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Tag: changing face

  • Changing face of labour market

    The need to sensitise young school leavers and youths to the inherent benefits of technical and vocational education dominated discussions at the third education summit organised recently in Ikorodu, Lagos. ADEGUNLE OLUGBAMILA reports.

    AS the menace of unemployment occasioned by global economic meltdown continues, stakeholders cannot stop expressing worries about the phenomenon.

    The Nigeria Bureau of Statistics put the unemployment rate in the country at 14.2 per cent in the last quarter of 2016, a substantial increase from 13.9 per cent in the preceding quarter of 2015.

    The development has resulted in increased poverty and crime rates as well as a surge in the number of dependent people, among others.

    In their search for a solution to the problem, experts have maintained that technical and vocational education should be incorporated into our school curriculum. Employers of labour are now shopping for graduates who do not only possess the necessary paper qualifications but could also demonstrate certain skills that make them more productive.

    During her first visit, the United Nations youth envoy to Nigeria, Ms. Jayathma Wickramanayakea, also underscored the essence of Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) as important modality towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals Four.

    The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has also been mandated to provide a model for ensuring quality assurance and standardisation.

    In Ikorodu Division of Lagos State, stakeholders are worried over lack of the required manpower in their domain. The situation, according to them, becomes more worrisome when viewed against the potential of the Odongunyan Industrial hub in Ikorodu, which today, is adjudged the largest industrial estate in the entire West Africa.

    While Odongunyan continues to be home to industries that keep springing up, there is no appreciable number of youths with requisite skills to man the industries. And while the young secondary school leavers in the area have not yet considered the benefits of TVE, those who graduated a few years ago are still in search of the non-existent white collar jobs.

    Addressing this lacuna therefore was the focus at the third education summit of the division. Themed ‘Managing Human Capital Potential: Emphasis on Entrepreneurship and Vocational Education,’ the Education Stakeholders’ Summit was initiated by the Ikorodu Division, Human Resource Development Board (IDHRDB), an arm of the Ikorodu Division Resource Development Group (IDIDG). In 2010, a committee set up by the body visited some schools in the division and was shocked to discover very poor performances of SSS3 students in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination and JAMB respectively.

    Deliberations at the event held at Ikorodu Town Hall included raising the gospel of vocational education among youths/young graduates, entrenching in them entrepreneurial mindset as well as breaking the age-long stereotypes by parents on vocational education, among others.

    The Guest Speaker and former Rector of Lagos State Polytechnic, Olawunmi Anthony Gasper, advocated a new orientation towards TVET. Gasper believes most Nigerians should be considered guilty for lionising other sub-sectors at the expense of TVET.

    Over the years, said Gasper, an engineer, all that Nigeria has been doing to TVET is mere advocacy with no appreciable impact or the will to strengthen it.

    “It is unfortunate that in this part of the world, all we are most interested in about technical education is to speak and speak without taking action. I think it is about time Nigeria changed her mind set from mere advocacy to real commitment. Governments must walk their talk if truly they are interested in getting out these army of unemployed youths off the streets and reducing the spate of crimes in our society, “he said.

    Gasper called for innovative approaches to repositioning TVET, considering the peculiarity of the Nigerian situation where parents and youths alike have developed a penchant for university education.

    Gasper lauded the demands by stakeholders in TVET to accord preference to only graduates of tertiary institutions but with a bias for technical and skill training for employment into technical education, adding that such set of individuals could use such skills and attitude garnered to drive the economy.

    “I am calling for more efforts in priortising entrepreneurship and vocational education in our strategic economic plans and work to integrate the current TVET pathway properly to meet industry standards and requirements with globally recognised certifications,” he said.

    The Executive Secretary, Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board (LASTVEB), Mrs Omolara Erogbogbo, said unemployment has become a global challenge, and this has called for youths to be more entrepreneurship-driven.

    “Unemployment is a big challenge globally and therefore we must start indulging our youths to think out of the box,” Erogbogbo advised.

    She continued: “Lots of parents out there think technical education is for dropouts and the not-do-wells, but it is for people who can use their hands and brains. It is about time our youths come up with new ideas as well as a change in their perception of technical education.

    “I also want to encourage us parents to be ambassadors of technical education. This will make our children buy the idea and key to it.”

    Former Chairman Lagos State Basic Education Board, Mrs Mrs Oluwagbemiga Benson, advocated the introduction of TVE in primary schools. Mrs Benson, who bemoaned the absence of many parents at the summit, was also of the view that a change in ‘cultural perception’ among parents is key if Nigeria must drive home the gospel of vocational education.

    “Among us the Yoruba, especially, we have this cultural perception of praising our children who studied Medicine, Law, and other beautiful programmes to high heavens, while dismissing their contemporaries who are not like them as ‘nonentities’.

    “The average mother whose child wants to learn carpentry seeks encouragement from a neighbour next door, and all that they would say is, ‘Se iwo o r’omo lagbaja to lo si fasiti, to ti di dokita ni (can’t you see the child of that neighbour who studied Medicine in the university and now practises)? That is when that parent would be discouraged about his child’s interest in taking up a vocation.

    “So, all I’m saying is that the thinking among us parents must change because we are the ones that would inspire and encourage our children to take this bold step. We now live in a world where paid employment is hard to come by; so, we should encourage our children to have Plan B.”

