The Nation Newspaper

Tag: sick

  • Nigeria is sick, says varsity don

    Nigeria is sick, says varsity don

    A renowned Virologist and former President, Nigerian Academy of Sciences, Prof. Oyewale Tomor, has declared that Nigeria is fast drifting into a state of collapse.

    He said unless there was urgent step to reinvent itself in a new process of creative thinking , the system would be shut.

    Tomori  , a former Vice Chancellor, Redeemer University , who bemoaned the state of infrastructure  in the country, declared that the sad part of Nigeria’s life was that it pretended not to know that it was sick.

    Delivering the 19th Benjamin Oluwakayode Osuntokun Memorial Lecture titled ” Rescuing Nigeria : Restoring Her Health and Her Sanity , at the Benjamin Osuntokun Auditorium , College of Medicine, University College Hospital (UCH) , Ibadan yesterday, Tomori  wondered how the country gradually came to this sorry state having been endowed with all the natural resources.

    At the event , organised by Benjamin Oluwakayode Osuntokun Trust, eminent Nigerians poured encomiums on the late Professor of Neuroscience, Professor Benjamin Osuntokun, one of Africa’s foremost neuroscientists.

    He was described as a great man with uncommon brilliance.

    Tomori described Nigeria as a sick country, where there is aversion to excellence, desire to accept and settle for second best , culture of subtle and bare faced corruption, disdain for paying attention to details and talent for misapplication of resources. He pointed out that Nigeria, despite having all that it takes to achieve greatness, chose the path of retrogression.

    On how it all started, Tomori said it was not as if the change came on Nigeria as a ” Tsunami ” without warning.

    He said:  ” The change came as the relentless dripping of the acid of corruption .It was gradual ; it was slow but regular and that fall is a continuing journey ; a step by step march into the new and decadent future.”

    Drawing a comparison between old and new Nigeria, the guest lecturer said: ” So, Benjamin Osuntokun died , and even before his death , we had begun to carve out a new country out of the old. Then and gradually , we let down our guard. Politics, ethnic rivalries, and the inordinate love of money all crept into the orderly excellence of our community life.”

    Expressing shock on the decadence in education sector, Tomori asked: “How did we get to this point? I think the problem started with the neglect of proper education at home, at our educational institutions and our government offices and houses of assemblies ; where our representatives and senators gather to determine the the future of our nation.

    “We need to take a hard and  serious review of our university system with a view to restoring the university to it former glory.”

    He did not shield the university administrators from corruption , saying that the system has become so serious that vice chancellors were now competing with seasoned politicians to enter Economic and Financial Crimes Commission( EFCC) net.

    According to him, the first step was for the academic community to accept that there was a major problem with the university system.

    ” The system needs to examine itself and focus on being relevant to national development… Second, our government should not approve the establishment of more universities but upgrade existing ones and fully maximise the utilisation of the resources .

    “The federal character policy has contributed in no small measure to the problem of Nigeria. We need to pursue an educational policy that will ensure that in 30-40 years from now , no part of Nigeria will be described as educationally disadvantaged. Having achieved that, we will not need to give undue federal character advantage to any section of this country. Time is ripe for all Nigerians to be treated with justice and fair play in issues of appointment and promotion at federal and state civil service ,” he said.

    Present at the event were  the management of the University College Hospital (UCH) led by the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Prof. Temitope Alonge, former Vice Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Prof. O. Oyediran, the Chairman of the occasion, Prof. Fola Esan, professor of Haematology, Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Prof. Jide Osuntokun, and other members of the Board of Trustees of Benjamin Oluwakayode Osuntokun Trust among others.

  • Las Vegas killer ‘sick, demented’, says Trump

    Las Vegas killer ‘sick, demented’, says Trump

    •Flies into storm-hit Puerto Rico

    President Donald Trump has described the gunman who killed 59 people and injured 527 in Las Vegas on Sunday as “a sick man, a demented man”.

    Speaking at the White House, he said he would look at gun laws “as times goes by” but did not elaborate.

    Police are still trying to find out why Stephen Paddock, 64, opened fire on an open-air concert from the 32nd floor of the nearby Mandalay Bay Hotel.

    Police found 23 guns in his room and firearms and explosives at his home.

