Category: Abuja Review

The United Nations House, Abuja, which was bombed by the Boko Haram insurgents in 2011, has received a facelift eight years after. VINCENT IKUOMOLA reports

 

It was a period when bombing became a common incident in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nigeria’s seat of power. Fear became the order of the day. Nowhere seemed safe or exempted from attacks by the rampaging Boko Haram terrorists.

First, it was the Niger Delta militants who detonated two bombs at intervals on an auspicious day when the country was celebrating its 50th Independence anniversary. The occasion, which was held at the Eagle Square, had the then President, Goodluck Jonathan and other top dignitaries, including some past leaders on stand.

Then in two quick successions, two bombs were detonated, leaving behind sorrow, tears, and blood. No fewer than ten lives were lost on a day that was supposed to be joyous. It turned out that the bombings were carried out by members of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).

This was followed by the bombing of the Louis Edet House, the Police Headquarters, where the then Inspector General of Police, Hafiz Ringim escaped death by the whiskers. He seemed to be the prime target, as the suicide bombers, on June 16, 2011, drove a bomb-laden car behind his convoy to gain access to the building.

That marked the beginning of suicide bombings in parts of the country by the Boko Haram insurgent. The bloody attack claimed several lives and destroyed property worth millions of Naira.

Fear gripped residents of the capital city at the time as one bomb explosion followed the other as residents started avoiding nightlife.

The fragile peace was shattered two months after, when the UN building came under bomb attack on Friday, August 26, 2011. The building, located in the central area of the city housed 26 humanitarian and development agencies under the UN.

An explosive-laden vehicle had approached the security post pretending to be on a legitimate mission. Suddenly, the driver, who was on a suicide mission, rammed through two security barriers and hit a section of the building.

And the entire place went up in flame and smoke. Again, it was Boko Haram.

Twenty-three bodies were retrieved from the rubble and about 60 persons suffered varying degrees of injury.

The Federal Government offered to reconstruct the structure and a $15 million budget was drawn for the project in 2012. The construction giant, Julius Berger Nigeria got the job.

And on October 24, the UN building in Nigeria got back its groove, coinciding with the commemoration of the International Day of the UN.

 

The reopening of the UN House in Abuja demonstrates our collective commitment to continue addressing the complex challenges facing Nigeria, West Africa, and the whole world

 

The new-look UN House boasts three police posts, body and baggage scanners and closed-circuit television cameras in strategic locations. Movements in and around the area have also been restricted, except for those having legitimate business to do in any of the agencies in the building.

During the handover ceremony, the UN representative in Nigeria, Edward Kallon, captured the tragic occurrence on a fateful day.

Kallon said: “What started as a normal working day at the U.N. house on Friday 26th of August, 2011 quickly turned into a disaster to the United Nations staff, families and some of our partners. It was indeed a dark day for the United Nations.”

Mark Lowcock, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said: “The Nigerian Government handing over this building to the UN is a symbol of our shared commitment to continue supporting the people and Government of Nigeria.”

Lowcock, who represented the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Antonio Guterres at the event, noted that the attack was the first to be carried out on UN building in the country.

“This was the first attack against a UN facility in Nigeria; the building has since been rehabilitated by the Nigerian Government,” adding that Nigeria has been a key factor since it became a member of the United Nations in 1960.

Lowcock added: “Today’s reopening of the UN House in Abuja demonstrates our collective commitment to continue addressing the complex challenges facing Nigeria, West Africa, and the whole world”.

According to him, the opening of the UN House was a show of refusal to be cowed in the face of terror. “We stand together to say that we will not be cowed by violence. We will continue to support the Nigerian people to fulfill their dreams of a future of prosperity and security”, he said.

Read Also: Insurgence: United Nation must help West Africa now

 

Lowcock also paid tribute to the fallen 23 UN colleagues, contractors, and visitors who lost their lives that day, and many others who were injured, saying that their sacrifice will never be forgotten. “My thoughts today are above all with the families and friends they left behind.

Today, I want to dedicate this official handover of the UN House to all whose those lives were irreversibly changed on that fateful day in 2011.”

“Dayo, an OCHA driver who I spoke to yesterday, was only a few meters away from the explosion. He told me that he does not know how he survived the blast and he still has to undergo regular treatment.

“Baby Fesse was not even working for the UN. As a student, she had come to do some research and to visit her mother who was working here. Her life was forever changed when she lost her leg in the explosion.

“The UN House security guards who continue to devote their lives to protect others every day. And there are many others to whom we pay tribute today.”

