Category: Special Report

The logistics sector of the economy had it rough during the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. GABRIEL OGUNJOBI examines this important sector and its tough times

The struggle to retain a job is what mid-thirty Anthony Enang is confronted with. For the next three months starting from June, he won’t be expecting a salary but may earn peanuts if he meets up with his target.

‘If our delivery is impressive, they will sign a permanent contract with us’, he says about this work, following the merger formed by his original company, Gather Africa with Jumia Food in May ending.

‘The agreement is to work for the next three months but it won’t be on salary-basis, apart from the incentives over the revenue generated during work.’

Jumia Food is one of the subsidiaries of Jumia, Africa’s online marketplace for electronic, fashion, food and grocery among other essential commodities.

In front of Domino’s Pizza restaurant at Gbagada bus-stop on June 2, Anthony is not alone there. Alongside his colleagues working for diverse logistics firms in Lagos, they chit-chat whilst waiting for their next food order.

Next to Anthony is Adekunle Tolu. He is one of the three riders working for Florence Logistics, a small-scale firm that also merged with the same Jumia Food. Tolu may have resigned to fate that earning N40,000 is commensurate to what any dispatch rider would earn in Lagos but what still worries him is job security.

‘The salary is fine. It’s just that the company is a one-man business a friend introduced me to. He can decide to do anything at any time’, he says succinctly.

Uncertain deals: from Oride, Gokada to Merger-Logistics firms

Lurked with similar uncertainty is Stephen Alex, an employer of TQM Haul Logistics. Before Alex’s phone starts to beep intermittently as a signal for awaiting orders, a chunk of his grouch was over the ban of motorcycle hailing operations in February.

In the last two years, Lagos, the commercial nerve of Nigeria, has become attractive to motor-hailing foreign investment because of her bustling economy and rich population. The National Bureau of Statistics puts the population at 16 million.

In order to ensure the safety and security of commuters, the authorities under the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, however, restricted movement of motorcycles from the highbrow areas and expressways. So, the market automatically crumbled for the logistics firms like Gokada, Oride, and Max.ng that relied on mobility.

Thousands of riders lost their jobs as soon as the policy was enforced. Alex, who used to work for Gokada, relives his regrets before settling for a rather unfavorable contract at a merger firm.

His exact words are: ‘They said they want to ensure safety and security but could have done so without making us lose our jobs.’

In furtherance, he says ‘they could have checked the accident record of these companies and retain as many of their staff with little or no accident record. I, for one, never had any accident throughout.’

Read Also: How widows are coping with COVID-19 crisis

‘If it is for security, Lagos government can even use riders (through the phone apps we use for tracking) as tools to ensure security of the people.’

After sack from Oride, Anthony’s deal, for now, is non-salary probation while Stephen’s monthly remuneration is N45,000 with no extra benefit. The latter adds that with his old employer, he could make up to N100,000 before the month ends.

Apparently, the government’s new policy subdued their revenue but working for Jumia’s mergers is their closest option for them in the logistics sector. Why? Because Lagos, the epicenter of COVID-19, Ogun state and Abuja, the nation’s capital, were forced to shut down the economy for six weeks in the first instance so as to flatten the curve of the virus. A few logistics firms like Jumia, DHL, and GIGL were granted waiver because of their essential services such as haulage, home food delivery e.t.c.

In the end, Stephen and Anthony, wished they could return to their old employers but it’s a dead horse wish.

For instance, Opay, the fintech that owns Oride, has now suspended its operations across Nigeria, stating COVID-19 and the government’s ban in Lagos as the major reasons.

“We can confirm that some of our business units including the ride-hailing services ORide, OCar as well as our logistics service OExpress will be put on pause. This is largely due to the harsh business conditions which have affected many Nigerian companies, including ours, during this COVID-19 pandemic, the lockdown, and government ban.’, the company’s statement on June 2nd, 2020.

‘GIGL, where uneven standard thrives and protest is the name of the game’

David Lewis (not real name) suddenly becomes irritant on Monday morning. Inviting Damilola Douglas (not real name), another co-worker into his mood, both nag for the next 15 minutes about the new policy on work resumption seeming to be overbearing to the duo.

According to the latest correspondence transmitted via email, they will now resume work by 6 am and close by 7 p.m.  A total of 13 hours in a day, 65 hours in a week (excluding weekends) and an average of 260 hours is what qualifies him to earn a salary of 48% eventually – a 52 % cut in salary that happened in the middle of the pandemic.

For service centers and Gateway Assistants, it is a 50 percent slash while for the Head Office and Management Staff, the slash is 52 % as well. Added to the daily risk of infection these essential workers bear while interacting with people and unsafe goods, they are aggrieved by the overall welfare.

By the time David and Damilola are done adding up the figures in their heads, they couldn’t come to terms with the pittance. Both of them chorus ‘…and we are even making double of what used to make before COVID-19 started.’ They promised to protest.

The email they all received added that ‘it is impossible to pay salaries when little revenue is generated as against the near-normal cost of running operations.’

A source close to this newspaper and privy to the company’s monthly earning confirmed that a sum of N2.9 million had been realized as at Monday, June 21 in one of the terminals. According to the source, the terminal that accrued an average of N1.5 million before the pandemic.

In another, N3.2 million had been realized as against the usual 2.5 million before the lockdown.

It was also confirmed that at least ten of over twenty GIGL’s terminals in Lagos were fully operational during the six-week lockdown.

The double-margin in figures for money made in June alone buttressed the notion by David and Damilola about the company, a justification for their demand of full salary.

The protest, as these aggrieved staff planned to have, is now becoming a new order.

Before lockdown, a dispatch rider earns an average of N45,000 per month. In April, salaries of these riders and captains (vehicle drivers) – often seen crisscrossing faraway locations like Ikorodu in Lagos mainland and Island and Lekki Pennisula or Epe, or even Ogun state into Ibafo – Mowe – were slashed by 50 percent. They protested and it was reversed by 25 percent for the month of April and then outrightly stopped the following months.

‘After expressing our grievances that day, they knew we were not joking. The COO was also around that day. He begged us and promised to do something about it. By the next day, they had reversed 25 % of the initial deduction’, Segun Adeola mentioned.

‘A scape-goat and the hard-knock’

Akinkunmi Ezekiel (not real name) is not only looking at the salary cut. To him, it’s a rollercoaster of unfair judgment dotted by inconsistent standards.

In brief, he had mistakenly sold goods and will now have to pay through his nose. He still won’t leave the job except a miracle happens to him.

‘When GIGL just introduced the biometrics for checking in and out, I have suffered a whole month without a dime as salary’ he says in the motion to premise his long talk.

‘According to the biometric, they said I didn’t come to work throughout that month. How is that even possible?’, he questions rhetorically.

In continuation of his narration, he tugs his hand into his right pocket to draw out his smartphone. From his mailbox is a surcharge for a mistake made on the goods billing for a customer in June.

If the company makes good the threat of the surcharge, borrowing is his only option to survive through July and he is used to that, by the way.

But, he faults the company’s decision on two grounds: gap in communication and unfair standard.

‘It is a double standard. I know somebody this same thing has happened to before in another branch and never faced this same deduction. ‘This is injustice but no choice for now since I don’t have another job.’

Even if he had mistakenly billed the customer, he explained that protocol permits that he should be contacted in the earliest time possible to allow him to transmit the mistake in the transaction to the customer and ask to add a remainder of money before delivery to the destination but that never happened.’

Nonetheless, Ezekiel offered that GIGL should create a complaint box for seamless communication and towards receiving feedback between employees and employers. Email correspondence is too stringent in his own perspective.

Attempts to seek comment from the Chief Operating Officer of GIG, Adenaike Ayodele, about the general welfare of their staff, were abortive.

When this reporter visited the headquarters ’ office at Gbagada on July 2, the security officer, a middle-aged man identified as Bemil, relayed the COO’s response that he should be reached via an email he gave the reporter.

As at press time, he is yet to reply to the email dated July 3rd.

Meanwhile, while this reporter was carrying out fact-checking to confirm the latest, the company though didn’t refund the arrears from the slashed salaries of the last two months but had now paid the full salary for June.

‘My fear is that GIGL can still cut it and make it permanent’, one of their staff speaking in confidence, however, expressed.

How Lagos can maximise wealth of logistics

COVID-19 has made many unemployed but the grim realities for the essential workers may pass for underemployment and nothing assures of job security.

An expert, Taiwo Oyedele, the Fiscal Policy Partner and West Africa Tax Leader at Pricewaterhouse Coopers, PwC, says despite the realities COVID-19 had enforced on Nigeria as a whole, Lagos state can still harness the potentials of the investors in the logistics sectors for wealth creation if good policies are in place.

He opined that: ‘First, I do not think it’ll be fair to heavily tax these logistics companies because some of them were in operations during the COVID-19 lockdown. Generally, the business has not yet become so profitable in Nigeria but the good thing is that they are filling a vacuum of unemployment in Lagos state.’

‘While some of these companies in the informal sector are not registered for taxation, the government should encourage their registration so that there can be good data.’

Data, he said, would help the state have ‘a comprehensive tax regulation reform which will ensure everyone pays their dues based on what they earn.’

‘This is not only applicable to the logistics but other sectors of the economy. For example, Nigeria made just 1.3 trillion last year on personal income tax throughout last year while South Africa with less than 1/3 of our population and comparative unemployment rate made at least 11 trillion the same year.

