The Nation Newspaper

Tag: menace

  • Ending the menace of gas flaring

    SIR: Gas flaring involves a deliberate open-air burning of natural gas. Admittedly, global environmental impact is due to the burning of associated or solution gas, which produces carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) with a resultant increase in the concentration of green- house gases (GHG) in the atmosphere.  Basically, this has a substantial impact on our health and environment. Hence the World Bank had encouraged producers of oil and gas to stop gas flaring by 2030.

    Of note, the effect of gas flaring includes: contamination of both surface and ground water by benzene, xylene, toluene, and ethylbenzene; contamination of soil by oil spill and leaks; increased deforestation; economic loss;

    environmental degradation, amongst others. More so, an alarming effect of gas flaring is its contribution to climate change.

    Ultimately, gas flaring depletes revenue which should be channeled towards nation building. No doubt it is a branch of the corrupt practices militating against development in the oil and gas sector; though distinct from other common but mighty branches. Particularly, the type exposed recently by the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee investigating allegedly missing $17 billion crude oil and liquefied natural gas revenue that uncovered $15 billion unremitted revenue into Federation Account. The aforesaid missing fund is believed to have been stolen and diverted to a foreign destination.

    It is reported that gas flaring in Nigeria increased tremendously with oil extraction in the 1960s. Of note, the wasted resources could have been utilised as a potent source of energy to meet the increasing demand for electricity and improve power generation capacity in Nigeria.

    The first regulatory framework aimed at promoting anti-gas flaring policies in Nigeria was the Associated Gas Reinjection Act, 1979. In ensuring that the target of the World Bank is met, Nigeria’s Gas Flaring Prohibition Bill 2017 serves as a legislative panacea to end gas flaring in the country. It also depicts Nigeria’s commitment to ensuring that gas flaring is brought to a minimal level in line with the 2020 flare out deadline by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR); the Paris Agreement on Clean Environment and World Bank 2030 flare out deadline.

    Based on the foregoing, Nigeria’s gas sector will soon experience far reaching transformation as the menace of gas flaring highlighted above will be a thing of the past. But we do hope for a speedy passage of the Gas Flaring Prohibition Bill 2017 and not have another PIB-tragic trajectory!

     

    • Ogunjobi Michael O.

    Lagos.

  • Menace of underage bettors

    Menace of underage bettors

    It’s a terrifying reality and one that threatens the nation’s future. Underage bettors are increasingly getting entangled in the betting culture, thus losing focus of the values of genuine labour and hardwork. With Lagos as her epicentre, Omolara Akintoye takes a look at the growing scourge.

    IN recent years, betting along with its attending promotions has taken new dimensions. This has been driven in large part by the direct and indirect effects of changes in digital technology and access to the internet.

    These changes have had major impacts on the way young people are exposed to gambling. They have affected the way young people experience and interact with betting, as a concept and as a product.

    “How could this happen? I shouldn’t have allowed that boy to beat me. I can’t stop betting now, else I will admitting that I’m a total loser. If I had the money to bet, I’m sure my luck would change this time. I just need one more win. So I must get money by all means to bet again.”

    This is the story of Jelili (not real name), a thirteen-year-old Junior Secondary School student of a government school in Meiran, Alimosho. Jelili has become so addicted to betting that, he resorts to negative acts to raise money for it, whenever he is short of money. According to Jelili, it all started like a joke. “It started two years ago while I was in primary six; I had an uncle who used to send me to play lottery, popularly known as ‘Baba Ijebu’ for him; and as a sport lover, I developed interest in bet9ja and that was how I got addicted to betting.”

    Asked how he gets money to bet, Jelili said “I use my feeding and taxi money to bet; and if I don’t have money, I resort to another means.” He however refused to disclose the other means.

    Jelili’s case is just one out of many underage kids who are now neck deep in betting, even at the expense of their education. Speaking on the amount he spends on betting every day, he said I can play with N50 or N100 and win as high as N10,000. It depends, but that is the highest I have won.”

    Nearly every street in Lagos houses betting centers and nearly all have underage, including those in primary school, as ‘customers’. From investigations, most of the pupils engaged in betting, go into it under the guise of predicting matches. Many of them are thus seen frequenting shops featuring sports, fantasy league and world series of poker tournament on T.V stations. With over 4000 online betting websites worldwide, including casinos and sites for betting, gambling seems clearly to have become a menace to this generation, more especially the younger ones.

    Unfortunately, gambling, with young people, also comes with its baggage. These include drug and alcohol use, unsafe sex, eating disorders and violent behaviour. It could also be an indication that they may be battling with other serious problems. Therefore, it is important such tendency or habit is not treated with complacency.

    One must also not forget the impact of technology’s ever-improving fast wireless internet connections, with its accompanying variants of new mobile devices, such as smartphones, tablets, iPods, notebooks, TV and video games.

    All of this has presented new opportunities for the gambling industry to promote and deliver its products, and today’s young people are the worst for it. As technology becomes cheaper and more accessible, the breadth and intensity of their engagement also grow.

    Even on phones, ipads, betting can take place. Also, more than 90 video games rated as suitable for children have betting themes and contents.

    Speaking on how it works, Mr Agboola Olalekan, a sports betting operator with a centre along Iyana-Ipaja Road said, “There are various forms ranging from lotteries, scratch-off tickets – where bettors use a specified amount for the chance to win millions, throwing of dice and betting on football games. But the major games that attract betting are football, colour colour, horserace, virtual soccer, among others.”

    “The underage,” he said “prefers the instant games, where they get their money instantly and squander.”

    The child bettors are said to be aided by the game centres. They resume at the centres right after school hours; and in uniforms to show the extent of their addiction.

    When confronted with the potential danger inherent in abetting such habits in young people, most of the centres feigned ignorance. They claimed they are in business to entertain and make money, but would not admit that they are indirectly destroying the future of the younger generation.

    Some of the agents however confessed that they are aware of the signs/warnings barring underage people from betting but claimed that it is not in their purview to enforce such laws.

    Mr Olalekan Ishola, an agent and owner of one of the bet9ja centers situated in Mushin, pointed out that when he initially started operating, he was being careful, but when he discovered that the security agencies were not doing anything in the area of enforcement, he started allowing the kids to play. “You will be amazed at the amount of money these children use to stake, only God knows how they get the money.” Ishola wondered aloud.

    Collapse of family values

    The reason for this unfortunate trend has been variously attributed to a gap in family values. In the words of Mrs. Folu Oyesanya, a Counsellor and teacher in a government-owned secondary school in Lagos, lamented that most parent are too busy looking for money to create time for their children.

