5000. Suffice to add that UTME is written every year, meaning JAMB has a steady flow of income as well as the opportunity to play god while defining the destiny of Nigerian youths.

    JAMB first introduced the CBT method of writing UTME in 2013, and conducted the examination in 2013 and 2014 using three modes-dual-based tests, Paper Pencil Test (PPT) and CBT with candidates having to choose between the devil (written test) and the deep blue sea (CBT). In 2015, the board went full scale CBT, which continued this year. It changed for a singular devil’s alternative of CBT, at least for most states of the federation that are IT compliant.

    From February 27 to March 19, tens of thousands of students, who thought they would simply walk into JAMB’s CBT centres, punch in their answers and within hours receive their results via mobile phones, got the rude shock of their lives. This simple assumption became a complex task as experienced by Toyin and many other candidates.

    Real issues

    They talked about harrowing experiences at many centres. The problems vary from power failure, poor internet connectivity, late start, inadequate computer sets, among others. In some centres, it was a combination of two or three of these problems, leading to emotional and physical stress on students and their parents.

    CBT managers, who are mostly cybercafe owners contracted to manage the facilities (Internet- ready computers) for the examination, also had their own tales of woes to tell. At a centre visited by this reporter in the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway area of Ogun State, chaos personified the mode and scene.

    Over 500 candidates and about a 100 parents crowded the major road and adjoining streets leading to the lone CBT center in the neighbourhood. The Nation’s investigation revealed that the centre accommodates 750 students daily, and they are distributed evenly in three batches.

    The CBT centre is located in a large school hall tucked inside one of the adjacent streets and a no-go area for students who have to wait out on the nearby streets, shops and residential houses that played host to the unwanted visitors as long as the exams lasted. One of candidates, Dotun, said he came with her mother and both have been waiting for her turn for four hours.

    “I’m supposed to write my papers at 9 a.m, so I got here at 7 a.m with my mum.,” She cast a quick glance at her wristwatch before corroborating her son, “It is already 12 noon and we are still waiting.”

    Dotun complained about the emotional and physical stress that the long wait has caused him. He noted that it might affect him when he eventually gets in to do the exams. “We were not allowed to enter the hall, and no provision was made for chairs to make us comfortable. We have to patch on wherever we find. Right now I’m tired and frustrated and that condition applies to many of my friends and candidates you see here.”

    About an hour after our discussion, invigilators came out to call in the next batch of examinees. Dotun was among them and he followed about 200 others towards the hall. He was back four hours later, feeling more frustrated. He related what happened inside.

    “When we got in, the generator had packed up and they (organisers) were trying to fix it. Of course, there was no public power and so we had to wait for them to finish the repair. That went on for about an hour and after we started the papers, my computer tripped off twice and I had to start all over again. It was a harrowing experience and the truth is that I don’t know what to expect.”

    Lekan, 19, who came from Ojodu Berger, shared a near similar tale. “I was to write my papers on day one, being a Saturday, but after waiting for five hours, we were told that we could not do ours because their generator malfunctioned. At first, we were not told anything we became restive and threatened to vandalise the place. So, I’ve been coming here every day because they said we would be accommodated another day.”

    One of the parents who came with his son, Mr. Tajudeen Semiu, summarised his experience thus: “JAMB is yet to get it right. I came with my son because of his ill health and he has been in there, (pointing to the exam hall) for more than four hours now. After much persuasion, one of the invigilators confided that the centre was having power problem. He said they are waiting for another generator because the former one developed a problem and not working. I’m afraid now for my son’s health because this experience is too rigorous for him.”

    The issues

    At another Lagos centre at Abule Egba, off Abeokuta Expressway, electricity issue cropped up. Sade, a secondary school leaver, who is having his second CBT experience back to back, said JAMB must step up its game. “JAMB is making the exam centre scary for us (candidates). At this center, some of the computer backups were faulty and whenever power went off my computer would shut down. Same problem occurred last year (2015) and I could not even sit for it. This time around, I had just 30minutes to round off when power went off and I had to reboot and refill my answers in 25 minutes. JAMB must take power problem serious if it must continue with CBT.”

    Like a recurring decimal, poor organisation and facilities are issues that marred JAMB CBT in many centres leading to poor results and many cancellations as experienced by some candidates who had issues with their results. Give it to JAMB, the results came swiftly and faster than previous ones as attested by the candidates, but not without misgivings.

    Kayode, who sat for his CBT at Anthony Village center said he got his result through a text message at midnight while Toyin got hers at 11:02 pm, same night of her exam. Nurudeen scored 211 and his alert came in at 2:04 am the following morning. However, complain trailed in some quarters. Bello, who punched his CBTin Abuja, received a not-seat alert, same for Oreoluwa who had hers in Ibadan. Another candidate Foluke, 17, in Ejigbo-Lagos, on first check, scored an aggregate of 156 and when the she rechecked, she had 196.

    In a swift reaction, JAMB Registrar, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, has come up to hammer some centres following public protests in Lagos and Abuja by candidates and their parents over what they described as the many problems facing the CBT. The board had to cancel these centres following complaints of poor facilities provided by the centres’ administrators in Lagos. JAMB laid the blame on the doorstep of managers of the centres for failing to live up to the contractual agreement. Prof. Ojerinde informed that the board expected diligence and efficiency from all the centres following dutiful and careful selection.

    However, investigation carried out by The Nation revealed that the centres did not enjoy the huge financial and technical expertise available to JAMB. Ade, (not real name), 49, operates a cybercafé in a municipality along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and managed a CBT centre in Ogun State. He faulted JAMB financial obligation to the centers, informing that it is grossly inadequate. “For what we have to provide to ensure that CBT exams are successfully conducted in each centre, JAMB is paying us peanuts.

    For each candidate, JAMB promised to pay N600 and I have to obtain everything to make the examination work. We are to provide the computers,” he stated. This reporter counted 250 computer systems in four halls. I made these special desks in compliance with zero tolerance for exam cheats and malpractices. Then, a high band internet connection is part of the bill we had to bear. Also we had to contend with power generation,” he said.

    Ola had to engage the services of two 150 kilowatts generators for the duration of the exams. “For each, I paid N25, 000.00 daily rent, and then, I had to pay for diesel to power the generators.” For the halls rented for the exams, he paid N350, 000.00. “So, what do you think is left from the N2,400,000 that JAMB is paying me for 4000 candidates? He queried.

    Another contractor, Mike (not real name), who spoke on phone from Iju-Lagos said JAMB did not advance any money in order to alleviate the huge spending in preparation for the CBT, to them. “I am indebted to many people now and to make it worse, I am yet to get any money from JAMB three weeks after. It was after we protested that the money was too small that they now compensated us with JAMB Registration Centres for the next year’s CBT exam. JAMB offered to pay N700 for each registered candidate,’ he explained.

    Way out

    Some stakeholders, however, feel different, though, a majority believed in the efficacy of CBT if properly annexed. They, however, think that the hues and cries of students and contractors are genuine. While declaring his support for JAMB’s CBT, former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Peter Okebukola, lamented the hitches recorded at this year’s CBT and called on JAMB to do more.

    “The demerits of a full-scale CBT have been loudly canvassed to include weak technological infrastructure to support CBT on a large scale in Nigeria at this time and the low level of ICT literacy among potential UTME candidates. Irregular power supply is another important element in the arsenal of people shooting down the idea of a full-blast CBT.

