Category: SouthEast

Another show of corporate responsibility is on display in Enugu State as the managing director of Peace Mass Transit Chief Sam Maduka Onyishi has completed a 600-meter asphalt link road in the Emene industrial layout Enugu.

The road goes through his company’s workshop and vehicle assembly plant as well as other industries.

The individual project running into millions of Naira was recently commissioned by the Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.

The road is the second Chief Onyishi has built.

Governor Ugwuanyi had earlier in March commissioned about 2km road linking Amukwa community in Nsukka Local Government Area to the campus of University of Nigeria Nsukka, (UNN) built singlehandedly by Onyishi to alleviate transport difficulties in the area.

The road has also enhanced economic development and interconnectivity between his community and the university town of Nsukka and UNN.

Ugwuanyi while commissioning the road extolled Chief Maduka Onyishi for the kind gesture, urging other wealthy individuals to borrow a leaf from him.

Onyishi said he cannot afford not to make impact within Enugu city based on the fact that Enugu was the take-off point of Peace Mass Transit.

“These are challenges we have undertaken despite extremely difficult business times in our country. For purpose of history, Enugu is the birth place of PMT and the people are our earliest stakeholders who believed in us, stood by us, grew us and weaned us to the greater Nigeria and ultimately to the world at large.

“Therefore, whatever we can do to improve the lives of Enugu people, we shall not hesitate to do. Is it not said that charity begins at home? It is only natural in our thinking that the greater charity works, our core social responsibility projects are undertaken in parts of Enugu, for the benefit of our people. To God be the Glory.”

The President of Nigerian Audiology Association, Dr. Irene Okeke-Igbokwe, who hails from Anambra State, is also a Fellow of American Academy of Audiology and Chief Executive Officer of International Hearing Centre (IHC) in Lagos, Abuja, Enugu and Port Harcourt. In this interview with our Southsouth Bureau Chief, BISI  OLANIYI, in Port Harcourt, she recommends that everybody should go for an ear check at least once a year. Excerpts:

What motivated you to establish the International Hearing Centre in Lagos, with branches in Abuja, Enugu and Port Harcourt?

The International Hearing Centre has as parent company, the Stanford Heights Hearing Centre, Maplewood, New Jersey in the United States of America, where I still practise. The parent company is 28 years old.

In 1997, I decided to bring back the technology to my home country, Nigeria. I was involved with the Federal Ministry of Defence to set up the Nigerian Army Audiological Centre, in Yaba, Lagos, the first of its kind in West Africa. It was inaugurated on October 8, 1998 and it has brought succour to many officers, soldiers, their families and it is open to members of the public.

The International Hearing Centre was incorporated in 1997 and it gave birth to the Nigerian Army Audiological Centre, Yaba, Lagos, which I established. I came back to Nigeria, actually because of the death in 1995 of my father, Patrick Okeke, a Commissioner of Police in the then Eastern Region, comprising eleven states and he was also the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) in the defunct Biafra Republic.

As an audiologist in USA with good practice, I decided to establish audiological centres, for the love of my country and for Nigerians to also benefit from my experience and knowledge.

I decided to establish the Nigerian Army Audiological Centre, Yaba, Lagos because audiology started during the Second World War, when American soldiers went to war, came back and they noticed that some of them could not hear, thereby setting up rehabilitation and audiology centres to be tested and to give succour to the officers, soldiers and their families, I felt that where to start to bring back audiology practice was the military. I also went round all the medical formations in the Nigerian Army. It has been a success story.

When the Nigerian Army Audiological Centre was opened to civilians, I then saw the dire need for the service because it is a new field, without enough manpower. People were coming from far and wide for the services. So, I decided to set up International Hearing Centres in Enugu, Abuja and now in Port Harcourt. We have another International Hearing Centre in Lagos, apart from the Nigerian Army Audiological Centre.

We are taking audiology service to the people. It breaks my heart that in a country like Nigeria, with its wealth, but this type of service where people with hearing disorder can benefit, many Nigerians do not have access. It bothered me the day a patient was referred from Jalingo in Taraba State to see me in Lagos. She did 18 hours of travelling by road to have the service.

The mission of International Hearing Centre is to use the best practice pattern within our scope of practice and code of ethics, to bring succour to people with hearing disorder and to better their quality of life.

Our vision is to make sure that we are leading in audiology practice in Nigeria and Africa. In the nearest future, we intend to have International Hearing Centre and audiology practice in all the 36 states of Nigeria, in order to have the services closer to the people.

