The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday Magazine

  • Rumour of plans to depopulate Nigeria frustrates polio vaccination

    Rumour of plans to depopulate Nigeria frustrates polio vaccination

    Many children in Lagos State are at the risk of contracting a variant of polio virus as many parents are preventing their children from taking the vaccines rolled out against it by the state government. The polio virus variant is said to have crept into the state through infected people migrating from some northern parts of the country. INNOCENT DURU examines why parents are keeping their children away from vaccination and the implications of their action for the young ones and the society at large.

    • Parents instruct schools not to present their children for vaccine

    • Communities, learning centre humiliated our workers – Lagos govt

    • Multi-billion naira investment on exercise at risks

    Mrs Johnson, a Lagos housewife screamed to the point of losing her voice when our correspondent approached her to ask if she would allow her child to receive a polio vaccine. Before our correspondent could even complete his question, the light complexioned woman had interjected, asking if he was contracted to mobilise children for vaccination.

    “No, I will never allow my children to take any vaccines again! Never!” she said as she made to walk away before she realized, as it were, that she was not done yet. The seemingly harmless question appeared to have roused the pent up anger she was nursing against vaccines and anyone that dared discuss the matter with her.

    “Are you not seeing all the videos and messages as to how they want to use vaccines to reduce the population of black people, especially Nigerians?” She asked as she walked back towards the reporter, raising her voice. 

    “Go online and see some videos on Youtube. One of the videos on young virgins talk about how some young girls who took vaccines either died or became paralysed.

    “Once it enters your body, you cannot do anything about it again. The damage would have been done. Why would I expose my children to such risk that they would have to battle all their lives? I just can’t. Let them take their vaccines elsewhere.”

    Our correspondent‘s decision to sound out parents on making their children available for vaccination stemmed from the shocking reactions of some parents on their children’s school platform where the management last weekend shared on the school’s Whatsapp platform a circular by the Lagos State Primary Health Care Board notifying the general public about November 2023 national immunization plus days in the state, asking parents to signify if they would want their children vaccinated when health officials come to the school.

    Shortly after the notification was shared on the platform, one of the parents asked the school authorities to leave out her children, saying, “Please don’t give my children. Good afternoon ma. Is it not the same vaccine they want to use to reduce the population of our country? I remember that someone posted it here before. Which one is this? Is it a different one? Because one has to avoid a story that touches the heart. Thank you.”

    Immediately other parents read her post, they, in quick succession, began to request that their children be left out of the exercise. Interestingly the parents involved are not illiterates but educated people who could read and comprehend the information contained in the notification. Despite the notification clearly stating that the exercise was for vaccination against polio, the parents completely shut their minds against it.

    Read Also: Fire guts shops, others in Delta

    Incidentally, the position of parents on school platform of the correspondent’s children reflects the thinking of many other parents in the society. A number of women spoken to by our correspondent also had the same mindset.

    “Is it not that thing that they give to people who are not trained to give to people? That thing is contaminated,” one of the women, who identified herself as Bosede, said.

    Bosede, who claimed to have worked in a health centre before, said: “The vaccinators are not health personnel. These are just girls that they recruited. I just met one yesterday (Tuesday), she’s just a secondary school leaver. She was with a box that she was moving up and down with.  The vaccine is supposed to be in a cooler and well packaged, but the box the girl was carrying was very unkempt.

    “When I was working in a health centre, we used to go through training on how to handle people who came for immunization. You must have your hands sanitised and wear hand gloves. These people that are walking up and down and giving vaccines don’t wear hand gloves.

    “They just assume that it is an oral vaccine and ask children to open their mouths and take it.  We are talking about health here, and when you are talking about health, you have to be extremely careful. The vaccinators are untrained people and I am sure that that vaccine has expired.”

    Asked how she knew that the vaccines had expired, she said: “I didn’t check the date but I read Nursing and I have worked in an immunization clinic. That thing is expired and that is one of the reasons I decided not to give my children.

    “There is this other thing that they said about reducing the population of the country. To achieve that, they said they brought out some vaccines. So they will now come and name it one thing and claim that it is beneficial to health.”

    Joy, a teacher in a faith based school, says the authorities of the school do not allow the pupils to take any form of vaccination.

    She said: “The vaccinators don’t come to our school because we don’t allow them to give vaccines to our children. They have tried entering a couple of times but when the authorities said no, they stopped coming.

    “The management must have their reason for doing that, but I don’t know why it’s against it. I do allow my children to take it. Even when I am in school and I see them passing, I take my children to them for vaccination. They will only not take it within the school premises where it is seen as a taboo.

    Another respondent who identified herself simply as Alhaja raised questions about the source and potency of the vaccines, saying: “These vaccines are not made in Nigeria. Some of them take time before they arrive in the country and maybe by the time they get here they would have expired.

    “Some time ago during COVID-19 pandemic, some vaccines were either destroyed or rejected because they had expired. How are we sure that some people had not taken some of those vaccines before they were discovered to have expired?

    “That knowledge has put me off anything vaccine in this country, because people just bring anything they like for poor masses just for selfish gains.  That is point number one.”

    The second point, she said, is about the weather condition at the moment.

    “The weather is too hot and the vaccines are supposed to be at a certain temperature. But our people keep carrying it about like people hawking bread inside the sun without minding the consequences.

    “I don’t think that is how the makers said it should be done. So, instead of exposing my children to needless dangers, I will rather not allow them to take the vaccines,” she added.

    Also speaking, a respondent, who gave her name as Abigail, spiritualised the whole issue, saying: “Polio or whatever they call it will never be the portion of my children. How many children in villages take all these vaccines? I pray that education will not put us into trouble, because most of the things we are apprehensive about don’t worry villagers.

    “Go and take statistics of people in the villages and see how many of them take these vaccines. Once you eat healthily and maintain good hygiene, sicknesses will be far from you. That is my belief and practice.

    “I won’t allow my children to take what I don’t know about and later start regretting it. Let them go with their vaseline or is it vaccine you call it.”

    Dangers of not taking Poliovirus vaccine for children

    Parents who are preventing their children from taking the vaccine may be exposing them to serious dangers. For those who care to know, the World Health Organisation said: “There is no cure for polio; it can only be prevented. Polio vaccine, given multiple times, can protect a child for life.

    “There are two vaccines available: oral polio vaccine and inactivated polio vaccine. Both are effective and safe, and both are used in different combinations worldwide, depending on local epidemiological and programmatic circumstances, to ensure the best possible protection to populations can be provided.”

    Polio, according to the global health body, is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus. “It invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours. The virus is transmitted by person-to-person spread mainly through the faecal-oral route or, less frequently, by a common vehicle (for example, contaminated water or food) and multiplies in the intestine. Initial symptoms are fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness of the neck and pain in the limbs.”

    One in 200 infections, WHO says, leads to irreversible paralysis (usually in the legs). “Among those paralysed, 5–10% die when their breathing muscles become immobilized. “Polio mainly affects children under five years of age. However, anyone of any age who is unvaccinated can contract the disease.”

    Why parents are primarily rejecting vaccine

    Findings showed that adamant parents’ position stems from viral campaigns on social media against Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines. Those behind the campaign alleged that the vaccine is not safe, capable of promoting early sexual activity and causes infertility later in life among other health challenges. This fear has sunk deep into many parents, making them to prefer not to take vaccines rather than doing so and regretting it in future.         

    UNICEF defines HPV as a group of related viruses that can infect the genital area, mouth and throat. It is transmitted through sexual contact. Most HPV infections do not have any symptoms. They clear on their own, but some can lead to serious health issues, including cancer.

    It said HPV vaccines can prevent several types of cancer, including cervical cancer. “It is most effective when given before exposure to the virus, which is why it is recommended for girls aged 9 to14.

     “Widespread vaccination can protect unvaccinated individuals by reducing the overall prevalence of HPV.”

    Vaccinators shut out by schools, harassed in communities – Lagos govt

     A Permanent Secretary at the Lagos State Primary Health Board, Dr Ibrahim Akinwumi Mustapha, who incidentally signed the notification about the November vaccination exercise, confirmed our findings about parents stopping their children from taking the vaccine.

    Beyond our findings, he said some of their vaccinators were beaten and harassed in some communities. 

    “Like you rightly noted, before now, around early and mid-November, the schools, community members even beat our vaccinators. The schools shut their doors against us. Community members rejected us vehemently in the early days, but now it is getting better to the extent that some schools are the ones calling us to come and vaccinate their pupils.  The rejection is going down and we are vaccinating more now, but it is still not what we want.”

    Dr Ibrahim noted that the state government was spending a lot on vaccines, adding: “It is not just the state government; the federal government and their partners, like WHO and UNICEF, are spending a lot to ensure that our people get the vaccine.

    “I cannot put a figure to the amount spent on the vaccine, but I know it is a huge sum.

    “Like I told you, the rejection was very bad earlier on, but it is getting better now. People are getting the vaccines now. But if the rejection had continued, it would have been a lot of money going down the drain because those vaccines have lifespan. Not only that, it will now cause a resurgence of diseases.

    “If children are not vaccinated against polio, there would be a resurgence of the circulating variant of the virus. Diphtheria is already rearing its head, tuberculosis will be high, all the diseases that are preventable by vaccines will begin to show their faces.” 

    Government’s frustration with anti-vaccines campaigners

    Also corroborating our findings on one of the reasons parents are not favourably disposed to allowing their children to take the vaccine, Dr Ibrahim said: “Around September, he country planned to introduce Papilloma vaccine, which is an injectable, but we had a lot people campaigning against the Papillomavirus vaccine. What does the Papillomavirus vaccine do?  It protects against Papiloma virus which is the commonest sexually transmitted infection and it is known to cause more than 70 per cent of cervical cancer.

    “Cervical cancer is the second commonest cause of death among women in Nigeria after breast cancer. It is the first commonest in the world. If we have a vaccine that can protect against this kind of cancer, why would we say that our children should not take it?  We have a lot of anti-vacs campaigning online and asking parents not to allow their children to take the vaccines.

    “This Papilloma vaccine that people are rejecting, the well-to-do in our society are paying for it in private hospitals to have themselves and their children vaccinated.  Now the government has brought this vaccine free of charge and it is already tested by NAFDAC and certified for use for Nigerians; why would we not avail ourselves the opportunity of protecting our children against human papilloma virus that is the causative agent of cervical cancer, which is the foremost killer of women even in Nigeria?

    “It is this rejection that people who are anti-vaccine are now spilling over to other routine immunisation vaccines. Because of that rejection, we found that they also rejected any form of vaccine that was coming their way. With campaigns, with public enlightenment and with advocacy, we have been able to let people know that this vaccine is good for their protection.

    “Now the rejection is going down. The only way the awareness can be intensified is through all these things we are doing – raising the awareness on the socio media, tv, newspapers, bill boards, one on one interaction and so on.”

    Types of immunization

    Speaking on the different types of immunization available in the state and the country at large, Ibrahim said: “Immunisation campaigns are in different phases.  There is something we call routine immunization. This is when you have a child and  you take the child to the hospital to get vaccination or immediately you give birth to a child, the child has to be vaccinated.

    “We also have what we call National Immunisation Plus Days. They are only to intensify routine immunization so that we can get to vaccinate more children beyond those who would ordinarily be given birth to in hospitals or those that their mothers will take them to a clinic to vaccinate them.  That is when you will see people going from house to house just to have people properly vaccinated.

    “We have outreaches through which we further reach children not captured in the other programmes. In addition to that, there is what we call outbreak response.  Sometimes we have what we call variants of polio virus.

    “The country since 2010 has been declared wild polio virus free but we still because of movement of people that don’t get vaccinated have a variant of polio; but not the wild polio virus.” He said the recent vaccination exercise was prompted by the need to check a variant of polio virus that found its way into the state.

    Dr. Ibrahim said: “There was a variant of polio virus that occurred somewhere in Katsina or Jigawa, if am correct. That same variant was also discovered in Lagos.  This occurred because of the movement of people.

    “We do surveillance to pick some of these. When we do surveillance and we pick, we do what we call outbreak response. This is done to further stem the tide of polio virus in our communities.

    “The essence of that is to protect the children against contracting polio virus.  If any child gets infected, the child will develop paralysis, and when a child develops paralysis, what happens? The child most likely will not achieve what he or she is supposed to achieve in life, and that is if the child does not die.

    “You know the other challenges that are associated with somebody with paralysis. The full potential of that child cannot be attained, and this is what the polio vaccine is out to guard against.

    “There are other vaccines within our routine immunization exercise. When you give vaccines, you are protecting the child against Diphtheria, tuberculosis, tetanus, yellow fever, among others, that can lead to death.

    “The COVID-19 pandemic caused some disruptions in our immunization efforts because of the restrictions. And what happened thereafter? We started to see all manner of diseases coming up. Diphtheria, which we didn’t see for a long time, started rearing its head.

    “So we need to intensify the vaccination exercise. This is not the time we want parents to refuse vaccination, because if they do, it will not just be a problem to the child that is not vaccinated but also to other children. Other children will be affected, and this is what we don’t want.”

    UNICEF clears air on HPV vaccines

    The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and NAFDAC have cleared the air on the safety of Papilloma virus vaccine.  

    Contrary to widespread fears about the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, which has made many parents to prevent their children from taking polio vaccine, the UNICEF said HPV vaccine is a safe and effective vaccine that protects against HPV infection.

     “HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the world, and a leading cause of cervical cancer.” 

    In Nigeria, UNICEF said cervical cancer is the third most common cancer and the second most frequent cause of cancer deaths among women aged between 15 and 44 years.  “In 2020 – the latest year for which data is available – Nigeria recorded 12000 new cases and 8000 deaths from cervical cancer.

    “The HPV vaccine is most effective when given to girls and boys before they become sexually active, which is why it is recommended for girls aged 9-14 years old.