‘This means there’s a problem with our system that must be dealt with in a holistic manner.’

Mr. Oyedele, however, differed from the Lagos state government’s policy that restricted the operation of the bike-hailing businesses.

‘Rather than ban the operations of the organized riders like Gokada and the rest of them that employ the use of technology, what the government should have done is to work with them to tighten any loose ends and make them become world-class standard.

‘I think the restriction is a bad omen and it passes a wrong signal to investors who are using their hard-earned money to create more wealth’, the tax expert submitted.

Meanwhile, Nigeria has been rated the poverty capital of the world with an estimated 87 million people living on less than $2 a day threshold.

According to the World Poverty Clock, Nigeria is the world’s poverty capital with 87 million living under the threshold of $2 per day, Aside from this, the latest unemployment report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) also ranked the country 21st of about 23.1% among 181 countries with the highest unemployment rate.

Oil, the country’s mainstay, is currently below US$30 at the global market and even projected to dip further at this time, going by the price war among key players in the industry. Therefore, Nigeria has an urgent need to diversify her sources of revenue to sectors like agriculture, manufacturing and services less affected by the pandemic.

• This report was facilitated by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) under its COVID-19 Reality Check project.

Lanre Arogundade, a former Assistant Editor/member of Vanguard Editorial Board and the Executive Director of International Press Centre (IPC), pays tribute to Sapele, a town in Delta State, his mother’s home town.

Assorted crayfish first aroused my curiousity about Sapele. Layoonu Arogundade, my mum, would return with baskets full of it after each trading expedition to and from Osi-Ekiti; along with different grades of Sapele water the testing of which was a spectacle. Little quantities would be poured on the ground and sparked into flame. Blue flame meant grade one and attracted the highest price; fairly blue fame was grade two for lower price and yellowish flame was grade three and went for the least price.

Testing the ‘cray-fishes’ on market days as we helped Layoonu prepare them for sale was more spectacular – in the left and right corners of my mouth, the harder I worked or the harder I pretended to work! They all tasted grade one and not even the occasional slaps of Layoonu because ‘se ofe kimi jere lori ede kimo se wahala la gbe a lati Sapele ni’ (do you want to deny me of profit on the crayfish I laboured to bring from Sapele?) could deter me. Layoonu can slap and it was in Sapele I really discovered.

The second curiousity arose out of meeting the Abus in Iwoye-Ijesa whenever I travelled with Layoonu for her maternal grandfather’s family functions. Seemingly all looking alike, especially the children of Chief Joshua Adebayo Abu, the first Baale of the Yoruba in Sapele, I thought the Abus were the largest and most beautiful family in the world.

If crayfish that travelled several miles (the 1970s were not years of kilometers) tasted that good, what would it be like at source? And my Abu cousins, would it only be ocassional contact with them? I yearned for Sapele and pestered Layoonu to take me there. She set a condition. I had to gain promotion to the next class and avoid a second repeat of my first year in secondary school. I passed the challenge and Layoonu promptly issued me the Sapele visa during the long vacation of the 73/74 academic session.

In those days, it was a long and winding journey in a lorry (Bolekaja), but on good roads – all the way from Osi-Ekiti to Ado-Ekiti, to Owo axis, to Sobe, to Agbanikaka and so on. As our lorry stepped on the Agbanikaka bridge, a bell rang loudly to my consternation. Layoonu, on whose laps sat Sade, the youngest in our family, allayed my fears explaining that the device was meant to alert vehicles coming from the opposite direction to wait for ours to pass. The bridge was narrow and lacked space for vehicles moving in opposite directions. A good educator, Layoonu also explained that the bridge used to be much more sophisticated and beautiful before it was bombed during the civil war of 1967 to 1970.

The civil war temporarily halted Layoonu’s trading trips to the city where she was taken by her mother, Wuraola, at about age five. Where she grew up as a Sapele babe fluently speaking Itsekiri language and pidgin English, and some Isoko and Ibo; where along with other fun loving kids and teenagers she would swim across River Ethiope; where she watched Hubert Ogunde perform live on stage,had a crush on him and wanted to elope with him but was stopped by the God of Thomas Akinyemi Arogundade, who years later, would come around to ask her hand in marriage. The bridge across River Ethiope into Sapele had not been built way back then, so it was Layoonu that paddled the canoe that ferried her future husband across. Midway into the journey Layoonu had teasingly asked Thomas what would happen should the boat capsize knowing that he could not swim. Thomas burst into loud prayer in his Ijesa dialect: “loruko Jesu, e maa dojude” (In Jesus name the canoe would not capsize) while Layoonu laughed aloud.

We entered Layoonu’s Sapele late at night and arrived the Abus vast compound at Abu junction to the warm embrace of Chief J. Ade Abu himself. Early morning introductions to my new mummies, some of chief’s wives followed: from Mama Tope to Mama Adisa to Mama Tetsoma, etc. Mama Biodun would visit later from her Ibadan base. I was offered grade one Sapele water in Mama Tetsoma’s place which meant the introductions ended on a slightly dizzying note but not so dizzy for me not to notice the frowning Tetsoma.

A fight with her seemed destined and it occurred within days of the arrival of the village champion. If I had informed my immediate caucus of Biodun, Taye and Adisa that a battle with Tetsoma was looming, they would have advised me to back off. It was a duel worthy of a championship label. I boxed her but she readily traded punches. I opted for head butting and she answered with flying head butts. To overpower her, I switched to wrestling, but as I wrestled her to the ground, she unfolded her game plan. Her dangerous left arm went for my neck and she held me by the jugular. It was a strangulating grip and fearing the worst, the other cousins stepped in to end the battle. I was told I did try for Tetsoma was renowned for fighting and flooring adult males.

The weekday routine was predictable. After morning chores we would head to Chief’s Vono distributorship and retailership store on market road. Our duty was to load the iron beds and mattreses into vehicles whenever there were sales. The blast of the bugle from the plywood factory for which Sapele was once famous would signal it was lunch time and arrangement would be made for someone to buy food. Then, one afternoon, I was offered Akpu, which once I tasted made me to forget that I came to Sapele partly for crayfish. I had eaten lots of pounded yam, cassava and yam flours but for my taste bud, Akpu was of a different class. The following day, I offerred to accompany those buying the food. As we entered the compound, I screamed my head off with a heavily Ekiti accented… Akpuuuuuuuuu. My cousins were shocked and almost all the heads in the compound turned in my direction. I wasn’t bothered as long as Akpu was still available. In my itinerant years later as President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), journeys towards the eastern part of the country meant compulsory stop overs at Umunede for Akpu.

Before Layoonu returned, she ensured we visited the other two Abu Uncles  – Ayodele Abu (Baba Barracks) and Ibitayo Abu (Baba Pupa). I had also followed to her to the banks of River Ethiope where inside moored boats and canoes, she bargained and purchased cray fish and other goods. There was no room for tasting especially with baby Sade on my laps. But my roving eyes saw one to two year olds being dipped into the river to prepare them for the art of swimming. I later heard tales of how some thieves would dive from the birthed ships into the River with non perishable goods. Sapele ought to have produced Olympic gold winning medalists in a country that believes in encouraging natural talents.

Weekends were the real periods of adventures for our gang although my inability to speak proper pidgin English regularly posed major barriers. We played street football and one weekend we headed to the Sapele stadium to watch a football match involving Sapele’s Ethiope Football club. We had no tickets but were determined. I followed my cousins to the unusual illegal entry points. The stadium wall must have been more than 8-foot high and the difficult task was to climb it. Once atop you were required to jump in and sort yourself out. We adopted the gymnastic style to climb by jumping on one another’s shoulders. I made it to the top and jumped into the stadium, but into the grabbing hands of one of the security guards. He rapidly asked me questions in pidgin language to which my replies were obvious nonsense as the thought of being taken to prison overwhelmed me, more so as my cousins had melted into the crowd. An elderly man’s intervention secured freedom for me and as soon as that happened my cousins suddenly emerged, laughing their heads off. I managed to enjoy the match.

On another weekend, we headed to some far off neighborhoods to illegally harvest a variety of fruits including guava and mangoes. Luck ran against us inside one of the vast compounds when the owner suddenly arrived and got us surrounded. He interrogated us and punished us by producing cutlasses for us to clear the compound of weed. We sweated for hours before we were set free. Unknown to us however , there would be another round of punishment at home for the big man happened to know chief Abu whom he had quietly telephoned to relate what transpired.

As soon as we arrived, a livid Chief summoned us, tried us and sentenced us to rounds of cane for embarrassing him. We took turns to lie down and receive our strokes. Now, one of the things I had learned in primary school was that if you were receiving more than two lashes of cane you should as much as pssible ensure that they land almost on the same spot on your buttocks. The first two strokes would be painful, but according to the theory they would drive away the blood and the rest won’t be that painful. Some of my cousins cried, jumped and turned by the fourth stroke. When it came to my turn, I simply laid still while the strokes landed adjusting to ensure they did on the same spot. By the twelfth stroke, I wasn’t feeling much pain and I obviously cried less. My cousins hailed me: “shuo….you strong o….”

But they had one more trick up their sleeves. Layoonu had arrived to take me back to Ekiti ahead of schools’ resumption and on the eve of our departure my cousins convinced me to join them for farewell football. When it was time to return home, I couldn’t find my sandals. The fear of what to tell Layoonu threw me into panic. Pretending to be helping me to look for the sandals, my cousins walked up and down with gloomy looks. Finally, Taye walked up to me saying they had discovered those who took my sandals but they had to be settled before they would return it. They wanted about six pence. I ran home to tell my Mum I needed to buy something urgently. She wanted to know what it was but I mumbled something incoherent. She gave me the money all the same while concealing her suspicion.

