The Nation Newspaper

Category: Abuja Review

  • Forum seeks ministerial slot for FCT

    The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Indigenous Women Forum, under the aegis of GBAKKA, has called on the Federal Government to give the FCT indigenes a ministerial slot.

    GBAKKA is an acronym for the six area councils of Gwagwalada, Bwari, Kuje Kwali and Abuja Municipal.

    President of GBAKKA, Mrs. Rifkatu Chidawa made the call during a visit by some members to the secretariat of the National Council of Women Societies (NCWS) Abuja.

    Chidawa said there was need for Abuja indigenes to have a say and presence in the Federal Executive Cabinet like the other 36 states, adding that the indigenes have educated and qualified professionals that can occupy positions in government.

    She also called on the members of the National Assembly to review the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which will enable the people of the FCT have equal rights and be recognised as a state.

    “We are calling on the Federal Government that indigenes who are equally Nigerians should be given what is our right. We are citizens that have sacrificed so much for the growth and peace of this great nation.

    “Being women of the FCT indigenes and knowing that women dialogue, we are using this forum to press for our demands.

    “We want to be carried along and have a sense of belonging. We also add our voice to our people’s agitation and clamour for the Abuja people to have a say and presence in the Federal Executive Council like other states in Nigeria.

    Our lands are our oil wells. Our fathers and mothers before us bequeathed to us our ancestral land in furtherance of nationhood. Giving up one’s land to one’s country is the greatest price to pay by any citizen.

    “Abuja is bigger than seven states in terms of landmass and bigger in population than four states. It is estimated that about 4.5 million people live in Abuja, yet the inhabitants have no say in governance of this country.

    “As good as the All Progressives Congress (APC) government is, we say that the change will not be complete as long as indigenous people remain helpless, voiceless and their constitutional rights denied them,” she said.

    Nigeria’s Ambassador to Gambia and member of the group, Hon. Mrs. Esther John Audu also urged the Federal Government to consider the people of the FCT by providing a ministerial slot for them.

    “I expect consideration, justice and fairness to the indigenes of the FCT so that they can have equal rights as other Nigerians have.

    “The indigenes are people that have sacrificed a lot for the existence of the nation’s capital and development of our country Nigeria.

    “I call on all women to develop the talent God has given to them and make themselves available to serve the country when the need arises and do the best they can for their immediate families and the society.

    “A nation state cannot develop if a group of people are marginalised and their rights denied them,” she said.

    The President of NCWS, Mrs. Nkechi Okemiri Mba assured the FCT Indigenous Women Forum that their yearnings and agitation would be forwarded to the First Lady of the Federal Republic whom is the Grand Patron for Nigerian women.

    She commended the women for their peaceful agitation for a ministerial slot, assuring them that their demands would be given adequate consideration.

    Mba said: “I am very grateful with the visit and I am assuring you that your request will be granted.

  • IMF loan versus technical support

    Not a few wondered what was afoot when the news hit the airwaves that the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund  (IMF), Ms Christine Lagarde, was coming to town.

    Before the news broke out, there was downturn in Nigeria’s economy due to persistent fall in oil prices in the international market.

    Nigeria, which has, over the years, mainly depended on crude oil revenue, was being threatened by the oil prices that crashed from over $100 per barrel to about $34 per barrel as the World Bank chief arrived.

    The dwindling revenue has also adversely affected projections in the Federal Government’s 2016 Budget proposal currently before the National Assembly.

    Since its inception, the IMF has played major roles in the financial crises of some of its member nations, especially the oil shock of the 1970s and the debt crisis of the 1980s, which resulted in sharp increases in IMF lending.

    In the 1990s, the transition process in Central and Eastern Europe and the crises in emerging market economies led to further increases in the demand for IMF loans.

    Deep crises in Latin America and Turkey kept demand for IMF loans high in the early 2000s while IMF lending also rose in the late 2008 in the wake of the global financial crisis.

    The N6.08 trillion 2016 Budget proposal presented by President Muhammadu Buhari last month, which tends toward deficit, according to the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo-Udoma, will be partly funded by improved taxes management and loans.

    Speaking with State House correspondents on how 2016 Budget will be funded after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting approved the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) last month, Udo-Udoma said: “We will get the funding from two sources. We are looking at increasing our non-oil revenue; we are trying to get more money from the various government agencies, policing their collection and trying to get more money from them.

