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Tag: Nigerian Newspapers

  • $9.6bn judgment: Court liquidates P&ID, affiliate

    AN Irish firm, Process and Industrial Developments Ltd (P&ID), which got a $9.6 billion judgment against Nigeria over an aborted gas project, was on Friday wound up.

    The Federal High Court in Abuja convicted it for fraud and tax evasion after it pleaded guilty.

    The court also ordered the winding-up of the firm’s affiliate, P&ID Nigeria Limited.

    Both firms are to forfeit their assets to the Federal Government.

    The company was awarded $6.6 billion in an arbitration decision following a failed 2010 project to build a gas-processing plant in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.

    With interest, the sum is now over $9 billion, which is about 20 per cent of Nigeria’s foreign reserves.

    Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami (SAN) had vowed to prosecute those involved in the controversial deal.

    The firms pleaded guilty before Justice Inyang Ekwo to an 11-count charge of fraud and tax evasion.

    The charges were filed against the firms by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on behalf of the Federal Government.

    This followed the firms’ unlawful conduct in relation to the controversial Gas Supply Project Agreement (GSPA).

    An arbitration tribunal in London slammed $9.6billion damages on Nigeria.

    The firms were accused of fraudulently claiming to have acquired land from the Cross River State government in 2010 for the GSPA.

    Read Also: Army begins court martial of ex-GOC over missing N400m

    The two companies were represented in court by Mohammad Kuchazi, identified as Commercial Director, P&ID Ltd, Virgin Island, and Adamu Usman.

    Usman, a lawyer, represented himself; Kuchazi was represented by his counsel, Dandison Akurunwua.

    Following their guilty plea, prosecuting counsel Bala Sanga called their sole witness, Usman Babangida, an EFCC investigator, for facts review.

    The defence team did not raise any objections.

    It also did not object to the prosecution’s tendering of documents relating to the 2010 GSPA and EFCC’s investigation activities. The judge admitted them in evidence.

    After Justice Ekwo convicted the firms, Akurunwua and Usman prayed the court to be lenient.

    They urged the court to consider the fact that P&ID showed “forthrightness and candour” by pleading guilty and not wasting precious judicial time.

    Sanga prayed the court to order the winding-up of the firms in sentencing them.

    In his judgment, Justice Ekwo held that in view of the facts, evidence and the defendant’s guilty plea, the orders to make were for the winding up of the companies and forfeiture of their assets.

    He ordered the forfeiture of “the assets and properties” of the two firms to the Nigerian government and wound them up.

    Reacting to the judgment, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami(SAN), said Nigeria now has basis to seek a review of the $9.6billion judgment against it.

    He said Nigeria will meet with its legal consortium early next week in the UK in preparation for the case listed for September 26.

    Malami, spoke through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Umar Gwandu, said: “The implication of today’s conviction is that Nigeria has a  judicial proof of fraud and corruption as a foundation of the relationship that gave rise to a purported liability in the arbitral award.

    “A liability that is rooted in fraud and corruption cannot stand judicial enforceability. Nigeria now has a cogent ground for setting aside the liability.

    “Nigeria is expected to review its strategy in view of unfolding developments as it relates to conviction of  some of the suspects that have admitted fraud and corrupt practices in the transaction that gave rise to purported award.

    “Nigeria is meeting with its legal consortium early next week in UK in preparation for the case listed for 26th September.”

     

  • Fix the pothole

    SIXTEEN cows died following a vehicular collision at “Moshalashi Bus Stop along Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway,” a report said. The cows were not supposed to die in that manner, but they did. No human life was lost, but human lives could have been lost.

    The September 17 accident happened “around 6:30am” and involved “a fully loaded mass-carrier bus popularly called ‘molue’ and a lorry packed with 32 cows.”  According to the report, “The bus was heading to Oshodi area of Lagos State, while the lorry was heading to Abattoir when the accident happened… the drivers of both vehicles were trying to avoid a deep pothole at Moshalashi bus stop when the accident happened, triggering a traffic snarl for hours.”

    How deep was the pothole reported to have caused the collision? How did the pothole cause the collision? An eye-witness was quoted as saying: “There is a big pothole here in Moshalashi bus stop. The lorry carrying the cows first partially hit the bus breaking some of its glass, all the passengers ran out of the bus and there was no loss of life. It was while the lorry driver was trying to prevent further falling on the bus and was trying to move out of the pothole that it fell and 16 of the cows died on the spot. The lorry driver fled the scene and was nowhere to be found.”

    What is a cow’s life worth? The 16 cows that died were valued at over N5m by the owner of the lorry, Sulaimon Olarenwaju, who lamented that the police had towed his lorry to Alagabdo Police Station. “It was not as if the lorry driver intentionally caused the accident, the pothole caused it, I don’t know why my lorry is not released, they should please release my lorry and not ask me to pay for it,” he said.

    Who or what is to blame for the accident and the death of the cows? The police seized the lorry, which suggests that the lorry driver is to blame. What about the pothole, the “deep” and “big” pothole?  The police are not thinking about the pothole, obviously. Who is supposed to ensure that there is no pothole at Moshalashi Bus Stop, or anywhere else? Who is thinking about potholes and the deaths they can cause, even if the dead in this case are cows? What if human lives had been lost?  Who should fix the pothole?

  • On citizen corruption

    IN the past week, social media was on fire with two cheerless and shameless stories that appear to, perhaps unwittingly, trace the roots of corruption to ordinary citizens. While one of the stories may have been a fiction created to serve a moral purpose, the other is strikingly authentic. Fiction or reality, both stories point to what we have always known, that citizen inordinate demands, whether out of poverty or greed, fuel political corruption, which destroys our national potential for greatness.