    “With all the glitches which popped up during the conduct of the 2016 UTME, my recommendation is for JAMB to regard the deadline of 2016 for stopping the paper and pencil mode as the ‘yellow card’ and set 2018 for the ‘red card’ when there will not be any form of paper and pencil testing. The two-year grace period will allow JAMB to dot its ‘I’s and cross its ‘T’s. It will allow JAMB to do an accurate census of centres that can conduct near hitch-free CBT and clean up all the bugs (errors) in the software for the CBT delivery system,” he argued.

    In spite of these flaws, Prof. Okebukola added: “We need to be far-sighted in our approach and pitch our position on a number of emerging scenarios. We are training undergraduates for an ICT-dominated 21st century and hence should encourage all those who wish to take advantage of university education in Nigeria to be prepared for such a world through improving their computer-literacy skills before they obtain the form for the UTME. I queue up stoutly behind those who want the CBT to stay.

    “There are two key advantages of not going back on the CBT mode of conducting UTME. First, it will catalyse the attainment of a higher degree of computer literacy by potential undergraduates of Nigerian universities. Secondly, it will reduce to the barest minimum, cases of examination malpractice in the conduct of the UTME.”

    Mr. Shodunke Oludotun is the National President of the Association of Tutorial School Operators. He led the candidates in Lagos to protest the poor conduct of the examination in March. The educationist also agreed that CBT should continue because it has addressed the challenge of malpractices, including impersonation. He, however, asked for an alternative in the event of system failure.

    “I’m not calling for a closure on CBT, but for JAMB to be more proactive and supportive of those they have contracted the UTME to. If they collect so much money from candidates every year, they must ensure that these candidates are made comfortable and at ease when they are writing the exams. That is the responsibility that they have to take more serious,” he said.

    “All I want is for JAMB to allow me do my UTME exams without stress and get my result promptly, then I can move on to pursue my dream at the university; anything short of that is like playing god with my destiny and that of many Nigerian youths. It will come back to haunt us (Nigeria),” Toyin warned.

  • JAMB: Furore over computer based test

    JAMB: Furore over computer based test

    Taiwo Alimi, captures the changing faces of JAMB at 38, and issues around UTME’s Computer Based Test.

    TOYIN, 17, left her abode at Alagbole, a bubbling suburb of Ogun State at exactly 5:30 am in order to get to the quiescent settlement of Magboro, Ogun State before 7 am. High in spirit and with extra bounce to her feet, she was to sit for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), her first attempt, on the fateful Saturday morning of February 27, 2016.

    When she returned home at 9:15 pm, she looked depressed and dejected as she dragged her feet wearily in frustration, for she was unable to do the Computer-Based Test (CBT), though to no fault of hers.

    She recounted her ordeal: “I had eagerly looked forward to my first UTME. It is the only thing standing between the University and me,” started the young school leaver who got straight As in the 2015 West Africa Examinations Council (WAEC). “I had spent countless nights reading and getting ready for the exams. My parents also paid a private English tutor to brush me up. I was ready.”

    Toyin got to the CBT center along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway early enough and joined hundreds of other candidates for the 2016 CBT, as put together by the organizing body, the Joint Admissions Matriculation Board (JAMB). What luck! She thought, to be among the first set of students to jump-start the exercise at her center. But what she got was a baptism of fire.

    “I began to feel uneasy and hungry when the organisers had not called us in by 11 am. That hunger turned to apprehension and anger when they came out at 1 pm, to inform us that they were having problem with the server.” By this time, the crowd of students and parents had tripled with the addition of the 12 noon and 3 pm examinees.

    Left at the mercy of innate desire, scotching sun and awful general condition, the multitude of young, bold and restless candidates, mostly teenagers, could no longer control their emotions. At first, they reacted in hush grumble. But their mumuring soon grew harsh and then, they started throwing objects into the building and at the organizers.

    “JAMB officers were the first to disappear from the scene before security men forcefully dispatched us. I left for home when it became dark and apparent that no one could sit for the exams,” Toyin recalled. A week later, Toyin returned to the place to do the CBT alongside over 700 others. But that first impression of JAMB, she said, ‘left a sour taste in my mouth, and brain.”

    JAMB has always been an institution of contrasts. It has always looked for new ways to invigorate its prime product, the UTME, which is responsible, since 1978, for placing teeming teenagers and adults into Nigeria’s Universities, Polytechnics, and other institutions of higher learning annually. Sadly, it is yet to deliver its winning recipe, even with its latest CBT formula.

    According to JAMB statistics, 1.5 million candidates registered for the 2016 UTME, and each coughed out an average N5000. Suffice to add that UTME is written every year, meaning JAMB has a steady flow of income as well as the opportunity to play god while defining the destiny of Nigerian youths.

    JAMB first introduced the CBT method of writing UTME in 2013, and conducted the examination in 2013 and 2014 using three modes-dual-based tests, Paper Pencil Test (PPT) and CBT with candidates having to choose between the devil (written test) and the deep blue sea (CBT). In 2015, the board went full scale CBT, which continued this year. It changed for a singular devil’s alternative of CBT, at least for most states of the federation that are IT compliant.

    From February 27 to March 19, tens of thousands of students, who thought they would simply walk into JAMB’s CBT centers, punch in their answers and within hours receive their results via mobile phones, got the rude shock of their lives. This simple assumption became a complex task as experienced by Toyin and many other candidates.

    Real issues

    They talked about harrowing experiences at many centers. The problems vary from power failure, poor internet connectivity, late start, inadequate computer sets, among others. In some centers, it was a combination of two or three of these problems, leading to emotional and physical stress on students and their parents.

    CBT managers, who are mostly cybercafe owners contracted to manage the facilities (Internet ready computers) for the examination, also had their own tales of woes to tell. At a center visited by this reporter in the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway area of Ogun State, chaos personified the mode and scene.

    Over 500 candidates and about a 100 parents crowded the major road and adjoining streets leading to the lone CBT center in the neighbourhood. The Nation’s investigation revealed that the center accommodates 750 students daily, and they are distributed evenly in three batches.

    The CBT center is located in a large school hall tucked inside one of the adjacent streets and a no-go area for students who have to wait out on the nearby streets, shops and residential houses that played host to the unwanted visitors as long as the exams lasted. One of candidates, Dotun said he came with her mother and both have been waiting for her turn for four hours.

    “I’m supposed to write my papers at 9 a.m, so I got here at 7 a.m with my mum,” she cast a quick glance at her wristwatch before corroborating her son, “It is already 12 noon and we are still waiting.”

    Dotun complained about the emotional and physical stress that the long wait has caused him. He noted that it might affect him when he eventually gets in to do the exams. “We were not allowed to enter the hall, and no provision was made for chairs to make us comfortable. We have to patch on wherever we find. Right now I’m tired and frustrated and that condition applies to many of my friends and candidates you see here.”

    About an hour after our discussion, invigilators came out to call in the next batch of examinees. Dotun was among them and he followed about 200 others towards the hall. He was back four hours later, feeling more frustrated. He related what happened inside.

