The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Boy

  • Nigeria’s boy wonder

    Nigeria’s boy wonder

    A Nigerian, Ifesinachi Nelson Ezeh, has won international acclaim for finishing his Master’s degree at Saint Petersburg Agrarian University in Russia with distinction and for his edge-cutting research in Agronomy. His feat earned him a Ph.D scholarship. HANNAH OJO writes on the exploits of the youngster whose aim is to tackle the food crisis in his fatherland.

    Ifesinachi Nelson Ezeh, a 26-year-old Nigerian, has dazzled Russia with his brilliance. The Nsukka, Enugu State-born student finished his Master’s degree in Agronomy at Saint Petersburg State Agrarian University, graduating with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 5.0 – the highest Russia has ever recorded.

    Ifesinachi’s feat was celebrated by Russians during the university’s graduation. Russia’s Ministry of Agriculture and the school leadership showered encomiums on him, praising his dedication to quality research and academic excellence.

    His journey to success started from a newspaper in 2008, when he read about a scholarship scheme to study in Russia. Then, he had just enrolled at the Nigerian College of Aviation Studies in Zaria, Kaduna State. But, Ifesinachi forfeited the admission for the scholarship.

    According to him, his father got the information about the scholarship and encouraged him to apply. The scholarship is a bilateral agreement between Nigeria and other  countries, including Russia, Cuba, China and Libya.

    He said: “I was among the top five students selected at the College of Aviation after the scholarship examination. This got my dad excited. I was waiting to resume at the college when I received a call from Abuja, inviting me to come for the scholarship interview. The urgency of the information gave me no room for preparation. But, I went for the interview and travelled to Russia for study.”

    In November 2008, Ifesinachi arrived in Russia with 40 other students from Nigeria for his Bachelor’s degree. Since Russian language is a prerequisite for study in the country, he enrolled at Don State Technical University, where he learnt the language for one year. Afterwards, he was transferred to Saint Petersburg State Agrarian University to study Agronomy.

    Ifesinachi’s brilliance was discovered in his sophomore year when he was assigned to Prof Lev Gennadievich Tyryshkin as his thesis supervisor. Also a researcher at the Russia Institute of Plant Industry, Prof Tyryshkin exposed Ifesinachi to academic and industrial research methodologies.

    “That was when my journey in scientific research started,” Ifesinachi said, adding: “The professor is an atheist and for the time I spent with him in the laboratory, I literally became an atheist too, because my mind was preoccupied with research work.”

    Ifesinachi’s research on species of Aegilops won him recognition from the Science Community in the Europe.

    The research, he said, was to re-study six species of Aegilops (a wheat variety) and bread wheat that were said to have effective LR23 gene for resistance at juvenile stage. In the course of the study, Ifesinachi discovered inadequacies in the previous researches carried out by scholars in the field.

    He said: “It was during the comparison of results of the DNA markers and phytopathological tests that I discovered there were possible errors in the previous studies. After that, we reset the conditions that were recommended nationally for phytopathological study. Our results were narrowed down to the large collection of specimens that have been approved for hybridisation with bread-wheat nationally from 15 specimens (six species of Aegilops) with effective LR23 gene for resistance at the juvenile stage.”

    After his research, it was discovered that previous researchers falsified records and gave the Russian government wrong information about the Aegilops species. Ifesinachi’s results enabled the Russian government to update plant bank gene collections with effective genes.

    The student said his closeness to Prof Tyryshkin contributed to his success, because he had access to Plant Bank Collection in Saint Petersburg, which he said houses several collections of genes and known species and varieties of plant.

    It was not smoothsailing all the way. In 2012, his first research was rejected when it was published. Ifesinachi blamed it on his  level of fluency in Russian language then. The rejection, he said, made him to develop more interest in research work.

    He said: “In 2013, I got more results and I presented them to the university leadership. Two of us were selected to represent the university at a regional level. We presented our research results to the jury of the regional contest. We won and moved to the national level. My research was adjudged third best work at the national level and I am the only African student among the best student-researchers. I was recognised by the Russian Ministry of Agriculture. My university gave me an honorary degree in recognition of my feat.”

    Ifesinachi’s feat improved the ratings of Saint Petersburg State Agrarian University and fetched him a scholarship for his Master’s degree. He completed his undergraduate degree with a CGPA of 4.92 and finished his Master’s degree with a CGPA of 5.0 – a distinction.