    “We will also look at keeping down our recurrent budget, which means we are looking at savings that we can make from overheads.

    “We will look at the efficiencies from our revenue collecting agencies such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), in terms of company income tax, in terms of Value Added Tax (VAT), and then the difference, we will have to borrow.

    “But the level of borrowing that we anticipate and we are projecting will be well within the maximum that we allow, which is three per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), because we want a prudent budget, we want a credible budget. So, we are working on that now.”

    Probably because the minister did not specify then whether the borrowing will be within the country or from outside the country, those Nigerians alarmed by Lagarde’s visit to Nigeria likely linked the visit to moves for Nigeria to access IMF loan.

    Their fears were aggravated by the past sad stories of some developing countries that had problems in repaying such loans and meeting IMF conditionality.

    Allaying the fears after meeting President Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja last Tuesday Lagarde categorically declared that she was not in Nigeria to negotiate for IMF loan for the country.

    Stressing that her visit was routine and centred on technical discussions, she said: “Our technical discussions will continue and to those of you who wonder why the IMF Director is visiting Nigeria, it is precisely to discuss these new objectives, these reforms agenda that have been identified and supported by the President and also to appreciate the impact that it will have on neighbouring countries because when a country as large as Nigeria, anything that it decides, any hardship that it faces will have consequences around it and that is what our research and analytical work is demonstrating.”

    With the determination and resilience by President Buhari and his team, she noted that Nigeria does not currently need IMF programme.

    Despite her remarks, some doubting Thomases feared that the matter may become like the popular Nigeria’s saying “the more you look, the less you see.”

    But the President, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, has helped to throw more light on the discussions at the closed-door meeting.

    As if fore-closing any idea of IMF loan, the statement said the President, during the meeting, told Lagarde that Nigeria will look inward to overcome its economic challenges.

    The President, however, said his administration will welcome technical support and expertise of the IMF on plans to diversify the Nigerian economy.

    Nigeria, definitely, cannot afford any facility that will worsen its economic situation in the long run.

     

    Tougher times for MDAs

     

    Tougher times appear to be awaiting government’s revenue generating ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).

    Dictates of the current economic realities will not allow businesses to be conducted ‘as usual’ in the MDAs.

    Before now, the government agencies whose salaries, overheads and capital expenditure are paid by the Federal Government were expected to generate operating surplus and credit 80 per cent of the income to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF).

    But the government has discovered that many of the agencies have never credited anything to the CRF and never generated any operating surplus.

    To this end, the government has announced measures to strictly monitor the MDAs in the face of the falling oil prices in the international market towards plugging leakages and boosting government revenues.

    Apart from those generating revenues in dollar now to be made to remit same to the government in dollar denomination, free spending of incomes have also been stopped.

    As part of the decisions taken at last Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, the government also has set up efficiency unit to look into how money is spent and the savings.

    The MDAs will now have to submit budget for approval before spending any revenue generated.

    The ministers supervising such revenue generating boards were also reminded during the last FEC meeting of their responsibilities in the matter under the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA).

    Strategies should be put in place now to check any new ways the civil servants and their heads could exploit to beat the new order.

    It is hoped that government’s new moves along with other measures will help to sanitise the system, provide more revenue for 2016 Budget and reshape the Nigerian economy.

    Nigerians on the streets, no doubt, have no business with suffering given the natural and human resources God has endowed the country with.

     

  • Firm gets NCAA’s operation certificate

    Firm gets NCAA’s operation certificate

    The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has granted an Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) to an Abuja-based private jet charter company, Izy Air Limited.

    At a short and colourful ceremony at the NCAA Office, Ikeja, Lagos where the certificate was presented to the President of Izy Air Limited, Alex Izinyon II by the NCAA Director of Operations and Training, Captain Abdullahi Sidi, the organisation said it was determined to give their clients the best in terms of services.

    After receiving the certificate, Mr. Izinyon said the company was pleased to offer its incorporated services as a provider of executive charter, aircraft sales, aircraft purchase, management services and operation services to its clients. Their extensive fleet of modern jet aircraft such as the luxurious Hawker 800/900XP series and the Bombardier Challenger 601/604 series are available for charter from the company’s base in Abuja.

