The Nation Newspaper

Category: Special Report

  • ‘Our battles with incurable health disorder endometriosis’

    ‘Our battles with incurable health disorder endometriosis’

    It is believed that between 30 and 40 per cent of women in Nigeria suffer from endometriosis, a health disorder that manifests with pains, menstrual irregularity and, quite often, infertility among women of reproductive age. Ironically, they show no symptoms, and diagnosis only occurs years later. ADEOLA OGUNLADE shares the heart-rending stories of some victims of this health condition from the second international conference of the African Endometriosis Awareness and Support Foundation held in Lagos recently.

    • Victims recall ugly experiences with little known ailments afflicting millions of women

    • I lost my navel because of it, says survivor

    • ‘How pains from endometriosis regularly forced our absence from school, office for weeks’

    • Everyone thought I had been used for rituals, says victim

    Aona Dintwe’s life was virtually at a standstill after the broadcast journalist from Botswana was diagnosed with endometriosis in 1997 at the age of 14.

    Like many other women in her shoes, Dintwe suffered only the pains and stigma that come with the ailment but also the misdiagnosis that often attends it. In her own case she was thought to have been infected with one of the sexually transmitted diseases.

    Recounting her experience with endometriosis, she said: “In my teenage years, I was always in pains and I was made to believe that it was normal.

    “At 14 when I first saw my period, literarily from the first month, I was that young girl who would miss school and throw up, and most times, I would have to be taken to the hospital.

    “I always had sharp pains and heavy period, and we did not know what it was until 14 years after the excruciating experience.

    “I had an appointment with the doctor while I was trying to conceive, and it was then that I knew I had endometriosis.”

    Before then, she said, she had been wrongly diagnosed with sexually transmitted diseases. She said the next time she visited the treatment centre, she was accused of having an abortion because she was bleeding heavily.

    Dintwe said she was basically living on drugs until she decided that she should not become addicted to pain relievers.

    She said: “As I am sitting down now, I am in pains but I have to bear it. I have learnt to ignore the pains so I don’t become an addict.

    “By then, I was not yet sexually active, and that was where the misdiagnosis came from. The doctor told me I had an STI even when I did not have sex.

    “At that point, I had not tried to make babies but my friend advised me to go for a test. The test proved that one of my fallopian tubes was blocked.

    “But after surgery, the doctor said the chances of having pregnancy were high, and that was how I conceived.

    “There is no cure for it. You just have to manage the situation. But early diagnosis would help you to manage it effectively.

    “It took me 14 years of misdiagnosis and going to the hospital every month with my life being disrupted.  I did not hear anybody talk about endometriosis.

    “In my case, I got married and I am still waiting on the Lord even after coming out with my story in Botswana and sharing my journey.

    “I have been creating awareness about endometriosis for seven years, not minding the odds.”

     

    ‘I forced myself to function in school, but at home, nobody could sleep’

    Miss Patricia Raymond, 43, an entrepreneur and criminologist had been living with endometriosis pain since her first menstruation at the age of 14, though people around her didn’t know what she was going through.

    Initially, she did not know what was happening to her and her parents could not do much to help her situation.

    She said: “I am so overwhelmed to hear that there are other women who are going through this condition. I can relate to them.

    “Endometriosis is scary. I was 14 years, and the first question I asked my guardian with tears was how I would stop the thing.

    “At 14, I started seeing genealogists. I visited gynecologists and they told me that it is normal.

    “When they saw the challenges I was going through, they asked whether the condition was there when I started my period, and I said yes.

    “They said that it was normal and would stop as soon as I started to give birth. I was only given a pain reliever.”

    Raymond recalled that she could not function well as a school pupil while another classmate of hers named Elizabeth would faint on the assembly ground and would not come to school for one week.

    In her own case, she said, she would force herself to school, but at home, nobody can sleep”.

    The problem however persisted even after she graduated from school.

    She said: “I would take seven days off from work at times. They knew at my place of work that within those days, I could not function.

    “They had the choice to say go home, but they did not fire me. Some ladies took four or five weeks off while I only worked for about three weeks or less in a month.

    “During the remaining days, I did not know what was happening in the world. l could not function. I could not move or talk, and with every surgery, it got worse.”

    Eventually, in 2003, she had her first surgery. She bled for days and thereafter started looking for financial assistance to augment her salary in order to go for treatment. She had lived with the problem for decades. From weighing 69, Raymond went down to 41. At a point, she could neither eat nor drink because she was bloated.

    She said: “I was like a skeleton. I went to the military hospital and started with a Human Immuno Virus (HIV) test and others.

    “I went for a CT scan, which cost me N45,000, but they didn’t see anything because water had taken over my body.

    “I had another surgery, which took away my navel. As I speak, I don’t have a navel because of endometriosis. I was told to remove it because they said that my life was dependent on it.

    “I have decided to tell my story to help others living with this condition and to create awareness on the need for on-job education for medical practitioners, who were also ignorant of the condition.

    “At age 14, if I knew what endometriosis was, I would not be here right now. I am so livid that medically, my doctors, surgeons, and gynecologists were clueless, and because of that I suffered.

    “I will hate for any little girl to go through what I have experienced.”

    Dintwe and Raymond were among three women who share their stories at the 2nd international conference of the African Endometriosis Awareness and Support Foundation (ESGN) held in Lagos recently. It was tagged Endometriosis – An Unrecognised Burden in African Women.

     

    ‘I was told I had been used for rituals’

    Annie Jimmy, a 33-year-old business administration graduate of Federal Polytechnic, Okoh, Anambra State, also shared her story on endometriosis.

    “I used to work but had to stop working because of the pains and challenges that came with endometriosis,” said the entrepreneur.

    “I find it difficult to work because there is no place for people like me in this country. My cycle comes in three weeks.

    “I don’t have up to 24 days in a month. Every three weeks, I have to take a break. Hence I had to go into personal business.

    “My family members do not know what is going on. I only had to tell them the severity of the condition.

    “I went to different hospitals and they said that l had fibroid. I did more than 20 scans and the result was that I didn’t have fibroid.

    “At the end of the day, one of the hospitals categorically said that they would refer me to a hospital where fibroid surgery would be carried out on me.

    “I was perturbed because the scan did not show that I had fibroid. I complained to everybody in pain but nobody could hear me out.

    “On getting to the hospital, I was referred to do fibroid surgery. They checked my stomach but they could not find any fibroid or any symptom of fibroid.

    “Before then, I had done many hormonal tests and had become tired.

    “People told me I had been used for ritual. At a time, I was tempted to believe them, and I started calling people on the phone, telling them that l had been used for rituals.

    “Finally, I went somewhere and the doctor listened to me. They told me to go and do a transvaginal scan. I did and the result showed that I had endometriosis.

    “That was how I was diagnosed and I know that I have hope. It is a different ball game if you don’t know what you are fighting against. I know how to handle it now.

    “I remember whenever I was in pains I did not know what to do. I was suffering. I could not work and I could not leave my house. I had to resign from my job.

    “I want to advise women going through pains to seek a medical advice so that their problems can be solved on time.”

    At the event, A consultant gynecologist and obstetrician and the Co-Founder, African Endometriosis Awareness and Support Group, Dr. Abayomi Ajayi, said the aim of the groups that are being supported by other groups across Africa – Botswana, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, and Nigeria– is to raise awareness about the health condition among the people living with it.

    He highlighted the major concerns about the condition as inaccurate diagnosis, dearth of trained medical personnel to handle it, and obsolete equipment used in medical facilities across the continent.

    “For women living with this condition, life seems very unfair. The pain, the tough choice they have to make in determining if they would have children or not, their sexual life, relationship challenges, and general well-being should be of grave concern to all of us.

    Ajayi, who is the Managing Director, Nordica Fertility Centre, added: “Up to 50 per cent of women who have this condition may experience infertility. Endometriosis cells secrete substances that affect the sperm and eggs. This causes progesterone deficiency in women thus preventing normal implantation.

    “These implants are most commonly found on the ovaries, the fallopian tubes, outer surfaces of the uterus or intestines, and on the surface lining of the pelvic cavity. They can also be found in the vagina, cervix, and bladder, although less commonly than in other locations in the pelvis.

    “Rarely, endometriosis implants can occur outside the pelvis, on the liver, in old surgery scars, and even in or around the lung or brain. While they can cause problems, they are not cancerous.

    “Endometriosis affects an estimated 1 in 10 women during their reproductive years, usually between the ages of 15 and 49, which is approximately176 a million women in the world.”

    Ajayi also noted that severe endometriosis is often associated with infertility due to the chronic inflammation which occurs as a result of the abnormally positioned endometrial tissue. All endometrial tissues, whether located in the womb or not, respond to the normal hormones that regulate the woman’s menstrual cycles.

     

    Symptoms of endometriosis

    The Nation learned that the Symptoms of endometriosis include pain, especially excessive menstrual cramps that may be felt in the abdomen or lower back, pain during sex, abnormal or heavy menstrual flow, infertility, painful urination during menstrual periods and painful bowel movements during menstrual periods.

    Endometriosis, Ajayi said, can be suspected based on the woman’s pattern of symptoms and sometimes during a physical examination, “but the definite diagnosis is confirmed by surgery, usually laparoscopy.”

    According to him, treatment of endometriosis includes medication and surgery for both pain relief and treatment of infertility, if pregnancy is desired.

    It was learned that though endometriosis is associated with inflammation and immunological dysfunctions, it has not been proven to be an autoimmune disease.

    On the diagnosis and management of endometriosis, Ajayi said a good clinical history and a thorough clinical examination with a high index of suspicion help to point in the direction of the correct diagnosis.

    “To confirm the diagnosis, it is advised that the patient undergoes vagina ultrasound assessment and laparoscopy. A minimal access surgery that employs a keyhole camera procedure is considered the ‘gold standard tool.

    “Laparoscopy also allows for classification of the extent of disease and histological diagnosis.

    “Endometriosis can be managed either with the help of drugs or with surgery.

    “The drugs used for the management are geared towards pain control and reducing the impact of the estrogen hormone.

    “In those with mild to moderate disease, conception can occur spontaneously. Failure to conceive following six to 12 months of trying may necessitate help in the form of assisted conception treatments, mainly invitro-fertilization.

    “Fertility treatment protocols must be tailored to the individual’s need to achieve the desired outcome. “Experience revealed that 25 per cent of patients undergoing Assisted Reproductive Technique are affected by endometriosis, and up to 40 per cent of these patients show ovarian endometriosis.

    “During endoscopy surgical procedure at Nordica, endometriosis is the third commonest finding (15.7%) at laparoscopy. It is possible for those with endometriosis to live above the pain and achieve their desired goals and aspiration despite the condition.”

    On how endometriosis leads to infertility in women, a consultant surgeon and gynecologist with Epe General Hospital, Dr. (Mrs.) Cynthia Okafor, said: “Endometriosis can influence fertility in several ways: distorted anatomy of the pelvis, adhesions, scarred fallopian tubes, inflammation of the pelvic structures, altered immune system functioning, changes in the hormonal environment of the eggs, impaired implantation of a pregnancy, and altered egg quality.

    “At the time of surgery, your doctor may evaluate the amount, location, and depth of endometriosis and give you a score. This score determines whether your endometriosis is considered minimal (Stage 1), mild (Stage 2), moderate (Stage 3), or severe (Stage 4).

    “This scoring system correlates with pregnancy success. Women with severe (Stage 4) endometriosis, which causes considerable scarring, blocked fallopian tubes and damaged ovaries, experience the most difficulty becoming pregnant and often require advanced fertility treatment.”

    On the treatment, she said: “Endometriosis needs the female hormone estrogen to develop and grow. Birth control pills and other drugs that lower or block estrogen can be effective in improving pain symptoms.

    “For patients who wish to become pregnant, medical therapy may be considered prior to attempts at conception, but this treatment usually does not improve pregnancy rates.

    “The combination of surgical and medical therapy may be beneficial in patients attempting to conceive through in vitro fertilization (IVF). Overall, treatment is highly individualised for each patient.

    The health intervention and programmes evaluation expert said “while it is important to seek government’s assistance with such projects, it is a call to duty for everyone to strengthen informal and formal groups that can tackle the issue of endometriosis awareness”, noting that “education, not income, is the best predictor of long life.”

  • Our ugly encounters with sea pirates, by fishermen

    Our ugly encounters with sea pirates, by fishermen

    Travelling or doing business on the waterways in the country, especially the Niger Delta region, has become a nightmare on account of the menace of sea pirates in the region. Almost on a daily basis, passengers and business people are being attacked by hoodlums who rob them of their valuables and means of livelihood.  Many families have consequently been plunged into deprivation and want, INNOCENT DURU reports.

    • Fishermen, travellers relive ordeal as gunmen unleash terror on waterways

    • Hoodlums demand ransom to release stolen engines, decline after payments

    • Creditors hound fishermen for loan repayment

    • They have killed many of our members, says fishermen’s leader

    When Salvation Peter, a 31-year-old native of Sangana area of Bayelsa State, set out to get married last December, he did so confident that he had the means of livelihood to cater for his family. He was born into a family of fishermen and grew up to specialise in the trade.

    After working with his father for many years, he raised sufficient capital to buy an engine boat in 2018. With that, he regularly went fishing, earning sufficient income to take care of his wife and the children their union would produce.

    However, his optimism was shattered after an unpleasant experience with sea pirates.

    “I have been fishing since I was a teenager. I got my first engine boat in 2018, but pirates collected it last December shortly after I got married,” he said.

    After the ugly experience, Salvation took a loan to buy another engine. This time, he was expecting the birth of his first child and had to work harder to make adequate provisions for the wife and the baby. But his efforts soon came to nought.

    He said: “The second boat I took a loan to buy was also snatched by pirates last month. Some of them were beating me even when I didn’t struggle with them.

    “They only stopped manhandling me after one of them frowned at their action. I have been idle since then.

