Category: Special Report

In the days of yore, it was the culture that water ran from the taps. It was free, available and accessible. These days, it is the tradition that the taps run dry. Water is a luxury in homes, not to talk of public places. Yet the National Assembly appears bent on knocking out whatever hope is left for clean and affordable water for the common man with the controversial Water Resources Bill. SINA FADARE and INNOCENT DURU X-ray the contending issues and the likely consequences of the bill whose passage was recently suspended by the House of Reps.

The dialogue between two concerned Nigerians inside a commercial bus on the controversial Water Resources Bill recently instantly ignited the interest of other passengers in the issue. An angry middle aged man had asked his friend for the latest development on the issue, but the friend comically dismissed it as a non-issue, saying: ‘The government wants everybody to pay for water, even on the borehole you sink in your compound.”

In response, the other man said: “Ah, the issue has led me to conclude that our leaders truly need to visit a psychiatrist home. How can any sane man think of such obnoxious bill after all the country has passed through in this era of Coronavirus pandemic?”

The scenario above seems to mirror the feeling of millions of Nigerians who are pinned to the wall by poverty and penury. To worsen matters, even an item as ordinary as water appears to be going out of their reach. One can therefore feel the pain, the agony and the despondency of the common man at this critical time.

At a time Nigerians are yearning for true federalism in which power would devolve to states and local governments, President Muhammadu Buhari introduced an executive bill tagged Water Resources Bill. Since the re-introduction of the bill, which had passed second reading in the House of Representatives, the country has not remained the same.

The belief in many quarters is that the bill previously abandoned by the 8th National Assembly was smuggled into proceedings to test the patience of the common man. Others see it as an attempt to take the country back to the Stone Age while some others perceive the bill as the harbinger of a hidden agenda about to be unfolded by the executive arm of government.

Crux of the matter

On the surface, the provisions of the bill appear to be promoting the concept of public-private partnership enterprise, which sounds logical with the past experience of Nigerians where virtually all the public corporations supervised by government are enmeshed in fraud and corruption with little or no efficiency in service delivery.  But can a need as sensitive as water be in the hands of a private enterprise without it milking the people to the marrow? There seemed to be a consensus of opinion among the socio-cultural groups and activists that the passage of the bill would be inimical to the survival of the common man on the street.

Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka, who lent his voice to the wide condemnation of the bill, argued that the Federal Government, with the connivance of the National Assembly, smuggled the rejected bill into the front burner again in order to dare the temperament of Nigerians.

According to Soyinka, “a roundly condemned project blasted out of sight by public outrage one or two years ago is being exhumed and sneaked back into the service by none other than a failed government and with the consent of a body of people supposedly elected to serve as custodian of the rights, freedoms and existential exigencies of millions.”

An aspect of the Bill that drove the most passion is the section that says, “The Commission shall not be subject to the direction or control of any person in respect to the exercise of its functions, or the issuance of any report or conduct of any inquiry, but shall be guided by policy approved by the Federal Executive Council and the provision of this Act.”

Condemning the re-introduction of the once rejected bill, the Executive Director, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) Mr. Akinbode Oluwafemi, noted that the bill reared its ugly head in the National Assembly again after it had been rejected by Nigerians, adding that it has nothing to offer the common man.

Oluwafemi, while speaking to The Nation, pointed out that session 24 was outrageous in the sense that it vested too much power in the Commission and thus subjected water management and control to arbitrariness and political whims and caprices of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

He argued that by the time the issue of water management and control is left for public-private partnership, it will lead to exploitation and the people’s right to water will become a thing of the past.

“Public-private partnership on the issue of water resources, control and distribution will, at best, be inimical and counterproductive to the free access of private citizens to water as clearly admitted as a matter of right in previous sections of the Bill’s objective,” he said

The confusion

If there is an area the Water Bill received the hardest knock from its army of critics, it is the belief that it adds to the excessive responsibilities of the Federal Government through the exclusive list. At the last count, there were 68 items on the exclusive list in the 1999 Constitution. Political pundits are of the view that a lot of knotty issues are woven round some items on the exclusive list to the extent that the country cannot move forward.

A legal practitioner, Mr. Tunde Odetoyinbo, lamented that the 8th Assembly jettisoned the bill because it tends to divide the country, adding that the issue of land is sacrosanct to the states, adding that any attempt to take it over by controlling water territories would not work.

Odetoyinbo argued that the issue of water management and control should not be added to other knotty ones like solid mineral and electricity on the exclusive list.

He said: “It will create a crisis the Federal Government cannot handle. Why fighting numerous battles that are avoidable?

“The bill is seeking to further centralise power and resources in an already overwhelming federal government and further rubbish the theory of true federalism.

“A lot of people are clamouring that the exclusive power under the purview of the Federal Government is against the letters of the constitution that placed the country under federalism.” According to him, the federal government is fighting too many battles, including Boko Haram insurgency, internal banditry, kidnapping and the Covid-19 pandemic and can, therefore, not afford to add more crises by way of the “draconic bill”.

Speaking in the same vein, a social critic and lecturer at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Prof. TunjiOgunyemi, explained that the bill, which has been rejected by the 8th National Assembly, cannot bring any good tidings to the common man.

The don noted: “It is unethical and constitutes a “crowd out effect” of the functions of states. It is unethical for the federal government to seek to crowd out the states of the federation who are co-ordinate partners in the Nigerian federal project from their concurrent functions on land use, water provision at the local levels of governance and significant constitutional role in the federation.”

He lamented that “the ordinary man has always been at the receiving end of poorly conceived policies and mean decisions of government. The Water Bill will negatively impact on the agrarian poor, particularly in the Middle Belt and southern parts of Nigeria, who depend on the rich and fertile banks of the inland waterways for their FERDAMA and other crops production.

“To seize such a land and vest its management in the hands of the federal government as this newly re-introduced water Bill seeks to do will rob the ordinary citizens in the affected areas of the main input into their crop production, which is land. Governance and production are ultimately local, so, when government takes decisions or seeks to make laws that depart from local initiatives for production and land use, the danger is very clear.”

Ogunyemi, a historian and legal icon, noted that at a time the government should be thinking about how to make water accessible to every home, it is planning to pass a bill that will be inimical to their existence.

The Suspicion

Perhaps the fear of the unknown that the bill may likely create if passed to law was why it was heavily criticized. The Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, who called on the National Assembly to reject the bill with immediate effect, said it was anti-federalism and negates the right of Nigerians to their God given resource.

The governor, who described the reintroduction of the bill as curious, noted that those pushing for its passage at all costs had a surreptitious motive which was not clear to many.

According to him, “the bill, in addition to its provisions which are at variance with the Land Use Act, is designed to grant pastoralists unhindered access to river basins, adjacent marine and coastal environments across the country.”

He maintained that the bill is another version of Ruga, whose objective is to create grazing areas in the 36 states of the federation for herders and their livestock.

Ortom’s view tallied with that of the President of the Middle Belt Forum, Dr. Bitrus Porgu, who sees the bill as another ploy by the Federal Government to go against the will of the people who had initially rejected it.

Porgu said: “We were so lucky that the 8th National Assembly had leaders who saw into tomorrow’s dangers. That Assembly refused to pass the Inland Water Ways Bill. Regardless of that success, the Ruga issue came up. Thanks to the concerted efforts of our peoples with our friends in the south, Ruga has been suspended.”

He noted out that “the bill seeks to take away all rivers, their banks to some kilometers from state control to federal control and, therefore, take away ancestral lands for the exclusive use of the Federal Government. Your guess is as good as mine on what would happen next. Our National Assembly members must resist and reject the passage of that bill.”

