The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigerian Newspapers

  • Job tools for Enugu lawmakers’ constituents

    A weeklong empowerment activity in Enugu North senatorial district ended with the distribution of 212 grinding machines, 51 tricycles, over 200 motorcycles and five transformers.

    The items were given out to individuals from the six local councils of the senatorial zone viz Nsukka, Udenu, Igboeze North, Igboeze South, Igbo Etiti and Uzo Uwani.

    The distribution took place at Nkpologwu, Uzo Uwani at the country home of the senator representing the district, Senator Chuka Utazi.

    The selection of the beneficiaries was done through the churches, which according to Utazi, know the actual people who needed the poverty alleviation intervention.

    Many clergymen were present at the occasion which was also witnessed by stakeholders of Nsukka cultural zone.

    Senator Utazi said at the occasion that the beneficiaries were given the items for them to become productive and be useful citizens of Nigeria.

    “This is just a segment of what we are doing in the Federal Government zonal intervention. These are just items for poverty alleviation we are giving to them.

    “Beyond that there are infrastructure intervention in the area of roads maintenance. There are also building of police stations and residents with a view to checking the menace of kidnappers, schools and books to pupils.

    “The Federal Government gets to the people through us and through us the Federal Government makes sure that the grassroots gets what they want. We want the people to earn income and generate revenue for themselves,” Utazi stated.

    According to the senator the presentations were not enough as “this is a drop in the ocean considering the fact that Enugu North senatorial district is the biggest in Enugu having over 51 percent of the population of the state.”

    He said the exercise would be continuous until majority of the indigent citizens are captured in the programme.

  • U.S. charges Nigerians for stealing millions of dollars

    A Federal grand jury indictment unsealed on Thursday charged 80 people, most of whom are Nigerians, with participating in a massive conspiracy to steal millions of dollars through a variety of fraud schemes.

    The Department of Justice (DoJ) said the suspects plan to launder the funds through a Los Angeles-based money laundering network.

    The indictment was unsealed after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted a series of raids yesterday morning and arrested 14 defendants across the United States (U.S.), with 11 of those arrests taking place in the Los Angeles region.

    Two defendants were already in federal custody on other charges, and one was arrested earlier in the week. The  remaining defendants are believed to be abroad, with most them located in Nigeria.

    According to the indictment, the individuals charged used various online fraud schemes – including business email compromise (BEC) frauds, romance scams, and schemes targeting the elderly – to defraud victims out of millions of dollars.

    According to a criminal complaint also unsealed yesterday, co-conspirators based in Nigeria, the U.S. and other countries contacted the lead defendants in the indictment – Valentine Iro, 31, of Carson, and Chukwudi Christogunus Igbokwe, 38, of Gardena, both Nigerian citizens – for bank and money-service accounts that could receive funds fraudulently obtained from victims.

    Once members of the conspiracy convinced victims to send money under false pretences, Iro and Igbokwe coordinated the receipt of funds and oversaw an extensive money-laundering network, according to the 145-page indictment.

    Read Also: U.S. govt introduces new rules restricting legal immigration

    The indictment and criminal complaint allege that Iro and Igbokwe, who were among those arrested, were involved in schemes resulting in the fraudulent transfer of at least $6 million in fraudulently-obtained funds – and the overall conspiracy was responsible for the attempted theft of at least an additional $40 million.

    The individuals named in the indictment targeted victims in the United States and across the globe, including individuals, small and large businesses, and law firms, the FBI said. Some of the victims of the conspiracy lost hundreds of thousands of dollars to fraud schemes, and many were elderly.

    Each of the 80 defendants named in the indictment is charged with conspiracy to commit fraud, conspiracy to launder money, and aggravated identity theft. A number of the defendants also face substantive fraud and money laundering charges.

    Additionally, Iro, Igbokwe, and five other defendants –Jerry Ikogho, 50, of Carson, Adegoke Moses Ogungbe, 34, of Fontana, Izuchukwu Kingsley Umejesi, 30, of Los Angeles, Tityaye Marina Mansbangura, 33, of Palmdale, and Obi Madekwe, 31, of Nigeria – are charged with operating illegal money transmitting businesses. Ogungbe and Mansbangura were also among those arrested yesterday morning, and Umejesi is a fugitive currently being sought by authorities.

