The Nation Newspaper

Tag: day

  • World AIDS Day: As funds trickle down

    World AIDS Day: As funds trickle down

    As Nigeria joins the rest of the World to observe this year’s World AIDS Day this Tuesday, Oyeyemi Gbenga-Mustapha writes on how about three million Nigerians living with HIV and face a bleak future because the federal government is yet to take ownership of HIV/AIDS funding.

    It is no longer in doubt that major donor countries such as the United States of America (USA) may withdraw funds to tackle the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the country by next year. This development may also render about 1.4million HIV positive people who are estimated to be in dire need of Antiretroviral (ARV) drugs helpless.

    According to the Director General National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Prof John Idoko while commenting on this year’s preparation his organisation to observe this year’s World AIDS Day (WAD), with the theme:  “Getting to Zero”- Zero new HIV Infections. Zero Discrimination. Zero AIDS Related Deaths, providing antiretroviral treatment for all people living with HIV doesn’t only benefit those already living with HIV, it also dramatically reduces the chance of onwards HIV transmission to others. In a country like Nigeria where there are so many people not on treatment, it is hard to tackle the HIV epidemic. Considerable commitment, funding and resources need to be mobilised to expand access to treatment as a prevention method.

    Nigeria is an enormous country, and so it has a very high number of people living with HIV despite a relatively low HIV prevalence. According to Idoko, the current estimates of people living with HIV in the country is three million, approximately 750, 000 are on treatment, 55 percent (1, 237, 500) of this number are women, 50 percent of HIV positive women possibly have HIV Negative partners approximately 618, 750, and PrEP (ProphylaxyExposure) needs for sero-discordant couple are approximately 618, 750.

    He said the new World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation is to test and treat, hence about 2.25 million HIV positive people are expected to be placed on treatment, so total need for Antiretroviral by next year is 2, 868, 750. This is not adding PrEP needs for men sleeping with men (MSM) and other MARPs, which the anti-homosexuality bill has driven into hiding.

    When reading the major statistics all together the situation is stark: Nine percent of all people living with HIV globally are in Nigeria, 14 percent of the global deaths from HIV-related illness are in Nigeria, only 20 percent of people living with HIV are on treatment, and only 27 percent of pregnant women are receiving treatment for PMTCT.

    Self sufficient

    But, Nigeria can afford to cater for its citizens living positively. It is a matter of political will/commitment. Nigeria is not poor. The starting point can be to unlock vast domestic resources than continuing to wait for donors to finance the direct delivery of social services.

    Following the country’s recent 90 percent GDP adjustment, Nigeria is now a solidly middle-income country. With an income per capita of $2,700, it now stands alongside countries like the Philippines and Morocco. Not exactly a rich country per se, but with a GDP of roughly $500 billion, it’s far from an impoverished one in terms of national resources. With donors providing $2 billion a year in aid to Nigeria, this raises the natural question: If Nigeria is significantly wealthier than previously thought, then should we still be expecting large-scale assistance from them?

    Idoko put it more in perspective, “The Government should not feel threatened, but the action should spur the federal government to take up full funding of the treatment, as smaller, less endowed countries were already footing over 50 percent of their treatment bills. We are the largest economy in Africa according to re-basing statistics, there are many other African countries that I can count, like South Africa, Boswana even Benin Republic which are responsible for 50 percent or more of their support, so why should Nigeria be different, this is the way the donor countries are looking at the issue”

    Why are they withdrawing? According to Prof Idoko the economic climate in those countries is also becoming bad; also, the rebasing of the economy highlights that Nigeria is not poor.

    He said, “The looming financial constraints in tackling the epidemic, called for concerted efforts by federal, states and local governments to device new funding approaches, particularly reviewing their tax policies or the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).”

    He added that the country cannot afford to relapse on the successes recorded in the fight against HIV/AIDS, but rather should be sustained, “There has been steady decline in the prevalence from 2001. There has been 54 percent reduction in HIV incidence from 2003 to 2013, just as new HIV infections are decreasing. ART is working in Nigeria. Significant progress in the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV has been achieved.”

    Winning the war against AIDS in the country is no rocket science, even in the face of declining donor funding. According to Prof Idoko, pragmatic basic steps can be taken, such as increasing domestic funding to achieve a fully funded AIDS response at all levels, fully operationalise 90-90-90 strategy to eliminate progression to AIDS, premature deaths and HIV transmission, ensure combination prevention for all populations, expand HIV Counseling and Testing (HCT), Antiretroviral treatment (ART) and Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission services, pursue a policy of local manufacture of essential commodities (antiretroviral drugs, test kits and condoms) and equally address barriers to access to HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment.