    The Chairman, Parents Forum of Ikorodu Division, Comrade Jenrade Mokolade, urged the organisers and other non-governmental organisations to up their ante in entrepreneurship education, particularly in the division.

    Sharing his experience, Mokolade noted that his interaction with some secondary school pupils within Ikorodu Division shows that many of them are desirous of taking up one or two vocations but their parents have been the stumbling blocks. He said: “I have at various times interacted with many of these students, and from my experience, many of them wish to learn one skill or the other because they also see the level of unemployment among their older siblings who are still looking for jobs years after they have graduated. But they will also tell me that their parents have insisted that they must go to university and obtain first degree before venturing into any vocation. This, to me, is very wrong.

    “As parents, we need to start changing our mind set. We need to start ingraining entrepreneurship in our children from young age. The 21st Century world of job requires individuals that can demonstrate multiple skills in addition to what they learnt in the higher institution.”

    A teacher in a public school in Ikorodu, Mr Ayefele Adenrele, is not happy that Ikorodu Division, which once paraded some of the best brains in Nigeria, seemed to have lost that feat.

    “Ikorodu once boasted of some of the best brains such as a professor of Animal Science, Anthony Afolabi; emeritus professor of Chemical Engineering, Adebayo Sanni and the youngest professor of Mechanical Engineering, the late Ayodele Awojobi, among many others.

    “At present, many of these patriarchs are either dead or close to their graves but without replacement among the youths. We must continue in our efforts to improve the level of education in Ikorodu.”

    The Chairman of the day, Dr. Akin Ogunlewe, lamented that the division had moved from breeding the crop of youths that were once inclined towards intellectualism and hard work to youths who are now victims of moral bankruptcy.

    “It is a pity Ikorodu now lives in a world where we believe that money answers all things at the expense of our cultural values. We need to revive and sustain those good legacies of the past,” Ogunlewe began.

    “Many of our youths no longer wish to work. Rather, they are more interested in rituals and internet fraud. Ikorodu must again become the giant it once was in terms of our values, thoughts and actions.”

    Earlier, the Chairman, IDHRDB, Emeritus Prof Kunle Ade Wahab, said the theme was carefully arrived at because the division realised a high unemployment rate among young secondary school leavers.

    He said: “The topic was carefully chosen due to the alarming unemployment rate and high number of senior school graduates wandering the street without a particular thing to do.

    “If we do not rise against the malaise that is gradually killing the interests of many youths in education, it could lead to truancy, poor academic performance and poor motivation towards learning, which may stunt the national economic growth.

    “The summit hopefully would assess the effectiveness of the educational curriculum to reflect the right trade subjects and how to market one’s skills as well as the vocational education that should be incorporated into it in order to promote self-reliance and overall development of the country,

    The Chairman of IDRDG, Alhaji Fatai Olalekan Lasisi, described the body as a non-religious or political group with over 60 distinguished members in the division.

    He recalled that aside the past two education summits, IDHRDB has also organised training/workshops for teachers in specialised subjects, career guide for students and visits to more experienced educationists, among others.

    On the essence of the summit, he said: “This summit focuses on the need to promote entrepreneurship, vocational and technical-oriented subjects in our schools so that our graduates will be exposed to business opportunities and technical works, while parents should collaborate in promoting talents for self-reliance, self-development and fulfilment of the labour market and reduction of unemployment.

  • Changing face of Oro festival

    It took just a phone call penultimate Friday to change the mood of Tobi Ojo, a resident of Ota, Ogun State, who works in a finance house in Victoria Island, Lagos. The thrust of the telephone conversation between Ojo and one of his neighbours was Oro, a popular traditional festival scheduled to hold on that day as part of the coronation rites of the new monarch of the town.

    Ojo, an indigene of Ekiti State, knew that non-indigenes are persona non grata during the dreaded festival, so he hurriedly concluded the day’s job in the office and hit the road by 3.30 pm as he headed for his residence in the ancient community in his own car.

    Ojo was not the only Ota resident who had to rush home in order not to be caught up in the curfew that usually comes with the festival. Other residents were also in the race to get home before nightfall and keep themselves indoors.

    In recent times, the festival has become the subject of intense controversy across the south-western states of the country inhabited by the Yoruba. In many towns in the region, the festival had been greeted with outrage over the usual restriction of human and vehicular movements as well as fear over the lives of people caught within the hours of restriction.

    Like Ota, there was tension in Ikorodu, a Lagos suburb, on May 8, 2018, following news that the annual festival would be held as part of the celebration of Magbo deity in the community. Residents, including traders, artisan, business owners, were forced to close shops and stay indoors. Panicky parents rushed to pick their children from schools as many schools immediately shut down and released their students to go home.

    Worried over people’s lives and property and the public outrage the announcement ignited, the Lagos State Police Command issued a statement assuring the people of their safety and warning the traditional leadership of the community against unlawful restriction of movement. In a statement signed by its spokesman, Chike Oti, the police assured the people, especially the women population, of free movement without molestation.

    The statement reads in part: ”The attention of the Lagos State Police Command has been drawn to the news making the rounds on the social media that the female gender are forbidden to be seen outside their homes or move around the town with effect from tomorrow 8/05/2018, being the day set aside as Oro Day.