From all indications, suspicion remains the biggest threat to the Water Resources Bill as the National President of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Mr. Pereotubo Oweilaemi, noted that the country cannot commit same mistake twice, noting that the mistake it made on the issue of Niger Delta is still hunting it.

He said: “This should not be another petroleum laws that have denied the Niger Delta people from controlling the petroleum resources in our land. Through legislative rascality with military fiat, the Federal Government of Nigeria enacted inimical and obnoxious laws to colonise Niger Delta people. Today, we are suffering from this neocolonialism.”

Oweilaemi argued that the government of Nigeria is surreptitiously reintroducing the botched cattle colony or Ruga settlement.

“This is a slap on our collective resolve to live in a united Nigeria. We think that the Federal Government is putting the unity of Nigeria in jeopardy if it continues to push for this Ruga settlement either expressly or implicitly,” he said.

The Contradictions

Perhaps the legal battle which the controversial bill will cause provoked Senator Adesoji Akanbi who represents Oyo South in the National Assembly to declare that the bill, if passed into law, would contradict the provisions of the Land Use Act. According to him, if the Federal Government should take over the control of inter- state water, it would generate a lot of crisis it would not be able to manage on the ownership of rivers.

“What does the Land Use Act say? Who has the vested interest in land? Another contradiction is who has the ownership of the mineral resources on and underneath the land?” he queried.    He lamented that the same constitution that gives ownership of land to states gives ownership of the resources.

Thinking along the same line, Oladoyinbo argued that Supreme Court Justice Samson Uwaifo once upheld the argument of the former Lagos State Attorney General, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, who incidentally is the Vice President, that Section 20 of the Constitution provides that “The State shall protect and improve the environment and safeguard the water, air, land, forest and wildlife of Nigeria ‘is not an exclusive legislation function of the National Assembly’”

He said the eminent jurist was of the opinion that “It must follow that the (National Assembly) cannot make law in the form and to the detail and territorial extent of the present Nigerian Urban and Regional Planning (Act) 88 of1992.”

Doing so, according to Uwaifo, “will be in breach of the principle of federalism and amount to an incursion into the jurisdiction of states.”

Oladoyinbo said it will be laughable if such a bill is passed into law and a state like Bayelsa with about 80 per cent of its territory on water, will be under the control of the federal Government. “That will further create an endless litigation which the federal government will not be able to handle.” he warned.

Not an enemy bill, says FG

However, the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, insisted that the Water Bill is not as draconic as people tend to see it. He said the bill is for the good of the nation and has no hidden agenda.

Mohammed, who spoke on the controversial bill in Lagos recently, explained that the bill was “being re-enacted with necessary modifications to bring it in line with current global trends as well as best practices in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM).

He said: “There is nothing new about the National Water Resources Bill. This is because it is an amalgamation of Water Resources Laws that have been in existence for a long time. These are: Water Resources Act, Cap W2 LFN 2004; the River Basin Development Authority Act, Cap R9 LFN 2004; the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (Establishment) Act, Cap N1100A, LFN 2004; National Water Resources Institute Act, Cap N83 LFN 2004.

According to him, “The overall objective of this amalgamation is the efficient management of the Water Resources Sector for the economic development of Nigeria and the well-being of its citizens.”

Not much is being done to control Sickle Cell Disease in Nigeria. More cases are reported daily, while patients suffer discrimination and neglect, writes ELO EDREMODA.

Nigeria is note down as having the highest sickle cell cases across the world. Though statistics are not accurate, researchers say at least three per cent (about three million) of the Nigerian population have Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), while an estimated 30 per cent (64 million) of the populace are carriers.

Reports obtained from online searches and dated 2014, claim that150,000 babies are born with the disease in Nigeria and 70 to 90 per cent of babies born with the heredity disorder die before they are five years old.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), through management and prevention programmes, the health burden can be reduced. It has also called on nations to strengthen their response to the disease in terms of providing a low-cost diagnostic and treatment plan. The United Nations (UN) has chosen June 19 as World Sickle Cell Day to raise awareness of the disease.

However, meaningful preventive care and treatment cannot be implemented without a structured plan for early diagnosis and tracking of patients. Early diagnosis requires improved access to parents and guardians of children with SCD, and gaining this access remains a challenge in Nigeria.

Unlike the visible campaigns against diseases such as HIV, Hepatitis, Tuberculosis, cancer, and malaria, among others, in hospitals and by different organisations, the same cannot be said for SCD. There were no displays of placards or flyers with contents on sickle cell disease control or care at some private and public hospital visited in Warri metropolis.

With September, being generally accepted as sickle cell awareness month, although declared by the United States of America’s Assembly, one would have expected vigorous campaigns to sensitise the people to the dangers of the disease. Sadly, this is not the case. It appears that only patients of the disease and perhaps, those who have relatives suffering from SCD carry out the awareness. But not much is seen or heard about these efforts due to the lack of a concerted advocacy network.

An article by Ademola Samson Adewoyin, obtained from google search reveals that there are hardly designated centres for its treatment in Nigeria.

“…there is the gross absence of dedicated sickle cell centres. Thus, it may be difficult to keep abreast of current knowledge and practices in the treatment of SCD.”

The physical effects of Sickle Cell Disease range from a normal build to a tall, lanky physique and increased chest diameter. During childhood, sickle cell patients may be smaller than normal. Puberty is often delayed but considerable growth takes place in late adolescence. Complications for patients include Bone Pain Crisis (BPC), ulcers, among others. The disease is usually diagnosed at birth, but its symptoms begin to show when the child is five months old.

But Anthony Orevaoghene Asiemo, a 30-year-old SCD patient says his symptoms started manifesting while he was yet unborn.

“My sickle cell trouble started when I was in the womb. My mom told me she needed the help of drugs and drips. The doctor told her the baby was sick in the womb,” he said.

In a chat with The Nation, the graduate of Delta State Polytechnic, Ozoro, who works with one of Nigeria’s commercial banks, and runs a blog alongside, recalled how often he found himself visiting the hospital as a young boy. His post seeking to sponsor 10 people for genotype tests on a group-chat drew the attention of this reporter.

Speaking from his hospital bed, he lamented how he would not wish an “enemy” to experience the pains he goes through every time he suffers a crisis.

“It is not something you wish on anyone. It is like someone is consistently hitting your bones with very hard metal. It can just be there for hours, days and you wish for death to take you away. I find myself very often in the hospital. Sometimes I can be admitted four or five times in a year.

“Like now, I have been here for 10 days. Sometimes I will be admitted for a month. It depends on the severity of the case. I spent a whole semester in the hospital while I was in school. I used to miss classes and recovered a few days to my examinations.

“One thing God has done for us is, he gave us very sharp intellect. It didn’t affect my grades, but the process. I got tired of people asking why I was not in school. I hated been called a sickler. So, I hid it in school. It was only recently I decided to come out with it. I realised I needed to talk about it,” he said.

Asiemo noted that despite strict adherence to doctor’s prescription, “crisis still comes. Sometimes you see your dreams fading away before you. There are things that one is restricted from doing. When I was very young, my mum would not let me play with my friends and it hurt me a lot. I didn’t understand why then, but she was protecting me. I couldn’t play in the rain, play football and go fishing with friends. Sickle Cell deprives you of childhood adventures.”

Recalling how he clinched his bank job, he stated that he was “discouraged” when he realised that a medical test was mandatory, but decided to give it a try and was surprised when he received a call to assume duty.