    The President-General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Adewale Adeyanju, recently lamented the level of insecurity on the nation’s waterways, which he said was hindering cargo movement.

    Adeyanju, during an interactive session with journalists, lamented that barges are attacked by sea robbers while conveying containers at night, thereby frustrating cargo movement as well as discouraging investors from patronising water transport for fear that their goods are not safe.

    He said: “If you convey a container from Lekki to Kirikiri Lighter Terminal at night, for instance, they can be attacked and robbed. It is no longer the issue of piracy again but robbery on the sea.

    “The way barge operations are going, they are not safe too. How is the deep blue project going to work to support this gigantic project in the industry?” he queried.

    Salvation’s kinsman, James, has also had his dreams and ambitions shattered by the activities of pirates.

    “I have been robbed of my engines by pirates twice,” he said.

    “The first time I experienced it, it was around 7am as I was returning from the river. They looked at my engine and said, ‘This one too old nah. But even if it is too old, make we take am go collect fuel.’.

    That first experience was last year. The second one was early this year. The first engine they stole was 30 horse power while the second was 70 horse power.

    “For now I only have a boat and a few nets. I just go to the river to work for people now since I don’t have engines to work with again.

    “Because of the way the pirates operate, you have to look for fast engines like 60 t0 70 horsepower, and not 25 so that if you see signs that they are coming, you leave your net and fly away.

    “If I am able to get 60 to 70 horsepower, it will help me a lot because I have a family to cater for. Now I am back to square one.”

    Explaining how the pirates operate, James said: “They come with a 200 horsepower engine and are always armed to the teeth. There may be up to eight to 10 persons heavily armed with the exception of the driver.

    “They kill when you attempt to struggle with them. When they come, we normally lie down in the boat.

    “The cruel ones among the pirates will in harsh tones ask you to pull your engines, and if you delay, they will machete you.”

    The Chairman of United Fishing Union of Sangana, Noel Ikonikumo has also not been spared by the pirates. While he narrowly survived an attack on the sea, he was successfully robbed in the creeks.

    “The day that the pirates met me on the sea, God was so kind  that they didn’t take my engine. They only surrounded me with their guns but later left me.

    “That very day, they collected five engines from other fishermen.

    “But I have been a victim in the creeks on two occasions. They collected the engines and flogged us.

    “On the second occasion, they attacked us, but when they wanted to collect the engine, a gunboat appeared and they left.”

    Decrying their losses to the pirates, Noel said:

    “We spend a lot of money to buy fishing materials. Yamaha 40 costs more than a million naira.  But after this huge investment, sea pirates would just come and take them away.

    “Besides taking away the engines, they will flog you if they see that your engine is not sound.

    “After collecting our engine and other things, we would be left floating on the sea. On occasion, they collect our phones too.

    “At times it takes about two to three days for us to get home. Our family members would be apprehensive and would start searching for us during such periods.

    “At times they would tell us to jump into the sea while they were removing the engine. It is after they have removed the engine that we would go into the boat. They would collect our pardours and anchors.”

    Tales of woe in Akwa Ibom

    Checks revealed that the menace of sea piracy is not restricted to Bayelsa State. An encounter with Ilaje people from Ondo State living in Akwa Ibom reveals this much.

    For many years, their economic life has been in a shambles following the losses they have continued to suffer at the hands of pirates.

    One of them, Golden Ogungbemi, said: “Our greatest challenge is that of piracy. On an intermittent basis, the pirates have unfettered access to us and easily dispossess us of our engines at the sea.

    “I was once dispossessed of my new hardboard engine. It was 40 horsepower, and I wasn’t the only one involved.

    “For us in Akwa Ibom State, we don’t know if it is stage managed or something. That is the greatest challenge that we have.

    “On a frequent basis, they collect our engines from the sea and so far there is no help coming from the government.  Our waterways are very porous.”

    The pirates, according to Golden, don’t come with the intention to kill but “to dispossess you of your engine and sell it at giveaway price.”

    He continued:  “It is not that they want to sell it and make much money out of it.

    “The hard board we are buying for N2.5 million and N3 million with hire purchase, by the time the pirates get hold of it, they look for any quick buyer that could give them N500,000 for it.  They don’t care because they are not the ones that suffered to get the money to buy the new one.

    “The pirates don’t come like gentlemen. As soon as they get close to you, they tell you to start bringing the engine out of the boat. If you greet them good morning, they will tell you it is a bad morning for you.

    “They are armed to the teeth. These are the same guys who rob fishing trawlers and ships on the sea.”

    Asked if they sometimes get help after losing their engines, he retorted: “When your engine is stolen, you are on your own. The experience has brought some of our brothers to zero level. They have to start all over again by working with some other people or rely on help from other sources to get a loan and start afresh without any guarantee that the pirates would not attack him and collect the engine again.

    “It is like a gamble of some sort. Any day that mother luck runs out on any of us, it will be the end of the engine for that fisherman.”

    The challenge, he said in a gesture of despondence, has pushed a lot of people out of business.

    He said: “The outboard engine is the business for us. Our people don’t value vehicles so much. Our vehicle is the outboard engine.

    “Like the situation we found ourselves in here in Akwa Ibom, about 500 outboard engines were taken from us. Many were burnt while the new ones were taken away from us and sold during the crisis.

    “Our engines as well as our boats are what some of the villagers are using to fish. It is a pathetic situation and it is unfortunate that the government is not looking in our direction.

    “It is the case of a dog biting a man. If it is the case of a man biting a dog, it would have made so much news, and that is why the government of Akwa Ibom State is not looking in our direction.”

    Lamenting the rising incidence of piracy on the sea, Golden’s kinsman, Felix Boaz, said: “I have been a fisherman since 1976. There was nothing like piracy back then.

    “But what we are seeing now is nothing to write home about.

    “In the past, you would go to the sea and return safely. Now you have to pray to return safely.

    “You struggle to get money to buy an engine for N2.5 million or N3million on hire purchase and someone will just stop you and collect it, rendering you jobless. There has been no help from anyone all along.”

    Reliving his experience with the hoodlums, Felix said: “I have lost my engines to pirates twice and once to tempest. I borrowed money from LAPO to get the engines.

    “I lost about N10 million to the menace of sea pirates. We have no security on the sea. The ones that are there always tell us they are there to protect government property.

    “Many children have dropped out of school because their parents have no means of livelihood again as a result of the activities of pirates.

    “I had children in private schools before they attacked me, but I had to withdraw them and enroll them in public schools because I couldn’t pay the fees anymore.

    “My children who were supposed to have written WAEC before now only did so recently because of the loss that I suffered.”

    Besides his personal experience, he said: “I have somebody whose engines have been collected by pirates three times. Many of the victims have become boat boys to other people.

    “When we report to the police, nothing is done. Most of the time, we don’t go to sea when we have signs that they are coming.”

    Cross River not exempted

    Cross River State is also not exempted from the ungodly activities of pirates. Within the week, some pirates kidnapped the male occupants of a boat ferrying passengers from Calabar to Oron.

    The assailants left behind all the female passengers, including a Catholic nun. The hoodlums were said to have waylaid the boat a few minutes after it had left Calabar enroute Oron, Akwa Ibom State.

    Pirates collect ransom, decline release of stolen engines

    After robbing the fishermen of their engines, the pirates, it was learnt,  occasionally ask for ransom to release the engines back to them but oftentimes renege on their promise.

    Salvation Peter said: “After they robbed me of  my second engine, they got in touch and asked us  to come and pay a ransom in order to collect the engines.

    “They demanded N500,000 to release my engine. A new engine now costs N1 million. I bought the second engine that they stole for N750,000, excluding other expenses.

    “To get back the engine, I went to borrow money from people. But after paying the ransom, they released the engine to me but I later found out that it was not mine that they gave me.

    “I informed people around me  that the engine wasn’t mine and to avoid problems for myself, I avoided using it.

    “Our people eventually found the owner. The person later paid me back the money I paid the pirates as ransom.

    “Life has been very challenging for me since then because I have not been working. I recently went to work as a boat boy with somebody who paid me N8, 000 at the end of the day.

    “I live at the mercy of kinsmen. The man that sold the engine to me gave me N100,000 because he saw my predicament.  That is what I am using to manage with my family now.

    “The creditors are disturbing me but I have no means of paying back.  I took a loan of N300, 000 from one person to pay back N450,000 after six months. I had only paid back N50,000 before the recent attack.”

    In spite of his devastating experience, Salvation said he would not hesitate to take another loan.

    “If somebody wants to lend me money to buy another engine, I will gladly accept it. I have been praying to God to help me avert such unpleasant experiences.

    “Some people have been using their engines for the past 10 to 15 years without losing them to sea pirates. I will attribute my fate to bad luck.”

    Also speaking, James said:  “After robbing you, they will ask you tob come and collect your engine with a ransom. But after paying the ransom, they may not give you the engine.

    “Assuming they stole10 engines, they may release two after collecting ransom. They will later sell the remaining ones.

    “The challenge is discouraging us from going to the river. We now pray fervently before going to the river.

    I have been fishing for 19 years. There was nothing like sea piracy when I started fishing, but it has become a daily occurrence now.

    “The sea pirates were previously into kidnapping before they moved into robbing us of our engines. They lay siege to the sea and rob us of our engines and all the fish we might have caught.”

    ‘No security on our waterways’ 

    The fishermen have blamed their woes on lack of security on the waterways. They described the waterways as porous and susceptible to attacks.

    “There is no security on the waterways,” James said, adding: “If we had local security on the waterways it would have been better for us.

    “The government owned security operatives we have on the waterways don’t help us when pirates attack us. They will tell you they are there to secure the oil companies.

    “Even if you report an incident to them, they will tell you it is not their job. They will say it is your brothers that are disturbing you; it is not our job to interfere.

    “Even when attacks happen before their noses, they would not help you. Our association has  made complaints to the government to no avail.

    see how we can solve this problem, but there has been no solution. I am even afraid to buy engines because of my past experiences.”

    Comparing the waterways in Nigeria with those of Cameroon, Golden Ogungbemi said: “Here in Nigeria, there is no security on our waterways, unlike Cameroon where before you move for one mile, there is security presence.

    “Their waterways are highly secured, but it is free for all in Nigeria.”

    The Chairman of United Fishing Union of Sangana, Noel, also flayed the porous nature of the seas.

    He said: “We don’t have security on the sea.  The security men guarding these oil facilities don’t care about us.

    “The pirates are using high powered engines and you can easily identify them. They are always like five to seven in number while fishermen are three.

    “If you see any boat occupied by more than three persons, you know that pirates are coming.

    “If they are coming at times, we drive towards the gunboats and that would make them to go elsewhere.

    “But on many occasions, when you report to them, they don’t care. They will tell you that they will go after the pirates, but they won’t do anything at the end of the day.

    “The gunboats are for the oil facilities and not for us. There are so many of our members that that have been killed.

    “Each time it happens, we report the matter to the police. They will collect our engine receipts, the number of persons they have killed and sometimes they will go over to make radio announcements, but nothing happens at the end of the day.

    “After losing our engines, we sometimes go for bank loans or approach some local people.  Sometimes we wouldn’t have recovered from the previous loss before another one would happen.”

    We’ve reduced sea piracy drastically – Navy

    Spokesperson of the Nigerian Navy, Commodore Ayo Vaughan, said the body has drastically reduced sea piracy.

    “For the first time in 27 years, piracy has drastically reduced.  Our men have continued to patrol the waterways in curbing the menace. We have employed kinetic and non-kinetic means in achieving this.  Our men go into the mangrove to flush out the pirates using it as hideouts.  Just last week, our men,  together with sister agencies, intercepted pirates who wanted to kidnap some passengers in Oron and foiled their plans. Efforts are ongoing to release those who were abducted.

  • How Oyetola has fostered good governance in Osun

    How Oyetola has fostered good governance in Osun

    Correspondent TOBA ADEDEJI writes on how Osun State Governor Gboyega Oyetola resolved the issues that served as hindrance to victory in 2018 and fostered good governance in the State of Living Springs.

    An American College football player and coach, Paul Bryant, said: “When you make a mistake, there are only three things you should ever do about it: admit it, learn from it, and don’t repeat it.”

    By some of the actions of the incumbent Governor Adegboyega Oyetola and candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, the APC appears to have admitted it made some mistakes ahead of the 2018 governorship poll and in the way it approached the election. And it almost paid dearly for it. But thankfully, the party under Oyetola has learnt its lesson and has turned the failings to testimonies.

    Every political observer and citizen of the state alike has testified to the fact that all the issues that almost made it impossible for the party to coast to victory convincingly at the first ballot in that election appears to have been addressed by the governor and candidate of the party. Political pundits also believe that the governor’s handling of the issues to the admiration of the generality of the people would further enhance his chances of winning the poll this Saturday.

    Investigations revealed that some of the major issues at the time were: half salary, non remittance of contributory pension, single uniform regime, reclassification of schools, workers’ unrest, students’ restiveness and the inability to rebuild the Atakumosa market, among others.

    Since assuming office to date, salaries and pensions are paid as and when due and contributory remittances are done regularly. In fact, only recently, Osun was listed by the National Pension Commission as one of the five states that are up to date in the remittance of the pension. Oyetola is also reducing the backlog that was inherited.

    Interestingly, the single uniform policy that has been abolished by the governor revived the local economy as school uniform sellers and tailors are back in business.

    Three and half years down the lane, Oyetola has kept faith with the vision of the founding fathers of the State to sustainably build Ipinle Omoluabi – State of the Virtuous. With what is on the ground, Oyetola has demonstrated that he is one leader that can be trusted by the people at home and in the Diaspora.

    For instance, unlike what others do by giving excuses, he has since fulfilled most of the promises he made to the citizens of the state during the electioneering, despite the initial litigation distraction that lasted about eight months, the Covid-19 pandemic that hobbled governance for one year and the Endsars challenge.