    ”In view of the above, the CP Lagos called for a meeting attended by the Ayangburen of Ikorodu, Oba Kabiru Shotobi, palace Chiefs and the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Muslim Folami. The Oba stated during the meeting that it is unthinkable for a man with his level of exposure to do or say anything that would be seen as discriminatory against the female gender.

    ”He, however, acknowledged that the festival is an age-long tradition of Ikorodu people, which had been even before he was born. He added that the festival would hold without denying the female folks their rights to freedom of movement.”

    The CP said the command would not tolerate any discriminatory tradition against the female gender. He warned that the command would deal ruthlessly with anybody who hid under the guise of custom or tradition to foment trouble in the state. He therefore enjoined women to go about their lawful business without let or hin drance.

    It, however, turned out that the spirit and letters of the police statement based on accord with Ikorodu elders were not followed, as there were reports of people being harassed while transiting from the community to their residences in adjoining towns like Igbogbo, Ijede, Ogijo, Imota and Egbin.

    A resident, Eniola Adejumo, said: “The police statement did not hold water as women were prevented from coming outside. They remained indoors while the festival lasted for fear of being harassed by members of Oro society, who discountenanced the warning by the police to spread fear among residents.”

     

    From traditional festival to scare tactics

    Oro is an age-long festival in Yorubaland. By tradition, it is forbidden for women, strangers and non-initiates to behold the members of the Oro cult while they are in procession. It is staged as a spiritual atonement to cleanse the society of evil, a funeral rite for the passage of a powerful chief or king or a part of the coronation ceremonies for a new monarch.

    In the pristine era in Yorubaland, its potency to fumigate communities of demons, pestilence and calamities was believed to be very strong, so much so that the festival was dreaded by the people. It could be held at any time of the year for urgent and serous purposes. For instance, the festival could be held to quell a strife or civil unrest or contain invasion, war or attack of any kind, which may culminate in bloodshed.

    The festival is usually masterminded by a male organisation headed by the Ajana, ably assisted by other initiates. Towards the midnight on the eve of the festival, the Oro priest and other chiefs in the community would file out in a procession at midnight as no light must be seen outside as they moved to the shrine. Only the priest would go to the shrine while other chiefs and leading initiates would stay back in a spacious place. The priest would then sound the bull roarer as he went into the shrine to invoke the spirit of Oro deity and bring it to the community to accept the sacrifice and chase away evil spirits from the community.

    While this was going on, there must be perfect silence, save for the sound of the bull roarer which symbolises the voice of Oro. The priest would shout ‘Oro baba o!’ three times while Oro would respond by saying, “I am here!” Next, the people, including women who are awake but confined indoors, would shout, “Hurrah!” and follow this with songs and drumming.

    Oro withdraws to its groove in the forest every morning and returns only at midnight in order to allow women pursue their daily activities, including trading at the market, or assist their husbands at the farmsteads.

    In modern times, however, the celebration of the festival has been labelled a scarecrow, following the restriction of the movements of residents in cosmopolitan towns where socio-economic activities suffer whenever the festival is held. At other times, curfews are imposed by the traditionalists in daytime.

    For instance, in Ipokia, a commercial town that shares border with the Republic of Benin, Oro worshippers have been found to impose curfew in broad daylight, even on areas outside their domains, resulting in deadly confrontations with residents. In most of the confrontations, Oro worshippers terrorise residents and vandalise property and personal belongings of people.

    There have also been instances when Oro worshippers were alleged to have used the daytime curfew to perpetrate stealing with impunity. For instance, on August 20, 2013, a member of the local chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Pastor Idowu Agboola, along Mede Road, Idiroko, was brutally assaulted and his motorcycle damaged beyond repairs by the members of the dreadful Oro cult group at Ifoyintedo area of Ipokia Local Government. The motorbike was subsequently taken away by the cultists.

    Pastor Agboola spent over a week in the hospital somewhere in the Republic of Benin, while the suspects arrested in connection with the incident were freely gallivanting and saying nothing can be done again in respect of the matter.

    On February 17, 2016, the church of another member of CAN at Ifoyintedo, Pastor Adesina, was invaded around 6:30 p.m. while he was away. Money running into thousands of naira was carted away and property worth thousands of naira were stolen and damaged. On the arrival of the said Pastor Adesina to his church on the same day, his motorcycle was snatched from him by Oro cultists and has not been found to date.

    The scary turn of Oro festival was due largely to the indifference of government to how the festival is organised in different communities in Yorubaland. Even when there was government intervention, the enforcement of such regulation is not strictly implemented.

    For instance, no fewer than 20 people were injured in Ipokia Local Government Area, Ogun State on Saturday August 20 and 27, 2016 after a group of Oro worshippers attacked Christians during a street evangelism on the popular Idiroko Road, which leads to the Customs checkpoint at the border between Nigeria and Benin Republic.

    The incident occurred at about 11 am at Iko Grammar School junction shortly after the victims and other members of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the council area began the street evangelism from St. James African Cathedral Church in Mede area of Ajegunle.

    The Oro cultists had restricted human and vehicular movement in disobedience of the Ogun State Government’s directive. The government had banned daytime Oro activities in all parts of the state on June 17, 2013 via a release with number OGR/OL/13 dated June 17, 2013 in Ogun State, but the dreadful Oro cult in Ipokia Local Government resisted the order.