    The organization, on its website, went on to provide basic information about the HPV vaccine, which would guide people to  understand the importance of the HPV vaccine, debunk the myths surrounding it, and answer frequently asked questions. 

    Aggressive enlightenment campaign needed to save massive investment on vaccination exercise

    The government at federal and state levels may have to do a lot more to change the negative thinking about the people towards vaccines to make sure that the huge money spent on procuring vaccines and other attendant costs are not a waste.

    The government from time to time spends whopping sums of money on getting the citizens vaccinated. 

    Only in 2018, the country approved a $150 million loan from the World Bank to help eradicate polio and scale up immunization. This excludes previous and subsequent spending on tackling polio virus in the country

    It would amount to a huge loss if the government so invests in vaccines and they end up not being taken by the citizens.

    To disabuse the mindset of Nigerians about vaccines, the government at federal and state levels may have to embark on more rigorous and aggressive enlightenment campaigns.

    The campaigns will have to be ongoing as a one off campaign may not achieve the desired result.

    If this is not done, the huge sums of money spent on importing vaccines and carrying out the vaccination exercise may end up going down the drains.

  • Killed on duty

    Killed on duty

    How an impatient motorist terminated the lives of Lagos street sweepers

    There is a thin wall between life and death. In one breath, man is bubbly with life; in another, he is interred six feet in the bowels of the earth.

    When two siblings – Adejoke Jimot Adefuye and Afolashade Odufuwa Florence – woke up early Monday, November 13, to carry out their daily routine as sanitation workers of Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), they never envisaged that would be their last day on earth. They never knew that their lives would be cut short by a ‘reckless’ hit-and-run driver.

    For the traumatised family, they wept uncontrollably on the day the duo was committed to Mother Earth. The two deceased LAWMA members of staff were indigenous to Isamuro Quarters in Ago-Iwoye in Ogun State. The duo had lost their mother and was still mourning her.

    In the morning of the tragic incident, darkness hovered over the vicinity of the ever-boisterous Charly Boy axis, which witnessed an unusually chaotic traffic; with people commuting and plying their trade amid the confusion.

    A driver, Jerry Ironkwe, had crushed the two workers, leaving in its wake death and agony.

    Adorning the orange jumpsuits of LAWMA, the duo waking up very early each morning in the past six years of their employ by LAWMA as sanitation workers, had constantly put their lives at risk to keep the state clean. However, on this day that tragedy struck, their mangled bodies were recovered from the gutter on the highway. It was a gory sight. They must have squirmed in pain. Their heads battered, they lay in their pool of blood motionless.

    Death is an inevitable phenomenon; an end that will come when it will.

    When The Nation visited the community where the deceased workers lived, the atmosphere was gloomy. People gathered in threes and fours in sober moods; discussing the incident in hushed tones. Residents of Bariga Community were still puzzled over their neighbours’ deaths.

    Reminiscing on the lifestyles of the two deceased, their neighbours said they lost women of inestimable values.

    Sympathisers, including the lawmaker representing Somolu Constituency 2 at the Lagos State House of Assembly, Samuel Olufemi Apata, thronged the family residence on Onasanya Street, off Burahimo Allli Street, Ladi-Lak Bariga, to commiserate with the deceased’s families.

    Apata described the death of the two  LAWMA members of staff as a tragedy and a big blow to the community, even as he noted that the deceased persons were staunch members of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    At the christian wake which was held at Ladi-Lak Primary School Compound, Bariga Lagos, sympathisers bade them farewell.

    The Managing Director/CEO of LAWMA, Muyiwa Gbadegesin, eulogised the late sanitation workers for their unalloyed commitment to the authority’s vision of a cleaner and livable environment, for which they paid the ultimate price.

    He said: “Words cannot adequately convey the grief we feel for the untimely passing of these dedicated sanitation workers. Adejoke and Afolashade were valued members of our close-knit community, and their exit left a big void.

    “As we reflect on their service to the state, we are reminded of their diligence and their unwavering commitment to keeping the highways clean. Their tireless efforts contributed significantly to maintaining a cleaner and healthier environment for us all. Our thoughts are with you, and we want you to know that the entire LAWMA family stands with you during this challenging time.” The LAWMA boss presented cheques to the family, noting that the agency footed the cost of the burial.

     The driver, who has since turned himself in at the Lagos State Police Command, killed the sweepers who were discharging their duties around the Gbagada-Oshodi Expressway of Lagos State.

     The driver, according to the spokesman for the Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin a Superintendent of Police (SP) was arraigned for manslaughter for ramming his car with registration number LAGOS EPE 984 DV. However, Ironkwe had been granted bail by the Magistrate’s Court sitting in the Yaba axis of Lagos.

    Read Also: Anxiety as Ondo lawmakers resume plenary

    The 45-year-old mechanic was arraigned before Magistrate L.Y. Balogun on three counts bordering on reckless driving. Ironkwe pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against him by the police.

    The police prosecutor, Chekwubeh Okeh, explained that the offences contravened and are punishable under Sections 18(1) and 20 of the Road Traffic Law, Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2012.

    Following Ironkwe’s plea, Balogun admitted him to bail in the sum of N1 million with two sureties in like sum.

    She, however, directed the police to duplicate the case file as well as send it to the office of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions for legal advice and adjourned the case till December 13, 2023.

    Eyewitnesses said the driver was evading arrest when he ran into the LAWMA workers.

    Protesters who spoke with The Nation at the scene of the incident, accused officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) of chasing the driver who rammed into the LAWMA workers. But LASTMA and the Lagos State Task Force denied involvement in the unfortunate incident, adding that an investigation had commenced on the matter. A Bariga resident, Ruth Lijirin told The Nation that the two siblings were well-known to her, and she had helped them facilitate the job. Ruth said: “One of the siblings (Adefuye) celebrated her 60th anniversary on Sunday, November 12, and the other sister is about 65 years old.

     “Their mother is late, and still in the mortuary. I was at the scene of the incident alongside the chairman of the community and the DPO of Bariga Police Station,” she said. Also, the National President of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) and Chairman of Bariga Local Council, Kolade David Alabi was at the scene of the incident to appeal to the aggrieved workers and also to douse tension.

    A member of the family, Mrs. Biola, who spoke with The Nation explained that the deceased workers had been working at the Lagos agency for six years. She said: “The name of the younger sister is Adejoke Jimot Adefuye; the older sister is Afolashade Odufuwa Florence. “The older sister was 65 years old while the younger sister was 60.

     “They have four children each,” she added.

     LAWMA reacts

    A statement by the agency which was obtained by The Nation said: “The Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) regrets to announce the tragic death of two of our esteemed sanitation workers, who were hit by a reckless driver, in the cause of discharging their lawful duties and rendering invaluable services to humanity around Gbagada axis.

     “We wish to appeal to motorists for the umpteenth time, to drive with utmost caution on the highways, to avoid sad incidents such as this happening to our sanitation workers or anyone in the course of their legitimate duties. “The public is urged to remain calm as appropriate steps are being taken and necessary measures put in place. “Our heartfelt condolences go to the families of the deceased, whom we love most dearly. May their souls continue to rest in peace.”

    LASTMA, Task Force deny involvement

     The Lagos State Task Force refuted reports that officials of the agency were involved in the car chase which led to the death of the two LAWMA members of staff. The Chairman of the agency, CSP Shola Jejeloye, said no Lagos State Environmental Task Force official was involved in the car chase. Jejeloye said none of the task force officials was posted out on that Monday morning for any traffic enforcement. He said they were deployed to Ile-Zik, Dopemu and Ikeja to maintain law and order during the NURTW protest. The Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA) also denied involvement.

     A statement signed by the Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Transportation, Sola Giwa, explained that a thorough investigation had been initiated to unravel the cause of the death of the LAWMA workers. Giwa noted that officers from Pedro Police Station had recovered the vehicle into their custody to aid further and thorough investigation. He noted that the driver with car registration EPE 984 DV is a traffic offender already captured by the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR).

     Lawmakers angry

    The Lagos State House of Assembly has frowned at the alleged recklessness of some motorists operating in the state just as they raised concerns over the activities of some officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA).

    At a plenary presided over by the Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, the House invited the Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi and Giwa to appear and give explanations on the incessant recklessness of drivers and the roles played by LASTMA officials.

     Also invited, among others, was the General Manager of LASTMA, Bolaji Oreagba. The decision of the House followed a ‘Matter of Urgent Public Importance’ raised by a member, Temitope Adewale.

    Noting that incidents involving recklessness of drivers and careless attitudes of LASTMA officials were on the increase. Obasa said: “In addition to the invitation of the affected top officials, there was a need to revisit the laws guiding transportation in the state.”

     While the pursuit of a cleaner Lagos is commendable and necessary, experts who spoke it should not be at the expense of the lives of street cleaners.

     A safety expert, Mr. Adebayo Samson, said: “Beyond condolences, prompt and proactive actions from the state government could do the magic of safeguarding street cleaners and also save many lives, especially those risking their lives to keep Lagos clean, safe and healthy.”

  • Providing rural communities with viable newborn centres

    Providing rural communities with viable newborn centres

    Nigeria has the second-highest number of neonatal deaths globally. In this report, CHINYERE OKOROAFOR writes that establishing more primary health centres with neonatal facilities, among others, is crucial to ending the scourge.

    One Saturday morning, in the Iba New Site area of Ojo, Lagos, Onyemuru Akubueze’s mobile phone interrupted his sleep. The caller was her younger brother, Amaechi. At first, Amaechi spoke in a rush and his garbled words were difficult to understand. Eventually, Akubueze understood that he was trying to say his girlfriend had given birth to a baby boy at a clinic owned by the Sacred Heart Catholic Church’s Hospital, Oguta Imo State. The baby was born prematurely and died 30 minutes later.

    The baby was not placed in an incubator because they ran out of time to do so. Two big bottles of water were filled with hot water and wrapped around the newborn while preparation was made to transport the baby to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Owerri, the state capital for proper care.

    Akubueze said the newborn’s mother, who never attended antenatal care, had an early labour and was rushed to the hospital early that morning.

     “At the hospital, while her stomach was being examined through the scan, the baby’s head was coming out and she was rushed to the birth theatre for delivery. By the time he returned from where he rushed to pick up his friend’s car for a 45-minute drive to the hospital, his baby had died,” he said.

     According to Akubueze, it was a shame that her hometown could not boast a good primary healthcare centre where women could attend antenatal care.

    “I felt so sorry for the baby to have been unfortunate to be born in the village. His death could have been preventable if the hospital had neonatal care. The government primary healthcare centre I used to know was abandoned for years before the present administration began to renovate it. But the renovation has been ongoing for over a year and they’re still not done. I was so upset. My cousin was crying uncontrollably, it was his first child. He called him Promise,” Akubueze said.

     Akubueze’s nephew’s death is one of many such avoidable deaths regularly recorded in the country’s rural areas, because of the non-availability of mechanical assistive devices in primary healthcare centres that could help to save them.

     But not all such newborns die. Some can survive through the “first aid” care given to them by health workers before they are taken to a proper hospital. But that also creates another kind of problem.

     According to experts, babies that survive through such crude methods or suboptimal use of technology suffer from disability.

     The neonatal period is the first 28 days of an infant’s life, whether the baby was carried to term or born prematurely. During this period, medical professionals examine newborns closely in the first few hours of life, particularly in the case of premature births or if there are complications during delivery and intervene where life support is needed. This entails, for instance, the availability of mechanical assistive devices to drive the breathing process and the provision of supplemental oxygen to curtail breathing difficulties and aid adaptation into the new world outside the mother’s womb.

    Data outlook

     The country’s Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) or Neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR) is not looking good. A new report shows that Nigeria accounts for the second-highest number of maternal and child deaths globally. The report titled: “Improving Maternal and Newborn Health and Survival and Reducing Stillbirth: Progress Report 2023” and released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) showed that Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is only behind India in the latest ranking.

     The report noted that in 2020, 788 women and children died ‘per thousand’ in India and 540 women and children ‘per thousand’ died in Nigeria.

    In the same year, India accounted for 17 per cent of global maternal and neonatal deaths and stillbirths, while Nigeria accounted for 12 per cent.

    The country has worse IMR compared with neighbouring West African countries such as Benin, Cameroon, Togo and Ghana, with 57, 48, 44 and 33 deaths per 1,000 live births, respectively.

     According to Statista, the mortality rate of infants under one year old in Nigeria as of 2023 was measured at 55.17. This means that there were about 55 deaths of children under the age of one year per 1,000 live births. The report noted that male infant deaths accounted for 60.43 per cent while female infant deaths accounted for 49.6 per cent.

     Last year, a United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report titled “Situation of Women and Children in Nigeria” stated that the country records approximately 262,000 baby deaths at birth every year.

     Acknowledging the high rates last year, former Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, during a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) ministerial forum in Abuja last year said it was embarrassing “when you go to conferences and see that your country has some of the worst indices.”

    Where infant mortality rate is high in Nigeria

    According to Ehanire, lack of access to healthcare is the main factor contributing to high maternal, infant and under-five mortality in the country.

    Read Also: Mothers of newborn babies plead with NLC officials to keep Neo-natalunit open

    He said: “The area where you see this maternal and infant mortality is mostly in the rural areas where they have zero access to healthcare. There is no hospital there. Most of the women who are delivered of their babies do so without skilled birth attendants. But, once you have skilled birth attendants, maternal mortality reduces drastically.”

     WHO data supports the claim that there is a higher rate of neonatal deaths in Nigeria’s rural areas than in urban ones.

     According to the organisation, the country’s Neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR) in 2015 was 34 deaths per 1,000 live births. In rural areas, it is 44 deaths per 1,000 live births and 34 deaths per 1,000 live births in urban areas for an urban-to-rural ratio of 0.8.2. Among the poorest households, there are 45 neonatal deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to 30 deaths per 1,000 live births among the richest households.