    “When we got in, the generator had packed up and they (organisers) were trying to fix it. Of course, there was no public power and so we had to wait for them to finish the repair. That went on for about an hour and after we started the papers, my computer tripped off twice and I had to start all over again. It was a harrowing experience and the truth is that I don’t know what to expect.”

    Lekan, 19, who came from Ojodu Berger, shared a near similar tale. “I was to write my papers on day one, being a Saturday, but after waiting for five hours, we were told that we could not do ours because their generator malfunctioned. At first, we were not told anything we became restive and threatened to vandalize the place. So, I’ve been coming here every day because they said we would be accommodated another day.”

    One of the parents who came with his son, Mr. Tajudeen Semiu, summarized his experience thus: “JAMB is yet to get it right. I came with my son because of his ill health and he has been in there, (pointing to the exam hall) for more than four hours now. After much persuasion, one of the invigilators confided that the center was having power problem. He said they are waiting for another generator because the former one developed a problem and not working. I’m afraid now for my son’s health because this experience is too rigorous for him.”

    The issues

    At another Lagos center at Abule Egba, off Abeokuta Expressway, electricity issue cropped up. Sade, a secondary school leaver, who is having his second CBT experience back to back, said JAMB must step up its game. “JAMB is making the exam more scaring for us (candidates). At this center, some of the computer backups were faulty and whenever power went off my computer would shut down. Same problem occurred last year (2015) and I could not even sit for it. This time around, I had just 30minutes to round off when power went off and I had to reboot and refill my answers in 25 minutes. JAMB must take power problem serious if it must continue with CBT.”

    Like a recurring decimal, poor organization and facilities are issues that marred JAMB CBT in many centers leading to poor results and many cancellations as experienced by some candidates who had issues with their results. Give it to JAMB, the results came swiftly and faster than previous ones as attested by the candidates, but not without misgivings.

    Kayode, who sat for his CBT at Anthony Village center said he got his result through a text message at midnight while Toyin got hers at 11:02 pm, same night of her exam. Nurudeen scored 211 and his alert came in at 2:04 am the following morning. However, complain trailed in some quarters. Bello, who punched his CBT is Abuja, received a not-seat alert, same for Oreoluwa who had hers in Ibadan. Another candidate Foluke, 17, in Ejigbo-Lagos, on first check, scored an aggregate of 156 and when the she rechecked, she had 196.

    In a swift reaction, JAMB Registrar, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, has come up to hammer some centers following public protests in Lagos and Abuja by candidates and their parents over what they described as the many problems facing the CBT. The board had to cancel these centers following complaints of poor facilities provided by the centers’ administrators in Lagos. JAMB laid the blame on the doorstep of managers of the centers for failing to live up to the contractual agreement. Prof. Ojerinde informed that the board expected diligence and efficiency from all the centers following dutiful and careful selection.

    However, investigation carried out by The Nation revealed that the centers did not enjoy the huge financial and technical expertise available to JAMB. Ade, (not real name), 49, operates a cybercafé in a municipality along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and managed a CBT center in Ogun State. He faulted JAMB financial obligation to the centers, informing that it is grossly inadequate. “For what we have to provide to ensure that CBT exams are successfully conducted in each center, JAMB is paying us peanuts.

    For each candidate, JAMB promised to pay N600 and I have to obtain everything to make the examination works. We are to provide the computers,” he stated. This reporter counted 250 computer systems in four halls. I made these special desks in compliance with zero tolerance for exam cheats and malpractices. Then, a high band internet connection is part of the bill we had to bear. Also we had to contend with power generation,” he said.

    Ola had to engage the services of two 150 kilowatts generators for the duration of the exams. “For each, I paid N25, 000.00 daily rent, and then, I had to pay for diesel to power the generators.” For the halls rented for the exams, he paid N350, 000.00. “So, what do you think is left from the N2,400,000 that JAMB is paying me for 4000 candidates? He queried.

    Another contractor, Mike (Not real name), who spoke on phone from Iju-Lagos said JAMB did not advance any money in order to alleviate the huge spending in preparation for the CBT, to them. “I am indebted to many people now and to make it worse, I am yet to get any money from JAMB three weeks after. It was after we protested that the money was too small that they now compensated us with JAMB Registration Centers for the next year’s CBT exam. JAMB offered to pay N700 for each registered candidate,’ he explained.

    Way out

    Some stakeholders, however, feel different, though, majority believed in the efficacy of CBT if properly annexed. They

  • Beware: Addiction to TV killing our kids

    Beware: Addiction to TV killing our kids

    On most days, a graveyard silence hangs over Isheri, the Lagos home of Mr. Nwachukwu Gregory. Only the humming sounds of passing vehicles can be heard from a distance. With a career that constantly takes the 39-year old underwriter off the home scene from daybreak to twilight, the erratic nature of his wife’s job as a paediatric nurse means the home front suffers real parental absence. Their seven-year old kid, Jasper, takes solace in the care of a live-in cousin, Chidera. Upon return from school, extended hours in front of the television top the menu of activities to keep the ‘poor’ boy engaged.

    But studies say parents like Mr. Nwachukwu could be inflicting the worst of havoc on their innocent kid without knowing. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), “routine violence on television, films, cartoons and video games, which is common to media content around the globe, has been found to affect children at multiple levels.”

    The outcomes are clearly not what most parents would ever wish their children. The ripple effects of Jasper’s constant cartoon viewing, the report adds, is responsible for increased aggressive behaviour, heightened fear and anxiety towards the world in which the child lives. That is not all. Such children lose feelings of empathy for fellow humans. And by extension, the report expresses concern that such children are likely to accept violence as the primary way for resolving human conflict.

    Even though most contents on television carry compelling caveat – with age delineation and audience fitness – not one stresses viewing limit and all the negative consequences associated with extended television viewing.

    So there is a limit to the share of blame Mr. Nwachukwu can be made to bear. The near illiteracy of Chidera means she is unlikely to decipher which content is appropriate for Jasper as well as the dangers of prolonged viewing.

    “Our neighbours have been complaining of how Chidera and Jasper disturb the compound with the TV. I was also told that Jasper doesn’t read when he returns from school. So we have decided he will be in boarding house next academic session even though it’s expensive,” Nwachukwu said.

    A peep into the daily routines of both parents show that, like most urban dwellers  faced with the pressure of giddy city life, Jasper’s fascination with television viewing is a subtle escape from a deep parenting gap.

    “I leave home every day by 5:30am to escape the traffic to Lekki where I work. Because of the demands of work, I leave the office late, most times. My wife works in a hospital and returns home late on most days. That’s why we brought in Chidera from the village to stand in for us. But that seems not to be working now,” he admitted.

     

    Genesis of addiction and danger

    Expressing fears that his child might develop addiction to the visual contents he sees, Nwachukwu said: “Jasper can watch the television from morning till night if no one stops him. He forgets to eat when he sees a cartoon. It’s scary what the future implications may turn out to be.”

    In a report by the Albertia Family Wellness Initiative (AFWI), a multi-disciplinary initiative that connects early brain and biological development and children’s mental health with addiction research, prevention, and treatment, said the human brain, especially at development stage, requires a nurturing environment to create a strong foundation for later development.

    According to it, nurturing environments are crucial, especially from pre-natal to six years of age, and that experiences within this age reflect, to a great extent, how the brain is shaped.

