The Nation Newspaper

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  • Coronavirus: Is high dosage vitamin c a conqueror?

    Femi Kusa

    I wonder if Dr Linus Pauling (1901-94) and Dr Robert Atkins (1903-2003) are not laughing at our folly, wherever they are. Dr Pauling died  aged 93, leaving behind life long studies on vitamin c, two Nobel prize awards he shared with no one, a remarkable feat, and a long standing controversy on how many milligrams of vitamin c the average human being should consume in the daily diet. Where his fellow medical researchers and physicians limited daily intake at 60 milligrams, Dr Pauling set the minimum daily dosage at 3,000mg and even always ventured beyond 10,000mg(10g). I said he should be smiling wherever he is today because, from about two weeks ago, Chinese doctors have been saying vitamin c at 20,000 mg daily intake has  cured some cases of coronavirus among the elderly in their country. Almost overnight, many health food stores in the United States and in the United Kingdom had no vitamin c to sell. Even in Nigeria, many shelves are empty.

    Since the news about vitamin c  coronavirus cure broke in China, I have been asked by some Nigerians if it is not all a hoax,  a sales gimmick. Every time, I refer the enquirers to the life long studies of Dr Linus Pauling  on the internet. I also mention the uncompromising efforts of Dr Robert Atkins to promote mega dosage nutrition. He died at the age of 72

    Dr Pauling was scorned by his colleagues as a man who caused his followers to waste their resources on vitamin c because, as they said, the body would urinarily excrete vitamin c over 60mg daily, or remove it in loose bowels. Dr Pauling  replied the criticisms with three simple words. Time Will Tell. Indeed, time told. For while many of them died in their sixties or seventies, Dr Paulin lived to be 93. And even now that some Chinese doctors say they are containing coronavirus with 20,000mg of vitamin c every day, could time not be still telling?

    As for Dr Atkins, he may be unfit to lace the shoes of Dr Pauling. He was a mega dosage nutritional  orthodox doctor. Long before Dr  Udo Erasmus unified the fat theory with his work in the book, Fats that heal and Fats that kill, Dr Atkins had been prescribing up to eight grams (80,000mg) of vitamin c daily for pulmonary diseases and encouraging his patients to minimise carbohydrate intake and go for more fats. He set himself in opposition to the American Medical Association (AMA), which crowded his views out of the media and book publishing industry.  Dr Atkins  set up his own printing press. I came across his works in the 1980s. He did not believe there were diseases without cures. At that time, the popular medical opinion was that fat caused heart disease, heart attacks and stroke. Dr Atkins said fat was good food. Apparently, the fat” bad-mouthed “at that time, which he prescribed in large quantum, sometimes at three grams daily, 300 percent above permitted daily values, were essential fatty acids (EFAs) which are in vogue today. Today, many doctors do not prescribe more than 5,500 international units of vitamin A on daily basis for fear that an excess may cause liver damage. On a collision course with them, Dr Atkins prescribed between 15,000 and 25,000 iu.

    It is possible Dr Atkins may have lived longer than 72 had he not slipped on that fateful day on a snow covered street of New York near the Atkins Centre and hit his head badly on the kerb and died.

     

    Coronavirus and vitamin c

     

    About two weeks ago, some Chinese doctors began to inform the medical world that mega intravenous vitamin c dosages may cure corona virus disease. A doctor from Shanghai whose daughter was among doctors in the region heading for Wuhan, epicentre of coronavirus outbreak in China, said many of them were packing vitamin c in suitcases for personal prophylactic use out there in the “inferno”. There have been an official report that decades of vitamin c clinical trials provided huge evidence that the vitamin may kill viruses.This was probably because it helps produce Hydrogen Peroxide which killed microbes.

    This doctor told the story of a family . The focus is the matriarch  who suffered from diabetes, coronary heart disease, other chronic diseases and  began to exhibit symptoms of coronavirus infection. Her daughter had read a lot about the immune boosting, antioxidant and virus killing activities of vitamin c and began to take 20 grams (20, 000mg) of it everyday. She persuaded other  members of the family to do likewise. The 70-year-old woman  reluctantly joined them, taking only 10,000 mg daily.