    On what clients should expect from Izy Air Limited with the grant of the AOC, Mr. Izinyon said: ”With the acquisition of our AOC, we are very much positioned to carry out increased services for our clients. We hope to change business aviation in Nigeria. Throughout this year, we are focusing on improving our customer experience in all our flights; provide a more efficient management service programme for private jet owners centred around efficiency and reduced costs; and help corporations and individuals with more efficient and seamless air logistics services, within and outside Nigeria.

    “There are services we are rolling out this year that would change a lot of perceptions and make traveling much smoother for our flyers. We look forward to a lot of these expansions throughout this year.

    “Because of our focus on safety, our maintenance is carried out only by EASA and FAA approved organisations that have engineers of the highest experience for the specific aircraft types. We have a great blend of both foreign and local crew members, which provides a global flavour to our customers. We are happy to be in business and commence commercial operations. 

    “I believe that by meeting the legal requirements of operating as an aviation company in Nigeria, we are on the pathway to achieving our vision of providing excellent and efficient aircraft charter and management services, and becoming the market leaders in Africa by 2020.”

  • IMF loan versus technical support

    Not a few Nigerians might have gotten goose pimples when the news hit the airwaves that the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund  (IMF), Ms. Christine Lagarde, was coming to Nigeria.

    Before the news broke out, there was downturn in Nigeria’s economy due to persistent fall in oil prices in the international market.

    Nigeria, which has, over the years, mainly depended on crude oil revenue, was being threatened by the oil prices that crashed from over $100 per barrel to about $34 per barrel as at mid-last week.

    The dwindling revenue has also adversely affected projections in the Federal Government’s 2016 Budget proposal currently before the National Assembly.

    Since its inception, the IMF has played major roles in the financial crises of some of its member nations, especially the oil shock of the 1970s and the debt crisis of the 1980s, which resulted in sharp increases in IMF lending.

    In the 1990s, the transition process in Central and Eastern Europe and the crises in emerging market economies led to further increases in the demand for IMF loans.

    Deep crises in Latin America and Turkey kept demand for IMF loans high in the early 2000s while IMF lending also rose in the late 2008 in the wake of the global financial crisis.

    The N6.08 trillion 2016 Budget proposal presented by President Muhammadu Buhari last month, which tends toward deficit, according to the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo-Udoma, will be partly funded by improved taxes management and loans.

    Speaking with State House correspondents on how 2016 Budget will be funded after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting approved the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) last month, Udo-Udoma said: “We will get the funding from two sources. We are looking at increasing our non-oil revenue; we are trying to get more money from the various government agencies, policing their collection and trying to get more money from them.

    “We will also look at keeping down our recurrent budget, which means we are looking at savings that we can make from overheads.

    “We will look at the efficiencies from our revenue collecting agencies such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), in terms of company income tax, in terms of Value Added Tax (VAT), and then the difference, we will have to borrow.

    “But the level of borrowing that we anticipate and we are projecting will be well within the maximum that we allow, which is three per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), because we want a prudent budget, we want a credible budget. So, we are working on that now.”

    Probably because the minister did not specify then whether the borrowing will be within the country or from outside the country, those Nigerians alarmed by Lagarde’s visit to Nigeria likely linked the visit to moves for Nigeria to access IMF loan.

    Their fears were aggravated by the past sad stories of some developing countries that had problems in repaying such loans and meeting IMF conditionality.

    Allaying the fears after meeting President Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja last Tuesday Lagarde categorically declared that she was not in Nigeria to negotiate for IMF loan for the country.

    Stressing that her visit was routine and centred on technical discussions, she said: “Our technical discussions will continue and to those of you who wonder why the IMF Director is visiting Nigeria, it is precisely to discuss these new objectives, these reforms agenda that have been identified and supported by the President and also to appreciate the impact that it will have on neighbouring countries because

    when a country large as Nigeria, anything that it decides, any hardship that it faces will have consequences around it and that is what our research and analytical work is demonstrating.”

    With the determination and resilience by President Buhari and his team, she noted that Nigeria does not currently need IMF programme.

    Despite her remarks, some doubting Thomases feared that the matter may become like the popular Nigeria’s saying “the more you look, the less you see.”

