Category: Special Report

Today’s Workers’ Day celebration will witness no mass gathering, glamour or fanfare. No thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. TOBA AGBOOLA and FRANK IKPEFAN examine the plight of Nigerian workers amid COVID-19

For the first time in about a century, workers around the world will not celebrate May Day on the streets. No thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Aside from stopping their parade, the pandemic has also endangered them. Millions of jobs are believed to have been lost since the pandemic began its onslaught on the human race. Many workers have either not been paid for last month or have had to accept a pay cut.

In Nigeria, the minimum wage, which workers fought tooth and nail to get the government to accept, is under threat. Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Ayuba Wabba and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) President Quadri Olaleye are spoiling for war to protect workers’ interests despite the pandemic.

Already, some organisations have begun taking measures which may likely affect workers’ salaries. For example, workers in the aviation sector have been asked to take a pay cut against their wish.

In Kaduna, Governor Nasir El- Rufai has directed that all workers in the state take 25 per cent pay cut. The cut affects both civil servants in the state and political officeholders. Organised Labour has rejected the decision. Labour says the decision of the governor to cut salaries of workers is against the tripartite agreement.

Other state governors are yet to decide or announce their next line of action as regards workers in their state. Even before the outbreak of the pandemic, some state governors were finding it difficult to implement the N30, 000 minimum wage signed into law last year by President Muhammadu Buhari.

But for the pandemic, Nigerian workers would have had cause to celebrate the victory of the N30,000 minimum wage which took them over two years to win and not minding the fact that the battle is still ongoing at the state level.

Job loss/pay cut

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) last week alerted that continued sharp decline in working hours globally due to the COVID-19 outbreak means that 1.6 billion workers in the informal economy – that is nearly half of the global workforce – stand in immediate danger of having their livelihoods destroyed.

The latest ILO data on the labour market impact of the COVID-19 pandemic reveals the devastating effect on workers in the informal economy and on hundreds of millions of enterprises worldwide.

Compared to pre-crisis levels (Q4 2019), a 10.5 per cent deterioration is now expected, equivalent to 305 million full-time jobs. The previous estimate was for a 6.7 per cent drop, equivalent to 195 million full-time workers.

The ILO said more than 436 million enterprises face high risks of serious disruption, saying that these enterprises are operating in the hardest-hit economic sectors, including some 232 million in wholesale and retail, 111 million in manufacturing, 51 million in accommodation and food services, and 42 million in real estate and other business activities.

“As the pandemic and the jobs crisis evolve, the need to protect the most vulnerable becomes even more urgent.

“For millions of workers, no income means no food, no security and no future. Millions of businesses around the world are barely breathing. They have no savings or access to credit. These are the real faces of the world of work. If we don’t help them now, these enterprises will simply perish,” said ILO Director-General Guy Ryder.

Already at home, several jobs are being threatened. Another round of battle looms between organised labour and employers of labour, especially state governors in the country.

The NLC has directed its affiliates and state councils to resist any salary deduction on the account of COVID-19. Instead, labour urged employers to show solidarity by ensuring job protection for workers as the country continues to battle the spread of coronavirus.

Organised Labour’s view

According to NLC, this critical period of coronavirus pandemic was not the time for employers of labour to stop workers’ salaries or enforce pay cut.

It noted that the stoppage of salaries or enforcement of pay cut at this time would be both illogical and illegal as workers’ salaries are core elements of employment contracts and collective bargaining agreements.

Wabba said: “In reciprocation of the enormous sacrifice made by workers, we urge employers of labour to show solidarity with the sacrifice of our workers and people by ensuring wage protection, income support and social inclusion at these trying times.

“This is not the time to stop or deduct from workers’ salaries. Such an action would be both illogical and illegal as workers’ salaries are core elements of employment contracts and collective bargaining agreements. We have asked our affiliates and state councils to resist any salary deduction on the account of Covid-19.

“We reassure our workers that our priority in these trying times remains the cautious, gradual, evidence-led and smart restart of the economy so that our workers can go back to work. We are also completely committed to the recovery of lost jobs, protection of wages, support for income and livelihood and improvement of Nigeria’s social safety net.”

As far as the NLC is concerned, any employer of labour that stopped or reduced salary of workers on the account of COVID-19 would incur the wrath of the Organised Labour.

“This is not the time to stop or deduct from workers’ salaries. Such an action would be both illogical and illegal as workers’ salaries are core elements of employment contracts and collective bargaining agreements.

“Without the twitching of our muscles, no socio-economic puzzle can be solved. In reciprocation of the enormous sacrifice made by workers, we urge employers of labour to show solidarity with the sacrifice of our workers and people by ensuring wage protection, income support and social inclusion at these trying times.”

He reassured the workers that their priority in these trying times remains the cautious, gradual, evidence-led and smart restart of the economy so that they can go back to work.

The NLC and the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) believe the government must find equilibrium between saving lives and saving means of livelihood of Nigerians.

Wabba said governments should see how to relax the lockdown order from state to state, as well as think out of the box so that the income of the workers is not jeopardised at the end of the day.

“While we understand the public health imperatives for extending the lockdown in some parts of the country, it is also very important to underscore the fact that the states currently under total lockdown are the economic and administrative nerve centres of Nigeria.

“This is very dicey. As much as it is important to keep many Nigerians from dying in the hands of Coronavirus, loss of income and the accompanying destitution can also be a pathfinder for numerous other sicknesses and deaths,” he said.

Olaleye opined that it is the responsibility of the leadership of the Organised Labour to protect jobs.

“We don’t envisage redundancy or layoffs but because of speculations and need to be on a safer side, TUC will ensure that the laws and collective agreement regarding the contract of employment are strictly followed.

“Work/life balance has been a myth for a long time. As the pandemic has exposed the new trend of working from home, TUC will ensure that people care about family, and also care about the job, and prioritise health.”

Wage war looms as oil price keeps tumbling

The coronavirus pandemic may constrain the ability of the government to implement the N30,000 new minimum wage. This is because the emerging health and economic risks resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and decline in international oil prices pose threats to Nigeria’s economy, as well as the lives of its citizens.