    Just before January 2020, her flu like symptoms   escalated, and she had to go to hospital.  She was in the general ward for 10 days, and taken to the intensive Care unit (ICU) when her symptoms worsened. Three of the family members took turns to visit her everyday. Except the masks and gloves they wore during the visits, they took no other precaution other than their regular daily intake of 20 grams (20,000milligrams) of vitamin c tablets . The patient’s daughter informed the doctors about the official advisory on vitamin c for the medical community and requested that her mother be placed on 20,000 mg  intravenous vitamin c everyday. This was in addition to her other daily medication. The doctors agreed. And in about two weeks, her doctors began to think of letting her go home.

     

    Lessons from the Chinese report

     

    The Chinese report teaches us many lessons.

    • The elderly are more likely than the young to be coronavirus victims
    • Vitamin c protected people, young or old who are likely to be infected by corona virus and, if infected, cure them under high dosage therapy, as treatment of choice or adjunct medicine.
    • There is no disease that cannot be overcome through the creation plan for help established by nature in The Will of God.
    • Accordingly, panic or fear is not the approach to the solution of any problem. For those of us who believe in extra earthly life and events, nothing takes place in the material world that has no architype model in the unseen world. These models are formed and sustained by our thoughts and lifestyles on earth and mature someday for us to harvest. When we plan to develop a killer virus on earth, the thoughts go up, develop prototypes for us which we receive through inspiration and believe we have made a discovery.The architype which manifests on earth when we lower a bridge to it through fear or other play in thoughts.

     

    Dr Pauling and vitamin c

     

    First, I would  like to mention the value of lime juice, grape seed extract and pine grape extract(pycogenol) in this matter. Dr James Lind brought lime juice to medical limelight in 1747. Before then, British sailors often died of illnesses associated with long voyages when their organs bled (sub clinical scurvy) which may later manifest outwardly as bleeding gums. In one episode, about 1,300 out of 2,000 sailors perished in a voyage. Dr Lind  discovered that lime juice solved this problem. It was antioxidant and contained vitamin c.

    Vitamin c would appear to work better when it is used alongside grape seed extract or pycogenol and zinc, according to some studies. Pycogenol or pine bark extract was researched by professor Jack Masquelier in the late 1960s after he read the travel diary of Jacques Cartier dated 1534. Cartier was an explorer. His ship got stuck in ice on St Lawrence  river. Scurvy killed 25 of his 110 member crew,  50 were close to death and only three of the remainder were relatively healthy. Then, they discovered land. Villagers in Quebec region gave them tea made from  the bark and leaves of the pine tree. In about one week, they substantially recovered. Professor Masquelier and other medical researchers found about 40 chemicals in pycogenol (pine bark extract) and grape seed extract, the American preference. Today, pycnogenol is believed to fight allergies, protect veins and capillaries, combat inflammation and edema, revive damaged collagen, check clotting and cholesterol build-ups, scavenge free radicals, improve memory, ADHD and autism among many other health challenges.

    Our goal is to design a strategy for building immunity to its maximum potential in the prevention or treatment of corona virus disease. GlutathIione, one of the body’s primary antioxidants for this and any job, is the central focus. Vitamin c boosts glutathione production and extends its shelf life. Pycogenol, like grape seed extract, about 50 times more powerful than vitamin c and vitamin E as an antioxidant, revives tired vitamin c and extends its shelf life. Selenium impacts vitamin E and glutathione. Zinc boosts production of immune cells. Italian scientists a few years ago researched the impact of pycnogenol, vitamin c and zinc combination on immune function with startling results. Cellgevity, a  cysteine formula, boosts glutathione level. Sulfur rich foods build glutathione. Some of them include garlic, onion, avocados, okra, asparagus, milk thistle, turmeric, curcumin and whey protein.

    Dr Pauling and vitamin c

    His studies were as controversial and remarkable. He found that vitamin c may neutralise snake poison, prevent retinal detachment, shorten the course of the cold virus, protect collagen structures, destroy free radicals, calm inflammation and help drainage in the eye, thereby preventing glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness, among many suggestions. In pursuit of an answer to the enquiry.Is mega dosage of  vitamin c a conqueror of corona- virus disease ? I yield the ground to Michael Wooldridge.