    The new WHO treatment guidelines now recommend that all people living with HIV start treatment regardless of CD4 count, which is likely to impact significantly upon the future cost of the global HIV response. This, coupled with the stagnation of donor funding is demanding that interventions embarked on by recipients are cost-effective and efficient. As domestic funding for HIV has now overtaken international assistance, there is greater emphasis on affected countries to implement these types of strategies.

    Should the donations/funding stop, the country cannot stand akimbo, as the African Union’s ‘Roadmap on Shared Responsibility and Global Solidarity for AIDS, TB and Malaria in Africa’ emphasises country ownership, efficiency and sustainable financing of the HIV response. It is one example reflecting increasing political commitment to these principals. Likewise, the ‘Arab Strategic Framework for the Response to HIV and AIDS (2014-2020)’ aims to increase reliance on domestic sources for the HIV response in all Arab countries by 80 percent by 2020.

    The government must be proactive because antiretroviral treatment (ART) provision in the country is extremely low, with only 21 percent of adults living with HIV receiving treatment in 2013, and 12 percent of children. Only 19 percent of women who are living with HIV and breastfeeding are taking ART.

    Although the number of antiretroviral treatment (ART) sites increased between 2012 and 2013, it is still not enough. With only 820 sites in the whole of the country, it is not surprising that people living with HIV are struggling to access clinics where they can get treatment. ART administration is being decentralised from hospitals to primary health centres, and from doctors to nurses and community health workers, although there is still a huge demand for more healthcare professionals.

    Certain weaknesses in the system exist, which means many people who receive a positive HIV diagnosis are not referred for treatment, or not retained in treatment for very long. Even when ART can be accessed, drug supplies are known to run out and lead to stock-outs.

  • World Food Day celebrated

    The Cassava Weed Management Project (CWMP), a special project implemented by the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB) in collaboration with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Ibadan, Oyo State, has celebrated the 2015 World Food Day.

    Hosted by FUNNA, CWMP Coordinator and former Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Development) Prof ‘Segun Lagoke, said the event aims to raise awareness about the challenges of hunger by encouraging people to take action in fighting the malaise.

    According to him, the theme of the 2015 World Food Day, ‘Social Protection and Agriculture’, was timely, adding that the social protection was a viable alternative for stimulating agricultural production and local economic activities.

    Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Olusola Oyewole, who was represented by his deputy (Academic), Prof Adekojo Waheed, said farmers played vital role in the fight against hunger.

  • Adelabu’s day of honour here

    Adelabu’s day of honour here

    The Aare Alaasa of Ibadanland, Oloye Lekan Alabi and Chairman, Adegoke Adelabu Post-Humous Centenary Birthday Celebration Planning Committee, extols the virtues of the foremost nationalist and politician, the late Chief Adelabu, and his progressive ideals, which made his life colourful and evergreen. His centenary will be celebrated on September 3.

    Nigeria’s first Federal Minister of Social Services and Natural Resources (at age 39 in 1954), the first African Manager of the United Africa Company (UAC) (at age 21 in 1936), first Chairman the old of Ibadan District Council (now comprising II LGAS) in 1954, former first National Vice – President of the now defunct NCNC political party, former Leader of Opposition in the old Western Region House of Assembly and Leader of the NCNC Western Delegation to the 1957 Constitutional Conference in London, UK, the late Alhaji (Honourable) Adegoke Adelabu (alias Penkelemesi) would have been 100 years old, come Thursday, 3rd September 2015, had he not died in a road accident at Ode Remo (present Ogun State) on 25th March, 1958, at the age of 43 years.

    Adelabu was a meteor, prodigy, wordsmith, orator, ebullient politician and nationalist of no mean order. He was a detrabilised Nigerian who strove for Nigeria and Africa’s emancipation, unity and prosperity.

    Early this year, the Adegoke Adelabu Family of Oke Oluokun, Kudeti Area of Ibadan, Oyo State met and resolved to celebrate their patriarch. The family thereafter appointed me the chairman of the Post Human Centenary Birthday Planning Committee, with a grandson of the late age, Mr. Yinka Adelabu, a mass communication graduate of the University of Lagos and older brother of a Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Chief Adebayo Adelabu, the Agbaakin Parakoyi of Ibadanland, as the Secretary.

