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Our Reporter

 

The Vice Chancellor, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Michael Ologunde, has called for special funding for research on Nanotechnology because of its potentials to solve the continent’s myriads of problems ranging from food production and storage, to disease control and environmental remediation.

Speaking at the just concluded 3rd edition of the annual workshop and conference by LAUTECH Nanotechnology Research Group (NANO+), themed ‘Nanotechnology in Africa: Opportunities and Constraints’, Ologunde was optimistic that the crop of scientists behind the promotion of nanotechnology as a frontier of knowledge has the wherewithal to take the University, our dear nation and indeed the African Continent to greater heights in knowledge dissemination and advancement of humanity.

The VC stated that the University would continue to invest in the provision of an enabling environment and equipment that would spur cutting-edge and translational research for the benefit of humanity.

Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu, represented by Kelechi Ebisike, head, Research and Development, Engineering Materials Development Institute (EMDI), Akure, noted that local content drives a nation, and build a strong GDP base for any nation.

Read Also: LAUTECH crisis: Oyo Assembly appeals to UI for help

According to the minister, President Muhammadu Buhari is interested in local content of any technology, same way the ministry of Science and Technology is interested in promoting local content. The minister however urged researchers in the country to come up with findings that will proffer meaningful and measurable solutions to problems, “the ministry of Science and Technology is open to research that would bring about developmental growth of our great nation, Nigeria.”

On his part, Head, Nanotechnology Research Group (NANO+), LAUTECH, Ogbomoso, Agbaje Lateef said the conference is aimed at promoting discourse on nanotechnology among academia, technocrats, policy makers, industrialists, entrepreneurs, students and the general public.

He said the science of ‘nanomaterials’ has come to stay with mankind, as it has been discovered that this novel utilization of resources can lead to creating new range of materials to solve myriads of problems that confront mankind ranging from food insecurity, insecurity and terrorism, diseases, energy crisis, pollution, water scarcity, climate change, unemployment among others.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) says it is set to commence the verification of centres that may be considered for use ahead of preparations for its 2020 all computer-based Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

The Head, Media and Information of the board, Dr Fabian Benjamin, made the disclosure to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lagos.

According to him, preparations are already in top gear by the board to ensure that set standards for the smooth execution of the exercise is intact.

“We have concluded plans to kick start the centre verification as part of preparations to ensure a smooth conduct of the 2020 UTME nationwide.

“We will likely commence the exercise not later than Monday, Nov. 18, and we plan to use at least 700 well accredited centres across the country.

“The board in its usual penchant for excellence will not accept anything short of what is expected of the centres that wish to participate in the examination,” Benjamin told NAN.

“We have laid down rules and regulations guiding the use of any centre and as such, we expect that owners of centres who intend to collaborate with the board in ensuring the success of this upcoming examination will have no choice than to meet such rules or stay away.

“Those who are genuine stakeholders of our examinations are already aware of our position in the fight against examination infractions and other forms of sharp practices.

“They also know about the board’s zero tolerance in any behaviour of a person or group of persons that intend to undermine the integrity of our examination or that of the board.’’

The spokesman dissociated the board from reports making the rounds by a group of individuals in some sections of the media that JAMB’s move to commence the centre verification was allegedly of a short notice, ill-timed and designed to push a lot of the centre owners out of business.

He said that the board did not recognise this group, who call themselves Owners of CBT Centre Proprietors Association of Nigeria (CTAN) whom, according to him, had called a news conference to raise the allegation against the board.

“It is regrettable that these persons under whatever guise are trying to create confusion, heat up the polity and mislead the innocent public with this sort of propaganda.

Read Also: JAMB to create platform for high-scoring candidates

“The fact remains that no amount of blackmail or intimidation will stop us from doing what is right before the law and to the interest of our children and the development of our country in general.

“We will go ahead with the centre verification any moment from today nationwide and nothing will stop us from achieving this.

“Those genuine centre owners who have been partnering with us over the years in ensuring that we carry out a seamless exercise and who do not have anything to hide, to the best of our knowledge, should be ready at any given time to face the verification,” he told NAN.

