The Nation Newspaper

Tag: blood

  • Concerns over low stock of blood

    There is a growing concern over low stock of blood in the country.

    According to Dr Nicholas Ohaya, President, HealthCare Ministry of St Dominic Catholic Church, Yaba, Lagos, the response to voluntary blood donation is still very low because people are afraid that the screening might leave a disease in their blood.

    Ohaya, at a blood donation drive organised by the church and Lagos State Blood Transfusion Service (LSBTS), said blood donation “is safe.” People should not be afraid of the exercise, he said.

    He said the gesture is to help the people in need of blood to survive.

    A donor, Mr Patric Julius, said he donated his blood to save lives.

    Mr. Samuel Ihebinike, who is making his fifth donation, said the exercise is a way of helping others. He said anybody could need blood at any time. Miss Amaka Okwonkwo, another donor, said there is no cause for fear in blood donation because every donor will be tested before their blood is taken.

    In a related event, the President of Muslim Students Society of Nigeria, Lagos State University, College of Medicine (LASUCOM) chapter, Abdul-Wahab Egberongbe said mortality rate is increasing in Nigeria,  but it can be reduced if Nigerians imbibe the culture of non-remunetated voluntary blood donation. “Many Nigerians are dead because they need blood to remain alive and could not get a donor. If all Nigerians donate blood regularly,  there would be enough blood in the blood bank at all times, thus death arising from non availability of blood would reduce,” he said.

    He spoke at a blood donor drive organised by the LSBTS and the Muslim Student Society at LASUCOM, Ikeja.

    He said no fewer than 63 people donated blood, adding that his society’s partnership with the blood transfusion service was informed by the need to assist accident victims and other people who need blood to survive and also to support the Lagos State government to achieve its goal of getting adequate blood in its blood bank.

    The president, however, called on corporate bodies, educational institutions, religious bodies, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO’s) and well meaning Nigerians to partner with the Lagos State Blood Transfusion Service in its blood donor drive as the agency cannot get enough voluntary blood donors without the support of everybody. A donor, Damilola Bashua, a 400 level student stated that one of the reasons she is studying medicine is to save live through blood donation, to put smiles on people’s faces and above all the medical profession is to save lives.

  • Is oil thicker than blood?

    Is oil thicker than blood?

    In a film, Delta Boys, an American, Andrew Berends, traces the Niger Delta struggles. He looks at the region’s challenges through the lense of former militant leader Ateke Tom. Berends, who was once held hostage by militants, writes from the position of one who could be described as an ‘insider’, having observed certain things first hand. But his documentary is generating heat as some Niger Deltans perceive it as derogatory. Victor Akande reports

    It is the goose that lays the golden egg. Then something snapped, and the oil-rich Niger Delta erupted in violence. The agitations are yet to cease despite the amnesty for militants by the Yar’ Adua administration in 2009. The woes of the region were brought home when the militant groups across the creeks, started abducting expatriates, blowing up oil installations and seizing control of oil flow stations.

    This action by the inhabitants (who are fishermen and farmers), over alleged neglect by government and its multinational partners disrupted the region’s economic activities.

    Some film makers saw the potential of a motion picture, as a tool of international mediation and have captured the dramatic moments of the rebel camps, from various points of view.

    Jeta Amata’s film Black Gold is one. It once made it to the film market segment of Cannes International Film Festival, France. It addresses the sufferings of inhabitants. The award-winning filmmaker was said to have fled the country at a time, claiming to have been threatened by a group which felt he did not make adequate consultation on the true state of affairs in the area.

    Another effort is coming from Andrew Berends, an American documentary filmmaker, who was arrested and charged with spying in Nigeria in 2008, while working on a film about militants in the Niger Delta.

    Whereas Amata’s account may have offended the supposed disgruntled leaders who have been playing politics with the people’s lives, as captured in the film, Berends’ film, on the other hand, may be seen to offend the advocates of the struggle. According to the American, the militants have called for greater distribution of wealth and jobs. But many feel that while the Niger Delta cause is just, the militants’ motives are not so pure.

    Changing the film’s title from Black Gold, which seems to debase the essence of the struggle, to Black November, which underscores the bloody climax of the agitation, is a better way to present the story of Nigeria’s wealth tussle. But critics are querying the pay off in Berends’ movie that “oil is thicker than blood”. They reason that Berends’ position makes a mockery of the maxim: “Blood is thicker than water”.

    Since negative stories from Africa and other developing countries constituted a chunk of the archival materials for the western media, the story of the struggle, beginning with the stunt pulled by pioneer armed Niger-Delta activist, Major Isaac Adaka Boro to the late Ken Saro Wiwa saga and the activities of militants who now enjoy amnesty, has continued to attract attention.