    Photos from the hotel room of guns used in the attack have been obtained by Boston 25 News.

    As yet, no clear reason for the killing has emerged and investigators have found no link to international terrorism. Some investigators have suggested Paddock had a history of mental illness, but this has not been confirmed.

    Paddock, who appears to have killed himself before police stormed his hotel room, had no criminal record and was not known to police.

    Speaking to reporters as he was about to board the presidential helicopter, Mr Trump said Paddock was “a sick man, a demented man. Lot of problems, I guess, and we’re looking into him very, very seriously”.

    When asked, Mr Trump declined to call the attack domestic terrorism.

    On the issue of gun control, the president said: “We’ll be talking about gun laws as time goes by.”

    Mr Trump, whose position on gun control has changed over the years, gave no further detail.

    As daylight breaks, a golden hue falls on the mirrored façade of the Mandalay Bay hotel.

    Meanwhile, Governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rossello, says US federal support has surged ahead of President Trump’s visit.

    Mr Trump flew in to the US territory for a short visit yesterday morning.

    He has fiercely rejected criticism of the relief effort after Hurricane Maria struck the island nearly two weeks ago.

    The governor said over 1.5 million barrels of fuel would reach Puerto Rico in the coming days.

    He said about half of Puerto Rico now had water supplies.

    Governor Rossello said about a quarter of Puerto Rico would regain power by next month with around 10% of households expected to have electricity in the next two weeks.

    He added that almost half – 47% – of residents had running water and the number would climb to 60% by the end of the week.

    Mobile phone service has been restored to 40% of the population although some areas are still cut off from communication.

    The governor said the most pressing issues were getting diesel fuel to hospitals so they could run generators to provide electricity.

     

  • Beware! Don’t drink yourself sick

    NIGERIA’S fast-growing population brings with it a continuing demand for soft/sugary drinks, especially when the climate is quite hot. Soft drinks, otherwise known as sugar drinks, are the beverage of choice for millions of Nigerians. Urbanisation also drives demand for ready-to-drink soft drinks amongst busy, on-the-go consumers, not minding the health implication. In an interview with most of these consumers, their reason for consuming sugary drinks varies: For Mrs. Adenike Akinlotan, she’s so addicted to sugary drinks that she has to take it on a daily basis. “I find it difficult to stop because my taste bud is used to sugary drinks, I know it’s not good for my health but I can’t stop,” she lamented. For Mr. Jude Onyenma, he is a business man who is always on the road, sugary drinks are always available for him to relieve his hunger.

    However, research have also shown that people (men and women) who consume sugary drinks regularly – 1 to 2 bottles a day or more – have a 26% greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart attack or even at risk of gout, (among others) than people who rarely have such drinks.

    In this interview with Omolara Akintoye, a medical consultant with Ajeromi General Hospital, Ajegunle, Lagos, Dr. Olanrewaju Babalola, said reducing the number of soft drinks you consume — or eliminating them from your diet altogether — is the best way to prevent associated health problems

    What are soft drinks?

    Soft drinks are carbonated beverages. They are commonly also known as soda, soda pop, pop or tonic, sugary drinks. While occasional consumption of these types of beverages may not cause any negative effects, drinking them on a regular basis is not healthy.

    If sugar generally is good for the body, then what makes soft drinks injurious to our health?

    It is good to note that almost all our food is broken down to various forms of sugar. Foods such as rice, “fufu”, “garri”, even beans, have sugar components. Normally, we have enough sugar to sustain us from our routine foods on daily basis. Sugar from food source is natural which the body prefers in terms of digestion and utilisation. But sugar from carbonated drinks is synthesised/refined thus more rapidly/wholly absorbed leading to high sugar level in the blood at a go. So, the sugar in soft drinks is highly concentrated and the body cannot control/regulate its absorption and release into the blood. This is risky.

    What is the acid in soft drinks and what are the dangers in it?

    Although a content of ‘soft drinks’ varies slightly with the brand of the “soft drink”, generally there are phosphoric citric and carbonic acid in most “soft drinks”, which are used as preservatives and phosphoric acid gives the drink a unique taste characteristic of the drink.

