The Nation Newspaper

Tag: screening

  • Amaechi and politics of screening

    Amaechi and politics of screening

    In this piece, Moses Animikhenal highlights the achievements of former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi and contends that the campaign of calumny against the ministerial nominee is devoid of logic and merit.

    I remember Mark Anthony in one of Shakesapeare’s plays where he said “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones; So let it be with Caesar.”

    This write-up is about bringing Rotimi Amaechi to the abattoir and to let the people know why he should not be made a minister. Before delving into why, it is pertinent to know that in the murky waters of Nigerian politics Amaechi served the people of Rivers State in various capacities. He was Speaker for eight years and he stabilised the legislature. We are all living witnesses to what transpired there afterwards. He took on a new task by becoming the executive governor of Rivers for two terms, for those who do not know or might have forgotten in a hurry what his stewardship as governor was I will tabulate a few.

    He built and fully furnished state of the art primary schools in most communities of the 23 local government areas in Rivers state, and this was acknowledged by all well meaning Nigerians and also international partner agencies. Besides, Amaechi won  awards for the laudable initiative  from it. The UBE national office in Abuja still has the records for doubting Thomas’s.

    Secondary schools were not left out in the scheme of Amaechi’s stewardship, i am very happy they are physical structures, they are there for everyone to see.

    He also built health centres in most communities in the 23 local government in Rivers, fully equipped with medical doctors to attend to the patients. Lest I forget, drugs are equally dispensed.

    He revamped the agricultural industry in Rivers State, we are all living witnesses to when the former President Olusegun Obasanjop when he went to commission projects there.

    He expanded most of the roads in Port Harcourt metropolis and environs easing the traffic congestions in the state.

    It is also on recorded that under his government, peace and security was returned to the state, as he incessant cult clashes was brought to the nearest minimal. Besides, he was able to restore decency and order to Port Harcourt, the capital city, removing the fear factor and the incessant kidnapping of expatriate and citizens.

    It is also on record that Amaechi remains one if not the only governor in Nigeria who drives himself around as a sitting governor without any fear of being attacked or molested by the people.

    Amaechi is a detribalised Nigerian who believes in the oneness and unity of the country, against all odds joined forces with other well meaning progressives to fight the injustice in the then ruling party to bring about change the people have been yearning for.

    Though, feelers coming from the Senate has it that two senators from the state must recommend the ministerial nominee. Unfortunately, the senators from Rivers are all PDP and have drawn the battle line with Amaechi long ago. It was also reported that they have submitted a petition against him. But my take on this is that the senators should allow national interest and not personal vendetta to guide their sense of reasoning at this point when the new government is in dire need of competent hands to help stir the ship of this nation to the promised land.

    The senators representing Rivers State should as a matter of urgency, do a rethink and take a cue from their colleagues from Ekiti and Lagos and support the nomination of Amaechi and not deny the country of his service.

    Except they are telling Nigerians that Amaechi did not perform credibly well as a governor for the eight years he was in charge of the affairs of the state. Electioneering campaign is over and this is the time for  reality and the worst that could ever happen to the Nigeria in this dispensation is to be denied of the service of this young, dynamic and energetic straight forward looking gem for the sake of bitter politics.

    If we had a few more Amaechi in the country, we would have been better off for it. I rest my case.

    Animikhenal is a former aide to President Olusegun Obasanjo and currently resides in Abuja.

     

  • ‘Support Daramola’s screening’

    ‘Support Daramola’s screening’

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) Elite Forum (EF) in Ondo State yesterday urged the state’s three senators to support the state’s ministerial nominee, Prof. Omoleye Daramola.

    A statement by the forum’s Secretary, Oyeniran  Arohunmolase, said Daramola’s activities in the party are numerous, adding that he was active in the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) during the 2012 governorship election.

    The group noted that his appointment is a popular choice that would add great value to the state and the party in particular.

    The statement reads: “We the members of Ondo State APC Elite Forum thank President Muhammadu  Buhari for nominating Prof. Daramola.

    “The appointment of this erudite scholar from Ondo State is another pointer to the fact that President Muhammadu  Buhari is highly determined to restore our nation’s lost glory.”