    The last few years may have seen the rise of visual entertainment contents and children’s love for cartoons and video games, according to creators, is said to have doubled, occasioned largely by the explosion of cartoon networks on various television channels.

    A study by the University of Michigan Health System corroborates this claim. TV viewing among kids stands at an eight-year high, with children ages 2-5 expending 32 hours a week in front of  TV—either watching television, DVDs, DVR and videos, and using a game console. While for kids aged 6-11, an estimated 28 hours is spent weekly in front of a live television. What’s is shocking, however, is that children who spend an hour each day watching a TV program are likely to develop attention problems by roughly 10 percent.

    The study also revealed what most parents seem not to have noticed. Sustained TV viewing has gradually replaced vital activities in a child’s life, including interacting with family members, playing with friends, doing homework, being physically active and reading. While most parents enjoy the luxury of freedom when their kids swoop on TV contents for extended hours, that freedom has been proven to be of little or no importance compared to the possible havoc television addiction wrecks on children.

    If unchecked, studies have shown, children who spend long hours in front of the television are likely to suffer from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), a psychiatric disorder common in children and adolescents.  Three years ago, the World Health Organisation says about 39 million people suffer from this condition annually, mostly children.

    Aside attention disorders, there are more compelling reasons why parents need to take charge of their children’s television viewing experience. A 1998 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) worldwide study showed that more than 51 percent of children living in war zones and high-crime areas chose action heroes on television as role models. They perceived the near thug life of these “heroes” as the best way to survive, overcome challenges and get ahead in life.

    And there is more. The children were more likely to associate with cartoon characters more easily than real-life adults and tend to retain the lessons imparted more readily. What may turn out as the most unpleasant portion of the narrative is that children have grown to unknowingly follow the moral codes – good or otherwise – of cartoon characters than their parents or guardians.

     

    Where have all the parents gone?

     

    In 1989, the United Nations adopted the Conventions on the Rights of Children, a revolutionary treaty that encapsulates the rights of children globally. This pact was later to inspire the Cartoons for Children’s Rights initiative which seeks to create awareness on the rights of children with partnership forged with about 70 animation studios in 30 countries.

    Even though the initiative recognised the rights of children to education, leisure and play, it failed to provide measures to protect children from the vagaries of excessive TV viewing. The initiative failed to recognise the statistics that over 61% of TV programming in 2014 contained violence and that children who spend the most hours on television are liable to suffer lower verbal intelligence, according to a study by the American Academy of Paediatrics.

    The findings showed that some cartoons – which are children’s favourite  contain an average of 20 acts of violence within an hour of viewing, and that by age 18, children would have seen over 200,000 simulated acts of violence.

    But can parents sufficiently douse the negative flames emanating from most cartoons? Ogumah Martin, a father of three and Head of Marketing at Synthesis Communications said, “I personally have a timetable for when my kids watch the television. I know that not all cartoons are healthy for them. I can’t allow them see whatever they like.”

    He warns, “Passion is a very sensitive thing. If you allow kids to become too passionate about a particular thing, (watching television and cartoons), you may be unable to handle the addiction that comes with it later. So parents have to determine what their children see and how long they see it.”

    While Martin’s claim worms its way easily into the heart of parents, it is likely to bounce off the ears of most kids.  Interactions with a cross section of students at Rise Up Tutorial College at Council Road, Ipaja, Lagos suggest that any attempt to stop children from watching their favourite cartoon would be met with immediate backlash.  Since children develop emotional attachment to cartoons early in life, halting their attachment seems like a hard fight with no sign of victory in sight.

    Olatunji Ogini, a JSS 2 student of State Junior High School, Alimosho, said, watching cartoons was as important as his education. “I love cartoons so much. I learn so many things from them. I can’t stop watching cartoons. I will cry if anybody stops me,” he added.

    While such passion as Olatunji confesses to have for this animated creations, may not appear to be wrong, an underlying danger lurks around for these innocent children, especially at a time when parents spend more time battling for the survival of the home front than spending quality time with their children.

    “Most parents don’t spend the same amount of time with their children,” says child psychiatrist Michael Brody, who chairs the television and media committee of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

    Brody possibly had the likes of Nwachukwu in mind when he said: “Television has a very big influence, and a lot of it is negative. There are hundreds of studies showing a connection between violence on TV and its impact on children – from aggressive behaviours to sleep disorders.”

    Living with a mum who spends a substantial portion of the day at her shop in Iyana-Iba and a working dad, Mensah Peace – a pupil of Higher Grounds Primary School – and her two siblings are often left to their own devices, especially as regards the content they consume on television. Their vulnerability to the unhealthy influence of indiscriminate cartoon and TV consumption should be seen as a real concern.

    This category of ‘parents-at-large’ may need to turn the page to a recent study by a group of scientists at the Department of Psychology, University of Virginia. The purpose of the research was to explore the effects of fast-paced cartoons on children’s executive function which allows the frontal cortex of the brain to control and coordinate other brain areas.

    The children who watched SpongebobSquarepants cartoon performed worse than their counterparts in all measures barely after nine-minutes of sparse viewing. The children did worse in problem solving, focus, inhibition of impulses, attention and memory.

    From these findings, the negative impact of most cartoons on children may far outweigh the pecuniary entertainment they seem to provide. More than ever before, research has shown that there is a strong link between child bullying and media violence and that children were more likely to practice the aggressive behaviours they see on television.

    In Nigeria, about 56.8% school children said they were bullied within a time-frame of one month according to a research published in the British Journal of Education, Society and Behavioural Science by the sextet of Abosede Adegbohun, Increase Adeosun, Adebayo Jejeloye, Olufemi Oyekunle, Oyewale Ogunlowo and Adunola Pedro of the Department of Mental Health, Benjamin Carson Senior School of Medicine, Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State.

    Following complaints and reports of risky behaviours by children, owners of the popular World Wrestling Entertainment(WWE) kick-started a media campaign to dissuade children from practising the violent stunts displayed by their favourite wrestlers on television. But the campaign has been largely unsuccessful. With fierce use of sledgehammers, metal folding chairs, garbage cans and quantities of thumbtacks, a significant portion of its audience, estimated by the US Sport Academy’s The Sport Journal to be children aged 2-17, face the risk of truancy, disobedience to constituted authority, lewd languages and gestures according to the study.

    Sharing her experience, head-teacher at Wisdom Field School, Mr. Okosieme Doherty, said most children are influenced by the behaviours they see on the television to such extent that they lose control of their impulses.

    “We have seen a lot of such cases. Recently a pupil jumped from the class window and landed on another. The poor boy was seriously injured. At first, I wanted to punish him for hurting his colleague. Then, I decided to know why he did what he did in the first place. When I asked him, he became remorseful. He said he was only trying out a stunt he had seen in a cartoon. When we called for a parents’ conference, we found out that the parents are hardly at home. The children are often left alone at home, watching whatever they want,” he said.

    Mr. Okosieme’s experience is mild compared to that of Mrs Ajanaku Oreoluwa, a parent who resides at Adegboyega Street in Onipanu Lagos. One day, her five year-old son Timilehin, decided to take his passion for cartoons to a different level.

    “Like most kids, Timi has always loved cartoons. Sometimes he says things only his sister understands because they both learn them from scenes in the cartoons they watch. But I noticed Timi became restless at a point; he jumps from everywhere. I noticed he started doing risky things and I would punish him.