The re-opening of the UN House, Lowcock said, “is one small way we can honour them. But today is not only about the past. Today we must also look to the future.”

 

Wife of Kebbi State Governor, Mrs. Zainab Bagugu and some celebrities have sensitised women to the dangers of cancer.  TONY AKOWE reports

 

For the Kebbi State governor’s wife, Mrs. Zainab Bagudu, sensitising the womenfolk to the dangers of cancer has become a passion. For several years, her involvement in creating awareness about cancer and available treatment options has continued to wax strong.

Expectedly, her major focus in the campaign is the womenfolk, who have been at the receiving end over the years, with little encouragement from the larger society.

In a bold statement, Mrs. Bagudu has continued to inform the public, especially women, that having cancer isn’t a death sentence.

So, when she stormed Abuja recently during her campaign against the disease, it did not require much effort to attract celebrities to join the one-day event that rekindled hope in many patients who shared their experiences about the scourge.

Mrs. Bagudu, who is the founder of Medicaid Cancer Foundation, has continued to inspire patients with words of encouragement and hope. Her effort has been yielding positive results as patients, mainly women, have been coming forward to narrate their experiences and how they have been coping with treatment and therapy.

According to her, the Medicaid Foundation has assisted more than 200, 000 people across the country since it was set up a few years ago.

 

Patients narrate experiences

Zainab Yakassai, who is an employee of Federal Judicial Service Commission, said she discovered a lump on her breast in October, last year and was diagnosed of breast cancer a month later.

To her, it was a death sentence. But help came her way through series of chemotherapy and other forms of treatment. And by September this year, she was declared cancer-free and has been living a healthy life since then.

Another patient, who simply identified herself as Ijeoma, said she was diagnosed of breast cancer in July, last year. And like Yakassai, she went through the rigours of cancer treatment and has just been declared cancer-free a few weeks ago. Ijeoma advised others in similar situation to face the treatment with courage and determination in order to be alive.

Another patient, Ocheme said she discovered a lump in her breast while doing her National Youth Service a few years ago. “I went to the hospital and was diagnosed of cancer. Immediately I got the information, I was distabilised. But there was a voice that told me that was not the end of life and that voice came from Medicaid Foundation. Since then, they have been of tremendous help to me. They assisted me and I went through surgery and here I am today, cancer-free,” she said.

Sandra Vee described her cancer story in a long narrative, saying that she had lived all her life running away from cancer but which she eventually suffered from. According to her, she grew up believing that eating meat causes cancer.

In fact, the greatest fear in her family, especially her father, was the fear of cancer.

She said: “Mine is a long and short story. Surviving cancer is a story that one doesn’t know how to narrate to the next person. It is a story one would want to keep to oneself. But sometimes, it is a story that one should share with others so that other women will know what to do when they notice something in their breasts.

“I noticed a 2cm lump in my breast on January 2, 2019 and immediately rushed to the hospital. I went through scan and doctors revealed to me that it was fibroid enemas. With that, I was supposed to relax, but I did not. I went to different hospitals and they all told me the same thing. I went for leaptoctomy, an operation to remove the lump.

Read Also: Aisha Buhari harps on cancer prevention strategies

 

“Immediately I removed the lump, I went to the National Hospital, Abuja and did a histopathology test which confirmed that I had triple negative cancer. I was begging for death to come, I was begging for the ground to open and swallow me, but none of that happened. I never knew that a day will come when I will survive this cancer.

“As a child, I was a vegetarian. So, when they say meat causes cancer, I never bothered. I didn’t even know how meat tastes. My parents told me from the onset that my mother’s family has a history of cancer. So, you must eat right. My father was afraid of cancer all his life and I woke up one day and discovered that I have cancer.

“At the National Hospital, I remembered one of the doctors came and told me that even though it is triple negative, the drugs are there, and that I could make it. The same 2cm lump I found on January 2 had grown to 7cm a month after. That is how fast cancer spreads and it kills as fast as it comes.

“But with the help of Medicaid Foundation, I was able to survive it. I became a vegetarian and ate limited kinds of foods for fear of cancer. While we lived in America, we never ate certain food just to avoid cancer. I came back to Nigeria to see my mother in-law and they refused to grant me visa to go back. It was like a death sentence.

Currently, this foundation has given me hope and I am standing here today to tell you that you can become a cancer survivor, especially if you discover it early. I keep telling those who have cancer and have refused to go for chemotherapy that I went through eight rounds of chemotherapy and here I am. The only thing it turned me into is a glutton because I eat uncontrollably, not knowing when to stop.”