    With the kind consent of the Adelabu Family, I proposed former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR, as the Grand Patron of the Adegoke Adelabu Foundation. On the day we took our proposal to Chief Obasanjo in his Abeokuta, Ogun State home, he not only graciously accepted to be the Grand Patron, but announced to the whole world that the late “Lion of the West”, Adegoke Adelabu was his political role model. Among the virtues of Adelabu that Chief Obasanjo praised that day was Adelabu’s wholehearted commitment to Nigeria and Africa’s freedom, unity and prosperity.

    For the 3rd September, 2015 centenary programme, Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi is the Chief Host, Kabiyesi the Olubadan of Ibadanland, the Royal Father of the Day, Yeye ODUA H.I.D. Awolowo is Mother of the Day, Professor Mark Nwagwu of Paul University, Awka, Anambra State, Guest Speaker, the Senate President, Speaker, House of Representatives, some State Governors, Nigeria’s former permanent Representative at the United Nations, Alhaji Maitama Sule, other VIPS across Nigeria, as guests.

    Among our objectives is to bring Adelabu’s patriotism, commitment to merit and egalitarianism to the fore for today’s politicians to imbibe.

    Adegoke Adelabu was born to Ibadan parents at the family house at Oke Oluokun, Kudeti Area of Ibadan, Oyo State on 3rd September, 1915. He attended St David’s CMS, Kudeti, Ibadan (1925 – 1929); CMS Central School, Mapo, Ibadan (1930) Government College, Ibadan (1931 – 1935) Higher College, Yaba, Lagos (1936) Adelabu earned accelerated (double) promotions on three occasions at Elementary, Primary and Secondary School levels, yet he never came second in any examination, but first at all times.

    In his book, “Africa in Ebullition”, published in 1952, with the foreword by his political leader, the late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Adelabu espouses some of his thoughts and vision. Here are some.

    National Unity

    The crux of the problem of unity is that sacrifices, great sacrifices, must be made by individuals, by groups, by tribes, by bodies, by classes and by regions in order to usher in that unity which will secure for us freedom and independence. It is not that we too, do not love our tribe, religion, class and region. But we love Nigeria more. We hereby implore all partisans and regionists to join us in the Great Adventure. The stake is well worth in the sacrifice.

    Sacred Duty

    Any sentimental appeal to my Oduduwan ancestry or subtle attempt to exploit my religious susceptibilities is doomed to failure. Christians, heathens and atheists will always have my political confidence, respect and support. No sectional loyalty or group interest will ever deter me, for a moment, from my sacred duty to my Motherland. I will live, work, strive, think, write, fight and die for Nigeria, the whole of Nigeria, and not any confounded portion of it. If genuine nationalists of other tribes and regions will adopt my philosophy of self-sacrifice, our difficulties will melt into thin air.

    Career Opportunities

    I want a career open to talent. I want opportunities based on merit. I want the son of the Jukun farmer in Benue Province, the son of the Fulani herdsman in Sokoto, the son of a cocoa plantation labourer in Ibadan, the son of a railway porter at Enugu as well as the second sons of their Highnesses the ‘Emir of Katsina, the Ooni of Ife and the Obi of Onitsha to stand equal chance of succeeding Dr. Mellanby as the next Principal of Ibadan University College. Such as a career is open to talent in America. Such as career is open to talent in England. Such as career is open to talent in Germany. We shall labour without respite until such a career is open to talent in our own Nigeria.

    Agriculture

    Nigeria is, and will for ever remain, a predominantly agricultural country. If education is the foundation of freedom, then, agriculture is the lifeblood of Nigerian livelihood. Whatever other side-shows and subsidiary industries we may develop, they will remain just useful adjuncts to our mainly Agrarian Economy. The present methods of Nigerian agricultural production are medieval, wasteful, unprogressive and intolerably laborious. It is a desecration of the sacred human personality for men to be called upon to endure manual drudgery and physical exertion that would be considered cruel to beasts of burden in our vaunted technological age.

    Our plan of reform in agricultural technique must have nothing of half-heartedness, piece-meal installments, superficial palliatives or unimaginative tinkering about the fringes about it. It must be a complete and fundamental over-haul; a daring and far-reaching orientation. A Niger/Benue Valley Authority, on the lines of the Tennessee Valley Authority in the United States of America, should be set up. It should be an independent, self-contained, semi-commercial public utility undertaking with wide statutory powers and adequate financial resources.

    A People’s Constitution

    Our first, our foremost and our immediate task on the attainment of National Independence will be to call a Constituent Assembly, charged with the supreme task of drafting, debating and finally approving a Constitutional Organic Instrument for the governance of our free country. Within its framework shall be laid down in broad general outlines, powers and rights. Meanwhile, an Interim Caretaker Government will take office in order to carry on the essential services during the transitional period of constitution making. It will be a coalition set-up for obvious conveniences.