    Berends, who hit the limelight during his 10-day ordeal and the campaign to secure his release, is obviously fulfilled at the moment: the resulting documentary, Delta Boys, was released online a few weeks ago.

    The 55-minute film was largely shot inside the camp of the rebel leader, Ateke Tom, who at the time led 2,000 young men, claiming to fight for the people. A slice-of-life production with minimal narration and a smattering of news reports for context, Delta Boys doesn’t present alternate points of view, though Berends raises the question of whether the militants are in it for justice or just for money and violence.

    Delta Boys follows the lives of militant “godfather” Ateke Tom and Chima, a 21-year-old who left home to join the fight. The film also shows life in a tiny fishing village caught in the crossfire of the conflict. Mama, a 22-year-old, struggles to give birth without access to modern medical care, while rebels launch raids from a camp across the river.

    Berends said the struggle in the Niger Delta caught his attention, because of its relation to oil, a subject on which he had earlier shot two films in Iraq: “I had seen striking images of heavily armed militants moving throughout the creeks of the Niger Delta in speedboats, sabotaging flow-stations, blowing up pipelines, and kidnapping foreign oil-workers. I researched the story and learned that while Nigeria is the fifth largest supplier of oil to the United States, the inhabitants of the oil-producing Niger Delta region live in poverty. So, I travelled to Nigeria to try to meet the militants, and start my next film,” says the filmmaker.

    But what is the position of Ateke Tom on the essence of the struggle? he shares his thoughts on some of the issues revolving around the situation with the E4PR team, with which this reporter visited his Lagos home.

    “We fought because we couldn’t bear the continued injustice any longer,” he says, as he opens up to the interviewer in his tastefully furnished Ajah home, close to the highbrow Lekki in Lagos.

    “We decided to take up the struggle because if we didn’t, our children would face the same problems and blame us for doing nothing about it. The situation was very unfair and something other than talk, which had hitherto fallen on deaf ears, had to be done.” He speaks calmly in pidgin, his expression almost hard to decipher behind gold rimmed dark shades.

    “Of course, for now, amnesty is in place, and that’s why we have decided to give peace a chance in order for the government and others concerned, to redress the wrongs done by many years of untold hardships and pains.”

    Now living as a free man, after embracing the amnesty, he spends most of his days attending to guests, friends, business associates and the like, who throng his home daily.

    Life in the creeks, however, had its fun moments, which he relives with nostalgia.

    “Life in the camp was fun,” he says to the guests, as he calls one of the boys to play us a video. “Sometimes in a bid to relieve tension and to boost morale, we used to have sessions where we ‘gyrated’ to drum beats and singing. Even the soldiers (Joint Task Force (JTF) meant to combat the ‘freedom fighters’) afar off could hear our voices and singing from deep within the hearts of the creeks but could do nothing about it’; here he manages a smile.

    “Some other times, we had girls, lots of them, coming in from the nearby university, who came of their own volition to make the camp lively. If I was indeed a bad person who cut off human heads and killed at will as some would have you believe, would that have happened?” He has worked himself up to a state of excitement now as he remembers some of the unfounded stories about him.

    “I was made out to be a beast, a terror and an unfeeling machine, who mowed people down whenever I felt like. But even you have seen for yourself the kind of person I am,” he looked across everyone in the living room.

    Indeed, it was clear, from the video recordings and interviews conducted on him in camp, that Ateke, has an amiable side that attracts people to him. And as described in one of the editions of The Nation newspaper, the ex-militant, or ‘freedom fighter’ as he prefers to be called, is a Nollywood friendly lion.

    During this reporter’s visit to his home, a number of Nollywood stars were spotting having pleasant time with him. Interestingly, some of the videos of activities in the creek were shot by notable Nollywood filmmakers and actors.

    But it appears that the bargains for amnesty have not finally been met; an indication that film sequels on the struggle may still be forthcoming. The amnesty programme, he said, has not finally settled the grievances that led to the insurgency in the first place. ‘They (government) said they were going to train the boys and give them good jobs; up till now, not much has been done.

    “In my own case, after having been granted amnesty, why then am I still being hunted? My house in Okrika was raided and bombarded by soldiers who were looking for Ateke Tom. I used to have a lot of dogs there too, but one day, they came and shot all of them, because when they didn’t see me, they assumed I had turned to one of them and decided to kill them all.” There was laughter across the room.