Benjamin added: “This is because such centre owners have their integrity at stake and knows what is demanded of them in a bid to collectively sanitise our education system and take this country to its desired position.

“We wish to state unequivocally that the board will not succumb to any cheap backmail in a bid to do what is right, just as we will not hesitate to mete out appropriate sanctions to centres that would at one point or the other decide to compromise the integrity of the examination.’’

Benjamin also said that for any centre to pass the verification test, it must strive to provide all the necessary requirements needed, as the board would not compromise on the quality of centres to be used.

He therefore, implored genuine CBT centre owners not to be deterred by the antics of any group of individuals seeking to distract the public.

Benjamin assured Nigerians of the commitment of the board to create conducive environment that would ensure that the businesses of these genuine centre owners continued to thrive.

Frank Ikpefan, Abuja

A civil society organisation, Vision Spring Initiatives, has said that women and girls in Nigeria must be protected from unsafe abortion during pregnancy through strict government legislation so as to minimise maternal death.

The group noted that women and girls must be empowered on their rights, adding that it was regrettable that Nigeria still had a high maternal mortality.

The Vision Spring Initiatives’ Project Director, Ngozi Nwosu-Juba, stated this in Abuja during a national mock tribunal on sexual and reproductive health and rights conference.

She said: “Nigeria has the third highest infant mortality in the world and also the largest contributor to global mortality rate. The rates are high, not because diseases leading to death cannot be cured or prevented.

“But it is because women and girls are dying from preventable and treatable sexual health complications as a result of entrenched resistance to women’s autonomy and control over their bodies.

READ ALSO: 2,000 Nigerian women die annually of unsafe abortion -Gynaecologist

“This is often justified on the basis of culture or religion. Poor health care systems and weak policy implementation add to women’s risk of death.

“There is need for universal access to quality and affordable sexual and reproductive health education, including services.

“Central to women and girls’ health and well-being is the realisation of their human rights, including their sexual and reproductive rights.

“We are working to empower women and girls, raise awareness on their rights, advocate for the adoption and implementation of laws and policies that prohibit and prevent sexual violence and unsafe abortion.”

The group noted that the government’s commitment to the adopted Universal Health Coverage Declaration must focus on women and girls especially.

Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

Nigeria’s premier technical university, First Technical University, Ibadan (Tech-U), has signed a collaborative degree programme agreement with Girne American University (GAU) in Cyprus.

This is in furtherance of its goal to internationalise its programmes and produce highly competent graduates,

Withthis collaboration, interested undergraduates now have the choice of spending their first three or four years in Tech-U, depending on the course being studied, and thereafter proceed to Cyprus to complete their degree programmes in GAU.

There is also the “top up” agreement through which students can complete their courses at Tech-U and apply to complete their Master’s degrees in GAU.

Located in Kyrenia, Northern Cyprus, GAU is Cyprus’ top-ranked university noted for its demonstrable leadership in science, technology and innovation.

The programme is approved and coordinated by the National Universities Commission (NUC).

Speaking at the signing of the collaboration, the GAU Chancellor, Dr. Serhat Akpinar, expressed delight at the partnership and pledged his unwavering commitment to the success of the programme, which would also involve partnership in research and faculty members’ exchange.

READ ALSO: TECH-U’s disruptive model right for Nigeria, says VC

Present at the ceremony held in Girne, Cyprus, were the representatives of partner institutions and the Director of Skills Development and Entrepreneurship, NUC, Mrs. Constance Goddy-Nnadi, who also represented the commission’s executive secretary.

Mrs. Goddy-Nnadi agreed that the partnership would promote capacity-building and quality knowledge acquisition by Nigerian lecturers and students.

Tech-U’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ayobami Salami, said the partnership is in line with Tech-U’s vision of producing students who will not only change the diminishing job equation, but also become key players within the national and international spaces.