    Fundamental Principles

    These are four in number; Unabridged Sovereignty, Political Democracy, Financial Autonomy and Federal Supremacy. They are the bedrock of Constitutional Government, the minimum data of Representative Institutions, the attribute of responsible Self Government and the popular manifestations of self-determination. In their absence you get tyrannical oppressions, irresponsible dictatorship, despotic rule, Imperial bondage, absolute monarchy, feudal chieftaincies and oligarchical ruling-castes of vested interest.

    Political Democracy

    This means the guarantee of basic human rights like the rights of free speech, freedom of association and or worship, free choice of livelihood, freedom of expression, freedom of movement and security of person and of estate. It means the written guarantee of constitutional privileges. It connotes at least Universal Adult Suffrage and direct election to popular assemblies. It rules out totalitarian regimentation and implies representative institutions. It guarantees social security to the people by making them the law.

    Financial Autonomy

    This denotes that the country shall be economical self-supporting, that taxation shall run parallel to representation, that funds for the public service shall be voted by popularly elected assemblies and that the government shall be free from economic domination by a foreign power from without or by monopolistic private interest or financial oligarchies from within.

    Service to the silent millions

    Who and where are the Silent Millions? They are all in all, and they are everywhere. But first, I will tell you who they are not. They are not the All-powerful One, the Big Ten, the Influential Hundreds, the Thundering Thousands, the Clamorous Hundreds of Thousands, the Vocal few. They are the teeming hordes, the dense crowd, the sweating masses. The mute multitude, the dump assemblage, the timid rank and file, humanity in aggregate.

    Parties and Ideologies

    There is so much loose talk these past few years in the press, the pulpit and public gallery of this or that Nigerian Political Party that I am constrained to ask, “Have we any genuine Political Parties in Nigeria today?” My answer is an unqualified No. A political party, as is popularly misconceived, is not an agglomeration of person. That is a crowd. And it is not a crowd acting together. That may be a club or a society. A club or a society does not earn the name of a political party on the strength of its following, the publication, adoption, and possession of a programme, the amount of publicity it receives in the press or by other vehicles of propaganda, its success at the polls, or even the successful implementation of its programme. All these it may do, and yet it would not merit the name of a political party.

    To hear more and discover the genius called Adegoke Adelabu who came ahead of his time, Thursday, 3rd September, 2015 is the day in Ibadan, Oyo State.

  • Wines of South Africa celebrates Nelson Mandela Day in Lagos

    Wines of South Africa celebrates Nelson Mandela Day in Lagos

    Trade businesses and wine enthusiasts gathered to savour great tasting wines at the Wines of South Africa Grand Tasting event held to commemorate Nelson Mandela Day at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    The event afforded guests the opportunity to enjoy new wine releases, lively music and a feast of finger-licking canapés, while networking and meeting with people of great minds. The experience was comparable to any wine tasting event in the world. The tasting event is a prelude to the Cape Wines showcase and fair in Cape Town, South Africa later in the year.

    The Wines of South Africa Grand Tasting,now in its third edition was in partnership with Spronks Creation Limited; organisers of Nigeria International Wine and Spirit Fair (NIWSF). It aimed to showcase quality wines from over wine producers and over 200 wine brands from different regions in the Cape Wineland of South Africa. The event brought more than 20 wine producers from South Africa to Nigeria to interact with consumers, distributors and wholesalers as well as people in the hospitality and tourism industry.

    This year’s event started with a professional wine course training session led by Wine Advisor, Brad Coetzer, from renowned education company ‘Under the Influence’ in partnership with Beverage Intelligence.  The course which came with a professional certificate was opened to trade businesses such as hospitality and tourism operators like restaurants, pubs, lounges and food and beverages managers,portfolio managers, gourmet and a business-to-business session with wine distributors and wholesalers.

    Speaking at the event, South African Consul-General in Nigeria, Ambassador MokgethiMonaisa, remarked that, “This is indeed a great day and we are happy to celebrate Nelson Mandela this way. Today is his birthday. Remember that when he died he was 95 years old. So he would have been 97 years today. For the past four years, we’ve brought Wines of South Africa to Nigeria. I have been here for four years; I hope you will remember me as the man who brought WOSA to Nigeria. WOSA has made us proud. This is a clear message from South Africa that our agro industries are real alive. We don’t only produce vegetables and end there but our industry is so advanced that we do produce wines. And we do compete with the greatest in the world.”