    In the first story, Honorable Akin Alabi, a member of the House of Representatives representing Egbeda/Ona Ara Federal Constituency in Oyo State declares as follows: “I bought a transformer for a community that requested for it in my constituency. When the delivery people got there, the “youths” there said they must “settle” boys before they drop it. They called and I told them to take it to another community that asked as well. Their loss.”

    As should be expected, many responders on social media applauded the reaction of the Honorable member. If the youth population who are to benefit more than their elders from the donation of a transformer could be so blatantly unappreciative and downright depraved in their demand, they do not deserve the help. Besides, the donor demonstrated fidelity to principle by refusing to be blackmailed by the youth. He refused to compromise.

    The second story does not appear as genuine; but it is by no means implausible. The writer, Honorable Aiyekooto, a “member of the State House of Assembly”, exemplifies the “join them if you can’t beat them” philosophy of life. He started out acting out his vow “to live within my lawful income and fight for the masses with the last drop of my blood.” He gave as much as he can within his modest means to charity, including his father’s mosque and his mother’s church. He angered his parents who resented being humiliated by his small donation.

    Aiyekooto was suspended for fighting corruption in the House. The masses mocked him, calling him “a useless politician that can’t spray money.” He finally buckled. He joined the race and he instantly became famous again. ‘I regained my “dignity”, he declares with a straight face. “I am a corrupt politician. Don’t blame me for becoming one. I am just another politician with good intention that became a monster due to the masses’ unreasonable impression about politicians.” Even if this second story is fictitious, it is instructive because it reflects reality as we know it.

    We are aware of official corruption by public servants and politicians through the work of EFCC, ICPC, and other agencies. These two stories point to the reality of citizen corruption. Is there a cause and effect relationship between the two? Aiyekooto thinks so: I am just another politician with good intention that became a monster due to the masses’ unreasonable impression about politicians. In other words, citizen unreasonable impression and corrupt demands fuel politician corruption. The two stories, which are by no means outliers, confirm this conclusion.

    So does an old account that just resurfaced as I was finishing this article. John Zibiri agonized over the state of corruption in Nigeria, insisting that it is unconquerable by humans except God is ready to deliver Nigeria: “Everything in Nigeria revolves around corruption. Nobody cares about anybody. No law and order. I looked from my left to right, everybody is only desperate about one thing “money”. They will kill anybody and anything that stand between them and money. Try starting a gate house in your village, everybody wants to profiteer from it. The bricklayer, the carpenter, the mason and even your brother who claim to be supervising on your behalf. They are corrupt, morally bankrupt and selfish. Everybody there thinks about himself and nobody is thinking about Nigeria.”

    In “The Challenge of Citizenship” (The Nation 14/12/2011), I observed that it used not to be so; that citizens had once been the bedrock of our democracy even at its infancy in the early sixties. I asked what went wrong with responsible citizenry. I identified two factors: “First, the period before the first military take-over of the country was the golden era of this country in many respects, the most important of which was the educational system which promised every child a proud future with a decent means of livelihood. Parents only had to worry that their children stayed in school and worked hard. Civil servants and professionals were contented with their salaries and whatever loan amount they received to buy a car. House loan was an additional benefit.

    “Communities were proud of their educated indigenes. Inter-community competition centered on the number of university graduates produced and the quality of the job offers their sons and daughters received. The young ones chose role models from the rank of the educated professionals. And many of the politicians of the First Republic era were the first educated folks from their communities with a heightened sense of the gravity of the burden they carried.

    “That period with its value system is no more. It was violently destroyed by the military, ironically not with the gun but with the destruction of the educational system, and its replacement with the emergency contractor system and a “new breed” politician model with tons of money to lavish. The idea now is that everyone has a price. This has been a most effective strategy in the business of politics since the Second Republic.” Military misrule sowed the wind. As citizens, we are harvesting the whirlwind.

    In that 2011 piece I also referenced a second factor which had to do with the contamination of cultural values. It used to be the case that in many of our communities, a young person that brought shame to the community through greed was treated as a leper. But that was the case when the community held sway over its value system. Local communities are no longer in charge of anything, when even a traditional ruler often finds it challenging to summon erring politicians who may exercise the power to embarrass him. Our republicanism thrives on alien value systems which are unknown to genuine republican political systems. Other republican systems are undergirded by the rule of law. Ours subscribe to the rule of powerful men and women. Young ones quickly learn to also beat the system, or they may have to resign themselves to looking up to those “God” has selected for the crumbs from their table.

    There is a deficit of uplifting values in this country, a disease that afflicts both leaders and followers. There is no use debating which of chicken or egg comes first. The challenge is for both leaders and followers to see declining values as suicidal for both. The country desperately needs a citizenry that takes seriously the responsibility of citizenship to serve as the gadfly perched on the back of selfish and greedy leaders. It is time to confront the misplaced value we place on a corrupt system that threatens our future; come together state by state, local government by local government to redeem the future.

    In “Creating citizens” (The Nation, 4/12/2009), I observed that citizens are neither saints nor Satan; they are neither perfect beings nor irredeemable devils. But they are morally conscious. “Citizens are aware of their responsibilities to fellow-citizens and to the state…. They are conscious of the moral wrongness of breaking the law; evading taxes; aiding and abetting corruption; and violently thwarting the will of the people in elections. A citizen will also put the good of the country above everything else because he or she identifies that good as his or her own good as well.”

    Whatever their vocation, gender, class, status, religion, or cultural nationality, citizens must be active participants in the desirable struggle for the realization of the country’s greatness. Cutting corners and demanding graft from politicians, or politicians giving up on principle and joining inordinate ambition that compromises integrity in pursuit of scandalous wealth will not get us there. We must know that the path we have taken thus far is unsustainable because it leads to a ruinous end for everyone.