    But the President, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, has helped to throw more light on the discussions at the closed-door meeting.

    As if fore-closing any idea of IMF loan, the statement said the President, during the meeting, told Lagarde that Nigeria will look inward to overcome its economic challenges.

    The President, however, said his administration will welcome technical support and expertise of the IMF on plans to diversify the Nigerian economy.

    Nigeria, definitely, cannot afford any facility that will worsen its economic situation in the long run.

     

    Tougher times for MDAs

     

    Tougher times appear to be awaiting government’s revenue generating ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).

    Dictates of the current economic realities will not allow businesses to be conducted ‘as usual’ in the MDAs.

    Before now, the government agencies whose salaries, overheads and capital expenditure are paid by the Federal Government were expected to generate operating surplus and credit 80 per cent of the income to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF).

    But the government has discovered that many of the agencies have never credited anything to the CRF and never generated any operating surplus.

    To this end, the government has announced measures to strictly monitor the MDAs in the face of the falling oil prices in the international market towards plugging leakages and boosting government revenues.

    Apart from those generating revenues in dollar now to be made to remit same to the government in dollar denomination, free spending of incomes have also been stopped.

    As part of the decisions taken at last Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, the government also has set up efficiency unit to look into how money is spent and the savings.

    The MDAs will now have to submit budget for approval before spending any revenue generated.

    The ministers supervising such revenue generating boards were also reminded during the last FEC meeting of their responsibilities in the matter under the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA).

    Strategies should be put in place now to check any new ways the civil servants and their heads could exploit to beat the new order.

    It is hoped that government’s new moves along with other measures will help to sanitise the system, provide more revenue for 2016 Budget and reshape the Nigerian economy.

    Nigerians on the streets, no doubt, have no business with suffering given the natural and human resources God has endowed the country with.

  • Cleric donates food items to IDPs

    Cleric donates food items to IDPs

    It was another joyous moment at the internally-displaced persons (IDPs) camp in Abuja when Word and Spirit Assembly Church donated food items and other relief materials to them.

    The church, which has its headquarters in Lagos, visited the camp in Karamajiji to present the gifts which included bags of rice, gallons of groundnut oil, yams and cloths, among other items. The members were led by Senior Pastor Chris Ekeh.

    Speaking at the event, Pastor Ekeh said: “The gesture was our way of giving back to the society.”

    Pastor Ekeh urged Nigerians to shun religious sentiments, saying there was need for Nigerians to treasure the lives of fellow humankind.

    He also called on government, organisations and well-meaning Nigerians to assist the IDPs who were forcibly driven out of their ancestral homes by insurgents in the Northeast.

    While receiving the gifts, the representative of the IDPs and Secretary to the Emir, Mohammed Dantali, commen-ded Pastor Ekeh and his church for the gesture, saying the IDPs need permanent accommo-dations, electricity, market place and schools for their children.

  • Free HIV/AIDS screening for community

    Free HIV/AIDS screening for community

    Efforts to reduce the spread of HIV and AIDS in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have received a boost with an outreach programme in Mpape, a rustic settlement in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). VINCENT IKUOMOLA reports that the health programme, sponsored by the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, in conjunction with the Subsidy Re-investment Programme (NACA-SURE-P) was aimed at attending to health needs of over one million residents.

    If the goal of the World Health Organisation (WHO) to eradicate HIV and AIDS by 2030 is anything to go by, humanity would heave a sigh of relief. To realise this objective, different groups and organisations have embarked on several health interventions aimed at reducing the spread of the scourge.

    In the circumstances, the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), the agency responsible for  control of HIV/AIDS in the country, in conjunction with the Subsidy Re-investment Programme (SURE-P) organised a medical outreach for residents of Mpape community, a suburb in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    To be part of efforts by the global community towards ending the spread of HIV and AIDS by the projected year, residents of Mpape community turned out en masse to  know their health status.

    The residents willingly made themselves available for the various tests during the programme. This was also made easy by the level of sensitisation carried out by the agency in collaboration with leaders of thought in the community.

    The old and the young, women and men of various age groups turned out for the exercise. Even the feeble and sick among them also came out to be tested. The scorching sun could not prevent them from trooping out. To them, what mattered most was knowing their status and this they did with joy. They queued and followed the instructions from the organisers.

