Data Journalism Grantees Will Tackle Everything From Funeral Scams to Dodgy Water Companies
An investigative journalism project proposed by The Nation Newspaper reporter, Hannah Ojo has been announced among the nine investigative data journalism projects by impactAfrica.
The projects are expected to tackle African development challenges with a joint grant of $100,000 in reporting along with additional editorial and technology support as part of impactAFRICA’s first cohort of grantees.
The projects range from data-driven investigations into the funeral industry and the dodgy business behind bottled water, to the analysis of the impacts of climate change and service delivery failures on poor communities, as well as the plight of rural Africans who struggle to get access to safe maternity care.
“The projects are all hard-hitting investigations into life and death issues facing ordinary African citizens. We had a hard time selecting these nine winners from over 350 applications, but are confident that the winners will produce journalism that helps changes lives,” says impactAFRICA programme manager Haji Mohamed Dawjee.
impactAFRICA is the continent’s largest fund for data-driven investigative storytelling, offering $500,000 in cash grants and technology support, along with editorial mentorship, across a series of funding rounds for pioneering journalism that uses data or digital tools to tackle development issues such as public healthcare, water, sanitation, the effects of air and water pollution on African communities, climate change and its effects on farming communities and food baskets, and other development issues related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
An independent jury helped select the final nine winners from 40 shortlisted semi-finalists from Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia. The jury was composed of a mix of African and global media experts, including Dan Keeler (editor of Frontier Markets at the Wall Street Journal), Mich Atagana(Google Africa’s head of communications and public affairs), Toby Shapshak (Stuff editor-in-chief), Charles Onyango-Obbo (former M&G Africa editor and current Africapedia publisher), along with award-winning data journalist, Jacopo Ottaviani.
“I was very impressed with the quality of some of the entries and look forward to seeing these stories move from idea to reality. This is a great initiative that will help to nurture the investigative reporting capabilities of Africa’s media”, said Keeler of the Wall Street Journal. While jury member and mentor Ottaviani said he was confident that the selected projects will be an exciting mix of strong narratives and innovative formats.
The winning projects are:
Digging Deep: Investigating the Funeral Industry (Dianna Neille atChronicle, in South Africa)
Deadly Pregnancies (Anjali Nayar at Timby, in Kenya)
Garnishee Orders for a Pound of Flesh (Kate Ferreira at Business Day, in South Africa
The Basic Services Promise Tracker (Liesl Pretorius at AfricaCheck, in South Africa)
The Poor Distribution of Maternal Health Care (Hezron Kivai at Standard Media, in Kenya)
ClimaTracker: What Climate Change Means For Your Town (Fiona Macleod at Oxpeckers Center for Environmental Investigative Journalism, in South Africa)
The winners will each receive a cash grant of up to $20,000 (depending on the project requirements), as well as support from Code for Africa’s technology and data journalism laboratories across the continent. The African Network of Centers for Investigative Reporting (ANCIR) will also help winners syndicate the resulting digital stories into a range of leading African and wider world media.
“Our teams will help winners experiment with everything from camera drones and data tools to digital techniques to make their stories more impactful. Stories need to give audiences actionable information so that citizens are better informed to make real-world decisions on whether to trust their water or local hospitals, and how to pressure the government to improve service standards,” explains Code for Africa (CfAfrica) director, Justin Arenstein. “Journalism needs to start giving people this kind of personalised information, if it wants to survive in the new era of social media and free Internet content.”
The best of the nine winning stories will be selected for additional prizes, after publication, in recognition as the best investigative report, the best data-driven story, and the best service journalism project.
CfAfrica manages impactAFRICA, in partnership with the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ). Arenstein founded CfAfrica in 2012 as an ICFJ initiative and continues to manage it as part of an ICFJ Knight Fellowship. A consortium of donors led by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and including the World Bank is funding impactAFRICA.
Oyo, Ogun farmers lament deadly encounters with herdsmen
Pains of wasted efforts, damp squib of raped women and chilling cries of men cut down in their primes are events that have left farmers in some Ogun and Oyo communities sad and forlorn. HANNAH OJO, who visited some of the affected communities ravaged by herdsmen invasion, reports.
MARIAM POPOOLA, a 65-year-old farmer in Ibeku, one of the villages in Iselu community, Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State, wept as she recalled the misery attacks Fulani herdsmen had foisted on inhabitants of the community. Some 500 herdsmen were using the Eggua border in the council area for grazing between December and April each year. Although they had been passing through the area for about two decades, friction between them and farmers in the community has been getting increasingly worse in the last 10 years.
According to her, it has become the habit of the herdsmen to rape women found to be alone on their farms while their cattle foul their sources of drinking water. “The herdsmen open up our barns while their cattle eat up the maize and cassava we keep in the barns. Even the planted ones are uprooted and trampled on in the process of grazing. If we ask questions, they draw their guns and shoot at us,” she said.
65 year old Mariam Popoola and other distressed members of the community
Such has been the plight of settled farmers in some South West communities, with the resultant tensions between them and Fulani pastoralists. The farmers accuse the herdsmen of damaging their crops because they fail to rein in their animals when they invade the farms. In worse case scenarios, they allege, the herdsmen are often involved in violent acts like rape, robbery and murder of residents of the host communities.
The herdsmen on their part say that they have no choice but to find pastures for their animals, arguing that they are the victims of unfounded prejudice. Local farmers say some villages including Asa, Agon-Ojodun, Ayetoro, Ogunpa, Kodera and Igbonla, are virtually deserted by their inhabitants.
Timothy Olasope, another Ibeku farmer, said his crops had been repeatedly destroyed in the last two years. He said the presence of Fulani herdsmen had left many of the remaining villagers so frightened that they keep themselves indoors in the evenings for fear of attack.
One attack too many
Violent acts of the herdsmen against the hapless inhabitants recorded by the various community leaders include the death of Yomi Alade, a teacher in the Area Community High School. He was killed in a fight with herdsmen on December 24, 2011. No arrest was made over the incident, much less a conviction.
Earlier, a female farmer, Ruth Oga, had died in a stand-off with herdsmen on her farmland at Asa village. A fellow villager was raped and killed as she tried to defend her farm from herdsmen. The bereaved father, who spoke with The Nation, expressed disappointment that no culprit had been brought to book since last year when the attack occurred.
A community leader Chief Samuel Edun, the Ashamu Apesin of Iselu, said he no longer believed the herdsmen were interested only in grazing their animals.
He said: “They don’t event eat grass anymore. They are after our farm crops. If they meet a couple in the farm, they will chain the husband and rape the wife in his presence. We tried to contain them but we are at our wits’ end. When God is ready, he will come and help us,” he said.
Oyo: A narrative of devastation and despair
Ayete, a sleepy town in Ibarapa North Local Government Area, Oyo State, bears a resemblance with that of Iselu people in Ogun State. As the generalissimo of Asawo, Ayete town, Chief Raheem Lawal Gbadegesin is, by tradition, the one that leads his town to war. But there appears to be a twist of role. He was caught in a clash with herdsmen on a cassava farm recently.
A prominent farmer in Oyo State said the herdsmen had caused a lot of havocs in the 10 local government areas in Oke-Ogun. Chief Amos Ajibesin, the chairman of All Farmers Associations, Oyo State, recounted a murder incident earlier in the year, which nearly resulted in a riot.
He said: “On February 18, this year, the pastoralists met a woman on the farm and beheaded her. I had to run there with the Commissioner of Police to avert crisis as the villagers were already set for a riot.”
There are about seven million Fulani people in Nigeria. While settled Fulani live permanently in towns and villages, many have kept itinerant lifestyle, moving with their livestocks from one part of the country to another. With the nation’s land resources depleted by development and desertification, there are often conflicts between these sedentary and pastoral communities.
Chief Rafiu Magbeje, a community leader in Afua, a village in Ayete town in Ibarapa North Local Government Area, Oyo State, accused the pastoralists of allowing their herds to invade their farmlands. He said the herdsmen often delegated the task of looking after their cattle to children who are unable to keep the animals on designated grazing paths.
“How can someone just place one man and some little children to look after 60 cows?” he wondered. “We have held meetings with their leaders to no avail. It has now got to the extent that our farmers can no longer get food to eat from their farms while the farmlands in Fulani settlements are booming.
“Our traders now buy cassava from Fulani people, which they usually buy from their farmers in the hamlets.
“Young farmers have been affected, as some of them who took loans from the bank have been sent into debt.”
Two-edged sword
Turaki Shehu Muhammad is the State Secretary of the Association of Fulani Chiefs of Nigeria, Ogun State chapter. He told The Nation that the current situation had made life difficult for farmers and the herdsmen alike.
“The government of the day has formed a committee in which Fulani people and the native farmers are represented. We have written a memorandum to the government of the day, telling them what to do. But knowing our political setting, it is the government that is delaying the implementation of these things. Really, it is both parties that are suffering. The Fulani community is suffering and the native community is suffering,” he said.