By Olaitan Ganiu

 

The Institute of Public Analysts of Nigeria (IPAN) has vowed to use its forthcoming 28th Mandatory Continuous Professional Development (MCPD) workshop to seek ways of ascertaining the quality of medical and food-related items in the country.

To this end, IPAN has called on members and stakeholders to avail themselves of the workshop, scheduled to hold from November 19 to 20, to come up with ideas and strategies on how to curb the influx of substandard medical and allied products into the country.

The two-day workshop, which will take place at Ostra Hall and Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, will focus on “Contemporary analytical laboratory practice: Overcoming sectoral challenges”.

The theme of the conference is to foster further development of competence and skills among professional analysts in food, agro-allied, water, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and other laboratories. The objective is to x-ray the current state of affairs and bring up-to-date the standards in the regulatory environment in analytical laboratory practice in Nigeria with reference to international best practices.

In view of the pivotal roles of analytical laboratory practice in the health and socio-economic development of the country, IPAN, according to its governing council, will be using the workshop to explore the various contemporary opportunities inherent in different sectoral practices of the profession in order to develop and harness them to optimal professional advantages with the attendant benefits. At a press conference in Lagos, Aliyu Angara, the IPAN Registrar, said the focus on the various sectors of the economy is informed by their strategic disposition to national development.

He added that it is a common knowledge that the federal government is making concerted efforts to attain self-sufficiency in the food and agricultural sector.

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“The recent closure of all the nation’s borders is a pointer to this. Similarly, the effort is being made to improve generated revenue from solid minerals in order to reduce the total dependence on oil and gas. Also, the health challenges posed by environmental degradation and adulterated or unwholesome drugs cannot be overemphasised,” Angara said.

He emphasised that the nation is yet to overcome the unfortunate incidents of oil pipeline vandalism across the nation’s pipeline network especially at the Niger Delta area, which precipitate environmental degradation from oil spillage as well as flagrant gas flaring that has been on for decades. Angara further said it is worrisome citizen that the nation’s pharmaceutical sector is dominated by foreign nationals, besides issues such as the prevalence of substandard, unwholesome and falsified medical products.

Similarly, Dr. Femi Oyediran, vice chairman of IPAN, said that the sectorial challenges facing analysts need to be identified and addressed properly in order to assist the nation’s quest towards economic self-sufficiency.

“Today, Nigeria has placed an embargo on some imported products and many Nigerians are in trouble. But the truth is we need to develop and patronise our local products. Hence, in sustaining the local items, it is important that the public analysts need to ascertain product quality, safety, and efficacy,” he said.

Oyediran, however, added that it is imperative for stakeholders in the sectors to attend the workshop as an array of experts have been arranged to identify the various challenges confronting professionals both in the public and private sectors to proffer long-lasting solutions.

By Adekunle Yusuf

 

As an underpenetrated market,  the country’s health care sector presents a massive opportunity for disruption by startups that can use the right mix of technology, innovation and smart operations to dig deep into the untapped goldmine.

In this regard, MeCure SmartBuy, a  healthcare mobile app that offers free doctor tele-consultations along with home delivery of medicines and diagnostic services anywhere in Lagos, seems to have hit a sweet spot, clocking nearly 50,000 user registrations and thousands of orders within six months of coming on stream.

Launched in March, the SmartBuy, which recorded over 34,000 registrations within its first three months, is a product of MeCure’s vision to provide access to primary healthcare services in the most affordable and convenient way possible. “Traditionally, access to top quality doctors has been the very first problem for all of us. We are resolving this by removing barriers using technology. If you are sick today, just download the app and book a tele-consultation with our panel of qualified doctors. They will give you a call, assess your health condition and advise on the way forward. In case a physical examination is needed, they will refer you to a qualified doctor closest to you. For simple ailments that can be treated with over-the-counter medication, consumers can get it home delivered within 2-3 hours anywhere in Lagos,” Dr. Adekunle Megbuwawon, Chief Medical Officer at MeCure, said after the launch of the mobile app.