     

  • Throwing stones at the Glass House

    Investigations by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) and furore over the attempted reinstatement of a coach indicted for bribery, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) have combined to spoil the mood at the Glass House, writes Deputy Sports Editor ADEYINKA ADEDIPE

    Scandal. That is one word the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has been unable to run away from. And sad enough, the scandals are self-inflicted and they continued to bring the game and the body to disrepute.

    For the football federation, these are definitely not the best of times. It is under heavy criticism for a blunder it made and the allegation of fraud, which has continued to hunt the hierarchy of the Glass House.

    Despite the swift U-turn, many have continued to slam the NFF for the move to reinstate Salisu Yusuf as the coach of the Under 23 team after serving his one-year ban for collecting $1000 ‘bribe’ to field two players in the Championship of African Nations (CHAN), which took place in Morocco in 2017.

    The news filtered in last week that Yusuf had served his one-year suspension and would return to his former post. According to the NFF’s communique, Yusuf was suspended for accepting a ‘cash gift’ of $1000 to feature two players during Nigeria’s 2018 African Nations Championship (CHAN) campaign in Morocco.

    After a thorough investigation, the coach was sanctioned by the NFF Ethics Committee with a fine of $5000 and a one-year ban from football-related activities. The NFF, in a statement, also confirmed the former Enyimba coach’s return while thanking caretaker coach Imama Amapakabo for his services during Yusuf’s absence.

    The statement read: “The Nigeria Football Federation has noted that the Chief Coach of the Super Eagles, Salisu Yusuf has now fully served the one–year suspension clamped on him last year.

    “The Federation thanked Coach Imama Amapakabo for his sterling efforts while in charge of the Under 23 national team in the absence of the suspended Yusuf, and for eventually seeing to the team’s qualification for the Under 23 AFCON.”

    However, the statement irked football buffs who were of the opinion that the tainted coach should not return to football despite completing his ban. They based their position on the fact that it might be difficult to trust him to make a dispassionate selection whenever he gets a new national team job.

    Others believe that after serving his ban, he should be allowed to return to football, which is his source of livelihood. To this group, there is no need throwing out the baby with the bath water, arguing that he should be allowed to return to his job since he has seen out his ban and should now remorseful.

    Another group posited that in a sane environment the coach should have resigned his appointment after the revelation instead of waiting to be investigated and banned before quitting the job. They cited the case of former England coach, Sam Allardyce who left his job in 2016 after Daily Telegraph of London said he told reporters posing as businessmen how to ‘get around’ players transfer rule.

    In the midst of the commotion, the NFF quickly came out with follow-up release that it would take a decision on whether or not Yusuf would return as coach, in any capacity, to any national team job after the ban for breach of professional conduct, leaving Amapakabo to continue his job with the Olympic team.

    According to the NFF’s Head of Communications department, Ademola Olajire, the coach, who the NFF has “noted” served his ban, would further have his eligibility to return as national team coach deliberated by the board.

    While Nigerians await the football house’s high-level deliberation, the general feeling is that Yusuf should stay away from the national team and football.

    Also, the corruption allegation, which has continued to plague the football house, seems not to be abating any time soon. Just as many were trying to get over the furore generated by Yusuf’s attempted reinstatement, top shots in the Football House suddenly had a visit from the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

    The anti-corruption body sealed the Parkview residence of the NFF President, Amaju Pinnick, hours after sealing the Abuja residence of the Federation’s Vice President, Shehu Dikko on Friday.

    However, following more discoveries from the ongoing investigation, 15 more properties belonging to Pinnick, Dikko, NFF General-Secretary Dr Sanusi Mohammed and NFF Technical Committee Chairman Ahmed Yusuf Fresh at different locations have been seized by the commission early this week.

    According to the breakdown given by the ICPC, four properties owned by the Shehu Dikko  at various locations are mansIon located at No.1 River Benue Street, Maitama, Abuja;  Plot no.1276 Cadastal Zone 806 Mabushi Vide Right of Occupancy dated 2704/2007 with file number KD22878; House No. 10 Chikere Road, GRA, Ungwar Rimi, Kaduna and Plot No. 669 Cadastal Zone 895, Utako Vide Right of Occupancy dated 25/03/ 2006 with File No. KD2141.

    Properties  seized from Dr Mohammed as revealed are located at Plot 8001 Cadastral Zone, a property at 6A, Tangier Street, off Sudan Street, Zone 6 Abuja and a house beside the Mosque of Alheri School, off Tsafe Road, near Guiwa Lowcost Housing Estate, Sokoto.

    Fresh’s properties sealed are: a Bungalow situated at First House on Prison Yard Road off David Mark Road, Minna, Niger State and another Bungalow at Bosso Estate, behind State Government Orphanage Home, Minna, Niger State.

    NFF president has the highest no of seized properties among the quartet. Six properties have been traced to him and confiscated includes an apartment  at Regent Plaza, 8 Greville Road, North Maida Vale London  NW6 5HU, United Kingdom;   a Plot 1805, Cadastal Zone A10, Maitama, Abuja vide right of Occupancy dated 15/05/ 2019 with File No. DT 64003;  a bungalow at First House, 3rd street, DDPA Housing Estate, besides Delta Broadcasting  Service, Asaba, Delta State.

    Other properties of Pinnick under investigation are  a mansion located at 2C Layi Ajayi Bembe Street, Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos;  a Bungalow at No 3 Oritsejafor Close, GRA,  Warri and Brownhill Event Centre situated at Plot 67 ELF Road, Ogummu-Warri Central, Delta State.

    The commission said it has launched the fresh investigation into the NFF’s activities following allegations of corruption.

    “ICPC places under investigation, buildings belonging to Amaju Pinnick, President of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) located in Park View Estate, Lagos,” read a tweet from the ICPC Twitter handle.

