The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Children

  • 240,000 out of school children in Zamfara – UNICEF

    The United Nation Children Education Fund (UNICEF) said it had identified 240,560 out-of-school children in three Local Government Areas of the state.

    The affected local government areas are Bukkuyum, Maradun and Zurmi.

    The Chief of UNICEF in charge of Sokoto Field office, Mohameden Fall disclosed this on Friday in Zurmi at the launching of cash transfer disbursement to parents of affected children under the UNICEF’s Educate A Child (EAC) project.

    He said the number was derived from the household mapping and listing of out-of-school children conducted in 2016 through the state Universal Basic Education Board when the number of out-of-school children was identified in the three LGAs.

    “In Bukkuyum, a total of 93,849 out-of-school children were identified with 41,134 males while 52,715 were females.

    “In Maradun 63,943 were identified with 28,963 males and 34,980 females while Zurmi has a total of 82,768 children with 38,286 males and 82,768 females,” he said.

    Fall also noted that the EAC project was bring funded by Qatar Foundation as personal initiative of Sheikh Nasser of Qatar and implemented by UNICEF in collaboration with Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina and Zamfara state governments.

    According to him, the overall aim of the EAC was to extend the access to quality of basic education for 501, 749 out-of-school children across the four states by 2020.

    “We are targeting to reach out 10,347 in the first phase in Zamfara State, considering the alarming number of out-of-school children in the state.

    “We are calling on the state government to extend this programme to other local government areas,” he said.

    The project was initiated to assist households in sending their children and keeping them in school, in the benefiting communities who will receive an unconditional cash transfer of N8, 000 per child that falls between six and 11 years for the period of two years.

    “Cash transfer is one of the seven strategic interventions under the EAC to enable the government of the target states and UNICEF to reach more out-of-school children,” he said.

    He thanked the state government for the recent award of N1billion contract for school renovation and the release of over N1billion UBE counterpart funding on UNICEF intervention.

    In his remark, the state Commissioner of Budget and Economic Planning, Alhaji Ibrahim Birnin-Magaji thanked the UNICEF and Qatar Foundation for initiating the project.

    Birnin-Magaji said that the project was complementing the state government policy of promoting pupils enrollment and enhancement of basic education in the state.

    He said the state government was ready to continue to partner with the UNICEF and other development partners to improve quality education in the state.

    “The state government is committed to enhance teaching and learning in the state, from 2011 to date, we have renovated over 4,000 classrooms to reduce congestion of pupils.

    “We trained over 8,000 teachers and established 50 ICT centers across the primary and junior secondary schools in the state.

    “These efforts have increased our enrollment drive from 283,000 in 2012 to 600,000 as of now”, he said.

    Birnin-Magaji said the plan was one the ways to recruit more teachers and implement N18, 000 minimum wages for primary and junior secondary school teachers in the state.

    Earlier, the state SUBEB Chairman, Murtala Jangebe Commended the State Government and UNICEF for the project, saying that it would increase the pupils’ enrollment in the state.

    Jangebe said 3,449 children have been selected from the 14 communities to benefit from the assistance of N8, 000 under the project per term, per child.

    “We are disbursing N27 million as first phase to beneficiaries from Alawa, Kadage, and Doka communities from the three LGAs of Bukkuyum, Maradun and Zurmi respectively.

    “In each of the selected LGA, one community was chosen for the flag-off as first phase and we are going to continue with the remaining 11 communities”, he said.

    NAN

  • Nigeria’s pregnant women, children still dying like rat

    MY mother bled to death on August 5, 1959, unable to expel the placenta after the birth of her fifth child, the fourth boy. I was too young then at nine to understand what happened. All I knew was that I went to school in the morning and returned home in the afternoon, to find a huge crowd of aunties and uncles in our two-room residence at the then Southern Police College (SPC), Ikeja, Lagos, many of them sobbing or weeping. Doctors and nurses were few then at the Ikeja General Hospital, now Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), where she died.

    As I learned later, she bled for hours, with no help in sight. With the expansion of knowledge in Alternative medicine in Nigeria today, I often wonder when I hear stories of maternal death, such as hers, if she would not have survived on Papaya (Pawpaw) leaf juice drink, Apple Cider vinegar drink and even Lemon grass tea.

    Hospital medicine and protocols have made tremendous progress since my mother’s death. So, it is doubtful if, today, a woman will die in the labour room as easily as my mother did in 1959, simply because they cannot expel the placenta and will go on bleeding without help long after they have been delivered of their babies. But pregnant women still die easily of other causes, especially from malaria fever and the complications of this disease of the blood which many people take for granted. Even children under the age of five fare no better. Malaria fever and its complications still wipe out their population as easily as one can wipe out a gathering of mosquitoes or cockroaches with the strike of a bunch of broomsticks or the spray of an insecticide.

    Some of the figures the health sector in Nigeria is working with suggest that as many as 30 million pregnant women are threatened by Malaria yearly. About 10,000 maternal deaths occur every year. About 200,000 new borns are killed every year.