Yakubu Bello, the head of the Miyeti Allah association of Fulani herdsmen in Surulere, Oyo State, said that his group had met with farmers and begged them for an end to violence and reprisal attacks.
He added that the nomadic herdsmen were the ones who caused violence, insisting that there had always been a cordial relationship between the settled Fulanis and members of their host communities. He cited numerous intermarriages that have served in many instances to cement relationships.
Fulani leaders have called for grazing reserves to be set aside for their exclusive use, arguing that this would also help reduce friction with settled communities. Although there is such provision, it is far from being adequate for their needs.
All Farmers Association’s Ajibesin said they would not agree to the creation of a grazing reserve in Oyo State for herdsmen. He added that the association had written a proposal to the pastoralists to source readymade feeds for their cattle as is done by poultry farmers.
Some farmers are believed to have resorted to spraying chemicals on their farmlands or poisoning the streams where the herdsmen graze their cattle. Herdsmen have also threatened to sue any farmer on whose farm their cattle die.
Dele Raji is a farmer from Saki, one of the towns in Oke-Ogun area. He doubles as the chairman of the Oyo State chapter of the Maize Association of Nigeria. He said that herdsmen have no right to complain if their livestock fall ill while grazing on other people’s property.
“Is it the farm that went to meet the cow or the cow that went to meet the farm?” he asked. “That is our contention. Even if it is an open space, can an intruder just come into someone’s house without permission?”
Anger against the state
Farmers say that they have been betrayed by a police force incapable of protecting them from killer herdsmen. They complain that even when disputes are taken to the authorities, the compensation offered does not cover the cost of the farmlands destroyed. Raji said that farmers were often locked up unjustly while errant herdsmen, usually Fulani, brag about having the means to ‘take care’ of the police.
But the spokesman of the Oyo State Police Command, Adekunle Ajisebutu, said that any allegation of partiality in the matter was baseless.
He said: “We are a federal security organisation and we work according to the constitution. The constitution guarantees freedom of association and movement, and when there is crisis between one ethnic group and the other, you do not expect us to begin to support one ethnic group against the other.”
He added that the police had been trying to mediate, using alternative conflict resolution methods.
Asked about arrests, Ajisebutu responded: “I can’t give you the number of arrests we have made now. But I can tell you that we have effected some arrests as regard skirmishes and crises emanating from those places, and they have been arraigned in court. Whether they are Fulani or they are farmers, I don’t know.”
In Ogun State, the command’s spokesman, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said that local forces had always taken action and called stakeholders’ meetings involving both groups. The herdsmen say they carry guns to protect their cattle.
But Oyeyemi said that insinuations that the herdsmen are better armed than the police are untrue. He added that herdsmen have been warned not to carry arms. All they need, he said, are the traditional staff used to direct cattle while grazing.
“Once we get any such information, we act swiftly to prevent violence,” he said.
Mrs Toyin Odutayo is an Executive Director of IT with Wakanow, a front-line travel agency. With more than 17 years of experience in IT and management consulting gathered in the United Kingdom and Nigeria, she speaks with HANNAH OJO about her staying power in a male dominated field.
JOURNEY to the UK in search of knowledge
One of the reasons behind me doing a master’s degree was because I didn’t do too well in my undergraduate studies. I made a third class. I had always been one of these people that sort of looked at myself and felt the need to differentiate myself. I had always been ambitious, so I said let me go and do this master’s while I am more matured and focused, knowing what I wanted in life.
I got into London Southbank University and I did a master’s in Information Systems Engineering. That was one of the most focused years of my life, because I knew what I wanted. I knew the impediments, given that I had a third class from my Nigerian degree. So I told myself I have to do really well to make sure that moved forward. So I had an MSc with distinction and literally that was what opened all the doors for my career advancement in the UK.
What I did differently
I will be brutally honest here. I also had a part time job while I was doing my master’s. What I did different was that I just read. Having said that, when I was in UNILAG, I noticed the time I was focused, I did very well. I was young then. You get into the university at 16 or 17, you want to play. So what was different was that I was completely focused. I knew what I wanted. I knew that to get a really good job, something should set me apart from the other applicants. I made my distinction and it really opened up lots of doors such that when I put in an application for a job, when I look at the ratio of rejection from when I had a third class to the number of rejections that I had with having a distinction, it was crazy. Literally, if my CV goes anywhere, a door would open. I also feel that God was really on my side.
Programming Experience in the UK
I had a good project manager who looked at me after I had been in the UK for about three months and said I could be a team leader. I was in my early 20s and I didn’t have as much experience as the people on my team. What he explained to me was that there are people who are destined to lead and there are others who are destined to just be developers. I worked as a team leader for a company now called EDS for about two and a half years and I left to work in the retail sector. From team leader, I became a project manager by the age of 25. Having realised that somebody could have that confidence in me and realised my capabilities, I made a conscious decision to keep reading up and trying to make myself different. The Internet wasn’t rife then, so I just found myself investing in self-help books, and then I moved into the financial service sector and became a systems integrator. Again, I did that for about three years in the UK. I stayed in the UK until 2001. I was in the UK for about 12 or 13 years.
Returning to Nigeria, a sanity break
After working in the financial services sector, I began to get itchy feet. So I decided to leave the techie world behind to go for an MBA. That has to be the hardest year of my life. What made it challenging was that I am techie born and bred. With techies, it is bits and bytes whereas in the business world, one plus one equals two, but it could be two in a bit or slightly less than two.
Going into business school was also my turning point. So when I left Nigeria in 1989, I left with the mind of going for five years, but five years became 12 years. The reasons why that was is because it was just very easy to go into the UK and fit since I had lots of Nigerian friends. Although that ‘fit’ will always be fit in quote, because you look at your skin, you are a black person. No matter how English you try to sound, you are still a Nigerian.
That realization hit me when I did business school, because there were many of us who came from Ghana, Namibia and other African countries. The kind of things they were talking about going to do back home prompted me, and I was like oh my God, I need to go back home and do something too. That was the turning point really.
I wanted to make a difference and I know that would not be made working in the UK. I was brought home by the late Osaze Osifo, former MD of FBN Capital. I knew that after spending so many years in the UK, I would need the sanity break, and that sanity break was coming home to Nigeria.
My experience coming back home
I turned my back on the UK and came to live in Nigeria, and I have no regrets. I moved into Oando as the head of IT. It was extremely challenging. I would go in and talk the talk, but I am actually a leader by example. I strongly believe that your followers will have confidence in you if they see that you have proven experience and you are not afraid to get your hands dirty if you have to. I am an ED now but I still get my hands dirty. Not everyone has to be a leader that leads by example, but I think for me, that is what works and that is what has always worked.
On the cultural shock when I came back, I am a Nigerian at heart. I may speak English in quote because the first 12 years of my life I spent in the UK, then I came back to spend another 10 years of my life and I went back to the UK. Coming home, I was not expecting 22/7 power. I was not expecting the roads to be fantastic. In fact, I think one of the turning points was when I came for my mum’s 60th birthday and that was when I was like you know what, Nigeria is not so bad, because we were trying telecoms wise.
The biggest challenge for me with Nigeria was more communication rather than the power sector. In my own case, I was pleasantly surprised because when I came home, I was able to get a flat that didn’t have a 24 hours light but I was able to have light most evenings. This is the thing that I tell people that want to relocate. When you left Nigeria, how was Nigeria? Yes, you may have risen to a level where you can stay in an estate that has 24 hours power, but that is not reality. That is not how Nigeria is. So if you can just get your head around that.
Career transitions and challenges in the IT field
From Oando, I was approached to go to Virgin Nigeria, and that was like to be one of the pioneer people. I always like startups. Yes, I want to do things for myself, but I also want to make a difference in Nigeria. It is good to be part of a movement, pretty much like what we are doing in Wakanow. In the whole of my career, I have been a techie person; the only things that are challenging are the materials things. We need power to run. And again, because I’ve got varied experiences, I tend not to have people challenges. I think it’s because I am a reader. If I have a challenge, the first thing I will do is pray and then there is a book where somebody has gone through that challenge. So by the time I read how somebody overcame that challenge, it is usually very easy to resolve.
When you build up to a level that people have confidence in you and they know that when you go to complain or talk about a challenge, everyone knows that the challenge is genuine. When I was younger in my career, if I had a challenge, would rather go and meet my mentor. Before I take up the challenge of heading an organization, I have mentors who I could talk to and ask questions. It is all about what I call effective networking. I may never have met someone before, but I will look for someone who knows that person and say look, this is the role that I am going to take, I need help. I just need someone to sound me out.
Wife, mother, woman
I honestly don’t believe these days that Nigerians believe it is a big deal for a woman to be something. I have gone to so many women conferences and I see so many amazing women around. I think it is now becoming the run of the mill for women to succeed in their careers and businesses. You just need to look at Ibukun Awosika for instance. She is a major role model. Some of these things were instilled in me when I was growing up. You can still manage your home, be a good wife and a good mother. Not everybody has the same resources, but there is juggling and in fact, if there is one thing I always say, it is all about investing in yourself. It may mean that I sometimes get four hours sleep instead of six or eight, but it is knowing why you are making these sacrifices. In terms of my work ethics as a person, it has always been to deliver. So it also depends on the kind of environment you find yourself in.