  • Senate and screening of ministers

    Senate and screening of ministers

    Has the emergence of ministerial nominees, forwarded penultimate week, to the senate, by President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB),after a long wait, finally reconciledthe presidency and the embattled senate leadership, led by the senate president, Bukola Saraki? Maybe. So, can we now say, what political expediency has joined together, the war against corruption, should not put asunder? Time will tell.As the ministers’ list made the news, the senate leadership, which emerged in complete defiance of the preferences of the All Progressive Congress (APC), which commands majority in the senate chambers, finally held a closed-door meeting with PMB, with photo-ops to show.

    For whatever it is worth, the senate president, and his supporters, are basking in the euphoria of the new rapprochement. In the days ahead, wewould know theprice for the ‘new entente’, as the ministers’ screening gets underway; and as the senate president, returns to the Code of Conduct Tribunal, for his trial. As a sign of what is to come, the senate leadership has in its manoeuvre,raised the ante of political negotiation, by providing stringent measures that could unravel the ambition of some ministerial nominees, if the upper chambers would have the courage, to insist on those terms. But can they?

    The two prominent conditions listed by the senate are,that a nominee must secure the support of at least two senators out of three, from the home state of the nominee; that the nominee must produce the asset declaration certificates, issued by the Code of Conduct Bureau;with few other requirements. The senate also gleefully announced theirwillingness to receive petitions, while threatening to thoroughly screen all the candidates, regardless of previous political standing or privileges. As expected, the petitions have started pouring in, and the reasons offered by the petitioners, why the candidates should be disqualified, are as varied as the petitioners.

    In raising the standards, for the screening starting this Tuesday,the senate leadership claimed to have relied on the constitution and the precepts of the upper chambers. The principal constitutional provision on the nomination and confirmation of a ministerial nominee, is section 147(2); which provides that “any appointment to the office of minister of government of the federation shall, if the nomination of any person to such office is confirmed by the senate, be made by the President”. The major requirements listed under section 147(3) and (5), are that the appointment shall conform to section 14(3), which provides for observance of the principle of federal character, and furthermore, that a nominee shall be qualified for election as a member of the House of Representatives.

    The requirement that at least two senators from the nominee’s home state, must support the nominee, which was occasionally applied in the breach, by the former senate, is therefore not based on the constitution; but rather on the whims of the senate. Considering that the support or denial of support by the two senators, is a subjective decision, the chances of abuse, remains high; especially in the states where the senators and the ministerial nominee are from different political parties. That requirement,which has no objective standards, could encourage corrupt inducement or demands.

    This column had previously written on the constitutional powers of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), to help rein in corruption, before its Tribunal summoned the senate president, overan alleged breach of the laws, on asset declaration. The powers and ancillary provisions on CCB are provided for, in the fifth schedule, Part 1, of the 1999 constitution, titled, Code of Conduct for Public Officers. Following Senator Bukola’s arraignment, he had strenuously canvassed, that he was being persecuted, because he emerged the senate president in defiance of some interests; contendingthat many other political office holders, have similarly offended the same laws.

    Ironically, while the senate president is yet to acquit himself of the charges of breach of the laws on asset declaration, the senate which he heads, has chosen to be the chief promoter and defender of the same laws, which their leader had allegedly breached. So, for the first time since 1999, a certificate of asset declaration, by ministerial nominees, have become one of the documents to be submitted to the senate, before any nominee can be confirmed.In fairness to the senate, what is good for the goose, is also good for the gander. I only hope that in seeking their Shakespearian pound of flesh, the senate leadership would apply the laws, and not their whims and caprices.

    By the provisions of paragraph 11(1) of the fifth schedule, Part 1, the requirement of the asset declaration certificate, will apply only to the ministerial nominees who were previously public officers as contemplated by that constitutional provision. Thus all the nominees who had held public office, for instance the two term former governors, who are supposed to have declared their asset “immediately after taking office” and thereafter “at the end of every four years”, as provided by section 11(1), may have multiple asset declaration certificate, or ‘written declarations’ to tender to the senate.

    Considering that many of the senators had argued that other political actors have lived in defiance of the asset declaration requirement of the constitution, are we likely to see some of the nominees capitulate, without any appearance? Assuming the senate leadership carries out this threat, would the president be prevailed upon to seek a political resolution of the trial of the senate president, to assuage the senate to gain his preferred ministers? Should the nominees brave the odds, are we likely to have future allegations of false or forged declaration of assets?Will the imminent imbroglio over the confirmation, signal the end of PMB’Swar on corruption? Questions.