    An official of the agency revealed that the turnout of residents for the programme indicates that the choice of Mpape was not a mistake, adding that its choice was as a result of its population density. He also said the programme aimed at taking care of the health needs of one million people within the FCT.

    Speaking to reporters on the importance of the exercise which was also carried out in other parts of the country, the Project Director of NACA-SURE-P, Dr Sebastian Wakdok said it was aimed at improving access, testing, counseling and treatment of HIV and AIDS.

    To Wakdok, the yearly outreach aimed at reaching out to a larger population of citizens around the country; describing it as largely successful as a multi-disease outreach.

    “We are in over 30 states. Last week, we started with about seven states and this week, we are taking on 11 states concurrently. Next week, we should be rounding off the programme. It’s a multi-disease outreach not only for HIV and AIDS. We also test them for diabetes, hypertension and other diseases.

    “There is a vision called the 9090 strategy whereby you test as much as 90 per cent of the population.

    “We treat those who are positive while those who are negative are advised to remain negative. So, this is one of the yearly outreaches that NACA adopts just as we did in 2014.

    “Those who are negative are encouraged to continue to be negative and those who have either high blood pressure, high level of sugar, malaria, hepatitis are linked to the appropriate health care. For children under five years and expectant mothers, we de-worm them and give them mosquito nets respectively.

    “Averagely, we are taking on two local governments in each of the states including the FCT. So, we are expecting to test at least between 7,000 and 10,000 of the residents to know their health status.

    “That means an average of 20,000 in two local governments in the 30 states. We are doing this not only under the HIV and AIDS programme. The programme is also funded from the proceeds that we got from Sure-P. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) funds some of the components of the project. So, we hope that when we pull together, we should be able to test at least one million Nigerians within the first phase of this programme,” he said.

    On the cost, the Project Director said: “It is actually cost-intensive in the sense that it involves various components. We collaborate with partners and the vendors who do the actual testing. We have to buy the test kits and the test kits include the first line, second line and third line test kits.

    “Mobilisation is carried out through the community chiefs, town criers, radio jingles and print and electronic media. We do this for people to come out because you need to generate demand”.

    Wakdok also revealed that the outreach has a treatment component to address the challenges of those that tested positive.”

    One of the beneficiaries, Mallam Ahmed Lawal of Gwari village, Mpape said the programme was a welcome development in that it will afford residents the opportunity to be tested free.

    While commending government’s efforts, Lawal observed that the need to get screened for HIV virus is very crucial in the fight against the pandemic. He also urged members of his community to embrace the NACA-SURE-P outreach programme in order to be sure of their HIV status.

  • IDPs acquire skills

    IDPs acquire skills

    The Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast has resulted in the death of thousands of people and displaced millions of them who became internally-displaced persons (IDPs) in their father land. They have been squatting in different parts of the country which they consider safe.

    They depend on favours from people in order to survive. Government at all levels, groups and well-meaning individuals have given them some support, mostly in form of relief materials. Some of them have also been trained in some skills in order to be self-sufficient.

    Recently, the TY Danjuma Foundation and All Children Charity International Foundation (ACCIF) Integrated Skills Acquisition for IDPs trained about 50 IDPs from Chibok who are at the Kpegi Village Camp Kuje Abuja for three months. They were trained in fishery, poultry farming, shoe making, bead and bag making and tailoring.

    The Executive Director of the TY Danjuma Foundation, Dr. Sunday Udoh explained that “the TY Danjuma Foundation is committed to changing the lives of the less-privileged people in the society. They include people who were displaced from their ancestral homes because of the violence in the Northeast.

    “The foundation is working hard to give back hope to the IDPs. The programme aimed to show them love, teach them skills and empower them; and after the process of learning, they are equipped with all the needed tools to continue with what they have been taught.

    “The foundation is ready to reach out to other places; we have the mandate to reach out to as many people as possible. We realised that simply brining foodstuffs to these people is not sustainable. It just amounts to taking care of their welfare and you are only giving them fish which they simply eat and are done with. Teaching them how to fish would mean empowering them for life so that they can teach others.”