When people realise that your work ethics is to deliver to the best quality, people will make concessions to the fact that you have to rush out sometimes for your child’s event. It is all about doing what you want for yourself and making those moves to get it. It is the socialising aspect that I really cut down on because I have to manage my life and my career is also important to me.
Faith and mentoring
I was brought up to know that God is always first. Through a lot of reading and my formatting career in the UK, one thing I never used to do was mix career and religion. I am a Christian, my parents were Muslims, but I was brought up in a situation where because there was no mosque surrounding where I grew up in the UK, my parents were of the opinion that we had to grow up as God fearing children, so we used to go to Sunday school. If there is one thing that I believe I have learned from this, it is that openness and knowing that there is God.
I mentor young people on a constant basis. The generation gap is huge and expectations are very different. If you really want to do well at something, it is important that you are doing what you like.
Marriage…God intervened at my hour of need
I actually met my husband at work, which is very strange because I remember a friend of mine once asked, ‘You spend so much time at work. How are you going to get married?’ Honestly, this is where I said faith comes into play. I strongly believe it really was God. God intervened at my hour of need and gave me an absolutely amazing husband. I got married quite late probably because I was focused on my career. My husband understands the fact that I have a demanding job. He also has a very demanding job himself and somehow we have just been able to make it work. It is really God being the pillar of that relationship and it’s just been so good.
It’s hard for me to talk about my marriage without smiling because I have a lot to smile about and I am really grateful to God. I just got a hundred per cent completely supportive husband. I also do my bit as well. It is really important that I also support him in the way that I can. So I have got an understanding husband, a nice family. I’ve got an eight years old and it’s been fun. I am just lucky that I am able to juggle work and career and family.
For residents of a Lagos community, it’s water, water everywhere, but not enough to drink
In Otodo Gbame, a community located at the back end of the highbrow Lekki area of Lagos, potable water does not come cheap for dwellers on the shanty space. HANNAH OJO, who paid repeated visits to the community, captured the plight of the people with regard to water and sanitation.
Living on the bank of a river conveys a refreshing life filled with excitement. But the reverse appears to be the case for the more than 20, 050 people occupying the large expanse of land in Otodo Gbame, a community in the backwaters of the highbrow Lekki Peninsula, Lagos. An island set on the bank of a fetid lagoon in Eti-Osa Local Government Area, life on the river bank has made them tenants to the twin problems of poverty and disease.
Assessing the community from a labyrinth of paths, one trudges through the sea bed with both feet sinking at every step, even as the air flings back grains of sand to the ankle. Many houses in the community are built on stilts standing on murky water, others on the river banks and ocean sand. There is no toilet in sight.
Welcome to Otodo Gbame Community, Lekki, Lagos
Otodo Gbame is a community located at the backend of the highbrow Lekki area of Lagos State, Nigeria. Here, portable water does not come cheap for dwellers on the shanty space. See photos within…
Children On The Lagoon
Children in Otogo Gbame bathe and play in the same lagoon where refuse and fasces are dumped. It would be recalled that Otodo Gbame came into prominence six months ago when a measles epidemic broke out, killing 26 children. Afflicted children showed symptoms like rashes and pains. Many of them passed out within two or three days of infection with the virus.
Water Tanks on The Tagoon
Young men in the community have cashed in on the problem of portable water scarcity. They spend hours on the lagoon peddling big canoes carrying tanks of water which they return to sell to inhabitants of the community. With a 25-litre keg costing N60, the price is considered cheaper to a litre of sachet water which is sold at N10. However, the process of bringing this water through the Lagoon predisposes it to contamination.
Like water; Like sanitation
Since the community is plagued by shortage of portable water, it is not surprising that sanitation also suffers a setback. With waste littering many paths in the community and an unpleasant odour hanging perpetually in the atmosphere, the question that comes to mind is the effort the community members have made in addressing the issue of sanitation.
Well Below The Ground
There are about 30 wells dug up in the communities, they are only to supply water for bathing and washing. Locals have also been at a great disadvantage owing to the dredging activities of construction companies building luxury apartments on the Lagoon shores. The development has closed up the river banks and also affected the livelihoods of residents of the community, 80 per cent of whom are fishermen.
Otodo Gbame came into prominence six months ago when a measles epidemic broke out, killing 26 children. Afflicted children showed symptoms like rashes and pains. Many of them passed out within two or three days of infection with the virus. After the epidemic, government had to administer measles vaccination on many of the children.
Despite the fragile health status of children in the community, not much appears to have changed when the reporter visited recently. Open defecation and foul odour still pervaded the atmosphere. The reporter saw children defecating in the open and adults going to the sea shores to answer the call of nature.
Theirs is a pathetic irony: a people who live on the bank of a river, but have no access to safe drinking water. The development eats deep into the pockets of many of the residents. The current downturn in the economy has also made it impossible for the locals, many of whom make their living from fishing, to purchase packaged water.
Some men who have cashed in on the problem as a business opportunity peddle big canoes carrying tanks of water to other areas, which they return to sell to inhabitants of the community. With a 25-litre keg costing N60, the price is considered cheaper to a litre of sachet water which is sold at N10. However, the process of bringing this water through the Lagoon predisposes it to contamination.
Pascal Torsigu, a man in his early 40s, was the first to start the business of supplying borehole-treated water to the community. He is joined by three other men who are also involved in the business. They go as far as Makoko and Yaba to fill the tanks they ship back to the community.
“We pay N10, 000 to fill our tanks and also buy fuel to power our machine. We spend an average of three hours for the round trip and come back to sell the water to people in the community”.
Although his effort appears to have provided respite, it does come with its own challenges. He said: “The engine of our canoe sometimes gets faulty. This does not only lead to delays, it compromises our gains. We also face harassment from Policemen who demand bribes.
“Sometimes, managers of the boreholes in Makoko prevent us from fetching water as they demand for higher pay when they have to power the borehole engine with gasoline.”
Click photos for panoramic view
In recent times, the locals have also been at a great disadvantage owing to the dredging activities of construction companies which are building luxury apartments on the Lagoon shores. This is not only closing up the river banks, it has also affected the livelihoods of residents of the community, 80 percent of who are fishermen.
The foregoing has reduced the spending power of the locals, making them spend less on potable water. Some would boil well water to drink, a practice that contributes to the burden of diseases and ill-health in the community.
Although there are about 30 wells dug up in the communities, they are only to supply water for bathing and washing.
“One does not need a doctor to see that the water is not safe for drinking,” says Titilayo Zosu, a 24-year-old mother of two.
Continuing, she said: “I only use the well water to bathe and wash plates.
“I have discovered rashes on my skin and I suspect it to be the result of the water because it has changed in colour as dredging activities have increased in the community.
“My household spends N1,000 weekly to buy water from vendors who bring water from Makoko. It has strained the family’s budget, leaving us with less to spend on other life necessities,” she told the reporter.
It can be easily concluded that women and children are the worst hit by the scarcity of potable water plaguing the community. Benedict John, a fish trader, told our reporter that although she had her children vaccinated for measles after the outbreak of the disease, she still shakes with fear each time her children come down with high temperature.
“One cannot trust these children as they can drink any water they find lying around the place. Our people are forced to buy water in big tanks to cater for cooking and drinking.
“Now that the pace of dredging has increased, it has contaminated the water table of our wells and the effect is showing on our skin. Many people are coming on with rashes here and there,” she explained in a distressed tone.
Mr. Solomon Hunesu, a social worker and community leader, told The Nation that the challenges confronting the communities in terms of water and sanitation is pathetic.
He said: “Getting potable water here would be capital-intensive for an individual. It is not just about digging a mere well or borehole, it would cost between 16 and 20 million naira.
A borehole with water treatment would go to the depth of the water table as far as 500 to 700 metres. They have to break the rock to get water. The water at the surface here is salty.
Hunesu, who has been in the frontline of pushing the needs of the community with government, said letters have been written to corporate organisations and government to come to the aid of the community.
He also disclosed that the burden of water and sanitation in the community is complicated with the dredging activities of money bags and construction companies building luxury apartments on the island.
The development has not only compromised the water tables of some of the wells dug up in the community, it has also taken economic toils on the people.
Findings also revealed that lack of potable water comes with great health implications, which have claimed the lives of many, especially children.
Like water, like sanitation
Since the community is plagued by a shortage of portable water, it is not surprising that sanitation also suffers a setback. A government health worker who catered to children during the measles outbreak disclosed to The Nation on condition of anonymity that the community will continue to be plagued by diseases if a lasting solution is not found to the problem of potable water shortage.