    According to www.unicef.org:

    “Malaria remains a major public health problem in Nigeria. An estimated 300,000 children die of the disease each year, and up to 11 percent of maternal mortality is caused by it…which represents one in four deaths of children and one in 10 deaths of pregnant women.”

    UNICEF, the United Nations children’s Emergency Fund, goes on to warn us that “it is estimated half of the population of Nigerian adults suffer from at least one episode of malaria annually while children under five years have as many as three or four episodes every year, adding:

    “There are nearly 110 million clinically-diagnosed cases of malaria annually accounting for 60 percent out-patient visits and 30 percent of hospitalisations. It is not difficult to see that in addition to its direct health impact, the disease imposes a heavy social and economic burden. Indeed, about N132 billion (about 900 million U.S. Dollars) are lost to malaria annually in prevention and treatment costs and productivity.”

    What exhumed these figures about two weeks ago for public consumption in Nigeria again was the visit to this country by Microsoft founder BILL GATES, said to be the world’s richest or second richest person. He is an investor in public good, and had come to Nigeria in the course of such an investment to persuade the Federal Government to invest more in human capital, education and health in particular. He told the President, and I believe the Federal cabinet as well, that life expectancy in Nigeria at about 53 years, was one of the lowest in the world, even when rated against those of other low-income or poor nations of the earth.

     

    My family

     

    When I hear or read about these disturbing stories about malaria fever, I thank the Good Lord for the health of my family. My wife and one of the children are genotype AA, the genotype group that is easily prone to malaria attacks. But I cannot easily remember when any of the children missed school while at home on account of malaria or when they and their mother or my good self ended up in hospital because of it. Some dietary habits may have been responsible for this. I remember once that we ended up in hospital with high temperature in respect of one of the children. The doctor wanted to prescribe anti-malarial drugs. I suggested it couldn’t be malaria. He advised it was better to start the treatment from that assumption. In the end, we reached a compromise. The child would be given the injections and all that. But before then, his blood would be tested for malaria and other parasites. The child began the prescription. And the result of the blood test ruled out malaria! He had a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI). That day, I learned it could be dangerous to sit a child in the bath tub while bathing him or her. Adults,  too, bathe in the bath tub, wee in it and do not sanitise it thereafter!

    While our children were growing up, they took at least one clove of garlic with every meal. Garlic is presented in Alternative Medicine as a cure for many diseases, especially respiratory infections. So effective is it in many cases, even in ear infections (otitis media), that it is nicknamed “the poor man’s penicillin”. In addition to that, my wife prescribed a pre-breakfast protocol for all of us. Anyone who did not take a glass or two of warm Lemon grass tea or that of Chanka Piedra (Ehinbisowo or Ehin Olube in Yoruba) or Bitter melon (Karela in India or Ejinrin in Yoruba) or even brimstone would not have breakfast that morning. We lived first at 34 Ajanaku Street, Opebi, Ikeja, Lagos and, later, at 39 Emina Crescent, off Toyin Street, also in Ikeja, Lagos. Both houses were single dwellings and provided us large grounds to cultivate no fewer than 100 bunch heads of Lemon grass in the flower beds, from which our neighbours and friends benefited as well. As for Ehinbisowo, I always kept an empty sack of 50kg rice in the booth of my car. Anywhere I found it to be growing beautifully, I harvested some and kept in the sack. Back home, I treated them to make them edible. We boiled the dried leaves and roots or made the powder into a tea. Ehinbisowo is good where a diuretic is required. It is anti-malarial, anti-biotic, anti-viral, crusher of kidney stones and gall bladder stones, anti-pain, anti-hypertensive and a good source of iron. I am tempted to reveal a secret about it to which I was let last Friday by a Nigerian doctor close to 80. Not to even Miss Boluwatife Baderinwa would I release it until this doctor is ready to let the cat out of the bag. Boluwatife, from Babcock University, approached me sometime last year for a number of subject ideas for her degree project study. I suggested Chanka Piedra, and she remains till this day grateful for the choice. We should not yield in temptation, we are told. So, I would guard my pen and fingers as I do guard my tongue. But I would like to say, nevertheless, that if this doctor’s dream about Chanka Piedra comes through, it would have reverberations on orthodox medicine world-wide!

    Women’s health

    Hus…..h!

    A wife is the goose which lays the golden eggs in her family. She must get pregnant soon after her marriage, if not before, otherwise all eyes would be on her. Often, she gets into marriage under the notion that she is going into a strange family and, so, becomes psychologically and psychically prepared to do battle with her in-laws, especially a mother-in-law, where one exists. This inner turmoil saps her of energy at physical and etheric levels, and disarranges her hormonal balance with dire consequenses for fertility and general well-being. She goes to work to supplement her family income, and she must hurry home, usually under stressful conditions, to take the children back from school. This, also, robs her of energy, without her husband recognising it. The children must be prepared for school. That means she must be up before 5a.m to fix a meal for everyone. The house must be kept clean. She has her own parent and siblings to look after. She becomes a pain in the neck if she has no time for her in-laws. And her work in the office must not suffer. Her problems are compounded if her husband is an out-door man, or the children are not doing well or in and out of hospital. Before she notices it, the flame of love in her marriage begins to burn out. It may shatter her emotionally if her husband becomes less responsive at her beck and call. It is under those conditions of physical and etheric energy discomfeitures that she is expected to get pregnant and to be delivered of healthy, bouncing babies.