What is hearing health month about?

It means the month every professional in audiology will recognise, give advocacy and create awareness, so that the people will know about our services. We will counsel the people and give free screening. It holds throughout the month of May. In Port Harcourt, we decided to give hearing aids to some persons.

We are kicking off in Port Harcourt today. Not only recognising the hearing health month, but also opening Port Harcourt centre. October is audiology month. May is hearing and speech month. March 3rd is recognised globally as World Hearing Day.

Care for your ear/hearing is part of your wellness care and health. Just like you regularly check your Blood Pressure (BP) and sugar level and you go for eye test, hearing check should be part of the regular care, because hearing is the gateway to communication. When you do not hear very well, you tend to have issues negatively in so many facets of life, especially educationally, socially and emotionally.

What are the challenges in running the hearing centres and how have you been surmounting them? 

That’s a very great question. If I do not have passion for what I do, honestly, I would have returned to USA, where my family is. I have been in Nigeria since 1997, focusing on the hearing centres. I still have a practice in USA. I can write a book on the challenges of doing professional business, especially audiology practice in this country.

We have been growing in leaps and bounds, but not with the pace I thought we would have done. One of the challenges is having fraudulent staff. I have taken some of them outside Nigeria for training for some months, particularly in Germany and USA. I do not discriminate, when I see potential in the staff.

Epileptic nature of electric power supply in Nigeria is another challenge. How many equipment will the noisy generator carry? You will also consider fuelling and maintenance of the generator. The Federal Government must do something about having regular electricity throughout Nigeria.

I have my own structure in Enugu, but we are operating from rented buildings in other centres in Nigeria. The practice of audiology is capital intensive. The equipment is very expensive.

Security of lives and property is also a challenge. A member of staff in Abuja centre decided to abscond with my equipment in 2015, but he was arrested by the police and the case is still in court.

While travelling by road in Nigeria, you will keep seeing policemen stopping vehicles to collect N100 from drivers, stupidly pretending to be checking papers of vehicles. So irritating and annoying. I never experienced that embarrassment in USA. The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, should take immediate action to restore sanity, respect and decency in the Nigeria Police Force by stopping the harassment and extortion. In USA, once you maintain the speed limit, nobody will harass you.

How will you advise Nigerians?

Nigerians should have their hearing checked at least once a year. Persons with hearing problem should seek the advice and care of professionals. People should not be careless with their health, the ears inclusive.

As soldiers from Enugu, Imo, Cross River, Rivers and Abia state divisions faced one another in a contest, the goal was to assess not just their physical fitness but also their mental health, SUNNY NWANKWO reports

Can you read a map? How well can you handle a gun or shoot? Can you swim in combat environment or quickly overcome other physical obstacles?

These and other scenarios were in consideration as soldiers from several divisions in Enugu, Imo, Abia, Cross River and Abia states gathered at the 14 Brigade Ohafia, Abia State for the Corporal and Below competition.

The General Commanding Officer, 82 Division, Maj.-Gen Adamu Abubakar said the competition was for privates, lance corporals and corporals, and that it was aimed at enhancing their physical fitness, leadership traits, discipline, and spirit de corps.

“The competition has been held for over 15 years now in all the formations of the Nigerian Army. It is a competition for soldiers who are physically and mentally fit as only the best are nominated to take part in the competition,” he said.

“Therefore, it is a thing of pride for a soldier to be nominated for the competition. If the army is to remain combat-ready to secure the country, then this cadre must be well trained and hence the need for this competition.”

82 Division Garrison participants were overall winners with 400 points, while the hosts14Brigade Ohafia came second with 380 points; 34 Artilery Obinze Imo State and 13 Brigade Akim Barracks, Cross River State were third and fourth with 340 and 280 points.

The host, Brigadier General Abdul K. Ibrahim while expressing his happiness over the smooth hosting and conduct of the exercise stated that apart from the medals won by different participating formations, the competition gave soldiers the opportunity to reunite, interact and build new relationships.

Ibrahim thanked President Muhammadu Buhari, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Turkur Buratai and the General Officer Commanding 82 Division, Maj. Gen Abubakar for the support they gave to the brigade over the years.

He expressed hope that the exercise would reinvigorate his personnel to perform effectively in the line of duty.