    For Mr Oluwadara Omolaja, a lawyer, the advent and rapid growth and availability of the internet and access technology is responsible.  “From their homes, these children can access websites. Other reasons can be attributed to the fact that these children copy it from their parents. Some of those from broken homes take to betting due to neglect.” He said.

    He therefore enjoined the state government to enforce the laws barring underage people, to save their future and the future of the nation.

    The principal operators of these gaming centers are however said to be ensuring 100% compliance. In an interview with the Marketing Manager, Ms Shola Ajao of UBC 365, Gaming House, Ojuelegba, Surulere Lagos, which has been in operation since 2014, underage people are not allowed to play games. Her words, “We are very much concerned about the welfare of our teenagers hence we don’t allow them to play. For our agents who are scattered everywhere, we do visit them to ensure total compliance. Should we discover agents that are err, we block their account until they comply.”

    For Mr John Nengak Patak, Head, Lagos Branch of Give ‘n’Take, another lotto company in Fadeyi, Lagos, teenagers are not allowed to play. “For our agents, they have a copy of our licence and to ensure compliance, our marketers are always on the field visiting them to ensure compliance. Here in Lagos we counsel students to face their education whenever they come to our office before sending them away.” he said.

    Speaking of how the government can assist in safeguarding the lives of the teenagers, Patak said Lagos State Lottery Board is expected to have their field staff on the beat to ensure total compliance.

    A consequence of social disintegration – Sociologist

    Dr. Augustine Agugua, of the Department of Sociology, University of Lagos says underage betting is a result of social disintegration in the society.

    “It’s a kind of manifestation of the breakdown of law and order. It’s a clear case of people leaving their fate to chance and uncertainty because they don’t see themselves as being in control of their lives any longer. The same is applicable to the underage who are involved in it now.  It is a manifestation of issues that border on the breakdown of law and order, especially the moral and communal bonds that hold the society together. Those legacies which people respect and which serve as moral anchors that make people avoid that which is bad, are no longer there. People now rely more on themselves and whatever devices they can explore to survive. This is a sort of social disintegration. The elderly population is also not meeting up with the needs and demands of their family, and the implication is that such families now impose it on their children to go out of their ways to make money, mostly through alternative crooked ways.

    “Such parents are not actually able to take a stern position on such behaviour because they have failed in their responsibilities. The parents are no longer in control of their situation, leaving their cases to chance.

    The situation has also degenerated to the extent that parents who are not into gambling literally give such children a pat on the back because they have failed in their responsibilities. Most of them hide under the fact that such children are contributing to the family upkeep, to encourage them to step further into other extreme forms of delinquency and criminality. Technology aids development not the other way round, but if you are not prepared to take full advantage of it, there will be problems. Underage betting is as a result of a failed society,” said  Agugua.

    “Another side is that most parents, who are into gambling and betting, inevitably have their children following suit. This is so because the larger chunk of the society is marginalized. In the developed countries, technological advancement is used positive ways but here the reverse is the case. Structurally, the society is in a state of strain, whereby you present the goals before your citizens without providing the means to attain these goals. So the goals will always attract them and if they don’t have a positive means of achieving these goals, they resort to negative means. To provide infrastructural facilities that encourage business entrepreneurship to grow, we need a selfless leadership who can give their all. The present situation is such that the government cannot even enforce these laws because they are not doing the right thing. The way out is for government to provide what it takes for people to channel their energy to what is good. Right political leadership is the way out. Leaders should endeavour to always do the right thing so that when laws are made, there is total compliance, Dr Agugua concluded.

    In the opinion Mrs Boma Ozobia, a legal practitioner, “It is frightening seeing these underage people in bet houses. Instead of staying in their classes and studying, they now engage in gambling games during school hours,”

    As a way out, she also called for stronger monitoring of betting centers by the security agents. “Something critical must be done to curb the menace in order to rescue the younger generations,” he advised.

    Ozobia also encouraged parents and guardians to closely monitor the movement of their children and wards.

    In the same vein, Mrs Idowu Deborah, an agent in a Bet9ja shop in Ikotun, Lagos, said, “If a child is well brought up, you don’t see them in such places when they are supposed to be in school.”, She said she always sends such children away any time they come to her shop. “I don’t attend to them but I tell you it is not easy to curb in a city like Lagos because some will tell you they were sent by an elderly person. In such situation you can’t send them away.”

    Our job is to ensure operator accountability – Lagos lotteries board

    Speaking on what the law says about underage betting, the General Manager/Chief Executive Officer, Lagos State Lottery Board, Seun Anibaba, said “Responsible gaming is global focus and is also our primary focus. Our terms and conditions say that only those that are 18 years and above are eligible. All the operators are expected to have the signs in their centres. For those with scratch cards, it is stated on those cards. Even with the fact that it is written in those centres boldly that underage are not allowed to play, you still find some of them gaining access to these centres.

    “From our end, we ensure that we have monitoring/inspection teams who go round the centers to ensure total compliance. As the industry continues to grow, we ensure that violators face the consequences. We are doing a lot of awareness initiatives in this area. Our primary function is regulation of all gaming activities; these include Public Online Lottery, Online Sports Betting, Casino, Promotional Competitions, Scratch Card & Interactive Games, Gaming Machines, Pools Betting and ‘Other Games’.

    By guiding and providing adequate information Monitoring & Inspection, Surveillance, Investigation and Compliance, we adopt a stakeholder-inclusive approach in carrying out its regulatory functions. We promote a conducive operating environment for licensees and integrity of games for stackers. We also ensure that operators are accountable. There are different sanctions for different violations relating to underage. The board also educates schools in the state, especially the pupils, on the dangers of getting addicted to betting or gambling, as well as encourage them that their education is of paramount importance, Anibaba concluded.

  • Kogi and menace of expired drugs

    SIR: In as much as Nigerians across the divide have given National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) a pass mark in the fight against counterfeit and fake drugs in Nigeria, little or nothing have been done by the agency as regard ridding the drug market of “expired” drugs.  The expiration date of pharmaceuticals specifies the date the manufacturer guarantees the full potency and safety of the drug. It is a fact that most drugs get expired even before their expiry date. This is caused by poor storage facilities, poor transportation network, extreme weather and climate and environmental factors. It is important to keep in mind that the expiry date of a particular drug was determined through testing of previously unopened products, stored in its original container and under a standard weather and climatic condition of temperature. Once you open a bottle, or transfer it to another container (like a prescription vial), the manufacturer’s expiry date is no longer reliable.