 

Plea for cancer centres across the country

Mrs. Bagudu pleaded with government at all levels to ensure the establishment and equipping of cancer centres in as many locations as possible, stating that she got involved in cancer care in order to save lives. The governor’s wife said even though she is not an Oncologist, she was motivated into establishing the foundation as her own contribution towards saving lives. According to her, only a few non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are currently involved in the cancer awareness campaign in the country.

She lamented the cost of cancer treatment, describing it as very expensive.

“We are here talking about Radiotherapy, which is about N400, 000. The world needs to do more to eradicate cancer. Take for example, when the issue of HIV/AIDS first broke, there were so many NGOs involved in the fight, apparently because people can easily be infected.

“But cancer is not like that. The awareness level is low and many women are dying daily. This is what I like doing. That is why I prefer being called Founder of Medicaid Cancer Foundation to being addressed as wife of Kebbi State Governor because I became founder before becoming the wife of the governor. My being wife of the governor has a tenure because, after eight years, my husband will no longer be governor. I thank God that he has a second term now. But that will end in another four years,” she said.

The President of Women Arise for Change Initiative, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin praised Mrs. Bagudu and her Foundation for bringing succour to cancer patients.

Okei-Odumakin said: ”For eight years, you have been creating awareness and this Foundation is 12 years old. Cancer is the second largest killer disease. It knows no race, no tribe, no religious inclination and no age. That is why we must continue to create adequate awareness. I have been to the National Hospital and when I see those there who are suffering from cancer, I become convinced that they have hope. So, we must continue to create awareness on early detection, which is crucial.

Celebrities at the event included Nollywood actress, Toyin Abraham and former Super Eagles Captain, Peter Rufai among others. Participants at the walk described it as the longest against the ailment on the African Continent.

 

” We are here talking about Radiotherapy, which is about N400, 000. The world needs to do more to eradicate cancer. Take for example, when the issue of HIV/AIDS first broke, there were so many NGOs involved in the fight, apparently because people can easily be infected. But cancer is not like that. The awareness level is low and many women are dying daily “

A 250-room three-star hotel abandoned by the Federal Government for 16 years has become home to the destitute, criminals and reptiles. ANDREW ABBAH reports

 

Over the years, the Sports Ministry and other stakeholders have been paying hotel bills ruining into hundreds of millions of Naira to private hotel owners for the accommodation of sports men and women and their officials during national and international sport events in the county. Meanwhile, a 250-room hotel, which was started in 2003, nearing 80 per cent completion, has been left to rot. The facility, located within the Abuja National Stadium, now MKO Abiola Stadium, was designed to provide accommodation for sports men and women and their officials during national and international sporting events in the country. Also, the facility was meant to be open to interested members of the public during off season to boost revenue generation for the Sports Ministry. But that is not to be as the otherwise magnificent edifice into which billions of taxpayers’ money had been sunk, has since become home destitute persons, criminals of all shades, reptiles and rodents.

Our correspondent could not immediately ascertain actual cost of the hotel project, which was initially meant to accommodate participants and officials in the 8th All Africa Games held in Abuja in 2003. The sports fiesta, tagged Comite d’ Organization des Jeux Africaine (COJA) held between October 5-17, with 53 countries participating in 23 sporting events. But in its 16 years existence, the Athletes’ Hotel, as the authorities named it, has yet to give accommodation to a single athlete or recorded a dime in income. The V-shaped four-storey structure, sitting on a large expanse of land, is overgrown with weeds, providing a sanctuary for vagrants and cover for hoodlums.

Located at Package B section of the stadium, the structure can be sighted right from the Abuja City Gate. It is less than three minutes’ drive to the popular 1 roundabout and less than two kilometers to the central area in the city centre. It is also adjacent to the Nigeria Institute for Sports (NIS). But successive Sports Ministers and Administrators have continued to neglect the structure for what many described as lack of patriotism. Our correspondent who visited the location observed that some interior parts of the massive structure are already falling apart. It was gathered that the hotel project was initiated by the then Presidential Task Force raised for the building of the stadium.

The organisational aspect of the COJA Games was headed by a former CAF/FIFA Executive member who was then Director- General, National Sports Commission (NSC), Dr. Amos Adamu. While commenting on the objective of building the hotel,  Adamu, who spoke with our correspondent in Abuja, said, “The initial concept was athletes hotel within the stadium. It was meant to complement the Games Village project during the games but could not be completed before the game ended. Another objective of constructing the hotel was for the Ministry to generate extra funds as the hotel will be open to the public during the offseason.”

