The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Sierra-Leone

  • FirstBank initiates fundraising for Sierra Leone flood victims

    FirstBank initiates fundraising for Sierra Leone flood victims

    FirstBank has initiated a fund-raising drive among its members of staff as part of the FirstBank Employee Volunteering Scheme, set up to provide humanitarian services to the bank’s host communities, including victims of mudslides and floods that devastated parts of Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown.

    The efforts allowed staff members to collectively give succour and hope to the needy and the funds gathered would complement the bank’s corporate donation to the victims of the disaster.

    The bank has also implored its customers and  the public to join it in  providing succour to victims of this tragedy. Accordingly, a special donations account has been set up and members of staff, customers and  the public can pay directly into the account:  FBN CSR Donations — 2032381764.

    The bank, according to a release, has remained unwavering in its commitment to doing business responsibly with individuals and corporate citizens, which include positively impacting the lives of its stakeholders and empowering its host communities.

    The Managing Director/CEO, First Bank of Nigeria Limited and Subsidiaries, Adesola Adeduntan, said the  bank would continue to uphold the citizenship approach, which includes considering the needs of its stakeholders and working to meet those needs in line with its corporate responsibility and sustainability strategy.

    The bank and its subsidiaries have identified and empathised with the victims of the mudslides and floods that devastated parts of Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown. The feat is part of its commitment to drive the sustainable development of the communities in which it does business.

  • Mudslide: Nigeria donates $2m cash, relief materials to Sierra Leone

    Mudslide: Nigeria donates $2m cash, relief materials to Sierra Leone

    NIGERIA has donated cash, food, medical supplies and other relief materials worth $2 million to victims of the mudslide in Sierra Leone.

    A statement issued by the Special Assistant to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sarah Sanda, said the items donated  include $1 million cash, as well as 315 metric tonnes of assorted food and other relief items and over 4,000 medical supplies all amounting to another $1m.

    A high-level Federal Government delegation led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, made the donation yesterday in Freetown.

    The delegation, which comprises the Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Mustapha Maihaja and Hajiya Zainab Sharif from the Federal Ministry of Health,  among others, was received at the State House by President Ernest Bai Koroma.

    Onyeama expressed sadness “on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari and the people of Nigeria for the August 14 tragedy”.

    He added: “The history of the two countries goes far back and the blood of both countries runs through the same veins.”

    The minister added that “Nigeria would always stand by Sierra Leone”.

    The minister explained that owing to the large volume of relief materials, there is the possibility of sending some by sea.

    So far, four flights conveying about 60 metric tonnes of relief materials have been undertaken with another 16 flights planned.

    Koroma, while thanking President Muhammadu Buhari whom he referred to as a brother, noted that Buhari was “one of the first Heads of State to call and sympathise with us when the incident occurred”.

    He added that Nigeria’s support to Sierra Leone was not new.

    Koroma noted support provided by Nigeria during the 11 year civil war, during the Ebola epidemic and after the mudslide and flood disaster.

    He expressed delight over Buhari’s return to Nigeria after a successful medical treatment in the United Kingdom.

     

  • Nigeria donates relief materials, cash to Freetown mudslide victims

    Nigeria donates relief materials, cash to Freetown mudslide victims

    Nigeria has donated 315 tonnes of assorted relief materials and one million dollars cash to Sierra Leone to help alleviate the suffering of people affected by flood and mudslide in the country.

    Nigeria’s  Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, made the presentation to  his Sierra Leonean  counterpart, Mr Samura Koroma, in Freetown on Tuesday.

    The relief items included bags of rice, beans, maize, sorghum, milk, spoons, plates, mattresses, blankets, roofing sheets, soaps, mosquito nets and mats.

    Others were medical supplies, such as anti-malaria drugs,  antibiotics  and disinfectants.

    Onyeama, while making the presentation, said President Muhammadu Buhari sent him to express to the government and people of Sierra Leone his profound sadness over the tragedy that occurred last week.

    “We have come on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari who heard the sad tragedy that befell your country and your people.