  • Blood vital to survival, says expert

    IT is a serious medical condition for people to be short of blood, Executive Secretary, Lagos State Blood Transfusion Committee (LSBTC), Mrs Modupe Olaiya, has said.

    According to her, those without adequate blood can pay the supreme price.

    She spoke during a national dialogue on gender issues in the 1999 Constitution organised by Women’s Advocate Research and Documentation Centre in collaboration with LSBTC.

    She said those lacking adequate blood are usually tired and unable to walk or do anything tasking as such nothing can take the place of blood.

    Blood, she said, is the red fluid that flows through the body and it has red cells, white cells and platelets in it.

    “The red cells carry oxygen from the lungs to different parts of the body and then carries carbon dioxide back to the lungs, the white blood cells fight infections and the platelet is responsible for blood clots,” she added.

    She said nobody can survive without blood because humans needs oxygen to breathe and this is what the red cells in the blood are responsible for.

    “If we do not have the white blood cells we will be like a dumping ground for various kinds of ailment and diseases and people will die any how because there are no white cells to fight against diseases.

    “There are some people who are short of blood, this category of people need blood from fellow humans to remainstay alive. Such people include mothers who over bleed during or after delivery, patients going for surgery, accident victims, cancer patients, people with fibroid that are bleeding (some people bleed to the extent that they would need a blood transfusion)  and sickle cell disorder patients among others,” she said.

    She stressed the need for people in stable health condition to donate blood so that there would be blood in the blood bank which would be ready for use anytime the need for blood arises by those who have lost blood.

    Mrs. Olaiya said: “Voluntary blood donors have that feeling of satisfaction that they are saving lives, there is also that spiritual reward that you are helping someone and there are also health benefits as the donors would be given free medical check up which includes, weight check, blood level, blood group, genotype and blood pressure. Blood donation is also helpful to the donors as it keeps the bone marrow active, and this on its own is an advantage to the body.”

    She identified people who can donate blood as males and females between the ages of 18 and 65 years; adding that they must be healthy, weigh at least 50 kg, must not be pregnant and free of HIV, hepatitis, syphilis and other diseases.

  • Floods, tears and blood

    Floods, tears and blood

    Several communities across the country are counting their losses to floods. For some, it is simply unquantifiable, especially where lives are involved, report Bisi Olaniyi, Ugochukwu Ugoji-Eke,   Chris Oji  and Nicholas Kalu

     

     

    East-West road threatened as Rivers residents count losses

    IN other climes, there are wet and dry seasons but it is not so in the Niger Delta. The dry season spell experienced between December and March in other parts of the country is alien to residents of the oil-rich region.

    In Rivers State, the near absence of dry season has made construction, especially road, very difficult in the Southsouth state with a swampy terrain.

    This year, the devastating effects of the torrential rainfall have been felt by all. At the mercy of the floods is the strategic and ever-busy East-West Road.

    The road starts from Oron, in Akwa Ibom State, runs through Ogoniland in Rivers State to Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Ondo and Ogun, terminating in Lagos State.

    The contracts for the dualisation of the Warri to Port Harcourt stretch of the road were initially awarded to Setraco Construction Company (Warri-Kaiama) and Julius Berger Construction Company (Kaiama-Port Harcourt).

    Prior to the introduction of the amnesty programme in 2009 by the Federal Government for demilitarised Niger Delta youths, Julius Berger officials, mostly expatriates, were frequently kidnapped in exchange for ransom.

    When the kidnappings became unbearable, the firm was forced to abandon the job. Messrs Setraco was subsequently hired to take over the road. But the company is overwhelmed by the enormity of the work to be done. Already, agitated Niger Delta residents are complaining about the slow pace of implementation.

    The firm had started asphalt overlay from the Warri end and sand filling from the Rivers axis before the floods took a debilitating toll on its programme. Portions of the road are being washed away around the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) and from Emohua to Ahoada East and Ahoada West Local Government Areas.

    Villagers told The Nation that floods remain the major threat to the project, which maynot be completed by the December 2014 completion date.

    The mostly affected areas in the Garden City are: Ada-George, Diobu and Ogbogoro. Two Diobu residents – Mercy Apia and George Otelemaba, blamed it all on poor drainage.

    Residents of Ada-George and Ogbogoro will have to live with the incessant flooding for more weeks, considering the ongoing dualisation and reconstruction of the roads.

    But the Governor Rotimi Amaechi-led administration is not folding its arms. Its intervention is making the after-effects of the floods in Rivers State a child’s play, considering the tales on the lips of residents in other parts of the country.

    The governor has mandated the contractors handling road projects across the state to provide covered drains and service ducts.