     In the area of skilled attendance at birth, WHO’s maternal and newborn health coverage indicators showed that coverage of skilled attendance at birth is 23 per cent in rural areas, compared to 67 per cent in urban areas. In postnatal care, eight per cent of newborns in rural areas receive postnatal care (PNC) within two days after birth, compared to 25 per cent in urban areas.

     The urban health centres, where there is a semblance of health services, are slightly better off.

     Similarly, a visiting Professor of Medical Engineering and Technology at Imperial College London, Prof. Hippolite Amadi told The Nation that “Most of the babies dying are not just in cities but more in the rural areas. So that is where the newborn technology care should be taken to the areas if not, Nigeria can’t bring down the numbers.”

     Based on his decades of experience as a Medical Engineer and Technologist in state and federal health centres across the country, Prof. Amadi, who won the 2023 Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Prize for Science–Innovations, said the structure of Nigeria’s healthcare system for newborns is also part of the problem of the high neonatal mortality rate in the country.

     He said until that is changed, the country’s newborn mortality rate will find it difficult to trickle down.

     “The Nigerian healthcare system for the newborn; the way it is structured is part of the problem of high neonatal mortality rate. That is, neonatal intervention is tied around the consultants and the professors, because it is a highly specialised aspect of patient intervention.

    “The system is fundamentally built around a difficult implementation path and that is why whatever the government has to offer to assist a tiny baby in Oguta, for example, to survive finds it difficult to trickle down.

     “We have a primary healthcare centre with no neonatal care because they tell you that neonatal care could only happen at a Tertiary Center. So, in other words, it is difficult, on the premise of how Nigeria is today, to do neonatology in the village, at the primary healthcare level, and secondary healthcare. Every needy neonate is being rushed to tertiary hospitals. It is not even that the tertiary is well-equipped and well-funded. Many of these babies that would travel this journey would either die on the way or by the time they get to the tertiary institutions, they would be moribund. This has been the practice, and it is not changing because people are not looking closely at these salient issues.

     “So, when a baby is born, these hospitals use crude methods. What they were doing with the water bottle in the case of the baby you said died in Oguta is only one aspect of the essentials of neonatal care and that is Thermoneutral control, and we can’t do it with a hot water bottle, even for an adult. It is a struggle, let alone tiny babies with partially developed brains to do auto-regulation. So, the baby will find it difficult to survive with that kind of technique; that is a crude old technique,” Prof. Amadi said.

     Meanwhile, by 2030, the United Nations (UN) neonatal mortality Agenda aims to end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1,000 live births and under-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1, live births.

     The big question is: can this be achieved domestically when globally; Nigeria is also not looking good, being garbed with the second highest number of NMR or IMR?

     Causes of infant mortality rate in Nigeria

     According to the WHO, 75 per cent of most neonatal deaths occur during the first week of life, and in 2019, about 1 million newborns died within the first 24 hours.

    It includes preterm birth, childbirth-related complications (birth asphyxia or lack of breathing at birth), infections and birth defects as the leading cause of neonatal deaths in 2019.

     From the end of the neonatal period and through the first five years of life, the main causes of death are pneumonia, diarrhoea, birth defects and malaria.

     Malnutrition is the underlying contributing factor, making children even more vulnerable to severe diseases.

     A 2018 study by the National Library of Medicine showed that lack of access to Antenatal care (ANC) or delayed ANC was a risk factor associated with neonatal mortality. Several individual and community-level determinants were identified as being associated with neonatal mortality in a developing country like Nigeria.

     According to the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, 61 per cent of live births do not take place in a health facility.

     An estimate report on preterm birth by the WHO, UNICEF, together with with Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH) revealed that no fewer than 152 million premature babies were born between 2010 and 2020, with an estimated 13.4 million babies born preterm in 2020 and nearly one million died from preterm complications. It said the figure is equivalent to around one in 10 babies born early (before 37 weeks of pregnancy) worldwide. Many survivors face a lifetime of disability, including learning disabilities and visual and hearing problems.

     Of every 10 babies born, 1 is preterm – and every 40 seconds, 1 of those babies dies. Preterm birth rates have not changed in the past decade in any region of the world. The impacts of conflict, climate change, and COVID-19 are increasing risks for women and babies everywhere.

     In 2010, low birth weight was highlighted as the most common cause of IM accounting for 25% of IM. The study also identified a lack of delivery attendants, home delivery and traditional birth attendants as predictors of IM in Nigeria.

    Globally, prematurity is the leading cause of death in children under the age of 5 years. Inequalities in survival rates around the world are stark. In low-income settings, half of the babies born at or below 32 weeks (2 months early) die due to a lack of feasible, cost-effective care such as warmth, breastfeeding support and basic care for infections and breathing difficulties. In high-income countries, almost all these babies survive.

     Other contributing factors causing high infant and child mortality rates in Nigeria include the mother’s level of education, environmental conditions, and political and medical infrastructure.

     Skilled birth attendants, nurses, and midwives are scarce in Nigeria, and there are few properly equipped birth centres and hospitals. Where available, the costs of medical services are too expensive for the masses.

     During the ongoing naira scarcity, several men reported losing their pregnant wives because they had no cash to pay hospital bills.

     In droves, skilled medical professional doctors, nurses, laboratory attendants, consultants, and others – are fleeing Nigeria’s broken health system for Europe and North America. PAN estimates one doctor to 3,000 patients in Nigeria; made worse by the 2,000 locally trained doctors that leave the country annually. The Nigerian Medical Association estimates the doctor-to-patient ratio at between 1:5,000 and 1:8,000. The Medical and Dental Consultants Association said 500 of its members left the country for overseas practice in the two years to September 2022.

    Economic consequences of high newborn mortality

    The WHO said that “improvements in health, such as increases in life expectancy at birth and reduction in child mortality rates have great potential to raise economic growth in such regions.”

     Ensuring access to high-quality, affordable newborn health care is critical to building healthier, more equitable communities. This is because good health is an important factor in the economic and social development process in that it enhances the efficiency of labour and increases savings. Thus, there is a bidirectional relationship between health and growth or development. Therefore, wealth and health may be thought of as complementary.

    Joint responsibility for government and citizens

    Making a success of saving the Nigerian child from neonatal death is a collective responsibility of both the government and its people.

     To make amends, all tiers of government must progressively buy into initiatives aimed at eradicating the MMR and IMR scourge, mothers must ensure that they attend Antenatal care (ANC) where doctors can spot health problems early. Also, mothers should ensure that they deliver their babies in hospitals equipped with neonatal care in case there might be a need for it.

     Like Amaechi’s girlfriend, who didn’t attend ANC until she had a premature birth, an ANC visit to a doctor would have spotted an early issue and intervened.

     Nigeria has implemented several interventions and policies to improve IMR. An example is the Nigeria Midwives Service Scheme (MSS), a public sector collaborative initiative established in December 2009 by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA). However, these interventions have not helped to reduce the number.

    Ensuring access to high-quality, affordable newborn healthcare

    During the announcement of the 2023 Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Prize for Science – Innovations, a video demonstration of the winning respiratory technologies for newborns by Prof Amadi consists of a solar energy-powered non-invasive Neonatal Ventilator, an Oxygen Delivery Blender System, and an Oxygen Splitter System.

     The innovations have been verified by various Nigerian hospitals, having undergone testing, and shown to be cost-effective, when compared to available alternatives.

     Amadi’s technology called “PoliteheartCPAP” is an improvement to an existing/imported non-invasive neonatal ventilator model, as it provides access to ventilators and oxygen delivery simultaneously to neonates at an extremely reduced cost of N750,000 as against N6.5million for the existing device with comparable and better efficiency.

     In the wake of the win, President Bola Tinubu while congratulating Prof Amadi was delighted and said “Amadi’s innovation has already reduced neonatal care costs significantly and saved lives in verified hospitals that have adopted the use of the solar-powered neonatal ventilator.”

     He, therefore, commenced Amadi, “for leveraging his extensive background in medical engineering and technology, with a special focus on affordable medical systems for the betterment, progress and benefit of Nigerians.”

     According to Amadi, his newborn technology is the right sustainable frugal technology and procedure for saving newborns’ lives.

     It is built in a way that even a trained nurse in a rural health centre can operate it without the presence of a consultant or specialist.

     “The best way to solve the problem of neonatology in Nigeria – knowing that over 66% of the needy babies seeking intervention are located around primary and secondary centres was to create what I call a ‘newsroom’.

     “I created it in a local centre, which doesn’t require a professor or a big consultant. It just requires a basic knowledgeable nurse, medical officer and assistant, to operate. So, the devices I create would be devices that could be easily used. These devices are like the PoliteheartCPAP machine. Ventilating a baby or doing proper scientific-grade respiratory support is a high-class medicine. But I have brought it to the lowest state, where a basic nurse would be able to treat a baby with such a machine and deliver life to that baby. Therefore, it is necessary to create devices that would enable them to manage neonates in faraway hinterlands.

     “In my practice, I have identified all the contributors to the high neonatal mortality rate in Nigeria, including dysfunctional buildings in the context of neonatal safety. I have published extensively because I have identified and studied all the problems. I have discussed the aetiology of so many of the problems and I have created solutions. So, it is either this generation of Nigerians would look into what I have provided and solve the problem, or the next generation would do it. My happiness is that I have published everything and it is in the public domain,” Prof Amadi said.

    QUOTE

    Improvements in health, such as increases in life expectancy at birth and reduction in child mortality rates have great potential to raise economic growth in such regions. Ensuring access to high-quality, affordable newborn health care is critical to building healthier, more equitable communities. This is because good health is an important factor in the economic and social development process in that it enhances the efficiency of labour and increases savings

  • Residents of Abuja community groan under burdens of kidnapping, bad roads

    Residents of Abuja community groan under burdens of kidnapping, bad roads

    All is not well with residents of Kuje Area Council on account of rising cases of insecurity. Most inhabitants of the community, especially the residents of Pegi and Chukuku, now have to sleep with one eye open.

    Kuje is one of the satellite towns of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). But from Kabi Mango and Pegi to Chukuku, Dafara and the council capital, there has been one incident of kidnapping or the other in the last few months.

    Pegi in particular has become notorious for the surge in kidnapping. About two weeks ago, no fewer than five persons were abducted with ransoms paid in millions of naira to rescue the victims, among whom were farmers, businessmen, brides, grooms and government officials.

    Six months ago, two persons were kidnapped in Pegi, a suburb of the area council, after a gun battle with security agents. The exchange of gun fire left one person dead while many others were critically injured.

    There were also reported cases of kidnapping from farms in the Kabi axis of Kuje. And despite assurances from the FCT Police Command that the victims would be rescued, millions of naira was paid to secure their freedom.

    A chat with some of the victims revealed that the criminals’ mode operation include not only planting informants within the community but also having clear knowledge of the operational terrain, especially the routes inside the forests around the area, where they take their victims who have to trek several hours at night.

    In Pegi last year, some kidnappers struck at a particular household, abducting the breadwinner of the house and his five children. They later freed the father, apparently to source for ransom, while they took the five others deep into the bush. They were later rescued in Kogi State after they had undergone torture for 10 days and an unspecified amount was paid as ransom.

    Even more tragic was an incident in Dafara where a bride was kidnapped around 9.30 pm a few metres from a checkpoint mounted by the Nigeria Police. The hoodlums had to shoot to disperse the villagers that had gathered in a bid to stop them.

    The kidnappers were merciless in their operation. They instructed the groom to bring the ransom alone, only to swap him with his wife and keep him for one week before more money was paid to secure his release.

    Some residents who do not want their names in print told our correspondent that arresting members of the syndicates was a task beyond the security agents.They said apart from communicating in Hausa and Pidgin English, which they use to negotiate ransoms, the criminals usually warn their victims not to report them to the police, saying that their informants would tell them whoever did.

    In order to weaken their victims, the kidnappers usually subject them to the rigour of trekking many kilometres at night, unleashing endless beating on them during negotiations to raise the stakes.

    A security operative alleged that although he was not sure of any collaboration with the kidnappers, dealing with them was beyond the Kuje police personnel.

    He said: “It is not as if we cannot do anything, but the directives from above are not helping matters. In Kuje Area Council, Fulani herdsmen are just above the law.

    “Recently, we arrested them for inflicting a very deep machete cut on a Gbagyi person, but an order came from above that we should release them.

    “They took cows into the farm and consumed the crops. We came for arrest but they fled. We had to arrest three cows.

    “On the issue of kidnappers, no policeman wants to risk his life, because the kidnappers have superior firepower. The truth is that Kuje is no longer safe to live in.”

    Bad roads are also visible in Kuje. Many are also of the view that this also aids the activities of the men of the underworld.

    The Public Relations Officer (PRO), Pegi Community Development Association (PCDA), Mr. Oyedeji Oyetunji, who spoke with our correspondent on the incident, urged the Minister of FCT, Barrister Nyesom Wike, to intervene.

    Oyetunji also said that last Saturday, the criminals made several attempts to kidnap some residents but failed.

    He said: “We are going through hell and the bad road has been assisting the criminals to perpetrate evil and kidnap people the way they like. They now come on bikes and move into the bush.

    “Residents also find it difficult to pass through the bad road. In the entire FCT the Kuje, insecurity and kidnapping incident is the worst. It has been a serious challenge.“The kidnappers used to pick people along Pagi Road and, in some cases, from their houses.

    Read Also: Tinubu appoints Ibrahim, Yusuf into Customs Board

    “Even last Saturday the kidnappers, according to information, made an attempt to kidnap people but they failed along the same Pagi Road.

    “We urged the Minister of the FCT, Barr. Nyesom Wike, to intervene and end this unfortunate act.”

    Wike’s efforts

    Determined to stamp out cross-border banditry and kidnapping and eliminate the menace of one-chance robbers, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Barrister Nyesom Wike, recently set up two joint task forces made up of all security agencies in the nation’s capital.