    Twenty-Five-year-old mother of three, Monica David who learnt tailoring and bead making was proud to display her handiwork, saying that she was going to help her people with the new skills that she had learnt.

    She said: “I am really grateful to the foundation for teaching us these skills. To be honest, when peace returns to Chibok, I will like to return and establish myself. With this, I will be able to feed and pay my children’s school fees and generally take care of my family.”

    Another beneficiary, 29-year-old Andrew Bulus explained that he travelled to several places with his wife and four children before finally settling down at Kpegi village. Andrew said learning a skill now means that he will not have to beg to take care of his family in future but will be able to take care of them.

    He added: “I learnt a lot of things which included shoe making. I made the shoe that I’m wearing and because of this new skill, I am confident that wherever I go to, I will be able to take care of my family with what I learnt. The skill has given me the confidence and will to live again. Now, I do not mind where I find myself, because I am confident that I can use this to take care of my family anywhere.”

    The Coordinator ACCIF, Mrs. Ranti Daudu advised the beneficiaries to use the opportunity they have given to take care of themselves and be self-sufficient.

    She said: “Most people do not know it but these people are so hard-working and determined to learn. About five of them were delivered of their babies during the training but they were not deterred because the next day, they were behind their machines sewing.”

    Mrs Daudu called on the government and individuals to continue to support the IDPs and to patronise those that have learnt some form of trade to enable them to take care of themselves.

  • Buhari and Christmas homage

    Prior to Christmas Day, it was as if the Muslim and Christian homage to the Presidency have gone with the last administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.

    During the last era, Jonathan, like former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and the late Umaru Yar’Adua, normally received Muslim and Christian delegations from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) who paid him homage at the seat of power as the President of Nigeria.

    Under the military regimes, prior to the year 1999, every member of the delegation on such homage always go home with one type of gift or the other from the President.

    Most often, the leaders always leave the same day for their hometowns to celebrate the festivals of their faith as soon as they were done with the homage.

    If it was a Muslim festival, the delegation from the FCT, which represents all Muslims in Nigeria, always have some Christian clergymen from the city as part of the delegation, which demonstrates the unity and love between the two religions.

    The same practice goes for a Christian homage to the Presidency during festivals such as Easter and Christmas celebrations.

    Such homage always offer the visitors opportunity not only to dine and wine with the number one citizen of the country, but they also have a rare and cherished physical contact with the President and the Vice-President.

    During such homage, residents in the city and some staff of the State House always look forward to the opportunity of posing for pictures in handshakes with the leaders.

    Some of the visitors do not fail to take full opportunity of the homage by bringing their children to participate in the homage, especially posing for pictures with the leaders.

    But some FCT residents felt that the change mantra of the present administration has swept away the Christian and Muslim homage.

    Their fear then was anchored on inability of the Eid-el-Kabir Muslim homage to hold on September 24, last year; being the first festival after the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in May.

    The President then had to spend his Eid-el-Kabir Festival in his Daura hometown of Katsina State.

    As last year’s Christmas was approaching, some FCT residents, in their further calculation, completely ruled out the possibility of the Christmas homage holding.

    Their thinking was that it will be impossible for the President, who is a Muslim, to hold the Christmas homage for the Christians when the Muslim festival homage was not held in September.

    But President Buhari penultimate Friday proved that he was a detribalised Nigerian and a father of all Nigerians irrespective of their religion.

    Buhari, clad in white Babanriga and white cap to match, was not only on ground to receive the representatives of the Christian community on Christmas homage, he ate snacks and took soft drinks with the visitors.

    He also shook hands with each of them as they posed for photographs. The President was assisted by the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, as the Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo was absent.

    Speaking during the homage, an elated Buhari said: “I am very pleased that the political leadership and religious leadership are well represented here.

    “I am pleased that all the communities are well represented. I don’t know what kind of host I am as I don’t have to move around freely.”

    The President also received three giant cards from the Minister of the FCT, Muhammadu Bello the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) FCT chapter, Rev. Israel Akanji and the Chaplain of the State House.

    The Christmas homage has, no doubt, proved to the residents that the FCT has not seen the last of the Muslim and Christian festivals’ homage.

     

    Timeline versus deadline

     

    Majority of Nigerians definitely want total peace and security in the country and as such do not want any element of insurgency and criminal acts perpetuated anywhere around the country.