    “One day, I was making my hair downstairs and he was playing with other kids in the room. All of a sudden, I heard people shouting and I ran to see what had happened. To my amazement, I met Timi writhing in pains, after falling off the cliff. Later, his elder sister confirmed he had been trying some cartoon stunts on the window prior to his fall.”

     

    Whither indigenous contents ?

    In Nigeria, virtually all the cartoons consumed by kids are the brainwork of foreign creators. From Spiderman, Looney Tunes, Barbie, Teenage Mutant Ninja Tortoise to Sophia The First, Road Runner, Paw Patrol and Jimi Nitron, Nigerian kids are influenced early in their developmental stages by stories outside their own environment. Experts believe that without the suitable contents to counterbalance the children’s lessons, such kids grow up ignorant of consequences of their actions.

    A cartoonist at the Creative Desk of The Nation Mr. Solomon Izekor, said the need for indigenous contents is long overdue. Corroborating what seems like a perfect solution to children’s alienation from their own stories, Solomon said creating indigenous cartoons would help Nigerians tell their own stories; influence, inspire and shape the value system of children.

    In Solomon’s judgement, “Children view life from the prism of the things (cartoons, films) they watch. You may be surprised to know that they learn more from their cartoons than they learn from their teachers or parents. They learn values from the characters in the animations. Most times, they are tempted to live and act the way their favourite characters do. But all of this is fantasy because they can’t relate those experiences to their real lives; it doesn’t help their adaptation to the Nigerian environment. A lot of them grow up disappointed with the unpleasant realities of life.”

    He added, “What we need are contents that help us instil values in our kids. We need contents that educate kids on how to navigate the vagaries of life. We need contents that help kids adapt to the environment in which they live. Above all, we need contents that speak our own language,” Solomon said.

     

    Over to the regulators

    In recent times, the hammer of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) has been brought down heavily on errant film-makers. As the only regulatory body involved in the censorship and classification process of all local and foreign audio-visual contents shown in cinemas, and on television, videos and DVD, the NFVCB has clamped down on a few visual contents, with the film 50 Shades of Grey as one of the most recent.

    But most parents and communication experts believe a lot of our visual contents are rarely regulated. They wondered how a culture of nudity, sex, hard drugs and dirty money has steadily crept into video contents seen by Nigerians, unmindful of our cultural peculiarity.

    Their dissatisfaction may not be baseless, after all. Early this year, the world woke up to an online outrage, following controversial scenes in Steven Universe, a children show aired on Cartoon Network, a popular cartoon station on the DSTV bouquet. In the cartoon, a controversial scene of two females kissing passionately stirred the anger of most parents. Cartoon Network Europe swiftly moved to censor the scene.

    A parent, Lars Green, who initiated an online petition following the controversial scene, said: “I love watching Steven Universe with my kids but same sex relationship is not a topic that should be discussed in children’s programs. The kiss between Ruby and Sapphire was over the top for a children’s cartoon. We are signing this petition for Cartoon Network to censor current episodes Jailbreak and Roses Scalbard to exclude LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) themes and to censor future episodes.”

    In Nigeria, however, nothing was heard from regulatory agencies over contents considered to be inappropriate for children. For over four weeks, this reporter attempted to get the reaction of the NFVCB authorities through phone calls, text messages and WhatsApp messages. The agency’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Terry Odeh, declined responding to comments.

    However, Child Protection Specialist at UNICEF Nigeria, Mrs. Roseline Akinroye, said: “It’s not for UNICEF to regulate the negative contents that are found on Nigerian TV. Nigeria has regulatory bodies to do that. Obviously, regulation is weak. The media needs to enlighten the public on the negative impact of unwholesome contents seen by children because some parents don’t even know it’s harmful. With the advent of cable TV, everybody feels they are trendy in the society by getting one. Children are exposed to things they shouldn’t see and parents are not even there to monitor them.

    She added: “When children see abuse and violence on TV and nobody talks about it, it begins to rub off on them and they start seeing it as normal. The laws are there. Regulatory bodies need to enforce them.”

    A lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Miss Ngozi Emmanuel believes regulations have been porous and ineffective. “I believe with the rise and rise of nudity content in broadcast materials today, the National Film and Videos Censors Board may not be living up to expectations after all. And with the influx of these kinds of contents in our broadcast content and the permissive attitude of viewing audience now, I believe the danger is staring us all in the face if nothing is done urgently by the regulatory body and concerned stakeholders,” she warned.

  • Sagamu: The Police and a people’s revolt

    Sagamu: The Police and a people’s revolt

    In the past few days, Sagamu town in Ogun State has been rocked by protest against alleged extortion by the police with the alleged complicity of a senior officer, Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor, reports

    Last Tuesday, the rustic town of Sagamu in Ogun State erupted from its sleepy nature as residents took to the streets to protest against what many of them described as the unbearable alleged criminal extortion of innocent citizens by men and officers of the Sagamu Police Station, led by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) CSP John Mark.

    The event of Tuesday was the culmination of what The Nation discovered to be months of perseverance by the people in the face of what our sources described as unimaginable high-handedness and brutality on the part of CSP Mark and his colleagues.

    On the fateful day, thousands of youths, men, women and children alike, defied an earlier order by the same Police, and converged at the popular Ita Oba roundabout as early as 6a.m to be part of what had for days been publicized as the ‘mother of all rallies’ against the Police.

    They came from different quarters of the town for the protest. Some participants even came from the neighbouring towns of Ogijo, Ode Remo, Iperu, Ikenne and Aiyepe, just to lend their voices to the agitation against the activities of the men of the Nigerian Police Force.

    There have been face-offs between the police command in the state and the lawmaker representing Sagamu constituency, Adeyinka Mafe over alleged extortion against the DPO.

    From Ita Oba, the protesters moved round town, chanting, singing and dancing, as they called on relevant authorities to save them from the brutality of the Police officers. The Police, which had earlier allegedly threatened to clampdown on the protesters, were seen keeping vigil at strategic locations in the town.

    The voice of the people

    Many speakers addressed the rally everywhere they went. They all appeared united in the call for the removal of CSP Mark from his duty post in the town. “The people are passing a vote of no confidence on the DPO and we expect his employers to move him elsewhere. There shouldn’t be any debate about this. We are simply tired of him,” Omolola Oduyebo, one of the conveners of the rally, said.

     At the Sabo area of the town, the protesters were addressed by the Area Commander of the Police in the zone. The police boss pleaded with them to maintain peace and order and not to take laws into their hands. He stated that all their grievances would be relayed to the appropriate quartets for necessary actions.

    The protest rendered all commercial activities impossible for the day as markets, offices, banks and malls were all closed. Commercial drivers and motorcycle operators all joined in the protest which lasted till late in the evening.

    Speaking on the reasons for the protest, the leader of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Sagamu local chapter, Comrade Ademola Adesanya, said the people are tired of CSP Mark and his men. According to him, the DPO unilaterally imposed a curfew on the people contrary to the laws of the land.

    “Aside the daily extortion of commercial transport operators which is responsible for the incessant hike in fares around here, the DPO instructed all citizens to be behind closed door by 9p.m or face arrest. The situation is such that once you are found outside by that time, you are promptly arrested.”