    One-chance robbers often pose as a staff driver, pick unsuspecting passengers and dispossess them, often harming their victims in the process and sometimes killing them.

    Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, Haruna Garba, disclosed this at the end of the FCT Security Council meeting chaired by Wike.

    Briefing reporters, Garba who was flanked by the FCT Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Olusola Odumosu, as well as other defence and intelligence chiefs, said: “The FCT Security Council meeting chaired by the Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike, held today and discussed ways and means to flush out criminal elements in the FCT, stop cross border crimes and curb the menace of one chance.

    “Consequently, it was resolved to set up a joint taskforce of all security agencies on the menace of one-chance.

    “Also, a joint task force on cross border crimes to tackle the issue of armed robbers, kidnappers and all forms of crimes in the FCT will be set up.

    “These two security operations have commenced in earnest.

    “We wish to assure residents of our resolve to curb all forms of criminalities in the territory,” he stated.

    Asked why security operatives often raid mechanic workshops in the territory, the police boss said it was based on intelligence.He said: “FCT is the heart of the country, with a lot of people coming in and who have no businesses here. They end up staying under bridges and even in some mechanic workshops.

    “What we are doing is to raid and we will remove the chaff from the grains so that residents can sleep with their two eyes closed.”

    The Police Command had last week impounded 10 vehicles suspected to be used for “one chance” and kidnapping activities in Abuja.

    He said the vehicles were impounded by the newly created Anti-One Chance Squad of the command to curb the menace of “one chance” and kidnapping activities within the FCT.

    According to him, most of the vehicles impounded have tinted glasses on them and during search, axes, cutlasses and knives, ostensibly for use in carrying out their criminal activities were recovered from the vehicles.

    He said the three suspects arrested in connection with the impounded vehicles were currently under investigation.

    Garba said operatives of the command from Zuba Division on October 8 arrested three suspects over armed robbery and kidnapping.

    He said the suspects were arrested following a distress call about some strange and suspicious movements around the Zuba Fruit Market.

    “Police operatives from Zuba Division swiftly mobilized to the scene and arrested a suspect, who upon sighting the police operatives took to his heels.

    “He was given a hot chase and apprehended by police operatives.

    “During interrogation, the suspect confessed to being a member of a five-man gang and later led the police operatives to arrest two of his gang members.

    “Two AK-47 rifles, two magazines and 35 rounds of live ammunition were recovered from the houses of the suspects.

    “The suspects are cooperating with police authority to arrest the rest of the gang members,” he said.

    The CP said 62 cases of alleged disappearance of male organs had been reported in the FCT since the first case was reported in Gwagwalada on September 21.

    He said 51 suspects had been charged to court for giving false information and inciting public disturbance in connection to male organ disappearance.

    “To this end, I want to reiterate my commitment and willingness to always work with FCT residents to defeat crime in all its forms in the territory,” he said.

  • Anxiety in Osun communities over threats of attack by herdsmen

    Anxiety in Osun communities over threats of attack by herdsmen

    • No cause for worries, says Amotekun Commandant
    • Government needs to be serious about security -Ex-DG, Western Nigeria Security Network

    Many people believe that the issue of herders’ attacks on communities in the Southwest have become a thing of the past, but the alarm raised by the traditional ruler of Esa Oke, Obokun Local Government Area, Osun State, Oba Adeyemi Adediran, has given rise to fresh concerns. GBENGA ADERANTI examines the preparedness of the Western Nigeria Security Network (WNSN) and other security agencies to prevent or resist possible attacks.

    The traditional ruler of Esa-Oke community in Obokun Local Government Area, Osun State, Oba Adeyemi Adediran, spoke the minds of not only residents but also farmers when he recently expressed fear that criminally minded herders could attack their communities soon.

    According to the monarch, as the dry season approaches, many agrarian communities in Osun, especially those in Ijeshaland, may soon experience an influx of herders on their farmlands.

    Before now, they had enjoyed relative peace. But there are fears that that could come to an end anytime soon as the rains cease and there are no grass for the cattle of herders to feed on.

    Oba Adediran drew the attention of the state government to the calamity that could befall the inhabitants of the affected communities very soon and called for special security surveillance in his community to prevent herders’ invasion.

    The respected monarch said: “The government knows the best thing to do ahead of the dry season when herdsmen will be invading our community. It has been affecting us yearly.

    “The farmers are not happy to farm again. People are not willing to struggle again to get food. So we have been starving.

     “The government should help us by trying as much as they can do to prevent insecurity in the community ahead of the dry season.

    “Government should help us to  with a special patrol that will see to this.”

    Palpable fear in the land

    The concerns of the monarch could be genuine after all. Those who have had an encounter with herders would tell you that it is better to imagine such an ugly experience than being confronted with it.

    A farmer, Mr. Peter Olayemi, told our correspondent that he was once a victim of herders’ destruction. He said although he did not suffer any bodily injury, the “unpalatable” experience still left a sour taste in his mouth.

    Olayemi, who said he lost his two acres of farmland to ravaging herders, said he never envisaged the sight that later confronted him after a distress call from his uncle.

    He said: “My uncle just called me that I should come home and visit my farm. On getting to the farm, I found his two-acre cassava and maize farm totally ravaged. The farmland looked as if we were just preparing it for planting.

    “I immediately contacted one man, who happened to be the head of the herders in the area. He came with two other elderly herders and they were begging that I should forgive them, but I said no, they should pay compensation for destroying the farm at will.

    “It was so clear that the herder, who later showed up, was old enough to know that the place his cattle grazed was a farm and not a grazing land.

    “But after all was said and done, they only begged. They didn’t pay any compensation.”

    Olayemi said the herdsmen responsible for the destruction of the farm would have been shielded, if not for his insistence that his fellow herders must produce the culprit.

    Not one to give up on his farming business, Olayemi again in 2021 acquired another land on which he planted maize and cassava. But rather than siting his farm deep inside the forest, he chose a place where there was life.

    To prevent a repeat of the first experience, the farm was close to the house of the son of the herder.

    “Being conscious of what had happened in the past, I was interacting with the boy, sounding a note of warning that on no account must he take his cattle near the farm,” he said.

    Unlike the first time, Olayemi said he was able to harvest his maize. But when it was time for him to harvest his cassava on his five-acre farm, he was again disappointed.  “I was shocked when I got there and discovered that the place had been turned into a grazing land for cattle. I was temporarily numb because I could not comprehend it.

    “As at that time, the quantum of the loss was about N1.5 million after spending so much money.”

    Rather than take the law into his own hands, Olayemi contacted the police and the errant herdsman was invited.

    He said: “I confronted him and asked how many times I warned him not to allow his cattle to go near the farm, but he didn’t have an answer.

     “The irony of it all is that he too had an acre of cassava farm beside his house. I asked him why didn’t you turn your cattle on your own farm? It shows that you are a wicked person and what you have done is deliberate.“

    Olayemi recalled that the herdsman was detained and later released. The herder’s father, who happened to be the leader of the herdsmen in the community, was summoned and was reminded that a similar thing happened 10 years ago.

    “I said you were the one begging me 10 years ago to forgive some herders who destroyed my farm, but see what is happening now.

    “For you, your economic interest is paramount, but you don’t care about others. He was just begging me to forgive him.”

    Fortunately, there was a committee set up by the then-governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola, and saddled with the responsibility of mediating in such problems. The herder was dragged before the committee, where they were indicted, and told to pay compensation.

    “But the herder was offering me N100,000 for a farm that was worth over N1.5 million. At one point he was talking about N40,000.

    “My brother, it was an unpalatable experience that dampened my interest in farming. We have a very large expanse of land but we can’t go there and farm, because no serious person will invest money and at the end of the day some crankhead would come over there and destroy everything so that their cattle can feed very well.

    “In the new Bola Ahmed administration, something drastic has to be done with regard to the herders’ problem because we can all see we are having issues with food security now.

    Read Also: Tinubu appoints 10 into MOFI Board

    “Government must find a way to rein them in so that they will not continue to destroy people’s property and farms and thrive at the expense of the farmers.”

    The residents of Coker, another community in Obokun Local Government Area, Osun State, who were victims of herdsmen attacks in April 2021, would not easily forget what they went through when they were attacked by some herdsmen.

    The herders, who came into the community armed with AK-47s, were said to have come in the night and ordered the residents to file out of their houses.

    “Immediately the gunmen, numbering eight, arrived, they ordered the residents to march out of their houses and led them towards the bush in the locality.

    “While the residents were being taken to the bush, one of them veered off the line unknown to the gunmen and put a telephone call to the hunters’ group in the state.

    “The hunters, on receiving the distress call, were said to have arrived at the village and foiled the kidnap attempt.

    “The invaders were said to have angrily shot three of the residents during a gun duel between them, the hunters and some locals.”

    The police, according to a report confirming the incident, said while the herders attempted to abduct the village head, three residents of the community and hunters sustained bullet wounds.

    Also, sometime in August this year, six people in Oyan, a community in Odo-Otin Local Government Area, Osun State, were reportedly abducted by herders. The victims were abducted while returning from their farm. One of them later escaped.  

    Nothing to worry about, says Amotekun Commandant

    However, when our correspondent contacted the Commandant of Amotekun in Osun State, General Bashir Adewinbi, he said he was not aware of the concerns of the monarch. He however promised to double the efforts of Amotekun to address the concerns.

    He assured that every measure was in place to allay the fears expressed by Owa Miran of Esa Oke.

    He said the fact that the people of these communities are in border town with Ondo State makes things worse, as they are surrounded by thick forests which the criminal herders exploit maximally to commit heinous crimes.

    Adewinbi said: “They can’t succeed. I don’t think it is possible, my brother. I doubt it.

    “I don’t see anybody that will come and attack any village in Osun State now. Amotekun is solid.”

    He wondered why the herders and the communities would have any issues since they had a cordial relationship. He reiterated that it would be difficult for anybody or group of people to attack the state right now, considering the machinery that have been put in place by the former governor Isiaka Oyetola and the current governor Ademola Adeleke.

    “It would be difficult for any criminal element to engage in any criminal activities in the state. The outfit is better equipped,” he said.

    While also admitting that the herders had in the past focused on communities in Ijeshaland, he added: “The thick forests within this area could be one of the factors. But I trust my colleague in Ondo, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, he has been doing wonderfully well.

    “We network. I have a strategic plan for the area and nothing like that will happen there again. I’ve told the present governor, Senator Nurudeen Adeleke, and he has promised to give me every necessary thing to focus on that area, and he has started doing it.”

    While believes that security is a major thing the government should focus on, he disclosed that like every other sector, the economy also hampers the operation of  Amotekun.  That notwithstanding, he expressed his firm belief in the governor to make available the needed equipment to rid the state of crime and criminality.

    The complaint in many quarters has been that criminally minded herders have always had leeway because of their superior firepower, but the Osun Amotekun Commander does not share this sentiment.

    He is of the opinion that when issues like this are being discussed, distinctions should be made between terrorists and criminal herders or cattle rustlers.

    “Cattle rustlers may not carry more than two, three, or four rifles, though in Osun State, it is not allowed. If you see any cattle rustler with arms, please call me and we will disarm him,” he said.

    The Nation gathered that the war against criminal herders has been difficult to win in most places because of some powerful people behind the criminally minded herders, In other instances, when some of the criminally minded herders are arrested by the police, because of lack of enough evidence to prosecute them, they are allowed to go scot-free. In other instances, they are freed in courts because of lack of evidence.

    Adewinbi said the way out of these attacks is effective policing and intelligence gathering, adding that when there is no effective community policing, you can’t get credible intelligence.

    He said: “Credible intelligence will be converted to actionable intelligence; it leads you to make decisions, to strategise.

    There is nowhere there is no crime but it can be reduced to the barest minimum.

    “Honestly, I support well-organised state police. Individual states should have their own police. State police should be made up of Amotekun, not the federal police.”

    Our correspondent also contacted the leader of another security outfit in the state, Hunters Group Nigeria, Osun State Chapter, Hameed Nureni, but he neither picked his calls nor returned them. The WhatsApp message sent to him was also not replied to.

  • ‘Adeleke, others must stop playing politics with herdsmen menace’

    ‘Adeleke, others must stop playing politics with herdsmen menace’

    Amitolu Shittu is a former Field Commander of the Osun State Security Network Agency also known as the Amotekun Corps. In this interview with GBENGA ADERANTI, he talks about the security situation in the state.

    Two weeks ago the Owa Miran of Esa Oke appealed to the Osun State Government to help in providing security in the community over the fear of herders’ attacks. As a former DG of Amotekun, what would be your advice to the state government?

    First of all, security work is work nobody will say thank you for doing your best. It is the work that people will want to chastise you with whip and scorpion, whichever one is available to them. But responsible people who are saddled with the responsibility of securing lives and property must not look at the way and manner the public treats them. They should consider that not all of us will be police, not all of us will be in the army, all of us cannot be journalists, and not all of us can be lawyers. But if you are destined to be one of them, definitely you must put everything there is to secure lives.

    After I left there, the public now realises that one did his best, and I give glory to the Almighty God. When appointing someone to head a security outfit, you must not politicise it. You have to look beyond partisan politics and look beyond personality involvement in political activities so that there can be continuity in whatever we are doing. I am of the opinion that with the latest development, the government must look for responsible and disciplined people who will never compromise.

    If people of low quality in terms of integrity are saddled with the responsibility of maintaining the security of lives and property, it is going to be an error, and the error may well be pronounced. This may have a strong negative effect on the generality of the people, because if you look at it critically, the multiplier effect of putting irresponsible individuals to man the security of lives and property is too bogus and we cannot close our eyes to it.  You must put someone who will not compromise, no matter what.

     I have never compromised. I have never succumbed to threat and blackmail, and I remain resolute and face it squarely. That is why when I was there, kidnapping was completely abolished here, and we made sure we went after them day and night. Equally, the rate of robbery reduced drastically as well as the rate of cultism, and we made sure that those who engaged in cultism, killing of human beings were not given any breathing space in our state.