The International Monetary Fund recently projected that the Nigerian economy would shrink by 3.4 per cent this year, worse than the global average projected at three per cent.

Crude oil prices had dropped from about $46.64 per barrel in February to less than $20 per barrel, recently.

The Federal Government had in the 2020 budget proposal revised downward the revenue projection for the 2020 fiscal period by N3.3 trillion from the initial approved amount of N8.41trillion to N5.08 trillion.

The reduction in revenue projections was due to the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic has so far led to an unprecedented drop in global crude oil prices.

The outbreak of the deadly virus in Nigeria had resulted in the lockdown of many states in Nigeria, a development that has paralyzed economic activities.

So far, in Nigeria, the very visible impact has been huge, especially about government finances, capital flow reversals and loss of income to businesses and households.

Based on the revenue parameters upon which the revised proposal was made, the Federal Government had reviewed downwards the oil price benchmark from $57 per barrel to $30 per barrel.

Similarly, the oil production volume was cut from the initial 2.18 million barrels per day to 1.7 million barrels per day.

These developments have heightened fears about the ability of the government to finance the N30,000 new minimum wage.

The uncertainty was further reinforced by the dwindling revenue inflow into the Federation Account. For instance, the three tiers of government suffered a shortfall of N413.3billion in allocation from the federation account within two months covering January and February this year.

The shortfall was arrived at based on an analysis between the financial assumptions underpinning the 2020 Appropriation Act and the actual revenue generated and shared among the three tiers of government.

Allocation to the three tiers of government is made monthly by the Federation Account Allocation Committee.

Based on the financial assumptions underpinning the 2020 Appropriation Act, monthly FAAC disbursements to the federal and state governments was projected at N888.5 billion.

However, due to the significant drop in international oil prices, FAAC monthly disbursements have declined in recent months to N716.3 billion in January and N647.4 billion in February.

This implies that the N716.3 billion January allocation represents a shortfall of N172.2 billion, while the N647.4 billion shared in February is a shortfall of N241.1 billion when compared to the monthly target of N888.5 billion.

Due to the effect of coronavirus pandemic on the economy which had led to a decline in revenue, some state governments have been tinkering with the idea of suspending the payment of the new minimum wage.

For instance, the Gombe State Government last month declared that it had suspended the implementation of the payment of the N30,000 minimum wage.

Deputy Governor Manassah Jatau said the decision was taken after consultation with the standing committee on minimum wage and relevant stakeholders.

“The minimum wage increment and its consequential adjustments adopted by the state have been suspended until when the economy of the state improves,” he said.

Speaking on the development, some finance and economic experts said the government’s reliance on crude oil for more than 80 per cent of its foreign exchange earnings and 60 per cent of revenues meant the economy was exposed to the impact of the coronavirus on crude oil prices.

They said projected declines in revenues as occasioned by the drop in crude oil prices constrain the government’s ability to meet its commitments in 2020.

Olaleye said the fall in the price of crude oil globally was not enough for workers to accept deferment of the new minimum wage of N30,000 per month till next year.

Olaleye said it was too early to put forward such proposal if government at all levels had been prudent with past earnings and shared allocations.

He said: “The proposal, if put forward, will sound mischievous if we consider how much we have earned from crude oil and other earnings in the past. Why are we quick to talk about the suspension of the minimum wage? Why don’t we talk about cutting down the cost of governance?

“It is a painful thing that the price of oil crashed in the global market. Labour has always called for diversification of the economy but the craze for oil money blindfolded the powers that be. Nobody knew this (COVID-19 pandemic) would happen but it did. The government must pick the lessons and run the country with the fear of God.”

The TUC, like the leadership of the organised labour in the country, said they would resist any attempt by the government to stop the implementation of the N30,000 because of the crash of crude oil price occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Vice President, Nigeria Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Prince Billy Harry said the drop in oil revenue as a result of COVID-19 pandemic should not be used as an excuse not to implement the minimum wage.

He said: “Most state governments accommodated the implementation of the new minimum wage in their 2020 budget.

“I am aware that negotiations had either been concluded or at the point of conclusion in many states as of the end of December 2019. Any downward adjustment in the budget must not be at the expense of workers’ salaries which must be prioritised.”

He said the implementation of the Value Added Tax increase from five per cent to 7.5 per cent, which commenced in February, meant that state and local governments would be the greatest beneficiaries taking 50 per cent and 30 per cent respectively of the total collections.

“The government’s fiscal response measure does not include suspension of the VAT increase and so why suspend minimum wage?

But an economist, Odilim Enwagbara, said the dwindling revenue had made it difficult for states to meet the minimum wage payment.

However, he said rather than using this as an excuse, they should go into an aggressive internally generated revenue drive.

He said: “Agriculture and food processing and packaging can earn states a lot of revenue. The formalisation of thousands of informal activities will increase small business players in these states, especially because Small and Medium Enterprises are around the world known as the biggest source of tax revenue.”

Post COVID-19: Fed Govt promised 10m jobs

It may not be all gloomy at the end of the pandemic as the Federal Government has pledged to create ten million jobs at the end of the coronavirus pandemic.

Minister of Labour and Employment Chris Ngige said the target of the government was to make jobs available to Nigerians.

The minister said: “We are part of the Economic Sustainability Committee which is the main committee. The other ministries are implementation ministries and various job creation initiatives and things that will put more money into the economy.

“The committee is still working. We have fanned out into subcommittees. I have just finished a meeting on my subcommittee which is a committee on job creation for women and youths both COVID-19 and post COVID -19.

“We are putting our report to the main committee and the next meeting of the main committee is either tomorrow or Wednesday. The committee will take a look at the situation in government.

“We are looking at 10 million (jobs) encompassing existing jobs and creating additional ones. We want to create an additional ten million jobs after the pandemic. The jobs will be created within six months to twelve months.”

With over N250 million spent on self-help projects for over 15 years, residents of Tsaunin Kura community in Sabo Tasha Government Reserve Area (GRA) in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State have decided to resign to fate and lay before Governor Nasir el-Rufai to assist in tarring the nearly 15-kilometre intra community roads in their area, housing over 5,000 homes. JULIANA AGBO reports.