    Sadly, this curfew is not meant to serve any security purpose but to fill up the pockets of these security agents with ill-gotten wealth. According to residents, despite the fact that bail is free, arrested people are bailed with money ranging from N50, 000 to N100, 000. Even housewives have been arrested and bailed in such manners.

    “We made several pleas to Mark and even the Commissioner of Police on this matter to no avail. Those who dare to question the DPO and his men are beaten up mercilessly and thrown into cell for days unending. Nobody has been charged to court since these illegalities started. But they have made a lot of money from it all,” Adesanya alleged.

    Shedding more light on the matter, the Majority Leader of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Yinka Mafe, who is from the town, described the activities of the DPO and his men as “callous and grossly inhuman.”

    “Our take is to show the whole world what these fellows are doing with the uniforms and guns purchased for them with the tax-payers money. We are out to tell the DPO and his men that we have had enough of their bitter pills,” he said.

    Strange twist

    Few hours after the protest, a new twist was introduced into the matter when the Ogun State Police Command said that it is investigating 15 criminal cases allegedly involving the Majority leader of the state House of Assembly, Yinka Mafe who represents Sagamu I state constituency.

    Mafe is one of the conveners of the rally against CSP Mark. The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Muyiwa Adejobi told newsmen that the lawmaker might be arrested and prosecuted after the completion of the investigation. Adejobi was reacting to the call by the State Assembly which ordered the immediate probe of the Divisional Police Officer of Sagamu Division, John Mark over allegation of extortion of the people in Sagamu by the majority leader.

    According to the Command, the majority leader is being investigated for cases involving sponsorship of cultism and other criminal activities. “The allegation is unknown to the command, because the DPO; CSP Mark, is one of the best Divisional Police Officers in this command. He was actually posted to Sagamu to uproot the evil and evil doers in Sagamu.”

    In absolving Mark of any blame the Command observed, “It takes a tough man to control security arrangement in Sagamu. He is there doing what he should do and we expect people to make noise especially criminals and sponsors of criminals concerning what the DPO is doing because he is there doing what he should do.”

    It didn’t stop there, in fact, the command pointedly accused Mafe, a lawmaker of being a suspect, According to it, “If the allegation had come from another person who has clean hands, the matter would have been taken more seriously by the command, but we are surprised, this is coming from Hon. Mafe who is also one of the suspects we are investigating in many criminal cases in Sagamu; talking about sponsorship of cultism and many other criminal activities, he doesn’t have the moral justification to raise such an allegation against the Sagamu DPO.”

    Who’s blaming who?

    But Mafe dismissed the allegations against him as mere after thoughts and accused the state police command of trying to blackmail him with false allegations. The lawmaker said he was ready for prosecution but alleged that he was being blackmailed for raising corruption allegations against a senior police officer in the command.

    Mafe, who few days ago while raising a matter on the Assembly floor, had accused the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Sagamu, John Mark, of extorting residents, and called for his probe, he cautioned the Police against aiding and abetting the officer in any way.

    “I have in my possession series of petitions from victims of extortion, criminal extortions I called them, because these are innocent people that would be arrested unlawfully and money would be demanded from them and until they pay those monies they wouldn’t be allowed to go home,” Mafe said.

    The majority leader queried the police command for waiting until he accused a senior police officer before it came up with allegations against him.

    “It baffles me that the PPRO and CP himself will wait until now that I am accusing one of the unprofessional policemen that I have ever met in my life, CSP John Mark, before coming out with this allegation of 15 criminal cases they claimed to be investigating.

    “I want to urge and challenge them to speed up the investigation, so that they can take me to court. I am a lawyer and I am ready to meet them in court. I am not shy about going to court. I will be very happy to defend myself if the need be but I want to assure you and the people of my constituency that the PPRO is just a shameless liar.

    “As I speak, we have over 50 petitions and these people are ready to come out. In fact, the Honourable from Sagamu constituency II was informing the Speaker that the DPO has a PoS machine with which he collects bribe and I am putting this on record quoting Hon. Soyebo because he’s from Sagamu as myself and I think that is grievous,” Mafe added.

    Mark redeployed, under investigation

    Meanwhile, in a move that portrays the Police Command as bowing to the wishes of the people of the town, the embattled DPO John Mark, has been redeployed to the Command Headquarters, Eleweran in Abeokuta.

    The Nation gathered that Mark’s redeployment came a day after the protest. The Commissioner of Police in charge of Ogun State Police Command, Abdulmajid Ali, reportedly ordered his immediate redeployment in response to the allegations against him which the Command said it was not insensitive to.

    He said that the redeployment of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) would allow the Nigeria Police Force investigate the allegations against him and other counter allegations against certain individuals.

    It was also learnt that the Commissioner of Police has constituted a six-man committee, led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Department of Finance & Administration, Celestine Okoye, to investigate the allegations against the DPO and others, including Yinka Mafe, and forward its report within one week. The Committee is expected to carefully consider the allegations and counter allegations in the said matter so as to set the record straight.

  • Exclusive breast feeding: real or imaginary

    Exclusive breast feeding: real or imaginary

    In the midst of plenty, Nigerian babies seem to be battling to repossess their exclusive rights to their mother’s breast in the first 1000 days of their existence, but their efforts seem fruitless. In this report Sina Fadare x-rays the contending issues at stake.

    Mrs. Ronke Ibilade hails from Igbo-ora in Oyo State, a rural community noted for high birth rate of twins. So it was not a surprise to the family when she delivered a set of triplets four years ago. Around FESTAC area of Lagos, where the woman and her husband live, mama eta-oko as she is fondly called is a household name.

    Sharing her experiences on exclusive breast-feeding is like sharing tales from the moon, as she is loaded with exciting experiences that could last a lifetime.  According to her, breast-feeding one’s baby is a compulsory duty, which a woman must perform. She however added that along the line, a lot of unforeseen circumstances prevailed and the reality cannot be met.

    “I had a son before the arrival of the triplets, which turned everything around in the family despite the fact that we are leaving as an average family. It was practically impossible for me to go on exclusive breast feeding for them because they were voracious suckers. There was a day I nearly fainted when the two boys grappled my breast simultaneously as if their lives depended on it, by the time they were done, the only girl had nothing to suck and she would not take any other alternative.

    “It was a battle in the house. We had to introduce baby nutrient food the second week of their arrival because the milk being produced from my breast was not sufficient enough to feed them. How can l rely on exclusive breast milk as was recommended by our doctor?” She queried.

    Ibilade’s case is similar to that of Mrs. Kelechi Chukwuma; her children are twin and voracious breast suckers as well. Despite the fact that she had two maids employed by the husband to assist her in house core and taking care of the babies, she lamented that “they rarely spared my breasts, unless they were sleeping, which is very rare for both to do at the same time.

    “When l could not cope with the babies demand in terms of breastfeeding, my husband suggested that we introduced baby food to them and that was when l had a bit of respite.”

    The mother of four children said that in as much as she wanted to  breastfeed the babies for at least six months, the reality on ground did not allow her, adding that the demand  was just too much for her to cope with, ‘especially after l resumed for work.’

    According to her, the other kids who came before them, one after the other, did not pose any pressure on her in terms of breastfeeding. ‘Even with that, I couldn’t breastfeed them exclusively because it was not realistic.’