    ICPC stated that it took the action following the order of forfeiture of the property by a Federal High Court on Friday. The houses were sealed by the commission over a fresh corruption investigation on the federation.

    According to the ICPC, the investigation is to uncover financial malpractices in the football association, allegedly involving Pinnick, Dikko and other executives.  ICPC spokesperson Rashhedat Okoduwa said the properties were sealed following fresh corruption charges against the NFF executives. She also confirmed that the anti-graft agency would apply for interim forfeiture of their properties in court, adding that the NFF officials under probe would be charged to court after all investigations have been concluded, while the commission would ask for permanent forfeiture of the properties in court.

    With more facts emerging from the investigation, it was a surprise to note that the embattled NFF top shots still had access to the sealed buildings. However, while not divulging details of the fresh fact that have surfaced, Okoduwa said: “As we proceed, the facts become clearer,” Okoduwa told Sports Extra.

    The anti-graft agency’s spokesperson also warned members of the public against buying the seized properties owned by the NFF officials under investigation.

    When asked why the officials were still in their properties, she said, “Having access to the property is not a point. The point is that the ICPC has put a notice on that property. We have made it known that the properties are under investigation by virtue of the owners of those properties. There is a notice to the whole world not to deal with that property. They can stay there until we conclude our investigation.”

    However, with the failure in the past to get a conviction, it is not clear whether or not this fresh move to bring these high-ranking NFF officials to book will see the light of day.

  • NERC orders three hydro power plants ‘must run’

    Following the forecast of the Nigerian Metrological Agency that there will be ravaging flooding resulting from long duration of rainfall this year, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) yesterday directed the three Hydroelectric Power Stations; Kainji, Jebba, and Shiroro, to as a matter of compulsion, operate their plants.

    The order, which The Nation obtained from the commission’s website yesterday was titled: Order on Mandatory Dispatch of Hydro Power Plant in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.

    The investors in the plants Mainstream Energy Solution Limited and North South Power Limited have been under utilising the entities owing to load rejection and low demand from the electricity distribution companies (DisCos).

    The DisCos in turn blame their decision on lack of a cost effective tariff and the weakness of the transmission network in the industry.

    But the NERC yesterday said  a major consequence of the meteorological event on the operations of the three hydropower stations (i.e. Jebba, Kainji and Shiroro) has been high rate of reservoir fill-up which poses extreme environmental risks to lives/property downstream from the plants that could result in submerging entire villages along the riverbanks.

    The commission said its attention had been drawn to rising cost of wholesale energy to the electricity distributors in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) that was blamed on generated and wheeled energy.

    The “increasing cost of wholesale energy to distribution licensees in NESI attributable to the generation mix of dispatched energy,” according to NERC.

    According to the order that the NERC chairman, Prof. James Momoh and its Commissioner, Licensing and Compliance, Dr. Dafe Akeneye issued, the “must- run” status of the three plants shall be enforced in line with their daily nomination.

    The commission assigned the System Operator (SO) of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to ensure strict compliance with the terms in the order in the dispatch of power plants in the industry.

    In the event of any deviation or non-compliance with the terms of the order, the NERC mandated the SO to compulsorily submit detailed written justification to the Commission within 48 hours.

    The commission insisted that the order took effect from September 18, 2019.

    NERC said: “The three hydro power plants are hereby designated as “must-run” powerplants and shall be accorded high priority by the SO in the dispatch of grid connected power plants in Nigeria.

    The “must-run” status of these 3 hydropower plants shall be implemented in accordance with the daily nomination of these plants.

    The SO shall ensure strict compliance with the terms of this order in the dispatch of powerplants in NESI.

    The SO must submit detailed written justification to the Commission within 48 hours for any event of deviation/non-compliance with the terms of this order.

    This order takes effect from the 18th day of September 2019.”

    The order explained that the commission is required by section 32 of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA) to create, promote and preserve efficient industry and market structures, and to ensure the optimal utilisation of resources for the provision of electricity services.

    It added that NERC should ensure the safety, security, reliability, and quality of service in the production and delivery of electricity to consumers.

    According to the order, the commission is expected to establish or, as the case may be, approve appropriate operation codes and safety, security, reliability and quality standards.

    The order noted that Section 66 of EPSRA mandates the licensed System Operator (50) to carry out the activity of system operation, generation scheduling, commitment and dispatch in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).

    NERC recalled that the SO in execution of the statutory mandate in two above issued the following merit order for NESI on 21 July 2017 –

    Group 1: Hydro units (least cost) on free governor control and ancillary service.

    Group 2: Other units identified to be on free governor control.

    Group 3: Other units identified to be offering regulating reserve.

    Group 4: Other units offering spinning reserve (i.e. the power plants contracted for the ancillary service).

    Group 5: All plants dispatched subject to transmission constraints.

    Group 6: All plants providing voltage support above statutory limit.

    Group 7: All other power plants.

    The order reads in part: “The meteorological forecasts for 2019 indicated that there would be significant events of flooding across the country and these forecasts have been confirmed with the high incidents of heavy rainfall for long durations across the country.

    “A major consequence of this meteorological event on the operations of the 3 hydropower stations (Jebba, Kainji and Shiroro) has been high rate of reservoir fill-up which poses extreme environmental risks to lives/property downstream from the plants that could result in submerging entire villages along the riverbanks.

    “The attention of the Commission has also been drawn to the increasing cost of wholesale energy to distribution licensees in NESI attributable to the generation mix of dispatched energy.

     

  • Risk of infectious diseases on increase, says Osinbajo

    The risk of infectious diseases has increased tremendously, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said.

    He stated this during the opening of the 55th scientific conference of the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientist of Nigeria (AMLSN) in Abuja.

    Osinbajo, who was represented by the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, said the global health security agenda arose in response to the risk humanity is facing from the emergence and re-emergence of highly infectious diseases that pose great risk to public health globally.