Tsaunin Kura is one of the few Government Reserve Areas (GRA) established by the Kaduna State government in 1978 under the then military administration, housing about 5,000 residents today.

While other GRAs established at the same time with Tsaunin Kura may have enjoyed the attention of successive administrations in the state, Tsaunin Kura has not been lucky even as its population continues to expand.

Past efforts by the residents to draw the Kaduna State government’s attention to their plights have been futile, leaving them disappointed.

With no infrastructure and amenities, some residents in 2005 took the initiative to grade the roads, connect the community to the national grid and provide water to their homes. It was a self-help project expected to gulp over N250 million in 15 years. However, 15 years down the line, they are still far cry from attaining their dream of asphalted and paved roads.

The pains of having to build paved roads by themselves, provide electricity, water and security in addition to eking out a living in a challenging economy are bitter pills Tsaunin Kura residents have been condemned to swallow repeatedly.

After enduring and spending their hard earned resources without any meaningful results, the residents decided to resign to fate and lay before Governor el-Rufai to assist in tarring the nearly 15-kilometre intra roads in the residential area, housing over 5,000 homes.

The health challenges from years of pollution, dusts and burglaries have become sources of worries to them. Hence, they said there is no better time to call on their governor to rescue them from these misery and pains than now.

A visit to the community leaves one with the stark reality of a people  that have been enduring years of sufferings in spite of huge resources reportedly spent to make the area accessible to residents.

A community leader and one of the cluster chairmen of Tsaunin Kura Residents Association, Mr Jonah Silas, who spoke on the situation in Tasunin Kura, lamented that living in the community has been hellish for them.

Silas, who has spent 13 years in the community, said the GRA is faced with two-faced problems: Bad roads and inadequate power supply, which have heavily affected their lives.

According to him, all electricity infrastructure in the community have been the sole efforts of the residents except for a transformer donated by Hon. Yakubu Barde, member representing Chikun Federal Constituency in the lower chamber of the National Assembly.

“Our community has paid a heavy price in developing the area in spite of the huge money spent on the nearly 15-km roads in the area. They are still inaccessible, especially during the wet season. We are at risk of airborne diseases.

“Before now letters were written to the Kaduna State Government under the administrations of Governors Namadi Sambo (former Vice President), Patrick Yakowa and Muktar Ramalan Yero on the need to fix the infrastructure in the community. We never got a response until the Nasir el-Rufai administration came to power.”

Explaining the situation, a former chairman of the residents association for 12 years, Mr Temitoye Omole, said anytime a new resident moved into the area, within two weeks the resident must experience robbery, a situation that has forced all residents to raise money for a security post.

“We bought 3,000 meters of aluminium conductors to connect light, 25 high tension poles, 28 stays, several insulators and paid for labour. We also installed four transformers for the community.

“On roads, we spent several millions of naira to make the community passable. The community has about 15-km roads and they get washed away every year, forcing the residents to spend more money in making them motorable,” Omole said.

In a letter to Governor el-Rufai in 2016 by the Tsaunin-Kura GRA Resident Association, signed by the duo of Hauwa Zachariah and Bitrus Yahaya, the community appealed to the governor for the construction of access roads and drainage in the area.

The letter reads in part: “We will like to use this unique opportunity to applaud the efforts of this administration led by your humble self, which has continually played a giant role in developing the state in terms of Infrastructure, Agriculture, Education and Health, to mention a few.

“Sir, we write to kindly draw your attention to an issue that has been plaguing our community since inception, which is lack of good access roads. This has posed a great challenge for motorist and pedestrians and has subjected residents to a lot of hardship, slowing the development of the community in spite of its huge potentials of attaining the proper status of a Government Residential layout.

“It will interest His Excellency to know that despite individual and community efforts made over the years to address this issue, not much has been achieved, considering the fact that road construction is a capital project that requires government’s intervention. As law abiding citizens of this great state, we, the residents have been supportive of your Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) policy by making considerable efforts towards Grand Rent Levy remittances.

“We are also very open to any form of consultation on this matter that may require some level of commitment on our part as a community.”

A special appeal was made by the Kaduna State Ministry of Works in September 2016 to the government for the construction of access roads/drainage of Tsauni Kura Layout Sabo GRA Kaduna.

In the appeal, the ministry said the length of roads (10km) which include: site clearance and earthwork, provision of pipe culverts of various sizes, provision of line drains, provision of stone pitching and dressing, and provision of two coats surface dressing. The cost of the project then was put at a little over N861million.

When contacted, Kaduna State Roads Agency (KADRA) Managing Director, Mohammed  Magaji told The Nation that he was under lockdown as directed by the state government to curb Covid-19 pandemic spread hence, he could not give out any information without looking at the files in his office.

Meanwhile, some residents said the community roads were to be included in the 2017-2019 programme of the state government, but nearly four years after, the community is still living with the harsh reality of dusty environment.

Commenting further, Omole said after receiving their petition, the state government surprisingly replied them.

“I was shocked to receive a reply from the state government. We were referred to the Kaduna State Roads Agency (KADRA). The agency came in 2017 and did a good job and we enjoyed it for two years before the roads collapsed in 2019. We were told that the road was in the plan of government, but nothing has happened since then,” Omole stressed.

Omole lamented the rate of borehole drilling in the community, saying its increasing number has posed a danger to residents. He said he would not blame the residents for fending for themselves, which include provision of water. To him, it’s government that should be blamed for its inability to provide the community with pipe-borne water.

A resident, Mrs Hausa Yakubu while appealing to the governor to extend his urban renewal projects to the community, said the residents are open to Public Private Partnership (PPP) in order to reduce the financial burden on government.