    In Kogi State, owners of local drug shops and vendors are smiling to the banks to the detriment of the health of the public. Mobile drug vendors commonly seen in the various farm settlements across the state where the level of literacy is relatively low take advantage of the people to sell expired drugs. The inability of government to provide ample and the right drugs in dispensaries across the state has created a lacuna which the vendors are taking an advantage.

    Considering the harmful effects of “expired” drugs, NAFDAC in partnership with the Kogi State Ministry of Health should urgently beam its searchlight on the activities of the local drug shops popularly called “chemists” and mobile drug vendors who handle and store drugs in ways that compromise the efficacy and potency of the medicines, making them dangerous for use even before the expiry date. Pharmaceutics are meant to be kept and stored under a certain range of temperature and climatic conditions which are not always adhered strictly to by the “chemists” and vendors. Even though the expiry date inscribed by the manufacturer of these medicines states otherwise, one may not be wrong to conclude that about 80 percent of drugs in the local drug shops are already expired and therefore dangerous to health.

    Because of their spread and proximity to the rural people, most Kogites patronize the “chemists” and mobile vendors; the fact that their drugs are relatively cheaper compared to the ones of the standard and sophisticated pharmaceutical stores makes them the destination of choice for low income earners and the poor. NAFDAC and the state Ministry of Health should constantly send out a task force to checkmate activities of mobile drug vendors and to flush out, sanction and close down any chemist which fails to adhere strictly to standard in the storage of drugs. The health and wellbeing of poor Kogites are as important as that of the rich. A healthy state is a wealthy one.

     

    • Hussain Obaro,

    Lokoja, Kogi State.

  • Curbing the menace of imported fake products

    Curbing the menace of imported fake products

    Unwholesome food and products get into the country with ease, provoking the question: what are agencies at the ports doing? It is believed that if the agencies are up and doing, such items would not pass through. Assistant Editor Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie writes.

    Fake and substandard products keep streaming into the country despite the army of agencies at the ports. Such products include plastic rice from China, Indian gari, jollof rice, varieties of Nigerian local soups and substandard tyres from China. The substandard tyres estimated at over N5billion were found in a warehouse in Lagos. They have since been seized by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON).

    These confiscated products are life- threatening. Observers are calling for the return of critical agencies hitherto removed from the ports in the heat of port reforms to go back to their duty posts to protect the lives of the citizenry.

    Following the outrage in the case of the Indian gari, the National Agency for Food Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC) raided the shop located on Cameron Road, Ikoyi, Lagos. The public wondered how it was allowed to enter the country. But NAFDAC came out strongly, stating that the product does not have their number.

    “The product has no NAFDAC number. It is said to come from Ghana but packaged in the United Kingdom. The management of the supermarket has been invited for further discussion in our Lagos office and investigation continues,” NAFDAC Acting Director-General, Mrs. Yetunde Oni, said in a message.

    Other agencies, such as the SON, have been calling on the government to allow them return to the ports, arguing that it is in the interest of the nation for them to return. They argued that as a result of their critical functions in preventing life-threatening imports, it might not be in the best interest of the nation to be asked to leave the ports with other not so critical agencies.

    In the height of Port Reforms of the previous administration, the government banned over 28 agencies, leaving only six to man the ports and ease the port clearance process. Affected in the shake-up, were SON, Directorate of Naval Intelligence, Nigerian Plant Quarantine Services, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency and the Federal Environmental Protection Agency.

    In an interview with The Nation, SON Director of Monitoring & Compliance, Mr. Bede Obayi, an engineer, said they have a mandate to ensure that whatever is imported complies with the nation’s standards requirements, stressing that it will be a mistake if their services are dispensed with in the name of port reforms.

    He said: “We look out for accountability and also ensure that we stop false declaration by importers. We are asking for placement of priority in government policies that will ensure that quality and standards take their pride of place. Our mandate is not to ascertain if an importer has paid duties on his imports but to ensure that what he has imported does not impair the lives of the citizenry.”

    Obayi called for efficiency at the ports by canvassing for a window for all regulators at the ports. According to him, the greatest challenge for SON is that of contending with fake bill of lading from importers on daily basis. He recalled how a businessman imported substandard cables which can ignite fire at homes and offices and wrongly labelled them as agriculture equipment. He said it was only when they did a scientific test that they discovered how dangerous the products were.

    Few weeks ago, SON also intercepted 60 containers of fake tryes worth N5 billion imported by two Chinese nationals and their collaborators after they had passed the checks at the port. This grave lapse, observers said, was a consequence of not having the right agencies at the point of entry.

    During a tour led by the SON’s Director-General, Osita Aboloma, to Alakija, about two million imported tyres were seen in a warehouse beside the popular Navy Town in the area.

    According to Aboloma, the Chinese importers, who gave their names as Tanlong Shen and Xu Jing Yao, were bust through inter-agency collaboration and intelligence received from “well-meaning Nigerians” after they had been cleared from the port.

    “We acted on the intelligence we received from well-meaning Nigerians. This was achieved as a result of inter-agency collaboration.You can see volume of tyres brought in and you can imagine the implication for our society if these tyres are let into the market,” he said.

    The SON chief said the sub-standard tyres which were shipped  from China, were post-dated to make them appear road-worthy. He criticised the way the tyres were packaged, noting that it is only SON that knows the implication of the worthiness of the tyres and should have been at the point of entry to disallow it from entering the country in the first place.

    “The fact that up to five of them were being tucked into one, with operators using rods to separate them from one another when they reached Nigeria, the tyres will naturally become substandard. This is because in the course of separating them from the squeeze, the wires and geometrics of the tyres will be affected,” he said.

    He wielded the big stick, assuring though that they might not be at the ports. The arrested persons would be prosecuted under the new SON Act,” he added.

    At a seminar on Port Reforms organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI), former NBA president, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, and discussants criticised the large number of regulatory agencies at the ports, corruption, poor infrastructure and the government’s indecision on implementing robust policies that will drive the sector.

    He called for the harmonisation of all regulatory bodies at the ports, stressing the need for one window to remove bottlenecks in ports operations.

    LCCI Director of Research and Advocacy, Dr. Vincent Nwani, in his paper titled: “Nigeria: Reforming the maritime sector,” said estimates from the Chamber’s research show that trillions of Naira in revenue is lost yearly within the port and business community as a result of inefficiencies and inherent shortcomings of the nation’s maritime ports.

    According to him, unfriendly business environment, such as the situation we have in the ports, continue to undermine the capacity of investors to maximise abundant trade and democratic opportunities in Nigeria.

    He noted that 48-hour target set by the government is still far from being achieved.