    It is not well recognised that getting pregnant is like cultivating a farm for cropping. In land cultivation, not only is the farmland cleared and fertilised, heaps are also made before cropping and irrigation is encouraged alongside weed and pest control. In most pregnancies, hardly was any preparation made before the meeting of a man and the woman. And when you watch the diet of pregnant women today, you shake your head sorrowfully for them. Many of them were maternally depleted before the current pregnancy, the tell-tales revealing themselves outwardly, as a mirror of the internal terrain, in their hair, skin and nails. In this condition, the immune system may have become compromised. Doctors are reluctant to treat infections and malaria with the full weight of a prescription in this first three months of pregnancy lest the foetus be congenitally affected. Health authorities, therefore, suggest that women sleep in mosquito-treated nets. But many would not because they may feel hotter in such an environment already compromised by power failure. Where the family can afford an electricity generator to overcome this, the danger exists that some carbon monoxide may infiltrate the bedroom. This would rob the family of oxygen and load their blood circulation with carbon monoxide. Some studies suggest that certain secretions in the bodies of the pregnant woman attracts the mosquito to their bodies. When they are bitten, the malaria parasite threatens mother and forming baby. The baby may be born weak, and may depart soon after its delivery or a few months or years after, with more bites from the mosquito.

     

    The diet

     

    With stress and malaria parasites taking a toll in the body of an exposed pregnant woman, her only hope of riding the storms over may very well be her immune system and her nutrition. I would quickly like to mention, ahead of a discussion of these, that the havoc the parasite does is the destruction of red blood cells, the carriers of oxygen throughout the body. The pregnant woman and her baby need oxygen to live, like all of us. Yet, malaria parasites are destroying their means of obtaining oxygen in all the cells of their bodies. In this condition, they cannot grow healthy and strong, but weak and prone to illnesses. The doctor gives the pregnant woman Iron tablets, Folic acids, Vitamin C, Calcium and B-complex vitamins. He only tells her to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, which she may never do when she gets out of sight. She still gets back home to eat bread, consume milk for calcium and protein, without counting the cost to her health, eats a lot of today’s worm-like fast food and, of course, margarine in her jollof rice and with her bread, white or wheat. I am glad that, if many of us did not learn one or two lessons from the court cases recently over highly chemicalised so called soft drinks, we may learn them from the present storm in which Blue Band Margarine is riding in Nigeria. Its prosecutors are trying to say it may be a cause of strokes or heart attack arising from damage to blood vessels. Not only Blue Band Margarine may be guilty of these “charges”, if they are successfully proven. Blue Band Margarine is an hydrogenated fat which gives rise to trans fatty acids. All hydrogenated fats are guilty of producing these health hazards.

    This column cannot in one or several articles discuss how pregnant women can protect their health and the health of their children, born and unborn,  with a change of diet. This will be ongoing. Today, I only wish to suggest that they supplement their diet with powder greens. They are the powder forms of vegetables grown usually on organic farms. Most of the vegetables brought to the market are not only fertilizer grown, they are besides, wilted and deprived of life giving nutrient by the time they arrive in the market and the kitchen. Cooking may further deplete their nutrients. On the other hand, farms which consciously grow their vegetables organically not to fill the stomach but to impact positively on the health of the body, dry them into powder for this purpose. As the dry form is about 25 percent of the live form, one teaspoonful of, say, Spirulina, Kale, Wheatgrass, Asparagus, Cilantro, Barley grass, Whey protein or Lemon grass sprinkled on a plate of rice, beans, porridge (pap or yam porridge) should give multifolds of the live vegetable. Imagine taking Ewedu, Ugwu or Marigold flower like this everyday. Spirulina contains all the 23 amino acids for making proteins for mother and child. Kale, a vegetable, is richer than meat in protein. That is why it is nicknamed the MEATY VEGETABLE. They are all richer than egg, without the cholesterol side effects of egg. They have Vitamins, minerals and enzymes which are missing from many cooked foods. Pawpaw leaf powder and Lemon grass powder, in particular, specifically protect against malaria. I may return to these shortly.

    Earlier, I mentioned Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV). It is wonderful not only for bone formation and bone health. It is good for hairs, nails and skin. It is good for nerves and eyes. Whenever my wife was pregnant, she took Apple Cider Vinegar with her meals. This ensured she did not lose more blood than was necessary in the birthing process. ACV helps to stop even excessive menstrual bleeding and dissolve menstrual blood clots. My mother may have profited from it. Pawpaw leaf juice does it as well. It stops the terrible multiple bleeding of Dengue fever and should that of its cousin, Ebola Fever, because it helps the bone marrow to produce blood platelet cells which stop bleeding. Cancer doctors at the University of Tokyo and those at the University of Florida have found uses for it in every cancer therapies!