    Conscious of the reality that provision of services is a function of availability of funds and creativity, Governor Oyetola convoked the Osun Economic Summit in 2019 to launch a season of economic revolution in the State.

    Despite the hiccup of the Covid-19 pandemic, this initiative attracted investments to the State, including the Polythene Pipe and Tractor Assemblage Factory located at Free Trade Zone; Topsell Nigeria Limited, makers of perm kernel oil, located at Aisu, Ede; the International Trade Centre/Industrial Hub and Inland Port at Dagbolu, where some factories are already springing up. Other investment efforts are at various stages of MoU completion.

    As part of efforts to further stimulate the Osun economy, the government, in collaboration with the Bank of Industries, BOI, assisted five moribund industries to return to operations, including Argo Multi-Ventures – bottlers of Global products, Moye Oil Petro-chemical Company and Honesty CICS Aluminium Company, located at Aisu, Ede.

    Dwelling on his creative financing experience in the private sector, Oyetola introduced the Alternative Project Funding Approach to finance road infrastructure and other projects. This is in addition to plugging wastes and cutting down excesses to mop up funds for governance.

    Additionally, the government disbursed well over Five Billion Naira through the Osun Micro-Credit Agency to support entrepreneurs, farmers, petty traders and businessmen and women.

    It is on record that his decision to construct, renovate and revitalised 332 Primary Health Care Centres (PHCs) at a go is unprecedented in the history of governance in the country. Oyetola in just three days inaugurated 25 PHCs that had been completed, a project other leaders would probably spend four years to complete.

    Read Also; Osun poll: Oyetola holds the ace

    This fact was confirmed by no less a personality than the immediate past Health Minister, Professor Isaac Adewole. Speaking at one of the inauguration ceremonies in Ilesa, the former minister, said “With what I have read and seen myself, I can say it without equivocation that no governor has done what Osun has done, particularly in the health sector.”

    Prof. Adewole further appealed to Ijesa people to ensure that they speak loudly with their votes in 2022 in support of the governor and the APC.

    He added: “Osun has become the leading light in the health sector as reflected in the huge commitment that the State had made to repositioning the sector for the optimum use and benefit of the citizenry.

    “I am repeating it that no government in Nigeria has embarked on the construction and renovation of 332 PHCs at a time as being done by the present administration in the state.

    “This is a rare feat. This is also a welcome development targeted at supporting the health needs of the people across the nooks and crannies of the state”.

    Since coming on board, the governor has demonstrated that he not only understands and appreciates the peculiar needs of an average Osun person, he has also proved that he is passionately interested in growing the State from where his predecessor left off.

    From fixing the Igbajo road which was last touched 33 years ago, to renovating the Atakumosa Market, which got burnt in 2015, Oyetola has proved to be a people-oriented and needs-inclined leader.

    Hear what the Asiwaju of Igbajo, a legal czar, Chief Solomon Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), who led a delegation of Igbajo Development Association (IDA) on a “Thank You” visit to Mr. Governor said: “For many years, this (Ada-Igbajo) road has been crying for rehabilitation. Even before I became the Commissioner for Justice in the State (1991-92), this road had been in a terrible state.

    “But today, we thank God for using your government to come to our aid. This will go a long way to redefine many things in the benefiting communities.

    “You have given us a great relief. Osun is very lucky to have you as Governor at this time. You have come to power with deep experience in both the private and the public sectors as reflected in the way and manner you have been prudently and sensibly running the resources and affairs of the State.”

    Oyetola is steadily delivering social services and innovative strategies, including but not limited to revitalisation of General Hospitals in the three senatorial districts; effective management of Covid-19 pandemic; provision of infrastructure;  reconstruction/rehabilitation of hundreds of rural and urban roads across the State for socioeconomic development; construction of the iconic Olaiya Flyover; renovation of schools across the State; provision of educational materials for students and training and re-training of teachers to enhance their capacity; recruitment of teachers; provision of affordable, adequate and functional education to students; provision of loans and credit facilities for women and youths; and cultivation of youths as the face of government’s sustainable development efforts.

    Oyetola’s strategies, wrapped with a large dose of political will, have given birth to a new Osun and transformed Osun’s economy in the last three and half years. He has been able to create an Osun of possibilities and opportunities. He has replaced the State’s wooden legs with steely props, which are steadily releasing the State’s neck from the debt noose, ensuring workers’ salaries and pensions are paid as and when due and tapping the State’s untapped resources.

    This perhaps may be responsible for the widespread and unprecedented endorsements he received from the traditional institution, the labour, artisans, students and other categories of groups and associations in the State.

    Endorsements, experts say, act as a ‘mental shortcut’ that “help voters make sense of a candidate’s policies and positions.” Undoubtedly, the various endorsements enjoyed by Oyetola would go a long way in helping the Osun electorates decide in favour Oyetola, this Saturday.

    Ahead of Saturday’s Osun governorship election, the APC held its mega rally on Tuesday this week, where all its 21 governors stormed Osogbo, describing Oyetola, as an excellent performer who has brought purpose to governance.

    They said those who have a fair mind devoid of prejudices and biases will testify to the developmental strides Oyetola has registered since becoming governor of the State in 2018.

    The progressive governors, therefore, reaffirmed their unalloyed support for Governor Oyetola just as they declared their readiness to do all that is necessary within the law to ensure his re-election.

    While addressing a mammoth crowd at the Mega Rally held at the Osogbo Township Stadium, national leaders of the APC expressed confidence that the party will coast home to victory in overwhelming fashion come Saturday.

    The Senate President, Senator Ahmad Lawan, lauded Oyetola’s prudence and efficiency in managing the State’s meagre resources, calling on citizens to look beyond political sentiments in their choice of who to elect, and to vote massively for Oyetola.

    Lawan said: “We have a governor who is prudent and efficient in the face of very meagre resources. Today, Osun has witnessed so much infrastructural development, political stability and peace. We believe that we have everything we need for development with this our Governor”.

    On his part, the presidential flag-bearer of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, urged the people of Osun to replicate the victory recorded last month in Ekiti.

    Tinubu said: “We have come to ask that you vote massively on Saturday for APC, not as a mark of entitlement but because of the future of your children.

    “Before you make your decision, think of the future. We are a party that guarantees your future because we are known for fulfilling our promises. Let us entrust the affairs of our state into the hands of those who mean business, not mushroom parties”.

    In his remarks, the National Chairman of the Party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, said the mega rally was an indication that the APC was not taking any chance with the affairs of Osun, saying the State deserves a leader like Oyetola in its quest for development.

    Adamu said: “This is a mega rally to promote our candidate. We are taking no chances with the affairs of Osun because the State deserves a leader like Oyetola in its quest for development. This is why we have come in full strength to support him in a bid to ensure his re-election. Those who have a fair mind will testify that he has done so much since he became governor in 2018.

    “We are here not only to testify to what he has done but to appeal to you to turn out in large number to vote massively for him. We are anticipating a better outcome than what we had in Ekiti and by the Grace of God, we are sure of victory. I want you to be the APC ambassadors, telling those who are not here what you have seen. Continue to spread the good works of this government in the nooks and crannies of the State.”

    Speaking on behalf of his colleagues, the Chairman of the Nigeria Progressives Governors’ Forum, Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State, assured that Oyetola has the backing of all APC governors in the coming election, saying he had earned it with his outstanding performance.

    Earlier, the Chairman of the National Campaign Council for Osun governorship election and Lagos State Governor, Babajide SanwoOlu, described Oyetola as deserving of another term based on his personal encounters with the people of the State.

    In his words, “We thank the originator of IleriOluwa political slogan, our dear Governor Oyetola, the one because of whom we are here. Indeed, it is a huge honour that we stand here today because this is a worthy assignment and we have a sellable candidate. It is a job that is gratifying and doable because Governor Oyetola has indeed performed excellently well.

    “I have been on campaign trail with him and I have witnessed the overwhelming support and how the people have said he is deserving of another term.

    “People of Osun, do not be deceived by those who are trying to say otherwise. Let us vote massively for Oyetola to continue doing his great works for every sector of the population. This is a man that that is an embodiment of good governance.”

    While welcoming members of the National Campaign Council to the State, the Director-General of Oyetola’s re-election Campaign Council, Senator Ajibola Basiru, described the grand rally as a celebration of excellence.

    He said: “Today, you are being welcome to the celebration of excellence in governance because in the last three and a half years, Governor Oyetola has brought dexterity, commitment and integrity to the affairs of this State across sectors.

    “Now, we are on the path of consolidating the progress and development of the State by re-electing that man that is certain to deliver development over and over. With him, Osun is on the path of sustainable development”.

    In his short remarks, Governor Oyetola, said Osun is on the path of consolidating on the gains of the last three and a half years.

    He urged the people of Osun, especially workers, to shun political traducers who are peddling falsehood that his administration will renege on its commitment to their welfare if re-elected, saying he remains strongly committed to their welfare.

    Oyetola also declared his readiness to do beyond what he has done in his first term, saying the welfare of workers and citizens and the overall development of Osun remain his priority.

    Oyetola has proved in the last three and half years that provision of projects and delivery of good governance are possible in a depressed economy. He has taken the State off the path of dearth of growth and progress and emplaced it on the lane of sustainable development. In the throes of Covid-19 and other encumbrances, he put governance on autopilot. All these are foundational initiatives for an Osun that is poised to be a model in transformational governance in a period of economic downturn.

    The next four years is for building bricks on this foundation to deliver the Osun of the citizens’ collective dream. The builder of this envisioned economic edifice can only be the initiator. The uninitiated can only look on or learn.

  • Taming petrol scarcity menace

    Taming petrol scarcity menace

    With two Premium Motor Spirit or petrol scarcity hitting the nation in a space of three months, stakeholders are concerned that there is the urgent need to tackle frontally this menace, which has continued to cause pains to the citizens and an embarrassment to the government. Should an oil producing country experience scarcity of petrol? How did the country find itself in this situation? MUYIWA LUCAS examines these issues.

    Nigerians and petrol scarcity are no longer strange bed fellows. Last week, after over three weeks of unavailability of the commodity in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos and its environs had a dose of the Abuja situation. The situation was yet to clear as at the weekend. This came barely three months after the last scarcity.

    While the scarcity in late February was caused by the importation of contaminated fuel, last week’s scarcity was attributed to dwindling supply by the sole importer of the product – the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.

    Figures released by the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) last week showed that in April, fuel supply delivered at the Apapa port was 438,800MT. This volume was to later drop in May to 213,000MT while in June, only 140,000MT was recorded, with another 64,000MT last Tuesday. No reason has been given by the Federal Government-owned NNPC for the drop in supply. The daily consumption of petrol has remained hazy as no operator or regulator, including NNPC, has been able to give the exact volume. However, it is estimated that it ranges from 50 million to 75 million litres daily – figures that have remained highly contestable.

    The development has led to calls for the liberalisation of the import process to enable more operators go into the businses to have a more robust supply system. However, with a battered Naira against the dollar and the non-availability of foreign exchange (forex) at government official rate, most oil marketers have been crippled from participating in the import regime, thereby hanging their supply hopes on the NNPC.

    Stakeholders and experts have for long kicked against the sole importation by NNPC. Their position is that for the size of the Nigerian market, it is not ideal to have only one importer of such an essential commodity.

    Fuel importation

    Until January 2017, the import of PMS was liberalised. For instance, in 2006, as many as 116 oil firms were involved in petrol import. In fact, major oil marketers mostly from downstream outlets like Mobil, NIPCO, Total, MRS, Conoil, and Forte Oil, imported about 50 per cent of the petroleum products, leaving NNPC to supply the balance required through imports and little volume from the local refineries.

    But given the rising cost of the Naira against the dollar, and the fact that the other importers could not get forex to buy at the official rate from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the NNPC became the only importer of the commodity. The private importers lament that it is impossible to buy and sell the product at the regulated price of N165 per litre at the going rate of the dollar against the Naira.

    Subsidy brouhaha

    However, years after the report of the Presidential Committee on the fuel subsidy scheme in 2011, things began to change. The Committee, set up by the former President Goodluck Jonathan and headed by Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, to review the report of a Technical Committee set up by the Federal Ministry of Finance to probe the same matter indicted 21 firms for making fraudulent claims for petrol subsidy payment, asking them to refund N382 billion wrongly collected as payment for subsidy payment in 2011. The Imoukhuede Committee recommended the complete deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector to avoid a reoccurrence of subsidy payment scam.

    Earlier data obtained from the NNPC indicate that subsidy payments grew by 349.42 per cent from N350 billion in 2019 to N1.573 trillion last year. This rise has been aided by the rising price of crude oil in the international market and the falling value of the Naira. In 2020, subsidy payment was N450 billion, just as the government said it had spent N10.413 trillion on fuel subsidies between 2006 and 2019.

    The former Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), in a publication shows that in 2011, the government incurred N2.1 trillion as subsidy, representing an increase of N1.4 trillion from the 2010 payment, while in 2012, it paid N1.35 trillion; in 2013 it was N 1. 316 trillion; in 2014 it recorded N1.217 trillion and in 2015, N653.51 billion was paid as subsidy claims.

    Stakeholders in the industry have lamented the burden subsidy payment is causing the country. Such argument may not be faulted given that by year end, it is expected that over N6 trillion would have been spent paying for subsidy.

    The figures speak for itself. Between January and April, this year, N947.51 billion was said to have been paid by NNPC on subsidy, while for this month, the figure is estimated to hit about N874 billion. NNPC calls this payment under-cover recovery/value shortfall.

    The Executive Secretary, MOMAN, Clement Isong, warned that subsidy might hit N6 trillion this year. “It is a function of how our exchange rate goes. It is a function of how the price of oil goes. If we are lucky and if things are on our side, then subsidy might be less. But if things are not on our side, if you do the calculation, based on the numbers, if things do not improve, it can easily reach N6 trillion,’’ he said.