    The authorities of Ipokia Local Government had also warned the Ifoyintedo Oro Festival Association to desist from imposing curfew and stop daytime celebration of their festival vide a letter dated August 26 and signed by the Director, General Services and Administration of the Local Government Area, Mr M.A. Adewole.

    A copy of the letter titled ‘Re: Approval for Oro Festival’, reads in part: “I am directed to refer you to your letter dated 12th August, 2016 on the above subject matter and to succinctly remind you of the existing Ogun State Law that strictly forbids any form of day curfew (Isede) in any part of the state while performing any religious or traditional rites.

    “Based on this, an approval is granted to you to perform the Oro festival from 28th August to 20th September, 2016 in Ifoyintedo, Alaari, Ita Ege, Afuye, Atan-Ota, Imule, Madoga, Iledu, Ilagbe, Iropo, Akopin, Kajola, Osooro, Asipa, Ikorodu/Bola, Idologun-Araomi, Idomogun, Igbo-Atan, Oke-Iwo, Ajelende, Idomogun/Igbo-Atan, Akinde and Elepo-Temu/Kusika.

    “However, I am further directed to stress that on no account should you impose any form of day curfew (Isede) during the celebrations, that is, 28th August to 20th September, 2016. May I add that Oro celebration should not disturb free movement of traffic along the main road. This is very important in order not to contravene the existing law/pronouncement of the state regulating any traditional/religious activities. “Like their Christian counterparts, Muslim faithful also tasted bile from Oro worshippers in September 2016, after they truncated the last Eid-el-Kabir celebration in about 20 communities in the council area. No Eid prayer was held in the affected communities as the traditionalists imposed daylight curfew and restricted the movement of residents.

    The traditionalists had consistently flouted a directive by the state and local governments against daytime celebration of the Oro festival. It was learnt that three suspected Oro worshippers were arrested in connection with the attack. The Oro followers also disregarded the instruction of the traditional ruler of Ifoyintedo, Oba Isaac Adetunji Adesiyan, against imposition of curfew and daytime Oro festival celebration in his domain.

    The monarch’s secretary, Evangelist James Adeyemi, said during the Eid: “We are confused and equally disturbed that Muslims and Christians are being held hostage by Oro worshippers in defiance of Oba Adesiyan’s directive that the order of the state government and Ipokia Council Area against daytime Oro festival and restriction should be respected.

    “I was almost lynched by the traditionalists after I attempted to beat the gong to tell people to go out on the instruction of the monarch. If not that I beat a retreat, I would have been beaten up by the traditionalists a few hours ago.”

    The Chief Imam of Ifoyintedo, Alhaji Taofeek Ogunsoro, said that the traditionalists had initially promised to obey the state government’s directive against daytime Oro celebration only to renege.

    He said: “I am sad. Instead of being happy on Ileya Day (Eid-el-kabir), my visitors, including family members, have been prevented from celebrating with me because of the mindless restriction by Oro worshippers who have disobeyed Ogun State Government’s order stopping their daytime celebration.

    “Both the Muslim and Christian communities here had series of meeting with the traditionalists, even on the eve of Ileya, and they promised not to impose any curfew or restriction, only for them to start harassing us this morning. There is palpable fear here as we speak, and the police have not been able to contain their excesses.”

    At Ita Ege village, over 200 traditionalists comprising armed youths were said to have invaded the community to enforce the daytime curfew. The invaders, it was learnt, attacked residents who came out to observe the Eid prayer and headed to the palace of the monarch of the community, Apostle Mathew Ademola Abisoye, but were resisted by youths of the community.

    Abisoye said: “The leader of the Oro worshippers had consulted his counterpart in neighbouring Ifoyintedo, and he was told that there would not be any restriction on Ileya Day.

    “We were, however, shocked when about 200 traditionalists armed with dangerous weapons stormed this community to enforce daytime curfew on Monday. They hinged their action on the fact that our community is under the jurisdiction of their king and attacked our people.

    “However, they were resisted by the youths of this community when they headed towards my palace in a bid to vandalise it, and the police from Idiroko Division succeeded in arresting one of them while two others were apprehended in neighbouring villages. The situation would have worsened if the police had not intervened when they were called upon.”

    The spokesman of Ogun State Police Command, Mr Abimbola Oyeyemi, said that three suspects arrested in connection with the assault on Muslims were charged to court.

     

    Court declares daytime Oro festival illegal

    Worried by the development, the joint leadership of the Christian and Muslim community sued the Oro worshippers in February 2018 and got a reprieve when an Ogun State High Court sitting in the Ipokia Local Government Area of the state on February 21, 2018 declared as illegal the imposition of a curfew in daytime on the people of Ipokia by Oro cult. The court declared that Oro festival could only be carried out between midnight and 4am, subject to approval by the relevant authorities. The court also held that the participants would be required to write an undertaking to keep the peace during the festival.

    While delivering judgment in a suit filed by the Christian Association of Nigeria and Muslim community in Ipokia against Oro festival, Justice Sikiru Owodunni ordered that Oro worshippers had no constitutional authority to impose curfew on residents of Ipokia, Idi-Iroko, Ihunbo, Ifonyintedo, Ogosa, Koko, Ilashe, Ibatefin, Agosasa, Oniru, Mede, Ajegunle and other villages in the area at daytime.

