Category: Uncategorized

Frank Ikpefan, Abuja

The Federal Government will continue to improve the deteriorating infrastructural facilities in the country’s universities, President Muhammadu Buhari said on Saturday.

According to the President, education would continue to be a high priority item in his government’s drive to transform the economy.

Buhari stated these at the University of Abuja’s 24th convocation.

His address was read by the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Prof Abubakar Rasheed.

The President said that tertiary institutions needed to be with uninterrupted academic activities if they would achieve the overall objective of contributing to national growth and development.

He said: “The Federal Government will continue to provide Nigerians’ equal and massive access to education at all levels such that they can fulfil their dream of participating in the nation’s socio-economic development and empowerment of our youths.

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“The task of overcoming the problems of the education sector is not a responsibility of government alone. It should emerge through a concerted effort of government, parents, stakeholders and the society.

“The government will continue to improve the deteriorating infrastructural facilities in the universities, teacher development, and curriculum review in tandem with the needs of our society.

“This is expected, in the long run, to address deficiencies in all the segments of our educational system.

“The Minister of Education has since directed the NUC to initiate the process of reviewing the curriculum of universities which would, among other relevant activities, include provision for the minimum level of qualification for university teachers.”

The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof Abdulrasheed Na’Allah, said the institution graduated 10,331 undergraduate and postgraduate students.

He said 26 were awarded First Class and 866 Second Class Upper degrees.

Activities marking the 30th anniversary of the Victory Grammar School, Ikeja, Lagos will begin on Wednesday February 19.

According to the managing proprietor of the school, Chief  Christian Ipoola Olaniyan, the school was established in 1990.

Anniversary lecture and church service takes place on Thursday.

Olaniyan  said the grand finale will come up on Friday 28, with a lecture: ‘Qualitative education, a panacea for national development’. This is to be followed by an award night.

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Also, the 13th edition of Olaniyan Basket Ball Competition begins on Monday, February 17  and ends on Wednesday, February 19, 2020.

The event holds at the basket ball court of Victory Grammar School, Ikeja, Lagos.

Fourteen Secondary Schools will participate in the event they include: Command Secondary School Cantonment, Lagos; Airforce Secondary, Ikeja, lagos; St Theresa Secondary School, Lagos; Vivian School, Lagos; Faulah School, Lagos  and Victory Grammar School, Lagos.

Our Reporter

THE Ewutuntun Grammar School Old Students’ Association has donated 100 units of desks and benches to Ewutuntun Junior Grammar School, Mafoluku, Oshodi, Lagos state.

Making the presentation to the parents, staff and students of the school was Mr. Adekunle Jaiyesimi, the President of the association, who advised the students to make good use of the furniture in order to encourage the association to be more committed to the development of the school.

He said: “We were here last year September to make our humble donation to the Senior Section of the school. Then, we promised to do what we are doing today. I am happy that we have fulfilled our promise.”

Mr Jaiyesimi appealed to the students to behave morally and face their studies squarely in order to be good ambassadors of their school, families and communities.

He expressed the gratitude of the association to Alhaji Wasiu Balogun, a prominent old student, for contributing largely to the advancement of the school in different aspects of life.

Alhaji Balogun told the students to keep away from vices and embrace virtues, so that they would grow up to become responsible, intelligent and successful adults.

He called on parents to support the government in taking care of the school because “the government alone cannot do everything.”

Hon Femi Mustapha, who commissioned the furniture on behalf of the Chairman of the Oshodi Local Government, Alhaji Muse Ariyoh, advised the school to approach the local government for help on projects that would add value to the school.

Mr. Femi Adenola, representing the Parent-Teacher Association, thanked the old students for the presentation and appealed for their help on other urgent needs of the school.

The Principal of the school, Mrs B. M. Abiiba, who expressed her happiness at the presentation, thanked all members of the association and prayed for them for remembering their alma mater.

By Frank Ikpefan, Abuja

 

The Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed will be among 10, 331 students who will be awarded various classes of degrees on Saturday by the university of Abuja.

Ahmed would be awarded an honourary Dr of Political Science during the convocation which will hold at the main campus of the university.

About 3, 000 of the total graduates are from the Distance Learning Centres of the university who will also be awarded various degrees.

26 will receive First Class and 866 Second Class Upper degree.

Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof Abdulrasheed Na’Allah, stated these at a pre-convocation briefing on Thursday at the main campus of UniAbuja.

The VC said the university was on the verge of establishing two new faculties – Environmental Sciences and Pharmacy.

He said: “The convocation which is holding on Saturday is to award degrees to 10,331 students. Among this number, we have 26 First Class students, 866 Second Class upper division, 2,317 Second Class lower division and 339 Third Class products.