    U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna held a news conference to announce the domestic arrests and the unsealing of the federal indictment charging the 80 defendants.

    He was accompanied by officials from the FBI, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office.

    Hanna said the case was part of an ongoing effort to protect citizens and businesses from email scams.

    The attorney said: “Today, we have taken a major step to disrupt criminal networks that use [business email scam] schemes, romance scams and other frauds to fleece victims

    “This indictment sends a message that we will identify perpetrators — no matter where they reside — and we will cut off the flow of ill-gotten gains.”

    These business email scams rely partly on deception and in some cases hacking. Scammers send specially crafted emails to their targets in order to trick them into turning over sensitive information about the company, such as sending employee W-2 tax documents so scammers can generate fraudulent refunds, or tricking an employee into making wire transfers to bank accounts controlled by the scammers. More often than not, the scammers use spoofing techniques to impersonate a senior executive over email to trick the unsuspecting victim, or hack into the email account of the person they are impersonating.

    The FBI says these impersonation attacks have cost consumers and businesses more than $3 billion since 2015.

    Valentine Iro, 31, and Chukwudi Christogunus Igbokwe, 38, both Nigerian nationals and residents of California, are accused of running the operation, said the prosecutors.

    The alleged fraudsters are accused of carrying out several hundred “overt” acts of fraud against more than a dozen victims, generating millions of dollars’ worth of fraud over several months.

    In some cases, the fraudsters would hack into the email accounts of the person they were trying to impersonate to try to trick a victim into wiring money from business into the fraudster’s bank account.

    Iro and Igbokwe were “essentially brokers” of fraudulent bank accounts, prosecutors allege, by fielding requests for bank account information and laundering the money obtained from victims.

    The two lead defendants are accused of taking a cut of the stolen money. They also allegedly used illicit money exchanges to launder the money.

    Many bank accounts run by the fraudsters contained more than $40 million in stolen funds.

    The FBI said the agency has seen a large increase in the number of business email scams in the past year targeting small and large businesses, as well as nonprofits.

  • Governors give condition to refund N614b to Fed Govt

    Governors on Thursday gave the Federal Government a condition to refund the N614 billion budget support intervention fund given to 35 states.

    They insisted that there must be a reconciliation of what each state will refund before any step could be taken. The governors spoke at the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja, presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, The Nation has learnt.

    As a result of their insistence, a committee was set up to work things out and report back at the next meeting.

    The money was released to states by President Muhammadu Buhari during the recession when many of them were unable to honour their obligation to workers. Apart from Lagos, all the remaining 35 states benefitted from the fund.

    A governor, who spoke in confidence, said: “We agreed in principle on the need to refund the N614billion but with a condition that deductions must be done after reconciliation of the actual intervention funds given to each state.

    “We all decided to set up a reconciliation committee, comprising all parties and stakeholders. We do not want a repeat of how states paid in excess for London-Paris Club loans. It was only when President Muhammadu Buhari came on board that the refund of the excess loan repayments was effected.

    “The Federal Government and the states mutually consented to defer the deduction of the N614billion from statutory allocations or other accruals until a proper reconciliation has been done to the satisfaction of all parties.

    The states fear that refunding the money might plunge them to further financial crisis. Many of them are struggling to pay salaries and carry out other activities.

    However, Finance, Budget and National Planning Minister Mrs. Zainab Ahmed said each state is likely to refund N17.5billion.

    According to her, the NEC reviewed the state of the economy.

    She added that arrangement has been concluded to forward the 2020 budget estimates to the National Assembly next month for consideration.

    The objective is to return the country to the January-December budget cycle.

    Read Also: Governors discuss update on NFIU guidelines, SDGs, others

    Mrs. Ahmed, who briefed State House reporters at the end of the NEC meeting, said: “Council agreed to constitute a committee of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) to meet with the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to finalise modalities for repayment.”

    According to her, Council was briefed on preparations for the 2020-2022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and the revenue generation challenges faced by the government.

    She said the stabilisation fund account and natural resources fund balances as at August 20 is $95,329,245.24; the balance in the natural resources development fund account, she said, is N95,896,886,829.69.

    She said reports on the Excess Crude Account and other special federation accounts are expected at the next meeting.

    According to the minister, the macroeconomic environment is recovering gradually.

    “There have been eight successive months of economic growth since emerging from recession.