    He said: “Speedy processing of import and export documents by relevant agencies are important elements of trade facilitation process. It is also a major variable in the 2016 World Bank ease of Doing Business ranking in which Nigeria ranked very low at 169 out of 185 countries profiled. This has made it very difficult to achieve any of the port reform objectives set by the past political administration.”

    He called for technology and innovative solutions, the establishments of national trade data centre, implementation of a single window platform including the passage of the pending bills at the National Assembly to stimulate the maritime sector.

  • The menace of academic corruption

    I recall my father’s house with raffia palm thatched roof. During the rainy season it used to have one or two small leaking spots here and there; but as time went on, the leaking spots grew in number and size because they were left unattended to. The corruption in Nigeria is akin to the tiny hole on the roof of my father’s thatched house, which reared its ugly head more noticeably in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Each military regime that came up about that time and beyond surreptitiously used corruption as an excuse for the takeover.  Probes were conducted and some highly placed individuals in ministries and agencies identified as corrupt were either retired or dismissed as the case may be. In some cases, the entire establishments were reorganized and the top management replaced.  In some others the names of the establishments were changed as in the case of ECN that was changed to NEPA, PHCN, and finally to DISCO. Those who were left in the system continued from where their predecessors stopped, particularly after the dust of retirement had cleared. The funny aspect of this fight against corruption is that everybody is deemed corrupt “except” the “commanding officer” in-charge of the war on corruption. The commanding officer may in turn, be accused of corruption when he had left the scene, and not while he is still in command.  What also baffles me about this crusade on corruption is that all government agencies have been raided except the universities, our Ivory Towers.  This may be because university workers have no such huge amounts of money to embezzle, or that people think that corruption is only about embezzling government fund.

    Let us digress a little and consider the life of termites where everyone has a responsibility. There are the leaders, soldiers, builders, and food procurers among them. In order to eliminate these ants, you have to eliminate the queen mother. The same applies to corruption; to tackle corruption headlong, we have to identify and eliminate the breeder of corruption.  There are two sources where these corrupt individuals are bred.  These two sources appear different but complementary and perform the same function. They are the family and the university; these two carry out the function of moulding the character and teaching our youth.  It is worrisome to note that high profile corruption in Nigeria is high among the highly educated government officials.  And there are hardly any of these corrupt elites that did not pass through university education.

    It is in the university that I would like the government to focus her energy on the fight against corruption for it is at this level that our children, the future elites appear to learn the act of corruption. You cannot give what you do not have, corrupt lecturers produce corrupt graduates. Wait a minute, if you are itching to hear how much a lecturer embezzles in a session, forget it.  And asking the soldiers of corruption to declare “operation crocodile smiles” against financial corruption among university lecturers is like trying to kill a menacing mosquito with a cricket bat.  The real danger in the university which I would like the government to tackle is academic corruption; this is more deadly than financial corruption. There is now unwarranted and baseless depravity in our universities.  In recent times, if you glance through the national dailies, you discover that most of those accused of financial corruption are graduates of our universities and mainly those around 60 years of age at the time the offence was committed.  The question is what has the university got to do with corruption?

    Let me take us down the memory lane.  Since 1980s after the Udoji national salary review committee, the university lecturer was placed under the Unified Salary Structure (USS). This brought down the salary of university lecturers relative to other public servants.  Then the lectureship job became financially unattractive, uninteresting and unrewarding.  As a result of this, strikes became the option for lecturers to regain their place in the society. Between late 1980s and 1990s there was mass exodus of well-qualified, morally upright and hardworking university lecturers because of the ugly trend.  Some lecturers left the shores of Nigeria never to return; some joined the private sector; others sought more “juicy” public service appointments.  To make matters worse, it was impossible to find replacement for the calibre of lecturers who checked out.  But those lecturers who, out of patriotism, stayed back in the system were overworked and underpaid. At that time some lecturers took to subsistence farming, some became part-time taxi drivers to augment their income.  It was so bad then that an unmarried male lecturer could not win a girl’s hand in marriage; as many young ladies wished to marry persons in any profession except lecturing. Moreover, many talented and promising young graduates shunned teaching career.  It therefore became the vogue to accept all manner of graduates who wished to join academics.  It was like in a war situation when any available able bodied bloody civilian was conscripted into the army; hurriedly trained and pushed into the war front only to be killed at his first operation.

    Having painted this scenario, one can see from where water entered the broad-leaved pumpkin, as the Ibos will say. The lecturers were in a terrible financial situation.  It is better imagined than lived.  Those who could not resist the temptation and bear the hardship and some of the newly hired mercenaries descended on the students under their care like a hawk will pounce on a chick, or became agents of the academically corrupt older ones.  In order to augment salaries, sale of hurriedly assembled pamphlets called books and hand-outs, and sale of grades surfaced in the universities. Some unscrupulous lecturers made the purchase of hand-outs and books a condition for passing a course.  In some cases, pass in a course was financially graded; female students either paid in kind or cash depending on the level of moral decay of the lecturer. There are instances where those who failed were passed depending on the place of origin of the students. Money for hand back for ground became the dictum.  Most lecturers were no longer, morally speaking, role models for the students. They no longer acted as good parents to these students; but became teachers of corrupt practices by turning them into research materials for monetary or sexual benefits.  Some students became the agents of the lecturers who do not want to be detected.  We can now see the relationship between corruption among our educated elites and the moral decay of some lecturers in our universities.  To be fair to all, not all lecturers are guilty as depicted; many still maintain their integrity.  However, those innocent ones say nothing and do nothing.  What makes the evil to thrive is that the majority of the upright lecturers remain quiet in the face of this great decadence.  There is a conspiracy of silence in our universities and this makes academic corruption to persist.  This silence may be because those academics who are still morally upright are cajoled, blackmailed, alienated, treated as outcasts, and even have their life hanging in the balance.  They do not have other option than to keep quiet. Others presume that since the society is already bad there is nothing one man can do; or that even if you report the offenders that the university administration will do nothing, since most of these corrupt lecturers win the heart of the administration.

    There are other instances where the lecturers through academic corruption unknowingly teach the students corruption practices. In the first place, there are lecturers who will not teach the courses allocated to them until towards the end of the semester.  Such lecturers only appear two or three times, tell stories and they are done.  But some students like them so long as every student eventually passes. The second group comprises those who arbitrarily allocate marks to course work they did not conduct (tests, quizzes, seminar papers, etc.). Even when examinations are conducted, marks are still awarded arbitrarily without actually grading the examination scripts with well-structured marking schemes. The category of lecturers usually has agents who collect money for them in place of class assignments.  Our students observe these fraudulent practices among the lecturers; but are happy because every student normally passes the examination; only few unfortunate ones will fail in pretence that the course was graded. The third category, though very few in number, is made up of those who see the female students as ‘bush meat’ and demand sexual gratification from them for a pass. The worse aspect of this is that those who fail to comply are seriously victimized. Such lecturers wriggle out of the problem, if caught using his high profile connections. Some lecturers even go to the extent of helping the students to rewrite an examination that has already taken place. Are we not in these ways showing our students that corruption pays?  Won’t the students imitate their lecturers when they graduate and find themselves in positions of authority?