    According to Isong, three factors – the rise in the international price of crude oil, foreign exchange rate and high rate of petrol smuggling across Nigerias borders are the major reasons for the rising cost of subsidy incurred.

    “The first is  that the international cost of crude oil and the derivative products like Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) has gone up significantly as a result of the Russian war in Ukraine. So, the price of crude itself, and the price of petrol, diesel and  other products that come from petroleum have gone higher than they normally would be because of the war and the sanctions imposed on Russia, which is a major exporter of crude.

    “Secondly, the rate of foreign exchange is exceedingly high right. That is the exchange rate for the Naira, which is at its highest level. I’m not talking of the black market which is even higher. I’m talking about the Central Bank of Nigeria rate, which is between N411 and N414 to the dollar. It is higher than it has ever been historically.

    “Finally, and this is the most important reason because you have capped the price at one third or one quarter of the price that it is across the borders, the propensity for the product to move across the borders is at the highest,’’ he said.

    Refineries

    The parlous state of the country’s refineries is also a major contributor to the petrol problem in the country, leading to the high cost of subsidy. None of the three government-owned refineries is operational, despite huge investments in their Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) by the government.

    More worrisome is that last year, the NNPC said it spent N100 billion to rehabilitate refineries, yet the refineries are yet to be functional to bridge the gap on refined petroleum products.

    Isong regrets that the refineries are not yet working despite several promises by the government that the plants will start production. He explained that since Nigeria depend solely on petrol import and the value of the Naira depreciating daily against international currencies, it is a long walk to Godot.

    For the National Operations Controller, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Mike Osatuyi, remedying the situation would require that the refineries were fixed. Doing this, he further explained, would impact positively on the economy and the country as a whole because it would save the forex being used in importing petrol.

    Read Also: ‘Nigeria’s oil output can’t cover petrol import cost’

    To be or not to be

    The subsidy matter has caused strong division among sections in the economy. While some are  advocates of its removal, others are against it. The protagonists argue that such action would take off the strain on the country’s revenue and financial health, thereby freeing up cash for other critical sectors in dire need of funding.

    For instance, the payment of very high under recovery (subsidy) on petrol has provided an excuse for NNPC’s inability to be remitting oil revenue to the Federation Account, especially at this time that oil price has maintained a steady high in the international market. The implication of this is that the three layers of government are being deprived of getting huge revenue allocation as their share from the centre. So, far this year, NNPC has failed to remit any money into the Federation Account four times because of subsidy payment.

    The Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has been a long time advocate of this, contending that the removal of fuel subsidy would free the economy from bondage, benefit the majority poor and possibly may hurt the few affluent rich involved in the subsidy transactions. Similarly, MOMAN and IPMAN hold the view that its removal would enhance a more robust industry operations and prevent the recurring scarcity being experienced.

    Buttressing his position on subsidy removal, Isong explained that Nigerians might not really be consuming the volume of imported fuel locally, but because of the subsidy on the product, smugglers have cashed in on the price differential of petrol in the country and its neighbouring countries to make more money. In this instance, he further said, higher volume of petrol might find its way illegally to the neighbouring countries.

    “The position of the industry as a whole is this: the industry is against the subsidy. We have always been against it, we will always be against it. We are against the concept of price regulations which is what brings the subsidy. Removing subsidies is in the best interest of the country,’’ he stated this.

    “Even the World Bank has not failed to caution the country on its subsidy regime. In its report on Nigeria Development Update (NDU) released a forthnight ago, it noted that N5 trillion is urgently needed to cushion ordinary Nigerians from the crushing effect of double-digit increases in the cost of basic commodities, invest in Nigeria’s children and youths and in the infrastructure needed for private businesses small and large to flourish, grow and create jobs. When we launched our previous NDU last November, we estimated that Nigeria could stand to lose more than N3 trillion in revenue in 2022 because the proceeds from crude oil sales, instead of going to the Federation Account, would be used to cover the rising cost of gasoline subsidies that mostly benefit the rich,” the report read.

    World Bank Country Director for Nigeria Shubham Chaudhuri, however, noted: “Sadly, that projection turned out to be optimistic. With oil prices going up significantly, and with it, the price of imported gasoline, we estimate that the foregone revenue as a result of gasoline (petrol) subsidies will be closer to N5 trillion in 2022.”

    The NDU highlighted three policy priorities, chiefly among which was addressing mounting fiscal pressures at the federal and sub-national levels by phasing out the petrol subsidy (estimated to cost up to N5 trillion in 2022) and redirecting fiscal resources to investments in infrastructure, education, and health services; increasing pro-health taxes, and improving tax compliance.

    Yet, other stakeholders are of the view that retaining subsidy payment will have consequences on the industry, especially in the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, considering that the decision on pricing is about market forces being at play to allow investment decisions to be made. By extension, they contended that this would have negative impact on investment in the sector, especially on private investment flow to the downstream sector.

    On the contrary, subsidy removal, according to President Muhammadu Buhari, is not an option for now. Though himself in support of the option previously, doing so at this time is not in the nation’s best interest.

    The President, in an interview last week with Bloomberg, noted that while removing subsidy looks good on paper, the human consequences could not be ignored. He based his new position on input from industry experts and other economic factors.

    “Most western countries are implementing fuel subsidies. Why would we remove ours now? What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. What our western allies are learning the hard way is what looks good on paper and the human consequences are two different things. My government set in motion plans to remove the subsidy late last year. After further consultation with stakeholders, and as events unfolded this year, such a move became increasingly untenable,’’ Buhari argued, adding that the exchange rate is still susceptible to external shocks that can suddenly and severely affect Nigerians.

    According to an expert, issues around petrol subsidy would be resolved through efforts at boosting refining, especially through private sector involvement, including by inceasing internal production for refined products.

    Capacity is due to step up markedly later this year and next, as private players and modular refineries (Dangote Refinery, BUA Group Refinery, Waltersmith Refinery) come on board. As we step up domestic production  both in fuel (enabled by PIA) and food (agricultural policies)  the inflationary threat shall diminish, and we can move toward unification,” the exprt explained.

    However, the Managing Director, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Muda Yusuf, said the issue of subsidy removal is a double-edged sword. If you remove subsidy, petrol could sell for as high as N600 per litre, but this will cause a lot of shocks in the economy. We can see what is happening to diesel now since it was deregulated. So is such an option possible at this time?’’ he asked rhetorically, warning that such move will create social unrest.

    He advised that if the burden of subsidy payment is getting too much for the government, a phased or gradual incremental pricing could be considered. This should come with palliatives like subsidising fares.

    “Maybe the government can do something incremental but not to completely removal because the shock will be too much at this time. It is not just talking economics because there are so many dimensions to this issue; economics or policy decision is also about the context in which you want to take a decision. So, in this context now social and political context. We have to just do some adjustments but not complete removal at this time it will not be possible, Yusuf admonished.

    Way forward

    Aside bringing refineries to life, an option of eliminating petrol scarcity, according to stakeholders, is to return to the era of liberalised import of the product, as against the present situation of NNPC being the sole importer of the product for several years. Isong and Osatuyi agree.

    The duo argued that this option, if implemented, would enable higher volume of the petrol coming into the country and also serve as filler for any shortfall that may arise as a result of delays or bureaucracy, which may be caused by NNPC’s suppliers of the product. It will also help to prevent situations like importing contaminated fuel as experienced earlier this year, which led to a protracted scarcity and damage to several automobiles.

  • Akwa Ibom PHCs seek functional vaccine storage facilities

    Akwa Ibom PHCs seek functional vaccine storage facilities

    Primary Health Care (PHC) centers in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, are currently struggling to keep up with the state’s vaccination targets and expectations as most of their cold chain facilities for vaccine storage are mostly not working.

    As a result, immunisation exercises have been reduced to mostly once a week to fully utilise the vaccines at a go.

    This is a similar situation for the COVID-19 vaccination exercise in some of the twenty (22) PHCs in the 11 wards in Uyo due to lack of or inadequate storage facilities.

    Staff at the PHCs now use their personal fund to buy fuel and other consumables to keep the lights on in order to use the hardly functional vaccine freezers at their facility.

    Parents waiting in line to get their children vaccinated

    An investigation by The Nation reveals that if nothing is done to address this challenge, PHC centres across the state capital may begin to record mass wastage of vaccines, which will throw a spanner in the works in efforts to immunise children under the age of five against vaccine-preventable diseases.

    Speaking with our Correspondent, Nsikan Isaac, the Cold Chain Officer for Uyo Base PHC centre, said he could not even afford to fall sick because it would be difficult for another officer to cope with the challenges of keeping the vaccines safe and effective, while also battling with running the facility with his own funds most times.

    He said: “After the state cold chain office, this facility’s cold chain office is next because Uyo is the capital of the state. We however have some challenges. For example, we don’t have a PHCN light here connected to the cold chain. I believe the Chairman of Uyo LGA can do this. However, if the partners can help us, we would really appreciate it.

    The Cold Chain Officer for Uyo PHC, Nsikan Isaac,

    “We also have a storage capacity challenge. This is one of the things I pray that the partners should come and help us with. As I talk to you, Uyo Local Government cold chain does not have a fridge that can generate ice packs.

    “We used to have it before, but in 2020, one of the compartments that produce ice packs got damaged. I have communicated to the appropriate authority that I know, and up till now, there is no help in this respect.

    “I have two fridges. One is mainly for vaccines, while the other has two compartments – a vaccine storage compartment and freezing compartment which is supposed to produce ice packs, but it is bad.

    Non-functional vaccine storage facility

    “Another challenge we have with the fridge is that since there is no PHCN light here, the fridge doesn’t work. I am sure if we have light, then the fridge would be used properly.

    “We also do not have support from anywhere to be running generators every day. This fridge, without light, cannot work. However, the other can work without light but the capacity is not enough to put more vaccines.

    “To avoid the vaccines losing their efficacy, we run around looking for where to purchase ice packs to maintain the vaccines. I use my personal fund to do this. I also generate ice packs from my house if there is light. I do all these to ensure that none of the vaccines get spoiled or lose efficacy. I sometimes use my salary to keep the fridge on using my generator. This is a big challenge that I have.”

    Immunisation Officers on duty

    Speaking with The Nation, Mrs Emem Umoren, the Chief Nursing Officer and Ward Focal Person in charge of Etoi 1, PHC, Mbiabong, added: “I buy gloves, cotton wool, with my own money. The government has not been supplying this for us or providing funding for it. We also do not have any incentives, imprest, apart from our salaries.

    “For now, we do not have a shortage of vaccines. However, in terms of storage of the vaccines, presently, my freezer is not working well. So, we come every week to the LGA to get the vaccines. We need a better storage facility as the freezer we have is very old and damaged.”

  • Scandal rocks quarantine centre as stranded deportees cough out N15,000 for SIM pack, NIN registration

    Scandal rocks quarantine centre as stranded deportees cough out N15,000 for SIM pack, NIN registration

    A scandalous development reared its head during the week at the hotel used as quarantine centre for deported migrants from Austria and Germany in Lagos. Because they were stranded and vulnerable, the deportees were made to pay between N10,000 and N15,000 for SIM pack and National Identity  Number (NIN) registration, both of which should not be more than N3,000. The centre was also said to have compounded their woes when it assured them of government support but later reneged. The deportees’ predicament appears to lend credence to the widely held belief that reintegration of migrants in the country is a charade, brought to the front burner only when issues of grants or redemption of national image are at stake, INNOCENT DURU reports

    • Returnees stage protest over failed promise to give them stipends for transportation 

    • We’ve been battling with sleeplessness, psychological breakdown since we returned – Previous deportees 

    • I’m not aware of amount charged by NIN registrar – Hotel Manager

    • Our projects don’t cover deportees – IOM

    After years of unsuccessful attempts to regularise their stay in Germany and other European countries, more than 30 Nigerians were deported back home last week. For most of the deportees, their return was both sudden and shocking.

    At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, they looked pensive as they returned to their fatherland more wretched and frustrated than they were before leaving the country. “It is an agonising return. I never planned it this way,” one of them said downheartedly.

    Their drooping spirit, however, got a lift when they arrived at a hotel on Airport Road for a seven-day quarantine programme.

    “When we got there, one man told us that we would be there for seven days and that a government official would come and address us.

    “He also told us that at the end of the exercise, we would be given some money. This calmed our nerves and made us happy,” one of the deportees who identified himself simply as Nmasi said.

    When the deportees completed the quarantine exercise on Tuesday, they felt highly relieved and looked forward to going to see their loved ones they had not seen for years. In the euphoria of the moment, they exchanged banter with one another and the hotel workers.

    But within a split second, the convivial atmosphere at the premises gave way to deafening altercations as the deportees were asked to leave the premises without being given any money, contrary to earlier promise.

    Nmasi said: “On the day we were to leave, we met the manager of the hotel to ask for the money they had promised us, but she told us that we should depart to our various homes because no government official was coming.

    “The statement infuriated everybody, leading to serious protest at the premises. We vowed not to leave until government provided money for everybody to go.

    “At a point, the manager threatened to invite soldiers and policemen. But rather than douse the tension, the remark further provoked us.

    “Some of the deportees told her that they were fully prepared for the worst. Others threatened to turn the hotel upside down while some others who are based in Lagos threatened to bring in hoodlums to vandalise the hotel.”

    Nmasi’s claims were corroborated by another deportee who identified himself simply as Jetta.

    Jetta said: “They told us that the federal government had made arrangements to give us money.  That raised the hope of many and prompted them buy some things at the hotel.

    “The story changed at the point of departure as we were told that no government official was coming.

    “Crisis erupted instantly as the manager arrogantly talked down on the people instead of calming their frayed nerves.  The whole place boiled for about two hours.”

    Besides the unfulfilled monetary pledge, the deportees also accused the hotel management of cruelly ripping them off without consideration for their conditions.

    Nmasi said: “There was massive exploitation of our people at the hotel. The manager brought people to sell SIM cards and register us for National Identity Number at N12,000 each.