    Phosphoric acid is derived from phosphorus which is already present in food and can become excess in the body following continued consumption of ‘soft drinks’. Furthermore, in order to counter the effect of excess phosphorus in the body, the body mobilises calcium required to complement the phosphorus from the bone and teeth thus predisposing one to brittle bone which can fracture easily (Osteoporosis) as well as weak/decay teeth. The acid in the soft drink can also worsen gastrointestinal ulcer.

    What are the effects of carbonation in soft drinks?

    Some of the effects include belching and heartburn: Carbonated beverages contain dissolved carbon dioxide, which becomes a gas when it warms to body temperature in your stomach. Consuming carbonated soft drinks may cause repeated belching as your stomach stretches from the accumulation of carbon dioxide gas. Food and stomach acid may come up your food pipe as you belch, causing heartburn.

    Is diet soda good for human consumption?

    It has fewer amounts of sugar, thus low calories. However, there are chemicals in form of preservatives and sweeteners in it that can expose the body to dangers.

    It can also be used to rapidly correct low blood sugar before one can access medical help. Soft drink can quickly reverse low blood sugar in diabetic patients in case of overdose of blood sugar lowering medications.

    What are the effects of soft drinks consumption on nutrition and health?

    Generally, consumption of soft drink can predispose one to some health conditions. It can aggravate and increase the incidence of some health issues like gastric ulcer, diabetes mellitus, obesity, heartburn etc. Ingesting sugar can contribute to tooth decay because acid is produced when bacteria enters the mouth and mixes with sugar. When the acid attacks the teeth for 20 minutes or more and causes plaque buildup on the teeth and gums, it leads to tooth decay. While it is not necessary to cut out consumption of naturally occurring sugars from healthy foods such as dairy products, fruits and vegetables, it is important to limit intake of processed sugary foods, such as soda, that do not provide any nutritional value.

    Makers of these soft drinks know the dangers of carbonation yet they still add it to sugar/soft drinks, what is the attraction?

    Carbonation is created by adding dissolved carbon dioxide and carbonic acid into the liquid. Carbonation is added to soft drinks to give consumers a “mouth watering taste”. Carbonation creates a slightly burning sensation when you drink it, and consumers enjoy this bubbly taste, while makers are smiling to the bank.

    What could someone take in place of soft/sugary drinks?

    Potable water, fruits, homemade smoothies can be taken in place of carbonated drinks.

    Final word

    Healthy living requires discipline, commitment and dedication. Cutting back on the number of soft drinks you consume — or eliminating them from your diet altogether — is the best way to prevent associated health problems. We should all strife to be healthy.

  • The sick as victims of charity tussle

    The sick as victims of charity tussle

    IF last week’s occurrence is anything to go by, it appears that there is a growing concern among Nigerian artistes towards embarking on charity drives for ailing citizens.

    With the glaring infrastructural breakdown in the country and coupled with an ailing economy, it is not out of place for Nigerians to rally round one another in times of severe medical need.

    So it made sense that when Nollywood actress, Kate Henshaw, heard of the case of little Michael Alvez who was diagnosed with Ulcerated Infected Facial Haemangioma, the actress came to his rescue.

    She swung into action, pooled her resources to raise funds for the kid, whose medical costs runs into millions.

    However, sometime in February, Alvez’ family insinuated that the handlers of the funds are on to some form of hanky-panky. According to them, the family was disappointed that the two-year-old was not flown out for treatment as promised by the group.

    A letter addressed to the Lagos State Attorney General, dated February 21, 2017, stated that the family also felt betrayed by Project Alert after some government officials attempted to withdraw Michael from LUTH for onward transfer to a motherless baby’s home.

    In a swift reaction, the thespian pulled out of the entire process, promising to make refunds to those who contributed towards the fundraising.

    In an Instagram post last Thursday, the actress asked Nigerians to stop paying into an account opened for the victim’s treatment, following disagreements with the family over Michael’s welfare.

    “I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who gave. May God reward your labour of love. The good you have sown will return a hundred fold. I thank you for trusting me and answering when I called on your help,” she posted.

    She further urged her followers to get in touch with Project Alert or herself if they require a Refund.