The government worker said: “Many children here are susceptible to fever. There have also been cases of gastrointestinal complications since many have reported cases of vomiting and stooling. Of course, it is common sight to see stunted children looking too small for their age. Although I must confess that these children are strong, I wonder how they still survive despite the depth of dirt they are faced with on a daily basis.”
With waste littering many paths in the community and an unpleasant odour hanging perpetually in the atmosphere, the question that comes to mind is the effort the community members have made in addressing the issue of sanitation.
“We have video evidence and audio to show that we engage in sanitation activities frequently. The only challenge is that most times, cart pushers send their refuse through the bridges into the shores of the waterways, polluting the waters and affecting fishing activities.
“This development has dampened the spirit of the people who would put in efforts to clean the water shores only to discover that the dirt has returned to the sea shores the next day,” Henesu offered.
On close observations, there were no incinerators and waste bags where people in the community could dispose their waste.
In April this year, stakeholders in the Ministry of the Environment gathered for an in-house retreat to consolidate the Water and Sanitation (WASH policy) yet to be implemented in the state. Part of the recommendations made from the retreat was the need to have a WASH department in all the local government areas within the state as well as employ more environmental health officers. The need to develop a robust mechanism for enforcement and compliance of sanitation laws within the state was also mentioned.
Also proposed is the need to establish a Water Council in the state and a framework geared towards harmonising all relevant laws relating to the water sector in order to avoid conflicts.
“Through the WASH policy, we are teaching mothers to be hygienic and use safe water to provide food for their babies. The number one killer of children is diarrhea. So if we take care of the safe water part of it, that would lead to decline in the death of children,” said Dr. Babatunde Adejare, the Commissioner for Environment told the reporter during the retreat.
How innocent ladies are ripped off by many dubious organisers of beauty contests
HANNAH OJO writes of the sad experiences of young ladies who have had their fingers burnt while trying to follow the path of pageantry to fame and fortune.
EVEN with the glory of her fair complexion and winsome looks, Blessing Aghara would not touch a beauty contest with a long pole. Her firm resolve springs from the memories of a rumbled dream birthed by a sordid experience from an Abuja-based beauty pageant.
Victoria
The 21-year-old graduate of the University of Nigeria, Nsuka was boiling inside when she relived her experience to the reporter.
“Usually, I do more of advert jobs. But when I saw this pageant, calling for girls who are passionate about raising awareness of breast cancer, I quickly joined in because I thought it was a worthy cause. I got deep into it before I realised that the organisers were just out to exploit us,” she said.
Having been auditioned in Lagos, Blessing was told she would join other girls in Abuja where the grand finale of the contest would hold. Each girl was given a ticket worth of N100, 000 to sell and return the proceeds into an account before they would be allowed into the camp for the pageant.
“We were told the essence of selling those tickets was to test us and see how we would be able to raise funds for NGO activities. Also, selling a ticket worth more than N100, 000 would stand one in a better chance to win at the pageant.
“I had to beg my friends and people in my mum’s office to buy the tickets because I knew they would not attend the grand finale since it was slated to hold in Abuja. The regular ticket sold for N5, 000 while the VIP ticket sold for N10, 000,”she recalled.
On getting to the camp, the young lady said she had initial misgivings when she met about 80 other girls instead of the 37 the president of the pageant, Mr. Julius Ray, said would be representing each state of the federation.
“We were not fed properly. Sometimes, breakfast came at 1 pm and the food was usually not palatable. We woke up very early and did rehearsals for nothing. We were camped for a week. Four of us were lodged in a room.”
Continuing, she said: “While interviewing us one on one, Jefferson said to me: ‘Blessing, since you have been in camp, you have not even come to see me. Do you think that is the way it works?’
“Right now, whenever I see any beauty queen, I feel like she didn’t get the crown on merit; she must have slept with someone. Even people who were dedicated in camp were not called for anything. It was only the girls who did not care that got some of the prizes at the pageant.”
On his Facebook page, Julius, which organised the pageant, describes himself as a UN World Survey Ambassador. The prize is usually pegged at a branded personal car and a trip to the US. It was learnt that the car presented to the winner was a rebranded used car, while the U.S trip never materialised.
‘Marketing girls for prostitution’
Cynthia when she was crowned
Beauty could be a path to fame and fortune. And 21-year-old Cynthia Ugbah used to think that way until she got a backhanded treatment from a beauty pageant she participated in last year. At age 20, the svelte beauty from Delta State decided to take a shot at pageantry by obtaining the form.
With her gorgeous eyes and delicate body features, it did not come as a surprise that Cynthia beat the other contestants to get crowned as the Queen of Mother Trust in June 2015. As the winner of the 7th edition of the pageant, she was entitled to a grand prize of 2015 Kia Rio and N1 million, as promised by the organisers.
Cynthia made the headlines in November, last year, when she called it quits with the pageant via a resignation letter. In a series of posts on Instagram, Cynthia called out the organisers, whom she accused of trying to pimp her with a prominent politician in Port Harcourt.
She wrote on her Instagram page: “They wanted me to sleep with men for money and then give the money to them to better their own organisation. Apparently, that is how it works. This is the seventh edition and five queens have already been dethroned.
“I wanted to be a queen, I entered a pageant, I won and then realised that it wasn’t how it was supposed to be. It has actually changed my passion for modeling and beauty pageantry. I don’t want to try anymore. It is not a bed of roses and most people would want to endure all the drama and shame.”
In a chat with The Nation, Cynthia said had she not spoken out, the organisers of the Port Harcourt-based pageant would have succeeded in tarnishing her image. She also hinted on her plan to sue the organisers of the pageant for alleged breach of contract.
She fumed: “I have already contacted my lawyers to send them a letter. If they don’t respond, then we would head to court, because this is a case of fraud. I am fighting for my right.
“For the organisers to bring me out like that in the open, so many damages have been done to my person. I didn’t get the car and N1 million and they are set to start their next pageant by June.”
Warning other girls to be weary of seeking fame and fortune in pageantry, Cynthia opined that the era of pageantry has lost its prestige.
She said: “These days, beauty queens are seen as sex items. Even when you go for courtesy visits in government and corporate organisations; people don’t respect queens anymore. I will prefer that the whole thing is scrapped. The way pageantry is organised in Nigeria is full of shit.”
On their part, however, the organisers of the pageant, in a reaction on Instagram, disputed some of the claims, alleging that they dethroned Cynthia for irresponsible behaviour.
“The Nigerian Queen wishes to educate the public that all claims from Miss Cynthia is a false allegation ranging from the grievances that she was dethroned. We wish to educate the general public that The Nigerian Queen on her seventh edition has stood tall and has never been found wanting,” the instagram page of the organisers read.
Not all beer and skittles
Comfort Ogon had been used to compliments about her ravishing beauty. Choosing to concentrate more on her education than play to the glamour of the runway, Comfort preoccupied herself with her studies in Political Science at the University of Calabar. She was nearing the completion of her degree programme when she was convinced to try her chance at the Miss Ipem Ihihe, a beauty pageant organised by the Betwarra Local Government Council in Rivers State to celebrate the new yam festival.
Comfort
Between August 29 and September 6, 2014, Comfort was camped with other girls in a hotel in preparation for the big day. Not only did she wow with her interpersonal skills, she also kept the audience on their feet by answering her questions intelligently. Although she could not wriggle her waists like other contestants during the dancing competition, her charmed walk and gait stood her out and she was finally crowned Miss Ipem Ihihe.
“I didn’t get my prize as the queen, which was unusual, because in other local government areas in Cross River State, other queens got prizes such as brand new cars and cash,” a bewildered Comfort explained to the reporter.
She said: “Few hours after the pageant when all the contestants had retired to the hotel where we were camped, at about 1 am, I was given N30, 000. The first runner-up got N20, 000 and the second runner up N10, 000. Then the remaining seven contestants got N5, 000 each. The man who brought the money said those were consolation prizes and the local government chairman would see me for my prize.”
She said the chairman told her he was aware that she was supposed to get a car as star prize and asked her to put her request in writing. The aggrieved lady said she wrote to the chairman and copied the legislature and the head of the local government allocation.
She said: “I submitted a copy to the legislature and I was asked to defend my request in the legislative chambers on November 13, 2014. The legislature debated exhaustively on my request and passed a resolution that the chairman should give me a car which was inclusive of my star prize and a monthly allowance of N50, 000.”
However, despite the order from the legislature, neither the car nor the monthly allowance was given to her. She further confirmed to the reporter that the pet projects she did were done without sponsorship from the council as she had to source for money on her own.
She said she was also denied an office in the council as approved by the legislature. She said on many occasions she confronted the chairman on the denials, he always retorted that there was no money.
The chairman of Bekwarra Local Government Council, Hon. Augustine Ushie Oyin, in a telephone conversation with The Nation, reacted to the allegations, saying there was no such promise made to the queen, whether verbal or written.
He said: “The pageant is a routine thing. What we normally do is that at the end of the competition, we would attach a little prize to the winners. There is no law in the council backing what she is asking for. Other queens have come and gone, why is her own different?
