The Nation Newspaper

Tag: panic

  • Veterinarians on bird flu: don’t panic

    The Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA) has urged poultry farmers and the public not to panic over the resurgence of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI or bird flu).

    It said its members were ready to curtail bird flu’s spread with the method used during its outbreak in 2006.

    The new NVMA President, Dr. Edgar Amos Sunday, spoke at the weekend when delivering his acceptance speech at the inauguration of the new executive council of the association, at the University of Ibadan (UI), Ibadan.

    He said:” As veterinarians, perhaps the most obvious challenge facing us in the country today is the resurgence of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI or bird flu). As we all know, this portends grim implications for our country’s economy especially in the wake of the slump in oil prices in the international market.”

  • Panic in Oyo community over ritualists’ return

    Residents of Jagun village, Iware in Afijio Local Government area, Oyo State, are living in fear following the sighting of some strange men believed to be ritualists.

    A discovery made by men of Operation Burst at a building within the community also confirmed their suspicions.

    The situation began to build up a few weeks ago when some women, who were spreading cassava flakes on a tarred road in the sun, saw  some strange men coming into the area.

    It was gathered that the women immediately ran away to inform  others  about  the return  of the “ritual murderers.”

    A community leader, who pleaded for anonymity, said: “Immediately these women saw the men, they screamed out of fear. The women  left their cassava flakes  by the road side  and ran back to the  town to alert  other  residents. That was how   the community got to know of their arrival. They (the ritualsts) even  threatened to deal with the women if they dare  tell anyone   about  their  arrival  in the  town.”

    But prior  to the  sighting of the “strange men,” security agencies  arrested some men found in possession of human parts at an isolated building  in a bushy  area within the community.

    The men were later  arraigned at a magistrate’s court.

    Despite the arraignment of the alleged ritualists, the people continued to live in fear,  with parents refusing to send their children to the two primary  schools in the community,  : Baptist Primary School, Jagun and Idi-Ope Primary School, Iware.

    Besides, expectant and nursing mothers deserted the only maternity centre at Adio-Jagun for fears of being kidnapped for ritual purposes.

    The residents also began a self-imposed curfew with nobody stepping outside their homes beyond 9pm.

    Following a tip-off, men of the Operation Burst, Oyo Zone  – a special security outfit set up by the government – held a meeting with the residents, assuring them of safety of life and property.

    The men of the security outfit urged the residents to go about their legitimate businesses.

    The day after, the security men stormed the alleged ritualists’ base, searching the building and its vicinity for the criminals.

    Though no one was found, what the security men discovered amazed hundreds of residents, who besieged the place to catch a glimpse.

    The “house of horror,” which wore a new look, has an underground cell, dungeons, deep pits for dumping mutilated human bodies as well as shrines.

    The security outfit thereafter embarked on intensive surveillance of the area day and night to apprehend the masterminds of the “ ritualists’ base.”

    It was learnt that the Caretaker Chairman of the Local Government, Mr. Oluade Olorode, was advised by the Operation Burst to prevail on the government to the demolish the house.

    Some of the elated residents, who spoke with The Nation, praised the men of the outfit for their timely response to the situation, which they said had almost unsettled the community.

    When contacted, Commanding Officer of Operation Burst in the zone, Captain Dominic Ezeoha, said their operations were in strict compliance with the rules establishing it and intelligence directives from the security outfit’s headquarters in Ibadan, the state capital.

  • Ebola: Don’t panic, cleric urges Nigeria

    A Kano based religious leader, Pastor Felix Olotu, has advised Christians to remain prayerful in the face of the deadly Ebola virus.

    He said those who trust in God will not be infected by the virus.

    Olotu made this known while speaking with journalists in Kano.

    He said the deadly virus is not strange to his church members because it had been predicted during the New Year message that there would be an epidemic disease.

    Asked if his church will review the conditions of giving members Holy Communion to minimise physical contact, Olotu, the Kano area superintendent of the Apostolic Church, insisted that prayer is the key preventive measures for the disease.

    He urged Nigerians not to panic but intensify prayers, assuring that Ebola will become a history in Nigeria.

  • Panic over boy’s deteriorating health

    Panic over boy’s deteriorating health

    •Four-year old can’t sit, stand, walk

    At four, he is supposed to do what kids his age do – sit, stand and walk. But Oluwatomiwa Abraham Ogunleye cannot do any of these.

    For over three-and-a-half years, he has been nursing an ailment that has stunted his growth. The disease has left his head unusually big.