On the reason for sponsoring 10 individuals for genotype tests, Asiemo said he wished that his generation would be the “last set of sickle cell patients in Nigeria. I believe when people know their genotypes, it will be easier for them to make marital decisions or decisions of bringing children into this world.”

He posited that only sickle cell patients actually know their genotypes, which is the solution to eradicating SCD prevalence; as it will enable people to make the right marital decisions. But reports have it that despite knowing their genotype status, some individuals still proceed to marry and end up producing children with SCD.

Findings by our correspondent show that it costs N1, 000 to get a genotype test done in Nigeria. But it is advised that one goes for the test at three different laboratories to ascertain one’s status. This is due to a series of incidents where some individuals find out in future that they were wrongly diagnosed or otherwise, after a single test.

A Community Health Extension Worker (CHEW), at Capitol Hill Hospital in Delta State, Eje-Aya Peace pointed out that medical examinations were done for tertiary freshmen can help track carriers of sickle cell and further help to clamp down on the disease. He noted that institutions are only concerned about the HIV status of students, and as such, discard other health information.

“When some institutions take blood samples, they don’t do it (genotype test) or do not pass the information to students. When I was in school, we did medical tests. If truly we are doing these medical examinations, we will be able to track those that are carriers and counsel them appropriately.

“All schools that make students undergo medical tests should make the results of the tests available to them. The one they are concerned about is HIV. When your genotype test is done, go for a confirmation test. The physiology behind sickle cell is not something you want to dream or imagine,” he stated.

Confirming the medical practitioner’s assertions, Asiemo said the medical test he did in school showed his genotype was AA, even though he knew he was SS. “When I told my mother, she rejoiced and said maybe God had answered our prayers and changed my genotype. We watched out, but I fell sick again.”

Most people living with sickle cell are faced with societal discrimination in Nigeria.

In a chat with over 15 patients, it was discovered that some even endure abuses and torments from family members, parents included, who ordinarily should render mental, physical and financial support.

Other forms of discriminations include people being afraid of committing to a relationship, as well as denying SCD patients job opportunities.

Mrs. Adaka Precious, 31, is a sickle cell patient who shared her estrangement from her father.

“If I go to the town where my parents stay, even if it’s midnight, I will find my way back to my house because my dad will send me back from the gate without knowing my reason for coming. He will say ‘just turn back and go back to your house, don’t bring your problems here’,” she said.

She added that she lost her first pregnancy due to a crisis and her four-year-old son cries alongside her when she suffers a crisis. “When I cry, he will also cry saying ‘mummy sorry’.”

Another patient, Maryam Agoro, who resides in Ikorodu, Lagos state said: “Two things that constantly make me sad are that anytime I have a crisis, everyone seem to put the blame on me like I’m the cause of my problem comparing me with my sisters.

“Also at the hospital, I feel the pain relievers they give me aren’t strong enough. Anytime I beg them to give me an injection that I’m really in pain, they call me a drug addict. The thing is that I really need help myself. I don’t know why my crises are constant.”

Twenty-Three-year-old Agbolade-Oshodi Olaitan, also lamented the apathy of his family, revealing that he sometimes has to sell “stuff” in the house to facilitate treatment during a crisis.

But Taiwo Kabirat Mojisola, a teacher and mother of three, is among the lucky patients who enjoy family support.

In order to end SCD, the sickle cell warriors, as they are called, have called on the federal and state governments, as well as health organisations, to set up policies and carry out rigorous awareness campaigns.

Asiemo said: “You go to churches; they will pray against diseases but never mention sickle cell. In the House of Assembly, they have bills for other ailments but nothing on sickle cell. It is only us patients that are fighting this. If the government can join forces, maybe make laws about marriage and genotype testing, it will help a lot.”

Olaitan, on his part, implored the various governments to provide free treatment and accessible medical centres for people living with sickle cell.

Sickle Cell Aid Foundation (SCAF), a non-governmental organisation, revealed that efforts are being intensified for the push of the Sickle Cell Bill sponsored in 2015 by Senator Sam Egwu, so that SCD may be recognised as a “disability.” President of SCAF, Abuja Elmer Aluge told The Nation via mail correspondence that daily reports show “an increase in cases nationwide”. She added that “constant engagement with stakeholders as an organisation and with the SCD coalition body has been ongoing on various policy and advocacy involvement issues.”

By Nwanosike Onu, Mike Odiegwu, Frank Ikpefan, James Azania, Kolade Adeyemi, Alao Abiodun, Omolola Afolabi, Bassey Anthony, Ibrahim Adam, Augustine Okezie, Aiwerie Okungbowa, Adebisi Onanuga, Adekunle Jimoh and Elo Edremoda

The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) are set to shut offices and storm the streets to protest the hike in fuel price and electricity tariff.

Addressing reporters on Sunday in Lagos after a joint meeting between the TUC and the NLC, the National Deputy President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Amechi Asugwuni, said Labour was fully prepared for the strike action.

Amechi said the only option that the Federal Government must reverse these hikes.

“We have discussed with all our organs and agreed that the best way to go about it is through protest and strike.

“Government cannot go ahead to subjects Nigerians into suffering because of their inefficiency. The 100 percent hike in the electricity is not acceptable because Nigerians have not seen any improvement. The government has made promises several times in the past but has failed.

“Therefore, we demand an immediate reversal of the pump price of petrol. Complete reversal of the increase in the electricity tariff, “Amechi said.

The unions also have partners, such as the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), helping to mobilise for a showdown.

The organised labour in Kogi State said the restraining order obtained by the Federal Government at the National Industrial Court (NIC) would not stop the strike and protest.

Kogi State NLC Chairman Comrade Onuh Edoka at the weekend in Lokoja advised members to join the protest.

In Plateau State, NLC Chairman Eugene Manji told The Nation that the protest and strike would go on.

“All civil servants, civil society organisations, non-governmental organisations and all stakeholders on labour matters are expected to participate in the peaceful protest against the hike in electricity and fuel pump price which has further aggravated the sufferings and hardships of Nigerians.”

Also, the Plateau Police Command spokesman, ASP Gabriel Ubah, who spoke to The Nation on phone, said: “Our men are always on the ground to checkmate any eventuality that may come up during the protest.

“We (Police) are prepared and battle-ready and as such security arrangements have been put in place, to secure and maintain law and order in the state.”

In Anambra State, labour leaders, at the weekend, held a meeting at the secretariat of the National Union of local government Employees NULGE, in Awka to strategise on it.

Anambra State NLC Chairman Comrade Jerry Nnubia told The Nation yesterday that they were ready for the strike

He said it was for the good of the masses as everyone would suffer the petrol and Electricity tariffs increment by the government

According to the circular released yesterday by the labour in Anambra, signed by its secretary, Gauis Chukwuka, all the unions should gather by 9 am for the peaceful protest.

“All Chairmen and Secretaries of all industrial unions are please requested to mobilise their members to attend a peaceful protest/rally over the recent increase in the pump price of petrol & electricity tariff by Federal Government.”

The workers were told to assemble at the entrance of Dr Alex Ekwueme Square, at Aroma junction for the protest

Anambra Police Public Relations Officer Haruna Mohammed told The Nation yesterday that the police would make sure miscreants would not infiltrate the workers’ gathering to cause a breach of peace

He said: “We are ready in the state and we want to assure the public that there was no cause for alarm.”

The planned protest had thrown the residents into a panic, as they were seen rushing to the markets to stock foodstuff. Automated Teller Machine (ATM) points were also busy.

As early as 10 am yesterday, residents of Awka flooded the popular Eke-Awka market to purchase food items.