    “She knew that many of them desperately needed the SIM cards to reach out to their families.  That plus other forms of exploitation at the hotel made tension rise.

    “The manager thought we came with hard currencies and so should be milked dry. The rooms we were kept in were not cleaned for the entire period we stayed there.

    “We were given just a towel each throughout our stay. After eating, they would ask us to go back to our rooms.  They were treating us like animals.

    “They said we were being quarantined but the hotel workers were not wearing face masks while attending to us and were shaking hands with us. “When they had guests, they would switch on the air conditioners. But when there were no guests, they switch them off.

    “The government should investigate the hotel and mete out the right punishment to them.”

    While the amount quoted by Nmasi sounded outrageous, one of the deportees from Austria, Obi Stanly, confirmed that he paid N15,000 for a SIM card and NIN registration.

    Stanly said: “The manager brought one man who charged me N15,000 for SIM and NIN registration. Some other people paid N12,000, N10,000 or N8,000.

    “I was alarmed when I heard this because it made me to wonder why they had to charge me so much. Unfortunately, the SIM card didn’t work. I had to pay N1,000 outside the hotel to make it work.

    “The guy who registered it for me inside the hotel advised me to go and open it to avoid disconnection when I told him it was not working.”

    Checks made by the reporter revealed that a SIM pack, including its registration, costs N500 in most places in Lagos while registration of NIN costs between N1,500 and N2,000. Many of the migrants believed that they would not have been so exploited and dehumanised if the relevant government agencies had been on ground to supervise their stay at the hotel.

    How tension was doused

    Explaining how the crisis was resolved, Nmasi said: “When I saw that the tension was getting out of hand, I had to quickly call on Mr Rex Osa, the Coordination Activist for Network Refugee4Refugee, a political platform for refugees/migrants self-organisation based in Stuttgart, Germany, to intervene. He subsequently sent N10,000 to each person, and that was what saved the situation.”

    Jetta described the experience at the hotel as dehumanising. “Everything there was a big rip off. They sold everything to us at cut-throat. They prevented family members from coming to see us too. Imagine people coming from different parts of the country to see us being sent away. What does N10, 000 for each deportee mean to the government? It obviously amounted to nothing, but they would rather see us suffer than help.  It has made me to hate Nigeria even more.”

    Nigeria, deportees and challenge of reintegration

    Nigeria, together with other members of the United Nations in 2018 adopted the Global Compact for Safe Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), part of which is to ensure dignified return for migrants.

    Laudable as the country’s move is, the reporter who has been working on the return and reintegration of migrants, especially deportees, said Nigeria’s adoption of the GCM  is merely ceremonial as deportees have continued to be treated in the most inhuman manner and in some cases as criminals.

    The reporter noted that since he started monitoring deportation from Europe in 2019, various government agencies have continued to feign ignorance about the deportation of migrants. The Nigerian Immigration Service had on different occasions denied deportation exercises even when confronted with incontrovertible evidence.

    Deportees were previously dumped and abandoned without help at the cargo airport in Lagos.  The ugly development continued even at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic. The trend, however, changed after our reports prompted the German government to make provision for the deportees to be accommodated and quarantined on return.

    The authorities of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs in 2019 accepted to rehabilitate two deportees following intervention by The Nation. The commission then claimed that it had vocational centres where returnees could be empowered. There have been numerous deportations thereafter without any intervention by the commission or sister agencies.

    How government’s attitude compounds deportees’ plight

    Many migration projects in the country, according to findings, are carried out or supported by international organisations such as the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). Unfortunately the IOM projects are restricted to voluntary returnees and do not cover deportation.

    “Our beneficiaries are not deportees but voluntary returnees, so we cannot comment on this. Maybe state authorities could give a hand,” Stylia Kampani, IOM’s Head of Communication in Nigeria, said in reply to our request on what the organisation does to help deportees.

    IOM’s absence from the management of deportees may have been responsible for the yawning gap and unbridled exposure of deportees to despicable inhuman treatment.

    Following the abandonment of deportees by the government, many of them have continued to suffer psychological and emotional challenges. Some of the deportees who came before the recent set told The Nation how they have been battling with sleeplessness and trauma among other challenges.

    One of the deportees, who identified himself as Ola, said: “When I arrived in Nigeria, I was dumped and abandoned at the NAHCO in front of the Lagos airport, without help.

    “Life has not been easy since I returned home. In fact, I have not been coping well since I returned.

    “For a long time, I could not sleep when I came back. I had a problem sleeping.

    “It took about four to five months dealing with psychological problems and nobody was there to give psycho-social support.

    “I felt seriously sick, especially when I just came back, because everything was down for me and I didn’t know what to do.

    “It was my wife and my kids that were calming me down during those dark moments.

    “In Germany, I could go to the hospital whenever I was sick without paying a dime. The German government would pay for everything. “But that is not the case in Nigeria. If you have ordinary headache here and you go to the hospital, you will have to pay for treatment.

    “The Nigerian government has not done anything to assist us. I have not received any assistance from the government or its agencies since I came back.”

    Ola added: “You cannot compare life in Germany with life here in Nigeria. They are never and can never be the same.

    “When you work over there, you can live comfortably. But here in Nigeria, it is hard to feed oneself. I felt very bad when I landed in Nigeria.

    “It is through the help of friends that I have been surviving. If I can get a lump sum, I want to start a business.

    “I want to go back to selling baby clothes, shoes and the rest. That was the business that my wife and I were doing before I travelled.  If I can get money, I will be able to expand the business.”

    Another returnee, Nonso, who was deported in 2018, said life has been terrible since he came back. “It has not been easy for me since then,” he said. It took me a good one year to get over the trauma that I suffered. Even when I am sleeping, I do not see myself in Nigeria. But when I wake up, the reality dawns on me.

    “Up till now, I don’t have anything serious doing. I have been engaged in some form of farming and anything my family gets we eat. If we get nothing, we sleep like that.

    “I want to do transportation business. I was into business in the northern part of the country before I travelled. It was the Boko Haram menace that forced me to travel.

    “There in Europe, there was power supply, but that is not available here. You cannot compare Europe to Africa and Nigeria in particular. Life here is frustrating. That is why everybody is struggling to travel.

    “In Europe, you are comfortable and live without fear. We worked, made money and lived very well. The reverse is the case here.

    “Here, police will stop and search you but I never experienced that in Germany. Here, police can come and arrest you where you are sitting down. There are a lot of anomalies here.

    “There have been temptations to engage in ungodly lifestyles but when I look at my experience in Germany, I tell myself that I must not be involved in anything stupid here in Nigeria.

    “I will keep struggling, believing that things will get better.

    “Before I travelled, I would always make myself available for any trouble. But when I travelled, my life changed.

    “Since I came back, I don’t like noise or having issues with anyone. I avoid trouble and stay on my own. That is what I learnt in Europe. I stay away from anything that could cause problems for me.”

    For Maria, life since coming back to the country has been hell of a sort.

    She said: “This country is a hell and that is what it is. Life here is too strenuous. When I arrived here, I felt I had come back to my problem.

    “I ran away from stress here and I am back to it. If you are sick here, you cannot go to the hospital because you don’t have money. In Germany, I would only go to the hospital with just my card and the government would pay.

    “I was working but the government was paying half of my rent. When I was not working, the government was paying the rent every month.  Why won’t you feel relaxed in that situation?

    “I never wanted to leave, so when they took me to the airport to be deported, I was crying. “While at the airport on arrival, my brain was not telling me where to go. From nowhere, a member of Refugee4refugee came and asked if I wanted to be accommodated for some days free of charge. I said yes. I never knew that any organisation could do such for me.

    “When I went to a relation to stay after leaving the hotel, the wife asked me to leave after three days because I came with nothing.

    “I couldn’t go to my state, Imo, because I have been hearing that the place is on fire. I later used the money I had to rent an apartment. My challenge is how to renew the rent when it expires.”

    Speaking about life overseas, Maria said: “Life in Germany was totally enjoyable. I was totally relaxed there. It is only when you don’t have a residence permit that you will be tensed up because you don’t know what will happen.  Those who were lucky not to have been deported are in second heaven.

    “The cost of things here is in thousands and millions. Everybody is struggling to get thousands and millions, and when you get it and go to the market, everything will vanish and you will start struggling all over. There is too much stress here in Nigeria.

    “In Germany, we were making use of cents.  The highest amount you would use to do shopping is 25 or 50 Euro. But here you must have N10,000.

    “The other time I went to the market with N10,000, I thought I was holding too much money. But when  I started buying things, I was surprised that the money didn’t get anywhere. It makes me feel uncomfortable.”

     I am not aware of amount charged by NIN registrar

    The manager of the hotel, in a telephone chat with our correspondent, claimed she was not aware of the amount that the NIN registrar charged the deportees.

    “Please can you come down and let’s discuss and I will call the person that did the NIN,” she requested.

    When our correspondent declined her invitation and insisted that she should react to the allegations, she said: “It is a lie. They said they needed NIN and I called the person that is doing it in the MTN office to come and meet them.  I don’t know how much he charged them.

    “Is it a crime to call the person that is doing it when my guests needed assistance?  I don’t know how much the person charged. It is between them and the person. I wasn’t the one that did the negotiation.  Did I have any special interest in it?”

    She also debunked the allegation that the deportees were promised that government officials would come and give them some money.

    “They were told that there is a man that comes to give money to deportees voluntarily. The person is not a government official.

    “They were not the first or second set that the man would support. The person was telling them that he is not a government official but that he is doing it voluntarily.  The person works in Germany.”

    In a telephone chat from his base in Germany, Rex Osa, denied the manager’s claim. His words: “We didn’t tell them to communicate anything to the deportees. The manager has my phone number. She promised calling me for the past two months but she didn’t.  When the problem escalated she started calling me to handle the situation. She took my time the other day and I started talking with the deportees from 8:30am until 1pm when they were leaving. I had to within one hour organize money to support 36 deportees, otherwise they were ready to bring the hotel down.

    “ I think they just used that strategy to calm the deportees for the first two days and giving them hope until the last day when they are going to dump them out of the hotel.  The hotel doesn’t discuss with us, they don’t negotiate with us and they didn’t ask us to be offering anything. The hotel told them that people will come from the Nigerian government to give them something.  Some of them were even informed that on the last day they would be taken from the hotel to the airport, get a briefing before they leave.  There were different information  that I was getting from these people.”

    The head of NCFRMI in Lagos, Mrs Erinfolami in a  brief telephone chat that was truncated by unstable network connection said the commission has been doing a lot to assist deportees.

    She had yet to respond to a text message seeking adding reaction from her as at the time of filing this report.

  • Ogbonge women: Lending to transform women’s lives

    Ogbonge women: Lending to transform women’s lives

    A few brave women are changing the narratives on food security and bringing down the high cost of food items, writes GRACE OBIKE

    As of 2020, Nigeria has 206 million people. Out of this, women constitute about 49.95 per cent and males 50.05 per cent. However, despite the high population, women face serious life challenges, which include poor access to finance, asset ownership, and taking care of their basic life necessities. According to the National Demographic Survey 2018, about 84 per cent of women in Nigeria earn less than their husbands.

    The report also showed that men are more than three times as likely to own a house or land as women. In 2019, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Poverty Inequality Report had indicated that only 25.37 per cent of women are involved in income-generating activities; while about 74.63 per cent were not.

    Data from Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA) indicates that Nigerian women continue to be more financially excluded than men, with only 45 per cent of women using formal financial services, compared with 56 per cent of men. Although the government says it is making a strong case for the empowerment of women, research done by development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC) on Women Economic Empowerment (WEE), shows that from the 2020 appropriation act (amendment) COVID-19 intervention programmes and the NESP, several schemes were rolled out as welfare responses to address economic shocks of the global pandemic for Nigerians.

    While some of these programmes targeted at women (like supporting MSMEs survival targeting 1.7 million individuals and entities or conditional cash transfer of social intervention programme), most did not have a defined quota for women like (creating 5 million jobs in agricultural sector, mines and steel development – artisanal and small-scale miners, or special public works Programme). Out of the seven economic stimulus programmes identified at the national level, only two had defined quotas for women.

    To ensure that their needs are taken care of in the face of the economic hardship induced by the pandemic, about 50 married women with little or no education, residing in Sheda Kwali Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory and with no help from all forms of government initiatives, have divided themselves into two microcredit groups of 25 members each, pooling their meagre resources towards socio-economic lifting of all.

    The women, with ages ranging from early 20s to 62 years old, all come together at 2pm every Saturday to contribute a token of their measly earning during the week into a common purse for further productivity. Some contribute as much as N50,000 and others can go as low as N500. The money is in turn loaned out to members of the group in need of financial aid to start or expand a really small business or pay children’s school fees. Loan beneficiaries – all within the circle – are allowed to pay in instalments at an interest rate of five per cent.

    Their stories

    For most parents, the news of their children’s admission into a higher institution of learning elicits excitement and the feeling that the child is making progress, with the hope that such may assist the family in the nearest future. However, for Hadiza Abubakar, mother of six and a small scale farmer, and her retired husband, the news of their daughter’s admission into Nasarawa State University, was somewhat dreadful because her husband’s pension barely comes and when it does come, it is hardly able to feed the family.

    She collected a loan of N30,000 (a little over $50), chose a six months’ period for instalment  payback. Today, she is a proud parent of an undergraduate. “I did not attempt to go to the bank for a loan because I don’t believe banks are meant for people like me; moreover, what will I present as collateral?” she said.

    As for Rita Augustine’s children, last Christmas was exciting because she had saved money every other week with her group, which enabled her to buy them cloths for the festivity when she collected her savings in mid-December. Apart from her savings, she was able to access N100,000 loan, which she invested in poultry business. She explained that before the loan, her business was failing. She went to the market every day to buy the feeds she needed, but this affected her business because her profit margin was based on price fluctuations. With the loan, she bought all the feeds and medications needed for the three weeks period that it normally takes to raise her birds before selling them off in bulk.