    Linus Pauling lectures on Vitamin c and Heart Disease, August 13, 1993 By Michael Wooldridge, MAWooldridge@lbl.gov

    One of the great scientific mavericks of this century spoke at LBL August 10, 1993 at a special seminar hosted by the Life Sciences Division’s Lipoprotein and Atherosclerosis Group. Linus Pauling, two-time Nobel laureate and the world’s foremost vitamin c proponent, entertained an overflow crowd in the Bldg. 66 auditorium with a talk on vitamin c and heart disease.

    The lively 92-year-old first gave a candid history of how he came to take up the vitamin c cause. He was introduced to the subject by biochemist Irwin Stone in 1966. Five years later, he would pen Vitamin c and the  Common cold, and then boldly go on to champion vitamin c  as a fighter of more serious diseases such as cancer.

    According to Pauling, the vitamin’s versatility in illness prevention arises from its role in the manufacture of collagen, the protein that gives shape to connective tissues and strength to skin and blood vessels.

    One of the great misfortunes of human evolution, Pauling explained, was when our human ancestors lost their ability to manufacture vitamin c. Pauling thinks the trait was probably discarded at a time when our ancestors had a diet of vitamin-rich plants and didn’t need to produce the vitamin themselves. This left today’s primates (including humans) as one of the few groups of animals that must get the vitamin through the diet.

    Ever since proto-humans moved out of fruit-and-vegetable-rich habitats, Pauling said, they have suffered great deficiencies of vitamin c. Pauling has forthrightly recommended that people make up for this deficiency with daily doses of vitamin c much greater than the 60 mg generally recommended.

    He said our vitamin c consumption should be at par with what other animals produce by themselves, typically 10-12 grams a day. Pauling practises what he preaches, having gradually upped his daily doses of vitamin c from 3 grams in the 1960s to a hefty 18 grams today.

    Pauling went on to discuss vitamin c’s connection with lipoprotein-a, a substance whose levels in the blood have been linked to cardiovascular disease. Lipoprotein-a is also a major component of the plaques found in the blood vessels of atherosclerosis patients.

    Pauling has published studies asserting that lipoprotein-a is a surrogate for vitamin c, serving to strengthen blood vessel walls in the absence of adequate amounts of the vitamin in the diet. In the lecture, Pauling noted that animals which, unlike humans, manufacture their vitamin c and have much higher levels of the vitamin in their bodies, have very little lipoprotein-a in their blood.

    Pauling is convinced that doses of vitamin c can help prevent the onset of cardiovascular disease, inhibiting the formation of disease-promoting lesions on blood vessel walls and perhaps decreasing the production of lipoprotein-a in the blood. Vitamin c’s link to healthy blood vessels, Pauling said, is further supported by studies of scurvy, the disease caused by vitamin c deficiency. Fifty percent of patients who die of scurvy, he said, do so because of ruptured blood vessels.

    Pauling won his first Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1954 for using quantum mechanics to elucidate the nature of chemical bonds. He garnered a Nobel Peace Prize in 1962 for his efforts to stem nuclear weapons proliferation.

    The scientist founded the Linus Pauling Institute in Palo Alto, where research on vitamin c and other nutrients continues today.

     

    About Nigeria

     

    Linus Pauling’s name remains acidic and alkaline in different circles, acidic among those who believe he was a quack who made the minerals and vitamins markets a gold mine of sorts, and alkaline among people who believe they owe their lives to him. Even when study after study have disproved his contentions, it has turned out that the researchers employed vitamin c at dosages of no more than 3,000mg daily whereas Dr Pauling took about 18,000mg daily. It would have been interesting to have Dr Pauling speak today about vitamin c and coronavirus pandemic. He has left the flesh, no doubt. But the stove would appear to be burning still. Have the Chinese spoken, using 20,000 mg of vitamin c intravenously everyday to clean their virus slate?