“I don’t know where she got the information about car and monthly allowance from and she is flying with them,” he added.
Reacting to the allegation that the council did not support the beauty queen in her pet projects, the chairman said the council was not able to help out because of the financial challenges the council had been encountering. He added that he advised the queen to stay action on her pet projects pending the time there would be an economic rebound.
Comfort, who maintained that beauty queens in other local government areas got cars and monthly allowances, has since dragged the council to court.
The story before the glory
Victoria Omofolabora Daropale, the winner of Nigeria’s Next Super model 2015, is sure living her dream. Venturing into the beauty industry in 2013, she has four crowns to show for her effort. But the road to fame and glamour, confessed the Ondo State-born super model, was not without its rough patches.
She noticed that many organisers of these events are fond of not giving what they promised. Not only that, many of the ladies are saddled with the task of selling tickets for the event.
She said: “The Nigeria’s Next Super Model contest owned by Mrs. Joan Okorodudu, the CEO of ISIS Models agency, was the only contest I didn’t have to sell tickets. It is the freest contest I have seen so far.
“I was discovered by the booker of ISIS models, Mr. Uchenna Okwudima, at an event and he told me to leave pageantry and try runway modelling. The Nigeria’s Next Super Model gave me all they promised when I won, including a brand new car, ticket to Barcelona, Paris, Milan and Johannesburg, and I have been signed to two agencies in Europe courtesy of my win.”
Victoria, who pleaded for more of the searchlight to be beamed on the industry as regards the issue of exploitation and fraud, said: “In the modeling and pageantry industry, one needs to be careful, smart, determined and prayerful. In some competitions, one needs to sell almost N300, 000 worth of tickets just to be placed among the top 10 finalists. Such expectation has led a lot of ladies into the act of looking for money by prostituting.
“I have been denied my prize in one of the competitions. The organisers just kept promising and gave no reason for their action. Many of the organisers of modeling and pageantry competitions are only doing it for their selfish interests. It is so sad,” the supermodel lamented.
Through the lens of the law
Mrs. Victoria Ojo-Adewuyi, a practitioner in international criminal law, who viewed the issue of fraud in the beauty industry from the perspective of breach of contractual obligation, opined that it is possible for a participant or winner in a beauty contest who is denied the prize money to take legal actions against the organisers.
“In this scenario, a careful consideration of the documentation that the winner in question signed with the organisers of the pageant, coupled with whether the so-called prize has been pronounced in public in front of an audience might become essential towards building such a case.
“The organisers may claim that there are some preconditions for the winner to fulfill and that not fulfilling such is the reason for the revocation. This is why it is essential to ascertain what sort of documentation the winner/participants signed.”
Reacting to the allegation that organisers of pageants set girls up for prostitution, she said such an act constitutes a breach of the law and the arrangements can be viewed under the law as a human trafficking situation which is in violation of the provisions of domestic criminal law.
She said: Any such arrangement can be viewed under the law as a human trafficking situation and this is clearly a violation of domestic criminal law provisions, specific trafficking in persons law and many international treaties relating to trafficking in persons to which Nigeria is a party. Such is unlawful and should be investigated carefully.
“I think Nigeria has got to the point where there should exist some sort of regulation for bodies organising pageants. This is because like any other programme, pageants could become a tool to carry out nefarious activities.”
There is no gainsaying the fact that the proliferation of beauty pageants has left the industry largely uncoordinated. With the mushroom nature of pageantry in the country, it appears the time has come to say goodbye to the glorious era when pageantry boomed with opportunities young girls could safely explore.
Renowned diplomat, Amb Ayo Olukanni has called on the Nigerian government to develop closer cooperation with the International Mining for Development Centre (IM4DC) and the Department of State Development (DSD) of Western Australia, for the training of more Nigerians in the field of Mining and resource administration.
The former high commissioner to Australia made the remark in a paper titled: “Harnessing the Potentials of the Nigerian Mining Sector for Diversification and Support of the Nigerian Economy”, which he delivered at the 1st National Economic Forum organized by The Nation Newspaper recently.
Sharing a glimpse of his observation when he served as High Commissioner to Australia for almost four years, Amb. Olukanni affirmed that the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari stands on the cusp of history to reposition the mining sector in the drive to harness Nigeria’s vast mineral potentials as well as increase the sector’s contribution to the Nigerian economy. The move, he said that is capable of improving revenue to states endowed with sold minerals and also capable of providing employment opportunities and developing the rural sector.
Addressing the issue of Nigeria’s Sustainable Management of Minerals Resource Project (SMMRP), the renowned diplomat said: “The SMMRP deserve the attention of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari since the administration has declared its commitment to revamp the mining sector as part of efforts to diversify the economy. It is commendable that under the current administration, the Minister of Solid Minerals has identified the challengers and clearly laid out the vision for the Ministry.”
While urging support for the innovative use of the Solid Mineral Development Fund to support local investors, he also called on Nigerian banks to develop mining portfolios and admonished Nigerian investors to invest in the sector.
From acting in church as a child to gracing the big screen, Nollywood actress and model, Hannah Seyi Ojo, has seen it all. A wedding planner, model, and modelling instructor, the thespian says that her best is yet to come. In this interview with OVWE MEDEME, she talks about her journey so far, aspirations and some of the projects she will be carrying out soon.
WHAT influenced your decision to become an actress?
I’ve always loved acting, even as a kid. For instance, I was in the drama group in church but I never thought of taking it to professional heights; not until 2005 when a friend saw the potential in me and took me for an audition. That was when I became a model and also an actor.
For how long have you been acting?
Professionally, I’ve been acting since 2005 and I’ve acted in quite a number of movies. I really can’t say how many but I’ve done lots of movies. But for TV drama, I’ve done quite a number of them.
Of all the movies you’ve been in, which strikes you as the most challenging?
Every role given to me is challenging. I say this considering the fact that they are not the same. Every role comes with its own uniqueness and needs a bit of professional prowess which the actor must deliver. All that put together makes them most challenging.
Any regrets so far?
So far, I haven’t had any regrets.
What is currently keeping you busy?
I’m currently abroad working on a project which will take me across Europe. It’s really going to take me a while.
What is the nature of the project you are working on?
For now, I would like to keep it under wraps. It’s not yet time to talk about it. When I’m ready to, I promise you will be the first person I will tell (laughs).
The first quarter of the year is fast running out, how did you fare last year and what are you hoping to achieve this year?
Wow! Last year for me was a great year. I actually produced a short film which means a lot to me. It is titled Last Act. It was selected for a screening at the Inshort Film Festival. I was also got nominated in the category of Best Actress, which means a lot to me. I was happy that my effort was being recognised.
Last year, I also featured in quite a number of good movies. However, for this year, I hope to achieve much more than I did last year. There are lots of projects on ground that I’m pursuing. I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag just yet, but let’s keep our fingers crossed.
What is the most controversial thing you have done as an actress?
I’m not a controversial person. I’ve not been involved in any act of controversy, at least none that I can remember. That is because controversy is not my thing.
But others say that controversy sells. What’s your take on that?
Well, my take is this; if you think controversy sells, then go look for one. It’s because you’re a journalist and you guys always pray to get one. You people also go the extra mile to create controversy where there’s none. But as for me, I know what I want in the industry and I don’t think I need controversy to get it.
Where do you draw your influences from?
Actually, I read books online. I also watch some good films to build myself more in terms of acting.
Do you find getting yourself into character for a role very challenging?
Yes, most of the time it is very challenging. This is because I tend to play different characters at different times. Sometimes I go all out to research for some roles in order for me to play the character convincingly.
Are you in a relationship?
That’s too private; I like to keep my private life private.
What is your idea of an ideal man?
An ideal man should be hard working, God fearing, industrious, funny, and caring. He must have my interest at heart.
Tell us about your beauty routine
I really don’t have serious beauty routine, compared to some people. But I will say I do lots of water therapy which makes me look younger and beautiful (laughs). I also make sure I use face cleanser regularly, and I eat lots of fruits.
What is your favourite dish?
Garnished noodles with fried plantain.
Do you know how to prepare it?
Of course I can prepare any kind of food well.
How do you unwind?
I seldom go out to unwind although I love dancing. Also, I like to hang out in cool places with my close friends, and when I’m not with friends, I’m home watching films or reading.
Aside acting, what else are you into?
Aside acting, I’m also a wedding planner, a model, and a modelling instructor.
Is there a downside to being an entertainer and what has been your experience in that regard?
Yes, there is and it’s called lack of privacy. I can’t do what I like as an actress. I can’t go to some places even if I want to.
What stands you out from your peers?
I take things one at a time. I don’t believe I have to join the bandwagon of aggressive actors to make it to the top.
Between feature films and TV series, which catches your fancy more and why?
Well, for me, it’s both. I consider them the same thing. The only difference is that feature films travel faster compared to TV drama.
What is the story behind your short film, Last Act?
Last Act is a moving story that tells us how to live our truth, share our enthusiasm, take action towards our dreams, walk our talk, sing and dance to our music, embrace our blessings and make everyday worth remembering, but never to trade our health for anything.