“There are plans to establish two new faculties – the Faculty of Environmental Sciences and the Faculty of Pharmacy. We have got approval of the National Universities’ Commission. We are going to start with three of four Departments.

“There are a lot of issues today bothering on our ecology and ecosystem which the Faculty of Environmental Sciences should address.”

The VC noted that the university was working on expanding its admission process to ensure that every state of the federation was represented in the institution.

“We are warning all those encroaching on the land of the university that their days are numbered. We are coming after them and we are going to choke them in. We are carrying out fencing and people should not take laws into their hands against the university.

“We are putting in place strategies to ensure that we enjoy regular patronage from every state of the federation. In fact, every state in Nigeria is our catchment area.”

By Adekunle Yusuf

 

International consulting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, ProvidusBank and ARM Pension Managers have lead the team of corporate organisations for the 10th Daniel Ogechi Akujobi Memorial Foundation (DOAMF) Charity Golf tournament, an event organised to raise funds for intervention in two key sectors, one of which is healthcare.

Others include Fidelity Bank Plc, LandWey Investment Limited, Radial Circle Group, Zenith Bank Plc, First Bank, Channels Television, Silverbird Television, Grand OAK, Cappa & D’Alberto, SPAR (Park N’ Shop), Amni International Petroleum Development,  Kansai Plascon Nigeria, Victoria Crown Plaza, Ikoyi Club 1938, Protea Hotel, Wheatbaker Hotel, Four Points by Sheraton.

Coordinator of the organising committee, Pat Bassey, said the foundation would use the tourney to  showcase its achievements over the years.

“It is our hope that corporate and individual sponsors and donors, who have consistently supported the event and the Foundation, would during the event appreciate the mileage that their support has covered, in the focus areas of healthcare and education for the less privileged and underserved communities across Nigeria.

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“We will also use this opportunity to appreciate those corporate organisations, groups and individuals who continue to support this golf event, in order to enable the foundation to continue to touch the lives of the indigent and underserved in the society – who are the ultimate beneficiaries of this event,” Bassey said.

Bassey added that about 180 players were expected to tee off at the final of this year’s DOAMF Charity Golf Tournament scheduled for tomorow at the Golf Section of Ikoyi Club 1938 in Lagos.

“A number of the finalists had made the cut from the men’s and ladies’ qualifiers for the event held on February 1 and 4, special friends and guests of the foundation as well as veteran players,” he said.

A member of the organising committee, Ebi Pinnick, added that the event would be rounded off with a closing ceremony and awards’ cocktail later in the evening of the tournament day at the Golf Section of Ikoyi Club.

By Adekunle Yusuf

 

Living.ng, a non-governmental organisation, has partnered Leah Foundation to create more awareness about cancer.

This joint initiative was done as part of activities to commemorate the World Cancer Day.

The Project Manager of giving.ng, Mrs. Olapeju Ibekwe, during a briefing to mark World Cancer Day in Lagos, said the online platform decided to partner Leah Foundation to fight cancer because the disease has become a scourge that is killing Nigerians daily.

“We are calling on every Nigerian to do something about how to roll back the cancer scourge by donating any amount of money through the platform. Donations received would be used to provide free screening for 5000 women in partnership with Leah Foundation.”

She described giving.ng as a crowd-funding platform focused on raising funds with local and international partners to deal with various issues that are affecting the  society.

The World Cancer Day, which was recently celebrated worldwide, is aimed at saving millions of people from preventable deaths yearly by raising awareness and education about cancer and pressing governments, organisations and individuals across the world to act against the disease.

Corroborating Ibekwe, the Executive Director of Leah Foundation, Mr. Lanre Bello, said the foundation had been in the forefront of efforts to control and eradicate some types of cancer through vaccination.

He said if serious efforts could be made, some cancer could be eradicated in about 20 years.

“Our foundation has given opportunities to people to be screened but it is not sustainable because one single institution cannot do it alone and that is why we are partnering with giving.ng to help us raise funds to fight the scourge. Our goal is to detect cancer early in a bid to control or eliminate it,” he said.

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Also, a Nollywood icon, Mrs Joke Silva, said she lend her voice to creating awareness about cancer because awareness is essential in controlling the scourge.

“I am involved in the fight against the cancer scourge because in 2014 my younger sister, Olufunke Silva, was diagnosed with breast cancer stage 3 going to stage 4 and by February 12, 2019 she passed away.

Our late mother also had a lump in one of her breasts, but cancer did not come back until she was 88 and she died at 89,” Silva said.

She advised young people from  20 and above to go for regular check-ups because reports had shown that if the traces of cancer were detected early in a person, it could be effectively treated. She noted that if there is early detection, the cells could be sent into remission.