    “Because I was able to buy the feeds in bulk, the profit that I made this time around was more than I ever imagined that I could make in this business and I was able to pay back all the money in four months.”

    Who they are?

    Food seller, Vivian Livinus, said the women refer to themselves as the Ogbonge Women, a pidgin word used to qualify strong, industrious and dependable women. Specifically, ogbonge implies genuineness, truthfulness, correctness and being original. They came together in 2019, when they could no longer bear the hardship being meted out to them by the country’s failing economy. She said: “We quickly learnt to save and lend to one another when we realised that we were on the verge of losing everything we had laboured for over the years.”

    But the group’s leader, Justina Ihenewengwa, a cassava farmer, explained that the group is actually under the umbrella body of the Small Scale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON), a coalition of small holder women farmer groups across the Nigerian federation who are  working together to promote women-friendly agricultural policies and women’s access to land. She said although the group was originally meant for women farmers, they decided to tweak it a bit by inviting business women and civil servants, to join them and turn it into a microcredit group with the approval of SWOFON’s main body so as to suit the needs of women in their community whose patience had been exhausted by the endless wait for government interventions that never materialised after series of optimistic official pronouncements.

    Ihenewengwa explained that she manages two SWOFON groups in Sheda, under which they contribute from N500, N1,000 to as much as N50,000 weekly. It is from the polled resources that they give loans to needy women amongst themselves. She said they sometimes give members as much as N500,000 (about $1000) at 5 per cent interest rate.

    She explained that the group maintains a strict policy of participation and attendance at meetings is a precondition. Another strict condition is the consistent instalment repayment of the loan, however little, to enable other intended borrowers to have access to the funds. “The topmost leadership of SWOFON gave me the liberty to decide on the interest rate that would suit the group and I choose five per cent because I understand my community and the fact that my women will not be able to afford too much interest. I equally partook in the loan, so I know where it pinches.

    “I understand that the government enjoys talking big about women empowerment and financial inclusion but it hardly fulfils the promises being made. They promise us assistance through loans, but create policies that make it impossible for people like us to access it; so, we have no option than to take care of ourselves,” she said.

    For women who barely attained some level of formal education in their lives, these groups of women are surprisingly very meticulous when balancing their accounts. Each member has an account booklet which is left in the custody of the leader, when they arrive for a weekly meeting that takes place every Saturday, each is called by her unique number and not name. She then presents her weekly due and loan instalment being paid back. This is recorded in her booklet by the group’s Secretary while the Treasurer and their leader sign each payment and then, the Secretary stamps it.

    Government initiatives

    Since the inception of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, his government has promised Nigerians that it intends to assist women like Ihenewengwa and her group through numerous initiatives that it said would be of benefit to small scale farmers and small business owners. Apart from the aforementioned, the administration created the Nigerian Gender Policy, which mainstreams its policies, plans, programmes and projects and builds institutions to promote the activities of women in the sector.

    To prove its willingness to improve women empowerment, in 2021, the federal government’s budgetary allocation to WEE project was N51 billion with 645 projects in different parts of the country. The allocation was increased by over 101 per cent in the 2022, with N103 billion allocated to 938 WEE projects. These projects are spread in different Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). For the 2022 budgets, the projects are divided into women-core and women plus others projects, they are skills and grants for 25,176,287,262, grant alone 502,080,800, provision/supply of equipment and empowerment materials 4,976,406,954, skill acquisition/ training, capacity building 5,034,655,828, uncategorised projects 843,954,414 and skill acquisition and training, grants, equipment and empowerment materials, others 66,960,648,829.

    Apart from the FG’s WEE projects, a few states like Bauchi, Edo, Kaduna, Kano, Kwara, and Plateau, equally boasts of similar women-specific empowerment projects. But the Partnership for Advancing Women Empowerment in Development (PAWED) like most WEE advocates say, “It is one thing to give funds to women and another that they have the prerequisite skill or training that would help them in the management of the fund.” Apart from WEE specific projects, other policies have been created and are domiciled in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Bank of Industry (BOI).

     Has the Ogbonge women group benefited?

    Ihenewengwa denied benefiting from any intervention from the government. She explained that members of her group always apply for any government intervention that they get wind of, but nothing ever comes out of such efforts and such serial disappointments have helped perpetuate the perception that government officials always find ways to subvert or skew beneficial programmes on the basis of nepotism and other such bias. “We were told to open an account with a particular bank and provide the account numbers, we all did. The bank charged us for opening the account and for an ATM card but we never heard from the government people, now my ATM card is only lying about the house, useless.”

    Louisa Emmanuel too spoke about the unending disappointment that comes with being endlessly unable to benefit from several highly publicised government incentive programmes, including that rolled out at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic when the government claimed to have shared out palliatives worth several billions of naira. She said at a point when her business began failing, she joined a microfinance bank’s scheme and was loaned the sum of N50,000 ($100).

    As expected, the sight of sugar always attracts ants; unfortunately this is not an exception for the Ogbonge women story. Apart from bringing together women who help themselves, the exercise has attracted a few fraudsters who joined, took the poor women’s money and disappeared, including a man who used his wife to access the group, made her collect a loan of N60,000 and threatened the leader after the wife stopped attending their meetings and Ihenewengwa visited the home.

    Another woman reported Ihenewengwa to her parish priest when asked to refund her loan and still refused to pay when the priest advised her to pay up. “It was difficult for me to pay money that I did not spend but as the leader, I had to take the responsibility. I had to pay all the money stolen from my pocket, I vetted them before allowing them to join like everyone else so I could not afford to allow my women to pay for my mistake and somehow it was good because I learnt my lesson.” Ihenewengwa said.

    The incidents made her take precautions, now women who fail to abide by the rules of attending weekly meetings, paying their weekly dues and loan instalments are replaced with new ones eagerly waiting for the chance to join. “I might have to eject more people next year because some are becoming unserious and this group means so much to a lot of us, we won’t allow the unserious few ruin it for us,” she stressed.

    On the limitations of the WEE projects, dRPC and PAWED, stated that the problems of the projects include Lack of WEE project coordination, duplications and non-disclosures of empowerment programmes details, Project repetition with Annual funding, lack of availability of WEE project report, poor monitoring and evaluation culture and lots more.

  • Issues in cross-border trade in West Africa

    Issues in cross-border trade in West Africa

    The influence of colonial overlords has shaped the African reality, development and economic strides. All the protocols orchestrated to make for inclusive business relationships that could develop the continent have failed. However, OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE reports that there is a new glimmer of hope, especially if the resolutions of the roundtable on cross-border trade in the West African sub-region are implemented

    Skirmishes between government agencies in Ghana and Ivory Coast against Nigerian businessmen operating in their countries are a common occurrence. At a roundtable discussion on “Cross Border Trade in the West African Sub-Region,” organised by the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE),   several government officials from sub-Saharan African countries agreed that these skirmishes are unhealthy and inimical to trade and growth in the sub-region.

    Colonial allegiance and language are major barriers in the West African sub-region. Rather than co-operating to work out of economic woods and debt traps, many of these countries, experts say, are busy ‘fighting proxy wars’ on behalf of their former colonial masters. The result: rivalries and unhealthy competition.  This is sometimes at the instance of their former colonial masters who, in many ways, still influence their colonies in terms of trade policies and governance.

    Analysts argue that most poor countries in the region, especially the Francophone ones, are daily looking for ways to please their masters, rather than fashioning out viable policies and strategies to make them economically independent. In real terms, they lack what it takes to make a difference in the lives of their people. This is regrettably so; yet, their former colonial masters will prefer it so.

    At the just-concluded workshop by the CPPE held in Lagos, with the theme, “Cross-Border Trade in West African Sub-Region: Prospects, Challenges and Way Forward,” stakeholders listed, among others, cultural division, disunity and lack of infrastructure as impediments to cross-border trade and regional integration in West Africa.

    The Consul-General, Ghana High Commission, Ms Samata Gifty Bukari, challenged Nigeria to take its rightful position and lead West Africa out of poverty. She, however, regretted her experience with the immigration officials and the non-functional air conditioners in Nigeria airports, adding that it doesn’t show leadership capacity. Furthermore, she stated that the trade relationship between Africa, Asia and Europe has not been fair, calling on the leaders to redress the imbalance.

    While calling for greater co-operation among member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Bukari conveyed the need to achieve favourable conditions for inter-trade, stressing that there are several unfavourable tariffs among member countries that inhibit trade.

    “Conditions for travelling with goods anywhere in Africa are unfavourable and hinder trade. The tariffs and other conditions are unfavourable. Benin Republic is requesting transit duty on goods moved within Africa and this is very unfair.”

    The Consul-General of Ghana High Commission argued that insisting that Ghanaian businessmen pay transit duty by the Beninoise authorities is wrong. She further argued that this kind of demand by member countries does not align with the spirit behind the formation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

    “Coming from Ghana with any goods to Nigeria or other countries, the Benin Republic requested for payment of transit duty on the goods; yet we talk about the African Union and African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). This will not work with such situations. Let’s forget the bias between Anglophone and Francophone. Let’s come together as Africans and take positive decisions that will effectively improve effective co-operation in Africa for mutual benefit. The developed world deliberately and intentionally sends us used computers and other electronic products with expired shelf lives to pollute our continent. They can’t love us more than we love ourselves.”

    Comptroller-General, Nigeria Customs Service, Col. Hameed lbrahim Ali (retired) said there are prospects of improving ECOWAS trade, since globalisation has made the world become closer than before. He observed that ECOWAS protocols have enabled trade in the sub-region through trade liberalisation designed and aimed at removing barriers to trade and trade relations, which include tariff and non­-tariff barriers. Ali said it also contributed to structuring of regional trade areas such as the ECOWAS  and AfCTA  and encouraged the emergence of trans-territory trading networks with positive impacts on national development.

    On the prospects of improving cross-border trade in the West African sub-­region for enhanced national development, Ali, who was represented by Assistant Controller of Customs and Zonal Coordinator, Aliyu Aremu Abubakar, said the idea is to also have an Economic Union, which is regarded as the ultimate goal of the sub-regional integration. This, he said, goes beyond the elimination of real and perceived barriers of factors of mobility and the movement of goods. Others, he added, are the concept of business-to-business approach, which includes the manufacturing, aviation, transportation, oil and gas, power sector and the agricultural sector.

    Ali encouraged each national government to enhance the solid mineral sector such as iron ore, limestone, gold and bitumen where it has comparative advantage.

    “Nigeria could leverage Nigeria’s comparative advantage towards boosting cross-border trade (CBT) in the Western African sub-region and beyond. The value chain of these products holds good prospects of improving CBT for enhanced national development in Nigeria.”

    Furthermore, he said the  extant Customs and Excise Management Act which has been passed into law will be in line with global best practices. He said it will create a platform for improved operations, thereby improving Nigeria’s CBT in the West African sub-region. Ali added that the Act holds good prospects of promoting Nigeria’s CBT for enhanced national development in Nigeria.

    On the way forward, he suggested strict implementation and enforcement of ECOWAS protocols, mass deployment of state-of-the-art border security technologies such as non­intrusion inspection scanners, strengthening healthy synergy, and collaborative framework among the various stakeholders through sharing of timely and actionable intelligence for enhanced border security and trade facilitation, including a need to sustain agriculture financing incentives and expand investment and financing incentives for mining, manufacturing and services sector.

    However, Aminou Akadiri, Executive Director, Federation of West Africa Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FEWACCI), said the ECOWAS Protocol forbids discrimination on member countries in trade facilitation.  To achieve this, he said the chambers have embarked on sensitisation and training sessions on ECOWAS Protocol and Policies in National Chambers of Commerce. They also share the West African business community vision and proposals to boost trade and investments at ministerial and Head of States levels. Others are facilitating negotiations/implementation of regional and international trade agreements. The promotion and development of an efficient private sector through the provision of business support  services.

    “We further engage in capacity building to ensure that the objective of making the region the preferred destination for investors is achieved. Furthermore, the chamber supports joint-ventures and co-enterprises creation in ECOWAS’ industrial strategy in agro-industry, pharmaceutical, transport and automotive,  construction and building materials.”

    The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo, said for Nigeria to effectively participate and benefit from the AfCFTA, issues of international trade in terms of clearance of imports and exports need to be improved. The minister stressed the challenges experienced in cross-border trade to include lack of infrastructure, lack of common currency, the difference in languages, high cost of doing business, political instability, insecurity in the sub-region, corruption, harassment and informal trade.

    Others are non-adherence to ECOWAS protocols, capacity/supply-side constraints, lack of adherence to standards and quality control, dependency on inappropriate technology, poor inter intra-sectoral linkages and lack of trade information service to provide vital information on trade.

    Adebayo, who was represented by the Director of Trade, Aliyu Abubakar, said to address the challenges, African leaders must create a more enabling environment for cross-border trade, implement the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and Trade Facilitation West Africa Programme and provide trade-related infrastructure. Other solutions include the need to improve cross-border agencies’ co-operation, address corruption/extortion and insecurity challenges in the sub-region, improve port services and development of inter-modal transport system, continuous stakeholder engagement and collaboration and political commitment.

    The Acting Comptroller-General of Nigeria Immigration Service, Idris Jere, represented by Assistant Comptroller Zone 2, Ikeja, Olakunle Osunsanya, said Ghana has occasionally violated the economic principles of West Africa as the country imposes tariffs on trade on Nigerians doing businesses over there. He said another major challenge is the cultural divide, especially Benin Republic which only favours trade among its citizens while allowing others to suffer from the stiff tariffs imposed on businesses. He also said colonial heritage, the multiplicity of agencies causing rivalry, lack of unity among countries are limiting the region from achieving maximum co-operation in the facilitation of trade.