    The last group is made of lecturers who turn the other way while invigilating examinations, allowing students who wish to commit all forms of examination malpractices a free hand to do so.  Many of us are in this group either due to laziness or to appear popular among the students.

    The impact of academic corruption in the society should not be overlooked. In Nigeria today, those who graduated using fast lanes easily get ‘juicy’ positions in the society.  When our students are exposed to all manner of academic corruptions, they tend to replicate them when they find themselves in official positions of authority, especially in government.  Lecturers should be forced, if possible, to live the ethics of their profession or be flushed out of the system.  The negative impacts some of these corrupt lecturers have on our students is unimaginable.

     

    • Prof Okafor is of the Department of Statistics, University of Nigeria, Nsukka

  • On the social media menace

    SIR: The advent of the social media as a medium of lightening up our dark world via information is one innovation that humanity will forever be grateful for because it has succeeded where the conventional media failed or feared to tread.

    However, like they say, there is nothing with a positive side that doesn’t have a negative one and for one, the negativity of the social media as a means of peddling lies, falsehood, misinformation and distortion of facts is worrisome because of its adverse effect on society.

    One has observed genuine and factual reports of online media organizations being distorted to suit particular purpose, interviews and statements concocted and distorted, fake blogs reporting incidents that never happened, etc.

    All these acts of irresponsibility, incitement and criminality are part of the ills of the society that the social media has become of which we seriously need help to eradicate, if it is not to lose its flavour as a medium of information, education, interaction, communication, discourse and entertainment in the 21st century.

    Thus, as responsible persons, it behooves on us to admonish one another in our own little way, to be circumspect and vigilant in making comments and sharing information lest one be a collaborator in contributing to the menace that some people have manipulated the social media into lately.

     

    • Nelson Ekujumi,

    ekujuminel@yahoo.com

  • FCT and menace of street beggars

    SIR: Despite efforts of the FCT Administration and the media to tackle the problem of begging in the FCT, all efforts to solve this problem have proved futile as beggars are on the rise in population and can be seen in public places, commercial centres and neighbourhoods, even worse on pedestrian bridges.

    While efforts of a number of stakeholders to combat the problem of begging in the FCT are commendable, it should be noted that the problem of begging is dimensional in nature and should be approached with care.

    This is why the recent proposition by the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello to repatriate beggars and destitute in the FCT to their various states of origin where they will be received by welfare officials, in line with the extant rules of the FCT, is one that is worthy of commendation

    Also worthy of note is the plan of the FCT Administration to create a database under the Social Development Secretariat for all the arrested beggars and destitute taken to the Vocational and Rehabilitation Centre at Kuchiko, in Bwari Area Council, Abuja.

    Obviously, the establishment of this database would avail the administration adequate information on those arrested, as well as afford the government the opportunity to make adequate arrangement for their repatriation.

    Additionally, this database would also ensure easy reference for all those arrested and captured or repatriated, in the event they decide to return to their trade which could attract stiffer sanctions.

    It would be recalled that the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello had earlier created a Special Task Team, headed by Squad Leader AbdullahiMonjel (retd.) to complement the efforts of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board in curtailing the menace of street begging. To the credit of this task team, they were able to bust a begging syndicate based in Karma-Jiji, a suburb of Abuja led by one Baba Gwarma from Kaduna State, in addition to other numerous arrests.

    All these efforts are commendable but begging will continue to thrive if nothing is done to curb the menace and curbing the menace depends on how organized cities and public places are. A less organized commercial and public place where informal activities are predominant tends to attract more beggars.

    Any ban should be welcome against begging in the FCT. But when doing so, authorities concerned should also make adequate plans to rehabilitate beggars. They should be made to understand the importance of self-respect, and will power. Policies focusing at addressing issues related to people with disabilities and old people should seek to provide sustainable solutions pushing disabled and old people into begging.

    The social understanding of begging requires knowledge of the forces that promote it. Attempts to confront the problem in isolation of social measures are not likely to yield positive results. In this light, the rehabilitation Centre in Abuja, Bwari precisely is not basically to take care of them but to get them off the streets. Arguments have been made against such centres because they lack the basic amenities necessary for living thereby not effective for curbing street begging. But the FCT the Administration as was reported, has commenced moves to revamp all the vocational rehabilitation centres in the territory which is also commendable.

     

    • DanladiAkilu,

    Gudu District, Abuja.

  • Rivers and the menace of kidnapping

    SIR: Kidnapping has indeed become a nagging public nuisance but a lucrative business which has grown into that of an exponentially thriving empire in Rivers State. It has assumed the terrible dimension of a frequent deadly social malady trending on daily basis while government of the day has lost grip of the situation and slumbers on. The list of those kidnapped at the moment is endless. There was panic as a 14-seater bus conveying passengers from Ogba-Egbema, Ndoni to Port-Harcourt was completely torched and the entire occupants whisked away in what the kidnappers according to reports termed exchange for their members arrested by the government.

    What an affront? The worst hit by this endemic marauders are three local governments: Kalabari, Asaritoru, Akukutoru and Degema. The high level of insecurity has forced Rivers people to provide personal security for themselves during weddings and before their dead loved ones could be accorded befitting burial rites. Among  many victims of kidnap cases in the state still in captivity are Ibifaa Youngman, Iworimah Tariah (Mrs.),Ven. Domino, Ven Lawson, Mrs. Somiari and daughter, Dr. Amadi, Dr. Tein Douglas, Mr. Dimkpa to mention a few. At the moment their abductors have placed not less than 100 million Naira as ransom on them. How long shall Rivers continue to live in perpetual fear and this barbarism?

    Before and after the governorship election, it was evident that Rivers State was sitting on a time bomb. The ominous sign that it was a matter of time before the evil seed of discord sowed by politicians germinates and the eventual explosion of the already buried landmine was obvious. Today that seed has unfortunately grown into a Frankenstein monster threatening the well-being of not only the creators but the entire good people of Rivers. The glaring sense of insecurity in our country today is a creation of the political class. Thugs are groomed, supported and sponsored for election rigging only for them to turn out to be the frightening nemesis of the nation at the end of elections. When one is given an AK 47 as a tool for election rigging, what does one do with it at the end?