    “The Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) remains the basis for the medium term fiscal strategy.”

    Highlighting successes recorded, she said: “Macro-economic stability has been achieved with growth in end Q3 2019 at 3.01 per cent.”

    The minister added that there was an increase in real GDP from 1.89 per cent in the first quarter of last year to 2.01 per cent in 2019.

    “There has been significant growth in non-oil sector. Contribution of the non-oil sector to GDP has increased by 90.4 per cent in Q1 2018 to 90.9 per cent in Q1 2019.”

    Ahmed said the unemployment rate was at 20.1 per cent as at the third quarter of last year, adding that there was the need for more diversification to boost inclusive growth.

    According to her, the President is committed to employment generation in the second term of his administration.

    She said considerable success has been recorded in containing insurgency in parts of the Northeast, with economic activities recovering.

    She noted that recurring conflicts between farmers and herdsmen, as well as incidences of flooding, had affected agricultural products.

    Breaches in petroleum pipelines, the minister said, partly accounted for low oil production volume in the first half of the year.

    “Inflation has continually declined since 2017 from 18.72 per cent to 11.08 per cent in July 2019,” she said.

    On the $9 billion judgment debt against Nigeria, she said that the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), had assured that the Federal Government will appeal the judgement.

    Some governors attended the meeting, the first after the ministers’ inauguration.

    Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki noted that August 21 marks a three-year milestone without a case of Wild Polio Virus (WPV) in Nigeria.

    He underscored the need for improved campaigns to stop the outbreak of the CVDPV2 (a type of poliovirus), even as there is the need for increased routine immunisation.

    Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi, who chairs the NGF, gave an update on NEC Ad-Hoc Committee on Security and policing.

    He said the Inspector-General (IG) had initiated community policing, adding that there is a plan to use N-Power beneficiaries and youth corps members as police officers in their Local Government Areas.

    He said that the Council also received a presentation from the Chief Executive Officer, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) Oscar Onyema.

    The NSE, he said, is one of Africa’s foremost Exchanges, with a market capitalisation of N25.7trillion ($70.7bn).

    “Over the last five years, N10.3trillion in long term capital has been raised by federal and state governments in the form of Government Bonds,” the governor quoted Onyema as saying.

    According to him, the capital market offers innovative financing solutions for Nigeria’s $100billion infrastructural challenge.

  • Wadume testifies before DHQ panel as more suspects held

    Re-arrested kidnap suspect Hamisu Bala Wadume made shocking revelations on Thursday when he appeared before the Special Investigation Panel in Abuja.

    The panel is probing the circumstances of his escape when he was first arrested and the killing of policemen by soldiers at a checkpoint.

    Wadume, who was re-arrested in Kano after a manhunt, was drilled for many hours by the Rear Admiral Ibikunle Olaiya -led Special investigative panel, The Nation learnt last night.

    It was gathered that the suspect who was smuggled into the panel’s meeting venue in Abuja gave a vivid account of his alleged dealings with Army Captain and the financial transactions he had with him and other security personnel.

    It was gathered that investigators had sent correspondence to some of the banks mentioned by the Wadume, to verify his claim of sending money into certain accounts.

    Read Also: What you should know about Wadume

    A source said the panel was shocked by the suspect’s testimonies, adding that certain actions would be taken in a matter of days on his matter.

    He said: “The police brought Wadume before the panel today. He was interviewed for several hours and more evidence was presented. He made shocking revelations and explained how he gave money to security personnel.

    “He also admitted paying money into the account of an Army Captain and that other personnel were on his payroll as well. He mentioned names of some of the security men at checkpoints.

    “Certain actions will be taken in a few days time. It was a good thing that he was presented before the panel.”

    The Nation also gathered that two of Wadume’s accomplices, including the major firearm supplier who was being trailed by the police, have been arrested.

    It was learnt that they were arrested by the police at Ibi in Taraba State and a cache of assorted firearms, ammunition recovered from them.

    The force spokesman, Mr. Frank Mba, is likely to issue a statement today on the arrests and the seized arms.

    Wadume was arrested in Taraba State by the police special squad following complaints about his kidnapping activities.

    However, when he was being taken away, soldiers at a checkpoint on Ibi-Wukari road opened fire on the vehicle, killing three policemen and a civilian.