After 30 months of unpaid salaries, 556 contract workers – cleaners, gardeners and security personnel – at Obafemi Awolowo Teaching Hospital (OAUTH) are facing perilous times, reports Associate Editor ADEKUNLE YUSUF

It was with indescribable pride and joy that Awe Iyiola joined the workforce of Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital (OAUTH) as a security officer on April 4, 2007. Like many others employed on contract basis at the time, his heart is now laced with regrets over untold hardships he is subjected to as a result of 30-months of unpaid salaries. “We are confused now. Since they started owing us, to eat is extremely difficult. I am a father that cannot pay house rent for over two years. I keep begging my landlord who has humiliated me many times for my inability to pay. I cannot fend for my children or take care of my family. I am regretting everything now,” he told The Nation.

But Iyiola is not alone in this sorry turn of events. Mrs. Funke Akingbade, a widow who said she opted to take up the job to make ends meet after the demise of her husband, is also rueing the day she joined the services of OAUTH. Like Iyiola, she told The Nation that she has been unable to pay her rent for years, while her four children – two boys and two girls – also have to regularly bear the brunt of her 30-months of unpaid salaries. The widow bared her mind while she was getting ready to go to work, saying she regularly uses her spare time to do bricklayer’s work to get something to feed her family. “I am a widow. I joined the service to be able to take care of myself and my children. I have not been paid for 30-months. What do they want us to eat? My house rent has piled up and I could not do anything. The shame is too much. The suffering is too much. We keep enduring because they assured us that things will get better, but nothing has changed,” Akingbade said.

Some of the 556 contract workers employed in 2007 have suffered a worse fate. A fair-complexioned young man popularly called oyinbo in one of the six affiliates of OAUTH is dead as a result of the crisis. At a time, Funke Owopetu was so seriously sick that many of her colleagues thought she would give up the ghost. She survives the illness (she was admitted in the same hospital where she works) and now back on her duty post where she continues to face an uncertain future. Another woman called Adeosun was similarly sick and treated in the hospital. Frustrated by the situation of things, Adeosun has since quit the system that is unable to pay her salary. There are many others with tales of lamentation as a result of the stoppage of their salaries.

Since May 2017, all the affected workers have been left to suffer hard times, with many of them now homeless (having been evicted by their landlords for inability to afford rent). It was gathered that some of the workers now sleep in vacant wards in the hospital or any other open space. Yet they are unable to quit the job, with some of them saying they fear that OAUTH may use such as an excuse not to bother to pay them. One of the contractors said no fewer than four of the workers had died within the period. A cleaner was said to have lost her 22-year old son, owing to her inability to raise money for test and operation. Others were said to be down with various ailments. One contractor told The Nation that he is indebted up to his bank up to N16 million, having been on a borrowing binge to pay the workers in the hope that all issues would soon be resolved. The sad aspect is that each cleaner is entitled to only N15,000 per month.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Boss Mustapha petitioned

Having lost patience, the workers have since organised themselves into a union. On behalf of the suffering workers, the leadership of the Environmental Health Service Providers Association of Nigeria, EHSPAN, OAUTH chapter, has petitioned Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, asking that the issues be looked into to resolve the matter. Signed by Aderounmu Aderemi and Dipo Eluwole, EHSPAN chairman and secretary respectively, the two separate petitions detailed the workers’ sufferings as a result of over 30 months of unpaid salaries.

While asking Osinbajo to intervene and save the workers from dying, the petition claimed that the unpaid salary totalled N400m. “We, the under-listed are the representatives of both security and cleaning services providers otherwise known as outsourced contractors at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex, providing aforementioned services at the various arms of the institution in the last 10 years. We are constrained to inform you of the current indebtedness of the institution amounting to over N400m (four hundred million) in the past 32 months to the various organisations engaged to provide these essential services.

“The effects of the non-payment of this outstanding on our cleaners/service providers and operations cannot be over-emphasised. Information at our disposal indicates that apart from the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex and the University of Ibadan Teaching Hospital, other Federal Government-owned health institutions are paying outsourced contractors as and when due. We have collectively resolved to appeal and request that you kindly use your good offices to wade into this matter urgently to prevent the currently deprived, impoverished and agitated workers from taking the law into their own hands. Aside from this, we might have no choice but to cut off our services at this critical time given the non-responsiveness of the relevant authorities whose attention had been drawn at various times with no result,” the petition said.

In another petition addressed to Mustapha, a similar position was taken, as the workers said they are counting on the SGF to save them from imminent death. Speaking to The Nation, Eluwole said 11 cleaners are currently sick, with one cleaner having lost her 22-year-old son in the hospital as a result of the inability to raise money for test and operation. He explained that the workers used to enjoy regular payment until recently. According to him, trouble started in 2014 when there were lapses in the payment for almost a year. Respite, which turned out to be temporary, came in 2015 when the government cleared all the outstanding payments. In 2017, the Federal Ministry of Finance invited at the outsourced contractors in Southwest to a verification exercise at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) in Lagos. At the meeting was the management of all the teaching hospitals in Southwest and representatives of Ministries of Finance and Health, EHSPAN secretary said. After the verification, the workers said only one month salary was paid. They have been left to suffer since. Eluwole added that the CMD told them that the issue of non-payment of outsourcing contractors has always been a hot-button topic whenever CMDS hold their meetings in Abuja.

The CMD clears the air

OAUTH Chief Medical Director Prof Victor Adetiloye said plans were afoot to solve the crisis. The issue of non-payment of salary, he said, is a national problem, which is not peculiar to his hospital. He told The Nation that letters had been written to all appropriate quarters to make sure the issues are resolved. “It is a national issue; it is not a hospital problem. And it is receiving the attention of the government. Letters have been written to the government and one cannot pre-empt the government,” he said.

By Nwanosike Onu, Awka

An unprecedented mayhem stares Awka, the capital of Anambra State, in the face unless the state and federal governments take decisive actions to nip it in the bud. This is on account of the activities of some land speculators who have invaded the community with the aim of selling lands without the necessary approvals.

Already, the hoodlums have mounted billboards offering for sale some plots of land at the government-approved layout in the state capital at N3 million per plot. Our correspondent gathered that the faceless land grabbers usually operate at night and have sold many plots of land to unsuspecting buyers without the knowledge of their owners or the leaders of the community.