    “Myself, the Director-General of NEMA, Mustapha Maihaja; and  representative of the Minister of Health, Zainab Sheriff, have come to really express our profound sorrow and condolences for the large loss of lives, damage to properties and suffering of a large number of people in your country”, he said.

    Onyeama said Nigeria and Sierra Leone had a very strong bond making both countries feel they belonged to the same family.

    “Therefore, your loss is our loss. We grieve with you at this occasion,” he said.

    He said although Nigeria was facing a huge humanitarian, economic and social challenge, it shared the pains of the people of Sierra Leone.

    “We are flying constantly large quantities of food supplies and medicines and also a cash donation of a million dollars.
    “Our planes will be carrying about 315 tonnes of food and medicines.’’

    He said some of the cargo might be delivered by sea.

    Onyeama said the gesture was ‘’a token of our solidarity with the Government and people of Sierra Leone.

    ‘’You are very much in our heart and we pray for you to overcome this tragedy soon.”

    Koroma expressed appreciation to Nigeria for the  gesture,  adding that ‘’Nigeria had always been there for Sierra Leone in the past.

    “You were there for us during the civil war when Nigeria sent her troops.

    ‘’You sent your support and personnel during Ebola disease outbreak, and you are here to support us again during this time of mudslide and flood.”

    On Aug.  14, a downpour which caused severe flooding in Freetown and a mudslide in the Regent area left more than 300 people dead, including children.

    The incident left more than 3,000 homeless and in need of humanitarian assistance.

    Some 600 people are still missing and rescue workers warn that the chances of finding survivors are decreasing each day.

  • Sierra Leone: Donor pledges pour in after deadly mudslide

    Sierra Leone: Donor pledges pour in after deadly mudslide

    Donor pledges are pouring in from countries around the world to aid Sierra Leone after a mudslide devastated the capital, killing no fewer than 400 people and leaving 3,000 homeless.

    Dozens of houses were engulfed by mud when a mountainside collapsed in the town of Regent, on the edge of Freetown, on Monday in one of Africa’s deadliest mudslides in decades.

    Aid agencies are racing to provide food, shelter and healthcare to the homeless, and prevent outbreaks of dangerous water-borne diseases such as cholera and typhoid.

    Countries including Israel and Ivory Coast announced they would send aid from food and medicine to water and blankets, while other nations such as Guinea, Liberia and Nigeria pledged their support but did not say how much they would spend.

    Britain pledged 6.5 million dollars, China, one million dollars; Togo, 500,000 dollars; Ireland 470,000 dollars and Switzerland, 415,000 dollars.

    Others are EU, 350,000 dollars, ECOWAS, 300,000 dollars, United Arab Emirates, 100,000 dollars and Senegal, 100,000 dollars.

  • Freetown mudslide a monumental regional disaster, says Ekweremadu

    Freetown mudslide a monumental regional disaster, says Ekweremadu

    …Calls for immediate regional action

     

    Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, Wednesday described as a monumental regional disaster, the floods and mudslide that killed hundreds of persons in the outskirts of Freetown, the Sierra Leone capital.

    Ekweremadu is the immediate past Speaker of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS Parliament,

    In a statement by his Special Adviser, (Media) Ekweremadu called for immediate regional and international action to boost rescue efforts and alleviate the sufferings of the victims.

    He said: “The personal account by the Vice President of Sierra Leone, His Excellency, Victor Foh, confirming the death of at least 300 persons as a result of the tragic mudslide is heartbreaking.

    “It is a natural disaster of monumental proportions, not only for Sierra Leoneans, but also the entire ECOWAS family. My heart goes out to the people and government of Sierra Leone as well as the serving and former members of the Sierra Leonean National Delegation to the Community Parliament.

    “This calls for immediate intervention by the ECOWAS and the international community to boost rescue efforts and provide robust humanitarian support to both the injured and the displaced”.

    While praying for the peaceful repose of the souls of the deceased, the former regional Speaker also prayed God to grant the sub-region, especially the affected families and the people of Sierra Leone the fortitude to bear the irreversible loss.