    To them, the bloodshed and killings, especially in the Northeast by the Islamic sect, Boko Haram in the last five years should be brought to an end.

    It was in line with their thinking and love for peace and development of the country that President Muhammadu Buhari gave a three-month deadline for the defeat of Boko Haram.

    That deadline expired on December 31, last year.

    Although former President Olusegun Obasanjo, a retired General in the Nigerian Army, few weeks back had declared that not all Boko Haram members need to be killed for Nigeria to win the war.

    So, it was not surprising penultimate week for the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed to declare that the war against Boko Haram has been largely won by the Federal Government.

    He said: “Today, I can report that the war against Boko Haram is largely won. I can confidently say this because just recently, I led a group of 33 journalists from both the local and international media to the hotbed of the insurgency, that is, Maiduguri, Kondugua, Kaoure and Bama.

    “Today, I can report to you that the more than the 70-kilometer stretch from Maiduguri to Bama and all the way to Banki, which leads to Cameroon and the Central African Republic (CAR), are in the hands of our gallant troops.

    “They have so degraded the capacity of Boko Haram that the terrorists can no longer hold on to any territory just as they can no longer carry out any spectacular attack.”

    Noting that the insurgents are now engaging more in attacking soft targets, he said: “Unlike a war between two armies, an insurgency never ends with arms victory. Even in countries such as Colombia, where insurgency was supposed to have ended decades ago, attacks such as this still happen.”

    In the same manner, the Minister of Defence, Monsur Dan-Ali told State House correspondents that military operations are in timelines and not deadlines.

    Whatever the case may be, Nigerians are anxiously waiting for total peace and security to return to every part of the country.

    They are looking forward to when the millions of internally-displaced persons (IDPs) will be returned to their various villages with their infrastructure rebuilt in a secured environment.

    As in the past, everything should be done for their security to be guaranteed in those villages. They should be able to live their normal lives without fear, let alone bloodshed.

     

  • A community’s health challenge

    A community’s health challenge

    In the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), there are communities where untrained traditional birth attendants deliver women of their babies. TONY AKOWE reports that the situation results from lack of health care centres to take care of the people’s health needs

    Residents of Yimitu community in Kabusa Ward in the Abuja Municipal Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are still grappling with lack of health care centres where women could be delivered of their babies. As a result of this, their women are delivered of their babies at home by untrained birth attendants.

    The husbands of expectant mothers secure the services of these untrained traditional birth attendants as the last resort; because they lack health facilities. The requisite experience of these birth attendants are being grandmothers and, perhaps, having carried out the exercise for several years. A piece of cloth which they spread on the floor, a small stool which the elderly woman seats on while holding the woman in labour, hot water and a new razor blade serve as their “labour room” equipment.

    If an expectant mother dies in the process of being delivered of her baby, they believe it is an act of God.

    If the woman bleeds during or after delivery, they give her local concoctions which they believe will stop the bleeding. They boast of recording huge successes in carrying out this exercise.

    It was also discovered that many women in the community which is located close to the city centre still give birth at home with the aid of elderly women who serve as traditional birth attendants.

    However, some of them attributed the situation to lack of health care facility in the community and the long distance to the closest health care centre.

    One of the traditional birth attendants, Laraba Danjuma, told North Report that she has been assisting women to deliver their babies for several years.

    She said: “When a woman is in labour, I sit on a small stool behind her. I always have hot water standby and when the baby comes out, I will tie the placenta before cutting it. We give the woman the hot water to drink, press her stomach with it and apply it to the navel of the baby.”

    She said she delivers at least two women of their babies in a month. While admitting that many of the women in the community currently go to the hospital to give birth to their babies, she revealed that “when a woman gives birth and begins to bleed, we have one native drug which the woman will be given and once she drinks it, the bleeding will stop. No woman or child has died during delivery in my care”.

    Residents of the community are angry with successive administrations in the FCT. It is not only lack of health care facilities that residents have to contend with. Their roads are impassable. They said they had made several efforts to make successive area councils and the FCT Administration to consider their plight and help them. To access health care, especially for expectant mothers, residents of the community travel to the nearest health care centre located at Waru.