    According to Kofi Annan, “security means far more than the absence of conflict. We know that lasting peace requires a broader vision encompassing areas such as education, health democracy and human rights, protection against environmental degradation and the proliferation of deadly weapons. We know that we cannot be sure amidst starvation that we build peace without alleviating poverty and that we cannot build freedom on the foundation of injustice. These pillars of what we now understand as the people-centred concept of human security are interrelated and mutually re-enforcing.” Moreover, in the words of Prof. Isaac Mbachu, “human security demands an awareness of the particular needs of individuals as well as the state. It requires thorough consideration of the constituent parts of the society such as rule of law, education, humanitarian and health, commerce, information, military, diplomacy and governance. When human security aspects of national security are adequately addressed, it becomes much easier to guarantee full spectrum of activities that constitute national security.”

    God is the ultimate security provider and people of Rivers now turn to the Omnipotent more than ever for protection and preservation. The people of Rivers have the right to live. They have the right to liberty and freedom of movement. It behooves on government to ensure that the security of lives and properties are guaranteed at all times. This was part of the social contract between the government and the governed. However, security is the business of all because government cannot do it alone. Therefore, Rivers people should be ready and willing to volunteer useful information to security agencies on the activities of kidnappers to enable them nip it in the bud.  Before the state turns out an unspeakable den of armed robbers and kidnappers, all hands must be on deck to save the Treasure Base of the Nation from this mean cataclysm. Kidnapping should be confronted head long and not be allowed to fester any more.

     

    • Sunday OnyemaechiEze,

    sunnyeze02@yahoo.com

  • Kidnapping: When ‘ll the menace end?

    Kidnapping: When ‘ll the menace end?

    Worried by the rising wave of abductions, government agencies and groups have taken measures to tame the menace. Such measures include the placing of security agencies on the red alert by Lagos State government; a wake-up call on security chiefs by the House of Representatives and a 14-day ultimatum on perpetartors. SEUN AKIOYE, OZEIGBE OKOEKI and BOLAJI OGUNDELE report.

    IT all began in the Niger Delta region some years back. Initially, its victims were mainly expatriates in the oil and gas sector. Restive Niger Delta youths in the oil rich region found in the evil trade of kidnapping for ransom an easy way to get rich.  The youths say in the illegal trade an avenue to get their own share of the oil wealth in their region.

    But like a wildlife fire, kidnappers have since widened the scope of their operations beyond the creeks of the Niger Delta to other parts of the country and from the high and the mighty, every Nigerian has become vulnerable.

    The gains attained with the implementation of the Amnesty Programme which gave expatriates some relief in the Niger Delta following the payment of stipends and the training of youths in choice vocations and education, is fading away very fast.

    Abductions of innocent citizens by gunmen who call victims’ relatives to pay ransom are reported daily in the news media. And the victims cut across the social strata – rich and poor; young and aged; school children and teachers; subjects and royal fathers.

    The lucky ones who return from the kidnappers’ den have tales of woes to tell. Though, security operatives often say that releases are made without ransom payment, it is believed that kidnappers collect ransom before letting go their captives.

    One of such lucky victim is a Third Republic Senator, Patrick Ani, who released at the weekend in Calabar, Cross River State. He was abducted by unknown gunmen on July 7. It could not be ascertained if any ransom was paid before Ani’s release. But the Cross River State Commissioner of Police Mr. Jimoh Ozi Obeh confirmed his release.

    He, however,declined to comment on how Ani regained his freedom from the kidnappers’ den.

    When contacted on phone about his release, Ani said: “I don’t want to grant any interview on this matter.”

    In some cases, victims never live to tell their stories.

    Some state governments have introduced tough measures to discourage kidnapping for ransom in their domains. In some states in the Southeast, kidnapping attracts a death sentence. In Ekiti and Ondo states, the offence carries a life jail term. When Peter Obi was governor in Anambra State, he ensured that any property identified to have been used for kidnapping were demolished and confiscated.

    But despite the measures, the incidence of kidnapping is on the rise with Lagos becoming unsafe residents, especially those in coastal communities. For instance in some parts of Ikorodu and Totowu, both suburb neighbourhoods between Lagos and Ogun states, residents have been vacating their homes for saver havens. Gunmen believed to have been stopped    rupturing oil pipelines have been raiding homes and abducting residents at will.

    At the weekend, a Lagos royal father, the Oniba of Iba, Oba Yusahu Goriola Oseni, became the latest victim. He was abducted at his palace on Saturday night by gunmen who killed one of his guards and shot at his wife.

    PTI chief security officer in Delta

    Reports also came yesterday that the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), Effurun, John Odogun, has been abducted. He was reportedly abducted by a gang of five heavily-armed men on Sunday.

    The Nation gathered that Odogun was abducted around the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Housing Complex at Ekpan on his way to church.

    Sources said Odogun was alone when he was waylaid by his assailants at about 6:45am.

    Spokesman of the institute, Brown Ukanefemoni, who confirmed Odogun’s abduction, said the management of the institution was working with police to ensure his release.

    A family source added that the kidnappers were yet to contact relatives as at the time of filing this report last night.

    The spokesperson of the Delta State Police Command, Celestina Kalu, a Superintendent of Police, also confirmed the abduction. He said the police was on the trail of the abductors.

    Said the police spokesman: “Today 17/7/2016, at about 0645hrs, information received by ASP Ogbonna Unata, the P&G 1 that one Odogun John,  the CSO of PTI, Warri, was kidnapped at the NNPC Housing Complex gate and his Toyota RAV 4 with registration number BTU 136 CP, was fired and abandoned.

    “Patrol teams visited the scene and on search recovered a Samsung phone, ID card and cash sum of N52, 200. Meanwhile, the said vehicle has been recovered to the station. The family is yet to be contacted, while efforts are on-going to trace and arrest the hoodlums. Further development will be communicated.”

     

    Security on the

    red  alert in Lagos

     

    However, the government has assured residents that there is no cause for alarm.  In a statement yesterday, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) Mr. Tunji Bello, said the government in conjunction with security agencies have been working hard to address the rising wave of kidnapping and armed robberies in some parts of the state.

    Bello said that security intelligence has revealed useful leads towards identifying the syndicates behind the heinous crimes and their accomplices, adding that the government is alive to its core responsibilities of protecting the citizens.

    The administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, he assured, will not shirk from its function of protecting the lives and property in every part of the state.

    He promised Lagosians to expect an upgraded security measures that will guarantee safety of lives and property.