    Sadly, this would not be the first time an entertainer of repute would be placed in such an awkward situation. Only recently, Nollywood acress, Toyin Abraham was accused of foul play and she embarked on a Save Mayowa campaign.

    In Mayowa’s case, the family was accused of trying to scam well-meaning Nigerians by embarking on a fund raising appeal, even though they knew that she wouldn’t survive.

    Reacting, Toyin had stated; “I want to state for the record that I have never been a fraud and will never partake in one, not even at this stage of my career (which I hold to heart). All my efforts were strictly on humanitarian grounds without recourse to any pecuniary consideration or the resort to cheap fame.”

    Although these two scenarios are not isolated cases, it appears that among Nigerian artistes, there is a need to be wary when it comes to charity causes.

    Although championing causes comes with the territory, the need to save face in the event os suspicion of fraud appears to be more paramount, even though the general public hold part of the stakes.

    This is even rightly so because a smear campaign never ends. It lurks somewhere till it is needed sometime in the future.

     

  • Actor Olumide Bakare: Just last year…

    Actor Olumide Bakare: Just last year…

    On February 4, 2016, The Nation reported the actor’s desperation to live.

    Here’s how we put it:

    Now, actor Olumide Bakare needs help!

    The story has changed from January 2014, when veteran actor, Olumide Bakare, did not require help from the public to foot his medical bills. In fact, then the actor denied that he had anything serious other than the normal age-related ailments that required constant medical check-ups.

    Today, the lively and frank-speaking thespian has confirmed his illness, begging not to be allowed to die just yet.

    His worsening medical situation has prompted him to call on public-spirited Nigerians to come to his aid, as he lies on his sick bed, at the University College Hospital, UCH, Ibadan since last week.

    Reports say, aside suffering low blood flow into the heart, there are also indications of a lung-related disease. The actor is said to have spent over a million naira so far, and still require about N30, 000 daily for treatment, including dialysis.

    Speculations were rife in 2014 when the actor travelled to the United States, where he was received by his son, Olabode, who is a pastor in Pennsylvania. Incidentally, the actor was also booked for a movie shoot in the U.S., putting to rest insinuations he went for medication.

    At that time, Bakare was quoted to have expressed appreciation to his fans and well-wishers, but maintained that he does not require financial assistance from anybody to foot his medical bills.

    This, the ailing actor noted, was not about being indispensable, but to caution his fans not to get swindled by unscrupulous individuals who might want to cash in on the situation.

    Today, the man genuinely asks for prayers and financial supports.

    “My strength is not enough to withstand this any longer,” he said, releasing his Ecobank’s account: 3872003592 for prospective ‘good Samaritans’.

    “Help me to beg the children of Nigeria that they should render both financial support and prayers to me.”

    Bakare, 65, is famous for his role as Chief Koko in the rested TV series, Koko Close. A cross-over actor, he also starred alongside Genevieve Nnaji and Hollywood’s Isaiah Washington in Tony Abulu’s 2013 film, Doctor Bello.

  • ‘Our president is sick, everything in us as a nation is sick’

    ‘Our president is sick, everything in us as a nation is sick’

    The Forum of Chief Imams of all Juma’at  mosques in the 25 Local Government Areas of Niger state converged at Minna central mosque on Saturday for special prayers for President Muhammadu Buhari.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that prayers were also offered for the development and progress of the nation at the session.

    “Our president is sick, everything in us as a nation is sick. All that is expected of us is to include him in our daily prayers,”Sheik Ibrahim Fari, Chairman of the forum, told NAN.

    He said that the prayers were aimed at supporting the prayers of all Nigerians asking God to restore the president’s good health.

    “The entire nation needs him to accomplish his mission of re-positioning the country towards ending corruption in our lives.

    “Corruption has been the major factor responsible for our collective setback.

    “This gathering is very important to ask Allah to strengthen the current administration in it’s efforts at ending the senseless killings of innocent Nigerians especially in the Northeast and North central.

    “Nigerians, irrespective of tribe, religious  and political differences, should come together and pray for our leaders,” Sheik Ibrahim stated.

     

  • Wema Bank workers donate salaries to sick children

    Wema Bank workers donate salaries to sick children

    Wema Bank Plc says it staff have donated their February salaries for the treatment of children in emergency wards of three government-owned hospitals across the country.