    He got a scholarship for his doctoral degree during the university’s convocation.

    While his academic feat was being celebrated by the Russians, he was unsung by his country

    Ifesinachi said he did not get any commendation from the Nigerian Embassy in Moscow.

    He said: “The only reward I got came from the Saint Petersburg State Agrarian University. I never got a call from the Nigerian Embassy in Moscow. I felt I should pass the information through the scholarship board, but it appeared nobody showed interest.”

    On the challenges he faced while in Russia, Ifesinachi said the greatest was being alone in the midst of Russians speaking their language fluently. “I always felt lonely in their midst,” he said.

    Ifesinachi suspended his doctoral programme and returned to Nigeria last month for the National Youth Service. Against the expectation of his supervisor, Ifesinachi said he decided to return home and serve Nigeria in field research before going back for his Ph.D.

    “The Dean of my faculty was worried when I told him I would be in Nigeria for a year before resuming my Ph.D. I think it is justified to impart the knowledge I garnered in Russia to my countrymen. I was on scholarship for seven years. I also need to serve my country, which gave me the opportunity.”

    Ifesinachi is also a budding writer. He has published a fiction work titled: Sister Kingdom. He said the motivation came from his family.

    According to him, he wants to use his innovative research expertise to solve the country’s food crisis  through plant breeding. This, he said, would enable him fulfil the purpose of his scholarship.

  • Akwa Ibom boy’s mysterious death

    Akwa Ibom boy’s mysterious death

    Happiness has taken a break from the family of Utibeabasi Sampson.The 14-year-old son died mysteriously after an outing with seven children between the ages 14 to 16 at Pinnacle hotels, Edet Akpan Avenue Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

    According to a family source, who spoke with our correspondent on the condition anonymity,  the 14 year old boy was lured to the hotel under the pretext of a get-together party only for him to be left dead in the pool.

    The source said the suspects are all students of a popular secondary school in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital and are children of influential people in the state.

    She explained that the suspects were about leaving the hotel without their victim when the gateman who noticed they were eight when they came in, accosted them and asked them of the eighth person.

    Her words: “The heartless demons mentioned casually that he may still be in the pool and laughed. Even if this boy drowned, why didn’t they raise the alarm and seek for help? Where were the staff? The life guard said he went to ease himself, for how long?”

    The source condemned the police for allegedly  trying to cover up the murder of Sampson, explaining that when the case was transferred to the state police headquarters, Ikot Akpan Abia, the parents of the accused transported the children in their private cars instead of police vans.

    She also accused the police of allowing the hotel to still be open for business instead of being cordoned off and sealed for investigation.

    She said: “In saner climes, the hotel management and staff would be investigated, but they are still going about their normal businesses. The Nigerian police force is trying to play games with the boy’s family.

    “Why didn’t the hotel staff chase away seven underage children dressed all in black? A boy that drowned did not swallow water but had blood and foam spewing from his mouth; there was no alarm raised by his purported friends. The hotel staff claim not to have heard or seen anything.

    “I want the whole world to hear of the mysterious death of this bright, promising boy whose life was cut short because he refused to be initiated to a cult by seven heartless spawns of the devil.

    “Their parents are fighting tooth and nail to make sure their children are freed while Utibeabasi is lying cold in the morgue, his family in tears. His mother is inconsolable.

    “The whole circumstances smirk of foul play. May Jehovah the almighty God, the all seeing, fight for us. Rise up in your anger, O Jehovah. Stand up against the fury of our enemies. Awake for us and demand that justice is done.”

    When contacted, the state’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Cordelia Nwawe, said the command is on top of the situation.

    Her words: “Police is looking into the matter. Investigation is ongoing.”

     

  • Prof…Mercy on your boy

    Prof…Mercy on your boy

    My column a fortnight ago titled ‘The man who made Jonathan’ did not sit well with Prof Itsejuwa Esanjumi Sagay. In the view of the respected lawyer, I rambled and was not coherent in the piece. Sorry Prof, I will take a refresher course.

    He also said I showed laziness by not getting the spelling of his first name right. I deserve to be given six strokes of the cane for this terrible error and will present myself for the punishment in due course.

    Prof Sagay added in his reaction to the column that I accused him of professional misconduct.  The erudite lawyer made reference to journalists concocting stories and interviews. Not long ago, an interview supposedly conducted with him, which turned out fabricated, appeared in a newspaper. I believe he is still pained by this. I will still be pained if I were in his shoes.