  • Buhari sympathises with President Koroma over tragic mudslide

    Buhari sympathises with President Koroma over tragic mudslide

    President Muhammadu Buhari has sympathized with President Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone over the huge loss of lives and massive devastation caused by mudslide in the West African country.

    In a Tuesday telephone call from London, President Buhari told President Koroma that the hearts of Nigerians are with the people of Sierra Leone at this tragic and painful period in the history of the country.

    Buhari, in a statement by the Special Adviser on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, also prayed that Almighty God will comfort those who are mourning loved ones and suffered other losses.

    President Koroma thanked President Buhari for his show of concern and wished him good health.

  • Flood, landslide claims 800 lives in Sierra Leone

    Flood, landslide claims 800 lives in Sierra Leone

    …About 150 victims below 10 years

     

    Tragedy struck in the Sierra Leonean capital of Freetown Monday.

    What started as an early morning blessing in form of rain led to flood and landslide, leaving in their wake death and destruction.

    The area affected is Regent, a highbrow area of the city.

    According to an eye witness, Mr. Ammar Kamara, an aid worker in Freetown, the city is grappling with this new tragedy as little has so far been put in place for displaced survivors.

    He said: ‘The flood happened this morning. It started with a heavy rainfall around 2am. This led to the landslide which occurred between 6am and 7am.

    “From the my visit to the main mortuary unit inside Connaught Hospital, most of the victims are women, particularly young girls and I can confirm over 150 children under the age of 10 years lost their lives.

    “It happened in the highbrow residential area where the affluent live. The hospitals are overstretched and the coordination from the medical team is insufficient. The death toll is going to rise.”

    He said medical and aid workers are currently battling to save lives and give care to the displaced, wounded and traumatized.

     

  • Cooperation among West Africa police ensured Evans’ arrest – Idris

    Cooperation among West Africa police ensured Evans’ arrest – Idris

    The Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, has attributed the arrest of Chukwujeme Onwamadike, the suspected kidnapper popularly known as Evans, to information sharing and intelligence cooperation among police services in West Africa.

    “Information sharing is crucial to tackling the menace of trans-border crimes in West Africa; it is through such exchange that we were able to nab a Ghanaian/Nigerian kidnapper two weeks ago, after evading arrest for many years,” Idris said on Wednesday.

    Idris spoke in Accra, Ghana in a paper titled: “The role of Nigeria Police in national security and its contributions in West Africa”, delivered at an ongoing West Africa international security conference.

    The paper was sent, via email, to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lafia.

    “For several years, Evans terrorised Nigerians and nationals of many countries across West Africa. Efforts to apprehend him did not yield the desired results until we spread our search net wider”, he said.

    The police chief, who solicited closer ties among security agencies in the sub-region, emphasised the need to improve the method of monitoring and surveillance, particularly among border and coastal police units.

    Idris called for improved communication capabilities among intelligence gathering outfits in West Africa, and called for mutual support to plug loopholes usually exploited by criminals.

    He said that the Nigeria Police Force had 300,000 personnel in 127 area commands and 5303 divisions, adding that the force had consistently contributed to stability and peace in ECOWAS nations and under UN mandates.

    “The Nigeria Police Force trained 250 Liberian Police personnel in 2005 and has consistently offered training slots to police officers from Gambia and Sierra Leone at the Police Staff College, Jos and the Police Academy, Wudil.

    “We also trained 100 police officers from the Republic of Niger on mobile police combat in 1998. At the end of the training, Nigeria donated trucks, riot equipment and tear smoke to the Nigerien government,” he said.

    Idris said that the Nigeria Police Force also helped to stabilise Guinea Bissau in 2012, when the military intervened in its leadership and truncated democracy.

    “Our police personnel remained there until democracy was restored in 2014,” he stated.

    The IGP expressed Nigeria’s readiness to consistently cooperate with police formations in other countries to track down criminals, pointing out that such mutual cooperation had become even more necessary as technology had reduced the world to a small village.

  • WHO suspected Ebola cases rise to 29

    WHO suspected Ebola cases rise to 29

    The number of suspected Ebola cases in Congo has risen to 29, up from 21, WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told a regular UN briefing in Geneva on Friday.