    Segun Oloketuyi, Managing Director/CEO, Wema Bank Plc, while presenting a cheque to one of the beneficiaries at the Children Emergency Ward of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), said the initiative started in 2016.

    According to him, other beneficiaries are patients at the Children’s emergency ward at the Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital, Old GRA, Port Harcourt and the Wuse General Hospital, Abuja.

    Oloketuyi said the initiative called “Purple Nectar,’’ was designed to touch the lives of people in communities where the bank operates.

    “It involves each interested staff donating a day’s Salary for Love as a way of celebrating St. Valentine’s Day.

    “Every 14th of February, the world celebrates St. Valentine’s Day. Usually, couples go out on this day as a way of showing love to each other.

    “But at Wema Bank, we decided that while it is fine for couples to show love to each other on this day, our focus as a bank should be on showing love to those who need it but are not getting it.

    “Some are in critical situations and they need all the help they can get.

    “In our own little way of showing love, the staff of Wema Bank decided to put their salaries for that particular day (February 14) together and looked for people who need our love.

    “The demonstration of this love is to support those who need help, especially in health-related issues,” Oloketuyi said.

    The mother of a 7-month-old baby who benefitted from the initiative, Mrs Ngene broke down in tears as the Wema Bank presented a cheque to her.

    Ngene thanked the staff of Wema Bank for the kind gesture. (NAN)

  • Let’s stop the sick joke

    Let’s stop the sick joke

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan seems so unpretentious you could vow he is like your next door neighbour. No airs. No ostentatious display of wealth. No professorial jargons of an exhibitionist academic. No boasting – except when he needs to remind us that to him we owe a world of gratitude for surrendering power to President Muhammadu Buhari instead of listening to the sharks who pressed him to hang in there even when it was obvious that it was time to throw in the towel. Poor fellow.

    There he was the other day in London sermonising on how he had fought corruption and how –irony of ironies- he had become a subject of investigation by anti-corruption agencies.

    “I did very well also to curtail corruption,” Dr Jonathan said, adding:

    “My approach to corruption was don’t make money available for anyone to touch. We made sure that the area of fertiliser subsidies was cleaned up and the whole corruption there was removed.

    “I tried to do the same in the oil industry, but the very people that were accusing us of corruption were the same people frustrating it; it’s unfortunate.”

    His Excellency had hardly left Bloomberg’s studio before the questions started coming in torrents from seemingly bewildered Nigerians and their friends. Which administration was Dr Jonathan talking about? Did he exhibit the courage needed to clean up the oil sector that had become a cesspit of corruption? Who are these people holding him by the neck and frustrating his bold bid to move even as they accused him of corruption? The same people who caged him for six years, as he once told the world?

    But Dr Jonathan was not done. He said in reply to a question: “Obviously, I’m being investigated.” Would he be found guilty?” He said: “I wouldn’t want to make certain comments because when a government is working, it’s not proper for immediate past president to make certain statements. I wouldn’t want to make comments on that; it’s not proper. After all these investigations, the whole stories will be properly chronicled.”

    Chronicled? Sure. The facts are already being assembled – in the courts where many who played key roles in the administration are saying all they knew about the stealing that went on as if it was a kind of sport in which the best thief would snatch away some golden trophy and then mount a city victory parade. Incredible. The chroniclers, I am sure, are already confused by the fact that it is all real. Masters of fiction are stunned by the surrealistic details.

    Huge cash being turned in voluntarily. A key security office turned into a mere cash machine dispensing cash to whoever had its not-so-secret code. A minister shelling out millions of dollars to bribe election officials. Phony payments for phony multi-billion naira contracts, including – wonders of wonders – prayers.

    All this and yet we are regaled with stories of how the administration fought corruption? C’mon Dr Jonathan, give us a break.

    We look forward to when our former president will take a break from the lecture circuit to write his memoirs. It will be quite interesting to know where he was when Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders took a sledgehammer to the treasury, hammered their way through and ripped it open for the unbelievable pillage that left it bleeding to death. Besides, he should remember to put on record how he tried valiantly to let Nigerians know the difference between “corruption” and “stealing”. He may also wish to add the definition of what many Nigerians believe is a brand of kleptocracy – “lootocracy”.