The layout, known as Umuikenanunwa Communal Lands, is situated at Okpala Uzo (Imeagu), Aguaba Layout and Aguaba Forest Reserve in Umuayom village, Awka town, and the elders of the community, have called on the new Executive Director, Finance, of the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Hon. Chudi Offodile, to come to their aid in his capacity as the Chairman of the community’s Land Management Committee. Offodile had replaced Chief Dilim Okafor, who held the position for years and, according to the people, managed the lands well.

Our correspondent gathered that the elders in the community had placed a curse on the brains behind the secret sale of the community’s lands without authorisation. In a chat with our correspondent, a 79-year-old elder of the community, George Offodile, said nobody had authorised anyone to sell their lands. He said the leaders of the community had chosen to keep quiet because the government was involved, adding that the people of Awka had never been known to be violent.

He said: “We have a well structured management team appointed by the three sub families, namely Ezedebe, Eghumeneghi and Okpalanwoshie, and headed by Hon. Chudi Offodile, who took over from Chief Dilim Okafor with power of attorney issued to them.

“So, what some undesirable elements are doing is just an attempt to cause trouble in our land. And the worst part of it is that they are hiding to do it. We are solidly behind the state government.”

For Hon. Chris Nweke Ndigwe, a 78-year-old pioneer state chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the layout at Aguaba was approved and gazzetted by the state government in 1990. He said the hoodlums had been a thorn in the flesh of Awka community for many years, adding that they chose to toe the line of peace, hence the decision not to lay an ambush for them.

Ndigwe said: “We are working in tandem with the Anambra State Government on this matter. Awka community right now is highly polarised because of some undesirable elements. But we are not going to back down.”

Another elder, Christian Ndife, the Secretary General of the Elders’ Council, told The Nation that it was unfortunate that some of the young people in the community do not want to do anything to help themselves other than engage in land sales.

The 78-year-old elder statesman noted that the “criminal elements” had removed all the beacons on the layout to deceive unsuspecting buyers.

Another elder in the community, 75-year-old Godwin Onyejiaka, also believed that some young men in the community were trying to set it ablaze by their actions. He said their decision to keep quiet was not impelled by cowardice. Rather, he said, it was meant to give peace a chance, particularly because the state government is also involved in the layout.

A former chairman of the Land Management Committee in the area, Chief Dilim Okafor, said the worst part of the actions of the hoodlums is that they sell a plot to as many as four persons. “Those miscreants have become terrors in this place and their actions are becoming unbearable,” he said.

Government warns hoodlums

Following the actions of the faceless land grabbers, the Anambra State Government has warned them to desist or regret their actions.

A former Commissioner for Lands, Okey Moka, had placed a caveat emptor from the government, warning that only the management of the Land Committee headed by Offodile and the state’s government approved surveyor are authorised to work in Aguaba Layout.

He said:  “The Anambra State Ministry of Lands, Physical Planning and Rural Development has noted with deep sense of concern and responsibility the spate of illegal and ongoing land transactions at Aguaba Layout, which have also extended to the Millennium City Layout, a dream layout of the Anambra State Government, and mindful of the overt consequences and implications of such disdainful acts, is warning the unwary and uninformed persons that are being deceived to acquire parcels of land in the said layouts.

“Aguaba Layout, Awka, which shares a common boundary with the Millennium City Layout, was approved by the Anambra State Government in 1990 with gazette number 29 Vol. 15 of 2/8/1990 and has registered trustees whose statutory responsibility is to administer the said scheme in line with the covenants of the gazette, wellbeing of the original land owners and its occupants.

“Regrettably, illegal land transactions and activities at Aguaba Layout have greatly dovetailed into the Millennium City Layout and have consequently defaced a government-owned scheme and created a potential slum growth centre.

“The land speculators do this by engaging surveyors, who were neither approved by government nor authorised by the state’s Ministry of Lands to work at Aguaba Layout.

“By this ugly deed, the state government will not fold its hands and watch the brazen impunity to the detriment of the structural plan of the Awka Capital Territory.

“The state government has also noted that a lot of uninformed persons are being misled and deceived to illegally acquire parcels of land at the Millennium City Layout and Aguaba Layout statutorily designed for open spaces, state stadium, schools, roads, etc.

“The defacement of these layouts through the activities of individuals with larger than life attitude is capable of distorting these schemes and generating community restiveness if unchecked.

“The general public is therefore warned to stop forthwith, all land transactions, negotiations, construction/development on the parcels of land at the Millennium City and Aguaba Layouts that run counter to the approvals of the Anambra State Government.”

Already, the government has mandated the chairman of the board of trustees, Chief Dilim Okafor, to take full possession, control and administration of Aguaba Layout in line with the covenants of the extant, gazette and trustee act. It also warned that the processing and issuance of title documents on parcels of land not in conformity with the government approvals at Aguaba Layout and Millennium City would not be entertained.

The state government added that plans were also at the concluding stages to enforce development control measures and ensure orderliness at the two layouts in Awka.

The Nation observed that in addition to the government position on the said layouts, the Umuike people who own the said lands had through their counsel, Prof Ilochi Okafor, SAN, warned that any person who had paid any money to unauthorised members of the family or to any land management committee other than Umuike Family Land Committee, should go and recover their money because they had been scammed.

The six-member Board of Trustees in the community is led by Chief Dilim Okafor, while the Land Management Committee is led by the former member of House of Representatives, Chief Chudi Offodile. Other members include Sunday Mbadugha, Nwogu Nwonwu, Chukwudi Uchendu and Onwura Nnonyelu, to represent the various families.

Both the BoT and management committee have been inaugurated and have since resumed work.

Some of the people who purchased the land in the affected area told our correspondent that they were given the impression that it was the genuine owners of the land that sold to them.

The victims of the alleged fraudsters have threatened a showdown with the people they paid money to, if they were eventually driven out of the lands by the true owners.

As Nigeria and the rest of the world make conscious efforts to limit the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic partly through closures of educational institutions, little attention is paid to this year’s World Book and Copyright Day (WBCD) being celebrated today. However, government at all levels should take advantage of the situation to activate digital libraries which have demonstrated their potential to enable a richer, more diverse public domain and promote human development, writes CHINAKA OKORO.