    The Village Head of Yimitu, Dauda Hassan, told North Report that they had made several appeals to the FCT Administration and authorities of the Abuja Municipal Area Council to come to their aid by establishing a clinic for them.

    He regretted that expectant mothers in the area have to make the long trip on the bumpy road to either Waru which is the closest health care centre to them and about 30 minutes drive on a motorbike or they go to Kabusa Health Centre which is about one hour drive. Some have to go to the health centre at Garki for their medical needs.

    He said: “From here, we take them to Kabusa, Waru or Garki. From here to Kabusa is about 30 minutes ride on motorbike, 15 minutes to Waru and almost one hour to Garki. We have the old women who usually assist expectant mothers to deliver them of their babies. No woman has died as a result of pregnancy in the village.

    “We appeal to the government to establish a primary health care centre for us, repair our road and build a primary school. We will be happy if the government can do these for us and make us feel that we are part of those they govern.”

    Narrating the ordeal women in the community has to pass through, Rahila Danjuma, a mother of six who had to deliver most of her children outside the community said it was unfortunate that successive administrations in the FCT left them to their fate.

    She said: “I delivered three of my children at Area 3 Hospital and in 2007; I delivered one at Kabusa General Hospital. I delivered my last baby at home at in Figbasama alone.

    “Our problems here are lack of a clinic, good road, water and school. Four of my children of school age are not going to school.”

    Happiness Sabastine is not happy that she has to pay so much to access medical services. She wished the government will come to their aid.

    She said: “I want the government to come to our aid by building a health care centre in our community. Our road is also not good. But we want the government to also help us repair the road. We will not be suffering so much if we have a clinic here.”

  • Dankwambo’s wife, NGO give Xmas gifts to IDPs

    Dankwambo’s wife, NGO give Xmas gifts to IDPs

    Ray of Hope Empowerment Foundation (ROHEF), an Abuja-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), in partnership with the Office of the Wife of Gombe State Governor, Hajiya Adama Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo has extended love to the internally-displaced persons at the IDP Camp in Durumi, Abuja.

    Mrs. Dankwambo donated food items and drinks worth hundreds of thousands to the IDPs through ROHEF.

    Hajiya Dankwambo was represented by Mrs. Fatima and some of her staff from.

    In a speech read on her behalf by Fatima, Dankwambo promised to do more for the IDPs in the area of empowerment, as some of the people said they have acquired some skills but needed the basic requirements to begin.

    She re-assured them of government’s effort to ensure their return to their respective villages and also help them rebuild their lives.

    While receiving the guests on behalf of the entire IDPs, Secretary of the Camp, Mr Dogo appreciated them for coming to their aid.

    He thanked Mrs. Dankwambo, members of ROHEF and other public-spirited Nigerians for showing so much love to the IDPs.

    Similarly, the Deputy Managing Director of Intels Nigeria Limited; a leading company in Nigeria, Alhaji Adamu Abubakar, had partnered with ROHEF to give succour to the IDPs at new Kuchingoro, in Abuja.

    Adamu also donated food items worth hundreds of thousands of Naira through ROHEF to the IDPs.

    The Kuchingoro event also featured Santa Claus that gave out gifts to the children after a dancing competition.

    Speaking on the Christmas programme, the National Coordinator of ROHEF Christybelle Sylva-John said the outreach was in the spirit of the season.

    “As we know, Christmas season is a time to celebrate and show love. This outreach was carried out in the spirit of love, oneness and to also re-assure them that despite their challenges, there are public-spirited Nigerians who are standing by them.

    “The programme also aimed at complementing government’s efforts towards making life better for the IDPs as it cannot do it alone. As you know, there are over two million IDPs in the country currently as a result of the insurgency in the Northeast.

    Hence, it’s necessary for all hands to be on deck to militate against the looming humanitarian crisis.”

    Sylva-John also called on the government to empower the IDPs as mere hand-outs have limited impact on their lives.

    His words: “Like the aphorism goes; ‘give a man fish and you will feed him, but when you teach him how to fish, he will not only feed himself but will also feed others around him,’ hence it’s important to teach them a vocation.”

    The National Coordinator noted that the IDPs needed psychological and social support, rehabilitation and integration back into the society.

    She commended the government and the military in their efforts to bring the activities of the Boko Haram insurgents to an end.