Like some of your colleagues, do you intend producing a feature film any time soon?
Yes, I intend to and it’s very soon.
You recently put out a video condemning domestic violence; do you have any experience you would like to share?
I’ve never been a victim of domestic violence, but I did that because I stand against it. We need to make it stop because it’s not right. We are humans, not animals. That video is just my own way of creating awareness to say no to domestic violence and I’m glad I did it.
Is that a pet project you would be carrying out?
Yes, I have more of that coming out soon. As an actress, I will continue to advocate on behalf of those victims out there.
More than a year ago, some 50 young people undertook the arduous journey from the town of Chibok in the north-eastern state of Borno to seek sanctuary in the capital city Lagos.
Local parents, appalled by the April 2014 kidnapping of nearly 300 female students by the jihadist group Boko Haram, had sent their own children to stay with friends or relatives until peace returned.
Conditions were tough on the three-day bus journey with little food and water. Now, although the young people are safe from the insurgency ravaging the north-east of their country, their lives in the vast city of Lagos are far from easy.
More than two million people have been internally displaced in Nigeria. The majority have found refuge among host communities, while some live in camps with support from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). They must depend on aid from NGOs, religious bodies and the charity of individuals.
A lack of government oversight means that fundraising is vulnerable to corruption, and some IDP leaders complained bitterly of NGOs that collected money but failed to implement any projects.
In particular, there is little help available for children separated from their parents, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. The plight of the children from Chibok reflects the wider experience of many thousands of young IDPs in Nigeria who face an uncertain future after fleeing violence in the north-east of the country.
Most of the children from Chibok headed for the Lagos neighbourhood of Eleko, where some of them now spend their days wandering the unpaved roads, sharing cramped accommodation at night and coping with an irregular supply of water and power. Many others have been forced to abandon their family friends and relatives to seek work within the city.
Daniel Musa, 15, said that for many months after arriving in Lagos he had been forced to sleep on a bench each night, as his guardian shared a room with eight other people.
Only recently had an arrangement been made for him to pass the night in another building, returning to his relative’s place in the morning to wash and dress.
“I have been here for more than a year with no school or permanent job,” he said. “I just sit around doing nothing most of the time. Sometimes I work digging sand for some construction sites where I get N50 to N100 [for food], ” he said.
Daniel Musa
Daniel said he had done his best to blot out the full horror that the insurgency has caused him and his family, but described the attack that sealed his parents’ resolve to take him and his siblings out of danger.
“One day, Boko Haram attacked us around one in the morning. We packed hurriedly and hid ourselves in the bush. All our food and drink was finished. I escaped to another village wearing just a vest and shorts. From there I got a pair of slippers, a shirt and trousers which I wore to travel down to Lagos,” he recalled.
Daniel was forced to stop studying in year six as local schools had closed in the face of constant Boko Haram attacks. Asked about his future aspirations, Daniel said he would like to continue his studies.
“I would like to work in computers,” he said. “The only help I need is for someone to send me back to school.”
Lacking education, some of the Chibok youngsters in Lagos work washing dishes for food sellers, barely making enough to survive.
About 25 per cent of Nigerian children are in employment, according to the International Labour Oganisation, and the figure amongst IDPs is much higher.
Many young women have been forced to make marriages of economic convenience. Others have found work as maids in the city, while the boys loiter around the streets, waiting for the opportunity to get work as an okada, or motorcycle taxi driver. Even then, unregistered, they risk having their bikes seized by police.
The lucky few who manage to continue studying attend a ramshackle school run by some neigbourhood women whose only qualification is a high school diploma.
The neigbourhood’s government-run community school refused to admit the displaced children, citing over-subscription and their inability to waive fees as the reasons.
Ruth Haruna, 12 and Godia Peters, were both sent to live with relatives in Lagos after girls were abducted in Chibok in April 2014.
The girls attend lessons at the school for IDPs and say they are happy. But they would dearly like to return home to their parents in Chibok, and are clearly traumatised by their experiences.
“I came here because of Boko Haram; they were killing people, burning houses and took some of our sisters away. We miss our properties; my daddy’s car was taken away,” said Ruth, who says she would like to become a doctor.
Ruth and Godia Peters
Ibrahim Musa, another 18 year-old from Chibok, was also sent away to avoid being either killed or recruited into the ranks of the Boko Haram fighters.
“Our parents sent us here because we are still young and once Boko Haram see us, they would kidnap us and train us to start killing people. They kidnap girls too; one of my neighbour’s daughters was abducted at school.”
Ibrahim
Mello Kolo is the chairman of the Hausa community, the ethnic group centred in northern Nigeria, in the Eleko neighbourhood. He said the young people from Chibok faced great hardship, and most of the group had been forced to leave their guardians and seek opportunities inside the city.
“More than 30 of these children have gone inside Lagos to look for work. They need help desperately and time is against them. We have been left here on our own with no help from government or any other organization. It is only the Chibok youth association who come here to check on us once in a while. ”
This is the concluding part of a two-part series of report supported with funds from the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Abuja through the ACCESS Nigeria project.
Otodo-Gbame, an island set on the bank of a fetid lagoon in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State, can be accessed from a labyrinth of paths. Located in the highbrow Lekki area, the sand bank community is surrounded by imposing buildings and mansions bearing the insignia of wealth; yet the inhabitants are tenants to the twin-inconvenience of poverty and disease.
Slithering through the settlements, one is faced with wooden shacks housing most of the inhabitants. Others make their abode on stilts standing on brackish water. Open defecation, accompanied by foul odour, pervades the atmosphere of the settlements, many of which claimed to have migrated from Badagry and others from Cotonou.
The community attracted news last week when measles killed 26 children within two weeks. Initially referred to as a strange illness, children who came down with the disease show symptoms of rashes and pains, with many passing out within two to three days of infection with the virus.
The community leader of Otodo-Gbame, Chief Dansu Hunpe, who confirmed the death of the children, said the outbreak was caused by intense heat. He also disclosed that the children did not receive immunisation against the measles infection.
“Those children died because they were not exposed to medical care. There is a general health centre in Ikate but our people do not patronise the place due to the strained relationship with the Ikate community. We have a land dispute with them. We are more than 10, 000 here and there is no health centre. Before we would say we want to take a child to anywhere, time would have elapsed. That was why those children died that way.”
Chief Hunpe confirmed that it was after the community raised an alarm over the health crisis that the state government sent nurses and doctors to immunise other children in the community. Health officials from the state government, it was learnt, struggled to revive some of the ailing children but the effort proved unsuccessful as some died at the Massey Street Children Hospital, where they were admitted for comprehensive treatment.
An octogenerian, Tankpa Oshlan, who lost children to the measles onslaught told The Nation that sacrifices were made to appease the gods when the disease broke. “We sacrificed to appease our gods, and also took our children to the hospitals. We invited the government for assistance, and they responded promptly. So far, the disease has been curtailed and the children are responding to treatments.”
Investigation by The Nation confirmed that recurring death among children and teenagers has been the fate of the community in recent times. This is due largely to restricted medical access and some environmental factors which make it difficult for the inhabitants of the settlement to follow hygienic routine, which can prevent diseases. Added to the long line of restriction is a long running land tussle between the people of Otodo-Gbame and their advanced neigbours in Ikate, the place which houses the government health centre shunned by the community.
Mr. Ishola Agbodemu, the coordinator of the Rural Urban Development Initiative (RUDI), an NGO which raised the alarm of the deaths in the community on the social media, told The Nation that over 70 children and teenagers have been lost to restricted medical access in Otodo-Gbame and other surrounding settlements in the riverine area.
According to Agbodemu, “Residents of the community have been shunning vaccination exercise due to the suspicion that it might be a ploy by the Ikate monarch to poison them as a result of the land dispute between both communities.”
Findings also indicate that the community has become a safe nest for quack doctors and nurses who enjoy more patronage than the private clinic established in the community by an individual.
Peace Zosu, a health worker with a private health care centre situated in the community, further asserted that none of the children who died was vaccinated for measles.
Said Zosu: “They (parents) believe in herbs and when that fails, they would call the quack doctors and nurses into their tents to treat their wards. And because they have some issues with Ikate people, those ones who were going for immunisation at the health centre stopped. At the private health centre here, we charge them N250 for immunisation but they don’t show up because they want to get it for free. Every Friday when we do immunisation here; the highest number of children we get is 7. I was brought up in this community and I know there are thousands of children, but their parents rarely get them immunised”.
She added that some of the children who died from the Febrile Rash Illness caused by the measles virus showed symptoms of swollen lips, rise in body temperature, blood stained mouths and boils on their body.
Surrounded by water, yet none to drink
Inability to access safe drinking water is one of the factors fuelling the spread of diseases and virus in the community. It is a pitiable irony that the people of Otodo-Gbame, who live on the bank of the river, are unable to access clean water for hygienic use and consumption. The harsh economic realities make it impossible for the inhabitants, many of whom make their living from fishing, to purchase packaged water. The condition, it was learnt, force many of them to paddle canoes to Makoko and Bariga to buy kegs of water. The process of transporting the water on the ocean predisposes it to being contaminated, it was learnt.