Adamu, however, lamented that successive Sports Ministers came and left the building the same way they met it, saying that it was only one of the past Ministers, Prof Taoheed Adedaoja who made some at reviving the structure but that he could not achieve much before his tenure expired.

Read Also: Radisson to add more hotels in Nigeria

The Acting Director, Facilities in the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Datawan Duste, said about one billion would be required to fix the hotel and other dilapidated facilities within it. According to him, huge resources would be needed for landscaping and construction of access road that will link directly to the adjoining expressway leading to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport. He added that the hotel would also need modern facilities, including a gym and a multipurpose centre.

Also commenting on the state of the facility, the Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Sports, Olumide Osoba, bemoaned the sorry state of the facility. Osoba however, promised that his committee would do what it takes to ensure that the Federal Government gives the facility the required attention. The lawmaker promised that adequate funding would be made available to the Ministry in the 2020 federal budget for the upgrade and renovation of the hotel and other abandoned projects to enable the athletes to have the best preparations before any international competitions.

Osoba said Nigerian athletes deserve the best, assuring that his committee was willing and ready to assist the Ministry to address the situation.

Minister of Youth and Sports Sunday Dare, who accompanied the lawmakers during the inspection, pleaded with the National Assembly to capture the hotel in the capital project in the ministry’s 2020 budget.

Dare said: “I am happy the House committee members are here physically to see things for themselves. The state of abandoned projects within the stadium is alarming. The way they were shocked was the same way I was when I first visited the stadium. The state of dilapidated sporting facilities made me to visit other stadia owned by the Federal Government. We need money to bring it up to date, to meet international standards. Our athletes need the best facilities to excel and we are determined to turn this place around within a given period. It is my belief that having seen things for themselves, they will assist us in upgrading the facility.”

 

The fear of the police is gradually becoming the beginning of wisdom for the members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) popularly known as the Shi’ites, writes GBENGA OMOKHUNU

Since Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) leader Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky and his wife, Zeenah, have been in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) since December 2015, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja and other parts of the country have known no peace.

The El-Zakzaky and his religious group, with administrative headquarters in Zaria, Kaduna State, are generally perceived to be notorious, particularly in Kaduna State. Only travellers to Kaduna and Kano states who had encountered the members during processions that usually take over large portions of the major highways, can tell the story better.

The movement began with a Shia Muslim university activist, Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, who is said to have become so impressed with the 1979 Iranian Revolution that he wanted one at home. Later, Zakzaky went to Iran and ultimately became a Shia cleric. At home, he became the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria and turned it into a vehicle for proselytising and gaining followers in the 1990s. As a result of his activities, millions have converted to Shia Islam in a country where they were rarely known before.

The group, again, clashed with the police in Abuja last Friday during its annual event to commemorate its Arbaeen trek.

This sparked fears of another confrontation with the security operatives who dispersed from the popular Wuse market with tear gas and gunshots. Although no life was lost in the clash, several Shi’ite members were injured during the incident that lasted for about 30 minutes.

Arbaeen is a Shiite annual religious practice usually conducted on the 20th Safar of the Islamic calendar to mark the 40th day of the murder of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad who was killed on 10th Muharram.

Following the development, the Academic Forum of the Islamic movement expressed sadness over the clash. In a statement by Forum, signed by Abdullahi Musa said: “This year Arabaeen symbolic trek here in Abuja had been scheduled for Saturday, October 19, 2019. However, another evil plan, of which we were reliably informed, had made it a near impossibility, for the safety of the populace and public properties.

“We discovered that the Police and other security agents had schemed to cause mayhem and violence to enable them to put the blame on Sheikh Zakzaky’s followers just like they did on July 22 at Federal Secretariat where they killed a senior police officer and a journalist. We decided to reschedule the procession, but in spite of the rescheduling, police attacked the peaceful solemn match, tear-gassing, arresting and molesting the trekkers.”

Narrating the many clashes between the group and security agencies, he said, “The general public could recall the grave atrocities committed by the Nigerian Army in Zaria in December 2015 where more than a thousand followers of Sheikh Zakzaky were killed. Ever since then, the Sheikh, his wife and numerous others are under illegal detention.

“In like manner, last year the Army killed more than 50 trekkers in Abuja during Arbaeen trek. We condemned all forms of tyranny and urged the public to unite and challenge oppression, the way Imam Hussain did during Yazid, as tyranny and humanity are mutually exclusive.”

With the constant bloody clashes with security agencies, there have been calls for dialogue with the federal government to end the festering animosity. But Suhailah Ibrahim Zakzaky, daughter of the embattled IMN leader, said on Monday that only her father has the right to initiate dialogue with the Federal Government.