Silva added that her aunt realised she had cancer while in her 20s, but she lived long because the cancer cells were detected early and she took action.

Lamenting that Nigeria lacks proper equipment for screening cancer, the Nollywood icon urged Nigerians to help the cause by donating through the giving. ng platform in a bid to battle the cancer scourge.

By Jane Chijioke

 

The Emergency Response Africa (ERA), a healthtech firm that is transforming emergency medical response in Africa by integrating training, technology and transportation, has begun a one-month training for medical and non-medical people on how to handle emergencies.

This, ERA stated, would help in building a workforce of paramedics in various communities in the country.

The training would equip participants with the right knowledge and skills to be emergency responders on various health emergency cases such as heart attack, diabetic emergencies, accidents, stroke, fainting, pregnancy labour emergencies, among others.

Speaking at the training in Ikeja, Lagos, the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of ERA, Folake Owodunni, explained that emergency care delivery had remained a challenge, resulting in avoidable loss of lives as many do not have the right skills to address such situations.

Owodunni, who has experienced how functional emergency care delivery works in more developed countries, said she decided to include  non-healthcare personnel in the training because the healthcare system in Nigeria is not flexible enough to accommodate people in different professional backgrounds who can  deliver effectively if well trained.

“We know of models outside Nigeria where people who are from any background are able to be trained to be emergency responders.

In Nigeria, we tend to have approach to healthcare that means a person must be a nurse or doctor. That is really not the case.

Outside, paramedics are the people that deliver emergency care and we are trying to build the first step towards having large paramedic workforce.

“I have also experienced a good system abroad and I see that there is an opportunity for us to do things a little different but better.

The emergency services system that does exist now in Nigeria; we see it as not fast, efficient and cost effective as it could be.

So we are hoping to introduce technology to help achieve that. We want to change the way we provide emergency services in Nigeria and across Africa.

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Our goal is to deliver emergency care at scenes in as little as three minutes and be able to ensure that they could get to the right hospital for the emergency,” she said.

She noted that for the pilot phase, which will run through the month, participants would respond to simulated emergency cases as part of the training process.

Subsequent trainings would also hold later in the year and emergency service systems would be established in various communities that would  address life emergency cases.

The Chief Technology Officer of ERA, Maame Afriyie Poky, said infusing technology in the service delivery would enable responders navigate scenes of emergencies  in the best possible ways.

She added that the project would benefit communities as they would have quick response to cases of emergency.

“We realised that every year, over 200,000 people in developing countries die from common emergencies cases. These are cases that could have been easily handled if someone was on sight to help.

Personally, I lost my grandmother to such situation. So the project is part of steps to cut down the number of lives lost from cases that could have been easily handled,” he said.

Commending the initiative, one of the participants, Olayinka  Olaiyadete, noted that rather than Nigerians  taking pictures and posting on social media platforms at emergency scenes, such paramedic skills  would help to respond  to such emergency situations.

Moses Emorinken, Abuja

The Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) has stated unequivocally that it will continue to resist and kick against ploys aimed at privatizing, commecializing and concessioning of public health institutions in the country.

Privatization will further make it nearly impossible for the common man to assess qualitative healthcare services without diving deep into poverty.

The President of JOHESU, Comrade Biobelemoye Josiah, made this known while speaking during the Night of Honour and Award, themed: the National leadership of JOHESU and Association of Healthcare Professional Associations (AHPA) organised by the Unions, Thursday in Abuja.

“According to directors of health institutions in Nigeria, less than a quarter of public health institutions are in the hands of government with the rest owned and managed by private hands. Yet this has not changed the indices that began to nosedive 35 years ago in Nigeria.

“Yet they want us to believe that it is only through privatization, concessioning and when all the public health institutions are taken, that health can be affordable to every Nigerian. JOHESU stands strongly against this,” he said.

During the last Executive Council meeting of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) in Kano, it said Public Private Partnership should form a core option in healthcare financing as it had the potential to revamp the nation’s healthcare infrastructures.

“Commercialisation, privatisation and Public Private Partnership are policies that have failed and which Europe is rejecting today. The developed world is rejecting them but some people are planning to institute it in Nigeria.

“They want us to believe that only when all public health institutions are taken out that health can be affordable to Nigerians. We stand against this and want the Ministry of Health to reason along with us. We are agitators of patriotic call of health for all Nigerians,” he added.

The JOHESU boss made reference to the proposal to privatize the trauma centre at Gwagwalada Teaching Hospital in Abuja, saying that the union stood against it and secured the support of lawmakers to stop the proposal.