    As for Nigerians, we panic a lot. There was pressure on president Mohammadu Buhari to address the nation. Did the Chinese leader speak to the nation before Chinese doctors quelled corona- virus fire in China? Mr Gbenga Omotosho, Commissioner for Information and Srategy in Lagos State, was right on the mark. This is a season for the experts, he said. President Donald Trump spoke about chloroquine in the United States, and ignited self medication in some countries, compounding problems.

    People who have submitted their souls to the church staged circus shows. I received video messages that God was punishing the Chinese and Europeans for not believing he exists. I reminded one of them that the Chinese lost no more than 5,000 lives in three months whereas malaria fever and its complications kill about 25,000 Nigerians every month, according to government and World Health Organisation(WHO) figures. One well known church leader said sarcastically in his  radio sermon last Sunday that more than 50 people gathered skin to skin in open markets and bus stops, a critique of the bar of church attendance on Sundays. The revered man said, also, the Almighty Creator sent Lucifer to unleash coronavirus to prove to man that He was still God and “in control”. My housekeeper asked me if the creator had any need to do that, and if the statement was not a belittling of Him. I wondered if this gentleman thought the creator and Lucifer worked in tandem, if good and evil, like light and darkness, worked cooperatively. He even said someone asked him why the creator did not forbid Lucifer from tormenting mankind and replied that the creator spared Lucifer to be able to use him to punish humanity whenever the need  arose. So, I wondered, did it mean the creator was evil and working with evil when we all know he is light, pure and holy? Obviously, he was a shepherd jiltery about the flock removed from his control which he needed to hold down with yet another falsehood about an event God does not need to know about. He is severally called Jesus his heavenly father. But Jesus never said he was the father of any man. He even taught us to pray.”Our father who art in Heaven”… He always referred only to his father in heaven and said he was nothing without him. I saw the church as shaken by detachment from the congregation from its suffocating hold. And I wondered why none of the big “miracles” performing churches have not volunteered prayers- only intervention for coronavirus victims.

    I saw a shocking video. A Chinese man collapsed in a Lagos street. A fellow Chinese was struggling to get him up. A Lagos crowd gathered around them, accusing the fallen man of bringing coronavirus to Nigeria and cursing.”Oloshi, oloriburuku, ibi l’ o ma ku si”, telling him and his country man he would not survive the fall. These men must be Christians or moslems, who believe in the creator, who have heard of the parable of the Good Samaritan. I wish it would be possible for law enforcers to track the video, identify those heartless Nigerians and bring them to book.

    Finally, something good always comes out of something bad. If the government had not banned foreign rice and forced us to grow Nigerian rice and eat it, irrespective of the stones in it, where would rice have been coming from at this time that works trade is under lock and key? Thank you Dr Linus Pauling. Thank you Chinese doctors for reminding us of vitamin c. Thank you Nigerian doctors for giving our country the lowest death rate worldwide from coronavirus. Our brothers and sisters who fled abroad, believing there is no good in this country should now know that Nigeria is a great country. I love my country.

  • Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say (XIII)

    Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say (XIII)

    By Segun Omolayo

    For various reasons and in different ways, writers have continued to say what they do not mean and mean what they do not say. They do this by using words and expressions that do not mean what they intend to say. As hinted much earlier, Writers indulge in such an uncommunicative use of English because of carelessness, ignorance, unfamiliarity with correct usage, the love of bombasts and so on and so forth. Malapropists swap words illegitimately and mostly comically, thereby encoding wrong communication for the receiver. Because communication is sharing meaning clearly between a sender and a receiver, such writers are simply not communicating. We will therefore continue to highlight the essence of communicating precisely, using live examples as usual. You must wonder why anyone would write like this:

    • Neither did they explain the reason for this

    To say explain the reason is simply comical, inappropriate, unenlightening, tautological and therefore bereft of all sense, intelligibility and meaning. The better way to convey the message is to replace the word explain with the verb give. Explain the reason is not correct because to explain is to give a reason for something. What tautology! So, explain the reason is like saying give the reason for the reason. That obviously is not sensible. To make ourselves clear, we re-set the sentence, using the appropriate word in the context of the presumed intended message, thus:

    • Neither did they give the reason for this.