We returned to the playing arena but the guys would not return my shoes. Or so I was told because I didn’t see them. Taye, the supposed go-between eventually collected all I had, disappeared and returned with my sandals. It was late by the time I got back and when my mum asked where I had been, she welcomed my incoherent answer with a slap that momentarily produced stars. It was actually the slap that cleared my head and woke me to the reality that it was my cousins led by Taye who had played a fast one on me. We would joke about it years later but in terms of learning to be street wise and not street foolish, Sapele was a great university.

I write this as a 58th birthday memoir. More importantly, I write it as a tribute to my mum, Layoonu Hannah Arogundade, the Sapele babe who trained me and my siblings with love and discipline. And, I write it as a tribute to my maternal Uncle, the great Chief J. Ade Abu, the late high chief Segbua of Iwoye-Ijesa. I still recall how excited he was to see me several years later in the late 80s during a visit home. ‘That is my son, come and sit by my side. I like you. You fired them. You fired those military bastards’, he had said proudly in apparent reference to my exploits as NANS president, which he had followed closely. This year is the 30th anniversary of his demise and may his great soul continue to rest in peace. So also the soul of my departed cousins – Demola, Adisa and Taye – who helped me to see the fun and fury of Sapele streets.

The Executive Secretary of Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission, Mrs Funke Adepoju, speaks about measures taken by the state government to ensure that more than 20 million residents of Lagos have access to safe water.  She also speaks about her father and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Cardinal James Odunmbaku and how much influence he and her mother have had on her life, among other issues. She speaks with EMMANUEL OLADESU. Excerpts.

What were you doing before your appointment as the Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission?

I was appointed by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in October 2019. Before then, I had been in the Lagos State Civil Service, where I rose to the position of a deputy director.

What are the main functions of Commission?

The Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission was established by the Environment Management Protection Law 2017. It has the function to regulate the production, distribution, abstraction and supply of water, and to offer quality service to ensure that the players in the water sector enjoy financial viability and the consumer is also protected. Basically, it is from an economic regulation point of view: that the service providers remain in business and the consumers get value for the service they are paying for. That means ensuring that they get safe and hygienic water.

There are service providers in both the formal and the informal sectors. The service providers in the formal sector are the Lagos State Water Corporation and the Office of Waste Water. You can’t have water without waste water; they go hand in hand. We consider them as formal because they are also agencies of government.  We also have the informal players like the beverage companies, the bottling companies, the table water producers, the sachet water producers and anybody who plays in the sector that deals with water or who has water as their basic raw material.  Ours is to ensure that service is delivered, price is right and there is reliability.

Are there challenges you face doing this?

Of course, there are challenges. The first major challenge is the visibility of the commission. A lot of people actually don’t know that there’s a regulatory commission. They mistake us for Water Corporation or Water Board. What we are actually trying to do right now is to work on feasibility through advocacy, hoping that through the media, people will know more about what we do.

The second one is that those who then understand, because there is also a profit undertone for those that are playing in the informal sector, we are not finding it too easy.  For instance, we have an organization whose raw material is about 95 per cent water, and they don’t pay anything to government. So, we turn the tables round and say, for instance, if you have to bring in 10 containers from abroad as an input into your products, will you not pay? So, that pits us against those who profit from water. It is a kind of monopoly. Water has that kind of tendency. They take in but they don’t want to give anything back for the development of the water infrastructure that will benefit the large populace whose natural resource they are taking free of charge.

It also takes us to the issue of ground water. Ground water is not an exclusive preserve of anybody. So, if you take a bottling company or a beverage company that takes about 10 million litres a day from ground water, they are depleting the aquifer, and it takes 50 years for it to be replenished and they are not paying anything back to government. That water is not charged. The assumption is that I dig my borehole myself, so why should I pay you? But water is a natural resource. Resources are never free.

It looks like it is getting complex…

It is not getting complex. Government needs to invest in water. Investment in water is not cheap.  People tend to argue that they dug their boreholes, so why should they pay you for the borehole? But that ground water is not infinite. Government must continue to plan to ensure that they can have adequate water supply. If you take Lagos, for example, if a company takes 10 million litres a day, I want you to multiply that by 30 and multiply it round the year. Take the average as 300 days and look at the figure it is going to give you. But they take it for free. You find their trucks going all over the country. And they are not giving it out for free; they are selling.

Now, do you have the statistics of the volume of water these companies take?

Yes, we do. We have field inspectors who have been going round. Though we have a lot of challenges, we have to go after them. And what we are saying is very simple. Our principle is that you have to pay a fair share of what you take back to government to enable government develop water infrastructure and integrated water resources management. It is not a tax. It is just like land use charge. It is like buying a plot of land and you want to build on it, somebody says you need an approved building plan and you say, ‘What do you mean? Was it not my money I used in buying the land?’ It doesn’t work like that.

There’s what we call governance and our activities have to be guided by governance as it were. So, on the one hand, we have those who take a common resource and use it for their own gain alone and nothing goes back. That means tomorrow, your kid, who is eight years old now, will buy land in Ikeja and a beverage company has finished the water in the well. What they will then get is polluted, contaminated. It will take two hours for 100 litres keg to be full and so many other things that we don’t see now. We forget the issue of environmental sustainability.

Because of demand and supply gap, people just dig their borehole; which is fine. But it goes beyond that. The government is now interested in who drills for you. My own personal example, and that is where protecting the interest of the consumers comes in, we used to have a guy that drills borehole for us. The only thing he shows us is just about eight types of sand. I’m sure we all have that experience. The last one is kind of white and that is the water. There’s no scientific test. There is no water analysis. As long as the water is not coloured, it is okay. But that is not enough. They are not things we could see with the naked eyes. Even if you and I drink bottled water, it is an assumption that it is safe. There is so much of unwholesome practices going round. And who checks them? Nobody.

So, the government is saying that as a driller, you must have license to operate in Lagos. Even the ground water is contaminated. The fact that it does not give you any illness today does not mean that nothing has happened in your system in the process. It might be something that is kept there and must be triggered by something else in six, seven years down the line, and it is the water you are taking every time. Sometimes you keep a filter at home. It is okay, but it is not something that determines quality.

The high impact between public health and drinking water is not something a responsible government can look away from. We are saying that beginning from protecting the consumer, we need to go after the people involved in these businesses. We need to set a standard. We need to have guidelines. What is the depth of the borehole that has been dug for you? Most of the boreholes are at very sensitive level. They are very close to surface water and to contamination.

For the commercial users, which is what we are focused on right now, we are saying you must have a permit. We need a data of what is where and what you are taking and for what use?  Some people go to the extent of just putting alum and chlorine and do self-check. It is a double edged thing. For those that are providing service, we are interested in the quality of the service they provide. For those that are consuming, we are interested in the quality of service that they get.

We also regulate the price. During the lockdown, sachet water went up from N150 to N250 on their own.  All we need is for people to know that there is a regulatory commission. The complaints that come here are protected. If it is about public utility they can bring their complaint and we will mediate. You don’t know where some bottled water is coming from. There are people who cannot change. They know what the loopholes are. They know you can’t get them and they take advantage of it. Some just put water in nylon to sell. And some bottled water has so many names. Some don’t have NAFDAC number; they just take a label from anywhere.

It is our duty as a regulatory commission to tell you what is right; to tell you why we are doing this; to tell you that you have the back of government in such cases. Look at the ‘Maruwa people’; the borehole that are being dug for them to fetch from, who checked those boreholes? We are looking at a situation that such centres would have to subject their water to test. Like COVID-19, we need to emphasise the need to test the water that our people consume in Lagos. We would like to go for enforcement, and that will start soon.

Some of these operators operate outside Lagos but their market is in Lagos. How do you regulate such?

We are going to adopt a systematic approach to ensure that they don’t give Lagosians unsafe water or beverage. We are going to ensure that they have a kind of permit to sell their products in Lagos because they are consumed by Lagosians and we owe it a duty to Lagosians to ensure that what they are consuming is safe. Once you have the permit, though we cannot go to the state of operation, we might say submit your water for us to test. If you want to come to this state with your product and it is a regulated product, you must meet Lagos’s standard.

Don’t you see yourself duplicating the functions of NAFDAC?

No, we are not.  NAFDAC is a federal agency. They have rights over food, drug control and regulation. They are enabled by law. Water regulatory commission is also enabled by law and our activities are covered by law, so we are not crossing each other’s territories. If NAFDAC gives you a permit number certifying you to produce certain food and beverage products, it is not a problem. But we are saying the products you want to sell or bottle, we need to give you a permit to say that yes, it is also good for consumption. So, NAFDAC is level one and we are level two because it is a state and the laws of the state cover this.

What about sachet water?

They have a very big association. They know what they are doing. They have been working with the commission. What we need to do further is to ensure that we bring them closer and let them see the reason why they have to do things better for those that are not doing it properly. The areas that we have issues are those that are operating in the military cantonment. But we believe their percentage is not within the majority.

After some time, we can begin to say that the following products do not have our permit; let the people decide. With the COVID- 19, water is the first line of defence and that’s why we have to pay more attention to the issue of water.