     

    Communities sacked, farmlands washed away in Abia

     

    In Abia State, floods have sacked many from their homes and washed away hectares of farmlands.

    One of the affected communities is Umuaku in Umunneochi Local Government Area where the floods destroyed multi-million naira property, including perimeter wall fence of buildings.

    They include the walls of Jacob Achara Methodist Church that were pulled down and several other buildings that were submerged. Hundreds of farmers were sent on forced break from their farmlands.

    But residents alleged the on-going construction of the Mbala Isuochi road blocked the natural water path.

    Also counting their losses are residents of Ohanku road in the commercial city of Aba. Many of them have been sent on vacation from their houses, which are either submerged or have their access washed away.

    At least 20 houses have been abandoned by tenants, who lost the battle to prevent them from being flooded. Some of the residents said that their problem started when the firm rehabilitating the road, allegedly blocked the underground drainage collecting storm water to Aba River.

    They argued that rather than maintain the original level of the road, the firm raised some sections, a development they alleged was responsible for the flooding of the area.

    The residents also alleged that the contractor, consciously and unconsciously, blocked the drainage with stone chippings, which they discovered as they tried to de-silt the channel as part of their communal effort to remediate the situation.

    The flood, which has divided the road into two, has created an emergency terminal for vehicles from Ngwa at a distance while the others from the Ohanku end has to make a detour before AmuonichaAmucha.

    With the water level still high for residents to wade through, pedestrians now circumvent the affected area through the adjoining premises.

    At the Akoli –Ohanku junction where the underground drainage is believed to have been blocked, buildings on both sides of the road have been partially submerged. Nduka Ukpabi, an affected landlord in the area, lamented that all his tenants have packed out.

    At Umuaku, an affected cleric, Rev. John Nkemakolam said: “We have never experienced a flood of this magnitude. It pulled down fences and water levels inside people’s rooms were as high as six feet. We have lost a fortune, individually and collectively, but glory be to God, no death has been recorded so far.”

    Abia State Deputy Governor Emeka Ananaba, who, on behalf of his boss, Governor Theodore Orji, visited the area for an on-the-spot assessment, expressed shock at the extent of the damage wreaked by the floods.

    He, however, assured the people of the government’s quick intervention to alleviate their suffering.

    “The government will come to your aid soon,” Ananaba told a cross-section of residents in Umuaku.

    He said that the state would approach the Niger Delta Development Commission (NNDC) for possible assistance, not just to victims in Umuaku but to help the government tackle the menace of erosion across the state.

    Beyond the climate change, the flooding of the two Abia communities was aggravated by the blockage of collector drains by contruction firms.

     

    From Kogi with tears

     

    Sacked from their homes in Kogi State by floods, 5,000 residents Elele, Ekanyi, Obale and Affa communities in Analo Ward of Ibaji Local Government Area have relocated to neighbouring Idah Local Government Area of the state and Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State to seek refuge.

    Most residents of Ekanyi, Obale and Affa succeeded in crossing over to Enugu boundary communities of Ogurugu, Ojjor and Iggah in Uzo-Uwani council at the weekend.

    They crossed over to safety on wooden canoes through the Mabolo River, also known as Ofu, leaving their property which had been completely submerged in water.

    There were also reports that the people of Elele, Odobo, Nwajala and Ejule, whose communities were submerged early last week, have all relocated to Idah.

    Man, from Odeke community, in Ibaji council area relocated to Iggah community in Enugu State.

    It was learnt that they live like refugees with many of them residing in primary school buildings.

    Though, some good-spirited Iggah indigenes have vacated their houses accommodate their fellow-countrymen, some victims still face difficulties.

    Residents of Ekanyi and Affa natives have been moving to Ogurugu since last weekend. The community has become home to victims, including the aged and children.

    Fears of possible outbreak of epidemic are rife since most of the victims pass the night in open spaces.

    The chairman of Ibaji Local Government Area, Mr. Dave Ogwu, lamented that greater parts of his council had been deserted because of the flood, which according to him, has destroyed many houses, property, farmlands and crops worth several billions of naira.

    He called on relief agencies to assist the victims who have been turned into refugees in neighbouring Enugu State. The call became necessary and urgent because the calamity, he said, is beyond what his council could shoulder.

    According to Ogwu, Governor Idris Wada, who has visited Idah, was due at the emergency camp created in Enugu State yesterday.

    Officials of Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area, led by the Chairman, Mr. Cornel Onwubuya who visited the border communities to assess the situation on Sunday, expressed concern over the large number of refuge-seeking Ibaji people.