    “Today we are celebrating Nelson Mandela. Since 2010, the United Nations declared this day an international Nelson Mandela Day. They also called upon everybody in the world; individual, companies and organisations to spend 67minutes of their time on this particular day to acknowledge the 67years that Nelson Mandela spent fighting for the right of the people. And indeed, we have been spending today in history; all of us we have done something for 67minutes. Now this particular 67minutes we lived to drink wine. Let’s drink to that”, he enthused.

    Wines of South Africa (WOSA) represents all South African wine producers who export their products. WOSA, was established in its current form in 1999, has over 500 producers on its database, comprising all the major South African wine exporters. It is constituted as a not-for-profit company and is totally independent of any producer or wholesaling company. It is also independent of any government department, although it is recognised by government as an Export Council.

    WOSA’s mandate is to promote the export of all South African wines in key international markets. Traditional markets include the United Kingdom, Germany Sweden and the Netherlands. More recently, WOSA has also been developing markets for South African wines in the United States, Canada, Russia, and Asia. WOSA is funded by a levy per litre on all bottled natural and sparkling wines exported.

  • DIFF: Anti-apartheid film to screen on Mandela Day

    DIFF: Anti-apartheid film to screen on Mandela Day

    As part of this year’s Durban International Film Festival which started on Thursday, award-winning and world-renowned French filmmaker Euzhan Palcy, will showcase her most celebrated work, A Dry White Season (1989), in honour of the late South African freedom fighter, Nelson Mandela.

    The screening is also in commemoration of the film’s 25th anniversary, which was adapted from a book by the acclaimed South African writer Andre Brink who died earlier this year. Palcy will be honouring Brink on July 18; Mandela Day.

    Additionally, in a tribute to her contribution to the South African film industry, Palcy will be honoured at the Simon Sabela Awards on July 19. Karina Brink, Dame Janet Suzman and Thoko Ntshinga will attend both the screening and the awards.

    At the time the film was produced, Ms. Palcy was distinguished for being the first black female director to be hired by a major Hollywood studio (MGM) and to direct an anti-apartheid film during Nelson Mandela’s prison sentence. She is also the only woman to have directed Marlon Brando and the first black person to win a French Oscar.

    Andre Brink’s book, a narrative about the social movements of South Africa and the 1976 Soweto riots inspired Palcy’s impassioned response to illustrate an accurate account of the reality of apartheid. Palcy made the film in 1989 after doing extensive research undercover in Soweto. The film stars Donald Sutherland, Janet Suzman, Marlon Brando, Zakes Mokae, Susan Sarandon, John Kani, Winston Ntshona and Jürgen Prochnow amongst others.

    “We are pleased to be able to present an important work created by a black woman, which highlights and even represents the lost voices of the people of this continent; the unspoken narratives and the untold stories,” says Pedro Pimenta, Director of DIFF. “Her courage to create a work which could stand out and give three dimensional life to Brink’s book, and by association the voiceless at the time, required an enormous amount of bravery. We are proud to be able to salute her at the DIFF this year.”

    A Dry White Season will be screened at Suncoast at 20:00. This will be followed by a question and answer session with Ms. Palcy. Her first classic award winning film, Sugar Cane Alley, which Brink apparently screened in secret to his students, celebrates its 30th anniversary and will be screened as a South African premiere at Suncoast on Monday, 20 July at 19:30, in which she will also be in attendance.

    According to Patrick Aglae, director of communications for Euzhan Palcy and producer of A Dry White Season, “It has been a long journey since we decided to officially screen A Dry White Season in South Africa on the big stage. Euzhan Palcy had made the promise to Nelson Mandela to comeback one day to officially screen the film. In March at the Andre Brink’s Memorial at the University of Cape Town she said “Let’s make it happen”. So to do it on the Mandela Day is magnificent. I’d like to thank DIFF’s new leadership to make this dream a reality alongside MGM and Park Circus, its worldwide distribution partner which played a key role to restore this film and make the DCP on time. To make it so fast speaks volume about their respect for the film.”

  • Day of rage

    Day of rage

    Students of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) disrupted activities at the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) over poor power supply in Odenigwe area. OLADELE OGE reports.

    The district office of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) in Nsukka did not know what hit it last Tuesday. Protesting students of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), stormed the office over outrageous billing and poor power supply.

    The about 120 protesters are residents of Odenigwe area, which is close to the campus. At 10: 20am, they arrived at the EEDC office, blocked the entrance and prevented members of staff and customers from gaining access.

    They alleged favouritism in  power supply to the area, noting that the company deliberately cut off their neighbourhood from its distribution service. Their spokesman, Mr Hope Vikki, said the students embarked on the protest because of “unfair treatment” by EEDC.