    Using wrong inflections of the appropriate words might just be the communication barrier in your constructions. See how this plays out in the discussion of the example of malapropism that follows:

    • The absenteeism of members at the meeting continues to frustrate effective policy recommendations.

    Apart from the word absenteeism being a wrong inflection, there is a tinge of bombast in the construction, a case of a writer trying to puff up the statement, preferring the high-sounding word to the direct, simpler and clearer diction. Absenteeism is a state of being absent or a disposition to being absent; whereas the real issue is the actual absence of people. The less mouthful noun absence is, therefore, the more appropriate word, not absenteeism. “Absence more appropriately depicts the act or behaviour, while absenteeism emphasizes the attitude or disposition. That both are related nouns does not make them automatically interchangeable. Use absence, please” (“Pop” Errors):

    • The absence of members at the meetings continues to frustrate effective policy recommendations.

    “Pop” Errors advises, however, that absenteeism will be correct diction in the context, if we reconstruct thus: Absenteeism continues to frustrate effective policy recommendations.

    There are some words and expressions which writers typically find difficult to handle and thereby often resort to the self-help of using terms as it suits their fancy. The word worth and its inflections fall into that category. In the sentence below, the inflection worthy is the mishandled subject:

    • It is worthy noting that the Minister of Planning hails from this town.

    Worth, a word writers and speakers often find rather tough to handle, is the required form of the word here, not the adjective worthy. Worth and worthy are adjectives, “but a good deal of care is required in choosing between them in a context like this, which can be rendered in several ways as follows: It is worth noting that the Minister of Planning hails from this town; OR It is worthy of note that the Minister of Planning hails from this town; OR It is note-worthy that the Minister of Planning hails from this town.

    Oftentimes, the bad habit of not saying what you mean by choosing wrong words, terms and expressions do get really ridiculous, as in:

    • The good relationship fostering between the citizens of the two nations cannot be overstated.

    Check out the meaning of the word fostering and see that its misuse has rendered the sentence meaningless. Citing the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, “Pop” Errors, says, “To foster is to encourage something to develop” or to “promote or to support, cultivate, advance, stimulate, nurture.” It adds that, “None of these will justify the use of fostering, leaving the reader stranded, wondering maybe the writer is talking of a developing or an existing relationship. Why not say it as it is? Remember, good writing is all about sharing meaning clearly and precisely.” From these explanations, the writer could not have reasonably intended to convey any meaningful message with his choice of words. You could, however, surmise that he is talking about existing relations. If it is so, the following options of conveying the message unequivocally are suggested:

    • The good relationship existing between the citizens of the two nations cannot be overstated

    OR

    • The good relationship developing between the citizens of the two nations cannot be overstated.

    Is imprisonment a matter of enrolment or incarceration? That is the issue in the example of malapropism that follows:

    • More disturbingly, the rate of inmate enrollment at the prison keeps rising.

    Clearly, people who are locked up in prisons are not just enrolled. They are detained, kept away from civilized society or incarcerated as punishment for offences they have been convicted of. It is therefore inappropriate to talk of rising inmate enrolment where the more plausible message is that more and more people are being imprisoned. A wrong impression has thus been conveyed with the use of the expression inmate enrollment as if it is a case of just registering prisoners. What is rising is the rate of incarceration, which is putting people in prison. The message will therefore be better delivered if we simply write:

    • More disturbingly, the rate of incarceration (or imprisonment) is rising.

     

  • Face your studies, VC tells BUK new students

    Face your studies, VC tells BUK new students

    Vice Chancellor of the Bayero University, Kano (BUK) Prof Muhammad Yahuza Bello, has advised newly-admitted students to be hardworking and focused so as to excel in their studies.

    He gave the advice at BUK convocation arena, during an orientation organised for new students.

    For them to actualise their primary objective of coming to the institution, Bello said the fresh students should strive towards academic excellence no matter the odds.

    He urged them not to allow academic or financial challenges dampen their spirits or make them lose focus.

    Bello, who was represented by his Deputy (Academics), Prof Adamu Idris Tanko, told the new students, including 100-Level and Direct Entry (DE) intakes, to see their admission into the university as a golden opportunity to pursue their careers.