    The statement reads: “We would like to inform Lagosians that we are saddened by the recent cases of kidnappings that appear not to be unrelenting. But we wish to assure that the government will not fold its arms and allow a few evil doers to prosper at the expense of innocent citizens.

    “We are working together with both the federal and Ogun state government in the volatile areas that have been identified. We will spare no effort in bringing every criminal gang to book.

    “The response of the state government will be swift, total and reassuring to the public in sending a clear signal to all and sundry that Lagos State will not tolerate any form of criminality.”

    While sympathising with the families of victims in Iba and Ikorodu, the SSG urged residents to go about their normal businesses without any fear or panic as government has placed security personnel on red alert throughout the state in a bid to checkmate this menace.

    He also urged Lagosians to be vigilant and security conscious as intelligence reports have shown that most of these heinous crimes are perpetrated through recalcitrant elements who have infiltrated the state and are carrying out this act in conjunction with friends, family members or close associates of the victims.

    Bello advised residents to take advantage of the state’s toll free lines: 112 and 767 to report any case of crime, unusual and uspicious movement or strange faces in their neighbourhood to security agencies.

    Besides, he noted that the massive equipment and vehicles donated by the Ambode-led administration to security agencies to beef up security in the Centre of Excellence have considerably curbed crimes.

     

    Assembly calls for

    security beef up

     

    Also yesterday the House of Assembly urged the Federal Government to tighten security. Deliberating on the abduction of the Oniba of Iba at plenary, the lawmakers condemned the invasion of Lagos communities by kidnappers.

    Raising the issue under Matter of Urgent Public Importance, the lawmaker representing Ojo State Constituency I, Victor Akande, described the kidnap of the monarch as shameful.

    Akande urged the governor to sign the Neighbourhood Safety Corps Bill passed by the House into law and mobilise the state police command to man all the strategic points in the state, as well as ensure the effective use of the current dedicated lines for better security in the state.

    He also called for the provision of necessary security on Lagos waterways, which have become the criminals’ routes.

    Speaker Mudashiru Obasa, who acknowledged the state government’s investment in security, wondered why the security of the people can still not be guaranteed.

    Obasa said: “The state government spent a lot of money to provide equipment for the state police command, yet all these are happening. It means what we have done is futile.

    “It is shameful and disgraceful if a monarch could be kidnapped in his palace. It is so sad that we lose people to kidnapping and killings every day. People now take to self-help on security in the state.”

    Echoing him, Majority Leader Sanai Agunbiade described the Oba’s abduction as an assault on the traditional institution.  He also observed that the state has spent a lot on security through the police.

    “The state police command is working with the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) for security purposes, but the police don’t have enough men to work with. The government should be encouraged to pass the Neighbourhood Safety Corps Bill into law”, Agunbiade said.

     

    Kidnappers get

    14-day ultimatum

     

    The Oodua People’s Congress (OPC ,Reformed) yesterday served a 14-day notice on kidnappers, suspected to be Ijaw militants to stop further abductions and murder of indigenes in the riverine areas of Ogun and Lagos states or face its wrath.

    In a statement by its President Comrade Dare Adesope, the OPC regretted that the government has not done enough to curb the deadly activities of the suspected militants, who rape, maim, kill and abduct innocent citizens in their own homes.

    It reads: “In this regard, we are giving them 14-day ultimatum to allow peace to reign in our land. If they fail to yield, it will be an eye for an eye and tooth for tooth. We will prove to them that Lagos belongs to the Yorubas and not a no man’s land that they are fond of saying.

    The OPC chief decried the shooting at the convoy of the Ogun State Deputy Governor Mrs. Yetunde Onanuga by suspected pipeline vandals in Ibafo, Ogun State. He said the affront portrayed a dangerous trend for other government officials in the country.

    Adesope therefore called on Ijaw leaders to rein in the rampaging militants to avert crisis.

    He said: “With the mandate of the above named organisation, which our primary aim is to protect the interest of a race, I am here by calling on the Ijaw leaders to call their people to order because ‘charity begins at home’.

    “It is a known fact that the Yorubas are the most contented and most tolerant tribe in Nigeria. This is why we give warm reception to other tribes coming in to our states wither to reside or to do business, but if they want to take our hospitality for stupidity.

    “We will prove to them that the gentility of a tiger is not an act of cowardice. Before, it was the Fulani herdsmen, now it is the Ijaw people, enough is enough.

    “If they care to know, we have information and fact about where their leaders’ properties are situated in the entire Southwest and where their people reside as well.”

    Reps grill security chiefs over  rising crime waves

    FOR almost four hours yesterday, the House of Representatives Committee on Army met behind closed doors with security chiefs in the Green Chamber.
    The Committee members took to task heads of security agencies over the spate of kidnappings, killings and other forms of criminality around the country.
    All the security chiefs were represented at the session.
    Col. Nonye Ebulue represented the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai; Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG) Joshak Habila stood in for Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Ibrahim Idris
    The lawmakers gave the agencies a wake-up call to their responsibilities of protecting lives and property of all Nigerians irrespective of their location.
    Speaking at break time, Committee Chairman Shawulu Kwewum cited Abia State where life is almost becoming unbearable due to unabated cases of kidnapping.
    According to him, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) could no longer be said to be safe.
    He said: “Abia State as one of the original nine oil producing states is naturally affected by some of the challenges facing the oil-bearing states.
    “Even at the town hall meeting, several groups and individuals told the committee that at least five persons are kidnapped daily in Aba.
    “Records of the Nigerian Police Force as made available to the committee in Umaga show that five kidnapping incidences were recorded in January 2016 (all rescued and released); three incidences recorded in February 2016 (three rescued/released).
    “Also in March 2016, four incidences were recorded, three rescued while one died; in April 2016 one incident was recorded while two incidences were recorded in May 2016.”
    Kwewum however regretted that the security outfits were doing enough, adding,”even one kidnapping in one location is not acceptable and therefore all hands must be on deck to ensure that this menace is wiped out.
    “Of course, this has become more urgent because kidnapping has become widespread and even the federal capital territory is not a safe haven.
    “This meeting has become very important because the technology developed to make life easy for Nigerians is now being used to facilitate the extortion that goes with kidnapping.”
    A member of the committee, who noted that recent report on kidnapping across the country has assumed dangerous dimension, regretted that kidnappers demand for ransom from victims even in broad day light.
    The lawmaker alleged that when such reports were made to security agencies, especially the police, they were told that they don’t have jurisdiction on the area concerned.
    According to him, businesses are folding up in Aba due to the spate of kidnappings of innocent citizens with the situation taking a new trend with armed security operatives being killed during rescue operations.
    Responding for other security agencies, DIG Habila, explained that ongoing collaboration among security agencies was being intensified to rid the country of all forms of criminality.
    He said: “We won’t leave any stone unturned to achieve that but we are appealing to every Nigerian to remain resolute and support us in this task of making our environment safe.”
    Efosa Idehen, Head, Monitoring and Compliance, who stood in for the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said the regulator would partner security agencies to stamp out crimes by tracking all registered calls through telecommunication service providers.