    The counsel for the applicants, Kayode Samson and David Folalu, had told the court that the respondents used to perform the Oro festival in the bush and in the middle of the night, claiming that women and men who did not belong to the cult were not permitted to see Oro.

    They further complained that the respondents began to extend the celebration into the main part of the communities, declaring and imposing daytime curfew for the purpose of the celebration.

    Samson said: “When the Oro festival is on, women and men who do not belong to the cult are compelled to stay indoors while businesses, churches, mosques, government parastatals, schools and public places are also compelled to be closed down, thereby depriving the applicants of their freedom of movement and lawful assembly.”

    Owodunni, in his judgment, gave a perpetual injunction restraining “the respondents, their privies, agents and cohorts from declaring or imposing a daytime curfew or in any manner interfering with the fundamental rights of the applicants to freedom of movement.”

     

    Residents’ losses festival holds at daytime, pupils and students are kept indoors by their parents and guardians while schools are shut to prevent them from falling victim to Oro devotees.

    In September 2012, Oro worshippers in Ipokia Local Government Area denied students the opportunity to write their English ad Mathematics examinations conducted by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) by restricting free movement of residents.

    The festival had also adversely affected the people of the area economically, especially traders who operate at a market between Nigeria Customs and Benin checkpoints, where people from the cities buy sundry goods every day.

    The situation is not different in Ikorodu where on a number of occasions, students rushed home from school whenever the festival was held and stayed away from school for days.

    Apart from the effect of restriction on the education sector, it also hampers life-saving in times of emergency. This was what happened in the case of the festival in Ikorodu where a computer engineer, Austine Oruwari, could not take his wife to the hospital to be delivered of a baby in the middle of the night.

    ”It was Providence that saved my wife’s life. She fell into labour a few minutes past midnight and the Oro was roaring frightfully in town. I started praying because we could not go out since people, especially women, were forbidden from beholding the Oro deity.

    ”At a point, my wife became weak and almost passed out. So I asked her to start walking up and down our room till the morning time when I took her to the Ikorodu General Hospital, where she was safely delivered of our baby. If there had been no curfew imposed by Oro worshippers, I would have taken my wife to hospital when she showed signs of labour.”

    Olamiju Akande, an Ikorodu resident and real estate practitioner, who works in Lekki, Lagos told The Nation that he had to relocate his family to a hotel in Ketu, another Lagos suburb, for fear of running into trouble during the festival.

    ”I work till very late and usually return home close to midnight, just like my wife who works in a pharmaceutical company in Ota, Ogun State. Hence I had to seek accommodation for my family in a hotel somewhere in Ketu. It was an unpleasant experience for me as I just moved into my own house last year and I never knew that this is what residents of Ikorodu go through year in year out.”

    Janet Oladega, a caterer based in the Itamaga area of Ikorodu, lost two major transactions, a huge setback for her fledgling business.

    ”I was to deliver a job that could have fetched me about N100,000, but the restriction in movement on the day of the festival prevented me from staying late at work to finish the job and deliver it the next day. I am contemplating relocating to Anthony Village because of the frequency of Oro festival in Ikorodu and the curfew that comes with it.”

     

    Traditionalists react

    The Araba of Ipakeland in Ifo, Ogun State, Chief Olarinde Fayemi, believes that Oro festival is an all-important celebration in Yorubaland and should not be desecrated or sacrificed on the altar of equal rights.

    He warned that exposure to certain traditional atonement or sacrifice meant for the cleansing of evil spirits, or to avert pestilence or bloodshed for which Oro festival is usually held, could spell doom for people.

    He said: “We should not stop the Oro festival or allow people to behold the atonement while it is being carried out. The sacrifices offered are so powerful that allowing people to see them portends great repercussion for their lives. This is the reason why people are usually restricted from moving around during the festival.

    ”It is like fumigating a house or building with powerful pesticide or chemical and allowing the occupants to watch the exercise without protecting them from inhaling the chemical, which is dangerous to their health. There must be curfew and restriction of movement during Oro festival, and anything short of that can result in the death or affliction of those who witnessed it without belonging to the Oro cult as initiates.”

  • The changing face of traditional birth attendants

    The changing face of traditional birth attendants

     In a bid to reduce maternal and child death in many developing countries, governments are partnering with Traditional Birth Attendants, TBAs on how to reduce risks of infection, mortality rate and generally improve their services. Medinat Kanabe takes a look at how well this partnership is working, taking Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos, as a case study.

    Traditional Birth Attendants are pregnancy and child birth care providers that have been well-rooted in our society, well before the advent of modern medical practices. Going by their origin and orientation, they were not formally educated, as they get their knowledge through apprenticeship and oral teaching. Usually, they are seen in remote and other medically underserved areas, where their services are welcome, albeit despite the risks. It should be noted here that orthodox health practitioners are particularly against Traditional Birth Attendants, not necessarily because of competition or neo-colonialism as many want to claim, but according to former Director of Nursing Services in the Lagos State Ministry Of Health, Mrs. Olubumi A. Raheem, because of their weaknesses, which “lie in harmful traditional practices, which may have harmful effects for her clients; unhygienic practices and inexistence of the referral system.”

    Government however recognises their relevance nevertheless, especially in the remote areas where they are top choices and sometimes, the only available choice, hence the decision to train them in government hospitals and imbue them with the power of referral, such that they are able to refer patients who need special medical attention. They now also get certifications, licensure and registration.