    Wadume, who was in handcuffs, was freed. He subsequently  escaped and the police declared him wanted before his arrest in Kano

  • Ebonyi tackles illiteracy

    Worried by the high rate of out-of-school children in Ebonyi State, Governor David Umahi flagged off the Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) with a target to end illiteracy in the state by 2022.

    The programme is in partnership with the World Bank.

    Speaking at the launch which took place at the Akanu Ibiam International Conference Centre Abakaliki, Chairman of Universal Basic Education Board, Ebonyi State, Hyacinth Ikpor, in his welcome address, noted that the state has provided free uniform, food, text books and other relevant educational materials for out of school children.

    He urged all parents to utilise this opportunity by bringing back their children to school because such children are sources of insecurity to the state.

    “Education for all is a responsibility for all,” he added.

    Professor Gidado Tahir, the National Coordinator of BESDA commended Governor Umahi for his giant steps to end Nigeria’s worst education nightmare.

    He further urged the governor to ensure that a proper measure is put in place to bring the targeted number of children, ensuring that they remain in school and providing an enabling learning environment with effective teachers.

    Executive Secretary of Universal Basic Education Commission(UBEC), Dr. Hamid Bobboyi also appreciated the governor for making education the business of the state with much seriousness.

    He also commended the governor for the timely payment of teachers’ salaries which is part of the programme.

    According to him, the issue of out of school children have been a major problem in Nigeria, stating that in 2015, the number of children out of school were 500,000 and in 2017, it was 10.8 million children but has now come down to 10.1 million.

    He described the situation as worrisome and urged all stakeholders to ensure that no child is left behind in this programme for a better and stronger future for the country.

    He further stated that one of the measures required to address this issue is the ability of states to show proof of their previous achievements before getting more money to further the program which Ebonyi State had achieved already.

    He divulged that each boy is entitled to $80 while a girl is entitled to $100. This he said is to encourage the education of female children because girls are mostly left behind in most of the participating states.

    Dr. Tunde Adefoke, the representative of the World Bank stated that the project is Ebonyi project but only assissted by the World Bank and as such, all Ebonyians should show commitment to this program.

    He mentioned that Ebonyi is the only state in the Southeast benefiting from the programme due to the large number of children out of school.

    He further stated that it is not enough to have well equipped school buildings but the major thing is ensuring that the children are in school.

    Commissioner for Education in the state, Dr Stephen Odo, in his remarks, noted that all efforts by the state government to bequeath qualitative education to all Ebonyi children have not received the desired response.

    He blamed this on parents, guardians and care-givers who for one reason or the other still keep their children/wards at home or give them out for one reason or the other still keep their children/wards at home or give them out as maids or house-helps, or even allow them to hawk in the cities.

    He said, “This scenario has led to an unacceptable level of out of school children in the state especially when compared to other states in the Southeast.

    “For instance, while Southeast recorded 11.3% out of school in 2016/2017, Ebonyi State recorded 21.4 out of school children. This figure is 90% higher than the zonal average.

    He said the problem of out-of-school is both a national and a global concern. In Nigeria, about 10.5 million children of school age are out of school, about the highest in the world while UNICEF report of 2018 shows that one child out of every five out-of-school children globally is from Nigeria.

    He also noted that one of the main reasons for the problem is lack of political will by government to tackle the issue.

    “Other reason why the problem persists is financial constraints, ignorance on the part of parents/guardians, socio-cultural complexities, access to schools, physically challenged children, child labour and migration and orphanage.

    “Fortunately for us in Ebonyi State, we have the political will in excess supply, so all other barriers to children being in school will be completely taken care of. For the saying goes that where there is a will, there is a way”, Odo said.

    He promised that the state will be committed and dedicated to the program and urged all Ebonyians to cooperate with the ministry of education.

    Governor of Ebonyi State Engineer David Umahi identified illiteracy as one of the major causes of insecurity and violence in the country.

    He said all children should go to school because that is the only way to safeguard the future and to have a peaceful coexistence.

    According to him, the state had maintained 10th position in both NECO and WAEC for the past five years wbut is not satisfied because they are aiming for the first position.

    He assured them that the state government is working hard to rewrite the education of the state by creating three centres which will commence September this year for intelligent primary school graduates.

    He stated that the parents’ duty is dropping them off at the school gate because their feeding, clothing, medical, etc will be taken care of by government.