     

  • Malaria, still a deadly menace

    Malaria, still a deadly menace

    Following the recent commemoration of this year’s World Malaria Day, Gboyega Alaka takes another look at the lackadaisical attitude of Nigerians towards the disease, drawing attention to the scary statistics and why a more serious and holistic attitude needs to be adopted.

    43-YEAR-OLD Jaiyejeje was good-looking, lovable and quietly ambitious. Although his early adulthood was tough, with unemployment dogging his way for years after school, Jaiye soon found his forte in paint design and architecture and things suddenly picked up for him. Jobs rolled in and of course good cash. In no time, he relocated to Ikorodu, where new houses were springing up and his services were more in demand, as against his Ikotun residence, where he grew up and spent most of his youth. He also bought a piece of land and simultaneously began building his own house. Life seemed good and prospects for the future even better. And then the sad news broke. Jaiye died.

    His death was undoubtedly the saddest news in his Ikotun neighbourhood, where he still maintained his old apartment. Many swore they saw him a couple of days before his sad demise. Some even said they saw him driving his Sienna bus car the day before and swore he wasn’t looking an inch sick. And yet he died. Gradually news filtered out that he had died of malaria; and then the outrage doubled. Malaria? Does malaria kill? Isn’t it just a matter of getting one of the approved malaria drugs and swallowing them to instruction? How could malaria kill somebody just like that?

    News had it that Jaiye had been rushed to the hospital in the night after suddenly falling grievously ill; and then the sad news the following day.

    Typically, Jaiye’s neighbour’s reaction and incredulity at his death and its cause largely typifies Nigerians attitude and disposition towards Malaria. For many, it is one illness no-one needs worry about. A few herbs here and there or some of the World Health Organisation’s approved drugs should suffice. Few, if any even think it is something to bother a doctor over and it is not unusual to see friends turn a friend who has visited a doctor on account of malaria into a butt of jokes.

    Many even think it is too ordinary an illness to earmark such time for, especially in the middle of their very busy schedule.

    For some however, it is as a result of poverty, as they literally calculate everything in naira and kobo. They believe going to a hospital would make them cough out more money than the mere five hundred naira or so that a pack of the drugs would have cost them. They are also quick to rationalize that the doctor would not give them anything order than the commonplace malaria drug that they know too well.

    But is malaria such a trivial infection? Is it so, so harmless, like many think?

     

    Lethal as ever

    Signals emanating from medical experts and health statistics from the World Health Organisation, WHO and other health agencies, including the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, NIMR is however in antithesis with this position.

    An updated 2015 World Health Organisation’s Top 10 facts on malaria states that about 3.2 billion people – nearly half the world’s population – are at risk of malaria. It states further that 214 million malaria cases were detected that same year, while a whopping 438,000 resulted in death.

    In addition, it said the infection is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa, as the region recorded 89 per cent of the cases, with 91 per cent of it culminating in death.

    Elsewhere in the report, the global health body also says children under five are particularly susceptible to infection, illness and death. It expatiates that more than two thirds (70%) of all malaria deaths occur in this age bracket and that in 2015 alone, about 305,000 African children died before their fifth birthdays.

    As if determined to exterminate humanity, the report also says the disease literally lays siege on the human foetus by afflicting pregnant women, leading to spontaneous abortion, premature delivery, stillbirth, severe maternal anaemia and death of the pregnant mother. Malaria is also said to be responsible for about one third of preventable low-birth-weight babies. To this effect, WHO recommends “intermittent preventive treatment at each scheduled antenatal visit, after the first trimester.”

     

    Nigeria, highest in death rate

    Last year at the commemoration of the World Malaria Day/World Intellectual Property Day in Abuja, the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James Entwistle, declared that Nigeria has the highest number of malaria cases in the whole wide world. He said the country boasted an unenviable estimated 100 million malaria cases get annually, with about 300,000 deaths.

    The US envoy attributed the high spread of the disease and casualties in the country to widespread of fake and substandard medicines. He said the unhealthy habit is “contributing to the alarmingly high number of malaria deaths and costs of health care” in the country.

    Quoting the Nigerian Malaria Strategic Plan 2014-2020, Mr. Entwistle said “Malaria is responsible for 60 per cent of outpatient visits to health facilities, 30 per cent of childhood deaths and 25 percent of deaths in children under one year, and 11 percent of maternal deaths.”

    In plain language, the ambassador said “Stolen malaria medicines often transported or stored in sub-optimal conditions decay and become ineffective, putting patients at risk for treatment.”

    He said “parasites, a by-product of this decay causes malaria, potentially mutate and become resistant to drugs.”

    He also lamented that the criminal activities of counterfeiting drugs deny legitimate businesses return on investment and ultimately discourage growth in the nation’s pharmaceautical industry.

     

    ‘Ending malaria for Good;’ still a long way for Nigeria

    Early last week, the Nigeria Institute of Medical Research, NIMR, Lagos said not less than 51 million Nigerians tested positive to malaria parasite in 2015. The deputy director of the institute and head, Malaria Research Programme, Dr Sam Awolola made this declaration at a forum in commemoration of this year’s World Malaria Day in Lagos.

    The deputy director lamented that Nigeria, with such huge malaria burden, is still far from achieving this year’s theme of “End Malaria for Good.”

    He said Nigeria’s fact sheet according to the 2014 and 2015 World Malaria reports testify that the nation is still far from pre-elimination stage, not to talk of elimination.

     

    Deadlier than the statistics

    Dr Festus Uriri, a medical doctor at the Military Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, is however of the opinion that the figures being bandied either by the World health organization of the NIMR are largely underestimated because they do not reflect cases and deaths in the remote African villages, where there are no medical facilities, let alone data taking.

    Like the Ambassador Entwistle, he literally lays the blame for the rise in cases of malaria and deaths, and the growing resistance to drugs by the parasite at the door-steps of dealers in substandard drugs. But first, he blames it on abuse of the drugs.

    Even though he maintains that malaria is as deadly as ever, he does not think Jaiye’s death should be blamed totally on malaria. According to him, malaria hardly kills with such speed.  In his words, “A lot of Nigerians have other health conditions that they may not want to mention,” but which may be responsible for such sudden illness and death.