     

    Lemon grass

    Nigeria’s pregnant women, children still dying like rat. I will return to lemon grass. But I wish before then to quickly suggest that pregnant women consume good measures of Omega-3 fatty acid from deep sea fish. Many studies suggest it helps the brains, eyes and nerves of foetuses grow well, is good for immune function, builds resistance and is anti-inflammatory apart from being a natural blood thinner. As a youth, I hated Titus fish. But as a father and husband, I used to buy a carton of it which we kept in the freezer for all meals. I cannot talk here about other food supplements for the pregnant woman since this column is more or less limited to the havocs of malaria fever on them. So, back to the good, old Lemongrass, we must quickly return.

    I have been writing elsewhere in my advocacy that this be accepted and enthroned along with similar helpful herbs as a Nigerian natural tea. It grows almost everywhere in the villages not only as an anti-snake grass. It has been investigated by no less competent authorities as an anti-malaria by both the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO) and the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH). Both studies and many more confirm that water extracts of it kill malaria parasites in the bloodstream.

    Many foreign studies confer about 25 or more health benefits on Lemon grass. Some of them are as follows:

    Lowers cholesterol..Detoxifies the body..Prevents cancer..Fights Staphylococus aureus..Cub stomach disorders..Treats insomnia..Treats respiratory disorders..Cures fever..Treat infections..Reduces pains and aches..Builds and calms the nervous system..Treats Type 2 diabetes..Prevents rheumatism..Boosts immunity..Help skin care..Improves cellular health..Treats edema..Has aromatherapy oil..Fights obesity..Clears body odour..Act as an insect repellant..Has culinary uses.

    For the assemblage of the health benefits of Lemongrass mentioned above, credit goes to www.organicfacts.net which supports our health ventures with the post titled: 25 SURPRISING BENEFITS OF LEMON GRASS. Please share your experiences in the use of Lemongrass and other herbs mentioned in this column or elsewhere with other readers of this column.

    How I wish my mother had the benefit of herbs for pregnancy and birthing, as many women enjoy today!

  • Over 1,000 children get free eye surgeries

    No fewer than 1,500 less privileged, mostly children, yesterday benefitted from free eye cataract operations in Lagos.

    The surgeries were sponsored by Rotary Club of Palmgrove in partnership with Indo Eye Care Foundation.

    District Rotary International Governor, District 9110, Rotarian Dr. Adewale Ogunbadejo, told reporters the gesture was to put smiles on the faces of indigent Nigerians without access to eye treatment.

    He lamented poor vision was a common problem to the less privileged, saying the surgeries were in line in the theme for the year “Mission for vision 2017-2018”.

    Mrs. Olubunmi Popoola, whose eight-month-old baby suffered eye defect from birth, expressed delight over the successful surgery.

    She said: “Brainard eye defect was from birth and we’ve been going around looking for help until we came across Indo Eye Care Foundation and thank God Brainard could see”.

    Other parents whose children benefitted from the surgeries also appreciated the group for the assistance.

  • ‘Some parents make it easier for children to be defiled’

    ‘Some parents make it easier for children to be defiled’

    ‘Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi is the coordinator of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team. The team was set up in 2012 to respond to issues of rape, domestic violence and child abuse. In this encounter with HANNAH OJO, she speaks more on the factors fuelling abuse of minors. 

    Is your office engaging in activities geared towards sensitizing the boy child on sexual abuse?

    This year, we are bringing more attention to the issue because last year, we carried out a research and the result showed how 85 percent of those abused as minors grew up to abuse children later in life. The result of the research has influenced the way we engage children in our advocacy as we are now insisting that the focus should not be on girls alone but on boys as well.  No gender is immune to sexual violence. People used to think that it’s only girls that could be defiled but it’s not true. Boys can also be sexually abused as data has shown.   When you have data, it helps to strategize awareness and propose policies that are structured to the needs of the society.

    Your data shows there have been cases of sexual violence in places like Alimosho and Kosofo, is it right to say that these cases happen more in low income areas?

    We aggregate our data to the 20 local governments in the state but there are some local governments that are densely populated like Alimosho and Kosofe, so it should not come as a surprise to see a lot of cases in those areas. It doesn’t mean that it’s only those areas that these vices are being committed. Perhaps it is also because of our awareness in those areas that these vices are being reported. After the awareness, we see an increase in reportage, but I wouldn’t say that it is only in low income areas because sexual and gender violence is not a respecter of class or creed, religion or gender. It can happen to anybody.

    Apart from the excuse of poverty and depression, what other factors are fuelling sexual violence?

    According to the data gathered from our research, the first factor is the abused abuser factor.  Another factor was that some people said they had poor performance with their peers –this is real data. Some said it was as a result of poor erectile dysfunction and they were tempted because the children obviously would not laugh at them. However, it is important to state that some people actually make it easier for children to be defiled. The idea of leaving children with neigbours is condemnable. Parents are not supposed to leave their precious jewels with any kind of person.  Perpetrators don’t just pounce on children, they groom them.  They gain their trust, get their confidence and it can start with something so basic but you will be amazed what that can do to a child over a period of time.  Some people will say why didn’t the child speak up? It’s because the child did not know better and that is the danger we have in sexual violence. Society most times often blame the victim, even when it is a child. These are the things perpetrators take advantage of and use to groom children.