In Rivers State, the labour said it would set up a committee to monitor compliance, insisting that the government was causing hardship in the country.

The Chairman of the Organised Private Sector Union Forum in Rivers, Temple Morford, asked the government to revert petrol price to N120 per litre.

He said: “I hereby call on all workers of the private sector to join the strike action, they should make sure that there is total shutdown both land, air and sea, there should be no operations.

“The filling stations, transportation workers and all others should shut down under the private sector unions because Nigerians are being victimised and we cannot continue to be in our own country and be suffering while people from other countries that we give electricity supply enjoy 24 hours supply.”

In Akwa Ibom, the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) and other affiliate unions on Sunday mobilised their members for the protest.

A statement signed by the state chairman of NUJ, Comrade Amos Etuk and secretary, Comrade Dominic Akpan urged journalists in the state to assemble at the Idongesit Nkanga State Secretariat for the protest.

The Katsina State Chairman of the NLC, Alhaji Hamisu Hussaini, said members of the union would gather at the state secretariat of the union at Sabon line, Katsina by 8 am for an address before proceeding to Government House on a protest march.

He said: “We are certainly participating in the strike, after having sensitized our members and affiliate unions in the state. We are not expecting any disloyalty because the members are in total solidarity. We have also set up a task force to ensure total compliance and enforcement of the plans as rolled out by the national leadership of our union.’’

Delta

Delta State NLC Chairman Goodluck Ofobruku, in a telephone conversation with The Nation, said: “Harsh government policies are inimical to the country’s development.

“We are fully prepared, we are fully mobilised. In Warri, over 2000 would take off from the union’s secretariat, while all government offices and parastatals will be shut down.

“In Asaba, we are also mobilised. We will move through the streets and take our protest letters to His Excellency, the governor. Even at that, all the offices will be shut down because our members are fully mobilised not to go to work during the period of the strike and protest.

“When you talk about the court order, we have not received any service from anyone, so if anybody is talking about the court order, it is just a rumour, as far as we are concerned.

“But do not forget that there is a Federal High Court order stopping the Federal Government of Nigeria from increasing electricity tariff. The court gave this order in June, so if there is anyone to obey a court order, it should be the Federal Government.

“Section 40 of the constitution gives us the right to protest. It is our right and no court can suspend the provisions of the constitution. The Federal government should first obey court orders, before telling people to obey.

“They are just using the hike in petroleum and electricity to extort us. And it is time for Nigerians to say ‘no’. We are fully mobilised and tomorrow, we shall hit the streets as from 8 am in Delta state,” the labour chairman stated.

Kwara

CSOs on Sunday said it was collaborating with the labour for the protest in Kwara State.

The representative of one of the CSOs, the Joint Action Front (JAF), Comrade Taiwo Otitolaiye, told The Nation: “The fuel and electricity rate hike is an assault on the Nigerian masses. We cannot continue to go like this. The All Progressives Congress (APC) government rode to power on the promises of reducing the price of fuel, but it has tripled the price of the product from where it met it. In spite of the epileptic power supply, the APC-led government has increased the rate. Nigerians are suffering.

“Like we did in 2012 we are going to cripple the country unless it is reversed. That is our plan.”

Also, the state chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said its members have been full mobilised.

In a meeting with Trade Union Congress (TUC) and other affiliate unions, the state Chair of NLC, Aliyu Isa Ore, said his members were ready for the protest.

“We urge all respective union leaders to mobilise their members so that none flout the directive. From both NLC and TUC side we are speaking with one voice. We want to give this protest the maximum publicity it deserves. We cannot afford to fail because if this struggle fails, Nigeria has failed.

“Our members should be fully monitored to stay away from work and obey the directive. Let us tell this government the importance of labour force once again,” he said.

The spokesperson of the state police command, Ajayi Okasanmi, said: “As usual, we are fully on ground to ensure peace, the security of lives and property of Kwarans.”

IPMAN

The National Public Relations Officer, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Alhaji Suleiman Yakubu, urged members to dissociate themselves from the strike.

Yakubu spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

“IPMAN will not be part of the strike the NLC is calling, since our Association is not part of NLC. Therefore, we have already directed our members to continue doing their normal business while NLC and TUC are doing their strike,” he said.

Yakubu also advised Nigerians to cooperate with the government in ensuring that the economy grows better and stronger.

Police have a duty to protect protesters, says Falana

Activist lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) said the police have a duty to protect the protesters.

Falana urged the Inspector-General of Police, Commissioners of Police in all the States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory to provide adequate security for the protesters and maintain neutrality in the mass action.

The lawyer, in a statement titled, “Duty of police authorities to provide security for protesters”, said the constitution guarantees the right of Nigerians to protest.

“In exercise of their fundamental rights of freedom of expression and assembly guaranteed by sections 39 and 40 of the Nigerian Constitution, the members of the Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond (ASCAB) and other concerned citizens have resolved to participate in the public protests scheduled to take place throughout Nigeria with effect from September 28, 2020. The peaceful protests will be conducted within the ambit of the Covid-19 Regulations.

“In the case of All Nigeria People Party & Ors (2006), CHR 181 wherein the Federal High Court struck down the provisions of the Public Order Act which required permits for public meetings and rallies.

“Consequently, the Court proceeded to grant an order of perpetual injunction “restraining the Defendant (the Inspector-General of Police) whether by himself, his agents, privies and servants from further preventing the Plaintiffs and other aggrieved citizens of Nigeria from organizing or convening peaceful assemblies, meetings and rallies against unpopular government measures and policies.

“Completely dissatisfied with the epochal judgment of the Federal High Court, the Police Authorities appealed to the Court of Appeal. In dismissing the appeal in the case of Inspector General of Police v All Nigeria People Party & Ors (2008) 12 WRN 65 the Court of Appeal upheld the fundamental right of Nigerian citizens to assemble freely and protest without any inhibition whatsoever.

“In the leading judgment of the Court, Adekeye JCA (as she then was) held that “Public Order Act should be promulgated to compliment sections 39 and 40 of the Constitution in context and not to stifle or cripple it.

“A rally or placard carrying demonstration has become a form of expression of views on current issues affecting government and the governed in a sovereign state. It is a tread recognized and deeply entrenched in the system of governance in civilized countries – it will not only be primitive but also retrogressive if Nigeria continues to require a pass to hold a rally.

“We must borrow a leaf from those who have trekked the rugged path of democracy and are now reaping the dividend of their experience,” he said.

Falana added: “The amendment of the Electoral Act in March 2015 addressed the lacuna. Thus, section 94 (4) of the Electoral Amendment Act, 2015 stipulates that “Notwithstanding any provision in the Police Act, the Public Order and any regulation made thereunder or any other law to the contrary, the role of the Nigeria Police Force in political rallies, processions and meetings shall be limited to the provision of adequate security as provided in subsection 1 of this section.”

It is wrong for lawmakers to label constituency projects which they facilitated for their constituents donation. FRANK IKPEFAN writes that it is honourable for them to tell their constituents that such a project was built with the taxpayers’ money, their money.

On May 30, 2020, Garba Abdullahi, a community champion with BudgIT Foundation, stirred the hornets’ nest when he shared a post tweeted by Tracka – a platform used by BudgIT to engage citizens on good governance, on his Facebook wall.

The post, which was initially published by Tracka on its Twitter handle in May called out the Senator representing the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, in the National Assembly, Philip Aduda and the Federal Ministry of Water Resources for allegedly mismanaging public resources to the tune of N225 million and converting a public project into a personal one.