The 14 Brigade Commander was not happy that his personnel couldn’t clinch the overall best position, but he expressed hope that his brigade would do better in subsequent competitions.

He used the opportunity to reassure Abians of the commitment of the Brigade in ensuring that they provided an atmosphere that would be conducive for economic and business activities to thrive while lives and properties of the general public would be adequately protected as they go about their lawful activities unhindered.

The special guest to the event and chairman of Ohafia Local Government Area of the state, Hon. John Eke in his speech reechoed the importance sports in people’s life and the military, stating that he was happy to have witnessed the exercise.

Elated Eke, while hoping that the relationship between the military and the local government and the state in general would blossom, used the opportunity to make a cash donation f N50,000 to the best formation and parade Commander each.

Some of the personnel who spoke to our reporter expressed their happiness being at this year’s event which they said have made them better equipped to carry out their duties professionally and promised to do better in next year’s competition.

Highpoints of the event were handing over of trophies to winning formations and recognition of individual achievements.

An Umuahia, Abia State-based businessman Ekpu Jones has reportedly lost property worth millions of naira to an inferno that consumed his shop.

The inferno, which was said to have started at about 5am razed down five deep freezers, four power generating sets, assorted drinks, meat, food items in the shop in Umuahia, the state capital.

It was learnt that the fire was attributed to power surge from the public power supply.

Sources at the venue of the incident said it took efforts of early callers to the scene to stop the fire from spreading to adjoining buildings.

According to some of the eyewitnesses, efforts to reach the men of the Abia State Fire Service did not yield positive results as they reportedly failed to respond to distress call put cross to them.

The owner of the shop, in an interview, corroborated the eyewitnesses’ accounts, saying that he suspected the fire started as a result of power surge from the public supply.

He thanked God that no life was lost.

He said that he was in his house when he was alerted of the incident, adding that nothing was saved from the inferno that engulfed his shop.

He appealed to government to come to his aid as all he had laboured for was gone in the inferno.

Some Christian youths under the aegis of Southern Youths Wing of the Christian Association Nigeria (CAN) have called on the Federal Government to declare killer herdsmen as terrorists without further delay.

The group also condemned in strong terms the killing of Catholic priests, Rev Father Joseph Gor and Felix Tyolaha, and other Catholic faithful at St Ignatius Quasi Parish, Ukpor, Mbalom in Gwer West Local Government Council of Benue State.

Speaking with journalists in Owerri, the Imo State capital, the president of the Southern Youths Wing, Mr. Oluchukwu Nnabu-gwu said, “The attack on priests and churches is of great concern for Nigerians within and in the diaspora, as indigenes of Benue now live in fear with little or no adequate security to safeguard their lives and properties”.

He noted that “the dimensions and motives of killing the defenceless citizens by the militia group is alarming, prior to earlier attacks which was seen as farmers/herdsmen clashes, it is now becoming an orchestrated plan to dominate the entire communities in the state”.

He said, “The herdsmen attacks are taking another dimension with the intension of wiping out citizens especially Christians in the state. They are trying to frustrate Governor Samuel Ortom’s efforts in bringing peace and good governance to the state. We equally express regret at the nonchalant attitude of the security agencies in curtailing the menace, hence the call on President Muhammed Buhari to declare this militia a terrorist group”.

He emphasised the need for Government to “step up their foremost responsibility of protecting the lives and properties of its citizens,” stating that good governance entails freedom of movement as well as religious tolerance.

He said, ”The Federal Government should deploy more security operatives to areas where these attacks are recorded. If Nigerian security agencies cannot handle states were these killings are rampant, I wonder how they can secure lives and properties of the whole nation,” he submitted.

He further disclosed that the Southern Youth body of CAN has joined the umbrella Association, (CAN) to mobilise youths for a peaceful protest across the state with the aim to register their grievances and avert reprisal attacks.

Wife of the Inspector-General of Police and National President of Police Officers’ Wives’ Association (POWA), Mrs. Asmau Idris has left no resident of Umuahia Central Police Quarters in doubt as to how she feels about the unhealthy state of the barracks.

“I want to express my disappointment that residents could live in such horrible environment and do nothing to their own detriment, expecting somebody else to fix the problem for them,” she said.

“Adults do not need to wait to be told or reminded to sweep their houses and keep their environment clean.”

She threatened to discipline or eject from the quarters residents who default in keeping their environment clean.