    With no father to cater for him, his mother, Mrs Titilope Ogunleye, is helpless because she cannot afford the cost of his treatment.

    “I do think a lot these days because there is nobody to lend me a helping hand as his health grows worse by the day. I can’t help crying most times because he too cries often. Just last week, I woke up to find myself at a clinic. Oluwatomiwa’s problem has become a huge burden on me. I just hope I will live to see him get over this; somebody may show him mercy,” the weeping woman told The Nation at her Isolo, Lagos home yesterday.

    She looked frustrated as she held the boy in both hands, amid soothing words from neighbours who advised her not to lose hope.

    Oluwatomiwa was barely four months old when he developed malaria and jaundice and his mother took him to hospital in Osun State.

    “He was given antibiotics and he got well again. But a month later, we had another problem to grapple with as his head began to swell,” Mrs Ogunleye said, adding: “Following series of tests and x-rays, it was discovered that his head is filled with water and puss.”

    “The whole problem started when I was still in Osun State. I took him to various orthodox and herbal hospitals in Osun, Edo and Ogun states to mention a few; yet, the problem persisted. At a point, I had to follow my uncle to Lagos in September last year in search of possible solution. I have since been on it,” Mrs Ogunleye said.

    The woman said she spent over N800,000 at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) and the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), where a surgery was done on the head after various tests and  drugs.

    Rather than improve, the child’s condition worsened. This led her to cry out to Nigerians through The Nation on September 10, last year.

    The paper carried an account under the name, Titilope Oyewole, at Wema Bank Plc with number, 0226456809, with Mrs Ogunleye’s phone number: 08132714060.

    Earlier, Sponsor a Child, a non-governmental organisation, found a specialist hospital in the United Kingdom (UK), where the treatment would cost N5 million.

    “Following the publication, some Good Samaritans helped us with some money which I have been spending on procuring his drugs and food. The gesture sustained him this far but all is gone now. I’m tired of begging to buy his drugs because the assistance is no longer forthcoming.

    “My two other children are out of school since I can’t sponsor them while struggling to keep their brother alive. This burden is too crippling for me to bear. All good mothers and fathers across the world should rise to help me rescue my child from the brink of death,” Mrs Ogunleye pleaded.

  • Panic as security agents, armoured carriers storm Osun

    Panic as security agents, armoured carriers storm Osun

    •APC condemns  ‘terror campaign’

    There was panic  yesterday in Osogbo as Department of State Security (DSS) officers and armoured personnel carriers stormed the Osun State capital in a show of force.

    The hooded operatives,  clad in black vests and trousers, shot sporadically into the air while being driven around the state capital in white Toyata Hilux vans.

    Many residents, who were scared by the presence of the security agents, ran in confusion to avoid accidental discharge of bullets.

    The usual clean air was violated by the smell of smoke from the men’s guns as they drove through the town, passing Gbongan Road, Olaiya Junction, Alekuwodo and Oke-fia, where the Government House is located.

    It was gathered that no fewer than 4,000 DSS operatives have been deployed in the state ahead of the August 9 election.

    The men, who came from Abuja and other parts of the country, arrived in Osogbo on Tuesday night through Akure, Ondo State.

    Some armoured personnel carriers also drove round the town.

    But the APC has raised the alarm that the campaign by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to terrorise the citizens with security operatives had started.

    The party enjoined the citizens not to be afraid of high security presence, especially where gunshots from security convoys were heard.

    The party’s spokesperson, Kunle Oyatomi, said “no citizen should be scared or run away when they see and hear gunshots from security men because they have committed no crime.”

    The party enjoined the people to go about their lawful businesses.

    It said: “A country in which the security operatives are the ones doing what we are experiencing in Osun calls for the gravest concern.

    “Instead of Boko Haram, our own security officers who should be protecting us have now chosen to frighten us. So, if the terrorists come, who will protect the citizenry?

    “Osun will not bow to terror from either Boko Haram or security forces. We are only sad that evidence of the Banana Republic is slowly, but evidently crippling in. But if this is how the PDP intends to win in Osun election, God help Nigeria.”

    The Special Adviser to the Governor on Environment, Mr. Bola Ilori, noted that the PDP was behind the deployment of DSS operatives.

    He said: “The deployment of security operatives to the state is normal if they are here to protect us. But any arrest of any member of the APC will be against the interest of democracy.”

    He added that the development was an abuse of office by the ruling PDP-led Federal Government, urging the people to remain calm in spite of victimisation.