The Constituency Project or Zonal Intervention Project (ZIP) as it is also known which gulped N100 million in 2016; N75 million in 2017 and N50 million in 2019, totalling N225 million, has now been renamed the Jumma/Aduda Youth Centre with an engraved picture of the Senator’s mother on the front of the building.

The Senator received flak from Nigerians on social media when pictures of the constituency project executed with taxpayers’ money appeared on social media after the Senator had turned it into a personal project.

Abdullahi’s sin, as it later turned out to be with series of threats to his life was that he shared the “fraud alert” post allegedly perpetrated by the People’s Democratic Party Senate Minority Whip in the National Assembly, Aduda.

As a community champion for Tracka, Abdullahi’s job is to track projects being implemented with public funds in the six area councils in the FCT.

He said: “As a community champion, we track abandoned projects and report to Tracka. We do research on the budget allocation and the money released for such projects then Tracka will publish it on its domain.

“This particular project is supposed to be Karu Town Hall. What they used in getting the funds from the Federal Government was Karu Town Hall, not Jumma/Aduda Youth Centre as it has been renamed now.

“I shared the post on my Facebook wall as a community champion working for Tracka.

“Some minutes later I began to receive a series of calls from some unknown people and threats from people I don’t really know. They threatened to deal with me. It became something that I needed to hide for some days.

“I was frightened by the series of threats that I received so I had to hide and stay low for a while. I was not myself during those moments, I told my father and other people around me about the threats I received.

“It was not funny. Even my body reaction changed at that time and I had to be in hiding for a while.”

Constituency projects as “donation”

Constituency projects are nominated by representatives either at the federal or state level for the benefit of indigenes at the grassroots. It is also a means for citizens to feel the impact of governance in their communities. These projects are implemented using taxpayers’ money.

Nigerians have a right to know how their tax contributions are being utilised. However, recent findings have shown that representatives at the National Assembly have formed the habit of labelling projects funded with public resources as “donations.”

Such “fraudulent appellation”, many have argued, should not be allowed to continue since the funds for these projects are released by the Federal Government. The Federal Government spends N100 billion yearly on constituency projects nominated by members of the National Assembly.

Recently, Aduda joined a list of federal lawmakers who have made it a habit of turning projects executed with taxpayers’ money into a personal donation, giving the impression to their constituents and the public that the project(s) were implemented using their personal funds.

Pictures of a former governor from the east distributing motorcycles as empowerment scheme to his constituents were shared by Tracka on its handle recently. The sum of N20 million was allocated in the 2020 Budget for the supply of those motorcycles to the senatorial district which the former governor represents.

Like Aduda, the lawmaker turned the empowerment scheme into “donation,” thereby giving the impression to his constituents that the empowerment scheme was implemented using the lawmaker’s personal funds.

Another example of renaming public project into donation happened in Kebbi State. The 2019 ZIP provided for the repairs/rehabilitation and furnishing of some select classrooms in a senatorial district in Kebbi State value at N60 million.

Although the supplies were made at Dundaye Model Primary School in Kwaido District, Augie Local Government Area, the chairs were tagged as “donation.”

Uadamen Ilevbaoje, Head of Tracka for BudgIT Foundation stated that constituency projects should not be labelled as donations by community representatives in the National Assembly.

Ilevbaoje explained that the labelling of constituency projects as a donation by lawmakers is a malicious attempt to deliberately misinform their constituents for selfish political interests.

He urged lawmakers to stop the pervasive trend which he said was fast becoming a habit among them.

He said: “Constituency projects should not be labelled as donations by community representatives in the National Assembly. This is a malicious attempt by lawmakers at deliberately misinforming their constituents for selfish political interests.

“Lawmakers should not label tax-funded projects as a personal donation. It is a way of misinforming their constituents of the government’s efforts to taxpayers’ contribution. Such action has to stop.

“The word ‘donation’ means using your personal funds to execute projects, but taxpayers’ funded projects should not be tagged as ‘donations’. It is wrong for lawmakers to continue with this fraud.”

Labelling of constituency projects as a donation a malicious attempt to deliberately misinform constituents for selfish political gains – Yiaga

Ilevbaoje’s position that the renaming of constituency projects as a personal donation is a fraud meant to deceive constituents were re-echoed by the Executive Director, YIAGA Africa, Samson Itodo.

The head of Yiaga noted that the act is an attempt by lawmakers to deceive their constituents.

Itodo stated that the action raises questions about the integrity of the lawmakers involved.

He stated: “It has been a practice for legislators to name projects facilitated by them as ‘donation’ to their constituents. When you use the title ‘donated’ it appears you are only distributing patronage as well as providing support to your constituents from your own pocket.

“What legislators do is facilitate projects but not donate projects. But sometimes when the concept donation is used it is just used oftentimes to deceive constituents and that can also be used as a way of justifying constituency allowances that legislators have to attract projects to their constituencies.

“So they are not the ones funding the projects because they are not using their money, it is not their money. It is taxpayers’ money and it is the money for the country.

“If you attract projects (to your constituency) let it be clearly stated there. It is just part of integrity, accountability and transparency to say that you facilitated this, these are the clients, these are the contractors and it is based on what is provided in the budget but not to claim; claiming that you donated when in actual fact you only facilitated the project raises questions about integrity.”

Way forward

Although the Chairman, House Committee on Constituency Outreach, Bello Kaoje, did not return calls and text messages sent to his phone, it was learnt that lawmakers during a two-day retreat in Owerri, Imo State in March this year agreed to stop using “donation” in place of “facilitated” for constituency projects nominated by them.

Their decision was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the retreat organised for House of Representatives members and signed by Kaoje and his Deputy, Kani Abubakar Faggo.

Part of the communiqué reads: “To encourage lawmakers to monitor and ensure the successful implementation of their constituency projects and for ease of identification appropriated constituency projects should be labelled as ‘facilitated by’ in place of ‘donated by.’”

• Reporting done as part of Civic Hive Media Fellowship 2020 and supported by BudgIT Foundation.

Twelve students from the University of Ibadan, Ahmadu Bello University and the University of Port Harcourt have qualified for the finals of the Huawei ICT Competition finals. This has generated excitement in the schools and among ICT buffs, writes CHINAKA OKORO.

The Huawei Global ICT Competition is a major event on the sector’s calendar. Students from universities across the world look forward to participating in it. This year, twelves students from the University of Ibadan, the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and the University of Port Harcourt have qualified for the finals of the contest. They achieved this feat after an excellent performance in the Cloud and Network examination at the just concluded Huawei Sub-Saharan Africa Region ICT Competition finals.

The Huawei ICT Competition covers examination on the latest ICT technologies such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, mobile networks and big data. It is believed to be the biggest of its kind in Africa featuring 123 student-talents from 13 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, divided into 41 teams (28 network track and 13 cloud track teams). At the Sub-Saharan regional finals, the students compete for 18 prizes and 12 admission tickets for the Huawei Global ICT Competition Final in October 2020, which will attract more than 300 other student-talents from 66 countries across the globe.

Team Nigeria had 15 students divided into five teams who competed under the Network and Cloud segment. The students had a great performance which guaranteed four of the Nigerian teams’ tickets to the competition. Two teams emerged first position and third position in the Cloud examination, while two other teams of the Nigerian students emerged second in the network examination. Due to the pandemic, the Huawei ICT Sub-Saharan regional competition was held virtually. The Nigerian students participated from the Huawei Technologies Nigeria offices in Abuja and Lagos.