    Interestingly, many of those PDP leaders who have done well for themselves are  now either battling to free themselves from imminent charges being prepared by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Some are already in court. Others are being nostalgic about the past. They are romancing the past in which they saw life as one huge Lagos party that will never end. They have been threatening that in 2019, the PDP will –God forbid – return to power.

    A reporter asked elder statesman Ebenezer Babatope to assess Buhari’s first year in office. “I want to be honest with you, even though we are suffering, we have never encountered this kind of suffering before,” he said.

    With due respect chief, Nigerians know that Buhari is not the architect of their pains, which he is doing his all to stop by stemming the bleeding caused by the rapacious PDP. By the way, are PDP chiefs part of this suffering multitude? I doubt it. Whenever the condition in which we have found ourselves is discussed, it should be clearly stated that Buhari has got his teeth into clearing the mess of about 16 years in which PDP chiefs, at our expense, led a rollercoaster champagne life that would make Hollywood greats green with envy. They lived like kings and partied like movie stars. Nigerians said “enough”, kicked them out and handed Buhari the mandate to demolish the edifice of vices built by fraudsters, pranksters and gangsters parading themselves as leaders. Now the rebuilding has begun. It will take some time and patience, despite the hardship.

    I salute the courage of the PDP crowd. In other climes, a major calamity, such as losing power after 16 years – they threatened to keep it for at least 60 years, in the first instance – would have seen some committing suicide. Hara-kiri.

    Little wonder they have been grumbling and whining about how the Buhari administration has not been good to them. Senator Ben Murray Bruce has been all over the social media, complaining that a Department of State Services (DSS) official blocked him from shaking hands with Buhari during a dinner for lawmakers at the Villa. That was pettish of the distinguished senator, who has often been criticised for his inability to draw the line between an objective criticism and sheer bitterness and abuse of privilege that his blistering attacks on the Buhari administration constitute. He once offered to donate his salary to Osun workers. I wonder why he has not extended such a cheeky gesture to his home state Bayelsa workers who have not been paid for five months. Nor have the dying states’ pensioners got any such impetuous offer from the loquacious showbiz host turned senator.

    PDP governors who collected ecological funds and blew the cash have been exposed by the heavy rains that have caused floods in some states. All Progressives Congress (APC) governors were shut out of the revelry. Now such funds are not available to be easily diverted to oiling their fancies. And we say they shouldn’t grumble? Buhari, it should be noted, did not discriminate in the bailout funds for the states.

    They say the anti-corruption war is selective? How? PDP leaders’ blithe disregard for honesty and proclivity for impunity led them this far. They deserve to have their day in court; not those who knew nothing about the looting of the treasury.

    What those who blast the Buhari administration for its “slow pace”, especially in tackling our economic challenges, should think about is where we would have been if the PDP and its army of thieves had remained in the saddle.

    They should not talk only about what they think the administration has failed to do but spare a thought for its achievements in security, in the fight against corruption, in workers’ welfare (the bailout funds) and in the battle to save the naira –its present trouble was imminent, no doubt.

    Now, let’s stop the sick joke and put our hands on the plough to save our dear country. Have we any other?

     

    Stephen Okechukwu Keshi (1962-2016)

    I was barely two hours in bed at 5.12 a.m.when Sport Editor Ade Ojeikere called to break the news of former Super Eagles Chief Coach Stephen Okechukwu ‘Big Boss’ Keshi’s death.

    I recall how firm his grip was when I shook his hand. Ade brought him to my office at “The Nation” after an interview that preceded his appointment as the coach of the Super Eagles. I remember his broad smiles, his towering figure and his happy, carefree disposition. In a soccer-crazy country as ours, Keshi meant so much to the fans. Some saw him as bold, brash and brutal – in demanding his rights. But he was easily the most successful indigenous coach of our national team – and its longest serving captain.

    He had a great career, decked with trophies and accolades. Keshi was the first to lead the Eagles to the World Cup as a player, captain and coach. He was the first to win the Nations Cup as player, captain and coach.

    Keshi’s death was not just a family tragedy, coming about six months after his wife’s. It is a national calamity. May His soul find peace with the Lord.