When the author of a novel that represents “the certification of a new voice that deserves heed and prominence within the vibrant Nigerian literary landscape”, posted on Facebook that he had set a target to read 60 books in 12 months- an average of five books a month-, one tagged it “a deceptively pompous ambition.” Surprisingly, he overshot the target.

Explaining the feat, he said: “It takes determination and commitment to achieve such feat because reading helps toward mastery of languages, it also enables one to think, reflect, form opinions, discuss, to become mature and to make one respected. The more we read, the more we store in our minds life-changing principles.”

This view is demonstrable in the great importance attached to books and reading which motivated the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to establish April 23 every year to celebrate books based on the undisputed roles they play in both individual and national development.

Historical background of the day

The World Book and Copyright Day (WBCD) has its origin in Catalonia, Spain, where, on April 23, 1923, booksellers organised an event in honour of one of Spain’s most celebrated writers Miguel de Cervantes author of Don Quixote who died on that day.

It was on this ground, therefore, that the (UNESCO) General Conference in Paris decided in 1995, that the World Book and Copyright Day would be celebrated on April 23, every year to mark the Catalonian event.

Again, April 23 is also a symbolic date for world literature. It is on this date in 1616 that Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died. It is also the date of birth or death of other prominent authors, such as Maurice Druon, Haldor K.Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla and Manuel Mejía Vallejo.

It was a natural choice for UNESCO’s General Conference to pay a worldwide tribute to books and authors on this date, encouraging everyone, and in particular young people, to discover the pleasure of reading and gain a renewed respect for the irreplaceable contributions of those who have advanced the social and cultural progress of humanity.

COVID-19, WBCD and digital libraries

The COVID-19 pandemic seems to take the shine off the World Book and Copyright Day. As the world responds to the COVID-19 pandemic, most governments have focused attention on curbing the spread of the disease. To achieve this, they, for the moment, closed all educational institutions. These closures have negatively affected the majority of the world’s student population and also affected millions of additional learners.

Amid the horrid situation, and as an emergency response, UNESCO has launched the Global Education Coalition (GEC) to help countries scale up their best distance learning practices.

Eric Falt, Director and UNESCO Representative to Bhutan, India, Maldives and Sri Lanka and Partha Pratim Das, the Principal Investigator of the National Digital Library of India Project, and Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Kharagpur had provided what could be termed an alternative to the situation.

Writing on “COVID-19 puts break to academic activity, but digital libraries can ensure continuity”, the duo maintained that “there is a transition to distance learning on an unprecedented scale. Institutes are racing to shift their courses online; students are engaging en masse with e-books and e-learning, and researchers are drawing chiefly from electronic journals.

Digital libraries and publishers have risen to the occasion, offering more and more free content and curating personalised collections so that people can continue to read and learn without disruption.”

As the demand for credible e-resources surges, they say, digital libraries have emerged as vital pathways to high-quality e-books, journals and educational content.

This year, as the World Book and Copyright Day, is observed under these unsavoury circumstances; humanity should celebrate the primacy of digital libraries as knowledge portals and their contribution to sustainable development.

Falt and Pratim Das noted that the UNESCO and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) in their Manifesto for Digital Libraries, stated that “the mission of the digital library is to give direct access to information resources […] in a structured and authoritative manner and thus to link information technology, education and culture in contemporary library service,” adding that statistics from the world’s leading e-libraries testify to their cultural significance.

It is their belief that the role of e-libraries should extend beyond providing access to content, but as the UNESCO-IFLA Manifesto recommends, they should also raise awareness about intellectual property rights, support the preservation of cultural heritage and ensure that disadvantaged groups enjoy equity of access.

It was as a result of this, Falt and Pratim Das said, that UNESCO, in 2005, set up an online “anti-piracy observatory” to share best practices related to copyright protection and anti-piracy legislation.

Why the world digital library?

The World Digital Library developed by UNESCO and the Library of Congress is a pioneering attempt to foster inter-cultural understanding by offering access to digital heritage from 200 countries. Access to knowledge cannot, by itself, act as a leveller. Inclusive knowledge societies are built only when equal access is enjoyed by all.

In the circumstances, the needs of disadvantaged groups such as people with disabilities must be integrated into the design of digital libraries.

Collectively, however, there is the need to make access for people with disabilities a reality.

For Falt and Pratim Das, “the COVID-19 crisis has brought to the fore the many benefits of digital libraries, as they have demonstrated their potential not just to enable a richer, more diverse public domain, but to promote human development itself.

“It is believed that the use of e-libraries will continue to grow exponentially. This growth will be driven by immediate exigencies and global trends such as the explosion in smartphone penetration, the increase in ownership of ICT-based reading devices, and the now-entrenched habit of seeking information online.

“On this occasion of World Book and Copyright Day, it should be recognised that digital libraries are helping in the effort to achieve certain key targets of the Sustainable Development Goals.

In particular, their power to ‘ensure public access to information’, to ‘safeguard the world’s cultural heritage’, and to provide ‘safe, inclusive and effective learning environments for all’ should be celebrated.”

Reading more important now

At a time when most of the schools around the world are closed and people have to limit to spend their time outside, the power of books should be leveraged to combat isolation, reinforce ties among people and expand horizons, while stimulating minds and creativity.

During this period, it is necessary to create time to read with or for children. It is a time to celebrate the importance of reading, foster children’s growth as readers and promote a never-ending love for literature.

Through reading and the celebration of World Book and Copyright Day, people can open themselves to others despite distance and travel to other linguistic milieus through the imagination.

By creating a sense of community through the shared readings and the shared knowledge, readers around the world can connect and mutually help curb loneliness during the lockdown which coincided with the World Book and Copyright Day.

Books and human capital development

What exactly is the significance of the World Book and Copyright Day? What impacts do books have on the socio-economic, political and cultural development of the society? Again, what roles do books play in human capital development?

Answers to these posers lay on our appreciation of the objectives for which UNESCO established the World Book and Copyright Day; one of which is to “promote reading, publishing and protection of intellectual property through copyright.”