The Huawei ICT competition, which was established to foster ICT learning in Africa and bridge the gap between theoretical study and practical experience, comprises of a national preliminary contest, regional semi-final and a global final. Following a successful run at the national finals of the Huawei ICT Competition which was held on December 10, 2019, and had over 23,000 Nigerian students in the contest, 15 students were selected to represent Nigeria at the Sub-Saharan Africa Region ICT Competition finals which held on September 10 and 11, 2020 to determine those who will be selected to participate the Huawei Global ICT Competition finals.

Mr. Weilei, one of the Huawei Channel Training Managers (for ICT Talent Ecosystem Development in Nigeria), said: “The Huawei ICT competition was first launched in Nigeria in 2017 and currently runs under the Huawei ICT Academy which is in collaboration with more than 90 Nigerian universities. The Huawei ICT Academy was established to train students for free in the latest internationally relevant ICT skills in subjects such as Networks, Cloud Computing and Big Data. As at today, over 10,000 Nigerian students have benefitted.”

He added: “There are 150 instructors from partnering institutions, with 120 of them acquiring various Huawei certifications in different technology track and 250 training classes in various technology tracks, in Routing & switching, storage, cloud services, big data, W-Lan, security and AI delivered by Huawei certified instructors.”

Ms Melissa Chen, Director, Huawei Nigeria Enterprise D&S Department, said: “The competition-related training has helped over 300 students receive job offers. In Nigeria alone, over 3,000 Nigerian students trained by Huawei have successfully passed the Huawei professional certification exams. Huawei hopes to skill up more than 700,000 ICT professionals by 2023. The aim is to bridge the ICT talent gap, advance the digital transformation of industries, and bring digital to every person, home and organisation for a fully connected, intelligent world.”

Another Huawei Channel Training Manager (for ICT Talent Ecosystem Development in Nigeria), Mr. Kenneth Igwe, explained how the students were trained adequately for the examination by Huawei certified instructors.

He said: “Prior to the ICT competition, Huawei Technologies Nigeria took time out to train 9 of the 15 students who were also given internship opportunities with the company in Abuja and Lagos. Meanwhile, all the students had also been trained since January for this competition and many of them already acquired HCIA, HCIP and HCIP which are globally recognised certifications in various Huawei technology courses.”

The students and instructors were glad to have qualified to represent Nigeria at the Huawei Global ICT Competition which will be held later in the year 2020.

For Abdullahi Muhammad Khalifa (Cloud Team, a student from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria), he is excited he is part of the team that has qualified for the global finals.

“We have been preparing for this for over 8 months. Huawei gave us free access to their cloud services and also free vouchers to write the HCIP Cloud Services Certification and also support from their engineers,” he said.

His excitement is not different from that of Ugheoke Anthony Oshiobugie (Network team, a student from the University of Port Harcourt).

“Huawei offered us internship opportunities which exposed us to real-life projects and has played a major role towards our success in the regional final even as we look forward to the greater performance at the global finals. Connection, Glory, Future, the theme of the Huawei ICT Competition says it all. I am looking forward to the glory of becoming a world champion which will make the future brighter for me.” – “I feel very excited to be participating in the Huawei ICT Global Finals. It took a lot of time and effort to come this far and I am glad our team’s perseverance yielded great results. Huawei provided us with a suitable learning environment during our 6 weeks internship where we learnt about the emerging technologies such as Cloud and Storage,” Oshiobugie said.

According to Mustapha Abdullahi Jimoh (Cloud Team, a student from Ahamadu Bello University, Zaria), “It took a lot of time and effort to come this far and I am glad our team’s perseverance yielded great results. Huawei provided us with a suitable learning environment during our 6 weeks internship where we learnt about emerging technologies such as Cloud and Storage. I feel very excited to be participating in the Huawei ICT Global Finals.”

Abideen Bolaji Olaide, a student of the University of Ibadan and member of the Network Team, said: “I am very excited to represent Nigeria in the global final and I will put more effort to bring the Gold medal home. Huawei has helped me in attaining my HCIA and HCIP R&S certifications and I also participated in a lot of rigorous training organised by Huawei including but not limited to HCIE training. These certifications and trainings really go a long way.”

Equally excited is the team’s member from the University of Port Harcourt, Ukasanya Elma Tejiri. “I am so excited and honoured to represent Nigeria in the global finals, it has been an awesome experience so far. I was part of the boot camp at the Huawei office Abuja for about 2 months where we (I and my team) were extensively trained and well equipped for the regional finals. I am definitely looking forward to coming out in flying colours and making Nigeria proud at the global finals,” Tejiri said.

For another team’s member from the University of Ibadan, Badiru Toheeb Adeniyi, the team had solid support from Huawei.

“What an intensive support from Huawei through the provision of quality trainings and exam vouchers right from the associate level to the expert level also the provision of quick access to study guides,” Adeniyi said.

Ohagim Chinemere, who is a team member from the University of Port Harcourt), said he learnt a lot of things from the competition. “Previously, I could not configure a Huawei enterprise router via the CLI. But after preparing for this competition, I have been able to configure, install and integrate some enterprise links using Huawei enterprise routers. The preparation for this competition has enabled me to master most of the syntax for setting up a Huawei router/switches via CLI. The Huawei Academy has been so helpful in our preparation for the Regional finals through well-planned online classes, lucid presentation via Meet/Zoom mobile Apps and excellent tutors. During the classes, we were given all the materials needed for the exam,” Chinemere said.

For Nwala Uchechi Blessing, the competition has broadened his knowledge in computer networking.

“This platform has enabled me to broaden my knowledge in computer networking, information and network security. It has also kept me abreast on trending network protocols and procedures and how I can secure information properly hereby ensuring the triple A (authentication, authorisation and accounting) to protect data and information using the 3 major components (CIA Triad) confidentiality, integrity and availability. This competition has also helped my knowledge and the level of experience acquired during the course and has enabled me to have an outstanding edge of knowledge and professional qualification over other IT computer personnel’s in networking and security,” Nwala said.

Samuel Oluwafemi Adebayo, an instructor from the University of Port Harcourt, summed up the students’ performance: “Looking at the performance of the students, I am just so happy. I am encouraged by the way they embrace this challenge and always look forward to even more challenges. Huawei really helped in preparing us for the finals by making a pool of learning resources available online which we can always refer to at any time. More preparation time would go a long way for the students as they anticipate the global finals. A great performance is what I look forward to.”

Camps for the homeless and the disabled in southwest Nigeria are reeling under neglect, hunger and diseases, a grim condition that could potentially trigger needless deaths, reports GBENGA OGUNDARE

Statistics of confirmed Covid-19 infection in Lagos State as at September 2020 has spilled over 18,000 cases already — a 5000 leap from the 13,000 residents Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi predicted will catch the Covid-19 bug “…if everyone practices good social distancing…”

But in the worst case scenario, the Health Commissioner says the State might be looking at a total 39,000 cases after all.

With four inhabitants already dead this year alone due to unfathomable reasons at the Destitutes Home on 28 Okobaba Street in Ebute-Meta, Lagos Mainland Local Government, according to revelation by Mohammed Baba, a leprosy survivor in the camp, and Lagos State Secretary of Integrated Dignity Economic Advancement (IDEA), the umbrella association of leers in Nigeria, the camp appears a perfect disaster zone for unrestricted transmission and fatality any day.

The first neon-bright indicator of an incubating pestilence as you arrive at this enclosed community is the massive crowd of vulnerable Nigerians—lepers, cripple, blind,old and frail citizens, as well as skinny, undernourished children–  all tightly strewn together without respect for physical distancing and those other protocols with which the Lagos State Government hopes to rein in the spread of the coronavirus.