To continue its growth momentum after clocking 50,000 users, the diagnostic giant said SmartBuy now targets the B2B segment through tie-ups with health maintenance organisations (HMOs), hospitals and corporate institutions by offering them attractive discounts on medicines for their customers and employees. On this, Dr. Megbuwawon said MeCure has so far started pilot operations with more than 10 organisations and is in various stages of discussions with several more. “MeCure is already a leading diagnostic brand in Lagos for the last 10 years and we already have amazing partnerships with most of the HMOs and big corporate institutions for diagnostic services for years now. With MeCure SmartBuy, we are leveraging this existing relationship and providing additional value to all of our clients by taking care of medication needs for their employees or end consumers.

“Consider this, as a responsible organisation, you would want your employees and customers to have access to genuine medication at an affordable price. Right? Nigeria is already infamous for counterfeit drugs and furthermore the pricing and availability is highly volatile.

Read Also: FUTO students launch health apps

 

With SmartBuy, all of these concerns are addressed since we offer 100 per cent genuine drugs at a flat discount with doorstep delivery! It is technically a no-brainer for our clients and hence we are witnessing rapid growth,” said Dr. Megbuwawon.

However, from a tech and operations perspective, the frenetic pace of success the MeCure SmartBuy has recorded within a short time has also come with its own challenges. Explaining how the challenges were addressed, Adil Shaikh, Chief Technology Officer at MeCure SmartBuy, admitted that it was really hectic attending to voluminous demands at one point in June when the app received about 4000+ signups in a single day, which stretched the team and the technology support infrastructure to their limits.

“It was a crazy time for our tech team, as we had to ensure our network infrastructure could scale and support this huge spike in traffic. While we did run into some minor issues, it gave us a clear indicator with regards to the demand for our offering and validated the magnitude of the problem that we are trying to solve. From the time an order is placed on the app till the time our delivery agent hands over the medication to the customer, we track each and every interaction minutely. We can track the exact location for each of our delivery agent in real time. This helps us understand bottlenecks and optimize our operations on a daily basis.

“Constant feedback from our customers is also helping us improve and expand our offerings. Tech is only an enabler; executing to delight the customer is key. I think if you look at our reviews from customers on the app stores, you will understand how seriously we pay attention to details. If your customer is not happy, nothing else matters,” said Shaikh.

Body Odour (Bromhidrosis): Every living thing is made of chemicals. Human beings are the same. We are made up of complex compounds of chemicals whose foundation were laid when we were conceived. These chemicals are building block of our lives. They remain active every second of our lives: they undergo regeneration and shedding. The product of such recycling is constantly being removed from our body as any factory product and wastes are removed in the world.

Body odour becomes noticeable after puberty at a time when our hormones are increasingly active and we are more productive and energetic. In most people, body odour passes without significant concern. Please be aware that every one of us smells in different ways to various degrees.

When body odour becomes a worry or so overpowering that it interferes with the lives of the individuals, steps should be taken to address the problem. At the time of our birth, our bodies were invaded by bacteria present in the air. As we live on, depending on what we engage in and how we look after ourselves, these bacteria will remain or change as we all change with time.

Causes body odour: We all sweat. Anyone who sweats is subject to some kind of body odour. How we individually deal with our body or keep the smell to a minimum is what differentiates us all. When we are anxious or we exercise or there is a lot of heat around us, we sweat more in such areas as face, armpit and chest areas. Our hands may be sweating as other parts of our body. This situation creates massive opportunity for the resident bacteria mentioned above to become active and feed on our waste products of sweat with all the chemicals that are contained in it. This interaction of human sweat and bacteria fundamentally creates our body odour. There is however more to it. Ingestion of some foods such as garlic, onion, curry, alcohol, certain medications (like penicillin, bromides), and toxins may also cause body odour. Lastly, body odour may result from underlying diseases such as diabetes, kidney diseases and liver failure. Also, in some individuals, there is a strong genetic link to their excess body odour. Such individuals also have excess ear wax. Perhaps, this genetic link may explain why some cultures such as Yoruba claims that a poor child’s first bath and eventual body odour are interrelated.