    When reminded that exclusive breastfeeding has a lot of advantages which would assist the growth of the baby, she pointed out that there is no mother who will not try to give her baby the best, particularly in terms of breastfeeding, “but in most cases, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Do you believe that there was a time the breast was dry and nothing came out of it? Will you allow the baby to be crying? Definitely, you are going to look for an alternative”

    Chukwuma explained that “when the boy became naughty and was always crying especially in the night, my husband said we should give him baby food plus breast feeding. Funny enough since the day he tasted the food, he ignored the breast milk and before l knew what was happening, he never wanted to take it again. I had no choice but to cooperate with him. This eventually paid off when my maternity leave was over and l had to return to the office.”

    However the experience of Mrs. Toyin Ashefon, a mother of three, was a different story entirely. As a nurse by training, she had vowed to make sure that all her children were exclusively breastfed, as babies.

    According to her, her husband did not allow her to pick any job, a situation that allowed her to give the children exclusive breastfeeding at least in the first six months of their arrival.” I can tell you that this eventually paid off because up till today you can hardly see them falling sick, a situation that has been attributed to their being breastfed adequately  in their  first 1000 days in life.

    “The good aspect of it was that the last born sucked breast till he was a year old before l weaned him. Though it was not an easy task because l rarely went anywhere and my husband made sure all our needs were provided for, today I know better and l can authoritatively tell you that exclusive breastfeeding is the best, provided a nursing mother can cope with it.” she explained.

    Exclusive breast feeding has been the handout always handed over to nursing mothers during ante-natal period by medical experts. It is repeatedly echoed to them as a task that must be done and the expectant mothers in turn always looked forward to the arrival of the baby and how to put all that has been taught to practice. Unfortunately when the chips are down and reality dawns, it suddenly becomes a herculean task, all medical experts’ advice notwithstanding.

    At the Innocenti Declaration in 1990, the WHO/UNICEF called for policies that would cultivate a breastfeeding culture that encourages women to breastfeed their children exclusively for the first six months and then up to 2 years and beyond. However, a recent estimate by the WHO showed that worldwide only 35% of children between birth and their fifth month are breastfed exclusively.

    Based on the WHO Global data on Infant and Young Child Feeding in Nigeria, 22.3% of children were exclusively breastfed for less than 4 months, while 17.2% were exclusively breastfed for less than 6 months, in the year 2003.

    Similarly, according to the Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), in 2008 17% of children were exclusively breastfed for less than 4 months, while 13% were exclusively breastfed for less than 6 months. The median exclusive breastfeeding period in Southwest Nigeria by months in the year 2003 was 7 months. In the year 2008, it was 6 months. Within the same period, early initiation of breastfeeding among women in the region was 12.7% in 2003, but increased to 35.5% in the year 2008. More worrisome is the fact that all these figures are far below the 90% level recommended by the WHO.

    Perhaps the recommendation of the WHO/UNICEF on exclusive breastfeeding despite its huge advantages is becoming unattainable because of the travails the average Nigerian woman is passing through in raising her children.

    Aside this, poor economy, cultural, political and psychological factors among others are impediments to exclusive breastfeeding in Nigeria.

    The Nation’s investigation revealed that children from same parents react to different situation especially when it involves exclusive breastfeeding. However the practice of exclusive breastfeeding is still low despite the associated benefits.

    Against this backdrop, The Nation sampled the opinion of about 40 mothers on how they handled the situation when reality dawned. Their responses were as exciting as their various experiences, especially the reactions of the children.

    Of the 40 nursing mothers, only 10 percent confirmed that they were lucky to exclusively breastfeed their children for the six months timeline.

    Perhaps the significance of the critical window of 1000 days for a child may have influenced Lagos and Enugu state governments’ newly introduced six months maternity leave for nursing mothers and three weeks paternity leave for their husbands.

    Against this background, Lagos State last August set aside a week of sensitisation  to mark the world breastfeeding day for nursing  mothers, to intimate them on the importance of exclusive breastfeeding.

    Speaking on the occasion, Dr Modele Osunkiyesi of the state’s Ministry of Health pointed out that the state’s promotion and successive exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life without any other additive requires the collective support of all, including employers of labour, fathers, mothers and family members.

    In his own contribution, the campaign coordinator of the programme, Dr Olukemi Adeyoju noted that “Breast milk contains all the nutrients an infant needs in the first six months of life. Breastfeeding protects against diarrhea and common childhood illness such as pneumonia and may also have longer term health benefits for the mother and child such as reducing the risk of overweight and obesity in childhood and adolescence.”

    Apparently referring to the WHO, Adeyoju explained that a child that was exclusively breastfed for the first six months life would achieve optimal growth, development and good health.

    Similarly in a recent survey by the Bayelsa State government in partnership with the United Nation International Children Fund (UNICEF), only 15 per cent nursing mothers do exclusive breastfeeding.

    Out of the 2,332 breastfeeding mothers sampled in the state, only 349 (15 per cent) exclusively breastfed their babies, while 1,267 (45 per cent) gave breast milk and water to their babies. The remaining gave more of other kinds of food.

    Worried by the declining rate of breastfeeding among women in the state, the Chief Medical Director, Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, Okolobiri, Prof. Onyaye Kunle-Olowu, lamented that 15 per cent of women in the state engage in the recommended standard of breastfeeding, adding that there is need for stronger advocacy for nursing mothers in their workplace, in order to promote exclusive breastfeeding.

    According to him, breastfeeding helps children to survive and thrive, enables infants to withstand infections, provides critical nutrients for the early development of their brains and bodies and strengthens the bond between mothers and their babies.

    “A recent Lancet study found that infants who were breastfed for at least one year went on to stay in school longer, score higher on intelligence tests and earn more as adults than those who were breastfed for only a month,” Owei said.

    The commissioner said the government would continue to lead the charge by making breastfeeding a policy priority in the state’s development plans, increasing resources for programmes that support breastfeeding and working with communities and families to promote the full benefits of breastfeeding.

    “Breastfed children fall sick less often, so their mothers are absent from work less often, too. These effects in turn contribute to higher productivity, ultimately benefitting businesses and larger economies,” he said.

    Owei pointed out that the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has adopted three conventions to establish protective measures for pregnant women and new mothers, including the rights to continue breastfeeding. He listed the conventions as time (extended maternity leave), space (crèche at the workplace or close to it) and support (a support group at the workplace).

    “Our challenge now is to make breastfeeding work in our workplaces too. Together we can help working women to breastfeed and reap the benefits for themselves, their children and for the health and wellbeing of future generations.” He said.

    Why babies were shortchanged

    The International Labour Organisation (ILO) convention on protective measures for pregnant women and new mothers recommend an exclusive breastfeeding for the child as a right from her mother.

    Article 10 1&2 of the convention emphasised the privileges a nursing mother should enjoy in order to give exclusive breastfeeding to their children.

    “A woman shall be provided with the right to one or more daily breaks or a daily reduction of hours of work to breastfeed her child.

    “The period during which nursing breaks or the reduction of daily hours of work is allowed, their number, the duration of nursing breaks and the procedures for the reduction of daily hours of work shall be determined by national law and practice. These breaks or the reduction of daily hours of work shall be counted as working time and remunerated accordingly.”