  • Panic in Ogun community as robbers threaten residents

    Panic in Ogun community as robbers threaten residents

    Fear has gripped residents of Elerinko Estate in Ijoko-Ota, Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State following a letter written to them by suspected armed robbers.

    The armed robbers, according to residents, promised to visit them.

    They appealed yesterday to Police Commissioner Ikemefuna Okoye to provide them with adequate security.

    Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Mr Olumuyiwa Adejobi the development, saying adequate measures have been put in place to secure the lives and properties of the people.

    According to Adejobi, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said: “ The CP has acted on it.”

  • ‘Don’t panic on Lagos roads’

    ‘Don’t panic on Lagos roads’

    The Lagos State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, has said that the administration of Babatunde Fashola is committed to the development of infrastructural facilities in the state.

    Hamzet, who was fielding questions from reporters on why the state is seemingly struggling to get the infrastructural development of the metropolis right, said: “We are not struggling. We have the master-plan that we are implementing, which, of course, can’t be exhausted magically in a calendar year, given the enormous challenges inherited by this administration. The state believes that improved infrastructure is a major pivot on which poverty eradication can rest,” he said.

    Citing the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, Isheri-Oshun-Jakande Road, now fully awarded to Hitech Construction Company to complement the bridge works that started some time ago, and the Blue Rail Line project as examples, Hamzat said “the ultimate target of the administration is to develop sufficient infrastructure portfolio across the state for a competitive business environment.”

    On residents’ fears about the deplorable state of most inner roads, especially in the suburbs, the commissioner stated: “Across the state, some roads are federal while some belong to the state. It is important that the major roads are made fully motorable before we fix a good number of the inner roads. But the state government has fixed a lot of the federal roads, thus reducing its financial ability to fix most state roads.”

    He, however, hinted that the state had constructed a lot of major roads, adding, “others are currently under construction across the state. Last year, we started the construction of 156 roads, mostly, inner ones. And importantly, we are being careful with the number of roads being constructed at a time to prevent gridlock.” Continuing, he said: “We use the same approach in the rural areas-to rehabilitate as much as we can, bearing in mind that we can do all in a short while. However, many are resurfaced to bring relief to users. Such include the Isuti and Powerline roads in Ifako Ijaiye, Oke Agbo Street in Ojo Council Area and many others.

    “It is to allow for motorable roads because it will be a traffic nightmare if we shut down all the roads at a time for rehabilitation or construction.”

    On the crippling effects of vehicles that ply the roads daily, especially, oil tankers, heavy-duty and articulated ones, he said: “The load on our roads is very heavy; thus causing faster deterioration. Ninety-three per cent of containers coming into Apapa Port travel through Lagos roads. They are important to the economy of the state, since as a nation, we don’t have a standard rail infrastructure. The state traffic law regulates the movement of these vehicles to certain time of the day for the safety of road users.

    The commissioner further said that it was good to develop satellite towns and it comes with standard and auxiliary roads. But, it is important that we take care of the existing roads. Now, the state is renewing the blighted areas such as Badia, Ajegunle and Sari Iganmu. A typical example is the housing construction at Badia with the accompanying auxiliary infrastructure.”

    When reminded that most of the roads deteriorate easily, he said: “Some of the biggest threats to the roads are willful damage, conversion of roads to mechanic shops and car wash. Hence, the advocacy that we must as a community, take ownership of our roads. Also, we see concrete is an option; hence, we constructed the road leading to Gbagada hospital in Kosefe Local Government Area with concrete.”

    Hamzat revealed that the state’s plan was to build infrastructure that can cater for 40 million people. He further said: “The state has also expanded its capacity for water transportation. Also, the Lagos State Waste Management Agency (LAWMA) is on top of our waste disposal. Lagos State is making good progress on all fronts. As a mega city, there are unique challenges such as transportation, refuse disposal and others. Our approach is to tackle these challenges one after the other.”

    Calling on the Federal Government to carry out its responsibilities in Lagos, he said: “Our prayer is for the Federal Government to take care of its responsibilities by fixing the Airport Road, Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, Apapa-Oshodi Road and other such infrastructure. Importantly, the Federal Government should allow the states to control these roads, but that must come with the resources that will allow them to carry out this responsibility. In essence, the Federal Government must shed weight and focus on security, immigration , and general aviation policies.