    The Dean, Students Affairs (DSA), Dr. Shamsudeen Umar, stressed the need for the newly-matriculated students to set achievable goals to emerge with good grades and also graduate in flying colours.

    This, he said, will make them to be portrayed as responsible and disciplined students.

    Umar’s Deputy Dr. Hajara Umar Sanda, urged the matriculated students to abide by the school’s rules and regulations, and also eschew social vices that could abort their academic dreams.

  • Corona College matriculates 176 students

    Corona College matriculates 176 students

    Corona College of Education (CCED) Lagos matriculated 176 students for the 2019/2020 academic session.

    In his welcome address at the fifth matriculation, its Provost, Dr. Martin Obinyan, said the multi-dimensional support from stakeholders had helped the college to be one of the best in Nigeria despite its young age.

    He said: “We will not relent on our collective efforts, and we will continue to manage the college with deep commitment, transparency, and accountability to achieve international benchmarks.

    “It will interest you to note that in the last PQEI assessment examinations, conducted by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), the college scored 98 per cent pass rate which amounts to the second-best result ever in the history of the TRCN examination ever written.”

    Obinyan urged the students to respect the rules and regulations of the college and remain focused on their studies.

    Oghenetega Awhinawhi, a graduate of Corona College of Education (CCED),  and  also  the proprietor of Khan Foundation Junior Academy, a tuition- free school in the Makoko slum, described the course at CCED as impactful.

    “I considered going for a teacher’s training course after experiencing some challenges in running a school and opted for Corona College of Education. I got first-hand training on how education evolves in Nigeria and how to manage schools. I met a wonderful set of classmates. The Provost, Registrar and members of staff were also very helpful. The management of CCED visited my school and were moved by what we are doing. This spurred them to grant scholarship to some untrained teachers in my school. This has made their teaching more deliberate, producing better results in the pupils. CCED laid the foundation for me, he said.

    The Class Governor of PDE Cohort 1, Corona College of Education,Mr. Babatunde Popoola said: “I have been teaching for a decade now; I teach in Silversands All School Lekki, it was of great essence to come for this programme because teaching has now been professionalised in Nigeria.”

    According to him, the teaching profession in Nigeria still has a long way to go, looking at what is obtainable in the developed countries of the world.

    Also speaking, Adikat Omotawa Olusesi, Deputy Governor PDE Cohort 2, Corona College of Education, noted that  the lecturers have been helpful in imparting skills needed  in the classroom for the growth of the children.

    She noted that  Corona College of Education has so far made it very easy for everybody to have access to a professional certificate in education.

  • Green House lifts inter-house sports trophy

    Green House lifts inter-house sports trophy

    Jane Chijoke

     

    Green House has emerged the overall winner of the annual inter-house sports competition of the Ansar-ud-deen Girls’ High School, Itire.

    At the end of a keenly contested competition, it won eight gold and seven silver medals.

    Blue House won the second position with six gold, four silver and three bronze medals,Yellow House placed  third with four gold, eight silver and six bronze medals while Pink House finished  fourth with three gold, three silver and nine bronze medals.

    Following  a colourful march past, the competition also featured high jump, shotput, lime and spoon race, needle and thread, sack race, relay race, pick-in-the-balls, 100,200, 400 metre races, table tennis, football  among others as the pupils thrilled parents and guests.

    The invited schools were not left out as they participated in the relay race winning prizes and medals.

    Parents, staff and old students also took turns to participate in the event.

    Principal of the school, Mrs. Sherifat Mohammad expressed satisfaction over the performance of the pupils, stating that the school places premium on the three domains of education to develop well-rounded pupils.

    “The pupils’ performance was very impressive and their parents and my staff are very happy. We believe in developing talents through integrating the effective, cognitive and psychomotor domains in our teaching process,” she said.

    She added that the parents and board of governors of the school have been very supportive in the development of the pupils.

  • NBC lauds YABATECH radio

    NBC lauds YABATECH radio

    Our Reporter

    The Zonal Director of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Dr. Chibuike Ogwumike, has praised the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) for providing top class and quality equipment to its campus radio station.