    Amotekun is enough to show a responsible government, because when you care for the security of lives and property, then you can think of food, you can think of money, you can think of work, you can think of going to church or mosque. That is when you can think of celebrating your festivals. It is when there is an atmosphere of peace and tranquility. When there is no peace, you cannot do all this. When there is no atmosphere of peace, you shut down business and it will also cripple the economy. So, the government must invest hugely in the security of lives and property.

    As a former chief commander of the agency, I did my best and I made sure that out of the 200 cases that I had, those that were arrested were charged to court. More than 12 are currently in prison. Ranging from kidnapping, ritual killings, and robbery. I give glory to the Almighty God and I thank the judges who handled our cases for not compromising. The government should invest in security. They should invest in the police, and the army. There is no amount of investment in security that is too much, life is priceless.

    There are reports that criminal herders took over people’s lands in some parts of Nigeria. Do you see that happening in Osun State?

    I want to advise the governor to wake up from his slumber. He should face the governance rather than involve himself in petty and unnecessary political crises. Governance is a huge task.

    If any responsible governor deviates from real governance, there is every possibility of getting things wrong. So I’m saying this without any reservation or apology to anybody. The governor should face governance. What entails good governance is security. When the security of lives and property is not guaranteed again, it is tilting towards the declaration of emergency.

    What are you doing to avoid Benue State’s experience in Osun?

    When it happened in Esa Oke, I know what I did there. It is on record. The Nation reported it. I arrested 28 cows. When they asked me why I arrested cows, I said cows destroyed the farms of innocent people – retired permanent secretaries and retired directors in the ministry who had nothing and resorted to farming to make ends meet. I cannot allow cows to destroy their farms. The owners of the cow can come in so that we negotiate. If we don’t have the owners, automatically, the cows will be confiscated, and whatever proceeds we get will be used to settle the farmers. When we arrested the cows, the owners came out and they entered into an agreement. The herders paid sums ranging between N100,000 and N2 million to the affected farmers. They settled among themselves and ever since then, such a thing has not repeated itself

    Read Also: Tinubu appoints Ibrahim, Yusuf into Customs Board

    Why is Ijeshaland so attractive to herders?

    This can be curbed and it should be curbed urgently. We have the people that can do it but everything has been politicised. Politics cannot help us if we continue this way because there are big men who also give the herders their livestock to rear for them. So whenever they were arrested they had some big men from Osun who gave them money to keep those cows for them.

    There were so many unthinkable things; I was able to get rid of those things.

    There was a time they brought N5 million, and I said no, I would rather report to the EFCC and ICPC. That was when the then governor said he was proud of me, that he learned that they brought money to me and I rejected it. You can’t compromise and tell the truth.

    I can walk anywhere.

    While in the office, I was driving myself. DSS would write a report and warn me that I should stop walking alone, but I said no problem. They sent a report to me that I was prone to attack because I was walking alone. I’m surviving by grace, why should I be afraid of death? I never thought I would not die when Abacha detained me. I was only set free when he died. During the Babangida era, I was locked up for 97 days but I did not die there.

    Anybody who wants to do the work of security must be ready to face persecution, abuse and blackmail. If you are not clean, don’t go into the work of security, because you will step on the toes of kidnappers and ritual killers.

    What do you think the government should do regarding the fear expressed by the monarch?

    The government should fund security. The governor should show interest in security

    Do you think the hunters’ union and Amotekun are capable of arresting the situation?

    Amotekun is eager if given the opportunity.

  • I started life as bus conductor, owned 45 buses before graduating from university – Peace Mass Transit CEO Maduka

    I started life as bus conductor, owned 45 buses before graduating from university – Peace Mass Transit CEO Maduka

    Chief Samuel Maduka Onyishi is the founder of Maduka University, a private citadel of learning based in Enugu State.  Chief  Madukaku, whose full name means it is more precious to invest in humanity than acquiring endless wealth and vanity, is also the Chairman of Peace Mass Transit (PMT) and many other businesses that cut across oil and gas, maritime and automobile among others. In this interview with select journalists, including INNOCENT DURU, he spoke about how he moved from being a bus conductor after dropping out of school because of his father’s death to founding a university. Excerpts:

    YOU have been in business for close to 40 years. What did it take you to be where you are today?

    To be honest with you, it has not been easy getting to this point in my business life. My road to success was very rough and challenging, coupled with the fact that I lost my father when I was 12 years old. My mother was just a housewife, and being the first of the seven children, I was left with the responsibility to cater for the rest of the family. So, we lacked everything in the house except air, and it was difficult finishing secondary school. The saving grace was that my mother took us to the church and, as children, we learnt about what God could do and we embraced Him since then.

    After my secondary education, I couldn’t continue because there was no money to further my education. That was how my hustling started. I did many odd jobs just to make ends meet. I worked at a construction company as a labourer and, at some point I was a bus conductor and bus driver. I sold second hand clothes and later went into auto spare parts business in Kano.

    Was that the end of your educational career?

    No. Because of my zeal for learning, I went back to school. I did a diploma at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka between 1994 and 1996, and a degree programme from 1996 to 1999 at the same institution. I graduated as the best student in my diploma programme and a second class upper in social works and community development. I later got a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) in Entrepreneurship from the Institute for Transformative Thought and Learning at the Doctoral Research Centre of the University of Arizona, Phoenix, United States and also from London School of Economics. How did you find yourself in transportation business?

    It was within the period of my university education that, in 1994, I started transportation business. I used my savings from spare parts business in Kano, about N260, 000, to buy two buses, and that was how I started Peace Mass Transit. I was driving one of the buses myself even as a student. And by the time I was leaving school as a graduate, I had 45 buses already.

    When I realised how lucrative transport business was, I concentrated fully on it after settling my apprentices with my two shops in Kano. In 2006, I increased the fleet of my vehicles from 500 to 1,500. This was possible because motor dealers like Inehmic Auto were giving me buses to operate and pay without any interest. I never defaulted, and that was why I never took any loan growing up. From there, we moved on and expanded our branches. Presently, we have about 65 terminals spread across Nigeria with over 3,000 vehicles.

    You have carved out a niche for yourself in the business world. Why did you decide to float a university?

    Well, in 1993, I entered into a covenant with God, and I told him that if he blessed me, I was going to use the blessings to serve him and his people. And that he should take my life a day before the day that I would leave him to serve another god, so that that day would never come. That was in 1993. Then I was coming back from Kano where I was a spare parts dealer to Nsukka to study. And I had N260,000 cash. I used that money to buy two buses, which I used to start Peace Mass Transit as a student at the University of Nigeria.

    So God really did wonders in my life. He kept to that covenant and I never imagined it. So when I turned 50, I looked at what I had achieved and I said how do I fulfill that promise? So I decided to use the money I’ve made to make an impact-making investment that would change lives and influence people. I was considering investing in either the health sector (hospital), education or agric business. After much consideration, I decided to invest in the education sector by founding a university, because a university could accommodate both the hospital and agribusiness effectively.

    Education is the place where I think that I could develop young people for God; show them that people can make money without being dubious and make money through the right ways, working hard, being prayerful, being law-abiding, God-fearing, obedient to the laws of the land and still be prosperous. If God did it for me, he can do it for many people. So I think that I can just be an example of such a person. So this is the only way that I think or one of the things I can give back to God and give back to society.

    It is no longer about how to make more money; it is about how to make God happy and not regret raising us to the little that we have.

    There were a good number of tertiary institutions in Enugu State already. What informed your choice of location?

    I told God that I was going to use His blessings to serve Him and serve His people. His people are the people where I come from. They are God’s people. So when I say His people, I mean my people where I come from. There’s a reason why God made me an Nsukka man. There’s a reason why He made me an Igbo man and a Nigerian. Charity, they say, begins at home. So if I’m going to serve God, let me start serving Him from my community, and from there I can get to other people.

    University is a global thing. You can use it to give services to people all over the globe. Besides, the location of the university is strategic. What do you need in a university? Apart from the infrastructure development, you need human resources. And the human resources are the lecturers. So my university is within an hour 30-minute radius of over 15 tertiary institutions ranging from Kogi and Benue to Ebonyi, Abia and Anambra states. You know in the university system, you collaborate with others to make things happen. So there are openings there for us to embrace and make a change.

    What will Maduka University be doing differently from the other universities in Enugu State and across the country?

    I have just told you a little about my history, that where I’m coming from, with hard work, you can do it. You don’t have to be dubious or fraudulent before you can make it out of life. Knowledge of God, hard work, dedication, honesty and transparency can give you everything you want in life.

    Again, you can start small and make it big. I did it, others can do it too. Entrepreneurial spirit, that’s what I want everyone in my school to have. I have it. That was what brought me from being a second-hand clothes dealer to a bus conductor, bus driver, spare parts dealer, bus operator and today, a chancellor of a university. So every graduate of the university is going to be an entrepreneur no matter the course you studied at my university, you are going to be able to stand on your own because at Maduka University, we teach you to be an employer of labour and not an employee of labour.

    Is there a compulsory course on entrepreneurship for every student of the university?

    Any person who is studying in our school will do courses on entrepreneurship from the first year to the final year. That’s our plan and that’s going to be our focus, because it’s an entrepreneurial university. A lot of people have had opportunities in life that they were not able to convert. People should be able to create wealth, and if people are fortunate enough to come into contact with opportunities, they should be able to harness them and turn them into wealth-creating opportunities. Even sometimes, when people make money, they lose it due to lack of good knowledge of how to manage and grow money. These things can be taught and we have the environment, we have the people that can pass that message to the younger generation.

    What state-of-the-art facilities or infrastructure can the school boast of?

    Well, in a university of our type, of course, apart from human resources, we have good laboratories in all our courses, because every modern course today, including social science courses, should have a laboratory. We have laboratories in health and medical sciences, engineering and computing. Currently, there are accounting, mathematics and economics laboratories.

    Read Also: Appeal Court affirms Sani, Idris’ elections as Kaduna, Kebbi govs

    Everything has a laboratory so you do theory and you do practice. This will balance you up as a graduate. You have internship opportunities to go out and have real-life experience apart from what you are being taught in school. So that is the difference between a university like ours that has interest in practice and others.

    Apart from that, we have sporting facilities. Today we are putting up an Olympic standard football pitch and a sports arena. In sports, hand ball, volley ball, lawn tennis, badminton, wrestling and boxing, everything is going to be Olympic standard, because we have the intention of hosting the NUGA game or co-hosting the NUGA game one day even though we are a private university. We think that a student who has not undergone these sporting activities is not complete. So apart from the mental development, they should also have physical development. It will make them a complete person. So we want an all-round trained student.

    In Igbo language, the university is called Marahadum. It means to know it all. So you cannot say you are a graduate when you don’t have any knowledge of sports, arts, music or anything except in the area of your course of study. For example, an engineer should have basic knowledge of finances, how to run a family, etc. These things make you a complete person. Yes, you don’t have to be an expert in all, but basic knowledge in all the areas of life will help you not just in employing yourself but in living a happy and fulfilled life, because knowledge they say is power.

    Your school’s tuition for courses like Law, Pharmacy and Nursing is said to be N588,000 while others like accounting are N378,000 per academic session. Don’t you think the fees are high considering the economic realities in the country?

    No, I don’t think so. Before you say it is on the high side, you will have to compare it to what other private universities are taking. You will find out that ours is among the least. It is the least and it is for a purpose.

    What is the purpose?

    The reason why it is low is one, the university is ours. We’re not running it for any person. So the interest is our interest. And what’s our interest? To give service to God and man. Secondly, it is owned by a foundation, Samuel Maduka Onyishi Foundation. So it’s a nonprofit-making university. It’s not meant to make profits and then share it with the shareholders. No, it’s service, a gift and our contribution to the world. The university is going to take off on 23rd November 2023.

    That day is also my 60th birthday anniversary. So that’s my gift to Nigeria and the world on my 60th birthday. We come empty and we go back empty. I don’t believe that you have to keep money, pack all the money for your children. Because your children don’t need all the money. What they need is good education, and I’ve done that for my children. So, my family and I decided to use what God has given us to give service to humanity

    Kidnapping of students seems to have become the order. What measures have you put in place to ensure the security of lives and property of both the students and the staff?

    The issue of security is a general one in Nigeria; it is not just in any one place. However, we are lucky that the Enugu State Government, both the previous and the present administrations, are supporting what we are doing. So, they are providing enough security in and around our school. The Nigerian police and the military are also supporting what we are doing. They are providing enough security in and around the campus. The community where we are is happy with what we are doing. So, they are providing local vigilante services in and around the university. The local government is also interested. Everyone likes what we are doing, so, I don’t think we have any problem with security.

    However, when you bring people together, you have to provide adequate security for them apart from what the government and the security agencies are doing. We also have our own internal security. We are mindful of the security situation in the country. Therefore, that has been adequately taken care of. We also deployed modern security technology like CCTV cameras in and around the campus for maximum security.

    What are some of the challenges you encountered in making this dream come true?

    A lot. The first challenge was the unfaithfulness of some Nigerian contractors. They are very, very unfaithful and can’t keep to their promises. They would collect money but would not do the job they are paid for. Unfortunately, in the past three or four years, the economy has not helped. When we started, our budget was at N2,000 for a bag of cement. But in six months, the price of everything changed. A bag of cement moved from N2,000 to N3,000, N4,000 and N5,000. We even bought up to N5,700. Because of that, the contractors were having a field day. We lost control of our budget because nobody even knew the price of anything in the market. So whatever they tell you is what it is. So we ended up spending far more than we budgeted. We lost control of our budgets just six months into the project. We were only lucky that God helped us to weather the storm.

    So what made you keep faith with the project?