The Director-General of UNESCO Audrey Azoulay went philosophical in her description of books.

She said: “In these turbulent times, books embody the diversity of human ingenuity, giving shape to the wealth of human experience, expressing the search for meaning and expression we all share, that drive all societies forward.

“Books help weave humanity together as a single-family, holding a past in common, a history and heritage, to craft a destiny that is shared, where voices are heard in the great chorus of human aspiration.”

Experts, among who is former Director-General of UNESCO Mr. Koichira Matswura have stressed the importance of books and reading when he posited that “books are those unique tools for expression; education and communication”, even as John Errist describes books as “the best friends you can have; they inform you and entertain you, and they don’t talk back.”

Dating back in time, books have been the most powerful factor in the dissemination of knowledge and the most effective means of preserving it. This is incontrovertible when individuals appreciate the fact that all the technological, economic, political, social, moral and cultural advancements which nations of the world attained were made possible by the knowledge derived from writing and reading of books.

Therefore, every effort geared toward promoting information and enhancement of the knowledge industry will not only serve to enlighten those who have access to them but also help to develop fuller collective awareness of cultural traditions, the world over.

Books are sources of dialogue, means of exchange and sources of development.

On this premise, Mr. Matsuura hinted that “books are fundamental means of access to knowledge of values, wisdom, aesthetic sense and human imagination. As vectors of creation, information and education, they allow every culture to print their essential features and to see the identity of others.

“Books serve as a window on the diversity of cultures and a bridge among civilisations, beyond time and space,” he said.

Books and societal values

The above implies that no society can successfully transmit its norms and values from one generation to the other without books as the vehicle to achieve such. But this process of handing down to the younger generations norms and values of our forebears would not be achieved if conscious efforts are not made to keep the books which are the treasure pots of these values open and, not only open but also read.

As vectors of values and knowledge, books have also served as depositories of heritage, windows into the diversity of cultures, tools for dialogue, language development and sources of material wealth. Books are tools for learning, for sharing and updating knowledge.

The real life-changing values that are imparted to people in our schools and others really come from books because they are the tools that challenge the way we think and help in moulding and remoulding us to develop a better worldview to see even old and familiar things from an entirely new and refreshing perspective.

The COVID-19 pandemic is compelling more and more private hospitals to shut down operations after unknowingly attending to patients who turned out positive, writes PRECIOUS IGBONWELUNDU

On April 15, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, Dr. Emeka Chugbo, 60, passed on at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), two days after he was brought in showing severe symptoms of the novel Coronavirus disease, COVID-19. Dr. Chugbo was suspected to have unknowingly contracted the virus from a pregnant woman he and another colleague successfully carried out Caesarean Section (CS) at a private hospital in Surulere.

With neither recent travel history nor evidence, she had been in contact with a COVID-19 patient, the doctor, a frontline health worker, went about his routine duty oblivious that the woman later developed symptoms, was tested for the virus but died before the result came back positive.

In no time, Chugbo, an asthmatic patient, started feeling unwell and went to another private hospital where he also rendered services and was nebulised, managed by a doctor colleague without either of them suspecting COVID-19 until April 13, when he was moved to LUTH on suspicion of the disease.

Like Chugbo and his doctor friend, many medical workers in private facilities across the state have been exposed to the risk of COVID-19 as most returnees from high-risk countries were seeking medicare secretly from private hospitals

Until his death last week, rumours of such practices were dismissed by authorities as baseless with Minister of Health Dr. Osagie Ehanire and Lagos State Commissioner of Health Prof. Akin Abayomi assuring Nigerians no such thing was happening.

Despite repeated claims by Ehanire that private hospitals could not be approved to treat COVID-19 cases because it was risky and easily contracted. The disclosure by Lagos State government last week that First Cardiology Consultant Hospital (FCCH)— the private facility where presidential Chief of Staff (CoS) Mallam Abba Kyari died— was “a designated COVID-19 treatment centre” raised public concerns about the absence of effective monitoring by government regulators.

The Lagos State chapter of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) warned doctors and medical practitioners against receiving and treating COVID-19 patients in their private facilities to avoid endangering lives.

NMA, in a statement by its chairman, Saliu Oseni, and secretary, Moronkola Ramon, warned that there could be an explosion in the number of infections if private hospitals continued to treat Coronavirus patients.

With these realities, some aggrieved health workers in private facilities where such practices were ongoing took it upon themselves to leak information to the public through the social media where accountability could be demanded in real-time from concerned agencies.

One of such instances was that of St. Edward Specialist Hospital, a private facility on Addo Road, Ajah, last Thursday.

The hospital, according to a whistleblower who leaked information to another nurse and social media influencer Kelvin Ossai, admitted a patient with cardiac symptoms and endangered the lives of workers and other patients despite observations from nurses on duty.

The informant alleged that the Managing Director (MD) of the hospital knew the COVID-19 status of the patient but never told the nurses and insisted they had to continue treatment on the patient said to be hypertensive and diabetic.

According to the information, the man was admitted on April 11 and it took the insistence of one of the nurses who just resumed work after being on isolation for the hospital to contact the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) the next day.

Screenshots of conversations between the whistleblower and Ossai, which were posted online Thursday, disclosed that when the man was admitted, the nurse on duty objected but she was overruled by the MD who asked her whether the hospital wouldn’t treat hypertension and diabetes Mellitus patients because of COVID-19 suspicions.

“Another nurse who had just finished her isolation period and resumed work was disturbed about the man’s symptoms. She insisted and they informed NCDC, the man’s sample was collected, Io and behold he is positive

“The MD knew about the result. He also came in close contact with the patient…Can you believe that he didn’t inform the staff? He only told his fellow doctor. It was the other nurse who asked one of the junior doctors and he confirmed the result.

“Everyone was pissed. They noticed the MD didn’t come to work. He was self-isolating and said nurses should continue management. Now, all the health personnel have been exposed to this man and his wife. Other patients are still coming for the treatment.

“Imagine, they kept the face mask with the pharmacist and said medical personnel should collect one face mask per shift or even two shifts? The pharmacist and admin said night nurses don’t need a face mask.”