    “As of this morning we have 29 suspected cases,” he said.

    He said that there were no new deaths in the outbreak, but 416 contacts of sufferers were being chased up in case they also developed symptoms.

    NAN reports that the WHO on Thursday said that the Ebola outbreak in Congo represents a “high risk” for the country.

    “As of now we don’t know the full extent of the outbreak,” WHO health emergencies programme director Peter Salama said at a press conference in Geneva.

    So far two cases have been confirmed, at least 18 others are suspected and three people have died in north-eastern Bas-Uele province.

    The campaign against the virus is expected to cost 10 million dollars over the next six months, according to WHO.

    The priority to is to find more than 400 people who were in contact with the confirmed or suspected Ebola sufferers, Salama said.

    An Ebola treatment centre has been set up in the region and a mobile clinic is due to follow.

    NAN reports that the Central African country has suffered seven previous outbreaks of Ebola since the virus was discovered there in 1976.

    The last outbreak, in 2014, left 49 people dead.

    The hemorrhagic fever has been most detrimental in West Africa, where it claimed more than 11,000 lives in 2014 to 2015.

    The WHO declared Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the three countries that had been most effected by the epidemic, free of Ebola in 2016.

    NAN reports that on May 12, WHO said that the GAVI global vaccine alliance has some 300,000 emergency doses of an Ebola vaccine developed by Merck and could be available in case of a large-scale outbreak.

    The vaccine, known as “rVSV-ZEBOV”, was shown to be highly protective against Ebola in clinical trials published in December 2016.

    A spokesperson for the WHO told Reuters on Friday that a person in the Democratic Republic of Congo had died after becoming infected with Ebola, a contagious virus that causes hemorrhagic fever.

    NAN reports that on Dec. 23, 201, an experimental Ebola vaccine was highly protective against the deadly virus in a major trial in Guinea, according to results published in The Lancet.

    The vaccine is the first to prevent infection from one of the most lethal known pathogens, and the findings add weight to early trial results published in 2016

     

  • Enugu farmers lament scarcity, high cost of cassava

    Farmers in Enugu State on Wednesday lamented the acute scarcity and high cost of cassava stems for this year’s cultivation.

    The farmers told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu that the scarcity had become a source of concern to cassava farmers in the state.

    A big-time cassava farmer, Mr Onyekwere Ikem, said that getting cassava stems for cultivation had never been a problem before now.

    Ikem said that before now, all one had to do was ask a friend or neighbour for some stems to cultivate.

    “The stems are hardly sold in the market because people are always ready to provide it for whoever cares to have it.

    “However, because of its scarcity, people have started to hoard it and will rather prefer to sell it in the market than give it out due to its high price,’’ Ikem said.

    Mr Obiora Ugwu, another cassava farmer, said he had gone from house to house, and from farmer to farmer in his quest to get cassava stems to plant.

    “This is unbelievable, I have been searching for cassava stems from one farmer to another and from house to house so that I can have enough to cultivate, but to no avail.

    “I was able to get a few bundles which will not be enough for me because my plan is to have much cassava next year,’’ the farmer said.

    Ugwu said it was hard to explain why the stems had become so scarce.

    A seller of cassava flakes, otherwise called “Garri’’ in local parlance, Miss Ebere Ekwo, said that if the scarcity of cassava stems persisted it would increase the price of commodity next year.

    Garri is a popular West African food made from cassava tubers. The spelling ‘garri’ is mainly used in Cameroon, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Benin, Togo and ‘gari’ in Ghana. In some sub-Saharan regions of Africa, it is referred to as ‘gali’.

    Ekwo said that farmers who were desperate to get the stems now bought from markets at high price so as to have some to cultivate.

    Another farmer, Madam Ego Ibezim, said that a bundle of cassava stems which formerly sold between N300 and N400 now went for between N1000 to N1, 500 at the rural markets in Enugu.

    Mr Azubike Okoye, a cassava farmer, expressed fear that the situation might result in poor or low yields and late harvest in the year.

    Okoye called on the State Ministry of Agriculture to come to the aid of farmers by providing them cassava stems at subsidised rates.