    What made me to keep faith was that I knew that very soon I would be 60 years. And after the age of 60, if I’m not able to build an investment now that I’m around 60, is it when I’m 80 that I’m going to build one? So I need to build the university when I’m still strong, because I need to have time to nurse it. A university is like a baby. You have to nurse it for five years or 10 years. So I have to do it when I’m still young and I want to nurse it myself before I get very old. This is my life project. It’s something I want to give to Nigeria. It’s something I want to give to God. So for me, it is a fight to the finish. It is not a battle that I can afford to lose. It’s a battle that must be won because there is no other thing apart from that.

    Did you get any kind of support from your state government?

    In this kind of economy? Every state government has their own problems to resolve. My university is a private venture and does not have anything to do with any state government. It’s entirely a private investment. And it’s philanthropy. It’s a social investment. So no government will give you money to go and do philanthropy. You don’t use another person’s money to do Father Christmas. Nobody does that.

    Are you into any partnerships with either local or international organisations?

    Right now, we have some foreign and local universities that are indicating interest in working with us. We’re going to work with universities locally and otherwise, depending on their areas of strength. We’re going to partner with some technology universities to boost our technology – from Japan and Malaysia. We’re also going to partner with some universities in India to boost our school of health/medical sciences and some local universities to boost our human resources, exchange research, and so on.

    University education is global, so it’s not something you can do in one place. It depends on what you are looking for and who can offer it.

  • Why I ventured into furniture making at 27 – Ifeyinwa Ighodalo

    Why I ventured into furniture making at 27 – Ifeyinwa Ighodalo

    Ifeyinwa Ighodalo is the Founder and CEO of DO.II, a foremost indigenous furniture manufacturing company. She is also one of the founding members and immediate past chairperson of Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ). In this interview with YETUNDE OLADEINDE, she talks about her experience as a manufacturer, how she started as a Co-founder of Design Options, which metamorphosed into DO.II, 36 years ago at the age of 27, the opportunities in the sector, mentoring and more.

    WHAT is your typical week like?

    Typically, after a restful night, my morning routine involves quiet time, exercise and lots of water. Exercise, lasting from a few minutes to an hour, energises me and clears my head. As I start my day, even during workouts, I engage in work-related activities, responding to messages and handling calls. I aim to be at the office an hour or two before my first appointment, though my work location has shifted, with more focus on the retail store closer to me.

    My schedule includes bi-monthly management meetings where I oversee operations and ensure everything is running smoothly. While I used to personally meet clients at showrooms, I have delegated this responsibility to the sales and projects team, freeing me to work online from various locations. I maintain a healthy diet, waking up between 6 and 6:30 am and allowing an hour for exercise before starting my day.

    On a good day, I leave the office between 5:30pm and 6 pm. But this can extend to between 7:30pm and 9 pm on busier days with meetings or projects. Previously responsible for driving, my current focus is on overseeing finer details and ensuring everything is in order. My day varies, and early mornings provide a time for clear thinking and strategic planning without external interruptions.

    Let’s talk about your work-life balance…

    Since the beginning, I have acknowledged the inherent challenges of achieving work-life balance. At a WIMBIZ conference held at Landmark Hall, the keynote speaker aptly expressed that the concept of work-life balance is a fallacy; something inevitably has to be sacrificed. This resonated with me as I have observed that while some highly successful individuals may excel in their careers, their family lives may not reflect the same level of happiness. Conversely, those not faring well professionally may find solace and joy in their family lives. True success, then, lies in the ability to navigate both spheres, even if the balance is not perfect.

    One of the driving forces behind starting my own business was the aspiration to have control over my time. However, the reality is that there are occasions when one’s time is not entirely one’s own, especially when attending events that extend into the evenings. Despite these challenges, my family has always been my priority, and I am fortunate to have an extremely supportive husband.

    The pursuit of a good work-life balance necessitates careful consideration of the choice of spouse. The truly successful individuals are those who manage to succeed both in their home lives and careers, showcasing the importance of aligning priorities for a fulfilling life.

    For quite some time, there has been a narrative about the limited representation of women on the boards of organizations. Did you perceive it as a male-dominated world, and if so, have you noticed any significant changes over time?

    In our current society, we are still entrenched in a predominantly male-dominated world, and thanks to forums like WIMBIZ, the stark numbers highlight this reality. Women continue to grapple with issues of pay equality, representation on boards and the overarching challenge of achieving work-life balance. Middle management, while featuring a significant number of women, experiences a decline as career demands intensify. The challenges become apparent in personal experiences, such as a mother’s departure affecting a child more profoundly than a father’s. The importance of a supportive partner becomes evident in navigating these challenges.

    Success, for me, involves taking measured steps back at times to allow my husband the space he needs. It underscores the mutual support required in a partnership. This collaborative effort extends beyond individual relationships, with many men, including my husband, actively advocating for increased female representation on boards through partnerships with organisations like WIMBIZ.

    The benefits of having more women on boards are well-established – loyalty, hard work, and heightened intuition. While progress is evident, especially in Western societies, there is room for improvement in Africa, and initiatives like WIMBIZ play a crucial role in fostering gender equality.

    What are the challenges with regard to government’s policy?

     One of the primary challenges we face is the importation policy, which proves to be very challenging. While we strive to source most of our materials locally, there are instances where diversification becomes necessary. However, existing policies can hinder these efforts, and we call on the government to review and improve them. The fluctuating exchange rates further compound the issue, leading to increased material prices and causing frustration among clients who witness price changes within a short period.

    The power situation is another significant hurdle for business growth. As we expand, the need to generate our own power becomes apparent. The cost of diesel, a vital power source, is exorbitant and eats into our profits. The government’s involvement in supporting businesses, especially in addressing power challenges, is seemingly lacking.

     Education is a critical area that demands attention. While we contribute to creating value and employment, the weight of responsibility is significant, considering the impact on the people and families we support. Adequate support in terms of education and skill development is essential for sustainable growth. Infrastructure is another pressing concern. Poor road conditions extend the delivery time for goods, as exemplified by a five-day journey to Jigawa due to bad roads. The state of the Auchi-Benin Road in Edo State is deplorable, almost impassable. The inefficiency of the rail system for transportation exacerbates these challenges, raising questions about why it is not functioning optimally.

    How would you assess the broader societal impact of your company on Nigerian citizens over the years?

    Our presence as a business has become a source of inspiration for many. People observe that a woman can lead and run a successful enterprise, and this visibility is crucial. While we have men as part of our team, being women-owned and women-run sends a powerful message. The impact of our story is amplified with the help of the media, allowing us to share our journey and inspire other women.

     Let’s talk about life as an entrepreneur and how it all started.

    I founded Design Options 36 years ago at the age of 27. I had a partner and we were together for 25 years.  She had an illness but she is okay now. We thank God but the casualty of her illness was Design Options, having run a business and built it up into a household brand. It is basically the same company but half of the leadership was put aside. After starting from scratch at 27, I had to restart from scratch at 52. What helped me was that I had the support of the team and two of them are now directors of DO.II.

    I have always harboured a deep desire to contribute to Nigeria’s progress. Even from a young age, I aspired to empower people, generate employment and create substantial value. It was crystal clear to me that this was my calling. In the initial stages, I contemplated venturing into interior decoration. However, when people mistakenly label me as an interior designer, I correct them promptly. I am, in fact, a furniture manufacturer.

    Upon exploring interior design, I pursued formal education in the field. During this time, a crucial realisation struck me: even if I crafted exquisite designs for various spaces, a fundamental question lingered: where would the furniture come from? Importing for every office project wasn’t a sustainable solution. Consequently, I pivoted my focus and resolved to dive into the realm of furniture manufacturing. The decision to switch gears marked the beginning of my journey into creating tangible, locally produced goods. This shift aligned with my vision of fostering self-sufficiency and contributing to the growth of our nation. Through this venture, I aimed to not only fulfill the aesthetic aspects of design but also provide a sustainable source of locally crafted furniture for diverse projects.

    What motivated your decision to establish your own business?

    Upon relocating to Lagos from the East where my parents and I resided, I secured employment at a furniture company. At the age of 25 or 26, after just a year in that role, I made the pivotal decision to venture out on my own. Despite my father’s reservations and constant admonitions, I persevered, and today, I stand here, a testament to God’s grace with a compelling narrative to share. I co-founded Design Options with a partner, and through dedication and hard work, we transformed it into a household brand, synonymous with locally manufactured furniture of exceptionally high global standards. Our clientele included major banks, corporations and even individuals, with a foundation built on serving expatriates. The expatriate market, demanding high standards, played a crucial role in elevating our craftsmanship; a standard we have maintained by the grace of God.

    Read Also: Tinubu receives Uzodimma, Ododo over poll victory

    Following the liquidation, from the ashes emerged D0.II, symbolising the second coming of Design Options. Madam Chi and Madam Blessing, two remarkable ladies who migrated with me from the early days, now serve as executive directors alongside others. While the production team, sales, and white-collar staff remain my truck driver from Design Options, though it’s time for retirement, still faithfully navigates the roads. This journey is not just about furniture; it’s a testament to resilience, growth and the unwavering commitment to maintaining and exceeding the high standards set from the beginning.

    Can you provide insight into the annual DO.II Big Black Friday sale that your company has been hosting for the past five or six years?

    Every year for the past five or six years, we have hosted the DO2 Big Black Friday sale; a significant event held every November on Black Friday. Despite the official Black Friday being later, we intentionally generate awareness and hype in advance. The journey of DO.II began in the old Design Options room at 29/2C Ajose Adeogun, and after a few years, we relocated to 62D Akin Adesola.

    Our first major milestone was moving from a 300-square-meter space to a 1400-square-meter

    showroom at 642D, a flagship branch with four floors. This showroom, the first of its kind in Nigeria, offers a diverse range of office furniture, home furniture and accessories, providing a comprehensive solution for all interior needs, including ceiling, window treatment and air conditioning. The expansion to our new location, with a showroom, factory, and warehouse, was not only strategic but also felt divinely guided.

    In the ever-evolving industry, we pondered the necessity of physical branches in an era where online furniture shopping prevails. However, circumstances led us to believe it was a divine intervention, urging us to continue on this path. While we may not have branches across Nigeria, our focus is on dominating the online market. This launch marks the beginning of our Black Friday sales at the new Ikeja Showroom.

    Although not the formal opening, it signifies our commitment to expanding strategically, possibly to two other states. For now, our primary goal is to face and dominate the online market, making our furniture accessible to a broader audience. Whether you visit the flagship store at 642D Akin Adesola or the new location at 100 Kudirat Abiola Way or shop online, our Black Friday sales promise an energetic and vibrant experience.

    How do you get the raw materials for your products?

    I am not certain if upholstery materials are currently manufactured or produced in Nigeria, and I’ll need to verify that. Examining our input materials, take the sofa for example, the frame and foam are sourced locally while the fabric is imported. Occasionally, we import high-quality veneer for certain aspects. This commitment to imported materials is driven by our dedication to achieving global standards. Our approach is not merely about assembling and putting furniture out there; it is about ensuring quality, meeting international benchmarks and maintaining a commitment to excellence.

    How do you perceive the free trade zone project for Africa?

    I believe it is a fantastic idea. But honestly, I am facing challenges securing it. As I mentioned, I had to restart after 25 years. Just when we were at the point of dealing with importation and expansion, unforeseen circumstances arose. It was a devastating setback. To put it in perspective, it is not like having a baby now and having another one later; it is akin to your 25-year-old child, and then you have to start from scratch. Even if it means adopting a one-year-old, you would do it. That is the current situation, and despite the hurdles, I sense progress.

    The initiative for trade is commendable, and I hope it serves its intended purpose with the necessary support. Initiatives like these, though beneficial, often face challenges when human factors come into play. It is crucial that we maintain the essence of such programmes and work collectively to overcome any obstacles that may arise.

    What proportion would you say is sourced locally and what percentage is imported?

    Approximately 80% of our materials are sourced locally, with only about 20% being imported, and in some cases, the local percentage may even be higher. Primarily, our fabrics are sourced locally, showcasing a commitment to supporting domestic industries. However, when it comes to

    manufacturing, especially considering the broader aspects of our company such as accessories, lamps, and decorations, a significant portion, around 95%, is imported. It is worth noting that while our home furniture meets global standards, we had to delve into importing office furniture to maintain market competitiveness due to certain components and machines not yet available locally.

    In the past, we have had instances where expatriates were impressed with our products. I vividly recall furnishing the home of an oil company MD’s wife, who, upon leaving Nigeria, took some of our furniture back to America to showcase its quality. Despite such successes, our focus remains on continuous improvement. Discussions about expanding our capabilities began earlier this year, but due to the challenges of the past months, we strategically paused to ensure a successful execution. The process of placing orders, getting the lights on, and initiating operations took nearly three months to complete.

    This year has been challenging for many with the exchange rate. How has this affected your business?

    The current situation affects us across board—our component input, raw materials, and the

    exchange rates are all impacted. Initially, I resisted changing prices, asserting that we wouldn’t increase them. However, we reached a point where I received frequent emails notifying me of rising costs for various materials like foam and spray materials for wooden products. These increases, sometimes by 100% or 200%, have been consistent for every single material. I have conveyed to my team the necessity of adjusting prices to reflect these changes, but there is hesitation, with reluctance to raise prices beyond 10% or 15%.

    The reality is that we are often selling at a loss, even with the advantage of a rush of customers who can no longer afford imported finished goods. Despite this, the purchasing power in Nigeria, especially in Lagos, is nearly non-existent. Basic needs like water, food and rent take precedence over non-essential items like furniture. However, I remain hopeful that, by God’s grace, this challenging period is leading us somewhere positive. The resilience of our team and the loyalty of our customers are key factors that keep us moving forward.

    Furthermore, what has been the driving force that has kept you going, overcoming challenges like the liquidation?