    In a Lagos State Maternal and Child Mortality Reduction (MCRC) Program released last year, Nigeria is one of the 187 countries that signed the Millennium Declaration in 2000 with the aim of reducing the 8 identified goals/targets substantially by 2015.  Notably, reducing maternal mortality rates is one of the goals.

    However, the country, as at 2015 still has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, which varies between 800 to 1,000 births based on the geographical location. In 2008, the figure, though slightly better than the national average of 650/100,000 live births (NDSHS 2008), was still unacceptably high.

    The figures also show that two decades after various Safe Motherhood initiatives since its launch in Nairobi in 1987, Nigeria has failed to make any remarkable impact on the maternal health indices.

    This may therefore be one of the reasons a state like Lagos is relaxing its noose on Traditional Birth Attendants, reputed to be one of the major factors responsible for the poor indices.

    Investigations also confirm that more Nigerians prefer the Traditional Birth Attendants to the orthodox health facilities. In 2013, 154,304 attended antenatal at the Primary health care (PHC) centres, while only 16,699 delivered. The same trend continued in 2014, where between January and August, 121,451 attended PHCs for antenatal, but only 13,000 delivered there.

    Coordinator of Reproductive Health, in the ministry, Taiwo Johnson also said that the state Ministry of Health reviewed maternal death records from secondary facilities in certain areas and uncovered the causes of maternal deaths to find solutions.

    “In March, we went to Ajeromi-Ifelodun because we noticed a high incidence of maternal deaths in cases referred to our facilities from quacks. Then, we came to Epe, where records showed that a number of maternal deaths can be traced to TBAs,” she stated.

    During the first convocation of the TBAs at the Lagos State College of Health Technology, wife of former Lagos State governor, Mrs. Abimbola Fashola said their training is in line with the vision of the state to reduce infant and child mortality.

    Chairman, Lagos State Traditional Medicine Board, (LSTMB), Dr. Bunmi Omoseyindemi who also spoke at the convocation explained that the TBAs have been classified as Community Based Health Workers (CBHW) by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA. She added that it is in line with the World Health Assembly, WHA strategy on development of traditional medicine to improve health-care coverage.

    Indeed, for a state like Lagos, with over 21 million people, it is not surprising that its government has chosen the path of reason, as the facilities on ground are grossly inadequate to service the huge population. Besides, the economic situation and phobia for Caesarian section has also contributed in no small ways to the thronging of people to the TBAs.

    However, some states in Nigeria may still be living in denial, as they continue to outlaw and discourage patronage of TBAs in their domains.

    In a recent report, the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, quoted Dr Ngozi Nwosu, the South East Coordinator of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA to have said that the TBAs are major threat to maternal health in the region.

    She said the increased patronage of TBAs in communities have become worrisome; she also claimed that the proportion of women who receive ante-natal care in health centers is a lot more than those who are eventually delivered of their babies in those health facilities – a confirmation of the fact that women opt for the TBAs at the last minute.

    However some of the reasons some women opt for TBAs in the South-East may be a bit vane. Said Dr. Nwosu, “In parts of Anambra and Ebonyi states, the people believe that women who are delivered of babies in hospitals are not strong and this is part of the illiteracy problems we face. Pregnant women who patronise such places are prone to infections, as the TBAs lacked the requisite knowledge and facilities to take care of deliveries,” she said.

    For Mrs. Modupe Kolawole, her reason may however border on fear of the surgeon’s knife. Mrs. Kolawole registered with a private hospital where she underwent her antenatal. It was her first child, so she kept all her appointments until her last weeks when she was told that her baby was leg-breeched and would therefore be delivered through a Caesarian Section.

    After an argument with the doctors and nurses on duty, Mrs. Kolawole went home to her petty trading. She later told her story to a friend who introduced her to a TBA. She told the TBA that it was her first child and that the doctor has said the baby is breeched and will be delivered through a CS. As is often the case, the TBA assured her that all would be well, and that all she needed to do was to pay twice the regular fee.

    On the day of her delivery, she went to the TBA, who uses a room in her home to deliver women and the process started. When she was dilated to the last stage of delivery, one of the baby’s legs came out. The baby’s other leg however remained stretched inside the mother.

    The TBA immediately held the baby’s leg and forcefully pulled her out. The force caused the baby to tear from between her legs. She didn’t cry as she was weak and injured. It was then the mother realised she had made a mistake. Regretting her actions, she immediately took her baby to Ifako Ijaiye General Hospital, Lagos.

    The doctors and nurses on duty did their best to save the baby, but she gave up the ghost after some days.

    Without any gainsaying, one could say that it is for cases like this and several others that Lagos particularly opted to co-opt the TBAs, rather than leave them to their practice.

    LSTMB chairman, Dr Bunmi Omoseyindemi, who spoke to The Nation, said the TBAs in Lagos are guided by rules.

    First they must be registered by the board and trained by the board. After that, they are sent to general hospital for 6 weeks orientation, where they observe procedures and thereafter they can take deliveries.

    He acknowledged that many of the TBAs have been on their own for many years, and said “they just come to us to refine them.”

    Stating what they must have and how the place must look, he said they must have a delivery bed and the necessary delivery tools like scissors, and other things that are used in the hospital.

    “The environment must be clean and they must have at least two rooms – one for delivery and one for consulting.”