“Do your people know about the coronavirus already,’ the reporter asked Mohammed.

“Yes, we always tell them,’ he replied.

“So why are they not using face mask with all of the crowd of people that come in and out of the camp every now and then?”

“Well, some dey use if they want go out,’ explained Mohammed.

Brimming with a population spiraling at over 1000 inhabitants, and largely dependent on occasional handouts from government and other charitable minds, only a few things would appear as normal to anyone visiting the destitute home in Okobaba for the first time.

Apart from the three blocks of buildings erected over twenty years ago in the camp —one section for the lepers, another for the blind and the third for cripples— as well as  a mosque, there is neither an hospital nor the presence of health workers in the crowded Okobaba destitute home.

So it’s impossible to stave off person-to-person transmission of infections among inhabitants of this community, explained Kazeem Omokanye, a Lagos-based General Medicine practitioner. “As for overcrowding, it impacts negatively on the health of the inhabitants, physically, socially and emotionally. Health being,according to WHO, a complete state of wellbeing physically, emotionally and socially. And not just the absence of diseases or infirmity.”

The destitute of Okobaba care less anyway. For one, majority of the inhabitants here are largely unlettered persons living with disabilities from the North, and can hardly make a sense of the sensitization messages the United Nations, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and other government agencies spew out every now and then to keep the citizenry informed of the need to take responsibility.

Spending a whole day interacting with the disable clusters in the last week of August, the reporter found out that regular hand-washing with soap under a running water and the use of sanitizer is not an habit for the destitute of Okobaba. Not even for the legion of do-gooders who bump into one another as they stream into the over-crowded camp every now and then to offer food items, money and toiletries.

There is no potable water fit for use in the camp at any rate, lamented the inhabitants. “This place is below sea level, so the three boreholes we have only produce salt water that we can’t drink,’ Mohammed lamented.

For more than two decades, they have been doing their laundries and bathing with the salt water nonetheless, the reporter learnt, oblivious of the health effects of bathing in salt water for a prolonged period.

Olanrewaju Anifowoshe, Chief Medical Director at the Hansen Disease Hospital in Elega, Abeokuta says bathing with salt water over a sustained period as the destitutes of Okobaba have been doing puts the skin under pressure, and exposes it to infections such as Furunculosis, a scaly and itchy infectious disease of the overlying skin.

And because they live in overcrowded, unhygienic environment, explained Anifowoshe, this further exposes them to all manner of infectious diseases, including malaria, chest infection etc- the pre-existing downers Covid-19 requires to deal its victims a fatal blow.

The destitutes also risk epidemic such as the deadly Meningitis, typhoid infections and skin diseases like scabies and fungal infections, added Omokanye. The current Covid19 pandemic sure will have ease of spread in such area. While immune-related diseases like common cold and the deadly HIV are also possible in this settlement, he explained.

It’s even worse for the lepers among them, argued Anifowoshe, because their skins have been damaged already. So when they bath in salt water, they are exposed to further skin desiccation.

According to Dermatologists, desiccation is the state of extreme dryness   which cracks open the skin and makes attacks from other infections possible.

The lepers in Okobaba, Ogbomosho, Iberekodo and Ijebu-Igbo are not the only ones at risk at any rate. So are the other destitute who dwell with them, revealed Omokanye. “Leprosy will, of course, fester when there is no adequate containment or segregation of those taking treatment with those not affected. And poor rehabilitation of those that have had treatment can lead to re-infection in addition to those other diseases that have been highlighted above.”

Apart from the syndrome of infections they stand to contract from their slimy, dirty toilets and bathrooms, the risk of spiraling blood pressure is also real among this ignorant community, explained Anifowoshe, because it’s likely they also drink from the salt water. “And that’s a risk factor for hypertension, which is why we advise people to cut down their salt intake because hypertension is a silent killer.”

Same grim experience

Move over the eyesore in Okobaba. Every moment at the lepers colony in Ijebu-Igbo, Ogun State is even more nightmarish without an hospital and social workers to offer support to the inhabitants of the camp– majority of who have lost their means of mobility due to the ravages of advanced leprosy.

With less than 40 inhabitants, the colony has lost two lepers this year alone, and about three in 2019, Hammed Jimoh, Chairman of IDEA in Ogun State told the reporter.

No one could attribute the deaths to the ravaging effects of Covid-19 though, but the colony and its inhabitants are not exactly shielded from communicable diseases due largely to lack of water, poor hygiene and sanitation, the reporter found out.

“The machine that use to pump water for us have spoil,’ Ahmed Bakare explained, ‘so we have to manage the water from an abandoned dirty stream in the community if we want to bath or use the toilet.”

Kofi Anan, a Togolese who has spent a decade at the colony already has got no choice really. Like old Taiwo Hassan, Bello Adahunse and others who are unable to make the trip to the stream because of the damage to their sight and fingers, they rely on the benevolence of other slightly mobile mates when nature calls.

They have an option of fetching water from a community well some distance away from the colony too, “but sometimes they don’t allow us because of our condition,’ lamented Bakare.

A famished community

It’s a double disaster actually. Both for the lepers in Ogbomosho, Ijebu-Igbo and Iberekodo in Abeokuta.

Unlike the destitutes home at Okobaba, these three colonies in Oyo and Ogun States respectively hardly play host to visitors who come to offer them relief packages and alms, so the inhabitants and their children are left stranded and hungry most of the time.

A few fortunate ones among them in Iberekodo and Ijebu-Igbo have their names registered on the social welfare list of the Ogun State Government though. And with this, they get N10,000 every month as stipend.

Not so for the lepers in Ogbomosho however. These ones can only pray and hope for the benevolence of the Baptist Church Ogbomosho which comes into the abandoned camp to offer food items.

The N10,000 stipend has become grossly inadequate already, given food price hike, lamented old John Ojoawo. “We are begging the Governor to have mercy on us and help us increase the money because it is not enough for us to feed again, how much less send our children to school.”

The arithmetic of sustaining a family of five, comprising of father, mother and their three children on a daily basis, according to Jimoh, can be depressing really, especially if the children have to go to school too.

“Suppose a family of five manages to live on N500 every day, it means they will finish the N10,000 stipend in twenty days,’ he analyzed.

By implication, an average family at the colony can then go hungry for the remaining ten days of the month until the next stipend comes. And if the extra cost of sending their children to school on a daily basis is added, then the destitute at Iberekodo and Ijebu-Igbo can then expect to endure more days of hunger before they get their next stipends.

They wish they were working to earn a living though. But working to make extra income, for the leprosy survivors, has remained a traumatic adventure, Falilat Ojoawo and Aina Jacob told the reporter.

“The stigma orientation among the populace is still there you know,’ lamented Jimoh, so many still see leprosy as a curse or punishment for a sin commited.”

For Anan, Hassan, Adahunse and others stranded at the Ijebu-Igbo and Ogbomosho camps, living with leprosy is indeed both a curse and punishment.

They’ve got no legs to trek to the farm again. Neither do they have the hands to till the land. “Even for some of us who use to go to the farm, griped Anan, ‘they don’t get any harvest from their farm because animals always eat the crops before harvest time.”

Under international human rights law, Nigeria’s government has an obligation to safeguard the rights of people to adequate standard of living. This also includes provision of adequate food and nutrition, the highest attainable standard of health, and the right to social security.

Already, an estimated 5 in 10 children under five are malnourished, stunted, wasted or overweight, says UNICEF, while 3 in 10 children aged 6 to 23 months live on poor diets.