Mrs. Idris who was in Umuahia, Abia State capital, to flag off a campaign against child molestation, child trafficking and drug abuse in the state, called for the introduction and institutionalisation of a bi-monthly environmental exercise in the barracks to be supervised by the barrack’s provosts.

Mrs. Idris in her speech at the event also charged individuals, schools, communities, religious groups and the media to join in the campaign to sensitise the youths on the danger of engaging in abuse of drugs.

“Parents and government at all levels have a greater role to play and cannot continue to remain silent in the face of the scourge, which is dislocating our family and the productive set of our population,” she said.

The POWA president further called for concerted efforts of stakeholders toward the sustenance of the campaign against the various kinds of vices against children and drug abuse in different parts of the country.

“This is because the rate at which our children, both at home and various institutions of higher learning across the country are falling victim, leading them to all forms of criminalities, is heartbreaking,” she said.

Commending the Abia chapter of the association for showing great commitment in ensuring that the welfare of the wives and children of police officers who died in line of their duties were adequately catered for, Mrs. Idris stated that the empowerment items donated to the widows; five sewing machines, 15 gas cookers/ovens and five hair dressing and make-up kits, had helped to restore hope to the beneficiaries.

Total Upstream Nigeria Limited (TUPNL) has laid the foundation stone for the building of a rehabilitation centre for vulnerable women in Umuahia, the Abia State capital.

The gesture, the firm said, is part of their social responsibility policy.

TUPNL and its partners are establishing the multi-million naira women development and rehabilitation centre in Abia State which will also provide training for women, especially the vulnerable ones, in various entrepreneurial skills.

The centre when completed will be known as Umuahia Women Development Centre, and will also provide temporary rehabilitation home for vulnerable women, distressed, bartered and repatriated Abians before re-uniting them with their families.

Speaking in Umuahia at the ground-breaking ceremony of the project, the Managing Director (MD) of Total E&E Nigeria Limited, Mr. Nicholas Terraz described the project as one of the ways they are giving back to the system.

Terraz explained that building will offer unique opportunities for young women to acquire various entrepreneurial skills to enable them augment their family income, improve the quality and overall wellbeing of their families, communities and the state in general.

He disclosed that in fulfilling its corporate social responsibility, Total always take into consideration the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in the areas of reduction of poverty and hunger; improvement of health and wellbeing.

The Total E&E MD continued that UN development goals include provision of decent job for economic growth; encouragement of women participation in building of sustainable cities and communities as well as partnerships with Governments, private sector and civil society.

Terraz who was represented by Dr. Charles Ngeribara, the General Manager, Corporate Social Responsibility, also announced that TUPNL has a long history of supporting Nigerian communities and public institutions with interventions in the areas of education, health, agriculture, women and youth development, and provision of portable water among others.

He said, “This facility is designed to offer vocational training in fashion designing, catering, computer science, as well as provide a training space for other skills to be determined by the management of the centre. When completed, the centre will have the capacity of training, at least, 170 women per day in three sessions”.

The Total E&E MD explained that the facility would have five offices, sick bay, 200-seater auditorium, 14 toilet facilities, a waiting lounge, 4 trade training centers, among other facilities.

Terraz explained that the facility which is also be known as Half Way Home because those who will be trained there would be the vulnerable, bartered, distressed women and after training they will leave for their various homes, “It is not a permanent home for such people”.

In his remarks while performing the ground breaking ceremony, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, represented by the Commissioner for Lands, Mr. Uche Ihediwa, commended Total for bringing the facility to Abia State and assured them of government support and cooperation.

Ikpeazu praised the efforts of Total E&E for remembering the vulnerable in the state, adding that they are complementing and adding value to what his administration has been doing for such category of people in the state.

The Abia State governor said, “When my office received the proposal for this project, I did not waste time in directing the commissioner for Lands to provide land for it so that they would commence work without delay which why we are here today”.

The governor wondered if it is only Total oil that is the only oil company prospecting for oil in the state, “I want to use this forum to urge other oil companies working in the state to borrow a leaf from Total and do the needful in our state”.

Ikpeazu commended them for providing the Half Way Home which will enable the vulnerable to learn some skills but warned that it should not be made too comfortable so as not to make them to refuse to go after finishing their programs.

In her address, the Commissioner for Women Affairs, Ugoeze Kate Onyemachi expressed joy for the project, saying the Half Way Home would be used to rehabilitate teenage social mother usually brought to her Ministry as well as deported Abians.