    Responding to the alleged fraudulent practices at points of entry by immigration officials, he denied that such things exist; stressing that Nigeria has laws that must be obeyed by people coming into the country; either for business or leisure. He added that there are several para­military agencies of government at the borders- either on the land borders or air who have their jobs to do to protect the corporate existence of the country. Jere noted that quality is a moving target and that the Nigeria immigration is poised to achieve it.

    The Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) Dr Ezra Yakusak, said there should be a focus on the Informal Cross-Border Trade (ICBT) in West Africa, in order to harness the potential it presents and leverage on it for utmost participation in AfCFTA. He said one major characteristic of informal trade is the high-profit margin by the traders as they avoid the government tariffs and do not follow laid-down procedures and documentation, which, sometimes can be cumbersome and time-consuming.

    The Chief Executive Officer, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprises, Dr Muda Yusuf, said it is important for political leaders of the countries on the African sub-region to demonstrate better political will to achieve the desired economic integration. Yusuf noted that integration is the main vehicle for boosting trade within the region, adding that Africa, which boasts 1.4 billion people, offers significant benefits of economies of scale to be enjoyed by businesses on the continent in the event of full market integration. He said integration would lower unit costs and enhance competitiveness, adding that the African economies would be stronger and their capacity to cope with the challenges of globalisation would be enhanced. The CPPE boss said it is unfortunate that ECOWAS, which is one of the oldest regional economic communities in Africa, has not achieved much in the area of economic integration.

  • Outrage as customers lament endless wait for attention in bank

    Outrage as customers lament endless wait for attention in bank

    Bank customers have expressed frustration over frequent waste of their time trying to transact business. They slammed the banks for making huge profits at their expense and refusing to employ adequate staff to do the jobs, INNOCENT DURU reports

    There was disquiet at a branch of an old generation bank in Ladipo part of Mushin, Lagos State penultimate Friday as customers engaged the workers and management in a shouting match over endless waste of their time. The protest had started with murmurs from some of the aggrieved customers until a slim old man walked into the banking hall.

    “I need a mat and a pillow to lie down,” he said jokingly as he sauntered round the hall. “I have been here for only God knows hours and it is not yet my turn. I have gone to my house and returned a couple of times and yet the line is not moving,” he added as he raised his voice and gradually fired up the anger in other customers.

    Seeing that the management was doing nothing about his predicament and those of other customers in the hall,  the old man further raised his voice, this time, issuing a serious threat.

    “We will burn down this bank! he threatened. “If you people are not ready to serve the people again, close down the place.

    “You  keep declaring huge profit but you would not employ workers to serve the customers.

    “You have kept old people, pregnant women, children and other vulnerable people standing for hours and there is no chair for us to sit. What kind of exploitation is that? What kind of country is this?  I will come here on Monday with newsmen to show the world the inhuman treatment you are subjecting customers to.”

    The visibly angry customer’s outburst gave brought out the anger in other agitated customers as they also raised their voices and called the bank and its workers unprintable names.

    “Look at the counter, only two of the six seats are occupied with officials attending to customers. Is that proper? Why are they concerned about their profits alone without any feeling for the customers from whom they get the money they trade with and make profit?

    “We two have other things to attend to in our places of work and business. I am supposed to go and pick my children from school, but this delay has almost made that impossible.

    “Before we entered into the banking hall, we had sat outside, under the tent, for a very long time. Employ more workers and stop being stingy, ” an enraged woman said.

    As the situation became more tense, the manager and an armed mobile policeman waded into the matter but the situation was not immediately brought under control.

    It took a long time of pleading and persuasion before the angry customers were appeased.

    This reporter, who was in the banking hall, left at about 4pm without achieving his mission, to attend to official assignment.

    As at the time he was leaving, the number of customers outside the banking hall was more than those in the hall with feelings of frustration, anger and disappointment clearly written on their faces.

    Checks revealed that needless waste of customers’ time by banks is widespread and was fast becoming a norm.

    A bank customer, who gave his name simply as Mark, said going to transact business in banks has become a nightmare.

    “You can spend three to four hours on queue before they will attend to you. There is a bank at Igando area of Alimosho Local Government, when you get there, the security men will lock you outside until there is a space for you to sit under the canopy placed within the premises.

    “This is very dangerous because criminals could use the opportunity to attack and dispossess one of his hard earned money.  When you luckily enter into bank’s premises, you will begin another round of queuing.

    “There was a day I went there to transfer money to somebody. It was not my turn until it was past five, and at that time, there were still so many people behind me. I wrote N250,000 on the teller but when I received  the alert which came the following day, it was N200,000 that the lady transferred.

    “The pressure on her was too much and she was susceptible to committing blunders. I went to the bank the following day to inform her about it. When she checked and found that it was true, she started apologising to me. I told her not to worry because I saw and knew she was already worn out by that time. Assuming she had mistakenly paid someone above what she was supposed to, what would have happened? You cannot even guarantee that such doesn’t or had not happened before. Something drastic needs to be done about this in the interest of the customers and the banks as well.” A recharge card dealer, Moses, said he feels like going to the bank with not only his  mat but also a stove.

    “It is sickening that you will go to the bank and end up spending the whole day in the queue.

    “It is worse if you are going to make a large deposit in  the bulk room. There, you will see one or two bankers attending to a large number of people.

    “When they are tired, they will instruct the security men to tell customers to go and make deposits through the ATM machines.

    “How do you expect a customer who wants to deposit N500,000 or N1 million to go and do that at the ATM stand? Even when you try to explain to the security men that you are there to deposit huge money, they will tell you that was the order given to them. It is distressing. They are exposing customers to a lot of dangers and discouraging people from using their services.”

    Another bank customer, Ogochukwu, said queuing for a long time in banking halls aggravates the pains he experiences in his legs.

    “If I have my way, I would never have anything to do with going to banking halls again.

    “The long queues always worsen the pains I have in my legs. Unfortunately, there are no more chairs for one to sit in the banking halls.

    “You just have to stand for as long as it takes them to attend to you. It is reprehensible.

    “Whenever you want to go for a transaction in a bank, don’t just be in a hurry. Prepare your mind to spend the whole day.  Must it be like that?”

    Over 11, 000 workers sacked in two years asuse of PoS rises

    The embattled bank customers’ call for employment of more workers as a solution to the long delays they experience may not be far from the truth.

    An average of 18 people were sacked every working day between January and September 2019, according to data made available by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). According to the ‘Selected Banking Sector Data: Sectorial Breakdown of Credit, e-Payment Channels and Staff Strength’ report, 3,582 people were sacked between the first and third quarter of 2019.

    There are 195 working days between January and September.

    Between the first and second quarter, the staff strength of the banking sector reduced by 653 people and further declined by 2,929 between the second and third quarters.

    Contract staff was the worst hit, declining by 3,083 between the second and third quarter.

    However, the number of junior staff within the sector increased by 414 from 39,980 to 40,398.

    The report covered commercial banks, merchant banks, non-interest banks and deposit money banks.

    The ugly development worsened in 2020 with the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

    The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, revealed that in the fourth quarter of 2020, the number of banking staff dropped by 8,584 to 95,026 as at December 31, 2020 compared to 103,610 which was in the employ of banks in 2019.

    A sectoral performance report released by the NBS in December 2020 revealed that the 44,664 contract staff on commercial banks’ payrolls at the turn of the year had been reduced to 39,573 (a decrease of 5,091) as at the end of September.

    A total of 2,359 junior workers were similarly axed or resigned, while senior staff, who form 18.5 per cent of the workforce, reduced by 564. The commercial banks, surprisingly, increased their executive staff (who takes home the lion’s share of the personnel costs) from 153 to 210 (an expansion of 37 per cent).

    The gap created by the massive sack of bank workers and the attendant challenges appear to have been filled by the proliferation and patronage  of Point of Sale (POS) transactions.

    Transactions via the medium have continued to rise over the years.

    Data obtained from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) quoted by the International Centre Investigation Reporting (ICIR) show that in 2018, the total PoS transaction was N2.3 trillion from 285.9 million transactions.

    In 2019, it increased to 438.61 million transactions with a total value of N3. 21trillion.  In 2020, transactions rose by 49.51 per cent to 655.75 million, with the total value rising to N4.73 trillion.

    Further findings also showed that POS transactions carried out in the first eight months of 2021 stood at N4.06 trillion, representing a 45 per cent increase compared to N2.81 trillion recorded in the correspond ing period of 2020.

    According to the data, POS transactions hit its highest height for any eight-month period, increasing by 44.8 per cent and 108 per cent, compared to N2.81 trillion and N1.96 trillion recorded in the similar period of 2020 and 2019 respectively.

    Similarly, the volume of POS transactions recorded between January and August 2021 stood at N619.3 million, increasing by 61.8 per cent, compared to the N382.9 million recorded in the corresponding period of 2020.

    It is worth noting that a total of 686,577 POS terminals were deployed nationwide as of August 2021, representing an 84.4 per cent increase from 372,333 recorded in the same period of 2020.

    The value of POS transactions in the country for the month of August 2021 stood at N504.88 billion, lower than N554.67 billion recorded in the previous month, while it rose marginally compared to the N503.91 billion carried out in June 2021.

    Also, the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) data show there were about 307,000 PoS machines in Nigeria as of March 2021, but only 167,000 were active.”

    Customers allege underhand practices by banks, PoS agents

    The trust reposed in financial institutions in the country is fast fizzling out as the number of customers raising the alarm over fraudulent deductions from their accounts has continued to rise.

    Samson, a member of staff of this news medium recently received an alert of N4, 000 from his bank.  As he was just wondering how the deduction came about, another debit alert of N5,000 landed through a text message.  A total of N9,000 had been inexplicably deducted from his account.

    Unfortunately for him, it was a weekend, and that makes it impossible for him to go to the bank to clarify the problem.

    “When I tried to find out from them, they didn’t give any meaningful response. I had to go to their facebook account to embarrass them.

    “When they saw the message, somebody from the bank called to tell me that the money was locked and that it would be released.

    “That was not the first or second time that they would make such illegal deductions from my account.”

    On social medium platforms, allegations of theft by various banks are rife.

    A tweeter user, Otunba Coffee, tweeting  via his handle @OtunbaCoff, said:

    “Guys, there’s a high level of coordinated fraud in the banking sector right now. So many customers are getting debited from their accounts and banks are claiming it’s POS transactions even from accounts that barely use their cards.

    Banks are not having explanations for these debits and unauthorised transactions. Banks are not safeguarding these funds. They are encouraging the fraud and nobody is talking about it.

    “If you have a debit card, your money is not safe. Banks are employing fraudsters. Many of their ATM engineers are installing skimmers in their machines…stealing customer card details.

    “The Nigerian banks are stealing from Nigerians and government is not doing anything.If you are fortunate to have insiders in the Nigerian banking system, you’ll know how big and organised their frauds are.

    “You have no idea how much data these people have. The people handling your accounts are fraudsters and the system is protecting them. These are issues.”

    Replying Otunba’s tweet, Sunday School Teacher told of how his cousin resorted to physical fight with bank officials to get back his money that was illegally deducted.

    He said: “The bank remove 10k from my cousin’s account and, exactly like you said, they tagged it “POS transactions”….He went to the bank to fight, I  mean physical fist fight, and in less that 12 hours, it was reversed.”

    Another tweeter user, Haleemah The Jeweler , @_Olamiji said: “I’ve received so much debits that I don’t even know about. I’ve just not find time to go to bank and because the amounts are not that hurting. I need to pull a call through today. I must get my 2k back.”

    Also ruing her experience, Social Prefect

    @Ada africa accused an old generation bank of diverting her money. “…Bank staff diverted my money I fixed in their bank total of 1.6million.. and for almost / years I’m still fighting to get my money back. I’m tired and frustrated.”

    Aside from fraud perpetrated in banks, findings showed that operators of PoS machines have also devised means of robbing people of their hard earned money. In fact, criminal elements are said to have infiltrated the business, using it as an avenue to fleece innocent citizens of their savings.

    Lawrence, a resident of Igando, recalls how a suspect was arrested.

    He said: “A lady in our church went to a PoS guy to withdraw money. After the transaction, she later received another alert.

    “When she told people about her experience, she was asked to go back to the place and do a fresh withdrawal. When she went back, she had the same experience. It was at that point that the guy was arrested.”

    The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr Godwin Emefiele last year disclosed that at the end of June 2021, commercial banks in Nigeria had refunded N89.2 billion to customers over complaints.

    Emefiele made the disclosure during a CBN Fair held simultaneously in Cross River and Akwa Ibom states.

    Represented by Mr Osita Nwanisobi, Acting Director, Corporate Communication Department of the CBN, the governor said the cumulative number of complaints from customers of banks as at June was 23,526 while 22,173 were resolved.

    Reps order stringent regulations on PoS

    Follwing the rising allegations of fraud by citizens, the House of Representatives asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to introduce “stringent regulations” on the operators of point of sale (POS) business in the country.

    The legislators passed the resolution during a plenary session following the adoption of a motion sponsored by Jimoh Olajide, a lawmaker from Lagos State.

    Speaking on the motion, Olajide said POS businesses are now used to perpetrate fraud. He called for strict regulations on POS operators in the country.

    “The point of sale system is where customers make payments for products or services rendered, but due to many factors, the point of sale (POS) has been turned into a lucrative business in Nigeria and has provided jobs for millions of unemployed Nigerians that see it as a good alternative to white-collar jobs in the country,” he said.

    “While many Nigerians are making legal money from this lucrative business, some are using it for fraudulent acts to create fake credit alerts to defraud innocent customers hence the need for government intervention to rescue the rising business sector in the country.

    “The point of sale (POS) merchants in Nigeria are not only licensed by commercial banks, others, private companies are currently in the business of giving out point of sale (POS) for business purposes thus making the business to be more porous and ambiguous.

    “Presently, no financial regulatory bodies in Nigeria can precisely ascertain the total number of point of sale (POS) machines and their operators in the country.