If as a Lagos resident I buy water from a store or on the streets and I find that the taste is bad or there are particles inside, what should I do?

You report to us at the commission and we will take it up. Proper procedure is established for such consumer. We can call for the sample of the product.

What are your action plans towards achieving the objectives of the Commission?

What I would love to see is to gain the confidence of the public in what our activities are and what they are meant to address.  I am sure that by the time we gain the confidence of the public and what we stand for, a lot of impact would be felt more in relation to health target. Basically, when you take in unclean water, it is deadly. We will be looking at targets in the health sector. We are looking at wellbeing. We are looking at safe water available to people. We are going for enforcement to sanitise the sector.

How much of support do you have from government to do all you want to do in the water sector?

First, I won’t be here without the support of my governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu. He believes in what we are doing because he is passionate about the development of Lagos and the general wellbeing of the citizens and residents of the state. As such, he is giving us all the backing to bring results. Again, I have the Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tunji Bello. He is our backbone because of his commitment to the issues of Lagos environment. He is well experienced in the area because this is not his first time in the ministry. He knows and understands the issues and he is really guiding us on well.

Do your amiable looks have anything to do with your growing up?

I don’t know where I got it from. Since you know my dad, the way we were brought up was to be kind. That must be next to nature. It does not have to be money. Just be kind and be accessible. You have to treat people right. That I take very passionately. I’m just an everyday person. I play it very simple. That was the way I was brought up. My father would sit with people going on the street. ‘Is that not Baba Kabiru?’ He is probably talking to a bricklayer down the street. ‘I have a task for you.’ That means he wants to give you something and knew that with the job he is giving you, you will gain something from it. I was speaking with him on the phone and he said he wants to give someone the car he has parked there for a while.  He is like that, and I think some of us took after him. We might not have as much as he does, but the truth of the matter is, treat people right.

Who influences you more, your mum or dad?

Both of them do influence me. My mum is very calm. You hardly know she exists. She is an epitome of simplicity. I don’t know if there’s any other person like her. She leaves everything for you to decide for her. Tell her, ‘Mummy, I don’t like this dress you are wearing.’ She would not say, ‘I like it like that and that is why I wear it.’ I don’t know where my father found her.

I think her simple nature has also rubbed off on us. My dad is an incurable optimist. For him, everything is doable. He has this energy that I think I took from. He is never tired and his brain is continuously on auto run. He will think for you and think for himself, and I’m like that too. I think I took from both of them and it is a wonderful combination.

But I don’t think I want to do the real thing.

Your dad, Cardinal James Odunmbaku, popularly called Baba Eto, is an APC chieftain. Would you one day go into politics as well?

Hmm, I think it is too late in the day. I’m already over 50, so I don’t think I would be looking forward to any running around. If I have the opportunity to serve, I will serve and I will serve meritoriously.

Questions are trailing the disbursement of the World Bank’s Target Grant Transfer funds to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Bauchi, Gombe and Adamawa states. While beneficiaries were to receive N200,000 over a period of time, the IDPs alleged that they have only received between N30,000 and N50, 000 since 2017 and all their  efforts to get the balance have failed, INNOCENT DURU reports.

• Officials halt disbursement of N.2m World Bank money promised each household after paying N30,000
• Hunger, Ill-health spike death toll in camps
• Survivors recall how insurgents murdered loved ones

Zara Umoru, a mother of eight had her husband brutally murdered in 2014 by Boko Haram members in Borno State. Zara, together with her eight children subsequently fled her home town in Gwoza Local Government Area and that began a journey of the widow into a world of misery and uncertainty.

“When we ran away from Gwoza, my children and I started moving from place to place begging people to help them wash their clothes in order to get money to survive. Sometimes, if I washed clothes with my children, we could get between N500 and N600 daily. At times, some neighbours would give my children the remnant of what they have eaten in their houses,” she said.

After some time of wandering about, Zara and her children moved to Bauchi State to search for better living conditions and also stave off the challenges posed by insurgents.

Her frustration started to ease when the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the state were asked to register for Target Grant Transfer (TGT), a World Bank funds that would see them getting a total of N200,000 over a period of time.

After receiving the initial N30,000 and an ATM card that she would use for subsequent withdrawals, Zara  has not heard from the officials nor received any other payment. This, she said, has dashed her hope of starting a business that would put an end to her woes.

Zara said: “I benefitted from the World Bank money. I was given an ATM card and also got N30,000. When they came at the beginning in 2017, they said they were going to give us N200,000 broken down to N20,000, N30,000, N50,000 and N100,000.  But we have not set our eyes on them since they gave us the initial N30,000. I don t know their office and don’t even know how to communicate with them.”

Zara, who is the IDPs woman-leader in Bauchi State, is deeply worried about her future and that of her eight children. “The man who gave us a room apartment we are occupying is now late. It is this one room that my eight children and I are living in.

“We still engage in helping people to wash clothes to have money to feed. I have become a washer woman here in Bauchi.

“Like I said earlier, at times, some neighbours who see our plight do give my children the remnant of what they have eaten in their houses.

“Boko Haram put me in all this. They killed my husband and left me with eight children. My husband was running away to where he could seek refuge on a mountain when Boko Haram insurgents caught and murdered him.”

IDPs’ chairman in the state, (Bauchi) Buba Musa Shehu, who also hails from  Gwoza Local Government Area in Borno State, confirmed Zara’s claim that the balance of the World Bank funds had not been paid to them.

He said: “I benefitted from the TGT programme of the World Bank. They promised to give us N200,000 but they have only given us N30,000   since 2017. They have not given us the balance since then. “We have written petitions and have been struggling to make them pay the balance to no avail.”

The story is not different in Gombe and Adamawa states where the IDPs feel they are being ripped off. A frontline member of the group in Akko Local Government Area, Gombe State, Bukar Alirambe, was furious as he shared the frustration the group has experienced asking for their balance.

“We registered for the World Bank fund meant to give each registered household a total sum of N200,000. In 2018, they gave us an ATM card promising that they would give N200,000 to each registered household for capital project and emergency relief.

“About 3,534 households benefitted from the initial N30,000 they paid for our emergency relief. Some of us also got N20,000 for relocating from Borno. Those who did not relocate from any state were not given the N20,000.

“In all, we are entitled to N150,000 balance which, according to them, is for capital project. They have not given it to us till date.

“They said there is a second phase of the programme but the IDPs on the second batch have not benefitted at all from the funds.

“We have gone to the extent of writing and submitting petition to Senator Ali Ndume, the senator representing Southern Borno but nothing has come out of it. The petition was submitted in 2019.

“We are calling on the government to come to our aid by helping us to get this money so that we can start some petty businesses.

“We are begging the Federal Ministry of Finance and everybody that is involved in this programme to come to our aid so that we can be self-reliant and able to send our children to school.”

The IDPs chairman in Adamawa State, Usman Yahaya, corroborated the allegation, adding that what was promised them in Adamawa was N400,000.

He said: “The former coordinator told us they were going to give us N400,000 but not at a go. They said they were going to give us N30,000 for the first payment, then N20,000, N50,000, N100,000 and N200,000 respectively.

“They gave us N30,000 and later changed the coordinator. The new coordinator said there is nothing like that, saying the N30,000 we had received was the only money meant for us.

“Yet they gave us ATM cards that will expire in 2022.”

IDPs decry neglect by federal agencies

Aside their frustrations accessing the balance of the alleged World Bank funds, the IDPs are aggrieved by the attitude of Federal Government owned humanitarian agencies to their plight.

“Government agencies don’t care about us. There are more than 30,000 IDPs within the four local governments here in Yola.

“They announce in the media that they are taking care of us, but in reality, that is not true,” Adamawa State IDPs chairman, Yahaya said.

He alleged that the government agencies take care of only the IDPs that live in the camps, leaving out those that reside elsewhere. Their complaints and agitations, he said, have yielded no fruits.

He said: “We are not in the camp because it cannot accommodate all of us. Those that live in the camps are not up to one quarter of those of us that live the hosts in the communities.

“We have three official camps in Adamawa State. Last month, our secretary, woman leader and I went to NEMA to tell them about our plight.

“They said it was a directive given to them but that they only serve only those in camps and not those that live outside.

“They said we should go to camp. But if we go, they will not be able to accommodate us.”

Yahaya alleged that despite the huge budgetary allocations to the humanitarian agencies, they have not been getting any support. “There is nothing free at all for us. We pay for rent and our children’s education.

“It was one NGO (NRC) that supported us with N25,000 each for accommodation two years ago.

“There are many of our people that are homeless. Many are living in dilapidated houses. Some are in uncompleted houses.

“They stay in any kind of house, provided there is a roof on it, and they pay rent for such buildings.

“The government is not coming to our aid at all.”

Hunger, lack of access to healthcare spike death toll among IDPs

Following the challenges posed by acute hunger and lack of access to healthcare, checks showed that death rate among the IDPs has been on the increase.

In Gombe, more than 40 people are said to have died recently.

“Many of our people, including children, are dying of hunger and attendant health challenges.

“Some of the children don’t have food to eat for two to three days.  Between 2019 and now, about 40 people, including children, have died,” Bukar Alirambe said.

“We don’t have a primary health centre close to us.

“Between 2018 and 2019, Victim Support Group gave money to the specialist and teaching hospitals here in Gombe to support our treatment.

“The funds have been exhausted. Unfortunately, they didn’t provide fresh funds to continue this laudable cause.