    Asked if it is allowed for them to convert a room in their homes into delivery room, he said no. “It is not allowed for TBAs to use homes where they live with their husbands and children as their delivery rooms; but it is the practice and we are trying to make sure it stops because of basic hygiene, space and privacy.”

    Asked to comment on which is better between TBAs and public health facilities, he said patients choose between delivering in the hospitals and going to TBAs; so he could not say categorically that one is better than the other. “The fact is that two of them complement each other. Many people prefer the TBAs because of their culture and because they have more empathy than the hospitals.

    “Another thing is that majority of the TBAs reside in the communities, so they know the person that is pregnant and understand where they are coming from. It is like a family doctor, they have more confidence in them and after delivery they can still help out with taking care of the baby.”

    On what happens when a TBA that is not registered is caught, he said the law states that the person is fined and can be jailed for at least two years.

    Asked what happens when a woman is in a critical condition, he explained that the normal thing for a TBA to do is to refer her to the nearest general hospital. “That is why we say that they should be trained in the general hospitals nearest to their local government.

    “This is so that they can have interactions with them, to prevent any delays when they go to them with such cases, and they must not allow a patient to stay long before they refer.

    “Patients that must be advised to go to the government hospitals include patients who have done CS before, because they have tendencies to have complications. They must also refer first-time pregnant women. If they don’t refer and the patient dies or becomes a case of emergency, they will be sanctioned.”

    He advised the TBAs to make sure they are registered with the Traditional Medicine Board. They should be ready to go for continuous study at the general hospitals and college of health technology and must take good care of the patient and encourage them to take their immunizations.”

    Several TBAs still not registered

    However, when this reporter visited TBAs in Badagry, a good number of them still operate unregistered, thereby running fowl of the new government rules.

    At Latabas House in Metoho Street, Badagry, a woman uses her room in a self-contain apartment, where she also lives with her family, as delivery room.

    The place is converted to a delivery room anytime she has a patient in labour.

    She claims that she has a lot of pregnant women, who come to her, when it is time for them to deliver, and that so far, no case of emergency has been recorded.

    At Cele Bus-stop, Ansar-ud-deen Road, also in Badagry, a TBA takes delivery in his compound. As the landlord of the property, a ‘face me-I face you,’ he has a number of tenants. He also has a building to himself where he lives with his family and takes delivery for pregnant customers. Although his elder children live outside the building, the compound itself does not look suitable for a clinic.

    Rumour has it that apart from taking deliveries, he also does abortions in the building.

    For Mr. Adenigba Henry of Humanity Family Foundation for Peace and Development (HUFFPED), in the past there were great improper operating procedures noticed before their interventions with the TBAs.

    “Such practices included unclean environment, inadequate staff, inadequate equipment, space and lack of skill for referral. But things have improved, as capacity building of different areas of operations are being introduced by the government and the Community Service Officers, CSO. Some were very primitive but have improved over a period of time. Some were ignorant of what their Terms of Reference (TOR) should be and the limitation of their activities, as some try to go beyond their permissible activates; but some adhere strictly to the ethnics of the job.”

    He noted that the government has put in place strong monitoring and evaluation activities to ensure standardization.

    Speaking on the TBAs he has worked with, Mr. Adenigba who claimed he has been working with TBAs for the past 10 years said they have worked with over four hundred TBAs on several funded projects.

    “For instance, on FHI360/LSACA project, we are working with over 80 TBAs in four local governments – Lagos Island, Agege, Shomolu and Badagry; and we have worked with over 300 TBAs since inception of the project three years ago in these four Local governments.”

    On what risks a child and mother are exposed to if attended to in TBAs, he said, there is no risk for a child and mother that attended registered TBA that follow ethics of the job, but for the TBAs that are not registered, there are lots of risks, which include the child being infected with HIV if the mother is HIV positive and is unawares of her HIV status; dirty environment, dirty water, infection and even death.

    Asked to confirm if indeed many women register at TBAs, he said: “Yes, both educated and uneducated. Some attend because of their traditional beliefs and nobody can discourage them. Some attend because of the attitude of healthcare providers and some attends because of funds as the TBA bills are very moderate and affordable.”

    He called on the Lagos State government to reduce the registration fee to encourage unregistered TBAs to register because many women go there without knowing whether a TBA is registered or not.

    “Lagos State government is supporting the TBAs very well, especially in capacity building in term of regular training for registered TBAs, organizations also work with government in area of testing and counseling for pregnant women during their clinic days. The government also finds time to hold meetings with registered TBAs.  But there are many TBAs that are yet to be registered. I think government did not realise on time how many women patronise the TBAs. They were looking down on them before. But now both are collaborating to save the lives of mother and child; collaborations between TBAs and orthodox facilities are becoming very strong now.”

    He called on TBAs to embrace change. “They should forget about what is obtainable during the ages of their grand-parents, which have become tradition and imbibe new and standard ways of doing things that will be in conformity with the government and universal tenets.”

    Another expert, an Associate Professor, College of Medicine and Consultant in Primary Health Care, Lagos State Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, Mrs. Olayinka Abosede who spoke with The Nation seemed to agree with Mr. Adenigba.

    Mrs. Abosede, who started working with TBAs since 1983, said many more of the TBAs are trained now on conventional method. “We train them on how to prevent infections, especially with HIV/AIDS challenges. Most of them are registered now. We train them at the Institute of Child Health and Primary Care and I also interact with a lot of them.”