    Speaking while touring facilities of the YABATECH Radio 89.3FM to assess its preparedness before going into full broadcasting, following a six-month test run, Ogwumike said he was impressed by the quality equipment superior to those owned by some commercial radio stations.

    “Let me say that I am really impressed with the level of facilities put in place here.  The equipment I have seen here are of top quality which some commercial radio stations in Lagos do not have,” he said.

    Ogwumike noted that he toured broadcasting stations in the Lagos zonal office to familiarise himself with their system of operation, while also ensuring that the stations did not run foul of the NBC code to avoid sanction.

    According to him, the NBC’s core function is to regulate broadcast stations in Nigeria.

    He disclosed that NBC would partner with the YABATECH Radio to train, retrain and mould future broadcasters. He implored the college management to use the radio station as a training ground for Mass Communication students and others interested in broadcasting.

    The Rector, Obafemi Omokungbe, an engineer, who received the team, thanked NBC for granting a radio licence to the college.

    He said the radio would work in line with the regulatory policy of the NBC without breaching any of the rules.

  • LAUTECH inducts 63 medical laboratory scientists

    LAUTECH inducts 63 medical laboratory scientists

    Toba Adedeji, Osogbo

    The Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Osogbo,  has inducted 63 medical laboratory scientists.

    The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Micheal Ologunda, at the induction held at the  College of Health Sciences in Osogbo, Osun State, announced that the management had set up researchers and scholars to work on preventive means to avoid the spread of Coronavirus in Nigeria.

    The VC said: “This university as a research centre has put together erudite scholars and researchers to work on preventive measures to control the spread of the virus.

    “Also, Osun State Government has commenced enlightenment programmes for the people on how to prevent the deadly disease.”

    Congratulating the inductees, Ologunda said: “I proclaim that the training you have received during your stay in LAUTECH has conveniently inculcated into you the value of excellence, integrity, and service. You have, by this, become the epitome of the core values of the university.

    “Today, as you step out into the world and join others who had gone before you, be good ambassadors of the school. Endeavour  to carve a niche for yourself and put to good use the training you have received. Always remember that there is dignity in labour. I encourage you to put in your best, work assiduously and be distinct wherever you find yourself.”

    The VC lauded the government of owner states (Osun and Oyo states) for their contributions and support to the university.

    Earlier, the Provost of College of Health Sciences, Prof Peter Olaitan, apologised over the decision of the school to accommodate only the inductees inside the hall.

    He said: “I would like to apologise that we have to get only the inductees into the hall for induction. This is because of the pandemic coronavirus. With this infection, the gathering of people needs to be avoided.

    Olaitan said the inductees had been adequately trained to face the challenges of the century with technologically =driven health care.

    He explained that the world had moved forward from the previously known ways of waiting for results of investigations for days and weeks before patients are treated. He noted that there was an instant diagnostic technology which has enhanced the diagnosis of diseases and ensured  quick intervention.

    He advised the inductees to work hard with integrity and treat every patient with the utmost respect.

  • COVID-19: Tech-U to continue online

    COVID-19: Tech-U to continue online

    Our Reporter

    With the COVID-19 forcing all schools to shut down, the management of the First Technical University, Ibadan, has said classes will continue online.

    A statement by the Registrar, Mrs Olayinka Balogun,  noted that the university would deploy its e-learning system, so learning continues regardless of the closure expected to last until after the Easter holidays next month.

    The statement reads: “The Vice-Chancellor, on behalf of the Senate, has approved closure of the First Technical University (Tech-U), Ibadan, with effect from Monday, 23 March, 2020 till after the Easter break in April, 2020.

    “The closure is in compliance with the directive of the Oyo State Government that all private and public schools in the state should shut down to prevent, curtail, control and contain the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Nigeria.

    “All students are, therefore, expected to vacate the halls of residence latest by the evening of Monday, 23 March, 2020. However, the university, being at the edge of technology, will deploy her Learning Management System to continue to deliver lectures and assignments online to students even while they are off campus.