     

  • Ministerial screening

    With the unveiling of the first batch of ministerial nominees by the Senate, speculations on those who made the list have been laid to rest. Discussions now centre round the suitability of some of the prospective ministers; the rationale for the long period it took to put the team together and the inability of President Buhari to submit a full list despite promises to keep to the September deadline he had set.

    A perusal of the list shows some well known names such as former governors, politicians, other former public office holders and some relatively new entrants. Not unexpectedly, issues have been raised on the justification for the long period it took the president to compile the list given that a good number of the names had at one time or the other been in government or its related agencies.

    Even then, the list fell short of the constitutional requirement that a minister should come from each state including the Federal Capital Territory. The fact of this coupled with its submission on the last day of September seemed to tally with earlier fears that the president was not really certain of his direction in those appointments. Or is to be presumed that the rigour that went into the screening exercise was responsible for the delay? That could as well be.  But many of those listed have been around and information on them should not have taken that long.

    The excuse then was that the president needed time to determine those to work with given his commitment to the war against corruption. The delay it was further argued was for him to set his priorities and then determine those whose conduct, temperament and professional competence tally with that needed to deliver on the change he had promised the nation.

    But some of the names in the list, the manner in which it was delivered to beat set deadline and the incompleteness of that assignment, have raised further questions on the admissibility of these excuses. It would seem there is not much in the list to justify the long delay especially given the adverse toll it has taken in the effective functioning of the government. The expectation was that those who make the list would be a sharp departure from the recycling of the past; people who have no allegations or controversies hanging around their necks and whose professional competences are not in doubt. We were desirous of seeing a new corps of leaders, a new direction; a new roadmap for the war against corruption. One is afraid the list of nominees fell short of that. What is palpable is an attempt to compensate and reward politicians and others in the fringes that helped the party to victory.

    Ordinarily, there would have been nothing wrong with this as those who worked very hard for the party are expected to share in its spoils. But this is a government that told whoever cares to hear that it is on a rescue mission to put right all the wrongs of the past. It is a government that promised to reinvent Nigeria by killing corruption and building strong institutions. Such a government must be seen to be departing sharply from the old ways of statecraft. The scriptures captured this sentiment very succinctly when it said you cannot put an old wineskin into a new wineskin and expect a good outcome. That is the uncanny dialectics at play.

    That is the problem we run into when leaders set very high moral standards of conduct without taking into serious account, other systemic variables at play. This is by no means a vote of no confidence on all those that have been short listed. It is still possible that some of the nominees deemed unfit for the prosecution of the corruption war, can still turn a new leaf. Such born again former public office holders may turn out the armour bearers of the war against corruption with a leadership of example and direction in place. But they must be seen to have purged themselves of their old ways.

    More than anything, the situation has highlighted the reality that in whatever changes we intend to make, we still have to rely on Nigerians to see them through. If we are all corrupt, it is either there is a new resolve for everybody to fight and kill corruption or corruption will kill us all. We cannot go to the moon to import people to effect that change. We will still have to rely on what we have.  What is important is to build very strong institutions; set the ground norms to decisively discourage corruption and corrupt practices in all their ramifications. There is hardly any former public office holder in this clime that we cannot discover one form of misdemeanour or the other when properly subjected to public scrutiny. It is even safer to conclude that a public officer in this country will steal public funds than the other way round.

    That is the point against the undue focus in recovering monies stolen by former public office holders. Prosecuting and recovering looting monies, as desirable as they are, do not have all it takes to stamp out corruption. The reason is that it focuses on symptoms rather than the real cause of the ailment. It focuses on people when they have already committed the offence rather than building the appropriate institutional framework to stop them from committing the act. The latter is what is direly required now.

    Beyond these however, are issues of serious repercussions for our democracy the handling of the ministerial nominee is bound to throw up. The list is now with the Senate. Its president, Bukola Saraki has promised screening next week. But, feelers show the screening exercise will no longer be business as usual. Indications are of plans to involve some anti-graft agencies in the screening exercise. As one senator succinctly put it: “the days of take-a- bow are over”. They have promised to stick to the rules and the constitution in carrying out the exercise.

    Ostensibly, this is to further the momentum for the war against corruption. If these are anything to repose hope on, then nominees are going to face difficult hurdles before confirmation. We should also expect delays in the confirmation and Buhari may still have to work for some time without ministers.  There are insinuations that the Senate may be rooting to get even with President Buhari given the arraignment of Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) which he is alleged to have influenced.