    The aim according to him is to have students making a minimum of 9As in WAEC and NECO.

    He also said the state government had also established the vocational training center at the international market to help children who are the breadwinners of their families.

    “We are creating three centers, we want to start with primary one and we want after the common entrance, all the people that pass the exam will re-sit a special exam and those who will make 95% and above will be taken to those three centers and all the parents need to do is to drop them in front of the school.

    “Their feeding, school fees, medicals and clothings are totally taken care of by government. We are starting this September. Some of these children are out of school because they are the breadwinners of their families so we are building a vocational center at the International m5arket for some of the children that are trading, to enable them to school and trade at the same time,” Umahi said.

    He further promised that by 2022 when the programme is to end there will be no out of school children in Ebonyi State.

  • Akeredolu’s wife to Nigerians: embrace yoga to stay healthy

    To keep fit and stay healthy, wife of Ondo State governor Mrs Betty Anyanwu Akeredolu has advised Nigerians to adopt yoga.

    Mrs. Akeredolu gave advice at the ongoing BEMORE Boot camp for Naija 2019 at the Elizade University Stadium in Ilara-Mokin, Ondo State.

    No fewer than 300 girls are participating in the camp.

    She noted that  the exercise provides one with sound health as it involves moving every part of the body in straight and bend directions, stretching some jointed parts and the neck.

    She said the fact that some people were looking older than their age, in their youth, was as a result of inadequate physical exercises.

    Mrs Akeredolu stressed that illhealth among Nigerians might not be unconnected to their lackadaisical attitude to physical exercises despite that they take balanced diet.

    Earlier, Mrs. Akeredolu had introduced taekwondo training for girls as panacea for domestic violence, especially sexual molestation by men.

    The training is expected to take place throughout all the states.

    Yoga is a part of Hindu training aimed at promoting control of body and mind.

  • ‘Our agenda for new health minister’

    As President Muhammadu Buhari constitutes his cabinet, Vincent Ikuomola writes on stakeholders’ expectations from the health sector and how the incoming minister can succeed in achieving the dream of a functional healthcare delivery system.

    Because of its benefits and far-reaching effects of its services on the public, the Health ministry is often considered as one of the most strategic that no responsible administration can relegate.

    The ministry is concerned with the formulation and implementation of health policies. It allocates resources to healthcare delivery agencies, provides frameworks for the development and management of human resources for health and sees to efficient procurement, distribution, management and use of health sector goods, and services.

    Perhaps this enormous responsibility is what has also made the ministry one of the most rancorous. Besides strike, which have become too frequent, rivalry is a major issue that has made peace elusive in the sector. This has disrupted healthcare delivery. The low confidence in the healthcare delivery is another issue for the incoming minister to address, as this has been mainly blamed for the huge medical tourism record of the country.

    According to experts, Nigeria loses more than $1 billion yearly to medical tourism, with the amount lost to foreign medical trips more than what the country budgets for the sector.

    There is also the issue of state of the healthcare facilities. The healthcare facilities are dilapidated, leaving healthcare delivery in the primary, secondary and tertiary levels in a sorry state. In most cases, public hospitals across the country lack basic provisions, such as wash-hand basins, modern toilets  and power supply. The primary healthcare, the first line in healthcare delivery system, is comatose, which necessitated the ambitious plan of refurbishing 1000 primary healthcare centres (PHCs) across the country by the last minister of health, Prof. Isaac Adewole; though this was not achieved.

    Speaking on his members’ expectations for the health sector, Dr. Walter Ugwuocha, executive secretary, Civil Society for HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (CiSHAN) noted that the new minister should make comprehensive implementation of the National Health Act a top priority. This, Ugwuocha said, would ensure universal health coverage (UHC) and getting basic healthcare services to those who are in dire need. He suggested that the government should establish a National Health Trust Fund, a financial pool where private sector could contribute and which could serve as a domestic resource mobilisation agency.

    “I think the new minister should ensure comprehensive implementation of the National Health Act with special emphasis on the full operationalisation of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency and making it mandatory for all states to set up operational SPHCDA. This will go a long way towards ensuring UHC and getting basic healthcare services to those who are most in need,” he said.