  • Stealing from the sick?

    Stealing from the sick?

    •Health officials must account for stolen donor funds 

    There are certainly no sacred areas and there seems to be few good men left when it comes to managing public funds in Nigeria today. This is the conclusion to be drawn when news broke last week that Nigeria’s officials are finagling with millions of dollars of foreign donor funds meant for combating live-threatening and indeed, terminal diseases like malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.

    Global Funds, the international health grants organisation, last week released an audit report of its funds disbursements to Nigeria’s agencies for the period 2010 to 2014.

    The audit focused mainly on the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) and the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), both agencies under the Federal Ministry of Health.

    The allegations against them are quite damning if they are proved to be true. They include multi-million dollars payout to suppliers without proof of delivery as well as the inability to account for a whopping $3.7 million in the purchase of anti-retroviral drugs.

    The report also indicts both NACA and NMEP of financial recklessness, including non-retirement of expenditure and cases of forged or missing vital financial reporting documents. Apart from the suspicion that a chunk of grants are being snitched, the international agency also frowned at the overall poor quality of health services, disruption of programmes, low impact and shortfalls on set targets.

    This dismal report card has prompted Global Funds to suspend all disbursements to both NACA and NMEP. It also petitioned the Federal Government.

    It is quite salutary that government may have responded quite promptly as the anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is reported to have stepped in and some officials of the Federal Ministry of Health were last week hauled in for questioning.

    Nigeria’s health budget had always fallen far short of the recommended level of the World Health Organisation (WHO). However, various targeted intervention funds from donor agencies like Global Funds have come handy in many critical and endemic health challenges like HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and the polio virus, to name a few.

    For instance, Nigeria reportedly enjoys the largest intervention funding from Global Funds said to total about $1.1 billion for combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. And about 750,000 Nigerians living with HIV/AIDS are said to benefit from Global Funds’ anti-retroviral drugs programmes.

    While we commend the Federal Government for what seems like its prompt move to institute an investigation on the outcomes of Global Funds’ audit report, that it took a foreign donor to unearth such numbing discrepancies in the finances of crucial agencies of Nigeria’s health ministry is equally damning. It is a clear indication of the poor quality of governance, especially as concerns financial control measures.

    How many other agencies in the country are operating without basic checks and control on their finances? Again, this calls to question, the capacity of the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (OAGF) and perhaps, the need to set up special audit units to track international donor funds.

    While we condemn in totality, the action of the reportedly thieving officials of the aforementioned agencies, it must also be noted that people everywhere are susceptible to be corrupt where the environment is conducive for corruption to thrive.

    There must be limits to graft and systemic corruption. It is a sign of a decayed moral essence and a total lack of national conscience that foreign grants could be so recklessly purloined as reported.

    Anti-retroviral drugs for instance, are sorely inadequate in Nigeria, with hundreds of thousands unable to have access to them. It is therefore most unconscionable that government officials would railroad a programme from abroad to assuage the sufferings of their compatriots.

    While the Federal Government must put the necessary financial checks in place, it must investigate thoroughly and with promptitude too, in order to bring the culprits, if any, to book. It must be this type of graft that has recently been described as fantastic.

  • Pity the sick, NGO pleads with Nigerians

    A non-governmental Organisation, Blessed Hands Ministry (BHM), has urged Nigerians to show concern for the sick.

    Its President, Elfreda Akintewe, who spoke when the organisation visited the Children’s Ward C and D at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos, said the sick should not be forgotten.

    According to her, the government and well-meaning people should play their roles to help poor patients, especially children.

    “I feel this is what God wants people to do. If He blesses you, then you should be a blessing to others,” she said.

    Mrs Akintewe enjoined doctors and nurses to continue to support the children so that they can recover quickly.

    She described children as the future, saying they deserved care and support.

    Mrs Akintewe said times were hard, adding that it takes people with a good heart to help the needy.

    She said her organisation has been lending a hand to the indigent since 2011 in villages, but opted to visit the hospital to put smiles on children’s faces.

    “We do not expect  any recognition, but heavenly reward,” she said.

    The team prayed for the sicks’ quick recovery and presented gifts to them.