    In 2010, Vikki said students living in Odenigwe contributed N750 each to buy a new transformer to end blackout in the area but power supply has remained poor. Rather, he said a bakery and residents of University Market Road, who did not contribute to buy the transformer, enjoy power supply.

    He said: “EEDC, without our permission, connected Ankis Bread Factory and houses on University Market Road to the transformer we bought. As if that is not enough, EEDC connects our light once in a day and supply University Market Road for four days. Majority of us often dress shabbily to lectures because there is no electricity to iron our shirts.”

    He said the students decided to embark on the protest because they could no longer bear the situation.

    A protester, who simply gave his name as Okechukwu, said: “EDDC has been treating us bad because we are students. We do not have money to induce its officials like Ankis Bread Factory and residents of University Market Road; that is why EEDC prefers supplying them light more, despite that we bought the transformer.

    “EDDC should disconnect Ankis and University Market Road people immediately from our transformer or we will not allow them to gain access to the transformer whenever they are coming to disconnect our light.”

    Vikki added that the students were not also happy over the outrageous electricity bills, despite the  poor electricity supply to the area.

    “They supply electricity twice in a week but at the end of the month, EEDC would give us outrageous bills, not considering that we are students, “ he said.

    Mr Sunday Ajaegbu, the Operational Manager of EEDC, praised the students for their peaceful conduct, promising that the power company would look into their grievances.

    He said: “I commend you for the peaceful protest and I want to assure you that your complaints will be promptly looked into by the management. Changes will be made.”

    The students promised to return to EEDC office if the power supply did not improve. After Ajaegbu’s address, the students allowed staff of the firm into the premises. They also left to their hostels, singing and dancing to solidarity songs.

     

     

  • Rashid Lombard to deliver Jazz DAY lecture in Lagos

    Rashid Lombard to deliver Jazz DAY lecture in Lagos

    Rashid Lombard, the founder of the award-winning Cape Town International Jazz Festival, South Africa, has been named the Guest Speaker at this year’s International Jazz Day Lecture in Lagos.

    Lombard, who is also special guest of honour of the Lagos International Jazz Festival 2015, has over the past 40 years, been recognised with awards, including official recognition with the South African National Order of Ikhamanga Award.

    According to the organisers, this year’s International Jazz Day on April 30 is both the culmination of the Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM) and start of the three day Lagos International Jazz Festival 2015 organised by Inspiro productions. Mr. Lombard will be speaking on the topic, International Jazz Festivals: A Driver for Tourism and Economic Growth – the South African Perspective.

    Born in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa on 10 April 1951, Lombard trained as an architectural draughtsman and then worked as an industrial photographer before becoming a photojournalist, covering Africa, and, particularly, South Africa, where he focused on photographing the rise of the South African democratic movement.

    The International Jazz Day Lecture and Lagos International Jazz Festival 2015 will take place at cultural hotspot, Freedom Park, Lagos.

  • Postponement of the evil day

    President Goodluck Jonathan was given an honest report for the first time in his life in public office shortly before the February 14 2015 date for the general elections. He was told point blank by the members of his kitchen cabinet and sundry aides, that if the elections were conducted on February 14 as planned by INEC, his loss would be so comprehensive that it would set an unbeatable record of defeat that will stand throughout this generation!

    The strategists of the President came up with a battle plan. They advised that the first thing to do was to postpone the election so as to buy as much time as possible to turn the table against the candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC). They asked for and obtained the permission of the President to come up with a script to change the obvious tide of the general elections. The document they came up with was rather simplistic. Having been cooked up by simple-minded fellows. They listed the issues on which the President has performed dismally and requested the President to take some actions, however farcical to correct the anomaly. Next they advised that the slant of PDP propaganda should shift from the decency of issues to the murky arena of innuendoes and slander against not only the candidates of APC but also notable officials of the party. They advised that since the President has very little by the way of achievements, personal attacks on the APC and its members would do just fine. Finally, they advised that since the funds available to the PDP are limitless, truck loads of cash, denominated in dollars, should be deployed to “buy” traditional rulers and opinion leaders, particularly in the South West zone.

    Suddenly, the parade of suspect “achievements” of the President dried up. Assaults on the integrity of the APC Presidential candidate took over. Concurrently, the President embarked on a number of activities. He succumbed to the over-due reduction of the prices of refined petroleum products. No one was fooled. In any case, the shylock marketers decided to make nonsense of the change in the price regime. The action of the President achieved nothing. They felt insulted by the belated decision by a President afraid to lose an election and desperately looking for purchased votes.