    But for the records, I did not fabricate anything and will never do in order to make my column interesting. It is not my style. The aspect linking him to the British government’s quest for Alamieyeseigha’s extradition was picked from a report in The Punch and Channels. I am not gifted enough to create that. It also featured on The Punch’s verified Twitter handle as ‘Britain right to demand Alamieyeseigha’s extradition – Sagay http _t.co_TQJza9eCKv…’.  According to the newspaper, its reporter said he spoke with Prof and ex-presidential spokesman Dr. Doyin Okupe.

    Here is a portion of Channels’ version of the October 5, 2015 report, which can still be read on their website via http://www.channelstv.com/2015/10/05/uk-wants-alamieyeseigha-extradited/:  “The Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Corruption, Professor Itse Sagay, was quoted as saying that the President Buhari-led government is prepared to assent to the request of the British Government.

    “’The UK is in principle correct to be making such a request based on the fact that the crime was committed on the British soil. However, when there is delay in trial as a result of time, there may be consideration on legal grounds so that the trial is not seen as oppressive,’” he said.

    It is not impossible that Prof later dissociated himself from this report and this escaped me. The part of the article where professional misconduct was mentioned is a quote from a group supporting the late Alamieyeseigha following the report on Channels and The Punch. I do not share the group’s view. I only quoted the group to buttress the extent many were willing to go for the late governor.

    My reading of Prof’s reaction is that contrary to the report quoted above he believes his late client paid enough for whatever sins he committed and extradition would have been an overkill. This negates the impression that he felt Alamieyeseigha allegedly committed a separate crime by laundering money in Britain.

    I hold Prof in high esteem and will not deliberately malign him. I will not even malign anyone deliberately. Who am I to dare the great Itse Sagay who is over-qualified to be my father? As a father, he has the right to tongue-lash me and he did more than that with his reply to my ‘satanic’ intervention. I am still weeping.

    My wife is partly Itsekiri and for this also I dare not offend Prof so that this angel will not be withdrawn from me with our two kids.

    Prof’s choice of adjectives made me wonder if I was the one being referred to. Do not mind me; I am used to being described as hardworking and hailed as a good writer—even honoured multiple times for my writings.

    Prof Sagay, I sincerely believe, is an institution. Having in his days in Ife and Benin lectured many of the leaders in this country today, he is a leader of leaders.

    Prof, Prof, have mercy on your boy for getting on your rough side unknowingly. Long may you live. Soon, I will present myself for the six strokes of the cane.

  • Agency rescues ‘abused’ boy from mum

    An eight-year old boy has been rescued from his mother, who allegedly hit him on the head with a stone.

    A concerned citizen called Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team to relate the incident which happened last Friday at Furniture Avenue by Jakande Gate (DVSRT) in Isolo, Lagos.

    Some enraged residents gathered to lynch the woman before they were stopped; others applied First Aid to the boy to stop the bleeding.

    A social worker was dispatched from the Child Protection Unit of the Ministry of Youth and Social Development to rescue the boy.

    The mother has since been arrested by men from Isolo Divisional Police Headquarters.

    It was learnt that the woman’s estranged husband showed up at the station, saying he could not keep the boy for lack of funds.

    The ministry has taken custody of the boy until he will be reunited with other family members.

    DVSRT Coordinator Mrs. Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi said child abuse was on the increase, adding: “We, however, commend members of the public who reported this case. We wish to emphasise that the government is committed to ensuring that all children are protected and reports of child abuse would be treated with utmost confidentiality.”

    Yesterday, Ojokoro Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of Lagos State pledged to rescue under-aged girls involved in menial jobs or prostitution.

    Mrs Abimbola Whenayon, the council’s Head of Department of Education, said the rescue and rehabilitation would begin next month.

    Mrs Whenayon said many under-aged girls had been lured into such activities by their relatives who brought them to the state under the pretext of better life.

    She said the girls would be reunited with their parents and enrolled in schools to become better citizens.

    “We will also train them in vocational skills,” she said, adding that this is in line with the Federal Government’s directive.

    She said about 80 adults were currently receiving lectures in 25 centres in the area.

    “We are teaching market men and women, commercial bus drivers, meat sellers, pepper sellers and bus conductors on how to read and write. The turnout is good as many of them do not know how to spell their names or calculate their money before.