    Drawing a comparison between Lagos and some states in the United States, the commissioner said: “The infrastructural availability in New York is far higher and the federating states in the US are truly independent and can control their destinies. That is not the case in Nigeria. We must practise true federalism. Lagos will continue to build infrastructure that will give us a competitive advantage to be a knowledge-based economy. We are already on the rise; we just need to keep the momentum going. We continue to focus on our developmental strategy of Power, Agriculture, Transportation and Housing.

    “It is important that the two components in the budget, the revenue and expenditure, perform optimally. As a state government, we have focused on the capital expenditure which is why we have been able to achieve the type of infrastructural upliftment we have seen in the state. The revenue and the expenditure components must perform for the state to deliver people’s infrastructural needs. The revenue must be fully enhanced and reliable for us as a state to continue to uplift our society. So, we as people, must pay our taxes to build roads, sustain our hospitals, schools and so many other social amenities for people to enjoy better life.

     

  • ‘Don’t panic on Lagos roads’

    The Lagos State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, has said that the administration of Babatunde Fashola is committed to the development of infrastructural facilities in the state.

    Hamzet, who was fielding questions from reporters on why the state is seemingly struggling to get the infrastructural development of the metropolis right, said: “We are not struggling. We have the master-plan that we are implementing, which, of course, can’t be exhausted magically in a calendar year, given the enormous challenges inherited by this administration. The state believes that improved infrastructure is a major pivot on which poverty eradication can rest,” he said.

    Citing the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, Isheri-Oshun-Jakande Road, now fully awarded to Hitech Construction Company to complement the bridge works that started some time ago, and the Blue Rail Line project as examples, Hamzat said “the ultimate target of the administration is to develop sufficient infrastructure portfolio across the state for a competitive business environment.”

    On residents’ fears about the deplorable state of most inner roads, especially in the suburbs, the commissioner stated: “Across the state, some roads are federal while some belong to the state. It is important that the major roads are made fully motorable before we fix a good number of the inner roads. But the state government has fixed a lot of the federal roads, thus reducing its financial ability to fix most state roads.”

    He, however, hinted that the state had constructed a lot of major roads, adding, “others are currently under construction across the state. Last year, we started the construction of 156 roads, mostly, inner ones. And importantly, we are being careful with the number of roads being constructed at a time to prevent gridlock.” Continuing, he said: “We use the same approach in the rural areas-to rehabilitate as much as we can, bearing in mind that we can do all in a short while. However, many are resurfaced to bring relief to users. Such include the Isuti and Powerline roads in Ifako Ijaiye, Oke Agbo Street in Ojo Council Area and many others.

    “It is to allow for motorable roads because it will be a traffic nightmare if we shut down all the roads at a time for rehabilitation or construction.”

    On the crippling effects of vehicles that ply the roads daily, especially, oil tankers, heavy-duty and articulated ones, he said: “The load on our roads is very heavy; thus causing faster deterioration. Ninety-three per cent of containers coming into Apapa Port travel through Lagos roads. They are important to the economy of the state, since as a nation, we don’t have a standard rail infrastructure. The state traffic law regulates the movement of these vehicles to certain time of the day for the safety of road users.

    The commissioner further said that it was good to develop satellite towns and it comes with standard and auxiliary roads. But, it is important that we take care of the existing roads. Now, the state is renewing the blighted areas such as Badia, Ajegunle and Sari Iganmu. A typical example is the housing construction at Badia with the accompanying auxiliary infrastructure.”

    When reminded that most of the roads deteriorate easily, he said: “Some of the biggest threats to the roads are willful damage, conversion of roads to mechanic shops and car wash. Hence, the advocacy that we must as a community, take ownership of our roads. Also, we see concrete is an option; hence, we constructed the road leading to Gbagada hospital in Kosefe Local Government Area with concrete.”

    Hamzat revealed that the state’s plan was to build infrastructure that can cater for 40 million people. He further said: “The state has also expanded its capacity for water transportation. Also, the Lagos State Waste Management Agency (LAWMA) is on top of our waste disposal. Lagos State is making good progress on all fronts. As a mega city, there are unique challenges such as transportation, refuse disposal and others. Our approach is to tackle these challenges one after the other.”

    Calling on the Federal Government to carry out its responsibilities in Lagos, he said: “Our prayer is for the Federal Government to take care of its responsibilities by fixing the Airport Road, Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, Apapa-Oshodi Road and other such infrastructure. Importantly, the Federal Government should allow the states to control these roads, but that must come with the resources that will allow them to carry out this responsibility. In essence, the Federal Government must shed weight and focus on security, immigration , and general aviation policies.