    To make up for the neglect, nay betrayal of members of the Armed Forces deployed in combat against Boko Haram terrorists, the President donned an ill-fitting military fatigue and went to the safest areas of operations to mouth some inanities. The bemused troops smiled and wondered about the quality of the Commander-in-Chief under whose command they were serving. The action of the President achieved nothing. The gallant troops ran Boko Haram terrorists out of town after town. They wondered why it took a pending election for the President to do what he had to have done years before. And if the President believes that the recaptured areas will be ready for elections, he needs to do a rethink. There are an estimated 1.5 million internally displaced persons. Their rehabilitation cannot be achieved in time for the elections. If it was, the people would most certainly vote against him.

    To score some cheap votes from the families and loved ones of the 291 girls abducted about a year earlier, the President came up with an inexcusably laughable “ray of hope”, to the effect that since terrorists had not displayed the corpses of the girls, it meant they were still alive! What kind of logic is this? How puerile can a President in desperation get!

    Suddenly, the electricity tariff was slashed in half, less than two weeks before elections! Given the way things are done in Nigeria, the ridiculous 50% reduction cannot be effected before Nigerians vote President Jonathan out of office. In any case, where is the power supply for which the tariff has been slashed? Even the Presidential Villa has huge standby generators and large stock of diesel for use when public power supply is cut off without warning. Nigeria still remains the world’s largest importer of power generators on earth.

    For all practical purposes, the President relocated to the Southwest, the zone which helped him win the 2011 elections. Thinking that the traditional rulers and opinion leaders are up for sale, he embarked on what an insider described a “a dollar rain”! The first set of opinion leaders humoured the President with assurances of “endorsement” even when they are quite sure that no one was going to vote for any candidate because they were bribed to make ridiculous and empty public statements. All of this chicanery was going on well until the dollar train reached Ijebu Ode. It was at this stop that the indomitable Awujale of Ijebu Ode and the paramount ruler of Ijebuland, told the confused President what others previously visited ought to have told him; namely that traditional rulers do not canvass votes for politicians. God bless the Awujale for saving the face of the proud Yoruba people. It is surprising that Mrs Jonathan failed to raise an alarm when her husband proceeded on this charade that “this dollars you are sharing, there is God o!”

    The laughable theatre of the absurd continued with the commissioning of an overhead bridge in Kano! This President certainly has a warped sense of the duty of his high office. The commissioning of an over-head bridge ought not to fall on the laps of a serious President who is aware of his status and the responsibilities of his office. He went ahead to name the over-head bridge after the highly respected late Emir of Kano, thinking perhaps that the people of Kano would vote for him and his indecent, clumsy and illegal ouster of the present Emir of Kano, the cerebral and fearless Lamido Sanusi.

    Whilst the President was disgracing himself and his high office, the fellows who had put their mouths in the over drive mode continued. They spoke like medical experts. One even put on the toga of a prophet, predicting all sorts of nonsense. The President’s wife, who is irrepressible and unbeatable when it comes to indecent conduct, overreached herself when she ordered the electorate to stone those with a different political persuasion. In civilized climes, that woman would have been arrested for inciting violence. But in Nigeria, that would be the day.

    Key officials and members of APC, who are not candidates in the forth-coming elections received more than their fair share of slanderous attacks. No more can be said or written about this issue because it is sub judice. Illiterate or at best semi-literate political jobbers started parading themselves as spoke persons for the Yoruba race! One sunny March day, these rascals took over the ever-busy Ikorodu road and enacted truly horrific brigandage. They wanted Prof Jega out of office, so that their sponsors can appoint a malleable and spineless man to do their bidding by manipulating to process to produce a dubious victory for President Jonathan.

    Unfortunately, the contrived postponement also gave Nigerians the opportunity to expose some of the illegal and indecent acts of President Jonathan. Perhaps the public would not have gotten to know about the scandalous land grab, for which President Jonathan obtained approval from one of his own appointees. An area set aside for the future expansion of the international airport and appropriately one Ebele Integrated Farms mistook name “Aviation village” for an “agricultural village”!

    The era of President Jonathan and the PDP is over.  The postponement of the general elections has not achieved the desired objective. The President should immediately commence the evacuation of his personal belongings from the Villa. Bye President Jonathan!

    • Colonel Ola Majoyeogbe is a retired military intelligence officer, security consultant and public affairs analyst.
  • A day of celebration

    A day of celebration

    This year’s Elewu Day celebration was held at Odolewu-Ijebu in Ogun State, reports BUSOLA ODUGBESAN

    The yearly celebration of Elewu day attracted dignitaries from all walks of life into Odolewu town in Ogun State. Guests appeared in gorgeous attires.