“When the centre was put up for sale, we brought it out to the public. It was to be sold to someone who had less than £15,000 in his account despite the fact that the centre was built at the cost of over N800m.

“We knew that once that was done, it would be out of the reach of the poor. We resisted the idea with the aid of the House of Representatives member.

“Our members in the National Assembly have helped us to achieve a lot as a health union because they understand that our members stand for making health available to the people”.

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He therefore called on all relevant stakeholders, including the Federal Ministry of Health to take seriously the unions agitations, adding that the unions were not noise makers but agitators for facts, patriotism, and have sincere concern for the health and wellness of all Nigerians.

Soliciting the support of legislators in their quest for quality and affordable healthcare for all Nigerians, Josiah said, “Today’s gathering is informed by the fact that JOHESU has been making some efforts to tell Nigerians that we care about the health of Nigerians but we need the support of the National Assembly to make our voice loud”.

The event was also aimed at creating a congenial atmosphere for familiarization between legislators from the JOHESU extraction and other members of the union.

In his remarks, the president of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Ayuba Wabba, said JOHESU has contributed a lot towards providing quality health services to Nigerians.

He therefore expressed optimism that working with the unions will help change the narrative and change the country’s present poor health indices.

The minister of state for health, Dr. Adeleke Momora, expressed the ministry’s commitment to working with the unions, as he describes them as “partners in progress”.

A total of 45 distinguished Senators and House of Representative members were honoured and awarded for their contributions towards achieving qualitative healthcare services in the country.

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

A firm has developed an online platform to make its school-improvement toolkit available to low-cost schools signed on to its Sustainable Education and Enterprise Development (SEED) programme.

The kit called the SEED Quality Assessment Tool (SQAT), which is accessible on the firm’s website, would help low-cost schools assess themselves with the aim of improving quality education delivery.

In an interview with The Nation, Executive Director of W-Holistic Business Solutions/SEED, Mrs. Olanrewaju Oniyitan, said the toolkit contained 86 indicators the schools would be examined on that would reveal their levels and recommend steps for improvement.

She said the indicators were a combination of world accepted benchmarks for quality education as well as business evaluation tools.

“SQAT is an innovative school development and continuous improvement tool that was developed to assess the quality of under-resourced schools and to provide a pathway for improvement.  SQAT helps school leaders understand their strengths and weaknesses, providing them with critical information to embark on the journey of school transformation.  It breaks down the overwhelming concept of school quality into smaller, more manageable problems that can be solved through simple interventions, making visible the ‘invisible’ factors of school quality in the shape of simple to understand indicators,” she said.

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Mrs. Oniyitan said SEED, which has assessed over 700 low-cost schools in Lagos using the toolkit, decided to make the self-assessment platform, designed by Sophia ERP Ltd, available online so low-cost schools on its waiting list, especially outside Lagos, could get the help they needed to improve their schools.

She said this was especially instructive since the low-cost nature of the target schools meant that many could not afford the cost of having assessors traveling down to the schools.  However, she said even after the schools do their self-assessment, they could invite SEED to verify the assessment at a cost.

“Our major target is to reach 10,000 schools.  Manual won’t help us.  Technology is the way forward,” she said.

Given her experience working with low-cost schools, Mrs. Oniyitan said it was possible for the schools to provide quality education without charging high fees.  She noted that as a self-assessment tool, it was important for the schools to be honest about their level of performance in each indicator as their responses would determine whatever recommended solutions they would get from the exercise.

“If they are not honest, the solutions would not work for them so it is in their own best interest to give accurate answers,” she said.

Mrs. Oniyitan said SEED would license some Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) outside Lagos to carry out assessments where it cannot go.

She said SEED had a three year programme for schools to be transformed – the first stage being the SQAT stage.

“Once you finish the SEED programme, you become our alumni.  We are funneling very serious schools into the SEED Leadership Institute – a three year programme leading to total transformation.  Every year, these schools are supposed to do the self-assessment again and develop their School Development Plan.  We have 86 indicators.  Until you score five on all indicators you cannot say you are perfect,” she said.

Our Reporter

The Governing Council of the Benson Idahosa University (BIU) has okayed the appointment of a professor of Fisheries, Johnson Oyedeji, as the Deputy Vice Chancellor (DVC).

The Acting Head, Communications and Brand Strategy Unit (CBSU), Mr. Temi Esonamunjor, who made this known in a statement, said Oyedeji’s appointment was announced at the council’s 96th Regular Meeting.

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Until his appointment, Oyedeji was a former Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology of the university. He has also held several administrative positions in the institution.

He is a Fellow of the Fisheries Society of Nigeria (FISON) and Institute of Corporate Administration.