    It is often said that many victims of sexual violence are often discouraged from pressing charges as a result of delayed justice?

    The testimony of the child must be corroborated; that is why we ensure that the police conducts proper investigation and that is what has informed our engagement with the Nigerian Police Force in terms of training, empowering and equipping the force with relevant materials. That is one of the reasons why we have relevant support units across 11 divisions in the state. When it comes to legal issue, you cannot be emotional and sentimental, it is facts that can be proved and the evidence. That is why the police is critical because they are the first respondent. There are also the role medical officers play; if a survivor presents himself early, it is very likely that evidence can be preserved and that will help aid investigations.

    A DNA lab was launched in November, it is at Odulami Street in order to help victims of sexual violence to able to preserve evidence and ensure justice. In the DPP, we also have the Sexual Offence Unit dedicated to addressing these issues. At the High Court, we have the sexual offence and domestic violence court, so we expect that we start to see an increase in the number of cases that get to court as well as an increase in conviction. We will also start to see a reduction in the time it takes to prosecute these cases.

    Since you have been the coordinator, can you recall the most pathetic case you have handled?

    All cases are bad, especially when it involves children because they are vulnerable. Who is supposed to have prevented them? Who is supposed to have ensured that it did not happen? It is the adults. Those are the pathetic cases, especially when it is obvious that these cases could have been prevented if different safe-guarding measures were put in place. When an abuse happens to a child, it means that secondary care givers have failed in their responsibility.

  • Man kills children, self in Anambra

    A 47-year-old man,   Edwin Ojinnaka Nnodiogo, last saturday in Awada layout, Obosi, Idemili North Local Government of Anambra State killed his four children, sister and committed suicide.

    The incident occurred about 8:50pm.

    The Nation learnt that Edwin was from Isu Njaba in Imo State.

    His 32-year-wife, who is  in police protection, was not around when the incident happened.

    The victims are Ogechi Ukonu, 16; Mmesoma Nnodiogo, 10; Chimaobi Nnodiogo, 8; Chima Nnodiogo, 4 and Chidiogo Nnodiogo, 2.

    It was gathered that Edwin just returned from overseas.

    An eyewitness said Edwin, who had been manifesting signs of mental instability, allegedly stabbed his four children to death while the wife was not at home.

    “He was on top of the maid, who was screaming, and this drew the wife’s and neighbour’s attention,” he said.

    It was learnt that Edwin sent one of their maids to get drugs and water for him.

    Policemen have been deployed in the area.

    Spokesperson Nkeiruka Nwode, who confirmed the incident, described it as “calamitous.”

    She said the incident happened on the 4th floor of the five-storey building, adding that the place had been shut.

    The knife Edwin used on the victims and drugs were recovered.

    Nwode said the bodies had been taken to a morgue, adding that the command was awaiting autopsy.

    She said investigation was  on.

  • ‘How physiotherapy can assist special needs children’

    Parents of children with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus have been advised to deploy physiotherapy in bringing up such children.

    Spina Bifida is a neural tube defect that occurs in the womb during the third week of pregnancy where a part of the baby’s spine does not close well.

    Hydrocephalus on the other hand is a condition that occurs when fluid builds up in the skull and causes the brain to swell

    Co-founder, Festus Fajemilo Foundation  (FFF) Afolabi Fajemilo, gave the advice at a training on “Physiotherapy  skills for parents of children with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus in Abule-Egba, Lagos.

    He said it is necessary for parents with such special needs children to know the basic therapies to support their children.

    “We realised that many of them do not go for this treatment often, so what we are doing is that if they can go to the clinic, no matter the number of times, parents also will have the basic knowledge of what to do to their children. Even when they go for this physiotherapy treatment, they are still advised to continue whatever therapy they have conducted on their wards.

    “So, we are trying to lay more emphasis on the importance of physiotherapy treatment for these children. Parents  need to have the skills. Sometimes some parents without the skills will want to practise at home and they might end up doing it wrongly, thereby getting their children injured. These children have poor motor skills, so having the right physiotherapy skills will help a lot.”

    He said there was the need for  parents to  devote time for  their special needs children, advising that  if such children are exposed to the treatment, it would  improve their mobility and independence.

    He added: “For a child to have the full impact of physiotherapy, the child needs go to the clinic for at least, three times a week.”

    A facilitator, Mrs Olufumilola Adeniran, a Manager at   Hands On Pediatric Physiotherapist Services (HOPPS), explained that Spinal Bifida and Hydrocephalus are results of low folic acid.

    ‘’It is a neural tube defect that occurs in the womb during the third week of pregnancy where   a part of the baby’s spine does not close well. Hydrocephalus on the other hand is a condition that occurs when fluid builds up in the skull and causes the brain to swell,’’ she said.

    She said this would demand a surgery, which could be done right in the womb or immediately after birth.

    Adeniran noted that such surgery leaves the child with more challenges, such as urinary and bladder incontinence, weakness of the muscles, inadequate skin sensation, wheel chair bound, and assistance to move around. Prevention, she said, is the best option.