    Elewu day is a yearly celebration for indigenes in Odolewu town in Ogun Sate.

    The event began with an opening prayer.

    Its chairman, former Chief of General Staff, Lt. General Oladipo Diya (rtd), in his opening remarks, hailed the Odolewu indigenes both home and abroad for their moral and financial support.

    The Babalaje of Odolewu, Olugbon of Lagos and Group Managing Director, Aresco Limited, Senator Anthony Adefuye, urged Nigerians to develop their roots with regular visit.

    He urged the indigenes of the town to return home and develop it. “Disabuse your minds from the age long fear of the unknown, rather, encourage your children, especially the wealthy and the privileged ones to invest positively in their roots,” he said.

    Senator Adefuye enjoined government to partner with genuine Investors to develop hinterland.

    He called on the distinguished personalities and the Indigenes present at the event to donate handsomely towards the community projects.

    The event featured the presentation of an award to Senator Adefuye in recognition of his zeal to improve the lot of others.

    Among those at the event were the former Minister of Health Prof Adenike Grange; former Executive Director Mobil Oil Plc, Prince Emmanuel Adesanya; an industrialist, Chief Frank Ekperigin; Omoba Gbenga Osinowo; the Bale of Odolewu, High Chief Paul Ogunkoya; former Lagos Commissioner for Transportation, Chief Lanre Rasak; All Progressives Congress  (APC) chieftain, Chief Seriki Bamu;  Alhaji Denge Anifowose; member, Lagos State House of Assembly Bayo Osinowo; and Jimoh Ibrahim.

  • World Cancer Day

    •Increasing numbers of the disease should inspire a special policy in Nigeria

    On Wednesday, Nigerians joined the rest of humanity to mark the World Cancer Day, a day set aside by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to raise awareness on prevention, detection and treatment of the disease.

    Cancer, which describes a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body, is among the leading causes of death worldwide. In 2012 alone, approximately 14 million new cases and 8.2 million cancer-related deaths were recorded. Of these, more than 60 percent occurred in Africa, Asia and Central and South America – that is 70 percent of the world’s cancer deaths.

    As one would expect, the statistics for Nigeria is as chilling as can be: an estimated two million Nigerians are believed to be down with the disease. Head of Oncology and Radiotherapy Unit of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, Lagos, Prof Remi Ajekigbe, puts the estimated figure of new cancer cases at 100,000 yearly – with LUTH alone recording no fewer than 3,000 new cases yearly. Of the cases, more than 50 percent are said to occur in women – the commonest being breast and cervical cancer; the cancers frequently associated with men are prostate, lung, colorectum, stomach and liver cancers.

    What is equally noteworthy is that survival rates from the disease have doubled in the last 40 years owing to vast advances in science and medicine. Even at that, the number of new cases is projected to rise by about 70 percent over the next two decades.

    This is where the theme for this year – Not Beyond Us –would seem particularly apt. Aside underscoring the challenge ahead, it also underlies the resolve of the global scientific community to tackle the scourge via the avenues of new treatments and solutions within reach, with specific focus on four key areas: choosing healthy lives, delivering early detection, achieving treatment for all and maximising quality of life.

    Hardly an entirely new approach, this strategy would seem pragmatic; cancer treatments, even where facilities for its management are readily available are known to be very expensive. For most developing countries, including Nigeria, specialised cares for sufferers of various types of cancers are not just limited; the facilities available are overstretched just as the cost of chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments are well beyond what most cancer patients can afford.

    This is where the benefits of the approach that places primary responsibility on the individual in the area of preventive check-ups and while discouraging those life-styles that predispose the individual to the disease, cannot be over-emphasised. Just like in other aspects of our national life where preventive strategy comes highly recommended, we do not think that the government is doing nearly enough to promote behavioural changes that could help cut down the rising incidences of cancer. And to imagine that we are here referring to things as basic as improved diets, routine exercises to avoid obesity and avoidance of alcohol and smoking that can be handled at the primary health care level.

    The biggest challenge however is in the area of research and the provision of equipment for cancer treatment. For a nation that aspires to join the league of developed countries less than five years from now, it is a crying shame that it does not have a centre of excellence devoted to cancer treatment and research. Even worse is that most of the radiotherapy machines in the country are said to be obsolete – constantly breaking down due to high patient load –which is why affluent Nigerians now leave in droves for treatment abroad.

    Providing our tertiary health institutions with grants to procure cancer equipment in the circumstance would not be a bad idea. The institutions can then be expected to concentrate on training the requisite manpower.