But with all of their names nowhere to be found in the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) register the federal government flaunts in the face of the public each time they claim to have shelled out billions of tax payers’ money to some poor and vulnerable Nigerians, the destitutes at Ogbomosho, Iberekodo, Ijebu-Igbo and Okobaba and their children can only live on charity until an angel of death comes calling.

• This story was done with support from the Civic Hive Media Fellowship and BudgIT.

Will Nigeria’s refineries ever come back life and be able to perform at full capacity? The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says it is a dream that will come to fruition in a few years. ROBERT EGBE examines the state of the refineries on which over $396 million was spent between 2013 and 2015 with nothing to show for it and the shape of what is to come.

Before 2006, the Eleme Petrochemical Limited in Rivers State was in a bad state. This company, then a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), had not witnessed Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) for 11 years. Not for one day was the plant, which was started in 1995, shut down for maintenance. It was a victim of bureaucracy. Its state proved the globally- accepted norm that that government has no business in business. The place was run more as a government organisation and efficiency was on permanent break.

For petrochemicals and refineries where day-to-day decisions have to be made, bureaucracy is an enemy and it badly affected the Eleme Petrochemical Limited. The firm changed name in 2006 and became the Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals Company Limited (IEPL), after Indorama as the core investors acquired it in 2006 from the NNPC during the privatisation programme. Its fortune changed and the complex, which is located at Eleme, Rivers State, now has no less than 22,000 tonnes per annum (TPA) Butene-1, 270,000 TPA Polyethylene, and 80,000 TPA Polypropylene plants that process natural gas liquids (NGL) from Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) and propylene-rich feed from Port Harcourt refinery to produce a range of Polyethylene and Polypropylene products. IEPL rehabilitated the previously under-utilised plant, and through prudent management has over the years stabilised petrochemicals production.

Other NNPC subsidiaries, such as the Warri and Port Harcourt refineries, were not privatised at the time, neither was proper revamping done on them. The beautiful turn-out of the IEPL is a proof of what proper rehabilitation not hampered by bureaucracy can do. The NNPC, going by recent pronouncement, seems to have found a way to breathe life into all the four refineries. Though they have not been privatised, the corporation is excited about the plans for the refineries. First, it carried out a detailed audit of the government’s ailing refineries and mobilised funds and technical resources to restore them to full operating capacity. This is part of a strategic effort to crash fuel prices and guarantee energy security. Industry experts believe this is the way to go. They are of this opinion given the fact that it holds the promise of ending a situation where Nigeria remains the only major oil without local refining capabilities.

The NNPC is obviously taking this step to breathe life into the refineries since it has become increasingly clear that the much-awaited Dangote Refineries cannot do much in helping to crash fuel price. Minister of Finance Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning Mrs Zainab Ahmed said when Dangote Refinery kicks off next year, it may not significantly reduce the price of petrol because the refinery will be selling at the international price.

Mrs Ahmed said: “What we are doing is enabling the petroleum sector to actually grow. There have been a number of refineries that have been licensed for several years. None of them was willing to start refining under the regime that we had where fuel was controlled.

“The Dangote refinery is sitting within an Export Processing Zone so they are insulated from that. When we buy fuel from Dangote, we will be buying fuel at the international market price. The only savings that we will be making is the savings of freight which is shipping.

“But we will still have landing cost; labour cost and the marketers will still have to put a margin. These refineries being those that are supposed to have come to operate can now come in because they are assured that when they produce, they can sell at market rate and recover their investments and make some reasonable profits.”

NNPC to the rescue

NNPC Group Managing Director Mele Kyari said the refineries are set for major rehabilitation. The four refineries have a combined capacity of 444,000 barrels per day.

The Port Harcourt refinery, with a capacity for 210,000 barrels per day is made up of two refineries located at Alesa-Eleme, Rivers State. Its oldest plant inaugurated in 1965 has a refining capacity of 60,000 barrels per day; the new plant, which was inaugurated in 1989, has the capacity of 150,000 barrels per day. The plant utilises bonny light crude oil to produce Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), premium motor spirit (PMS), Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK), Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO) and High Pour Fuel Oil (HPFO).

The Warri refinery, which was established in 1978, has a refining capacity of 100,000 barrels per stream day plant and was debottlenecked to 125,000 barrels per stream day in 1987.

The Kaduna refinery has a refining capacity of 110,000 barrels per day. It possesses a fuels plant inaugurated in 1983 and the 30,000 MT per year Petrochemical Plant in 1988.

“What you call rehabilitation is different from turnaround maintenance (TAM). TAM is a routine endeavour. When you talk about rehabilitation, that means you have colossal loss of capacity in the refineries. It means you’ve not done TAM properly, you’ve not replaced parts as and when due and it has gotten to a point where you’re not able to operate the refineries in the full installed capacities.

“Every refinery is expected to operate at least 90% of installed capacity.  With all the TAM down, it was impossible to run any of these refineries at 90 per cent capacity. Our estimate was that we could run at 60 per cent capacity but if we do that, it’s simply value destruction. You take a $100 crude and bring out $70 product, it doesn’t make sense.

“We want to make them work and that’s why we’re doing full rehabilitation. Refineries are like aircraft. I’ve visited refineries that are over 100 years old that are still functioning. Refineries don’t die like cars or other assets,” he said.

The rehabilitation is to be carried out largely by its engineering subsidiary, National Engineering and Technical Company, NETCO/KBR as Owners Engineer (OE) for the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries in May. This will help save cost.

The management invited to tender for the repair of Port Harcourt refinery and signed a $1.5 billion prepayment deal. The financing package, called Project Eagle, was backed by the African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank).

The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to boost the country’s liquefied natural gas output by more than 30 per cent has also been sealed, with construction beginning in the first quarter of 2021.

The financing of Warri and Kaduna refineries is to be handled by Luke Oil and other commercial banks. The Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) has okayed the issuing of tenders for EPC contract to list EPC contractors for the refineries.

Public tenders have been done to partners on build, operate and transfer for the associated pipelines for crude and produce transportation. The completion target is before 2023.

Detailed technical inspection of PHRC was carried out by the Technimont SpA (the representative of the Original Refinery Builder) was completed in October 2019. NETCO and KBR were appointed as Owners Engineer and Project Management Consultants in May. A shortlist of bidders for the EPC project was approved in June, while approval of financing of the project to progress with Afrexim Bank to raise $1b billion by NNPC BoD was in July.

Prequalification of bidders was done in August, while a Certificate of No Objection from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) for the provision of EPC services to progress to the next phase was also issued in August. In December 2019, the award of EPC to best globally reputable EPC Contractor took place.

The contractors are expected to move to site on the first quarter of 2021 and the pre-commissioning is expected to be in the first quarter of 2023.

The Federal Government has in the last 25 years spent billions of dollars on TAM for the refineries, the latest being over $396 million spent between 2013 and 2015 with nothing to show for it. The refineries were instead shut because of the difficulties in feeding them with crude oil via the pipelines, which were compromised by vandals.

Kyari said: “That means you’re not able to deliver crude oil to them to operate to the maximum of their capacity. That is not what we want. So, our target is that when they come back to life, they’ll run over 90% capacity. We’re also working with the private sector to establish condensate refineries.”

The Kyari-led NNPC has been suing for peace and mending broken relationships among petroleum stakeholders and host communities to ensure hitch free operations. The management has carried out a detailed scoping of Port Harcourt and Warri refineries to determine its needs.

Senate’s intervention

Earlier this year, the Senate mandated its Committee on Downstream Petroleum Sector to carry out a holistic investigation on the turnaround maintenance. It also mandated the committee to convene a stakeholder’s conference on the best way to revamp ailing refineries.