    Saraki had said before the tribunal and the senate that he is on trial because he is the Senate President. He may therefore in concert with his colleagues who have passed a vote of confidence in him not spare any nominee with any skeleton to hide to prove the point that the graft war should go round.

    Just as justice should run its full course in the case of the trial of Saraki, the Senate would be on its right to insist that only people of integrity and impeccable character are confirmed as ministers. It cannot do any less. For, to ignore this issue will amount to lending credence to accusations that the chamber is a sore finger in the war against corruption. It could well be that the overall intention is to settle scores. That would be neither here nor there.

    The senate will not be expected to approve nominees who have serious cases of corruption allegation standing against them. They ought to clear themselves. That way, we would be discouraging the looting of public funds by rampaging public office holders. So it is still in the overall interest of this country that the senate fully sticks to the rules guiding the approval of ministerial nominees.

    The issue is not whether there are some ulterior motives for sticking to rules and due process. Rules are made and standards set to promote public good. That such rules have been observed in their breach may account for why little or no progress has been made in this country. It is good a thing both the executive and the legislature appear to be singing the same tune in the fight against sleaze. The heuristic value of such a synergy holds very promising prospects for the country.

  • Lawyer seeks to stop screening

    A lawyer in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, Deji Enisenyin, has urged a Federal High Court, sitting in Oke-Mosan, to stop the screening of the ministerial nominees of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Enisenyin asked for an injunction barring the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, from presenting for screening, names of nominees submitted to him by Buhari.

    The President, Senate President, National Assembly and Attorney General of the Federation were joined as defendants.

    Citing Section 147 (1) (6) of the 1999 constitution, the lawyer claimed the Senate President can’t consider the names submitted to him by Buhari on the grounds that the offices to be held by the nominees were not listed along with their names.

    In a sworn affidavit in support of the motion, Enisenyin claimed further that the Senate can only screen nominees when the offices for which they were nominated, accompanied their names.

    According to him, the court order being sought by when granted, would be in the interest of justice as such won’t be prejudicial to the defendants.

  • Screening Buhari’s Ministers

    Screening Buhari’s Ministers

    Waiting for President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministers was like waiting forever. The waiting game lasted the whole of 16 good weeks. Quite a good number of people became either disenchanted or disillusioned. Not only this. The machinery of government was moving at snail-speed, while the economy was almost grinding to a halt. The President’s assurances at many fora that he needed to be meticulous and thorough in picking his cabinet because of the mess that he met on ground, offered little respite.

    However, the waiting game ended last week when the president transmitted the first list of his proposed ministers to the Senate. Since then, the newspapers and other medium of communication have been speculating about who and who, made the list of ministers. This has heightened anxiety as prospective ministers ran from pillar to post trying to authenticate their nomination. While this was going on, some of the senators upped the barometer of anxiety by spitting fire over the proposed screening of the would-be ministers. They said that unlike in the past when some of the nominees were merely asked to take a bow on the floor of the Senate chambers, this time around, they were going to properly scrutinize them and take them through the rigour of digging deep into their background, their moral and social antecedence and all that.

    In view of this, it is believed that some of the nominees have been mounting pressure on some of the senators to lend a voice in their support during the screening exercise that may commence in the Senate chambers this morning. I am sure the list of nominees might not totally tally with the names the media have been bandying about all these days. The choice of nominees in some states may not have been as smooth as that for the president who had insisted on doing it alone. The issue of picking the right candidate from various states may have been a tug of war. For instance, feelers from Niger State indicate that if it is true that Musa Ibeto, who until recently was the deputy governor of the State, had actually been penciled down to be made a minister, then a long-standing ethnic,  cum tribal arrangement which has subsisted for ages in that state is about to be broken. This is because Abubakar Sani-Bello, the incumbent governor of the state and Ibeto are from the same political zone of the state. His appointment will, therefore, tilt the balance of power in favour of one political zone in the state to the detriment of other zones. This will surely be a recipe for confusion and crisis in the state.

    If Rotimi Amaechi, Kayode Fayemi and Babatunde Fashola, former governors of Rivers, Ekiti and Lagos states respectively, make the final list, they might be doing so on merit. But this is not to say that they will have a walk-over at the screening exercise in the senate. In actual fact, the trio – Amaechi, Fayemi and Fashola- were believed to have been directly picked by Buhari, in recognition of their invaluable contribution and support for him which made it possible for him to emerge as the president. In spite of mounting opposition against them from their own people, Buhari had assured them a long time ago that they were going to work with him.