    On HIV/AIDS, he said the new minister should continue in good partnership with the National AIDS Control Agency to mobilise domestic resources to end AIDS by 2030. The incoming minister of health should make treatment of HIV, tuberculosis, malaria and other health issues free for children aged zero to five in government facilities and free and accessible healthcare for senior citizens from 60 in health facilities across all local government areas.

    To avoid delays that often complicate matters for accident victims, he said the incoming minister should enthrone a system that makes it mandatory for patients on emergency to be attended to without asking for any papers, stressing that first aid should be considered first. As far as he is concerned, this will preserve life or stop the patient from dying, prevent further injury or stop the patient from being injured even more, and promote recovery or try to help the patients heal their injuries.

    How to sanitise the health environment is another task before the incoming minister. This includes ensuring that private hospitals, whose buildings are beautiful outside but with inadequate facilities, should be made to feel the wrath of the law, while any hospital with high number of deaths monthly should be put on the red list.

    Another thing that the new minister must do to succeed, according to players in the sector, is to be a good manager of human resources by creating harmony among the health professionals in the all-important sector. According to Dr. Godswill Okara, chairman, Assembly of Healthcare Professional Associations (AHPA), the minister needs to foster harmony among all healthcare service providers to eliminate unnecessary rivalry in the sector.

    “The health sector has been very chaotic and very unstable for a while mainly because of the administrative style of the men at the helm of affairs. The ministry does not need a combative minister, but one that would administer the sector in a way as it involves multi-professionals in the sector,” Okara said.

    The minister also needs to demonstrate that he is a good manager of funds, especially in a sector that decries paucity of fund. “The new minister must be a good manager of the little that has been allocated to the sector. It will do quite a lot. We have done a comparative analysis of funding of the health sector in other countries; they don’t even get as much as we do in the health sector. But in terms of output, they are able to do quite a lot; they are able to ensure harmony and tranquility in their health sector.”

    The AHPA chair noted that if the new minister is desirous of success, human resources management is something that he should take seriously to avoid strike and rivalry in the sector.

    “The new health minister must realise that the sector is driven by team work. So, we expect whoever the minister is to exhibit that fatherly disposition; a father that sits as the head of the family of many children. You bring them together, listen to each one and ensure that there is harmony, concord, and  team spirit. Without that, it will be the usual upheaval and crisis in the place,” Okara said.

    Like his AHPA counterpart, Dr. Ozi Okonokhua, president, Nigerian Optometric Association (NOA), also wants the new minister to be a team player. He should be a man that considers the sector as multi-disciplinary, which entails that the minister should avoid giving an undue advantage to any particular group in the sector. “The biggest thing that he should face if he wants to succeed is to see health as a multi-disciplinary approach. The era where we look at health from a singular perspective is what has led us to where we are. The incoming minister must be ready to work with all the key players in the health sector if he is going to succeed,” he said.

    It is believed that the ministry, as it is configured, favours one of the professional group above the others, which has been responsible for the rivalry and sometimes strike. Restructuring of the ministry to accord due recognition to every profession is one area the new minister must look into.

    Okonokhua said: “The minister also needs to look at how the ministry of health can be reorganised. The Federal Ministry of Health does not give room for a level-playing ground for other players and a few persons have hijacked it to the detriment of the country. If you look at the health indices, it is a shame that as skilful as Nigerians are, the country is rated as one where health indices are so low.

    “The sector must be treated as multi-disciplinary, if he wants to avoid strife in the sector because that is one of the things that are drawing down the performance of ministers. The minister must see health as a multi-sectorial place where every health provider is given adequate opportunity to explore himself. If that is done, the minister would not have any challenge. Basically, the strife that is stiffening the sector would be resolved if  stakeholders are brought together for conversation.

    “The issues that have been bedeviling the past ministers would not burden him and that boils down to how he perceives other healthcare providers in the sector. When you isolate other healthcare providers and lay emphasis on only one aspect of healthcare, you will, of course, suffer the challenge we are facing and it is the average Nigerians that will be the worse off for it. So, if the minister is able to bring everybody to the table, not situations where only a few persons perceiving that the patients are there exclusive preserve and then no other person can touch the patients and the patients eventually suffer for it.”