“We have resorted to self-help. Another opportunity we have now is from the Catholic Relief Funds. They give anti-malaria drugs to our people.

“In the last six to seven months, the pregnant women among us have not been getting medical support.

“They have only been getting anti-malaria medications from CRF.”

The IDPs chairman in Bauchi State, Buba Musa Shehu, also bemoaned the rising death toll among his people.

He said: “Many of our people are dying. This year alone, we have lost about 50 people.

“Just last week, we had a high casualty figure. There is no access to good medical care.

“There is no support from any organization apart from the North East Development Commission who sometimes help us with foodstuffs.

“The IDPs in Bauchi State are about 54,000. When we arrived here, many of our people were begging on the streets to get money to eat.

“We don’t have a hospital. Whenever any of us is sick, we would have to contribute money among ourselves to treat the person.

“When one of our women wanted to give birth recently, we had to contribute money to take her to Maiduguri for treatment.”

In Adamawa State, the IDPs chairman said no fewer than 50 members had died recently.

‘Everyday was war in Borno’

Six years or more after they narrowly escaped the swords of the dreaded Boko Haram sect, the IDPs are yet to overcome the terror they experienced back at home in Borno State.

Reliving his close shave with death at the hands of the insurgents, the IDPs chairman in Bauchi,  Buba Musa Shehu, said: “I fled  Borno in 2014 because of Boko Haram.

“They came to our local government area around 5pm on August 5, 2014, killing people, including my family members. I lost my sisters, brothers, uncles and so on.

“I left my family in Gwoza in the night, ran away through Cameroon and came back through Yola to Bauchi.

“I trekked barefoot for eight days without food. I only survived on the water I found on the way.”

Asked how life is in Bauchi, Shehu said: “We are suffering a great deal here. First of all, we are living in our hosts’ communities and not in a camp. We are paying rent.

“I have four wives and 34 children. Not all my children are going to school. About 18 of them are not going to school because of financial challenges.

“I do odd jobs to raise money to pay for rent and feed my family. I assist at times at the block-making place. At times I go to bush to fetch firewood to sell. We don’t have any empowerment.

“What we need now is school for our children to get education. We also need empowerment so that we can go and farm.

“We don’t have farm implements, so we are always idling away. At times, we contribute money among ourselves to pay rent for a member.

“About 80 per cent of our children are out of school.

“Home is better than anywhere else. Wherever you go outside your home, you will feel isolated.

But the insurgents are still there in Borno. The area is not safe.

“In my house right now, there are five orphans who have no relations whatsoever to call their own or run to.”

His Adamawa counterpart, Yahaya, who hails from Gwoza, said:  I fled Borno in 2014.  I have a farm at Madagali in Adamawa State.

“I was returning to Borno one day when they called to inform me that Gwoza was under fire and that people were already fleeing. “I had always believed that the Nigerian army team at Gwoza then was very strong and that they would not capture the area easily.

“It was the third day that my family surfaced.  We stayed at Madagali hoping that the area would be safe. But to our surprise, the insurgents struck within a week of our stay there.

“We ran from there to Mubi while those who were well to do moved to Yola.

“After some time, the insurgents entered Michika, forcing those that were there to run down to our place in Mubi.

“We stayed Mubi for about a year before the insurgents attacked the area and forced us to run to Yola.”

The terrorist group, Yahaya said, killed so many of his neighbours.

“The number is uncountable,” he said.

One of the displaced persons in Gombe, Mohammed Abdulahi, also spoke about how he escaped from Borno in October 2014.

He said: “I ran here in Gombe before my family came to join me. I just had to run when Boko Haram members came to our place. They were not attacking women as such.

“As a male, you had to climb the hill to escape. From Gwoza, I trekked to a village near Adamawa. There, some organisations assisted by giving us money to transport ourselves.

“Many of my relations were killed by Bojko Haram. Many things are happening there now. A lot of people are being killed.

“Boko Haram is occupying all our villages in Borno up till now. We weren’t sleeping back then in Borno State.

“There was also no rest during the day. You will always hear sounds of bombs in nearby villages. Gunshots were always reverberating every day, and each time the children heard the sound, they would run inside.

Mohammed lamented that the host communities deliberately jerked up rent when because of the high number of IDPs.

“My uncle that I was staying with initially rented an apartment for me. He pays N40,000 annually. “The hosts increased the rent because many of our people were coming here. Gombe is the centre of the North East.

“Many IDPs from Adamawa, Borno and Yobe are coming here and that is why they increased the rent.

“We have very little to eat. We eat once or at most twice a day.

“We used to go to the hospital. Formerly, we were receiving free treatment when there was victims support fund. Now, there is no such opportunity.

I have five children. Three are in school but two are out of school because of financial challenges.

“I feel very sad about it. If I have the means, I will train them up to university level. But as things stand, that is not possible.”

Also sharing her experience, a widow, Hadiza Alli, from Gwoza Local Government, said: “I have left Borno since August, 2014. My husband fell ill and died, leaving me with three children and an aged woman to cater for. “When the Boko Haram insurgents came attacking our area, I took my children into a cave one night and hid them there.

“From there, I managed to run away with them to Mubi. It was at Mubi that I got help to come to Gombe.

“I sell akara to earn a living and also feed my family.

“I am living in a rented apartment paid for by my elder sister who is resident in Maiduguri.

“She died two months ago.  I don’t know how I will pay the next rent.

“Only one of my three children is in school. I don’t feel happy that my kids are not in school.

“They have been selling sachet water by the roadside since they can’t go to school.

“If the situation in Borno improves today, I will go back immediately. Unfortunately for us, the problem is not abating.

World Bank fund project managers, NCFRI speak

An official of the World Bank Target Grant Transfer fund project, who identified himself simply as Atiku, declined comment on the allegations levelled by the IDPs on the grounds that he was not competent to speak on the matter.

“May I ask who gave you my phone number?” he asked after laughing and expressing surprise about the IDPs claim.

“I am a journalist who can get any contact I want,” the reporter responded.

Atiku then retorted: “I also have the right to ask how you got my number so that I can channel you to the person who has the competence to respond to your request. I am not the national coordinator. I am just the head of the M and E of the project.  You have every right to… we also encourage disclosure.  I cannot give you any information without the instruction of my national coordinator.

“That was why I was asking if the person that gave you my number knew the right person to handle this. He would have channeled you to the national coordinator who has the competence to give the information. I don’t have it.

“I put up report, I collect report, I collate report but I don’t have the right to give out any information.  That is what I am trying to tell you.

“The right person to respond to your interview is the national coordinator.”

The National Coordinator of the project, Hajara Sami, did not answer the calls made to her mobile telephone.

She, however, responded tersely to a text message sent by the reporter, saying: “Ok. Wl (will) call when I’m out of noisy environment.”

She was, however, yet to call at the time of filing this report.

Also contacted to clear the air on the IDPs’ allegation of neglect and being short-changed by government agencies, the spokesman of National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs (NCFRMI), Abdul Onu, said: “I am actually not in town now. But there is an SA (Special Assistant) Media to the commissioner now. I will introduce you to him so that you can take it up from there.”

He was also yet to send the contact at the time of filing this report.

By Okodili Ndidi, Abuja, Precious Igbonwelundu, AbdulGafar Alabelewe, Sanni Onogu and Bolaji Ogundele, Abuja

The Nigerian Air Force has lost its first female combat helicopter pilot, Flying Officer Tolulope Arotile. She died in an auto crash on Tuesday. The young officer was killed by a reversing car inside the Air Force base in Kaduna. The car was driven by her old schoolmate.

The deceased pilot was winged last year by Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Saddique Abubakar in Abuja.

Air Force Director of Public Relations and Information Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, in a statement in Abuja, said: “Flying Officer Arotile died on 14 July 2020 at the age of 24, when she was inadvertently hit by the reversing vehicle of an excited former Air Force Secondary School classmate while trying to greet her.

“Flying Officer Arotile joined the Nigerian Air Force out of a passion for the job. In her words “I joined the military simply out of a passion for it. Being military personnel has been a long time ambition, the carriage and what it stands for are simply exceptional.

“Born on 13 December 1995 to the family of Mr and Mrs Akintunde Arotile in Kaduna, Flying Officer Tolulope Oluwatoyin Sarah Arotile hails from Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State. She attended Air Force Primary School, Kaduna from 2000 – 2005 and Air Force Secondary School, Kaduna from 2006 – 2011 before she later gained admission into the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna as a member of 64 Regular Course on 22 September 2012.

“Flying Officer Arotile was commissioned into the Nigerian Air Force as a Pilot Officer on 16 September 2017 and holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the Nigerian Defence Academy.

“Flying Officer Arotile was winged as the first-ever female combat helicopter pilot in the Nigerian Air Force on 15 October 2019, after completing her flying training in South Africa. She holds a commercial pilot license and also underwent tactical flying training on the Agusta 109 Power Attack Helicopter in Italy.

“Incidentally, she introduced the newly acquired Agusta 109 Power Attack Helicopter to the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, during the induction ceremony at Eagle Square in Abuja on 6 February 2020.

“The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, on behalf officers, airmen, airwomen and civilian staff of the Service, consoles with the family of late Flying Officer Arotile over this irreparable loss. May her gentle soul continue to Rest in Peace.”

President Muhammadu Buhari, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, said the brief life of the late Arotile impacted on the nation immensely.