    “But through the adult education, many of them now understand basic calculations.

    “Many of them have been defrauded by their children or relatives because they missed out of the opportunity to go to school in the past.

    “Some of our students in the adult education class are now in the Nigeria Teachers Institute and others will write the General Certificate of Examination (GCE) conducted by WAEC,” she said.

  • Boy, six, needs N6.5m for surgery

    Boy, six, needs N6.5m for surgery

    Boy, six, needs N6.5m for surgery  demola Mauyan was seven months when his travails began. After a prolonged sickness, he was diagnosed with meningitis.

    The condition led to a hearing impairment that affected his speech development.

    Mauyan has been in and out of hospitals since his first admission on May 15, 2010.

    A September 13, 2010 report by Dr Irene Okeke-Igbokwe of Nigerian Army Audiological Centre in Yaba, Lagos Mainland, said he was discovered to be unable to localise the maximum output of audiometric conducted to determine the integrity of cochlear functions.

    It means the six-year-old does not respond to sounds. Dr Okeke- Igbokwe urged that his parents to get him early intervention amplification, speech evaluation therapy, total communication and habitation in his daily activities.

    The parents got him a hearing aid that costs N400,000; recharging the battery every two weeks cost N3, 000.

    Despite the prescriptions, Mauyan’s hearing did not improve. He remains insensitive to sounds around him.

    His parents withdrew him from school when he was in Nursery 2.

    His father, Deacon Joseph Babalola, a self-employed economist, said his son’s ailment has affected his business.

    Last August, the family took Ademola to Bingham University Teaching Hospital in Jos, the Plateau State capital, where virtually all the medical tests earlier conducted on him in Lagos hospitals were repeated.

    He was referred to Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) Radiological Centre where it was concluded that Ademola requires surgery for Cochlea implant. The procedure will cost N6.5million.

    This is aside therapy sessions overseas to enable him learn how to speak all over again like a baby. The surgery, according to the doctors, must be done before May to save Ademola from permanent speech loss.

    The therapy session which costs N5, 000 per hour in Nigeria will be carried out 3-4 hours daily at least three times weekly.

    This will last for two years. To help Ademola regain his speech, donations can be sent to: Joseph Ademola Mauyan, 0128715784 GTB.

  • Hudayyah Sadiq Abacha gets baby boy

    Hudayyah Sadiq Abacha gets baby boy

    Hudayyah Fadoul, popular Abuja-based designer and daughter in-law of the late head of state, Sani Abacha, has welcomed a baby boy. Hudayyah is married to Sadiq Sani Abacha, one of the sons of the late dictator. The couple got married in 2013 after Sadiq, a Dubai-based businessman, proposed to Huda in Dubai during a dinner at Ossiano underwater restaurant at the Atlantis.

    Hudayyah dresses high profile socialites and celebrities, including Genevieve Nnaji and Di’ja. She was the designer behind the wedding dress of Delta State governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s daughter, Marilyn, and former Taraba State governor’s daughter, Mariya.

  • Darasimi Ogunwunmi, Boy Three, who drank Acid

    We take many things for granted, and know of how  silly we can be with the health of our bodies only when trouble assails us. The news broke last week of a boy aged three, Darasimi Ogunwunmi, who mistakenly drank caustic soda at a day care centre. He was said to have told the minders many times that he was thirsty and helped himself when he receive no attention. Poor boy!

    His throat was burnt and his stomach was damaged. He is now feed liquid food through a tube passed into the stomach from the nose, or through a hole made in the stomach. I will return to this subject later. Today, I only wish to mentioned that there are many Nigerian adults who feed through a tube in the stomach because their throats are blocked and do not let food down into the stomach. For some of those people, there can be intense feeling of pain in the stomach whenever they pass food down into the stomach through a tube. They often have to be on dangerous pain killers and dangerous antibiotics every day. In a recent case, it has been observed that mixing liquefied meals with a greens drink keep away the pain and prevents the need for antibiotics. The helpful greens mixture are wheatgrass, chlorella, Spirulina, Kale and a teaspoonful of splina liquid chlorophyll. Golden sea root powder may be added from time to time. So may be orange peel powder. More of these cases later.

  • Driver dies, motor boy injured in road crash

    Driver dies, motor boy injured in road crash

    Traffic stood still for hours around Lagos State Secretariat at Alausa, Ikeja, on Saturday when a waste disposal truck collided with a Mercedes Benz 4matic Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) and a Land Rover.