    Firstly, being a woman in this industry is noteworthy, and I often start my interviews by emphasising that aspect. I am the eldest of three children, the first girl with two younger brothers. In the Igbo culture, I am known as Ada Ada, signifying the leader’s daughter or the daughter’s daughter, as I am the first grandchild on both my father’s and mother’s sides. Interestingly, when I was born, my father, expecting a boy, was surprised to find out I was a girl. He raised me not strictly as a girl but as his first child, imparting business knowledge to me. My mother, with a firm hand, instilled discipline and resilience.

    Growing up in a family with a furniture company, I witnessed the challenges they faced with both imported and locally made products. One notable instance was when I addressed issues with the tailor making curtains for the company. After working with them for a while, I expressed my desire to study interior design abroad, but upon my return, I shifted my focus to furniture manufacturing.

    Despite my father’s initial skepticism, he supported my decision. Moving to Lagos to start my business, he insisted I get a job first, which I did for about a year before founding Design Options with a partner. My determination and ability to navigate challenges have been crucial to my journey.

     While the manufacturing aspect of the industry is more male-dominated, particularly in the manufacturing sector, interior designing sees a higher representation of females. However, for me, it was the manufacturing side that captured my interest and passion.

    What kept you going despite all the challenges?

    Passion is the driving force behind what I do. Between Design Options and DO.II, what kept me going during the liquidation phase was my commitment to my people. At the point of liquidation, we had nearly a hundred employees. Instead of taking a break for myself, I thought about their families and responsibilities. Even during the challenging period of liquidation, I ensured their last salaries were paid, and I provided stipends for training sessions. Divine intervention and the determination to restart guided us through this tough time.

    We organized training sessions for both white-collar and blue-collar staff, securing a space on the island. From April to June/July, our first job after the setback was a library project for Lagos Prep School in Ikoyi. Despite not having a physical company, we managed to pay salaries and secure additional projects. A client in Abuja entrusted us with furnishing a block of flats. With renewed momentum, we acquired a new factory, and from there, we continued to grow.

    During the liquidation, strategic decisions were made, and although we didn’t have a showroom initially, we eventually secured one in January. Our journey involved starting from the scratch and carving out a small space in the factory for photo shoots. By February, prayers were being offered, and despite a modest start, we steadily progressed. Today, we have outgrown our previous location, showcasing the resilience and progress of DO.II to the glory of God.

    Managing artisans or blue-collar staff can present challenges. Could you share insights into how you handle this aspect of your workforce?

    Handling artisans with an iron fist is how we manage our workforce. And while it is challenging, it remains a necessary approach. The primary issue we are facing with staff, and it is a nationwide concern, is the Japa Syndrome. This phenomenon affects the availability of skilled blue-collar workers. Production levels have seen a decline because apprentices require extensive training and supervision, unlike skilled artisans who can complete tasks efficiently. To address this, I am considering the establishment of a training school once the situation stabilises.

    Our country possesses intelligent and capable individuals, akin to diamonds in the rough. Refining and educating our workforce will be essential to unlock their full potential. The prevailing focus on money over value creation needs to shift. Dealing with blue-collar staff is undeniably tough, but we have dedicated individuals on our team. Two ladies handle critical aspects—one oversees the blue-collar staff while the other manages sales and projects. The showroom we’ve set up stands as a testament to the effectiveness of our training approach.

    In sourcing skilled labor, some individuals turn to artisans from Benin Republic and Togo. Have you ever considered exploring this avenue?

    We have a few. To be honest, I wouldn’t lie, the other West African countries—Ghana, Togo, Benin—are very skilled. Usually, craftsmanship is a handed-down skill. You do an apprenticeship, you learn from your master, and so the better your master, the better your skills, the better your intelligence, and your devotion to your skills, the better your skills. That even says a lot about Nigeria. Our West African brothers and their artisans are really skilled.

    The option I remember was our master upholstery which really helped with the standard; he was Ghanaian, and he was very good. Eventually, he left to set up his own business. With Nigerians, the ideal thing, that’s why I said a training school is to get them, get skilled masters and trainers from anywhere in the world, whether it is West Africa or Europe or Asia. Get them skilled masters and train them. But you know the problem, like somebody said, Nigerians are always in a hurry. Before they finish the training, they are gone. We’re in a hurry; we don’t wait to finish learning the skill.

  • NESI reviews challenges’ 10 years after

    NESI reviews challenges’ 10 years after

    • Seeks cost-reflective tariff

    From President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s assessment, the privatised Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) has performed below expectations in the past 10 years. But stakeholders in the industry have blamed the horrifying scorecard on the lack of a cost-reflective tariff that has starved them of cash for investment and operations, reports JOHN OFIKHENUA

    Unequivocally, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu dropped a chilling verdict of underperformance to the operator of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) after a decade of their takeover. Declaring open the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) Market Participants and Stakeholders’ Roundtable in Abuja, Special Adviser to the President on Energy and Power Infrastructure, Office of the Vice-President, Mr Sodiq Wanka, who represented him, submitted that the operators have not met the objectives of privatisation. He described how deplorable the state of the sector has been in the period under review. Tinubu said: “Ten years on, I believe it is fair to say that the objectives of privatising the sector have, by and large, not been met. Over 90 million Nigerians lack access to electricity. The national grid only serves about 15 per cent of the country’s demand. This has left households and factories to rely on expensive self-generation, which supplies a staggering 40 per cent of the country’s demand. “What is worse is that the total amount of electricity that can be wheeled through the national grid has remained relatively flat in the past 10 years. The grid capacity has increased from just over 3000MW to typically just over 4,000MW currently. This is against a 40,000MW target by 2020 that the Federal Government had set pre-privatisation.” Also admitting that the companies have failed to live up to expectations, the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu vowed that their performance will be a factor in the renewal of their licensees. He insisted that “renewal of license is not automatic.”

     One of the salient points that unanimously re-echoed in the roundtable was the clamour for the cost-reflective tariff. The gathering was essentially targeted at taking stock of how far the industry has fared 10 years after its privatisation. Aside from the transmission, generation and distribution of power were handed over to the private investors in November 2013. While the Federal Government holds a 40 per cent equity stake in the 11 electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos), it divested 60 per cent to private operators. From the handover to date, the electricity market has not operated maximally in line with the Power Purchase Agreements the parties entered into because of political interference and socio-economic drawbacks. To this end, the Federal Government has always subsidised the cost of electricity with different Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) interventions. As Chairman of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Dr. Alex Okoh pointed out; the Federal Government has also initiated a series of interventions targeted at improving the technical, operational and financial positions of the Discos. He said these include the Power Sector Recovery Programme; CBN interventions, including Opex and CAPEX loan facilities; the Distribution Sector Recovery Programme in collaboration with the World Bank; National Mass Metering Programme and the Presidential Power Initiative. On the whole, the Federal Government has reportedly intervened in the industry with over N7 trillion. For instance, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) in its second quarter 2023 financial report revealed that the government in that quarter subsidised the consumption of the utility with N135 billion.

     Following the 2005 Electric Power Sector Reform Act and the 2023 Electricity Act, the NESI should embark on biannual minor reviews of the Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO). In addition, the commission is expected to carry out its extraordinary review of the tariff review in due course. On its own, the commission said under procedures set out in Section 76 of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act 2005, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission adopted the Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO) methodology for electricity pricing in Nigeria, which sets out the basis and pricing principles and procedures for effecting minor and major reviews of electricity tariffs in Nigeria.

     NERC said: “The MYTO provides a tariff path for the electricity industry, with biannual minor reviews to take into account the impact of changes in a limited number of parameters (specific inflation, US Dollar exchange rate to Naira, natural gas price and available generation capacity) and major reviews every five years when all other inputs are reviewed with stakeholders.” Section 9 of the Regulation on Procedures for Electricity Tariff Reviews in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry,” says “NERC allows for Extraordinary Tariff Review in instances where the utilities can demonstrate that industry parameters have changed from those used in the operating tariffs to such an extent that a review is required urgently to maintain industry viability.”

     However, the commission’s arms are always tied when the need to review the tariff mostly due to some economic and political considerations. While the government chooses to bear the burden of subsidising electricity consumption in the country, it cries out most often about the unbearable weight of the payment on its shoulders.

    Last year, the former Minister of Finance and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed revealed that the government had quietly exited the electricity subsidy regime. Thus, the commission’s report of the record of electricity subsidy in the second quarter of 2023 was irreconcilable. As the government is overburdened to a snapping point with the subsidy and its refusal to allow a cost-reflective, it has become difficult for the operators to implement their Performance Improvement Plans (PIP). This has culminated in low investment in Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) of the different power firms. On this note, President Tinubu, operators, of NERC and Civil Society Organisations at the roundtable, insisted on a cost-reflective tariff. Tinubu opted for a review of the tariff to know the exact current cost of the utility. This, according to him, ascertaining the cost will lead to adequate cost recovery for investment. He stressed the need for the appreciation of the shortfalls in the market and the measures to finance them. The President also insisted that the sector must establish its debts to the different stakeholders and how to defray them. He hinted that the reconciliation exercise is already in the pipeline.  His words: “We need to have a clear plan to re-base tariffs. So, we recognise the real costs and loss levels of the entire value chain, and we allow for adequate cost recovery for investments. We need to be clear on what shortfalls are and how we will finance them. There must be a clear path to extinguishing historic sector debts to various value chain stakeholders. A reconciliation exercise in this regard is already underway.” Similarly, Adelabu called for the injection of liquidity into the NESI. He observed that liquidity is the fulcrum around which the industry revolves. Stressing the essence of liquidity in the business, he insisted that the industry cannot attract investment or record improvement without liquidity. He said: “The Federal Government has been intervening in many programmes to bring in liquidity to the sector. Liquidity is the name of the game from generation to distribution to transmission to distribution… If you do not have liquidity, you cannot invest in infrastructure. You cannot improve in the last line connection.” The illiquidity in the industry was explicitly captured in Tinubu’s view as he dropped the hint that the 11 DisCos are undercapitalised to the tune of N2 trillion. He called for the recapitalisation of the distribution firms. He was emphatic that those who were issued with licences must have the financial muscles in addition to technical muscles to cope in the industry. Tinubu said: “We have to create an environment where the worst performers do not continue to drag the sector down. All those who were issued with licences must not only have the technical capacity to deliver on their licence but must also have the financial muscle to invest and grow their operations. “Preliminary analysis shows that the DisCos today are undercapitalised to the tune of close to N2 trillion. We must facilitate a reorganisation and a recapitalisation process that brings in new partners and new capital to jumpstart performance in this critical section of the value chain.” At the heart of liquidity in the sector, is metering, which is required to measure consumption of the energy. Again, investment in metering has been low due to a lack of finance in the sector. While Adelabu observed that “you cannot measure without metering,” the President revealed that only around 45 per cent of NESI customers are metered currently, with wide variations across DisCos. He added that “the scale of investment needed to meter current and new customers and replace obsolete meters is not trivial. The government is committed to supporting the metering drive through the World Bank Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP) which should add at least 1.25 million meters, while activating the Meter Acquisition Fund to procure another four million meters. But we must also realise that long-term sustainable metering should be within the remit of DisCos and their partners.” Meanwhile, the Director-General of the BPE Dr. Alex Okoh reminded the stakeholders how illiquidity has held down the industry in the last 10 years owing to tariff shortfall. He said: “Bear in mind that post-privatisation, there were years of mutual non-performance by both the private sector and public entities, huge market and tariff shortfalls, creating a huge liquidity problem and an imposing debt profile in the market, and other issues such as severe lack of investments, invariably creating a complex web of challenges which now face the sector.” The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abass Tajudeen noted that despite the efforts made by the legislature over the years to enact legislation that provides legal support for the operations of the power sector, numerous challenges persist. In response to these challenges, according to the Chairman of the House Committee on Power, Victor Nwokolo, who represented him the 10th House of Representatives has prioritised the power sector in its Legislative Agenda. The Speaker further explained that the aim was to address issues such as insufficient generation and transmission capacity, energy theft, inefficient distribution, tariffs, and corruption, among others. “The House will equally prioritise investments in the transmission and distribution infrastructure to reduce technical and non-technical losses; decentralise energy productions by promoting off-grid solutions, especially in rural areas where grid connectivity is challenging: strengthen legislation to increase penalties for energy theft, meter tampering and vandalism of energy infrastructure; adopt legislative measures to promote renewable energy through tax incentives, grants for investments in renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and hydro and mandate regular and transparent audits of all entities in the energy sector to curb corruption in the industry.”

     Abass revealed that the House recently directed its Committee on Power to investigate the Federal government’s financial interventions for the power sector since the privatisation in 2013.  This inquiry, he said, has become imperative due to persistent complaints from the Distribution Companies (DisCos) about revenue generation and collection, despite the government injecting N7 trillion into the sector. From the private sector perspective, Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited (MESL) also sought a cost-reflective tariff in the industry.  The company took over and has operated the Kainji and Jebba Hydro Power Plants for 10 years.

     Thus, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Col. Sani Bello (rtd} noted that the bane of the industry is the lack of a cost-reflective tariff that should have afforded liquidity to the industry. He also said there is a need to criminalise energy theft to deter the perpetrators. The chairman noted that non-payment of electricity bills was affecting the industry. He urged the government agencies to endeavour to pay their bills. His words: “The major challenge we continue to tackle today is the lack of cost-reflective tariff that will provide sustainable liquidity for the entire value chain. “There should be strengthening of laws and enforcement of these laws that will criminalise and deter energy theft as well as non-payment of electricity bills. “We also implore that all arms of government and government agencies should also pay all their invoices to the NESI.”  Besides, the chairman said, multiple taxations, and levies on the value chain have hindered the growth of the industry and prevented the inflow of investments to the sector. Bello said the ever-present liquidity challenge exacerbated by inflation and a dearth of foreign currency continues to affect industry operations. On the electricity market situation, the former Managing Director of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) Plc, Adeoye Adeniyi attributed the failure to improve power supply to customers to a lack of cash flow. Similarly, the Country Director of the Energy Market and Rates Consultant Limited (EMRC), Mrs Rahila Thomas said since less than 45 per cent of customers are metered in the market, they have become so sensitive to constant increases in tariffs. According to her, (Aggregate Technical Commercial and Collection Losses (ATC and C) are one of the major variables driving up tariff costs in the market. She called for a balance between what the NERC proposes and the market realities. Her words:  “Every six months, the regulator is expected to review the tariff using economic indices to bring pricing to market level. Some of these variables are inflation, forex and generation capacity.