“President Muhammadu Buhari received with deep pain the passing of Flying Officer, Tolulope Arotile, condoling with the family on the loss of such a promising officer, whose short stay on earth impacted greatly on the nation, especially in peace and security.

“The President salutes Arotile’s bravery in the field to protect the country from the onslaught of bandits and terrorists, assuring that her memory will be indelible, and her efforts remembered.

“President Buhari commiserates with the Nigerian Air Force, airmen, airwomen and all friends of the deceased, recalling her deft skills in manoeuvring combat helicopters, which he had physically witnessed with pride.

“The President sympathises with government and people of Kogi State on the loss.

“President Buhari prays that the Almighty God will receive the soul of the departed, and comfort the family she left behind,” the statement said.

Senate President Ahmad Lawan expressed shock and sadness at the tragic news of the death of Nigeria’s first female combat helicopter pilot.

Lawan, in a statement by his Special Adviser (Media), Ola Awoniyi, said despite her brief service, the deceased flying officer, 24, left indelible footprints as a dedicated officer and Nigeria’s first female combat helicopter pilot.

The Senate President commiserated with the government and people of Kogi State over the loss and prayed for her soul to rest in perfect peace.

First Lady Aisha Buhari also mourned the late combat helicopter pilot.

She expressed her condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of the deceased, as well as the Nigerian Air Force.

“The deceased was an intelligent young woman, a huge potential, a representative of both Nigerian women and youth, and what they could achieve,” her tweet said.

Minister of Defence Maj.-Gen. Bashir Magashi expressed shock over her death.

Gen. Magashi, in a statement by his Special Assistant Media and Publicity, Mohammad Abdulkadri, said: “We have lost a brave, gallant, courageous and patriotic Nigerian at a time when her service is needed most to upscale the tempo of counter-terrorism and war against banditry plaguing the nation’s security architecture.”

Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, in a condolence message in Lokoja by the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr Onogwu Muhammed, described the late Arotile as not only a combat pilot but a fantastic aviator.

He said she reached the sky of her professional calling at a very tender age of 23.

“It was with great sorrow and shock that I received the news about the passing of Flying Officer Tolulope Arotile, the first female combat Helicopter Pilot in the history of the Nigerian Airforce.

“Late Flying Officer Arotile brought the country to a standstill on the 15th of October 2019 when she was decorated as the first female Combat Helicopter Pilot.

“This was a huge honour to her family, Kogi State, the nation and the entire women in the country and beyond,’’ Bello said.

The governor said that Arotile was a trained military aviator with a blend of professionalism and patriotism.

He said her engagement in air-to-ground combat in rooting out armed bandits and other criminal elements in the country, particularly in the North Central region was a sacrifice that could not be forgotten.

“We are devastated by the tragic death of this young promising lady who took bravery to the next level, demystified prejudicial stereotype and flew her parents, state and nation high in honour and professionalism,’’ he said.

Bello stressed that the late Arotile had woven her own story into the Nigerian folklore as a patriot who died in defence of her nation.

“On behalf of the state, I commiserate with the family of late Flying Officer Arotile over this irreparable loss, and I pray that the Almighty God grants her soul eternal rest; she will be sorely missed,” the governor said.

About the late combat pilot

The late Arotile graduated at 22 years as one of the best flight students from the NAF Academy which qualified her for the helicopter training she received in South Africa where she came out tops with a commercial pilot licence and proceeded to Italy for training on the Agusta 109 Power Attack Helicopter.

She brimmed with confidence and patriotism at the Eagle Square Abuja on February 6, when she introduced the newly acquired Agusta 109 Power Attack Helicopter to Buhari during a ceremony to induct the copter into NAF fleet.

Her feats did not come as a surprise to those who knew her. Her colleagues saw her as dutiful, loyal, selfless and patriotic. She was intelligent and a great team player. She helped to wage fierce battles against terrorists and armed bandits in various operations in Northwest.

Born on December 13, 1995, in Kaduna State to Mr/Mrs Akintunde Arotile, the deceased officer was passionate about the military since she was a kid. She attended Air Force Primary School, Kaduna (2000 – 2005), Air Force Secondary School, Kaduna (2006- 2011) before she gained admission into the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna, as a member of 64 Regular Course on September 22, 2012, where she graduated with honours in Mathematics.

In an interview last October 15, the late Arotile said: “I joined the military simply out of a passion for it. Being military personnel has been a long time ambition, the carriage and what it stands for are simply exceptional.

“Throughout my training, I have always looked towards flying. So, in the fifth year during our training we were selected for the Basic Flying Training, we were five cadets at the NAF Base Kaduna.? So, we started flying there. We completed the ab-intio flying course in 2016/2017, then after a year, I proceeded to South Africa for training. The journey has been very interesting and nice.

“Now, I have about 460 hours of flight within 14 months with the helicopter and the major thing I have come to realise in my field is that there is just no break in my career, you just have to keep pushing and doing your best. “My advice to younger ones out there is that they should keep doing their best, they should keep running the race until they finish and they should not set a limit for themselves because the only limit they have is the one they set for themselves.”

Period poverty is a challenge many girls and women face in some parts of the world. It is worse in developing countries such as Nigeria. Women and teenage girls are overcoming this challenge with free sanitary pads and conditional cash transfer, writes YEKEEN AKINWALE.

Ajebe Gladys’ glimpse wanders as she admits there is truth to the quote “different strokes for different folks”.

40-year-old Gladys lost one of her limbs about 17 years ago in an accident while on her way to work in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.

“I was on my way to work in 2003…. when I had an accident on a motorcycle,” she recounts the fatal accident.

While her right limb is halved as a result of the accident and can only walk with the aid of an old pair of crutches, the mother of two now faces hurdles every month when her menstrual period starts.

“I don’t look forward to my menstrual period,” Gladys said of the hardship she undergoes during that natural phenomenon.

The US Office on Women Health (OWH) describes menstruation as a woman’s monthly bleeding, often called your period.”

Menstruation is a natural process, without which human existence would be threatened but it is a nightmare for many women across the world who lack access to basic hygiene and sanitation during their periods.

Although Gladys knows it is a natural process, she says it is also a constant reminder of the many troubles she needs to contend with.

There are basic rules or procedures to follow during menstruation which are difficult for women in Gladys’ condition.

The OWH recommends that menstruating women should try to change or rinse their feminine hygiene product before it becomes soaked through or full.

But for the mother of two, to use sanitary pads during that period is a luxury she cannot afford.

“Due to financial constraints, I rarely use sanitary pads. I fold a piece of clothing sometimes with tissue paper to absorb my menstruation,” she said with a wide defiant smile that seems to betray her condition.

“During this period, I avoid going out to prevent being stained and making a mess of myself.”

With an income too meagre to cater for her needs and that of her two children, Gladys says, buying sanitary pad takes a backseat on her scale of preference where feeding, clothing and shelter prominently features.

Being unable to walk on her two legs compounds her case. A former showroom attendant earning N7000 monthly as salary before the fatal auto accident in 2003, she also detests going out during her monthly period due to lack of a safe place to change her improvised sanitary pads.

Back then, when she walked on her two legs, she says she could afford sanitary pads but has since been financially constrained.

Gladys however, complains of poor access to the toilet. With obviously outgrown prosthetics, she says accessing toilet facilities in her house or public is often difficult and inconveniencing.

Women, girls still haunted by period poverty

Like Gladys, Amiru Najatu, 20, shares the same fate every month whenever she is menstruating. Her limbs were paralysed when she was a child due to a polio infection. This she says compounds her access to basic menstrual hygiene and sanitary products.

For close to five years that she has been experiencing menstruation, Najatu who lives off almsgiving says she has never used a sanitary pad.

Her physical disability and means of livelihood underscores the level of period poverty she faces.

“I use the money from begging to buy food and water to clean myself but I cannot buy sanitary pads from the money because what I realise daily is not enough,” Najatu says of her proceeds from alms-begging.

Described as the inability of menstruators to afford proper menstrual hygiene products including tampons and sanitary pads during menstruation, period poverty has been a nagging issue in Nigeria.

Experts say this usually predisposes menstruating women and girls to unhygienic practices, like using rough newspaper, fabric, or cloth napkins in place of pads.

Period poverty is very serious in our time. Working with vulnerable women and children in several communities has opened my eyes to a lot, says Wanda Adu, Executive Director, Wanda Adu Foundation (WAF). The Foundation takes care of vulnerable women and girls.

Adu said women who are not sure of a meal in a day for their children cannot afford to buy sanitary towels. “There is extreme poverty in Nigeria and so pad is seen as a luxury in communities.

“They are left with forgone alternatives. Should they buy food or pads? There and then they conclude that food is more important than pad. Hence they improvise,” she said

With a staggering statistics of 82 million people living below the poverty line of N137,430 in a year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), purchasing menstruation sanitation products becomes a tall order for most women and girls.

Undoubtedly, the impact of poverty is widespread affecting both men and women but its effect on women and girls is disproportionately high.

A report by UNICEF in 2017 said menstruating school girls in Nigeria faced many challenges which affected their ability to manage their menstruation in a dignified and hygienic way.

Availability and adequacy of WASH facilities, adequacy and flow of information on menstrual hygiene management and access to materials for hygienic management of menstruation all impacted girls’ experience of menstruation, UNICEF said.

Danjuma Janet, 18 and a former student of Government Secondary School, Jabi in Abuja recalls when she started menstruating at the age of 16 and she was shocked. She was told by her mother to shrug the shock off, as it is an indication that she is now a woman.