How to deal with body odour:  Beyond issue of puberty and smell, body odour in an otherwise healthy person will be investigated by the doctor and appropriate treatment should be offered accordingly. Personal hygiene is a very important measure. Shaving of armpit hairs and washing of armpit as well as prompt removal or washing of sweats are useful steps to take. Regular or once daily showering or bath may help as well. Use of antiseptic soap may be beneficial too. Deodorant may help reduce the perception and intensity of the body smell.  In rare occasions, surgery may be required to deal with body odour (and excess sweating).

Read Also: Body of abducted man found in Ebonyi

 

Excessive Sweating (hyperhidrosis): As I mentioned earlier, excess sweating may be due to anxiety, heat in the environment, eating of hot food, and exertion. But it may also be due to overactive sweat glands in the armpit, face, chest and back. In some persons, over sweating may be due to genetic inheritance. It may also be caused by diseases such as overacting thyroid and other diseases. All these may make body odour worse. The solution includes use of antiperspirants. In some situations, medications may be used to reduce over sweating but you may need to see a physician for this. In extreme cases, surgical operation may be called for to deal with excessive sweating.

Skin and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs): Sexually transmitted diseases are common human afflictions. Skin is often a part of the human body that STD may manifest itself in the victim. Common STD that shows up in the skin include viral diseases such as human papilloma virus(HPV) showing as small cauliflower-like growth, human immunodeficiency virus(HIV) showing up as rashes in different parts or all over the body, herpes simplex showing up as ulcers (see next week’s article for skin ulcers). Bacteria such as Chancroid, and syphilis also shows up as ulcers as well as swelling around the groin, penis in men and vagina in women. Gonorrhea may cause little swelling in groin and discharge in penis. In women, infection with gonorrheoa may not be so obvious until much damage had been done.

The solution to STD is primarily prevention: for you to exercise discretion on whom you interact with. On the other hand, use of condom may help. Where oral sex has been practised, these infections may affect the lips and throat. If infection is discovered, do go to your medical practitioner as soon as possible for thorough investigations and treatment. Prompt attendance at the doctor may save you from more body damage and death from sexually transmitted diseases.

 

Shaving of armpit hairs and washing of armpit as well as prompt removal or washing of sweats are useful steps to take. Regular or once daily showering or bath may help as well. Use of antiseptic soap may be beneficial too. Deodorant may help reduce the perception and intensity of the body smell.  In rare occasions, surgery may be required to deal with body odour (and excess sweating)

 

 

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Our Reporter

 

The Computer-Based Test Centres Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria have blasted the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for the alleged irregularities that trailed the conduct of the 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

Its President Maxwell Akwuruoha addressed reporters yesterday in Abuja on the development.

He said: “Biometric enrolment, as secured registration medium for UTME and Direct Entry candidates, started in 2011 with the introduction of electronic testing, actively in 2013 and absolutely in 2015. It has been that the introduction of technology as electronic testing saved huge costs, initially meant for printing question papers, syllabus, brochure and logistics for delivery of same.

“It has been that only N600 is paid to centres for each candidate that sits for the examination. It has also been that JAMB applies a fire-brigade approach during accreditation, especially with ad hoc workers who are not trained.

Read Also: Reps urge JAMB to halt NIN

“It does not kill anybody to apologise that the biometric system actually failed. We had candidates that were prevented from writing the exam because of biometric failures from JAMB…”

JAMB’s Head of Information, Fabian Benjamin, dismissed the allegations as “cheap blackmail”.

He said: “It is quite unfortunate that a group of people, who claim to be our partners and who daily clamour for an increase in what we pay them, will resort to blackmail. One, our biometric verification did not fail. We conducted biometric verification for about two million candidates. Let me assume, without conceding, that 2,000 candidates could not be verified, what is the percentage of 2000 in two million?

“Every candidate that registered properly was verified. So, for any candidate who was not verified, it is not as a result of biometric failure. Some of them registered in centres that were not approved and some of them did multiple registrations and they were therefore blocked…”