    There are speculations that Fayemi, who had been involved in drafting so many papers for the President, may be appointed Foreign Affairs Minister, while Fashola takes care of either the Federal Capital Territory or the Power Ministry. But with speculations that Bart Nnaji, the former Power Minister, may be on board, Nnaji might be asked to man the Power Ministry for the second time, a position he held before he was yanked off the seat in very controversial circumstances some few years ago by former president Goodluck Jonathan.

    No one is yet sure where Amaechi will be heading to. He is considered as having worked tirelessly for the emergence of Buhari as president in “cash and kind”. His problem with Nyesom Wike, the sitting governor of Rivers State notwithstanding, it is believed that Buhari is bent on compensating him for his steadfastness, loyalty and support during and after the election. There are expectations that since Buhari had satisfied himself by picking those to work with him, including Abba Kyari, his Chief of Staff and others, he would allow some of the people around him to nominate at least one or two people for ministerial posts.

    The Senate’s screening may be tough on the surface because of the senators’ recent utterances, but one thing is that those guys, I mean the senators, are survivalists. The recent travails of Bukola Saraki, the senate president, at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, is still very fresh in memory. Many of the senators rallied round the Senate President simply to avoid a backlash of probe on members of the National Assembly, who may have equally lied in their assets declaration. A number of the senators are past office holders especially former governors who are believed to have corruption cases hanging on their necks. Majority of them ran down their states’ treasuries and would not want anything that will give them sleepless nights. They probably fought their ways into the senate, in the first instance, to seek sanctuary from harassment and so, they will do anything and everything to protect their interests.

    Besides, there is also the usual tango between the legislative arm of government and the executive, with each holding on tightly to its territory. In fact, they have always behaved as rivals, a situation that was very pronounced under both former president Olusegun Obasanjo and his successor, Goodluck Jonathan. Each time the National Assembly members felt the executive was encroaching on their affairs they usually resorted to subtle blackmail by dangling the impeachment axe against the executive. When this happened, a truce was always reached and the situation ended in a sort of “give-and-take”. Money became a determinant factor. It happened during the Ghali Umar Na’ Aba’s episode in the lower legislature under Obasanjo and Aminu Tambuwal as Speaker under Jonathan.

    At any rate, it is heartwarming that the president has removed the privilege of nominating ministers from the state governors because, in the past, most of the governors either succeeded in bringing their surrogates on board or they just brought in people who were incapable of making any significant contribution to governance. In the circumstance in which the nation has found itself, the president must take the right step to ensure accountability and good governance which is paramount to the progress of this country. This can only be guaranteed by putting the right people in the right positions.

    To achieve this, the senators should do their job properly with sincerity of purpose, so as not to create unnecessary bottlenecks for the nominees in the guise of being thorough. Let’s get down to business!

  • Health screening for pupils

    As the 2015/2016 academic session gets underway, the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr Modele Osunkiyesi, has urged teachers to monitor their pupils against illnesses.

    In a statement by the ministry, she counseled the teachers to refer those with symptoms of any illnesses to the sickbay or contact their parents to take them to the nearest medical facility for management.

    With poor hygiene being a major cause of illnesses, Dr Osunkiyesi said teachers should inculcate into the pupils the habit of regular hand-washing, while school administrators should provide waste bins and ensure that the school premises are kept clean.

    The Permanent Secretary said the ministry would continue its school health programmes this session when the pupils would be screened for any medical/dental conditions.  She disclosed that over 4,700 pupils have been screened.

     

  • Screening of ministerial nominees will be thorough, says Saraki

    Screening of ministerial nominees will be thorough, says Saraki

    Senate President Bukola Saraki has said the screening of ministerial nominees will be thorough.

    The list is expected to be forwarded to the upper legislative chamber today.

    Addressing the lawmakers at yesterday’s plenary session, Saraki said: “As we await the list of ministerial nominees this week, I believe the presence of ministers will create the space for greater policy engagement with the executive arm of government.

    “This will enable us to begin to respond in a more systematic manner to the various economic and social challenges before us, especially through our various committees that will also be constituted soon.

    “On this note, I want to urge you all my colleagues to ensure that what is uppermost in our minds as we begin the constitutional task of screening of ministerial nominees is the overall interest of our country, informed by the enormity and the urgency of the challenges before us.