Her mother provided her some sanitary pads but it didn’t last long because of the financial implication. Janet says her parents who run a shop of daily needs experience recession in their business and could not afford to provide her pads.

Janet went to visit a friend when she first experienced her menstruation and was given a rag to clean up.

“I went to visit my friend and I was told that my cloth was stained at the back. Initially I was scared but they offered me a rag to clean up. My mother later gave me a pad to use,” she says of her first experience of menstruation.

Janet resigned to fate ? making use of pieces of unused materials or rags each month she menstruates. But this has brought her shame and ridicule, as her friends mock her in school whenever she gets stained.

She said a sanitary pad costs N300 depending on the brand and size. This is difficult for her to get since she is not working and cannot afford it.

“It’s not easy to buy a pad everyday,” she says. “Sometimes I use rag when I cannot afford to buy a pad because it costs between N300 to N400.”

She recalled how she was embarrassed on a day she got stained in school at the age of 16.

“I left school early that day, because I felt so embarrassed when my friends called my attention to my stained skirt,” Janet recalls.

Light at the end of the tunnel

The UNICEF in the 2017 report recommended that there should be facilitation of accurate and sufficient information on menstruation hygiene management to disabuse minds of people on the myths and taboos and encourage safe, hygienic and dignified management of menstruation.

Other key recommended actions were provision of appropriate and adequate water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in schools; support to access affordable reusable sanitary pads and mobilization of policy and decision makers to promote open discussion of menstrual hygiene management to reduce stigma.

Recently, Nigeria’s Ministry of Women Affairs flagged off the distribution of one million sanitary pads to women and teenage girls across the country as part of government’s efforts to address period poverty among women and girls.

“This project is hinged on the fact that girls’ and women’s choices of menstrual hygiene materials are often limited by costs, availability and social norms,” said Paulen Tallen, Minister of Women Affairs at the 2020 Menstrual Hygiene Day observed in Kado village, Abuja on May 28.

“Therefore, providing access to feminine hygiene products will go a long way to solve the problem to a great extent.”

At the event which was organized by the ministry with support from Water Supply Sanitation and Collaborative Council (WSSCC) and other stakeholders, 4000 sanitary pads were distributed to women and girls at the village. Each beneficiary received at least four packs of sanitary towels.

Elizabeth Jeiyol, WSSCC National Coordinator for Nigeria believes poor knowledge and understanding of menstruation may lead to unsafe hygienic practices for women and girls.

Jeiyol says all stakeholders must team up to change the negative social norms surrounding menstruation.

“Poor knowledge and understanding of menstruation may lead to unsafe hygienic practices for women and girls,” she said.

“It is not a gender thing – but a basic human right issue – and together we can empower all women and girls to realise their full potentials everywhere in the world.”

She maintains that effective menstrual hygiene has direct and indirect effects on the overall well-being of women and girls – in the context of education, empowerment and health.

According to her, women and girls face continuous mental, physical and health traumas during their periods – as a result of discriminatory social norms, cultural taboos, supernatural beliefs, gender inequality, and limited access to basic services such as WASH facilities in private and public spaces which leads to ‘Period Poverty’ for women and girls across the world – especially in developing countries like Nigeria.

Chizoma Opara, acting Coordinator of the Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet Campaign says it is important to iinstitutionalize menstrual health and hygiene management at all levels in Nigeria.

This, Opara said can be achieved by putting an end to open defecation in Nigeria through the provision of hygiene facilities for the populace particularly women and girls during their menstrual period.

Wanda Adu says every woman and girl deserves a free sanitary pad every month, saying “teenage girls will not go to school for fear of stigmatization and shaming if they happen to be stained.”

On the occasion of 2019 international women’s day she says her Foundation while giving out sanitary products to 150 women and girls in several communities in Abuja witnessed struggle by the women and girls to get the products.

Teenage girls, women may be considered for cash transfer to boost access to menstrual hygiene management

If the government acts by its words, there may be relief for women and teenage girls regarding period poverty.

Sadiya Umar Farouq, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development recently said the Ministry would find a way to incorporate teenage girls and poor women in the country into its Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programme to support them in purchasing all the necessary hygiene materials for their monthly menstrual period.

Farouq spoke in Abuja on May 28 at an event marking the 2020 World Menstrual Hygiene organized by the Ministry of Women Affairs with support from Water Supply Sanitation and Collaborative Council (WSSCC) and other stakeholders

According to her, the Ministry was ready to collaborate with the Ministry of Women Affairs to support the vulnerable groups especially women and teenage girls, using the CCT scheme.

The CCT scheme is designed to benefit poor and vulnerable households with a monthly stipend of N5000; and beneficiaries are trained and provided financial and technical support to start small businesses.

“We have a programme in the ministry, it is called Conditional Cash Transfer. The programme is specifically for farmers that need this kind of support and it is being given to women heads of families. So that they can take care of themselves and other members of the family including teenage girls in the family,” the Minister said.

“We are going to find ways to tinker with this programme to see that the teenage girls are also incorporated by giving them monthly stipends to support them and so that they are able to earn something that they can use to buy all the necessary hygiene materials that they need during this period of their lives.”

She lamented that most teenage girls are subjected to all forms of hardships when they menstruate. Moving forward, poor and menstruating women and girls who cannot afford to purchase menstrual hygiene products when on their menstrual period can heave a sigh of relief, according to Farouq

“Some of them are not able to go to school or participate fully in society, always at home because of the hardship that they go through on days that they observe their menstrual period,” the Minister said.

Farouq further lauded efforts made by the ministry of Women Affairs led by Dame Pauline Tallen in addressing period poverty in women and girls.

By Okodili Ndidi and Tony Akowe, Abuja

Chief of Army Staff Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai has approved a major shakeup in the Nigerian Army with the redeployment and posting of 34 Generals and five Colonels.

Maj.-Gen. FO Omoigui from the Army Headquarters Department of Training and Operations was moved to Headquarters Theatre Command Operation LAFIYA DOLE Maiduguri and appointed Deputy Theatre Commander.

A statement by Acting Director Army Public Relations Colonel Sagir Musa said the deployment takes effect from July 20.

The statement reads: ” The postings and appointments of Maj.-Gen. L. E. Irabor, from Defence Headquarters (DHQ), Abuja, Department of Training and Operations, to Training and Doctrine Command, Minna (Niger State) and appointed Commander, Maj.-Gen. F. O. Agugo, from 6 Division, NA, Port Harcourt, to Headquarters, NA Signal Corps, Apapa, Lagos, as Corps Commander Signals; Maj.-Gen. M. Mohammed, from Headquarters, NA Signal Corps, Apapa, Lagos, to Office of the COAS, and appointed Special Adviser, NA University, Biu, Maj.-Gen. A. M. Dikko, from Administrative Staff College of Nigerian, Badagry, Lagos State, to NA Training Centre, Kontagora, and appointed Commander.

“Maj.-Gen. U. S. Yakubu, from NA Corps of Artillery, Kontagora, to Army Headquarters, Abuja (AHQ) and appointed Chief of Administration (Army), Maj.-Gen. B. O. Sawyer, from AHQ Department of Policy and Plans, to NA Armour School, Bauchi, and appointed Commandant, Maj.-Gen. I. O. Uzamere, from NA College of Logistics, Lagos, now redeployed to AHQ, Abuja, Department of Logistics, and appointed Chief of Logistics (Army).

“Also, Maj.-Gen. J. O. Irefin, from Headquarters, 81 Division, Lagos, to Headquarters, 6 Division, Port Harcourt, and appointed General Officer Commanding (GOC), while Maj.-Gen. J. O. Akomolafe is now redeployed from Headquarters, NA Armour Corps, Bauchi, to DHQ, Abuja, as Chief of Defence Standards and Evaluation.

“Others are: Maj.-Gen. C. O. Ude, from NA Resource Centre, Abuja, to Defence Headquarters  and appointed Chief of Defence Training and Operations; Maj.-Gen. H. R. Momoh, from  Defence Space Administration, Abuja, to AHQ Department of Policy and Plans, and appointed Deputy Chief of Policy and Plans/Director Special Duties; Maj.-Gen. A. T. Hamman, from DHQ, to AHQ Garrison, and appointed Commander;  Maj.-Gen. O. A. Akinyemi, from Administrative Staff College of Nigeria, to Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre, Oshodi, Lagos, as Deputy Commandant; while Maj.-Gen. M. H. Magaji has been redeployed from NA Amour School to Headquarters, NA Armour Corps, and appointed Commander, Maj.-Gen. M. A. Masanawa, from Defence Headquarters to NA Ordinance School, Lagos, as Commandant.

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“Maj.-Gen. J. I. Unuigbe from AHQ Department of Logistics to DHQ and appointed Chief of Defence Logistics, Major General JGK Myam the erstwhile Commander AHQ Garrison Abuja is now the Commander NA Corps of Artillery.  Major General GA Umelo has been redeployed from AHQ Department of Training and Operations to Headquarters 81 Division and appointed General Officer Commanding, Major General SE Udounwa from AHQ Department of Policy and Plans to Army War College Abuja as Commandant, Major General MO Enendu from Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre to NA College of Logistics and appointed Commandant, Major General GS Abdullahi from DHQ to Land Forces Simulation Centre Nigeria and appointed Director General, Major General BN Salami from NA School of Supply and Transport is now redeployed to Headquarters NA Corps of Supply and Transport as Commander.