    “With the world becoming a global village and increased human movement across countries, the risk of infectious diseases has increased tremendously,” he said.

    Global health security agenda was launched in February 2014 and it is a growing partnership of over 64 nations, international organisations and non-governmental stakeholders. This is to help build the countries’ capacities to help keep the world safe and secure from infectious diseases spread, which elevates global health security as a national and global priority.

    “Its aim is to strengthen national and global capacity to prevent, to check and respond to human and animal infections whether nationally or foreign or accidentally or deliberately spread. Global health security agenda brings to fore the need to have a sustainable laboratory system,” he said.

    He pointed out that the conference was apt due to the problem we are experiencing in the country and globally with the infectious diseases.

    Nigeria was confronted with various disease outbreaks with some unpleasant consequences, notably the Ebola virus of 2014.

    The diseases, he said, are of public health interest and affect the socio- economic structure of people and the development of the country. There have been significant improvements in prevention, detection surveillance and response to these diseases of public health interest despite casualties recorded during their outbreaks. Nigeria, with support from relevant partners, has adopted and strengthened the structure and process required in the management of these diseases’ threat and their impact on the nation. Nigeria is a signatory to the international resolution on global health security, which includes the international health regulation, integrated disease surveillance and response and global health security agenda.

    The former Minister of Health, Prof. Eyitayo Lambo, who chaired the conference, warned that the spread of infectious diseases can be used as an instrument of terror. He added that infectious diseases now spread quickly more than ever, while the new emerging and existing bacterial are becoming resistant to available anti-biotics. The former minister hinted that as people travel freely across borders, there is high possibility that infectious diseases can be used as instrument of terror.

    “I want to remind you of something already known. Infectious diseases spread more quickly than they have ever been and also, we have new bacterial, we have existing bacterial that are becoming very resistant to the available anti-biotics.

    ‘’Also, diseases spread crazy because of so many things; the way we travel round the world right now promotes easy spread of diseases. Then, there are other threats and we cannot rule out the possibility of the uses of disease as an instrument for terror. We know that given our experience, particularly in West Africa, the impact of serious outbreak is something that we can recollect. The impact is on socio sphere, the economic sphere and even the political sphere.

    “The security agenda acknowledges the essential needs for a multilateral and multi-sectoral approach to strengthen both the global capacity and the capacity of nations to prevent, to detect threats and to respond to infectious diseases. The crucial roles of the medical laboratory scientists in not only achieving the visions and goals of the GHSA, but also in ensuring the provision of GHSA services anywhere in the world, including my dear country Nigeria is in-contestable,” he said.

    AMLSN President Bassey Iyang stressed the importance of laboratory tests to global health and security, adding that early detection of diseases requires a rapid testing capacity.

    He described global health security as activities required to minimise the danger and impact of acute public health events that endanger the collective public heath of populations living across geographic regions and international boundaries.

  • Shocking violation

    It is shocking that residents of a disability care home, who should be insulated from the troubles of the outside world on account of their pathetic conditions, are targets of robbers and rapists. “In the space of the past five months, thieves have broken into the home and assaulted residents on four occasions,” according to  an Assistant Coordinator at  Cheshire Home, Ibadan, Oyo State,  Mr. Kayode Lawal.

    The violation of the space and the residents reflects social degeneration. It is a disturbing signal of anomie. Lawal’s account raises questions about the state of mind of the violators. He lamented: “In fact, between April and May, we have had four robbery incidents. They came in to steal and also raped some of our girls. Our community seems isolated from other members of the public. So, some people take advantage of this to harass us at night. Anytime they see people visiting us to make donations, they gang up to hijack the gifts given to us.”

    Officials of the Nigerian Shippers Council, South-West zone, who heard the sad story when they visited the home to make donations on September 14, must have wondered whether their gifts would also end up in the hands of thieves.

    Obviously, security is a problem at the home, and the security situation has been exploited by hard-hearted invaders. Lawal said the home’s management reported the incidents to the police, and had requested that the police should patrol the home to ensure security. No doubt, police presence will improve security at the home. The police authorities should pay attention to the security of the home.

    The Cheshire Home, Ibadan, is one of the five Cheshire facilities in the country, founded “to help people with disability live a full complement of life and acquire education or vocational training as their God-given ability permits.” Cheshire Homes were established in Nigeria by people inspired by the charity founded in 1948 by a British Royal Air Force officer, Group Captain Leonard Cheshire. The first home was opened in Ibadan in 1959. Another one was established in Lagos in 1961, followed by others in Enugu in 1962, Orlu in 1968, and Port Harcourt in 1973.

    It is unclear whether the other Cheshire homes are also faced with a security problem. These homes have been in existence for decades, and provide important social services by caring for disabled people and promoting positive social attitudes to disability. They must be protected and encouraged. In cases where such homes are located in exposed localities, relocation should be considered. Generally, homes for people with special needs should be shielded from those who take advantage of soft targets.

    Robbing a disability care home is bad enough. Raping females living with disability compounds the evil. The possibility of disabled rape victims contracting sexual diseases, or even having to deal with unwanted pregnancies, underlines the need for prompt action to safeguard the residents of such homes.

    The rapists were insensitive to the conditions of their disabled victims. Such insensitivity mirrored the country’s rape problem. In July, for instance, mounting cases of sexual abuse across the country, particularly against minors, led to an extreme proposal by some senators who argued that convicted rapists should be sentenced to death. This shows that there is a need to punish rapists severely, to serve as deterrent.

    It is curious that there were no reported arrests concerning the incidents at the Ibadan home. Does this mean the police didn’t investigate the crimes? It wasn’t enough that the home’s management reported the incidents to the police. The police were expected to find the criminals and prosecute them.