    “Some of the POS operators fraudulently charge exorbitant amounts of money from their customers’ bank accounts, while some retain vital information from customer’s ATM cards in the course of making the financial transactions.”

    The motion was unanimously adopted after it was put to a voice vote by Idris Wase, the presiding officer.

    The parliamentarians mandated the committee on banking and currency to organise a stakeholders’ meeting to address the menace.

  • Survivors relive ordeal as gunmen turn festival into bloody scene

    Survivors relive ordeal as gunmen turn festival into bloody scene

    Zarache, a festival annually held by the people of Miango District in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State to pray for peace and good harvest, among other needs, turned bloody last weekend as the people were attacked and shot by gunmen believed to be herders. No fewer than 17 people were reportedly killed in the attacks during which many others sustained various degrees of injuries. Such mindless attacks on the community, according to the natives, date back to 2001 when killer herdsmen started experimenting with shedding their blood in the middle of celebrations, INNOCENT DURU reports.

    • Three mourners killed, bereaved mother shot in another attack

    • Soldiers told us they were not instructed to shoot – Community leader

    • Survivors in critical conditions —Doctor

    Yakubu Danladi, a seven year old boy, went out last Saturday to join other members of the community to celebrate the annual festival of Zarache. After the initial rituals, he moved with the elderly members of the community on a hunting expedition that saw them journeying for a long distance.

    Although he was fatigued, the excitement the exercise provided kept him going as he looked forward to getting home to share his experience with his peers who would not dare the trip. But his plans were shattered towards the end of the ceremony as killer herdsmen swooped on them and shot indiscriminately.

    Although Yakubu narrowly escaped being hit by a bullet, he was not lucky enough to escape bloody injuries. He had in his head a machete cut that left a big gash on his skull. He was not able to talk yet when The Nation called at Enos Hospital where he and many other survivors of killer herders’ attacks were admitted.

    His distraught mother who sat beside him on his hospital bed said: “He went hunting with the adults during the festival. We did not even know that he went with them.

    “In the course of the attack, the herders cut his head with a machete. He cannot talk now. His condition makes us sad.

    “I don’t know how we would raise money to settle his bills. Our farm produce that could have fetched us money was destroyed by cattle.  The menace of herders in this area is worrisome. They are bringing untold sorrow to our community,” she added.

    Zanjo Patrick, 27, was not as lucky as Yakubu as he tried to flee from the assailants. He was shot in the neck and left writhing in pains.

    “On Sunday, we went for the final rites and that was where the herders attacked us,” he said.

    “They shot me in the back of my neck. Three of us were shot at the spot. The two others have been discharged.

    “I saw that two of my people that were shot and killed instantly. I learnt they were buried on Sunday.

    “We have a festival here that we celebrate annually. The festival started on Saturday, which was April 2.”

    Another survivor, Bari Dauda, escaped unscathed but fell badly in the course of fleeing and sustained serious injuries.

    He said: “I was coming back on Sunday from the last point of our annual festival when the herders attacked me and others. I fell badly and injured my neck and leg while fleeing from the murderous herders who were shooting sporadically.”

    Before the April 2 attacks, checks revealed that there had been many others in which children and adults were killed.

    For Madam Ladi Ize, a 75 year-old member of the community, it was a case of compounded woes. She had lost her son, and while mourning his demise in the company of other relations, some killer herdsmen stormed the premises and shot at everyone and everything in sight.

    By the time the smoke from their guns cleared, three of the mourners lay dead while the septuagenarian woman was hit by a bullet.

    Speaking through an interpreter, Madam Ize said: “The incident occurred on March 28. I lost one of my sons and went for the burial. But while we were there, the herders came and attacked us. They killed three female mourners that very night. I was shot on my rib but I managed to escape with my two grandchildren.”

    A day before the attack on Madam Ize’s area, the gunmen had attacked another area, killing one person in the process. A survivor of the incident, Ishaya John, told our correspondent on his hospital bed that it was a dark moment in his life.

    John said: “On the 29th of March, I was sleeping in the house at about 10pm. I heard a gunshot and woke up. When I peeped through the window, I saw the herders surrounding the whole house.

    “Before I could think of escaping, they broke the door and entered the house. They shot me in the ribs. After shooting me, I lay down half dead and they thought that I was dead.

    “I fell face down. They lifted me to see if I was still breathing, and knowing what they were up to, I pretended to have died and they dropped me on the ground. When they saw that I was not moving, they left.

    “After they had left, I was still hearing gunshots so I remained on the ground.  They later came back to check if I was alive or dead.

    “Other members of my family had fled before the assailants came.  They thought I had run away, but unknown to them, I was sleeping inside the house.

    “The gunmen killed one person in the neighbourhood that night.

    “These attacks started way back in 2001. They started killing us from then till now.  Unfortunately, the government is saying nothing. We have surrendered everything to God. We can’t fight them.

    One attack too many

    On March 31, 2022, herdsmen attacked La’ake Village of Kwall District, Rigwe Chiefdom.  A statement by the National Publicity Secretary of Irigwe Development Association (IDA), Davidson Malison, said two people were killed in the attack with houses razed.

    “Four motorcycles were burnt, 10 water pump machines were burnt down, nine generators were also burnt while three motorcycles were carted away.

    “The attack, according to eyewitnesses, started around 1:05 am and lasted more than two hours unchecked. The entire Village has been sacked.

    “The land has suffered a lot and the damages are becoming unbearable. The agenda of ethnic cleansing of the Rigwe people will not triumph.

    “This is the third day the area has continuously been attacked without efforts by those saddled with the responsibility of protecting lives and property of the citizens to curb it,” Malison said. On November 26, 2021, 10 people, six of whom were members of the same family, were said to have been killed by the herders.

    A statement by the Public Relations Officer of Miango Youth Development Association (MYDA), Nuhu B Nga, after the incident reads: “Te’egbe, a community under Miango District was attacked in the early hours of 26th November, 2021. The attack lingered for more than 2hrs from 12am-2am.

    “During the attack, 10 people, six of which were from the same family, were killed. They include Gara Ku (80), Wiye Gara (67), Tala Gara (68), Rikwe BalaYoh (65), Tabitha Danlami (8), Sibi Danlami (4), Friday Musa (35), Daniel Mandi (45), Mweri Chogo (86) and Ayo Balai (6).

    “They were claimed and buried today.

    “Three persons identified as Musa Kwa, Sibi Gara and Nma Weyi sustained some level of injuries and are currently receiving treatment.

    “About 278 residential rooms belonging to 114 households were burnt down completely.  Fifty-seven food barns, with the exception of kitchens and bathrooms, were also affected. This singular incident led to the displacement of over 690 persons in that area.

    “This calculated attack was carried out by the herdsmen who intruded from the boundaries of Kaduna-Plateau. Eyewitnesses have it that the attackers came en masse to carry out this devilish act.”

    The councillor representing Taagbe Ward in Bassa Local Government Area, Hon. Daro Adams Ruvo, expressed worry that the attacks have been happening for a long time without any help for the people. He said: “That April 2 incident claimed the lives of one of my brothers and a neighbour’s son, including a husband to my younger sister.

    “This is becoming too serious and worrisome. At times, the murderers will call to inform you that they are coming. You will think that it is a joke, but they will come and attack the village.

    “We have been calling on the government but there is no action. There are soldiers in some of the communities but the killers can come and attack in their presence. When you ask them questions, they will say they were not given the go ahead to shoot at anybody. That is what has been happening.

    “Our leadership, paramount rulers and the chairman of the local government have been complaining to no avail. I am the chairman of peace and security on the legislative arm. I have been running around to settle the hospital bills of the victims.”

    Survivors’ conditions critical, says doctor

    One of the doctors at Enos Hospital identified simply as Dr Issa told our correspondent that the injuries sustained by the survivors were very serious, adding: “There are some who have gunshot wounds on the face, arms, and the legs. There are those who have fractures and head injuries.

    “We have carried out operations on some and removed bullets that were stuck there. Their injuries are very bad, but, thank God, they are responding to treatment.

    “There are those that only had bruises while escaping.  The seven-year-old boy is getting better. He lost a lot of blood and we transfused him and he is getting better.”

    ‘How killer herders shattered our festival’

    Secretary to the traditional chief, Chinge Bala David, who witnessed the attack on his people, said the attack took place at Tafigana in Miango District of Basa LGA.

    He said: “It happened when our people went to observe the normal annual festival we do in this area.  The festival is well known as Zarachi. It always takes place between March and April.

    “This year’s celebration fell on the 2nd. On that fateful day, people went out peacefully for hunting. They moved from one location to another.

    “The essence of the movement is for them to pray at their border areas and keep reminding people and the children about our ancestors.

    “There is a particular house that takes the lead. When they moved to where the ancestors settled, they had to pray for rain and for good harvests.  The location where they prayed is called Rosu.

    “From Rosu, they moved to spend the night at Zandroachi in Tafigana. It was at this time that herders and some other gunmen attacked them. They killed about 11 members of our community. Those people died on the spot. In spite of the incident, our people were controlled and made to still spend the night there.”

    He added: “In the morning time, as it is the custom, they would have to go to the final point for their prayer. The final point is called Richibo. That is the place our people first settled before migrating to where they are living now.

    “After completing their prayers and heading home, the herders resurfaced and surrounded them again. This time around, security men were there witnessing the incident.

    “Suddenly we heard a gunshot followed by sporadic gunshots. Our people started running for their lives.

    “While our people were running, the herders had to lie in wait for them in front. The fleeing people started hearing booming sounds of gunshots in the direction they were heading to and became confused over which direction they should go. It was when the security operatives moved in that the situation was brought under control.

    “Before then, two people had been shot. One was cut with machete and his body packed as if it was meat that they cut. Most of our people had to run for their dear lives and return home.

    “We were not able to find all the corpses earlier. It was on Wednesday that four more bodies were found. We have recovered and buried about 17 dead bodies. That was what happened during the festival.

    “To tell you the truth, this festival is well known and it is as old as this tribe. We don’t attack anybody during the festival. We go hunting, killing animals and praying for peace and rain, and good harvest. We pray for peace for our land.

    “We celebrate this festival not to haunt anybody, but we discovered that many people were planning evil towards us.”

    According to Chinge,, killings in the area involved children and adults.

    “An attack took place last week from Monday. The herders attacked seven communities. They attacked a village called Ariri aside from the one that took place at Laake as well as Gurudu and many others.

    “There were many attacks that took place before the one that occurred during the festival. There are so many communities now that have been deserted.  Many houses have been vandalised.

    “People are afraid and fleeing from their communities. If you go to some communities now, you will see nobody.”

     Youths stage protest

    The Coalition of Ethnic Youth Nationalities from the Northern Senatorial zone, the Christian Association of Nigeria, Plateau State chapter, youth, and women wings, during the week gathered at the new Government House to protest the recent killings in Bassa communities of the state.

    The Nation reports that several communities had, in the past one month, come under heavy attacks by gunmen suspected to be herdsmen in Bassa Local Government Area of the state, which had claimed about 20 lives, and resulted in the massive destruction of farmlands and burning of homes.

    The protest was led by the National President of the Irigwe Youth Movement, Ezekiel Peter Bini. The residents called on the government to show commitment to securing the lives and properties of their people.

    He said the continuous killings have forced the Irigwe people and other groups on the Plateau to come out in protest to let the government and the world know what is going on and the need to put an end to the situation.

    Addressing the protesters, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof. Danladi Atu, said the state government was working on resolving the killings in Irigwe land in order to bring lasting peace to the communities.

    He said Governor Simon Lalong commiserated with the families of those affected, adding that he had ordered the security outfits in the state to dominate these areas while a thorough investigation was being carried out to ascertain those behind the attacks and bring them to justice.

    “Governor Lalong has further directed the State Emergency Management Agency to step in to ascertain the extent of damage and casualties as well as provide relief materials immediately to cushion the effects of the condemnable act of man’s inhumanity to man,” he added.

    Paramount Ruler sues for peace

    The paramount ruler of Rigwe Nation, Brra Nggwe Rigwe, and acting President Bassa Traditional Council, HRH Rev Ronku Aka (rtd), condoled and praised the people of Ariri village for their bravery and resilience.

    The paramount ruler spoke the words of condolence and praise on Thursday at Ariri village during the burial of Mr Ichemi Ritivo who was shot by militia when the village was attacked on April 4, 2022. Ichemi sustained gunshot injuries and was taken to the hospital, but he gave up the ghost in the course of treatment.

    He reiterated the need for the nation to keep kneeling to God for an end to the evil work of the enemies on the land, and maintained that the land blessedly given by God to Rigwe will live till thy kingdom come.

    The monarch, according to a statement by the National Publicity Secretary of Irigwe Development Association (IDA), Davidson Malison, said: “This is the third time I’m coming to Ariri on issues of militia attacks. The last one was during the mass burial years ago, and I pray we will not witness this again.”

    He further charged the Rigwe People never to give up as the challenges facing the nation will one day become history. He added that the Rigwe people can never be wiped out from the surface of the earth because God created them for a purpose.

    He, however, insisted that security surveillance and consciousness must be intensified and called on government to do all within her reach to ensure the protection of lives and property of the Rigwe People.

    He concluded by encouraging the immediate family of the deceased and the entire nation to be comforted and take solace in the fact that he and other faithful departed are resting in the bosom of the Lord.

    Responding on behalf of the family, Mr Yusuf Musa thanked and appreciated the paramount ruler for the noble gesture and said it will forever remain fresh in their minds.

    Other people who spoke at the burial includes the Secretary of Bassa LG, Mrs Tabawa Jesse Aruku; Leader, Bassa Legislative Arm, Hon Williams Wuje, Hon Lumumba Dah Adeh

    The paramount ruler was accompanied to the burial by the District Head of Miango, HH Daniel Chega, Village Head of Nedzie, Rev John Wambe Pawa (rtd), other village heads and National Publicity Secretary of Irigwe Development Association (IDA).