    “Once the list is submitted, let us ensure that we treat it with dispatch and thoroughness. We must not be held down by unnecessary politicking. The enormity of our national challenges at this time does not give room for pettiness or politics of vendetta”.

    Saraki urged the senators to demonstrate clearly to Nigerians that they were prepared to put the interest of the country above other considerations.

    To behave contrary, he said, would amount to a betrayal of the confidence reposed on them by the electorate and the country as a whole.

    He rued the challenges confronting the national economy, occasioned by dwindling oil revenue, a situation which he said, has brought enormous shock to the economy.

    He observed that the trend has greatly limited the capacity of government at various levels to meet even basic commitments, adding however, that the nation had gone through periods of recession in the past.

    “What we face today is however unprecedented in ramification and potential gravity. We must think hard and work hard with the executive to achieve greater clarity in policy direction and interventions.

    “We shall therefore commence immediately, a review of the 2015 budget and begin now to lay down the fundamental principles that would determine the 2016 budget and the philosophy of our economy in times like this”, Saraki stated.

    He urged the executive arm to complement the significant military success recorded in the counter insurgency campaign with a robust economic strategy.

    Dr. Saraki canvassed a global infrastructure and development fund that could deliver the vital services needed by the army of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the Northeast part.

    He identified homes, hospitals, schools and jobs as some of the key infrastructure required by the IDPs to live a more meaningful and more secured life in the future.

    On his ongoing trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Saraki restated his earlier position that he was facing trial because he became the President of the Senate; against the wish of his party.

    Said he: “I have no iota of doubt that I am on trial today because I am the President of the Nigerian Senate, against the wishes of some powerful individuals outside this chamber.

    “But what is clear to me also, is that the laws of Nigeria, and the rules of the National Assembly give consideration only to the wishes and desires of those of you who are here today as members of the Senate, to elect as you wish, one of your peers as President of the Senate.

    “This, in your wisdom, is what you have done by electing me to be the first among all of you who are my equals. The laws of Nigeria does not give any consideration to any other forces outside the Senate in the election of its President.

    “And to yield the ground on this note, is to be complicit in the subversion of democracy and its core principles of separation of powers as enshrined in our constitution.

    “This is why we must, once again, commend President Muhammadu Buhari, for refusing to interfere in the election of the National Assembly leadership, even in the face of enormous pressures on him to do so.”

     

     

     

  • Free cancer screening for women

    Free cancer screening for women

    Oyo-East Local Government Area of Oyo State, Dr. Ohize Stephen Ogirima has organised community sensitisation, free screening and treatment for women in the area.

    He also organised capacity building training for local government health workers on early detection and treatment of the ailment.

    Another issue that he feels concerned about is that there is little or no awareness on the part of women on the need to go for regular screening for early detection of the disease. They, most often, wait for symptoms of the disease to manifest before seeing a doctor.

    Dr. Ogirima, with NYSC batch number OY/14C/1776, said he is determined to save women from the dreaded terminal disease.

    •Medical personnel attending to a woman
    •Medical personnel attending to a woman

    Under the community development project known as NYSC Vanguard, Dr. Ogirima, with the support of some of his colleagues, started a sensitisation programme for residents in the four local government areas; namelyAfijio, Atiba, Oyo-East and Oyo-West that make up Oyo metropolis.

    Thereafter, he established two screening centres at the Primary Health Centre, Araromi and the Ajayi Crowther University, both in Oyo town.

    At the centres, about 500 women benefitted from the three-day free cervical cancer screening outreach.  Medical experts from the Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria (PPFN) and the Gynaecology and Oncology units of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife Osun State were part of the team.

    The State Hospital and the Ajayi Crowther University had agreed to work with the PPFN to ensure continuity. They also accepted to adopt the revolving fund scheme system for the low-cost cervical cancer screening units to be established. There was also an agreement on training of seven health workers from some of the health facilities in the ancient town.

    While each of the two institutions has provided two members of staff for training on visual inspection methods and preparation of a Pap Smear Slide, the Oyo-East Local Government Area has given approval for the use of the Primary Health Centre at Araromi for outreach and staff training programme.

    In a chat with Southwest Report, Dr. Ogirima revealed that some of the symptoms of cervical cancer include abnormal vaginal bleeding, bleeding that occurs between

    regular menstrual periods, bleeding after sexual intercourse, douching as well as heavier-than-usual menstrual periods that last longer.