But St. Edward Hospital on Friday said it treated the patient unknowingly, urging all who have visited the facility as well as workers to isolate for 14 days.

On its Twitter handle, the hospital explained that the man was an old patient being managed for hypertension and diabetes, adding that he was sent to the isolation centre and he was sent to the isolation centre according to protocol.

“St Edward Hospital does not treat COVID-19 patients. I am a cardiologist. One of my hypertensive diabetic patients tested positive for COVID-19 and he was sent to the isolation centre according to protocol.

“Anybody can have COVID-19. We cannot start neglecting or sending away patients because we think they may have COVID-19. Patients have to test positive before you can send them to the isolation centre. Unfortunately, the test takes about three days for the result to come out. While you are waiting, you have to do your best as a doctor to keep the patient alive.”

As Lagosians were still coming to terms with the consequences of these developments and a possible devastating outbreak of the disease in the state as a result of community infection, news of more private hospitals located in different parts of the state filtered in, thus creating further panic.

These hospitals reported to authorities that they treated patients with COVID-19 unknowingly, have undergone decontamination exercises and were advised to temporarily shut down their operations until when it is safe for routine duties to resume.

Among the facilities closed temporarily are Premier Specialists’ Medical Centre (Lekki and Victoria Island), Vedic Lifecare Hospital (Lekki), St. Edward Specialist Hospital, which is closed from April 16 to April 29, and St. Nicholas (Lagos Island), which closed shop on April 18 and will reopen on May 2.

Already, Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs) have begun sending emails to their clients warning them to avoid going to identified private hospitals including some at Ogba and Surulere, while those who visited the facilities within the period of exposure were asked to immediately contact NCDC and isolate themselves to prevent further spread of the virus should they be carriers.

Metro Health HMO, in a statement on Friday, urged all who have visited St. Edward Hospital between April 11 and 15 to isolate themselves for 14 days, explaining that the facility received a call from NCDC on April 12, a day after admitting the patient and a team was sent there on the same day to collect samples.

“NCDC communicated the result on Tuesday, April 14, which confirmed the patient to be positive and said they were coming to evacuate the patient. NCDC did not come on Tuesday but eventually came on Wednesday, April 15, and evacuated the patient.

“The hospital has been cooperating with NCDC, WHO and all other health agencies that have called or visited since the incident. The hospital had been decontaminated on April 15 working with NCDC and following the guidelines stipulated by NCDC. Though NCDC counselled that they can start normal work after one hour of decontamination, the hospital decided to remain closed and reopen for business on Friday, April 17.

“In line with guidelines prescribed by NCDC, those who visited the facility between April 11 and April 15 should immediately self isolate, stay at home and avoid contact with people including your family (by staying in a room) for 14 days.”

Similarly, Avon HMO sent emails to clients confirming the temporary closure of listed hospitals over COVID-19 exposure. It explained that the four hospitals— St. Edward, St. Nicholas, Premier Specialists and Vedic— self-reported and have been cooperating with health authorities.

“We notice with dismay, a number of inaccurate and misleading messages and emails on hospital closures due to COVID-19, which have gone viral in recent days. Many of them had hospitals listed which have not been contaminated nor closed due to COVID-19.

“Kindly rest assured that we are up to date and have provided you with accurate information via the emails you have received from us. The hospital premises which were contaminated all self-reported and have been cooperating with the Health Authorities. Their premises have been decontaminated and their staff are observing the mandatory self-isolation period.

“The premises remain closed for the duration advised by health authorities and some have extended closure dates and informed us they remain closed till further notice.

“The premises affected thus far are listed below with the dates advised for closures: Premier Specialists’ Medical Centre (till further notice),

Vedic Lifecare Hospital (till further notice), St. Edward Specialist Hospital (from April 16 to April 29) and St. Nicholas Hospital (April 18 to May 2).

“All other hospitals have so far been confirmed to be operational. Please do not panic and succumb to the onslaught of fake news which will abound during this period. We will inform you as soon as these hospitals re-open and are certified okay to attend to patients by the health authorities.

“Also, be mindful that sharing these fake messages can have legal implications. What we are experiencing with hospital infections are normal as the greater percentage of people who contact COVID-19 will be asymptomatic and are likely to appear normal with no apparent signs of COVID-19 related illness.

“Our collective safety will be better assured as the plans and infrastructure for mass testing being put in place across the country begins to yield results. Let us all do our part- Wash your hands frequently, don’t touch your face, observe social distancing, keep at least 2 feet away from others, wear a mask or other face-covering if you have to go out, observe the lockdown and stay home (except going to get food or medication or on essential services).”

Confirming that its operations have been suspended till May 2 as a result of COVID-19 exposure, St. Nicholas Hospital in a statement by Clinical Director, Dr. Ebun Bamgboye, said NCDC has been contacted and the facility decontaminated by the Lagos State Government.

It said its Victoria Island Branch would remain open while patients of the affected Lagos Island branch would have the option of telemedicine.

“The safety of all our staff and patients is of paramount importance to us. As such, we are complying with the directive of the HEFAMAA (Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency) to suspend our services for two weeks (Saturday, April 18 to Saturday, May 2, 2020).

“We understand the critical needs of our patients, hence we have introduced our telemedicine services where patients can consult our doctors via video and audio channels by calling,” it said.

Lagos State Commissioner for Information Gbenga Omotoso told The Nation it was true some private hospitals reported to authorities that they had contacts with COVID-19 patients.

He said: “It is true that some private hospitals reported to health authorities that they admitted or had contacts with COVID-19 patients and actions were taken. The governor has already warned that those hiding their medical histories and patronising private hospitals will be dealt with.

“Also, any hospital found to have secretly treated COVID-19 cases will not be spared because no such organisation has the right to treat COVID-19 cases.

“At the moment, we have some of the private hospitals asking to be accredited to treat COVID-19 patients but that is being looked into. It is a long process because issues like space; equipment, personnel have to be examined.

“Also, if these hospitals are found to have all these, they will have to be under the authority of the government so, it is a long process.”