    On how to curb medical tourism, the NOA chief said the government must ensure health facilities are properly equipped and staffed. “When your health facilities are ill-equipped and fail to provide atmosphere for health workers to deploy their skills to the best of their ability and benefit of patients, patients will seek places where they can get adequate healthcare. On the other hand, the reason you have this high level of medical tourism is because there is serious brain drain.

    “A lot of competent and skilled Nigerians are looking for greener pastures outside this country because of the suppressive nature of the healthcare delivery system that provides only for a few to the detriment of the other health providers. And, so, medical tourism will continue if you do not make equipment available for the healthcare providers and you don’t give the room to express themselves to the benefit of the patients, they will always seek healthcare outside the country.”

    Okonokhua, however, stressed that his dream is to see a  healthcare system that provides adequate room for every health professional to have job satisfaction.

    He added: “Job satisfaction is not only in terms of monetary gains, but the ability of the opportunity given to me to deplore my skills fully to the benefit of the patients. My dream is to see a situation where all the healthcare providers working as a team. My prayer is that we get to a point where every health provider is working hand in hand and deploying his skill to the benefit of the patients.”

  • Expert urges medical practitioners on ethics

    The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has charged medical practitioners to adhere to professional ethics to save lives.

    Head, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), Bauchi, Prof Calvin Chama gave the advice at the NMA Bauchi State chapter Annual General Meeting (AGM).

    Chama, who presented a paper with the theme, “Knowing your limit as a doctor”, emphasised that it is only by so doing that patients will have the confidence to patronise the health facility.

    Chama, who pointed out that doctors also need to know their rights in the performance of their duties, stressed that one should not override  other’s rights because the rights of patients and doctors are interwoven.

    The consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist said it is when a doctor could not differentiate between the two rights that conflict occur, which may lead to dire consequences.

    He stresed the need for medical doctors to put their patients first.

    In his opening remarks, ATBUTH Chief Medical Director Dr. Mohammed Alkali urged members of the association to live above board.

    According to him, the patient has the confidence that the moment he gets to the health facility, issues will be treated positively.

    Alkali added that when such confidence is betrayed, the patient will be  discouraged from seeking medical attention.

    He said health practitioners should synergise to promote efficiency.

    Bauchi State NMA Chairman Dr Lamara Dattijo said the AGM was aimed at awakening members on the need to be professional in their calls to save lives, adding that the chapter will take a cue from older professionals who had excellent records in practice.

  • ‘Employ more specialists to address epilepsy’

    A neurologist from the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Mr. Bankole Murtala has called on the Federal Government to employ specialists that will attend to chronic ailments, such as epilepsy, in the primary healthcare centres (PHCs).

    Murtala stated this in an interview during the Warriors Unite, a programme organised by the Epilepsy Foundation of Nigeria in Yaba, Lagos.

    According to him, epilepsy is one of incurable illnesses that deserves better attention at the PHCs, adding that the country is witnessing a growth in the number of those affected by it, especially in rural areas.

    As a major brain disorder, epilepsy should be considered a public health priority, he said.

    The expert lamented that many patients often wait a long time before they could access medical care in tertiary hospitals, adding that it is difficult to secure appointments to see doctors because there is limited space, which makes it hard for new patients to get bed space.

    He noted that a neurological patient, referred to any tertiary hospital,  had to travel long distances for a doctor’s consultation or investigation in the main city

    Murtala said things would be better, if a larger percentage of epilepsy is diagnosed and managed at primary and secondary healthcare levels, adding that this requires employing specialists and other competent public health personnel.

    He stressed that strengthening the capacity of healthcare workers would help to identify and initiate treatment in patients before such cases deteriorate.

    Although the neurologist admitted that the government is spending much money on cancer and other deadly diseases, he said epilepsy should also be pririotised as more patients are recorded in the hospitals while resources to support and help them are poor and limited.

    “Every day in every clinic and teaching hospitals, we get people reappointed because the doctors’ hands are full with people living with the condition,” he said.

    Founder and executive director of the foundation, Seyi Aragbada, said the programme will provide support for people living with epilepsy and their caregivers to express themselves and the challenges they face, adding that a lot of ‘warriors’ feel better after opening up about their epilepsy.

    She called for support for persons living with epilepsy because there are 45 kinds of seizures, which are the symptoms of person living with epilepsy.

    She said: “We have  three million people living with epilepsy in Nigeria and that is the size of a country and, unfortunately, it kills more than breast cancer. The more seizure epilepsy patients have, the more the brain gets damaged.”