    Others, according to him, include bleeding after menopause, increased vaginal discharge, pelvic pain and pain during sexual intercourse.

    “Cervical screening is a way of diagnosing the disease at an early pre-cancerous stage and preventing the ailment from developing.

    The essence of screening tests is to identify pre-cancerous changes in the cells of the cervix that could develop into cancer.

    “The tests can also diagnose the disease by identifying cancer cells that are already present. If the abnormal tissue or cells can be removed, then the disease can be prevented from progressing further into cancer.

    “With successful screening of cervical cancer in the past several decades, the number of women diagnosed each year of the disease is declining,” he said.

    Dr Ogirima further explained that while organised and quality-assured cytology-based screening programmes have substantially reduced incidence of cervical cancer in many developed countries, successfully organised population-based cancer screening programmes are yet to be implemented in developing countries, including Nigeria. This, he said, is despite having the greater burden of the terminal disease.

    On why cases of cervical cancer are on the increase, he noted that limited human and financial resources, competing health needs, poorly developed health care services, uninformed and disempowered female population, widespread poverty and the cumbersome nature of the prevailing cytology-based screening programmes are some of the reasons why the ailment is prevalent.

    Proffering solutions to the problem, Dr. Ogirima advocated a realistic approach to screening of the ailment in line with the recommendation of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

    He said: “Dealing with bureaucratic bottlenecks, supply of quality-assured consumables, non-availability of call and recall system as well as poor statistics on screening coverage will reduce the prevalence of the disease.

    “With appropriate planning and implementation, an organised and quality-assured screening service is possible even in a low-resource setting.”

    Continuing, he said cervical cancer is one of the most common types of cancer of the female reproductive system.

    It is a disease in which cells of the cervix, the lower part of the uterus and the adjoining vagina become cancerous or malignant.

    It is usually a slow-growing kind of cancer that may not present initial symptoms, but can be detected with regular screening by Pap tests (a procedure in which cells are scraped from the cervix and viewed under a microscope) and detection of Human Papillioma Virus (HPV).

    Most cervical cancers are linked to infection by HPV. Approximately 80 per cent of cervical cancers are squamous cell carcinomas, which arise from cells in the exocervix (the outer portion of cervix), while about 15 per cent are adenocarcinomas, which arise from a different type of cell in the endocervix (the inner portion of cervix).

     

  • Screening only judges for corruption trials not enough

    SIR: The recent decision by President Buhari setting up a committee headed by Prof Sagay to screen Judges who will handle trials of corruption related cases across the states is a welcome development. It accords with the spirit and letters behind the enactment by the 7th National Assembly session of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 which was signed into law on 13th day of May, 2015 by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR.

    Like the purpose for which the Act was enacted, part of President Buhari’s principal motive for setting up the Sagay body is to identify incorruptible judges across the nation, to ensure that the system of administration of criminal justice touching corruption trials in Nigeria promotes efficient proper management and speedy trials of corruption cases in the system. It is also to protect society from the influences of those already infested with the corruption virus.

    As laudable as this idea may be, it appears the president must have left out two very crucial steps that he should address promptly before corruption cases get to the trial level for the incorruptible Judges to handle.

    No matter how incorruptible a judge is, what determines his sense of justice, firmness and indeed incorruptibility to pass a firm judgment against the corrupt public officers depends largely on the effectiveness and investigation done by the anti-corruption agencies. It is also dependent on the competence, commitment and honesty of the prosecuting lawyers.

    It is settled law in our criminal Jurisprudence that a judge can only convict or set a suspect free solely on the basis of the quality of evidence produced before him by the prosecution. The incorruptible judge cannot under any guise manufacture evidence or descend to the arena of the trial or conflict if he is to remain detached and independent.

    Therefore, the president must instruct the anti-corruption agencies to firm up their commitments by involving crack investigation operatives to conduct proper investigations before forwarding the investigated cases to prosecutors who also must be experienced lawyers.

    It has to be emphasised that the anti-graft agencies in recent times lost cases due to lack of prior handling as remarked by the courts and these must be promptly addressed. The politicians accused of corruption will try to create soft landing for themselves by penetrating investigators and or prosecutors with much looted money in their hands. Otherwise we should be ready to see those suspected of stealing billions set free by the courts.

     

    • Chief Utum Eteng