     

  • Walk your talk

    •It’s good some states have a policy of paying their students’ WAEC/NECO exam fees. But it is bad they owe arrears of such payments

    The National Examinations Council (NECO) released the result of its May/June 2019 Senior Secondary School Examinations (SSCE) on August 27. But it is still holding on to the results of Niger State’s public schools because the state owes it N470 million.

    That is bad, for it is causing the victim-students untold harm and psychological trauma.

    For one, being in a limbo, not knowing whether you passed or failed an examination, is bad enough for a young mind. For another, that those who have passed stand the risk of losing tertiary spots they had earned, because they cannot access their results, as NECO and the Niger State government are quibbling over bills, is extremely distasteful.

    Both bodies must sort out this problem. This is one grass that must not be allowed to suffer, simply because two elephants are feuding.

    Still, the scenario is rather intriguing. NECO claims a N470 million outstanding bill. Niger State does not deny, insisting it just paid NECO N150 million, as it is wont to pay in bits, since it lacks the cash to pay the entire bill at a go. That leaves a balance of N320 million, out of this year’s NECO Bill.

    Abubakar Aliyu, the permanent secretary in the Niger State Ministry of Education, therefore appealed to NECO for clemency: NECO should release the result on compassionate basis, while the state pushes the option of progressive part-payment, until the entire bill is defrayed. But should by Monday October 16 NECO still refused, the government would seek ways-and-means to settle the bill.

    We can’t track how eventually it all panned out. But the permanent secretary’s pitch sounded not unreasonable, even if it came with a huge doze of emotive blackmail, which tries to shape NECO as some putative flint-hearted Shylock, unmoved by both the state government’s pleas and the young minds’ angst — nice try!

    But there are some fundamental questions pushing to be answered. To start with, if the bill is for this year alone (and not some carry-over arrears over the years), why would NECO be so adamant, as not to buy the government’s payment-by-instalment scheme — which again appeared not unreasonable, given that both NECO and the government are ongoing concerns, and yearly customers?

    The only logical deduction could well be that the government had, over the years, not stuck to its pledges; thus putting NECO in very uncompromising position to meet its own obligation to its other education consultants and logistic contractors, that put together the examinations.

    That NECO went for the jugular — withholding the results as ultimate pressure, since the public outcry would somewhat force the government’s hand — is also heavily suggestive of a payment arrangement completely gone unhinged. In any case, if the government had an emergency ways-and-means to source money, why did it have to wait until NECO went public with the problem?

    Whichever way you look at it, the Niger State government does not come out of this one smelling nice. All things considered, it would appear fairly and legitimately charged with some form of sloppiness, if not outright lack of seriousness, in its approach to settling this all-important bill.

    First, it is commendable that Niger counts among the state governments that have adopted paying NECO and WAEC examination fees as pillars of state education policy. That is a vital step to supporting education and offering parents relief, as one of the rubrics of social democracy. But to fail to deliver, after that much promise, repudiates the very fundament of that very fine tradition of people-centred development.

    Since no one put a gun to the heads of these states before adopting this policy, they should try at all times to walk their talk. Afterwards, what is worth doing at all is worth doing well. Even if the examination bodies offer credit lines in the course of the mutual transactions, such should not be abused to the extent that the students are the ultimate victims.

    The Niger State government should therefore pay up, so that its public school students can get their results and move on with their lives. Also, it should ensure the debt crisis and threat to withhold results do not blow open again.

    That is the only way it can earn due praise from an excellent developmental initiative.

     

     

  • We are all beggars

    I am sure what will first occur to you on seeing the title of this piece is to raise a poser: Do Aliko Dangote, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet beg? They beg their customers, they beg God and, in some cases, financial institutions that give loans for their businesses to progress. They also beg governments and their agencies for policies that will keep them in business.

    Media organisations beg; they beg for advertisements. They cajole the public to buy their news. Even the most-critical of newspapers pile pressures on their advert department and sales departments to improve their fortunes. They know the importance of oxygen to their existence.

    Politicians also beg; they beg for votes — do not mind the fact that they also steal votes. Marketing communication is begging by style and advertising is specialised begging. For me, public relations is nothing but begging with facts. The ultimate goal is to have improved image or images that will keep the customers or clients coming back.

    As popular as Coca-Cola is, it remains a major spender in global advertising, public relations and marketing communications. Even firms with specialised services, such as construction companies, also bid for jobs. You can easily replace ‘bid’ with ‘beg’. So beggars are not just people who seek alms on the streets. We are all beggars one way or the other.

    On the micro-level, family members beg one another for money. Friends do the same. Colleagues beg colleagues for assistance, financial and otherwise. Church members beg pastors and vice versa for cash.

    When someone begs you for assistance, it should not be an excuse to insult him. A friend once called an old pal on phone for some financial help. After the call was supposed to have ended, the old pal was overheard telling someone: “Don’t mind her; she is begging me for money.” What he did not know was that the person who called him had not cut the call and she heard how he was shaming her. There is nothing wrong in lamenting if you cannot offer the help requested, but what is bad is to shame the person, especially when you have no fact to prove he or she was begging for no just cause.

    On another level, Nigerians are also a special kind of beggars. For years, we have been begging our governments to give us good leadership.

    The Goalkeepers Data Report released on Tuesday by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation shows that despite signs of progress, the health and education indexes in Nigeria are far from desirable. This is one development Nigerians have been begging successive governments to get right. The Gates’ observation tallies with a World Bank Human Capital Index, which shows that “children born in Nigeria today will be only 34 per cent as productive when they grow up as they could be.”

    Gatekeepers Report 2019 shows that one of three Nigerians live in poverty. That represents thirty-two per cent of the population. Thirty-seven per cent of children still suffers from malnutrition.