    However, when all the chips are down, a lot of man-made hindrances still put clogs in the wheel of mother to child exclusive breastfeeding. Speaking to The Nation why it is increasingly difficult for nursing mother to breast feed her child exclusively, a middle age woman who works as an administrative officer at the Lagos State government secretariat noted is still difficult to do exclusive breastfeeding, despite the fact that the state is operating a six-month maternity leave system.

    Mama Tolu, as she is fondly called, explained that she could not cope with the demand of the little baby in the house because he always wanted a breast in his mouth anytime he is not sleeping. According to her, the situation forced her husband to start buying baby milk, a can of which the boy consumes in less than 10 days.  She added quickly that ‘this does not foreclose breast feeding intermittently. That is why l told you that from my own experience, l wanted to do it but it was not successful.’

    The Nation also found out that the demands of house chores, especially when couples are not buoyant enough to engage the services of house-helps also become a hindrance to nursing mothers, as they get too tired and overwhelmed to attend to the breast demands of the baby.

    Mrs. Kate Aladekomo, a senior computer programmer at Alausa in Lagos confirmed to this reporter that it is easier said than done, adding that sometimes, the baby’s enemy is the father, who may not be able to withstand the long denial of access to his wife’s breasts.

    “My husband so cherishes fondling my breast to the extent that it is usually a tug of war anytime l am nursing a baby.  Though in a friendly manner, he would tell the baby not to suck me dry because that (my breasts) was what attracted him to me. …Strangely he could not tolerate exclusive breast feeding.” She said.

    The Nation’s investigation also revealed that most of the time, career women have little time to offer their babies breast milk after the maternity leave, which is still pegged at three months in most private and public institutions. In addition, most women who go through caesarian section during delivery may experience a bit of pain in the first few days of the baby’s birth, thereby making exclusive breastfeeding a herculean task.

    In addition to this, health-related crisis may also prevent the new baby from enjoying the mother’s milk. In some cases, the breast may not flow as expected and in other cases, the mother may be mistakenly bitten on the nipples, thereby making breastfeeding a painful process.

    Sharing her experiences, Ms Tobi Abubakar, a single mother, said though she did not experience total biting, but constant sucking on her breasts in the first two weeks of her baby’s arrival, gave her a laceration that pained her to the marrow. “After the laceration, l could not stomach the pains that followed; l therefore had to resort to baby food for almost two weeks when l became medically okay, to contiune with breast milk.”

    While a painful experience may be a determinant, Dr Vincent Ilogbo, a consultant pediatrician based in Canada argued that from experience “some breastfeeding mothers do not breastfeed because they believe it could make their breast flabby and unappealing especially to their husbands. A number of men have high preference for well-shaped breast. Hence, they discontinue breastfeeding at short intervals to discourage their husbands from looking outside.”

    According to him, if such a situation arises, it is the baby that suffers the consequences, adding that the fear of the baby getting addicted to the breasts makes some mother to give breast milk sparingly.

    The Nation equally learnt that cultural beliefs by some families, especially when the mother-in-law is around go a long way in discouraging the mother from exclusive breast feeding. Some mother-in-laws cannot just agree that the baby cannot be given water and in some cases, concoction that will make the baby strong. In such a case, the mother may therefore be helpless, especially if the mother in law is very domineering.

    Importance of exclusive breastfeeding

    According to UNICEF the importance of exclusive breastfeeding cannot be underestimated. Dr Bamidele Omotola, a nutritionist with UNICEF while speaking to The Nation noted that breastfeeding provides the best nutrition and protection from illness for the baby.

    According to him, exclusive breastfeeding is fundamental in the first six months; it is easily digested and absorbed by the baby. Not that alone, it contains anti-bodies which protect the child against infection. Breast feeding also helps mother’s womb to return to normal position after birth.

    Corroborating Omotola’s view, Dr Orode Doherty, a pediatrician noted that exclusive breast feeding is key and it’s essential that the kid should be fed this way.

    Doherty maintained that “The first drop of breast from the mother’s breast is vital and key to the rapid growth of the baby. It is better that the baby starts the same day he is born. The first milk that comes out is very thick and contains anti-bodies that are very good for the health of the baby.”

    According to her, breast milk “is like the baby’s immunisation and it sends the signal to the mother’s brain that the baby is here. It is also a time for a child and mother’s bond and the beginning of a mother’s affection to the baby. What comes out first from the mother’s breast is as much more liquid and that is what the baby needs, no water but exclusive breast feeding. The mother should empty the first before changing it. You are what you eat. The mother should be on good diet so that the milk can always flow.”

    The pediatrician pointed out that mothers “have to be taught how and when to give the baby their breast. When you are about to wean, you have to look around and do soft food with ewedu, crayfish and others you find in the environment.”

    Thinking along same line,  Dr Titi Adesanmi consultant pediatrician and Managing Director of Life Child Centre in Lagos explained  that  if a child is  not breast-fed adequately,  he is always sick, adding that “The first 1000 days is critical to the baby to develop his brain and potentials. It is a critical window to ensure that the brain achieves optimum potentials, even from the pregnant stage. The mother needs to be adequately fed a balance diet in other to cope with the challenges of motherhood.”

    Ways of encouraging exclusive breastfeeding

    Since it has been established by all stakeholders that Nigerian children are being short-changed by their mothers in the first 1000 days window, then it is obvious that all hands must be on deck to correct this anomaly.

    Dr Vincent Ilogbo argued that the government has a role to play on the issue by passing a favourable legislation that would give nursing mothers more time to feed their children, even at their place of work.

    “Other states should borrow a leaf from Lagos and Enugu that has granted six months maternity leave for nursing mothers and three weeks paternity leave for the nursing father. The implication of this is that   all things been equal, the mother will have enough time to give exclusive breastfeeding to their children for the six months that they are on leave.”

    Ilogbo pointed out that crèche and nursing homes should be established in all local government all over the states, where mothers can use for their conveniences, adding that they can go there to feed their children three to four times during office hour. This will go a long way in putting their minds at rest and they will be able to give their best in whatever work they are doing. They will also not be in a hurry to sneak out of office to go home to attend to their babies.”

    He said such a programme will serve dual purposes in the sense that it can be used as a research center to generate data, especially by child psychologists and pediatricians. “This type of programme is being used in Canada and it is a form of generation of employment for various professionals in the health sector.”

    To Owei, government should go all out to make deliberate policies that support breastfeeding, leading to increased job satisfaction and greater loyalty to their employers. “Breastfed children fall sick less often, so their mothers are absent from work less often, too. These effects in turn contribute to higher productivity, ultimately benefitting businesses and larger economies,” he said.

    He argued that it is a collective effort by all to make this dream a reality. “Our challenge now is to make breastfeeding work in our workplaces too. Together, we can help working women to breastfeed and reap the benefits for themselves, their children and for the health and wellbeing of future generations.”

    Speaking in the same vein, Donald Ase  a health expert in Bayelsa  challenged nursing mothers to key in to the state government’s programme and give their children the best from what God has given  them, adding that the children need good attention from their mothers.”

    Adesanmi is of the view that since the first 1000 days is critical to the development of the baby’s brain and potentials, mothers should not only see exclusive breastfeeding as the right of the baby but a task that must be done to their babies in order to get their cooperation while growing up.