Although the case between the Shi’ites and the government is in court, Suhailah said the government should dialogue with El-Zakzaky if the authorities are interested in peace. The group has continued to reject the terrorist label pinned on it by the federal government and which led to its prescription a few months back.

Denying the terrorist tag, Suhaila said: “We are not the ones attacking the government. But on the contrary, we are subject to tyranny, oppression and aggression. We are only practising our religion as we understand it. So if the aggressors decide to stop the aggression and instead of dialogue with us, then we are ready to do so, under the directives of our esteemed leader, Sheikh Zakzaky.”

Also, the Sisters Forum of the Islamic Movement recently raised the alarm that 23 of their girls are still in custody the custody of the Army and the following the December 2015 attack on the group in Zaria. The Forum urged President Muhammadu Buhari to order the release of the girls who the group said are languishing in detention in spite of life-threatening injuries sustained by some of them. The Sisters Forum also called for the release of Sheikh El-Zakzaky, his wife and some of his followers that are still in detention.

Zainab Zakariyya, who spoke to reporters in Abuja on behalf of the Sisters Forum, said: “We would like to inform the general public that the families of 705 people that got missing over the course of the December 2015 massacre in Zaria are so anxious to have their missing children back 46 months after. Neither the Nigerian Army nor the Police is saying anything about the missing persons or their whereabouts. Even more distressing is the case of the 23 girls that were kidnapped. These girls were taken in broad daylight.”

Continuing, she said: “Most surprisingly, the stage-managers of the massacre, particularly President Buhari, on whose table the buck stops, are keeping mum, and their flinty silence is quite deafening. Thus, from the orchestrators down to the killer-cum-arsonist troops and undercover agents, no one wants anybody to be informed about the fate of the missing people. But, if anything else, the government’s silence acquiesces to more conspiracies in the offing.

“Nigerians and the international community are well acquainted with this massacre, where more than 1,000 innocent men, women, children, the aged and infants were killed within 48 hours in Zaria. Even pregnant women and nursing mothers were not spared; some were burnt alive, others gunned down, and the victims buried in mass graves so as to do away with conclusive evidence of the war crimes.”

However, security sources who spoke with The Nation on the saga said the government will never succumb to the antics of the IMN over any procession or protest anywhere in the country, especially in Abuja.

They said the government would not fail in its duty to protect lives and property. One of the operatives, who spoke with our correspondent on Wednesday, said: “The IMN should abide by the law and what the government wants. Their activities always result in violence. Look at what recently happened in Abuja where a senior police officer, a corps member and many people lost their lives during their protest. The Presidency has given strict orders to security operatives to act accordingly and not to take anything for granted. The Inspector-General of Police and other top security chiefs have also been briefed by the President on this issue. No group is bigger than the government.”

To drive home its point, the government has drafted security operatives to flashpoints in different locations within the capital city, with orders to promptly quash any protest by members of the group. The question on the lips of many residents of the capital city is, when will the face of the end?

Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume represents the Borno South senatorial district. He is also the chairman, Senate Committee on Army. He narrates his experience on the train in an interview with Sanni Onogu.

When I decided to travel to Kaduna, for safety reasons and because of what is happening these days rampantly, I decided to send for a ticket. The First Class ticket is selling for N3000 and the ordinary coach is selling for N1500. But I couldn’t get either of the two. So they gave me a ticket and they wrote “STD” on it. So I thought that one is standard. So when I went there they said they could not get the First Class nor the other one. So I collected the STD. I didn’t know that STD means standing. So I went in, and I was asking the workers where is the standard coach? They said there is no standard coach. I said no, I have a standard ticket! And the man looked at it and said distinguished Senator, you have to stand. Your ticket is for standing. So I went in there to stand for two hours from Abuja to Kaduna. And then somebody recognised me there and said ‘distinguished Senator, look at what we are going through, the people that are standing in the ordinary coach are more than the people sitting. One other thing is that one cannot stand in the First Class coach. So even if you are standing, you have to stand in the ordinary coach. So we had more people standing than the ones sitting in that coach that day. We all know what is going on on our roads from Abuja to Kaduna and vice versa.

“What this means to me is that the ordinary people that are supposed to benefit from the railway services are not benefiting anymore because if you go to the Zuba garage, you can get transport to Kaduna for N700. But the ordinary coach is now N1500. And people even pay that N1500 to stand from Abuja to Kaduna. I think the government urgently needs to increase the number of coaches there and they can do it through Public-Private Partnership (PPP). So there is an opportunity there for business for those who want to invest.”