“Others are: Colonel B Sarki from Defence Intelligence College to 6 Military Intelligence Brigade and appointed Acting Commander, Colonel KO Ogunsoya from DHQ to Headquarters Directorate of Army Public Relations and appointed Chief of Staff, Colonel TO Antigha from Headquarters Multinational Joint Task Force Ndjamena to Defence Headquarters and appointed Acting Executive Director Armed Forces Radio, Colonel MM Dole from Headquarters Directorate of Army Public Relations to Headquarters Multinational Joint Task Force Ndjamena and appointed Military Public Information Officer, Colonel AF Maimagani is to remain in Headquarters Directorate of Chaplain Services (Roman Catholic) as Acting Director Chaplain (Roman Catholic).”

The redeployment coincided with the House of Representatives expressing concern over the voluntary resignation of about 356 soldiers from the Army and warned against a possible drift to anarchy if nothing is done to curtail such occurrences.

Adopting a motion of urgent public importance moved by the House Chief Whip, Mohammed Tahir Mongunu, the House asked its Committee on Army to investigate the reported resignation of the soldiers.

The motion was sponsored by Mohammed Tahir Mongunu, Nkiruka Onyejeocha, Ndudi Elumelu and Toby Okechukwu.

In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, the government tried to discourage interstate travels and free movement of people as part of measures to curtail the spread of the virus. Having listened to people’s pleas to ease the lockdown, it relaxed the restrictions, including the lifting of interstate travels. MOSES EMORINKEN writes that this may lead to a dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases

Nigeria has been somewhat lucky in five months since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic on February 27. The country has not witnessed the kind of surge in the number of infected cases as expected, especially considering our demography.

Many countries have not been as lucky, even as they too count huge and heartbreaking numbers of deaths of their loved ones daily.

However, luck has no place in this ongoing pandemic fight that continues to numb and defy science in developing a vaccine or an effective treatment.

Stakeholders in the health sector have not relented in urging citizens to take responsibility in the face of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic because the country gradually tends towards a dramatic rise in the number of infections, which can potentially overwhelm available health facilities.

They specifically identified the total disregard for non-pharmaceutical preventive measures – wearing of face masks, corporeal distancing, avoidance of mass gatherings and hand hygiene, by individuals as potentially being a driver of a second dangerous surge in the number of cases.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned of flare-ups in the number of COVID-19 cases globally as countries are beginning to lift restrictions and opening up their economies in order to maintain a balance between lives and livelihood.

In an online briefing few days ago, the World Health Organisation (WHO) revealed that COVID-19 infections in Africa have surpassed 500,000, and there are concerns about sharp rise in cases in countries across Africa.

It revealed that Egypt, Algeria, Ghana, South Africa and Nigeria account for nearly 71 per cent of the infection. Infected cases have more than doubled in 22 countries in the African region over the past month.

Also, confirmed cases have exceeded 160,000 daily. The WHO therefore urged countries to engage a comprehensive approach, which includes finding, isolating, testing and treating cases.

Countries which hitherto have ‘successfully’ reduced the transmission of the COVID-19 infection, hence, a drastic shrink in the number of cases; have started to record upswing in new infections.

China had earlier claimed to have defeated the virus, but have begun to record an increase in its capital city-Beijing. India has started seeing new cases of the virus days ago even after locking down the country of 1.3 billion people.

Other countries such as South Korea, Israel and Costa Rica, among others, where it appeared that the number of cases had significantly lessened, have started to also record fresh spikes in the number of cases.

Some of these countries started opening up their cinemas, retail stores, theatres and religious institutions and others.

Globally, there are 12,870,723 COVID-19 cases and 568,303 people have died – as at the time of filing this report.

During the briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire told Nigerians to brace for a rise in COVID-19 cases as consequences of the ease of the lockdown. He said more cases of the virus should be expected, following the lifting of the ban on interstate travels.

The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu continues to emphasise that these are not just numbers but precious lives of people being cut short for a number of reasons, especially from non-compliance with safety measures either by themselves or by people around them.

In Nigeria, the number of confirmed cases stands at 31,987 and sadly, the country has lost 724 precious lives to the virus as at the time of filing this report. Still, the country is yet to reach its peak of the virus before it is expected to start experiencing a slide in the numbers.

Government, experts and other stakeholders have continued to decry the lackadaisical attitudes of people towards preventive and safety protocols such as wearing face masks, physical distancing, avoiding large gatherings and practising hand hygiene.

They have warned that should citizens continue in this irresponsible trajectory in compliance, the country might join ranks with countries experiencing a dangerous new wave and rapid resurgence in the rate of spread of the disease.

They added that more worrisome is that a sizeable number of people do not even believe that COVID-19 exists. Some believe it is just a grand conspiracy to instill fear in the people in order to loot the nation’s funds.

The National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Dr. Sani Aliyu had, during the daily briefing in Abuja on Thursdaysaid: “Many do not believe that COVID-19 is real and many think that it is a scam or a ploy to access funds meant for public welfare. Others do not believe simply because they have not seen or do not know someone who had tested positive for COVID-19.

“Our numbers are already increasing. We do not want to reach the stage that other countries are experiencing. A reasonable number of people still believe it is a disease that affects other countries but not Nigeria.

“For every one case, there are a handful of cases that we are missing because we are not able to test everybody.”

In a chat with The Nation, the President of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) Prof. Innocent Ujah, also emphasised that Nigerians need to believe that COVID-19 is real and take responsibility for prevention and safety.

“The basic thing that we need to do is first to communicate and carry the message and use all the instruments of communication – television, radio, print, and social media.

“The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has to be up and doing. It is its duty to educate and inform the public using several means, including megaphone mounted on vehicles and move from village to village, community to community, so that people will be persuaded to believe and accept that COVID-19 is real.

“The PTF on COVID-19 needs to invest very heavily in the traditional way of communication using town criers, traditional institutions, religious leaders and other means, if they have not done so,” he said.

He added: “One of the things that I have observed which is not research binding but my own observation is that the issue of physical distancing is unlikely to work in Nigeria, unless you close down completely everything – which means shutting down the whole country and shutting down the economy. That will be a disaster because palliatives will be very difficult to come by in terms of affecting the lives of our people.

“It becomes a very big problem because even if you go to the bank, market place and in garages, you find people falling over one another. Also, the use of face masks has not been complied with. So, while the government is doing its best, Nigerians should do theirs to curb the spread of the disease.

“I pray that what happened or is happening in other more advanced countries will not happen here. This is because if it could happen to America and Europe, then ours will be a child’s play.

“There are many things that may affect compliance but I think that persuasion, awareness creation, and community engagements will be a better option at this time.”

The Chairman, Medical Sub-Committee of the COVID-19 Ministerial Expert Advisory Committee in Abuja, Dr. Ejike Orji said: “The philosophy of the disease is that people should be kept apart or they should wear masks. When people depart from those basic norms, then, they are just looking for trouble.

“You can’t blame humankind much because the disease attacks the very basic structure of human nature, which is person to person socialisation. It is not a problem if people go out, but that they do the right thing by wearing their masks, physically distance themselves from others and wash their hands with soap under running water regularly.

“What we have suggested in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is to decentralise the market so that it reduces the hustling and bustling.

“From what we hear, 50 per cent of the spread of COVID-19 is from religious houses, while the rest comes from markets and others. The problem with Nigeria is that we have not even peaked. There is low testing capacity in some states.

“A lot of states in Nigeria are still in denial and this denial is robbing them of the opportunity to know how much of the disease exists in their states. For most of the states in denial, the victims end up in Abuja to be isolated and treated.”

Dr. Orji further told The Nation that: “What we need now is massive public education and community engagement.

“Any time that we fail to do this and the number of cases overwhelms the facilities we have, people will start dying the way they’re dying in Europe and America.

“What happened in other countries was that those countries relaxed. They did the right things but they had to open their economy. But the most important thing which is public education and behavioural change did not happen very well. So, people started behaving as if nothing was going on. That is why sudden resurgence started happening and that is what is going to happen in Nigeria if there is no public education to lead to behavioural change.”

In a phone chat, the Registrar/Secretary-General of West African Post-graduate College of Medical Laboratory Science (WAPCMLS), Dr. Godswill Okara said: “Health authorities have been very particular, specific and persistent in issuing guidelines to the public. Unfortunately, the public has not been forthcoming in complying with the directives and guidelines.

“The government tried to discourage interstate travels; people are told to restrict movement until the situation is under control, but they take it as a punitive measure and do not know that all these guidelines being issued are functions of lessons learnt from past pandemic.

“The earlier the public took seriously the safety measures that the NCDC and the government have kept emphasising on, the better for us.

“It is only to be imagined if we have a massive resurgence in the outbreak; our health system will collapse completely because even the isolation centres that we have put in place will not be enough because there are complaints that the increasing number of positive cases has outstripped the bed spaces.

“We are faced with a potent danger. The bulk of the work is no longer in the hands of the government but with the people. We really need to raise the awareness of the public and appeal to them that defeating the virus involves collective responsibility.”

The WHO has advised that countries create a balance between lives and livelihoods; between protecting their people, while minimising the social and economic damage. It says countries can do both.

“At the same time, these measures can only be effective if every individual takes the measures that we also know work to protect themselves and others. Maintain physical distance, continue cleaning your hands, and wear a mask where appropriate,” it said.