    She, therefore, appealed to the Federal Government to do more to support people living with the condition so that they could lead a better life.

    “We are creating awareness, treatment and care to those suffering from the neurological condition, support families and individuals impacted with epilepsy, seizures and convulsion,” she said.

    Aragbada lamented that due to the stigma attached to epilepsy, a lot of people living with the disease avoid talking about it.

    She urged caregivers or families with epilepsy to endure and be patient because it is hard to accept diagnosis.

  • You and your mental health (111)

    Last week, we dealt with anxiety disorders. In this week, we shall take a look at depressive illness. Depressions along with anxiety are very common mental health disorders.

    At various points in our lives, we will somehow get unhappy. Unhappiness as a result of events occurring around us is inevitable. We will suffer from loss of loved ones, such as parents and friends. The majority of people concerned will grief for a brief period and then face the inevitability of life’s daily struggle. In a minority of persons, such grief may be prolonged beyond a reasonable period.

    Therefore, when what could have been a transient period of unhappiness goes into a longer period, then depression may be said to be featuring in such a person.

    Depression can develop from a various situations.  As mentioned, depression may occur from loss of loved ones, something of value –  job, money or business. When an expectation or desire is unfulfilled, such as failed marriage, miscarried pregnancy, failure in an examination, depression may follow.

    In other words, a defeated desire or an ambition that falls short could cause depression in some people. When such state of sadness goes beyond two weeks’ mark, the person is said to be depressed.

    Similarly, substances, such as alcoholic abuse, while in the initial time of consumption, may  cause elation, will in the long run, lead to depression. Some medical disorders, such as under-acting thyroid, under acting adrenal gland and long-standing physical illness, such as cancer, may lead to depressive illness.

    Depression may also run in some families due to hereditary or genetic factors.

    What does a depressed person feel? A depressed individual feels sad and gloomy; feeling sad or having a depressed mood with loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed. The sufferer could have changes in appetite resulting either in weight loss or gain unrelated to dieting. The person could have trouble sleeping or he or she could be sleeping too much.  The patient could have loss of energy or increased fatigue. There could be increase in restless activity or slowed movements and speech.

    The sufferer could have feeling of worthlessness or being guilt as well as having difficulty thinking, concentrating or in making decisions. Thoughts of death or suicide or even the individual depressed patient could take steps to commit suicide or self harm.

    How is depression diagnosed? Surely, the doctor will undertake a thorough assessment of the individual and, if required, will conduct some investigations to exclude some underlying diseases, which I have mentioned above. If any disease is found to be responsible for the depression, such illness will be corrected. If not, the doctor will focus on depression in itself as a distinct entity.

    Treatment: As in anxiety disorder, depression can be treated by non-medical means. One of the most important ways to overcome depressions is exercise. Regular exercise will stimulate the brain to cope with stress and pain. It may be all that you need to deal with depression or in combinations with other measures.

    Another non-medical method is “talking therapy.” Otherwise called counselling or psychotherapy, counselling may help deal with underlying cause of depression, such as history of childhood abuse or domestic abuse. In some occasions, depression may co-exist with anxiety in what doctors called anxiety-depressive illness. In such a case, the therapist will focus on the two complex illnesses.

    However, another approach to deal with depression is cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), which will help change the thought process that occurs in depression. In the event that the depression is due to consumption of substances, such as alcohol, the sufferer may need the help of specialists to help him or her to be weaned off the substance. The same thing goes for other depression-inducing substances.

    In the event that non-medication fails, medication may be considered. There are various formulations of medications that may be used to deal with depression. It’s important to comply with the prescribed medications for as long as it’s recommended so as to derive the full benefits from the medications.

    However, despite the medications, depression may still evade resolution. Therefore, another non-medication form to deal with depression is electro-convulsive therapy (ECT). This is a device that passes electrical current through the brain to stimulate its activities. This method may be combined with medications that I mentioned above or be used alone.

    Most depressions are treated on an outpatient basis. On few occasions, it may be necessary to admit the patient if he or she can no longer cope at home or in the community.

    Our next article will deal with psychosis, an equally serious mental health disorder.

    • Have you been impacted by the content of this article or you need some clarification? Kindly call 07087733114 or 08188343865 for support.