    The truck driver died on the spot; the motor boy, popularly known as conductor, is lying critically ill at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).

    He was said to have suffered leg fracture.

    It was gathered that the suction truck marked GGE691, which had just left the Alausa Police Barrack, veered to the other side of the road, following brake failure.

    It ran into the Benz marked FST161BZ and the Land Rover with registration number EKY93DV, which were heading towards the secretariat.

    The vehicles blocked the Secretariat-bound road, leading motorists to take one way to get out of the gridlock.

    Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) officials had a hectic time controlling traffic.

    They later diverted traffic through Governor’s Road to ease the congestion.

    Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) General Manager Michael Akindele yesterday said the motor boy was rushed to LASUTH after the accident.

    “The driver of the truck died on the spot, while the motor boy; an adult male had fracture of the leg. He was immediately taken to LASUTH by Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS).

    “The drivers of the two other vehicles escaped unhurt. The situation was caused by brake failure. Drivers need to properly check their vehicles and adhere to safety regulations to prevent unnecessary loss of lives,” he said.

  • Juvenile home rejects boy

    A 17-year-old theft suspect, was returned to the Ikorodu Magistrate’s Court in Lagos  following his rejection at the Special Correctional Centre for Boys in Oregun. The Centre’s officials, it was learnt, felt he was older than his age.

    The suspect, who was arraigned on Tuesday with three other juvenile on a two-count charge of conspiracy to commit felony and stealing, was ordered remanded at the centre by Mrs. A.B. Olagbegi-Adelabu. The other boys were admitted to the Centre, formerly known as the ‘Boys Remand Home’.

    The magistrate had earlier on Tuesday granted them bail provided they were able to provide two responsible sureties, one of whom must be a blood relative, with proof of identification.

    “They said I was not 17,” the suspect, who had tattoos on his forehead, cheeks and arms, told The Nation yesterday.

    His counsel, O.M. Folami said efforts were underway to contact the suspect’s mother for his birth certificate. “He is now in police custody, but we’re optimistic that by tomorrow or Friday, his bail conditions will be met,” she added.

    The suspect and the other street kids were arrested on June 15, while sleeping at “a place near some Mallams”on Sagamu Road, by police officers from men of the Sagamu Road Police Station in Ikorodu.

    They were caught with N3000, a Nokia 110 phone with an Etisalat line valued at N5,000, belonging to the complainant, Yusuf Kazeem.

    They pleaded not guilty.

    The offences contravened Sections 409 and 278(b) of the Criminal Law.

  • Boy seeks police help to locate dad

    A six-year-old boy has run to the police to help him locate his father, Abel Daniel.

    The Nation learnt that Daniel, 41, who works as a security official at Adeomo Abija, GRA Ikeja, Lagos left his Sango, Ogun State home on June 17 and has yet to return.

    According to Michael Abel Daniel, all efforts to locate his father has failed.

    The elder Daniel’s younger brother, Etim, alleged that his colleagues said they were unaware of his whereabouts.

    He said: “I am the junior brother to Abel Daniel. We live together at 3, Owoyemi Street, Sango, Ogun State. We are three living together, myself, himself and his only son. He got the son when he was in school, out of wedlock. He has a fiancée based in Akwa Ibom State whom he is planning to marry.

    “She (the fiancée) called me on Thursday June 18 the day I wanted to go to Sango Police Station to report the incident. She said that she called him on Wednesday June 17, the day Daniel left house without telling anybody where he was going with his car. She said he told her that he would not go to work on that Wednesday and Thursday. On Thursday, the following day, she called him again and the phone was switched off. After several trials to get him on phone failed she then called me and asked of Abel, that his phone was switched off. I told her that Abel left house on Wednesday and had not come back and when I tried to get him on phone, his handset was switched off. Later that day, I went to Sango police station with one woman and reported the matter, on Thursday June 18.

    According to him, Daniel is light in complexion; 6.1m tall, speaks Efik and English fluently.

    “He left with his Nissan Prado with number-plate EY118SMK. He is always at home if he didn’t go to office because of son who is schooling in a private school at Sango. He finds it difficult to sleep outside because of his son. Now I have to be taking his son to school and bringing him back. I took excuse from work place and they allowed me to go and look for my missing brother.”