    The council chief and a community leader, Chief Maximus Ukwuta, who led the team, urged the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other relief agencies to quickly come to the rescue.

    He listed shelter, food, drugs and clothings as the victims’ urgent needs.

    The Red Cross Society said it had received reports of the victims’ crisis in Uzo-Uwani council and had briefed its Enugu office to act quickly.

     

    Communities in Cross

    River in tears

     

    Though Cross River is among the states listed by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) to prepare for heavy rains and flooding, the intensity of the disaster could not in any way be compared to what was experiened the previous years.

    According to the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), more than 42, 000 residents have been displaced by the flood this year.

    The worst hit local government areas are: Obubra, Ogoja, Yala, Ikom, Abi, Biase, Odukpani, Boki, Obudu and Obanliku.

    It is difficult to see the displaced persons in one rehabilitation camp as they are promptly accommodated by families and friends in adjoining, communities.

    A SEMA official said the hospitable nature of the people has, to a great extent, aided them in coping with the situation.

    In Yala, Mr Gabriel Ogar, who is accommodating a family whose house was flooded, said: “Well, this thing can happen to anybody. So, we have to open our hands to help our brothers and sisters.”

    So far, 11 deaths have been recorded this year, according to SEMA.

    In Adim in Biase, a nine-month-old baby, Godswill Echu Okon, was reportedly killed when a residential building collapsed on him. The collapse was caused by flooding. In Agwagwune, in the same Biase council, two 12-year-olds were allegedly swept away.

    As of the last count, about 49 persons have been hospitalised from flood-induced injuries.

    More than 4000 farmers have also been affected with about 106, 000 hectares of farmland washed away. Yams, cassava, cocoyam, melon, rice and vegetables, among others, have been destroyed.

    The Nation learnt that about 1059 houses have been destroyed, especially in the rural areas where they were built with mud bricks.

    One of the most famous tourism sites in the state, Buanchor Drill Ranch and Canopy Walk in Boki, has been rendered inaccessible by the floods. The bridges and culverts on the road have all been swept away.

    The disaster, which came in the aftermath of a down pour that lasted for about three days, also affected six villages where no fewer than 80 houses were swept away and 3000 farmlands destroyed.

    At the end of the three-day downpour, about 10000 residents either became homeless, or incapacitated economically.

    Tourists who were on tour of the Buanchor Drill Ranch and Canopy Walk as at that time were trapped.

    The about-30-metre high Buanchor Canopy Walkway, located in the heart of the virgin forest of Boki, is the longest in Africa. The Drill Ranch is for the protection of Drill Monkeys, an endangered animal species which attract hundreds of tourists on monthly basis.

    The situation is a major blow to tourism, the mainstay of Cross River’s economy.

    In Agwagwune, Biase council, women and children live under inhuman conditions with no potable water, food and medication.

    The villages in the area could only be accessed by the use of canoes through forest, invested with reptiles and dangerous animals.

    Speaking in Egbism village on his canoe, Mr. Ekuma Bassey, lamented that the flood was the first of its kind in more than a decade.

    He lamented that he and his family had no place to live in as they could not raise the rent for apartment in the city centre.

    Bassey lamented that they could no longer eat cooked food, as all the water sources in the area have been poluted.

    He said: “Now, we eat only bread which we have to buy from the neighbouring community. We cannot use firewood here. We cannot use kerosene. We are suffering. Please help us.”

    Bassey lamented that market and schools have been submerged, creating both economic and social problems.

    Okpandin, a village in Yala Local Government Area, was completely sacked.

    Mr. Cyprian Idim, a resident of the community, said: “We have no access to that village again and the people had to be evacuated to other villages. There is no access to that village again. Water has surrounded the village.”

    Expressing regret that their farmland had been washed away, he said: “We have no other occupation than farming.”

    Compounding matters was the recent release of water from the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon. The water released from the dam affected Yala, Ogoja, Ikom, Obubra, Abi, Biase and Odukpani council areas.

    SEMA’s Director-General Vincent Aquah expressed the fear that the magnitude and severity of the damage to lives and property would increase as the flood level rises.

    According to him, apart from the expected extreme famine as a result of the destruction of farmlands, accommodation would become a problem as many are already relocating to make shift shelters.

    “These conditions are far below human standard particularly living in a slum such as this thatch house. Children and women are suffering and there is an urgent need to address the situation before it gets out of hand,” he said.

    He appealed to the Federal Government and international organisations to assist the government in cushioning the effects of the floods.

    Aquah said sensitisation campaigns have been flagged of in all the coaster communities to advise residents of flood-prone communities to relocate to higher planes.