  • Trafficking: Kukah frowns at parents, tasks FG, states on responsibilities

    Trafficking: Kukah frowns at parents, tasks FG, states on responsibilities

    ‎Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of the Sokoto Catholic Diocese Monday urged parents to be responsible and humble in their children up bringing to avoid destroying the society.

    Accordingly, he challenged the Federal and state governments to ‎be responsive vanguard of ‘push factor’ against the increasing poverty, helplessness and wrong perception of the country as a war zone.

    He condemned in strong terms the poor state of situation in the country pointing out that” those leaders responsible‎ for managing our resources that eventually put us in this situation where we are today have not done justice and we will not hesitate to vehemently express our anger in form of prayers.”

    In the same vein, Kukah tasked the media and the judiciary to be alive to their responsibilities of creating awareness and justice to the people.

    Speaking in Sokoto while addressing members of St. Bakhitha of the Sokoto Diocese shortly after a road walk awareness campaign against human trafficking, Kukah noted that the future of Nigeria as a state belonged to the young people who should not be subjected to any form of abuse.

    “We have to collectively come together and do the needful. Our Churches and Mosques ‎members have to come in in the fight against trafficking, child labour and other forms of human abuses”, he called.

    He vehemently condemned attitude of some parents who ‎deliberately influence their children especially girls into making quick money.

    According ‎to him” some parents make comparison of their children with others and even castigate them that their mates are making it but they are busy watching television and eating without anything.”

    The Catholic Bishop, who further noted that most youths and young Nigerians were under pressure for self and parental reasons, said “we have to think of ourselves and future in building the path to achieve greatness ‎and be responsible agents against social vices.”

    He described the awareness move by the members as a call to attention on the evil associated with human trafficking.

    “It is devoid of any sentiment. We know that trafficking, child labour and abuse are a social disease ‎that cuts across our country.

    Also, the Sokoto Zonal Commander of NAPTIP, Barrister Hamisu Tahir who thanked the St. Bakhitha initiative said the agency’s core strategy was to rescue and protect victims of trafficking and child labour.

    He said the agency which was established in 2003 also has the operational focus of its activities on provision of shelter‎, empowerment and holistic implementation of the general frame work that seeks to ensure the arrest, prosecution and conviction of offenders.

    Tahir who further called on all and sundry to join hands with the agency and other stakeholders against the menace said” we also re-unite victims with their families as well empower them so that they will further feel a secured.”

  • Educationist advises parents to assist children in developing spelling skill

    An Educationist Mrs Oluwakemi Waniko, has advised parents to assist their children in developing proficiency in spelling.

    Waniko gave the advice at the 5th Scholars Quiz Primary Spelling Competition in Ota, Ogun State, an event the educationist said was born to reduce the rate of failure in English Language in Nigeria.

    She said the motive is to save children from the negative effect of technological advancement, which oftentimes has created addiction for abbreviation among children of nowadays.

    “It is pertinent that we take seriously the effect of incorrect spellings and wrong usage in order to reduce the mass failure in our education system today,” she said.

    According to her, two pupils each represented 25 participating primary schools in the competition.

    Waniko said that there was the need for more competitions that could help children boost their academic performance.

    “We want to see how we can help our children at this tender age to develop their spelling skills so as to improve the standard of education in the country,” she said.

    She recalled that the first edition of the Scholars Quiz Spelling competition was held in Kwara State, adding that subsequent editions would be extended to the nursery category by next month.

    Waniko noted that an ‘educated nation is a developed nation,’ arguing that if the country invested more, Nigeria would develop technologically.

    She equally urged the Federal Government to increase the annual budgetary allocation for education, adding that it is about time the nation began a journey into joining a league of fast developing nations.

    Waniko equally implored corporate organisations across the country to support laudable programmes like the quiz competition that could boost national development.

    At the event, Kingdom Way School, Ota took the trophy while Little Saint Private Schools, Ota, and The Bells Nursery and Primary Schools emerged first and second runners up respectively.

    For their feat, Kingdom Way Schools received a trophy, plaque and N10, 000 cash, while the first runner and second runners up got a plague and N5, 000 cash respectively.

    Speaking with The Nation, Miss Afusat Balogun, of the Kingdom Way Schools, heaped praises on the organizser, urging them to continue with the initiative.

    Another participant Miss Idowu Fopeoluwa, said that the competition was highly educative and she has gained a lot from it.

  • Children, the ultimate 100 and change winners

    Children, the ultimate 100 and change winners

    The Board of Directors of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation said it was difficult to choose a single recipient in its global competition for a $100 million grant that promises a bold solution to a critical problem of our time. I can see why. Ultimately, MacArthur awarded Sesame Workshop and International Rescue Committee $100 million to educate young children displaced by conflict and persecution in the Middle East, because it felt an urgency to respond to the Syrian refugee crisis by supporting what will be the largest early childhood intervention program ever created in a humanitarian setting. Based on the strength and potential impact of the other three finalists proposals, MacArthur also awarded additional grants of $15 million to Rice 360° Institute for Global Health, HarvestPlus, and Catholic Relief Services.