A youth in the community, Bamidele Zangan, a 300 Level Business Administration undergraduate of the University of Lagos, bemoaned the absence of amenities which could make life better for the community.
“We don’t have pipe-born water; we would go as far as Makoko and Bariga to buy water with our canoes. Since the health crisis, water tankers have been coming to the community to supply water to the private water vendors who sell in turn to the residents”.
It is not only the elderly who are feeling a sense of loss owing to government’s absence in the community, the situation also applies to the old men who are said to be economically crippled since access to the sea for commercial activities has been barred with the sand filling project embarked on by money bags reclaiming lands for commercial purposes in the area.
Pa Masene Whedekuten, a 60-year-old fisherman pleaded with government to come closer to the residents by providing infrastructure like hospitals, schools and potable water.
“Our problem started when some money bags started the sand filling of Orange Island, which also blocked our access to the sea for our fishing activities. We are dying of hunger. We don’t have money to cater for our children or pay medical fees at private clinics. We are predominantly fishermen and with sand-filling going on around us, our access to the sea is blocked. We are now economically crippled,” the old man lamented.
Battered education, bleak future
Other than poverty and diseases, many of the children in Otodo-Gbame are also missing out in education. On the two occasions the reported visited the community, many of the children who are of school age were playing around their home surroundings. Those in the early teens were seen at the shore of the lagoon struggling to catch some sea food.
Despite the huge population and the large expanse of land in Otodo-Gbame, only two run down schools cater for the educational needs of the children. For those who are privileged to attend school, they do so in tattered uniforms with no sanders or stockings. One of such schools is Olutimi International School, a low cost nursery and primary school where children pay N50 daily for tuition.
An NCE holder, who has been in the teaching business for 14 years, Mr Olamide Edun, who founded the school two years ago, said parents are beginning to show interest in sending their children to school as a result of the influence of the fine houses and cars they see when they go out to the community to transact businesses. He, however, lamented that the enthusiasm is not backed by purchasing power, since some of the parents find it difficult to pay the N50 daily tuition fees.
Enrollment in the school is very high with about 200 children divided into nine classes, forming three nurseries and six basic classes. The classes separated by thin planks have not succeeded in preventing noises from filtering in from the other classes. The whole scenario appears disjointed and the proprietor of the school offers an explanation.
“We are dealing with poor kids, which is why the structure is like this. The reason why we cannot have a permanent structure here is because of the land dispute between them and the Ikate community. It would be a waste at the end of the day if we build and we are sent packing,” the teacher submitted.
A land tussle claiming lives of innocent children
With its booming population and limited landmass, scouting for land in Lagos is as complicated as scouting for gold. There is no gainsaying the fact that a major factor which led to the death of the children was the failure of the parents to access medical health care at a nearby hospital for fear of being poisoned owning to a lingering land tussle between both communities.
The Baale of Otodo-Gbame alleged that one of the sons of the Ikate community brought hoodlums to attack them in September 2014. The fracas, it was learnt, led to the death of thee people, two of whom are still in the mortuary.
“We instructed our people not to go to the health centre in Ikate because they might do whatever they like to our children. We know that the health centre belongs to the government but it is situated in Ikate town. They want to send us out of this land because they are rich but we are not on their land. Our fore fathers have been dwelling here over 100 years ago.
“Now that the doctors are here, they have told us that we should not be afraid since the clinic belongs to the government. That is why we are now bringing our children out for immunisation. We are begging government to build our own hospital here. There is no public toilet. There is no government school and we do not have electricity,” he stated.
Reacting to the accusation, the Odofin of Elegushi, Chief Kehinde Odofin, discredited the claims of the people of Otodo-Gbame over fears that their children could be poisoned should they patronise the government clinic in Ikate land.
“We cannot stop their children from using the clinic because it belongs to the government. It is their conscience that is disturbing them. They used to come even when the hospital was under construction. They were using the palace and nobody would argue with them because it is a general hospital”.
On the tussle over land ownership, the chief said the land the community is laying claim to does not belong to them.
“They do not have lands here. They were relocated to this place from Banana Island. They have been staying there for long and nobody has questioned them. Now, they are saying they are the owners of the place, claiming they are from Badagry when the truth of the matter is that they are from Cotonou. Imagine having a visitor coming to stay in your land and they want to claim ownership. The case is still in court”, the chief disclosed.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Mr Jide Idris, at a recent news conference, disclosed that the deceased children had missed out during the previous measles immunisation. He cited mass migration to Lagos from neighbouring states which has led to the emergence of some far-to-reach rural areas in the state. He, however, added that the state government is conducting mapping of all slum areas in the state toward reducing the health hazards associated with such areas.
Of the 10 countries with the most unvaccinated children in the world, five are in Africa with Nigeria alongside DR Congo, Ethiopia, South Africa and Uganda. The point has been made that investing in the healthcare, infrastruture and education of children in low income communities not only gives children a healthy start at life but is also a long term benefit.
The United Nations included vaccines for all as well as universal health coverage as key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Ensuring children in various slums in Lagos and other parts of the country get access to this will go a long way in preventing deaths among children of the poor.
From tales of death, malnutrition and lack of access to education, the myriad of problems confronting children displaced by Boko-Haram seem enormous. HANNAH OJO who visited some IDPs settlements around Abuja reports.
An unmarked cemetery at Mandala Azoro houses the remains of thirteen children who went down like ninepins after a measles outbreak in Wasa, a Village in the FCT Abuja. They were aged five and below. The earth above their bodies still bore a fatal remembrance of the injurious loss; two months after they became victims to the twin inconvenience of poverty and disease.
The children in Wasa IDP location had survived the terrors of Boko-Haram in their home town of Gwoza only to come to a sticky end months later when the infectious but preventable diseases broke through their settlement at an uncompleted estate in the village.
When the news of their death broke in November 2015, the executive secretary of the FCT Primary Health Care Board, Dr Rilwan Mohammed, had given the number of the casualties as 10. The media quoted the same, but the secretary of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Wasa, Usman Ibrahim, confirmed 13 deaths. A personal visit to the grave of the deceased confirmed the accurate figure to be 13.
The measles outbreak, it was learnt, was transferred by the Fulani children to the children of the IDPs through interaction in the only primary school built by government in the village.
“There are no benches in the school so all the pupils sit on the floor. There is no hospital or pharmacy here so when the measles broke, we reported to FEMA (FCT Emergency Management Agency). FEMA called Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) to send us doctors. The measles had been ravaging for 11 days before the doctors came. The children died around November. Some died on the 15th, some on the 13th ,” Usman further submitted.
Sarah Andrew, 27, an indigene of Gwoza who has lost relatives and friends to the Boko-Haram insurgency, also confirmed the demise of the children stating the cause of their deaths as Kada (an Hausa name for measles).
Sarah Andrew
“The children died as a result of lack of immunization. I have been here for two years and I have witnessed pregnant women and children dying,” she said.
Measles is an infectious disease which leads to significant deaths among children in developing countries. It was after these deaths that other IDP children in Wasa were immunized; fulfilling the delayed promise of the health ministry to take measles campaign to the to the doorsteps of all Nigerians irrespective of their place of residence in the country.
However, despite this medicine- after- death approach, investigation by The Nation shows that children in various IDP settlements within Abuja may be in for other disasters judging by the poor sanitation conditions of the five IDP locations visited. The settlements in Wasa, Waru, Durumi, Kuchingoro, Karmajiji Tudun Muntsira are occupied mainly by people from Gwoza local government in Bornu state.
Findings show that the children usually come down with complaints of running stomachs. They are also susceptible to gastrointestinal infections like diarrhoea and Cholera. Polio and Trachoma, an infectious disease of the eyelid spread by poor hygiene and sanitation arising from lack of adequate safe water supply could also result in the future.
When The Nation visited Wasa village, the only borehole for the IDPs built by a youth corps member was no longer functioning. The children were seen fetching water from an infected pond, judging from the brownish colour of the water springing from it. Other children gathered at a well where their fetchers were already scratching the base of the well bringing out coloured water. The scarcity of water is made worse by the parching dust and dryness of the Harmattan season. The abandoned uncompleted estate they occupy has no toilets. They wade to the bushes not far from their surroundings to answer the call of nature. There is also no electricity supply.
The Worst Place to be Born
When the Economist Intelligence Unit, EIU, a sister company of The Economist magazine ranked Nigeria as the worst place to be born in 2013, it certainly did not include the plights of children born in IDP locations in the FCT as an indices for the projection.
The heat was intense on a Wednesday afternoon when the reporter called into Esther Tanko’s tent at the Durumi location for IDPs of Gwoza indigenes in the FCT. She radiates the warmth of a woman who just welcomed a bundle of joy. She is one of the lucky few who possess a mattress which lay on a bare floor. Her son, who is nearing two weeks, is yet to be named. His circumcised penis is still reddish from slow healing, made worse by the hot weather which permeates easily into the shacks used to build the tent. The heat pierces the skin of an adult.