    Another interesting figure from the foundation borders on the situation where about half of Nigerians use unsafe or unimproved sanitation. Nigeria still ranks 43rd of 52 African countries on a recently compiled sustainable development goal index.

    Poverty, the report says, is concentrating in fast-growing countries like Nigeria and by 2050, more than 40 per cent of Nigeria will still be under poverty’s jackboot. No wonder we still have the second-highest number of deaths of children under the age of five.

    Our government needs to uplift the girl-child. “No matter where you are born, your life will be harder if you are born a girl,” the report says. Girls have an average of two fewer years of education than boys. In Nigeria, according to the World Bank, girls get an average of 7.6 years, and boys get 8.7 years.

    Nigerians have been begging and are still begging for better security. The late M.D. Yusuf headed a committee in 2008 to look at what the police need to function well. According to the committee, the police need an estimated N2.8 trillion for capital development (N560 billion/year) within five years for effective reform. But what did we appropriate? In 2016, it was N16.1 billion and of this, only N10 billion was released.

    Between 2012 and 2016, the police requested for N1.164 trillion but a paltry N64.999 billion was appropriated. Sadly, only N40.477 billion was released. For overhead, N328.34 billion was requested, N39.43 billion was appropriated but only N32.22 billion was released in those four years.

    Of the N200 billion requested for investigations annually, only N121 million was released in 2016. For its 14,306 vehicles, including 3,115 motorcycles, the police require N19.9 billion to fuel them yearly, but it got only N809 million in 2016. No wonder there is never fuel in their vehicles when it matters most.

    “What is most worrisome is that though the budgetary allocations on paper are insufficient to meet the financial needs of the force, the actual releases are far below what is budgeted. The basic requirement to provide adequate and appropriate items of kits for police personnel annually is N14,583,671,264 as against the N1,752,500,000 earmarked in the 2017 Appropriation,” says a former police chief.

    In the advanced world, people do not have to beg for this. A 2007-2008 report by the British House of Commons Home Affairs Committee entitled “Policing in the 21st Century” shows clearly that we are still begging the question of proper policing. The United Kingdom spent 2.5 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on the police in 2004 and £12.6 billion on the police in 2007/08. For the United States, it spent 2.2 per cent of its GDP on police; Spain spent 1.8 per cent, Germany 1.6 per cent and France 1.4. These translate into billions of dollars. France, in 2016, gave additional €250 million to the police to boost anti-terrorism fight.

    Another area Nigerians have been begging is the epileptic power supply that we enjoy. In 2013, the Federal Government divested 60 per cent of its stake in the electricity distribution companies (DisCos) to 11 private investors. The belief was that the decision would make things better. But for political capital, the Federal Government has been unable to allow economic parameters to run the sector. The Power Purchase Agreements the government signed with the investors requires the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) to pay for unused electricity. What this means is that when the DisCos reject the load allocated them by the System Operator, the Federal Government pays for it.

    My final take: In a nation like Nigeria, where the economy has never performed anywhere near optimum, a beggars’ republic cannot be avoided. And with one wobbling government after the other, the people are also bound to beg for amenities, which are taken for granted in saner climes.

  • Polio certification: So near, yet so far

    As Nigeria prepares to attain a polio-free status, experts say more commitments in routine immunisation coverage and quality surveillance are needed to prevent a resurgence of the virus, reports Vincent Ikuomola

    It was with euphoria that Nigeria recently celebrated three years without a new case of wild polio virus. In a country that used to record large number of victims, this is seen as a milestone.

    With this, what happens in the next six months means a lot, as the country tries to ensure no case of polio outbreak is recorded  to be certified polio free by the World Health Organisation (WHO). But there are questions on the lips of many: “Would Nigeria finally exit polio? What happens after obtaining the WHO polio-free certification?

    This is significant given the country’s unimpressive record in efforts to rid itself of the virus. Although many countries in Africa have recorded success stories in their fight against wild polio virus, eradication of the disease has remained a challenge because many countries are falling short on surveillance and immunisation. Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only three countries still battling to exit polio. But, in the last three years, Nigeria has gone without any record of wide polio virus incidence, something that has been described by many as a milestone, especially as it falls within the yardstick set by the WHO for declaring a country free of the virus.

    In 2016, Nigeria had hoped to wipe out wild-type polio before four children from Borno State came down with polio virus, thereby throwing a spanner into the country’s efforts. Not daunted, the country, through the aid of military personnel who either accompany the vaccinators or give drops of the oral polio vaccine to children themselves, is offering the drops at exit points in some of the most difficult-to-reach parts of Borno. Hence, after the last disappointment, hope rises again that Nigeria may soon attain a polio-free status. This explains why the government called out the press to announce the latest milestone achievement, even as it is still hopeful that it is able to see through the next six months. It is important to note that following the Nigeria three-year mark, the Africa Regional Commission for Certification of Polio Eradication (ARCC) will begin a rigorous process to confirm if each country in the region is wild polio-free. Nigeria will submit its final country data for evaluation in March 2020, provided there are no new wild polio cases. If the data confirms zero cases, the entire WHO AFRO region may receive wild polio-free certification as soon as mid-2020, leaving only the Eastern Mediterranean region out of six around the world where the virus still exists.

    Listening to various speakers on the day elicited joy and hope for a nation that has been categorised as one perpetually burdened with debilitating diseases. Among other things, Nigeria is often ranked high, if not highest in most global diseases. In the case of the wild polio virus, many find it too incongruous to explain that Nigeria ranks alongside Pakistan and Afghanistan as the only countries in the world still being afflicted with the deadly virus, despite global assistance to rid humanity of polio.