    The Foundation is deeply committed to helping all the finalists attract the support their critical work requires and deserves. MacArthur will continue its effort to cultivate other funding partners to fully realize these projects. One of the ways MacArthur hopes to draw attention to and support for the many strong proposals submitted to the competition is through its partnership with Foundation Center to create the 100&Change Solutions Bank. The website features nearly 2000 100&Change submissions that are searchable by geography, subject, strategy, population served, sustainable development goal alignment, and linked research. MacArthur’s goal is to drive investment in proposals, facilitate collaboration between organizations working on similar problems, and inspire other funders.

    The four finalists were painstakingly thorough and any of them could have received the $100 million. I had my preference before The Finalists Live presentations late last year, but became undecided after. What’s clear is children were the ultimate winners. It seems most fitting that the Foundation awarded $15 million to each of the three other finalists to secure the health, education and wellbeing of children, making it one of the biggest overall grants in support of children. The good news is that these new awards don’t negatively affect the current level of funding of our operations in the Africa office.

    I feel a sense of connection with each of the four finalists. For instance, HarvestPlus’ proposal to reduce hidden hunger is on the spot. Malnutrition is a major global problem affecting millions of people in Africa. It stunts cognitive and physical development, and eyesight of children. Malnourished child-brides carry very high risk of maternal mortality and morbidity. I was horrified by a slide during HarvestPlus’ presentation which compared the brains of a malnourished child and healthy child. Even with the best academic infrastructure a malnourished child can’t compete academically. If human capital is the most important resource of a country, biofortification, the proposed solution to reduce malnutrition, is about nurturing the capabilities, creativity and talent of Africa for Africa.

    The HarvestPlus proposal is also about reducing poverty, enhancing the agricultural value chain, and diversification of the economy. During a field visit to the project, I met industrialists who have invested in biofortified cassava and maize value chains, fabricators of machineries, manufacturers of various commodities from biofortified maize and cassava, distributors of biofortified food, and suppliers of seeds, stems and chemicals. Biofortification generated employment among young people and there were kiosks for online services. Women formed cooperatives to produce fufu and gari in large scale.

    Having spent most of my professional life at the Foundation working on maternal health, the Rice 360° proposal to reduce neonatal deaths was a no brainer. Millions of children die from preventable diseases despite the ubiquitous know how and available preventative techniques. The simple technology proposed by the Rice consortium could revolutionize neonatal health care; becoming an antidote to the “equipment grave yard”, as brilliantly described by Rice 360° team member Queen Dube. Such graveyards are widespread in many African states.

    The consortium invented the Nonpneumatic Anti-Shock Garment (NASG), a simple technology for prolonging the lives of women in postpartum hemorrhage which when applied to a Yoruba woman at the University Teaching Hospital Ibadan who probably would have died but for the simple technology, was renamed ‘Ayorunbo’, meaning she who had gone to heaven and returned. A mock neonatal mobile clinic that the Rice 360° team created in Chicago, brought home the importance of the project.

    The public presentation from Sesame Workshop and International Rescue Committee (Sesame and IRC) told the history of Sesame Street as a product of the civil rights movement, an educational alternative for African-Americans lacking access to formal education. Sesame and IRC proposed implementing an early education intervention, which is the bedrock of life opportunities that will reach an estimated 9.4 million unserved and underserved children scattered across the Syrian response region—including neglected and ill-funded refugee camps.

    The children in refugee camps are exposed to toxic stress which correlated with my encounter of a three-year old boy in Maiduguri who offered N20 to a military officer at a check point in exchange for his gun. The environment where children grow is probably the single most important determinant of their future; and it is this theme—environment—which connects the Sesame and IRC proposal with that of Catholic Relief Service (CRS).

    CRS’ proposal to change the way we care for children in orphanages is critical to the healthy development of children. It was heart wrenching to watch their presentation on the nine million orphaned children who physically looked four-years-old but in reality, were older than 10. Their presentation painted in my mind the cruel future facing the more than 60,000 children orphaned in Maiduguri by the Boko Haram violence. CRS, along with its partners, Maestral and Lumos, proposed a cost-effective strategy of connecting parents and their children.

    100&Change is part of a new approach of grantmaking at the Foundation focusing on problems and solutions. MacArthur believes that solutions are possible to even some of the most challenging problems facing the world. This was an initiative that sought to contribute to solving any problem anywhere in the world without the constraints of current Foundation thematic foci and geography. When it was announced in June of 2016, 7,069 organizations registered. When the application period closed in October, 1,904 proposals were submitted. Of those, 801 passed administrative review. Nigerians participated in the review. The four finalists emerged from eight semi-finalists.

    At the end, the real winners are children of the world who are interconnected by the problems of neonatal death, stunting, toxic stress and neglect and isolation. And the award of $145 million will contribute to nurturing their future, or more appropriately, our future.

    • Shettima PhD is the Director of the Africa Office of the MacArthur Foundation based in Abuja.
  • I warned my deceased children to stay indoors —Prophetess who lost husband, two children in Rivers New Year eve killings

    I warned my deceased children to stay indoors —Prophetess who lost husband, two children in Rivers New Year eve killings

    Comfort Ordu, a prophetess, might not have known exactly what was amiss as she warned her family members of an impending danger after the family’s prayer session in the early hours of the New Year. It turned out a huge tragedy as gunmen invaded their community and three others in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area (LGA), killing no fewer than 17 people.