    “Meanwhile, both staff and students of the First Technical University are hereby enjoined to adhere strictly to social distancing and other precautionary and safety measures to curtail further spread of the virus.”

  • Strikes force Nigerians into inferior foreign varsities, says don

    Strikes force Nigerians into inferior foreign varsities, says don

    Our Reporter

    The first Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), Peter Lassa, has blamed frequent strikes by lecturers for pushing many Nigerians to study in inferior universities abroad.

    Speaking in Jos, Lassa, a one-time Deputy Vice Chancellor of University of Jos, told reporters  that many Nigerians patronised universities in neighbouring African countries not because of their superior academic programmes, but for stable academic calendar.

    He noted that the incessant strikes had affected teaching and learning while resulting in falling standard of education in the country.

    The don lamented that students had been denied the opportunity to graduate as and when due, owing to unnecessary delays occasioned by frequent industrial action. “Frequent strikes have affected teaching and learning and, as a result, we are seeing falling standard of graduating students from the universities.

    “Strike often forces teachers to condense the time table of courses and rush the students to examination.

    “When curriculum says three credit courses require three hours lectures spread over a week for students to assimilate, but a lecturer condenses a lecture which then  leads to half-baked students.

    “Today, students in Nigerian universities hardly know when they will graduate and some of these uncertainties make many students prefer universities in neighbouring African countries.

    “This is not because of the superiority of their academic programmes, but the stability of their academic calendar. These students go abroad because our universities have failed to meet their aspirations,” Lassa said.

    He further decried the psychological effect of the strikes on students, adding that the consequences usually faced by students and their parents were enormous.

    He also said strikes  by lecturers often led to huge economic loss, as bills for services provided were still being paid by government without being adequately utilised.

    “During strikes, universities are shut down; the staff demand that they are paid salaries. During the several months they are on strike, the universities still run and pay for services, such as power, water, security and also take care of buildings.

    “One month strike by a public university is estimated to be a huge loss amounting to billions. This is really not good for us.

    He called on the ASUU and government to seek other alternatives of resolving disputes.

  • Mastercard empowers 60 school girls

    Mastercard empowers 60 school girls

    By Our Reporter

    To celebrate the International Women’s Day, Mastercard has launched its first 2020 Girls4Tech programme in Nigeria. It is aimed at training 60 pupils of the Holy Child College, Lagos, who are between the ages of nine and 12.

    The hands-on, inquiry-based Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programme incorporates Mastercard’s deep expertise in payments technology and innovation.

    Mastercard employees serve as mentors and guide participants through practical and fun exercises, covering topics such as encryption, fraud detection, data analysis, digital convergence, cybersecurity and AI.

    The programme also emphasises important skills such as collaboration, creativity and communication to enable young girls to apply their technical knowledge to solve real-world problems.

    Ifeoma Dozie, director, Marketing and Communications, sub-Saharan Africa at Mastercard, said:  “Through our Girls4Tech programme, we’re extending our commitment to Nigeria’s next generation of women leaders and developing a talented pipeline of STEM professionals to support the country’s future economy, by encouraging girls to embrace the subjects that will prepare them for the workforce of tomorrow.

    “According to an IPSOS survey, 89% of African women are the decision-makers or co-decision-makers for household purchases, yet UNESCO says the share of women working in research and development (R&D) is just 32% in Sub-Saharan Africa.

    “It is critical to have women represented in the decision-making, engineering and innovation processes, so that we can design solutions that better meet their needs. By taking active steps such as the Girls4Tech programmes, we are helping to prepare young women for careers in science, technology, engineering and math, ultimately increasing their opportunities for prosperity, employability and a voice in the conversations that are driving the digital economy.

    “Ranked 128th out of 153 countries in the 2020 Global Gender Gap Report,  women currently make up only 22% of Nigeria’s total number of engineering and technology university graduates. The growing demand for STEM graduates in Nigeria’s workforce means increased opportunities for women in future.”

    Since its launch in April 2014 in the United States, Girls4Tech has reached more than 500,000 girls in 28 countries, including over 100 girls in Nigeria. Mastercard has further committed to reaching  1 million girls globally by 2025. Additional programmes will be rolled out to schools in Lagos later this year.