The mother of seven, who spoke in Hausa, narrated her pregnancy ordeal: “This particular pregnancy was very tough for me. There is no hospital here and there was nobody to help. It was some members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG that I attended that took me to the Wuse General Hospital where my blood sample was taken and I was diagnosed of typhoid and malaria. The church paid the hospital bills and bought baby things for me.”
Esther gave birth with the help of other women in the camp. She said the baby, who is almost two weeks old would be named after the pastor of the church which helped her survive the pregnancy.
Unlike Esther, who was able to get help, many of the women in the camp had had to rely on traditional methods during the course of pregnancy. There is no clinic and the hospital they were directed to use by the FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is quite a distance and many are not able to cough out money for taxi. They have been forced to rely on traditional methods of pregnancy care and this had not been without casualties.
Esther and baby
Mrs Liatu Ayuba who lost her husband, a policeman, to Boko-Haram and also nurses a 21 year old son handicapped by a bomb attack, is the woman leader at the Durumi IDP camp. She said she has helped deliver about 23 babies in various shackled tents since they arrived the settlement over a year ago.
“There was a particular delivery experience that I won’t forget. It was raining heavily and we could not get the mother’s to the proper position because the floor was wet and flooded. That day I cried. We later carried her with the help of other women to my own tent where she delivered the baby.”
Asked of the health infrastructure put in place for women and children within the various IDP locations in Abuja, the head of Public Relations Unit, FEMA, Josie Mudasiru, said there is no health infrastructure on ground for the IDPS because they are squatting on land belonging to private Nigerians.
“We only have arrangements with health secretariat and various NGOs to visit with doctors who attend to their health needs. Arrangement is also on with government hospitals to attend to pregnant women”, she further said.
The Agony of malnourished children
A sight is quite familiar in most of the IDP locations visited: children with stunted growth and brown coloured hair. This is not only linked to the fact that many of the IDPs rely on handouts from individuals to survive but also traced to the tortuous journey of escape for survival.
Naheema Suleiman, 30, lost a 15- year- old daughter in Sambisa Forest when she was trying to escape from Boko-Haram members who threatened to marry young women in her town. Also a Gwoza indigene, she is one of the IDPs in Karmajiji Tudun Muntsira where 56 households and a total of over 248 displaced persons are trying to eke out a living.
She told the grim tales of how small children were fed at the time they were fleeing their hometown.
“We packed Tuwo grains and mix it with water to make it appear like a pap and put in pet bottles. When we are on the road and the children begin to cry for food, we will give them to drink. When we reached Cameroun, they did not help us; they were chasing us away to the camp. Even if a child’s pant is wet and you want it to dry, they will ask you to remove it from the line. They told us not to put bombs in their place.
“From there, those who had money were able to go get a vehicle to Yola. Those who had no money were forced to the Cameroun IDP camp where there is no food and children were falling sick and suffering. Some children fell sick on the road and some women died. A woman had to give birth on the road. We could not stay at the IDP camp in Cameroun because we heard there are no food and children were falling sick and suffering.”
At the Kuchingoro camp, the reporter met with Chonfilawos Danladi and Luku John, both 11 years old Primary 3 pupils of a school donated by an NGO in their camp. They confessed to not eating breakfast, but relying on the free food served to them during break time.
Dr. Ifeanyi Nsofor, the Director of Consulting Services at EpiAfric, an organization involved in public health has worked in proving free medical services to displaced women and children in some IDP camps in the FCT.
His take on the health status of some of the children he has encountered: “Most children who were brought to the clinic showed physical signs of malnutrition, including stunted growth with signs of failure to thrive. The common complaints included abdominal pains, cough, catarrh and fever. The poor sanitation within the camp exposes all residents to infectious diseases. The rains also worsen the already poor sanitation within the camp and an outbreak of an infectious disease is just in the offing.”
Continuing, he said; “The pregnant women the volunteers saw have never attended antenatal clinics; one was in her 8th month of pregnancy. Most children had not been immunized and could acquire any of the vaccine-preventable diseases,” he submitted.
School without walls; emergency education for displaced children
IDP children at Kuchingoro
The bell tolled and the children swiftly move to form the assembly lines at the new Kuchingoro Camp. It was a sobering scene: some luck to get uniforms, while others wore dust-coloured house wears with feet adorned with slippers. Their faces were caked with Harmattan dust and a woman helped with cleaning their running nose with tissue. The reporter later learnt that she is the school nurse.
“We want to enforce some hygienic disciplines, but we don’t always have the water,” an anonymous source in the school confided in the reporter. Despite the obvious challenges, the children there are far better in terms of education than the other locations visited.
The school without walls is an initiative of Life Builders, an NGO coordinated by a management consultant and pastor, Sanwo Olatunji David. He confessed to being moved by the plight of the children who were not attending school when he visited them in 2013 for evangelism in the company of his wife. The school operates in two settlements of the IDPs in Kuchingoro.
“For the past 10 years, I fly business class or first class whenever I travelled overseas, but since the start of Life Builders, I now fly economy. It is not comfortable, but it is worth it when you see what your money does for the children,” he enthused.
The school, which caters to the educational needs of over 600 IDP children also provides feeding once a day for them. It has permanent teachers, three of whom are IDPs who were teaching in schools in their native state.
“It is capital-intensive, but you have to feed the children because if they don’t eat, they won’t be able to concentrate in class. It is like helping yourself because they could go round and become robbers to hurt you in the future”, the director of the project, Pastor David reasoned.
For many of the children who could not cope at the secondary level, the foundation is planning a vocational centre where they can learn skills in tailoring, welding, fish farming, carpentry and brick making, with which they would be able to use to sustain themselves when they return to their hometown after Boko-Haram had been conquered.
The NGO, it was learnt, also pay school fees for over 200 students in other IDP settlement in Nasarawa state. It is a huge project and the director said the organization is working on a sustainability plan of funding the project by organizing a stakeholders’ forum in February.
“ A good number of people have supported with books, school uniforms, but you can’t plan with it because it is not regular. The project has gotten to a point of no return. It is not like the days when we just started when I have to drive the car and my wife has to cook the food and my daughter who us an architect would also join in teaching the children. We were doing it alone until the number of the children got to a point where we had to call on God to raise our finances so could employ other people”, Pastor David submitted.
Cordelia Nyamsi, the proprietress of Golden Lamb Christian School, who volunteered to teach displaced children described her experience so far. “The experience has been challenging because of their background and the trauma they had been through. They are used to being taught in Hausa, so many of them don’t understand English; so the language is a barrier. Any time I teach and they respond, it gives me more reason to stay here.”
A teacher in the secondary section of the school, Sake Abdulahi, who left his local government in Bauchi due to delayed salaries, also shared his experience with the children:
“When we started this school, if you call one of the IDP children and say come, unless you use a sign language, they would run. But now, they can now actually understand the difference between come and go in English. They are assimilating knowledge and we are enjoying them.”
An estimated one million children have been forced out of school as a result of a violent attack by Boko-Haram, according to a United Nations report. Many of these children are cut off from education, but there is a semblance of educational of support for IDP children in Kuchngoro through the effort of one man who chose to see things differently. Unfortunately, other locations are not as lucky as the government schools where kids could be registered are located at far distances, out of the reach of the IDPs.
People without identity
To a large extent, IDPs in various settlements around Abuja are left on their own with no government help or recognition, a situation which further subjects them to poverty and squalor.
The Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Muhammad Sani Sidi, declared that there is no recognized internally displaced person camp in the FCT, urging those claiming to be IDPs in Abuja on account of insurgency to go back to their states and get registered.
However, Dr Allen Manasseh, a humanitarian agent and director with End of Violence And Restoration Our Ancestral Home Organisation, EVRAH disagrees. Manasseh, a native of Chibok who had worked to profile and assist IDPs both in government recognized camps and host community camps said:
“Anyone that is saying they have no business being here (Abuja) should recover their homes for them and let them return. Do you think they are happy being here sleeping on mats and eating from handouts? They have been fending for themselves all their lives from their villages and farms.
“Today, if their territories are safe, they are happy to go back. Is Gwoza accessible up till date? Where do they want them to go? Bama is not accessible if not in full military movement. Let us see the apparatus of government in shape in all the recovered territories and all will return willingly. Government is not managing any IDP camp in Abuja, the IDPs are at the mercies of ordinary Nigerians and NGOS,” he submitted.
At the back end of a makeshift tent in an IDP settlement at Kuchingoro, two toddlers, excluded from the school crowd, sit on the bare floor. With mucus running down their nose and dust caked feet; they relish loaf of dry bread. They had survived the terrors of war, but now their future lies bleak and undecided.
This is the first part of a two part -series supported with funds by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Abuja through the ACCESS Nigeria Project.