    She is full of regrets that in spite of the warning she issued to her family members about an impending danger as was divinely revealed to her, she ended up being a victim, having lost her husband and two children in the early morning shootings.

    Austin Ordu, her 51-year-old husband and building engineer whose birthday would have been celebrated on January 10; her two children (15-year-old Wisdom Ordu, an SS 3 student of Hallmark Academy, Omoku and 14-year-old Precious Ordu, an SS 2 student of the same school); Wisdom’s childhood friend named Saviour and Precious’ friend named Favour all lost their lives in the New Year tragedy.

    Their guard, Desmond, an indigene of Plateau State, was also not spared in the killings. He was, however, luckier as he was able to recover from his comatose state while others who were shot along with him bled to death before help could come their ways. Desmond recovered from the shootings after two days.

    The shooting incident had taken place in Omoku town, Igbada, Uju and Aligu (the home town of the suspected cultist Don Wanney from whose shrine soldiers recovered numerous human skulls and decaying human bodies concealed in shallow graves).

    The prophetess believes that if her deceased children had heeded the stay-at-home warning she issued after the family’s New Year prayer session, they would not have gone out in those odd hours to a carnival on their Austin Ordu Street, Ogbohia Agbogwe, and would not have fallen victims to the gunmen’s bullets. The gate to the family’s compound would have been firmly locked and their father would not have met his death while going out to look for them.

    Mrs Ordu

    Like the biblical saying that a prophet is not honoured at home, the children had ignored the stay-at-home instruction while the love of a father for his children caused their father to go out in company with Desmond in order to bring them back to the house.

    Precious and her friend Favour, who had gone with her to the carnival, were said to be returning to the Ordus’ family house and were close to the gate when some gun trotting men snuffed lives off them. The children have since been buried while the remains of their father is still in the morgue.

    Speaking with reporters at her Austin Ordu Street where sympathisers were seen trooping in and out the compound and sitting room to console her, she said: ‘I am a prophetess. I have a healing ministry where the sick, and those that are having issues with pregnancy and others with different needs come for God’s help and their problems are solved.

    “On that fateful day, December 31, 2017, I gathered the members of my family and prayed with them. After the prayers, which was past midnight, I announced to everybody not to leave the gate that night because there was danger looming in the air. Then I went to bed.

    “At about 2 am, I discovered that two of my children, a boy and a girl, were not in the house. I understood they had gone out to a place where other youths had organised a carnival on the street. I requested that someone should go there and bring them back to the house, but I was told that their father had gone to look for them.

    “Suddenly, I noticed that one of my sons and my nephew who lives with us ran into the house. Then some persons, six in number, who were dressed in black clothes and black fez cap, walked into the house, saying that government had sent them to come to the house. I quickly dodged and hid myself inside the house, but I overheard everything that they said.

    “My cousin who was with us stopped them at the sitting room and interrogated them. She asked who they were and why they were chasing the children. After a moment, I saw them walk out of the house. They probably noticed that there was no other person in the house or they could not find the actual person they were looking for.

    “As they were leaving the gate, they met a boy named Saviour, who was my deceased son’s friend. He had come to invite his friend so they could go to the carnival together. They shot and killed him instantly. While these were happening, I did not know that they had already met and killed my husband, our two children and a friend to my late daughter while they were coming back from the venue of the carnival.”

    Asked if the people were killed on their way from the crossover service of that night, she said: “No. My husband had gone to the venue of the carnival just along our street in the company of our gateman, Desmond, an indigene of Plateau State, to look for the children so that they could bring them back. On their way back home, close to our gate, they met the gunmen who shot and killed them instantly.

    “But Desmond had not died when we met them, although he was in a critical condition. He was rushed to the hospital where he was in coma for two days. It was on the third day that he came out of coma and could mutter some words. We are trusting the Lord that he will recover fully.”

    Asked if the family had issues with anyone, she said there was nothing like that. “We are not involved in politics and we are not in any cult group. I am not in any kind of association. My sole job is to pray for people to get them out of their problems and needs. That is what I am committed to.”

    She gave the names and ages of the people the family lost as, Mr. Austin Ordu (51, husband), Wisdom Ordu (15, son), Miss Precious Ordu (14, daughter) and Wisdom and Precious’ friends, Saviour (boy) and Favour (girl).

    Speaking further, she said: “As a prophetess, I received the clue of looming danger in the land since early this year, and I have been telling those that come to my ministry, family members and any other person that cared to listen that the just past year was not going to be easy and that the last days of the year was going to be more dangerous.

    I said that anyone who escaped the secret plans of the devil and its cohorts in the land (Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA), should be grateful to God, and that everyone should be careful and prayerful to avert the plans.

    “I also informed them that secret and silent killers had been paid and they had sneaked into the land. That was why I warned my family members to remain indoor after the crossover prayers so that the evil would completely pass over us. But children, being what they are, did not listen. They were lured outside by the sound of music and the voices and drums playing out from the carnival venue.”