    Drawing a comparison between Lagos and some states in the United States, the commissioner said: “The infrastructural availability in New York is far higher and the federating states in the US are truly independent and can control their destinies. That is not the case in Nigeria. We must practise true federalism. Lagos will continue to build infrastructure that will give us a competitive advantage to be a knowledge-based economy. We are already on the rise; we just need to keep the momentum going. We continue to focus on our developmental strategy of Power, Agriculture, Transportation and Housing.

    “It is important that the two components in the budget, the revenue and expenditure, perform optimally. As a state government, we have focused on the capital expenditure which is why we have been able to achieve the type of infrastructural upliftment we have seen in the state. The revenue and the expenditure components must perform for the state to deliver people’s infrastructural needs. The revenue must be fully enhanced and reliable for us as a state to continue to uplift our society. So, we as people, must pay our taxes to build roads, sustain our hospitals, schools and so many other social amenities for people to enjoy better life.

     

  • Panic as JTF storms Bayelsa, Delta creeks

    There was apprehension in riverside communities of Bayelsa and Delta states yesterday as the Joint Task Force (JTF) began a security operation targeting illegal bunkerers and sea pirates.

    The operation followed a directive from the Defence Headquarters, Abuja, to the Task Force to round up ex-militants and other criminals terrorising the areas, particularly the suspects behind the killing of 12 policemen in Bayelsa State.

    It was, therefore, not surprising when feelers from the creeks indicated that the troops’ deployment was large around Azuzuama creeks, where the policemen were ambushed.

    JTF spokesman Lt-Col Onyeama Nwachukwu told The Nation that bandits, renegade ex-militants and other criminals were targets of the latest onslaught.

    He said: “Painstaking investigations by our operatives revealed that kidnappers, sea robbers and other criminals have clandestinely developed hideouts in some parts of the creeks in Southern Ijaw Local Government of Bayelsa State, from where they launched attacks on unsuspecting victims going about their businesses.

    “Given our mandate to rid the Niger Delta of criminality, we are spurred by this unwholesome development to commence today, a clean-up operation of criminal hideouts where kidnappers and sea robbers hibernate. Our troops have successfully clamped down on four hideouts at Azuzuama in Southern Ijaw Local Government,” he added.

     

    Nevertheless, reports from the area indicated that there were indiscriminate arrest and harassment of users of the waterways by troops of the task force.

    A community leader from Azuzuama lamented that all community leaders in the area have been branded as criminals by the soldiers.

    But Col Nwachukwu debunked the allegation.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Minister: don’t create panic over Mandela’s health

    Minister: don’t create panic over Mandela’s health

    South Africa’s former president Nelson Mandela is “doing very, very well” while undergoing unspecified medical tests at a military hospital, the country’s defence minister said yesterday.

    Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula told reporters outside Military Hospital in South Africa’s capital, Pretoria, after seeing Mandela, 94, who has been hospitalised there for three days that “He’s doing very, very well.

    “And it is important to keep him in our prayers and also to be as calm as possible and not cause a state of panic because I think that is not what all of us need.”

    A statement by the office of President Jacob Zuma also said that Mandela is fine, but did not offer further details.

    “Mandela had a good night’s rest,” the statement by presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said. “The doctors will still conduct further tests today. He is in good hands,” it added.

    On Saturday, Zuma’s office announced that Mandela had been admitted to a Pretoria hospital for medical tests and care that was “consistent for his age.” Zuma visited Mandela on Sunday at the hospital and found the former leader to be “comfortable and in good care,” presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said in a statement. Maharaj offered no other details about Mandela, nor what medical tests he had undergone since entering the hospital.

    In February, Mandela spent a night in a hospital for a minor diagnostic surgery to determine the cause of an abdominal complaint. In January 2011, Mandela was admitted to a Johannesburg hospital for what officials initially described as tests but what turned out to be an acute respiratory infection.

    Mandela has had other health problems. He contracted tuberculosis during his years in prison and had surgery for an enlarged prostate gland in 1985. In 2001, Mandela underwent seven weeks of radiation therapy for prostate cancer, ultimately beating the disease.

    Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison for fighting racist white rule, became South Africa’s first black president in 1994 and served one five-year term. The Nobel laureate later retired from public life to live in his remote village of Qunu, in the Eastern Cape area, and last made a public appearance when his country hosted the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament. He has grown increasingly frail in recent years.