    Read Also:FG receives over 1.5 million doses of pentavalent vaccines from Indonesia

    “A review ought to have happened in July and the realities in inflation and forex mean tariff ought to have gone up but for political reasons, this hasn’t been done. The government is now paying subsidies that have amounted to N3.34 trillion. Out of that, the government has paid N2.8 trillion to support tariff.” The Chairman of Mojec Meters Limited, Chantelle Abdul admitted meter provision as the responsibility of the distribution firms. On the other hand, she said financial challenges in the sector have constrained the DisCos from providing the meters accordingly. The Mojec boss said: “There are about 10 million customers in need of meters; seven million customers without meters and three million with old meters that need to be replaced. The cost to finance that is about $1.5 billion. “We are talking about opening up the market and whether the regulator should be regulating the price of meters. Most of the customers are poor and won’t be able to pay for meters.” She noted that it will be difficult to rely solely on the government intervention for funding or intervention.  According to her, there is a need to develop a bankable proposition, and that requires a cost-reflective tariff and the right pricing of meters.” For the time being, Sage Consulting and Communications Limited’s lead Consultant/CEO, Mr. Bode Fadipe, who spoke with The Nation from a Civil Society Organisation point of view said for obvious reasons, the issue of tariff will continue to attract attention not just because it is a moving target but also because it is the principal and only channel for recovery of revenue for reinvestment in the sector. Fadipe, who is the former AEDC Public Affairs General Manager, said the tariff issue is critical.

     “To the extent of the fact that the investor is not a charity organisation, his continuous stay in the market is driven majorly by the fact that he wants to see a light of sight for the recovery of his investment. Not being a government that has a welfare responsibility, the funds invested in the business must return to him with a reasonable profit margin.” The former spokesman added that on the flip side of a cost-reflective tariff is also a service-based tariff. He described it as a different phenomenon that will continue to engage stakeholders in the NESI. Continuing, he said: “The issue is, therefore, a case of position. For as long as the price of the electron that flows through the wire is determined by forces of demand and supply, the call for a cost-reflective tariff will continue to engage the attention of the stakeholders. While affordability has also become an issue, another school of thought hold the view that the right pricing should be ensured until such an extent that only those who can afford it enjoy the service and thereafter, part of the profit is used to develop other areas of the market.”  

  • Dino Melaye: What manner of politician?

    Dino Melaye: What manner of politician?

    The Kogi State flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Dino Melaye, is a controversial politician. Despite the controversies surrounding him, he remains a popular figure in Nigerian politics. But, he appears to be more popular on social media, where he has a massive following. Following his dismal performance in last Saturday’s governorship election , where he never exercised the right to vote for himself, Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI catalogues some of the controversies that he has courted during his political career

    Not a few supporters and members of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in last Saturday’s governorship in Kogi State, Senator Dino Melaye, were disappointed that he opted to stay away from his Polling Unit 04, Iluafon Quarters, Ayetoro Gbede, in Ijumu Local Government Area.

      A massive crowd of supporters, journalists and other independent election observers had gathered at the unit to observe the PDP flag bearer cast his ballot.

     But, according to reports, Melaye failed to show up between 8.30 am when voting commenced at the unit and 2.30 pm when accreditation of fresh voters ended. He thereby missed the opportunity to cast his ballot in an election where he was vying to govern the state. He claimed that there were massive protests at the unit, as voters refused to be accredited, insisting that the result sheets should be made available for the electoral area.

    The PDP candidate chose to indulge in a social media controversy, rather than adding to his tally by coming out to vote. He revealed in a short video that went viral on social media last Saturday as the off-season election was underway. He alleged: “The result sheets have been filled and tampered with already and people have refused to be accredited; people have refused to vote. They are insisting that the plain result sheets must be returned to agents in accordance with the electoral laws.”

    Not surprisingly, the PDP candidate came a distant third in the contest, with only 46,362 votes; trailing behind Usman Ododo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who was declared of the most election with 446,237 votes and Murtala Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) who came second with 259,052 votes.

    Both Ajaka and Melaye rejected the declaration of Ododo as the winner of the election. The SDP candidate has however indicated that he would not approach the court to contest the outcome of the election because it would be an effort in futility. Melaye, on his part, has called for the annulment of the election due to extensive rigging allegedly facilitated by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The PDP candidate who spoke at a press conference in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, on Sunday, criticised the conduct of the entire exercise, characterizing it as “disgraceful and detrimental”.

    No stranger to controversy:

    Not many Nigerians were surprised at the behaviour of Melaye last Saturday because he is not a stranger to controversy. He once admonished Nigerians never to be afraid of controversy as it is the road to greatness. He had reportedly taken to his X handle (then known as Twitter) in March 2021 to urge Nigerians not to be afraid of being controversial.

    In April 2018, Melaye jumped out of a police van to try and escape custody. This landed him in hospital. The news was everywhere that he had jumped from a moving police van.

    The ex-lawmaker said no breakthrough or advancement had ever been made in science, politics or religion without controversy. He wrote: “No breakthrough or advancement has ever been made in science, politics, or religion, without controversy.”

    He would be remembered for a long time to come because of the series of controversies he has been involved in.

    He is well known for his social media antics and singing songs taunting his political rivals.

    He loves the finer things in life. His Instagram profile features pictures of him posing in designer boutiques wearing bright-coloured trainers and tight jeans, or in front of a row of luxury cars.

    A leopard and its spots:

    He came to the national limelight in 2007 after he was first elected into the National Assembly. Melaye had exchanged blows with two of his colleagues, barely four months after he was elected into the House of Representatives to represent Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu Federal Constituency of Kogi State. This was at the time the then Speaker, Mrs Patricia Etteh, was accused of awarding an N628 million contract to renovate her official residence and that of her deputy, Babangida Nguroje, in Apo Legislators’ Quarters, Abuja.

    This happened on September 20, 2007, at a public sitting of the David Idoko-led panel that investigated the alleged contract award. At that hearing, Melaye, a first-time lawmaker went into physical combat with Emmanuel Jime (Benue) and Samuel Sejoro (Lagos); a development that forced the panel to adjourn sitting for that day. The disagreement escalated when Idoko invited Mrs Etteh to the witness box to explain her role in the contract saga.

    According to reports, as the Speaker moved to the box, Melaye who had a few weeks earlier appointed the chairman of the House Committee on Information and National Orientation and some other supporters cheered and clapped. However, Jime, a member of the self-styled ‘Integrity Group’ got enraged and shouted “ole, ole” (meaning thief, thief). This angered Melaye who jumped up and got engaged in a verbal exchange with Jime that later degenerated into fisticuffs.

    Read Also:BREAKING: Dino Melaye loses local government to APC in Kogi

    Spat with Senator Tinubu:

    Melaye had during a closed-door session in July 2016 threatened to beat up a female colleague, Oluremi Tinubu, on the floor of the Senate. At the time, Senator Tinubu, now First Lady, was the lawmaker representing Lagos Central Senatorial District in the upper legislative chamber. This was even though both of them were elected on the same APC platform. The two federal lawmakers clashed after the then Kogi West senator urged the Senate to deal with its members who had offered to serve as prosecution witnesses in the forgery case against the then Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu.

    Melaye had reportedly accused the senators of working for the Presidency to undermine the upper legislative chamber. He said: “You should go and tell those who sent you that nobody, no matter who he is, can control this Senate.”

    When Senator Tinubu rose to speak, according to reports, the Lagos Central lawmaker expressed disappointment with Melaye whom she accused of always threatening people. She added: “I think he needs to know that senators here represents their constituencies and that there is no need to threaten anyone. We are seeking and working towards reconciliation; yet, you are busy issuing threats.”

    At this point, the then Kogi lawmaker jumped up from his seat and charged towards Senator Tinubu, saying: “Look, this is not Bourdillon (referring to the Lagos residence of the Tinubus). I will beat up..”

    But, for the intervention of other lawmakers, particularly from the Southwest geo-political zone, Melaye could have physically and mentally attacked Mrs Tinubu.

    Melaye denied the claim. Mrs Tinubu later said she forgave Mr Melaye but added that she would not be intimidated by anybody.

    Later, Melaye came to Bourdillon. He walked through the street. In a video, he boasted that nobody can arrest or molest him.

    Unflinching support for Saraki:

    Senator Melaye will be remembered for his unflinching support for Senator Saraki during the 8th National Assembly. His diehard support for Saraki then pitched him against the APC, the Presidency and other powerful individuals in the country.

    He seconded Saraki’s nomination as a candidate for the office of President of the Senate following a nomination made by Senator Ahmad Sani Yerima.

    On the floor of the Senate, Melaye was known for his outspokenness and criticism of the then-Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government. He was a member of the Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory and the Committee on Aviation, among others.

    The Kogi lawmaker was reported to have once assured his then-Kwara counterpart that he would be the last person to leave him.

    The following is what Melaye reportedly wrote on his Facebook page at the time: “My brother and friend, Sen. Bukola Saraki. if you have one trillion supporters, I’m one…..If you have one billion, I’m one; if you have one million, I’m one. If you have one thousand, I’m one; if you have 10, I’m one; if you have only one supporter, I’m one and if you have no single supporter, it means I’m dead. No shaking. Four years tooo sure.”

     Academic turmoil:

    In March 2017, Melaye was caught in another controversy of not graduating from Ahmadu University Zaria and Harvard University. The online newspaper, Sahara Reporters, reported that Melaye did not have a degree from Harvard University as he had previously claimed. He had only attended a week-long seminar at the elite US university.

    The ABU graduation claim was later cleared by the Vice Chancellor and for Harvard University; Melaye defended himself that anyone who had attended an institution and received a certificate was a graduate.

    Confrontation with Bello:

    In April 2017, Melaye accused Kogi State’s Governor Yahaya Bello of being responsible for a failed assassination attempt on his life. The Kogi governor and Melaye were both members of the APC then, but frequently clash in what many see as a struggle for control of the state.

    Melaye has posted videos on social media of himself singing songs taunting the Kogi governor, earning him the nickname of the “singing senator”.

    The Federal Government later took Melaye to court for allegedly providing false information about the alleged assassination attempt on his life.

    Attempted recall:

    Melaye fought to save his political future when his constituents sought to recall him from the National Assembly in 2017 by challenging the process of the attempted recall. The petition of almost 200,000 voters, submitted in July 2017 had demanded his dismissal. The petition cited his “poor performance”. It also accused the senator of being un-reachable, because he had distanced himself from his constituents.

    Melaye argued that the signatures were not from Kogi West voters. Following a verification exercise, INEC confirmed that only 5.34 per cent of the signatures were of registered voters in his Kogi West constituency.

    The threshold of verified signatures needed for a recall to be successful is 51 per cent.

    Drama with DSS:

    After he was forcefully moved from the Police Hospital in Abuja to the Department of State Security Services (DSS) medical facility still within Abuja, Melaye created a scene by refusing to enter the main building of the DSS centre. Instead, he took a position on the floor within the premises and demanded from the security operatives the reason for bringing him to the DSS medical facility. Melaye refused to enter the hospital and decided to stay put on the bare floor in the compound of the hospital.

    Melaye was taken from the Police Hospital in Abuja on Friday, January 11 to the DSS facility. However, the senator said he would not enter the facility until he was told why he was moved from the previous hospital.

    Nigeria Police Force Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood said the senator was moved from the police clinic to the facility after he and the police disagreed over his fitness to face trial. Police had indicated that the lawmaker was fit to stand trial, but Melaye insisted he needed more time to recuperate after suffering an earlier asthma attack when he turned himself into the police.

    The police had wanted Melaye to stand trial over allegations of his culpability in the attack on an officer in July 2018.

    A ‘Nollywood’ figure:

    The embattled Melaye has a  penchant for comedy. In one of his dramatic video clips which he uploaded on YouTube, Melaye is seen saying: “You speak the truth, you die, and you refuse to speak the truth you die; I have chosen to speak the truth and die. In another clip, he led a group of PDP protesting chieftains to INEC headquarters where he invoked “Holy Ghost Fire” on the commission if they failed to conduct a free and fair election.

    He achieved a new milestone when in December 2021 he played a leading role in a film titled, “Lemonade”.

    The politician who has also featured in songs showed off his acting skills in the movie. He acted alongside established names like Mofe Duncan, Kunle Remi, Linda Osifo and others.

    Stylish royal regalia:

    His unique sartorial taste, usually in blue Aso-Oke, with an orange cap knitted with beads to the upper chamber is one unusual thing about Melaye that the Red Chamber will live to remember.

    Senators, including his rivals used to shout: “Babalawo”, “Kabiyesi” and “masquerade,” from all corners, whenever the singing senator walked into the upper legislative chamber. Senator Peter Nwaboshi (PDP, Delta North) once raised a point of order, saying Melaye was not properly dressed, “he dresses like Babalawo”.

    Groundnut hawker:

    Melaye’s picture hawking groundnut was once on the internet, which generated a lot of interest depicting him as a personality that likes drawing attention to himself. In the picture which also appeared on YouTube, he was seen hawking groundnuts on the streets, a scene that attracted public attention.

    Melaye was born on January 1, 1974, in Kano. He attended Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Geography in 2000. He furthered his education by earning a Master’s degree in International Relations and Diplomacy from the same institution in 2002.

    He is from Ayetoro Gbede in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State.