    She also agreed that a lot of the ones that have been trained are performing much better than they were doing some years back, adding that studies have shown that in the North, where there are no midwives, the community health workers working with the TBAs have reduced the rate of maternal mortality. “As a matter of fact they refer mothers to the primary health clinic and they are utilizing these clinics more than before. Although there is still room for a lot of improvements, with training, they are doing more than before.”

    She explained that a lot of women register with TBAs, saying if 100 mothers attend antenatal clinic in the government hospital, when it comes to delivery you find out that 60 per cent of them deliver with the TBAs.

    She called on the government to work with TBAs as they graduate, “For instance, from College of Technology, they are attached to a Primary Health Care centre within their wards, so that the midwife can supervise what they are doing.”

    She also called on the TBAs to relate more with their primary health facilities that are well equipped and take their deliveries there, noting that it can happen in Nigeria just as it has happened in Ghana.

    “Primary Health Care centers are also beginning to have anti-shock garments, which the TBAs normally do not have; so if a woman is bleeding, she can be taken to the nearest Primary Health Care centre to access good more adequate health care.”

    On TBAs who convert a room in their homes into their delivery rooms and keep them untidy, she said this is why if they have a link with the primary health facility, “it will be better for them, because the nurses and midwife at the primary health facilities will be able to inspect and see where they are taking those deliveries, and help them to improve the facilities. The practices must change because they will be supervised.

    “Before, they were functioning on their own without the intervention of the primary health facilities, but now, if they really want to function in our communities, they must be attached to a primary health facility. And those that are working there are now responsible for checking on what standards they are maintaining wherever they are taking those deliveries. That is in addition to their ward health committee members, because those being delivered in those untidy facilities are mothers and therefore there must be a check on what the TBAs are doing.

    “I will advice them to make sure they are trained, registered and must go according to the national standing order that have been set for them. They should not go beyond the limitation of the standing order and as soon as they find that there is any problem, they must refer. They must be close to and link with the primary health facility within their ward.”

     

     

  • How Kwankwaso is changing face of Kano

    Sir: University of Ibadan (UI) management team was recently in Kano State to pay homage to the Institution’s Chancellor, the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero.  The team led by the University of Ibadan Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Isaac Folorunso Adewole was also strategizing towards building a lecture theatre in honour of the Emir to be known as “Ado Bayero Lecture Theatre of UI School of Business”.  This mission, as well as other matters of interest compelled the team to spend four days in the ancient city of Kano.

    From the testimonies of the commercial cab operators to the visible evidence of modernity as well as on-going projects dotting the landscape, visitors to the state begin to savor  the flavor of rich dividends of democracy.  For instance, all major streets are well lit and illuminated by various gigantic power generating sets installed in conspicuous place for public monitoring.  The traffic lights on all the major roads as well, are spectacles to behold.  Among the amazing legacies of Governor Rabiu Kwakwanso is the superimposing flyover at Kofa Nasarawa which is still under construction.

    Indeed, it was astonishment all the way when we visited Kwankwasiyya – one of the three new cities the governor is building.  It is a virgin land turned to modern city with captivating structures of various sizes commanding attention.  The road network is strikingly exciting.  Amazing duplexes, built in a large variety of configurations as well as bungalows and block of flats with spectacular colour and class in a well laid out fashion characterize the new city.  At the permanent site of the second state university called North-West University, which the governor is building,  we were told that he built the first state University called Kano University of Technology, Wudil during his first term in office (1999-2014) and he is now building the second university again.

    As a demonstration of his passion for education, Kwankwaso has sponsored over 2,000 students to universities across the world to study Medicine, Nursing, Piloting, Aeronautical Engineering, Pharmacy and Marine Engineering among others.  He has also rejuvenated all primary and secondary schools just as he has constructed more than 1,600 classrooms and 800 offices.

    But apart from federal allocation and Internally Generated Revenue, does he get money elsewhere? Investigation revealed that prudence ,transparency and proper application of available resources to key priorities are the secrets behind the phenomenal performance of Kano State governor.

    He reportedly cancelled the infamous security vote,through which substantial fund is being siphoned thus, drastically reducing overheads.  He then initiated measures that jerked up the Internally Generated Revenue of the state from N400 million to about N2 billion monthly.

    There are many inherent lessons that could be gleaned from the Kwankwaso story. Fiscal discipline is a requirement for meaningful performance.  Development will continue to elude any country that frivolously wastes resources.  There is  a need to curtail financial recklessness in government circles.

    Again, any government or public office holder who performs well in office will be generally applauded and appreciated. A good name is better than riches, so says an adage. Kwankwaso’s reputation is fast soaring away positively.  He is winning laurels and awards here and there.

    It is pertinent for all the governors to move round and compare note.  Many governors will feed challenged if only they can visit Kano to see what Kwankwaso is doing particularly his housing project.  Although, there are still challenges in Kano, Kwankwaso has certainly taken the state to a better pedestal.  For instance, there is still much more work to be done in the area of environmental sanitation.  Some of the places are still dirty.  Some market places visited were so untidy.  Destitute are still on the streets despite the governor’s determination to rehabilitate them and clean the streets.

    Sunday Saanu,

    University of Ibadan