    But Nigeria has gone three years without any fresh case of wild polio. Hence, August 21, this year was considered by stakeholders as Nigeria’s date with history for achieving one of the first of the three milestone achievements. Consequently, following this feat, Nigeria has commenced the process of documentation towards the final certification by the Africa Regional Certification Commission (ARCC). If ARCC is satisfied with the country’s documentation, Nigeria will be certified wild polio virus free. As close as March 2020 seems to be, it is still a long way to go for the country, especially as it has come this close before.

    According to stakeholders, what is required of Nigeria to ensure that the milestone is not reversed is the need for the country to maintain the momentum and push that has brought the nation this far. In the words of Dr. Clement Peter, WHO Officer in Charge, the next six months is very crucial for the government and country. He called for redoubling of efforts from governments at the federal and state levels, stressing that donors and other partners need to intensify political and financial support to ensure the final success in the fight against wild polio virus in Nigeria.

    Speaking in Abuja at a press conference on “three years without wild polio virus case in Nigeria,” Clement said more commitments will be needed to prevent the resurgence of the virus in the country. He also said high routine immunisation coverage and quality surveillance remain the most critical things to do in the build-up towards certification and post certification. He identified improved immunisation coverage and high quality campaigns as means of boosting population immunity against all forms of polio viruses, while urging the government to remain vigilant in ensuring high quality surveillance at ward levels.

    Also, at the press conference, Dr. Matshiddiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, noted that the three-year landmark sets in motion a comprehensive evaluation by the Africa Regional Certification Commission to determine if the WHO African Region of 47 countries, indeed, can be declared to have eradicated wild poliovirus. If all things work according to expectations, certification that the WHO African Region is free of wild polio is expected in early 2020.

    “We are confident that soon, we will be trumpeting the certification that countries have, once and for all, kicked polio out of Africa. If the evaluation process proves the wild virus is gone, Africa will join four of the WHO regions – the Americas, the Western Pacific, Europe and Southeast Asia – in holding this distinction. It will leave only the WHO Eastern Mediterranean region still working to stop the virus,” Moeti said.

    She praised the continent’s resilience and strong commitment to stopping the virus in overcoming the tough challenges. “The path to eradicating polio in Africa has been a monumental effort of multinational coordination on an unprecedented scale, providing vaccinations to hundreds of millions of children and conducting immunisation campaigns in some of the most remote locations in the world, with vigilance and exhaustive surveillance to timely detect outbreaks, including among people on the move,” she said.

    “It has involved men and women volunteering in the thousands, sometimes putting themselves in harm’s way, some even sacrificing their life for this work. These successes would not have been possible without the incredible perseverance of countries and partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative who have mobilised the financial and technical resources to get the job done.”

    But Dr. Faisal Shuaib, executive secretary, National Primary Health Care Development  Agency (NPHCDA) warned, while declaring August 21 as a major milestone in the history of the country’s’s polio eradication efforts,  that the success is one that must be managed with caution, not euphoria.

    Shuaib said what the situation calls for is continuous vaccination of children, stressing that it has become imperative that all stakeholders continue to support the polio programme through technical and financial support as well as political oversight to prevent the reoccurrence of the virus and stop the spread of all other types of polio virus in all states and local government areas in Nigeria.

    “We need to collectively address the remaining challenges facing the programme, including the poor access to children in some parts of the country due to insecurity, poor health seeking behaviour of our people, vaccine hesitancy, malnutrition, poor sanitation, inadequate funding for primary healthcare, especially at the state and local government levels,” he added.

    Giving assurance that NPHCDA will ensure that the gains were not reversed, Shuaib said one critical issue at this last stage is surveillance. He stated that WHO is expected to ensure that there is a robust surveillance system in the country to be certain that there are no further cases of the wild polio virus.

    The Country Director, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), Paulin Basinga, said Nigeria must continue its hardwork to address the remaining challenges. He applauded the government and partners for achieving the milestone, adding that the feat reflects the coordination and trust between all stakeholders and is the outcome of successfully working towards a common objective.

    Basinga urged the government and other partners to work towards reaching every last child with life-saving vaccines, as well as strengthening the surveillance system to detect and respond to threats of possible outbreaks.

    “Nigeria has made tremendous progress in recent years and must continue its hard-work to address remaining challenges, especially by continuing to improve its political commitment and domestic financing for health to improve routine immunisation coverage to ensure no child anywhere in Nigeria ever dies of vaccine-preventable diseases again,” he said.

    In some parts of the country, stakeholders say Boko Haram insurgency continues to be an obstacle for the country’s polio eradication efforts. Apart from insurgency-ridden Borno, Kano State has also been at the centre of a multibillion-dollar initiative to eradicate polio. For Nigeria to be declared as polio free, 19 years after the first deadline set by WHO to eradicate it elapsed, efforts need to be intensified especially in states that used to be epicenters for polio. It is believed that Nigeria has reached this point because of concerted efforts of vaccine advocates and volunteers, including influential traditional and religious leaders who have stepped up to take the oral form of the vaccine door to door and act as reliable mediators to close the trust gap.

    Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral disease, which mainly affects young children. The virus is transmitted by person-to-person spread mainly through the faecal-oral route or through contaminated water or food and multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis.

    In 1988, there were about 350,000 cases of the virus when the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI)—a collaboration between WHO, UNICEF, the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Rotary International, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation—set out to immunise every child in the world against polio. However, just 12 years later, the number of cases had dropped to under 1,000 worldwide. Between January and August, this year, the world has seen 65 cases—all of them in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Nigeria, the milestone is not just a complex victory over the deadly virus; it is also a defeat for distrust, misinformation and an insurgency that used to allow the virus to fester. This means stakeholders can’t stop yet until the country reaches the finish line.

    If Nigeria is certified polio-free next year, stakeholders say it is just the beginning, for the country needs to muster the needed political will to increase resources required to reform and strengthen its moribund health systems.