The Nation Newspaper

Tag: tragedy

  • The Mecca tragedy

    SIR: September 11 is a day in which the world remembers the horrific attack on the World Trade Centre and how people lost their loved ones in this mind blowing and senseless attack.

    Fourteen years after on the anniversary of 9/11, analysts, political commentators or enthusiast, conspiracy theorists and deep thinkers would question what happened on Friday, September 11, 14 years after the World Trade Centre which Bin Laden was accused of being the mastermind.

    On the fateful day, a crane fell on Muslims who were performing Tawaf, a religious act of worship in Islam. Over a hundred people died in that incident and the crane is said to be owned by the Bin Laden construction company which is said to be the second biggest construction company in the world.

    Is it a coincidence that a crane owned by the Bin Laden Family fell and killed people in the holiest of places on the anniversary of the 9/11 attack?

    Analysts, political commentators or enthusiasts, conspiracy theory thinkers and deep thinkers will analyse and speculate about this incident for years.

    May God grant the families who lost loved ones the strength to bear the loss. My hope is for this world to experience peace. Tragedies and various violent acts only bring tears.

     

    • FolawiyoOlajoku

    Osogbo, Osun.

     

  • Tragedy at dawn in Abuja

    Tragedy at dawn in Abuja

    Twenty-eight-year old Uchenna Ezeiro went berserk in Abuja, setting his lover’s  neighbour Ifeoma Okwor, ablaze. It all started over Ezeiro’s Indian hemp smoking habit which Okwor had incessantly complained about  Okwor died in hospital. Assistant Editor, Gbade Ogunwale tells the gory story.

    HELL was literally let loose penultimate week in downtown Karmo, a suburb on the outskirts of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, as a nurse, Ifeoma Okwor, 28, was set ablaze by her neighbour’s,  lover, Uchenna Ezeiro.

    She was rushed to a nearby hospital, from where she was transferred to the National Hospital.

    The incident followed a prolonged quarrel over the perennial inconvenience suffered by Okwor on account of Ezeiro’s hemp smoking habit.

    Okwor is said to  be a neighbour of Amaka, so, whose boyfriend was in the habit of smoking Indian hemp whenever he comes  around, which The Nation learnt was regular. With her room next to Amaka’s, the late Okwor was said to be a direct recipient of the smoke, which usually filtered into her room and leave her queasy. She complained severally, but was ignored and even threatened.

    Things reached a climax in the morning of July 27, when Uchenna was said to have lit another wrap of the weed, sending the smoke oozing through to Ifeoma’s room, as usual. This time around, Ifeoma decided to take it up with Amaka, wondering how a full grown woman would allow her man to be smoking the harsh weed in her room, to the discomfort of another person. As usual, a verbal exchange ensued between the two women, as they gave each other the bitter side of the tongue.

    While this was going on, Uchenna was said to have stormed out of the room. He found a nearby portable generating set nearby, scooped the petrol and went after Okwor. In the meantime, the shouting match was said to have subsided, with Okor heading back to her room, when Uchenna doused her with the petrol, lit a stick of match and set her ablaze.

    Instantly, a violent flame engulfed Okwor’s delicate  figure with her screams attracting neighbours’, who rushed to the spot and scrambled to do all they could to salvage her situation. They eventually rushed her to a nearby hospital, from where she was transferred to the National Hospital.

    Doctors at the National Hospital were said to have swung into action immediately, seeing the critical stage in which she was brought in. Neighbours also assisted with vigils and prayers. Okwor was said to have lived her last days in pain and agony, with the doctors putting in their best until she breathed her last.

    Uchenna and Amaka were arrested immediately after the attack by the police in Karmo. But the couple was transferred to the Homicide Department at the FCT Command. After interrogation, Amaka was said to have been released on bail, while Uchenna was detained. By the time our correspondent got to the FCT Command on Friday, Uchenna was said to have been moved to the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS). The Command’s Public Relations Officer, Anjuguri Manza, could not immediately give details of the case. He promised to check the facts from the Commissioner of Police and get back to our correspondent. He had yet to get back us as at press time.

  • Ariaria tragedy

    SIR: Recently, a tragedy befell Ariaria International Market, a hub for commerce and trade in Abia. Security agents, allegedly on an operation to raid drug hideouts within the market’s neighbourhood, inflicted pain on the peaceful and serene environment.

    The incident left in its trail scores of people severely injured, including a Divisional Crime Officer (DCO) of Ariaria Police Station, who sustained a serious machete cuts from miscreants, and a few other civilians whose lives were cut short in the process.

    The first casualties of the Ariaria tragedy are members of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), who engaged in such operation in a densely-populated market and threw professionalism and rules of engagement to the wind.

    One would have expected the agency to take a critical study of the operations and design the best approach to use. The lives of innocent civilians are worth more than whatever operation they went for in the market, and no amount of provocation should have warranted the use of  live ammunition in a densely- populated environment.

    I don’t want to delve into the argument of why our security agencies are still using live ammunition in the 21st century to demobilise mobs, while pepper spray and synthetic ammunition can serve the same purpose. That is an argument for another day.

    The second casualties are the miscreants who allegedly took the law into their own hands and made two frantic efforts to burn down Ariaria and Uratta police stations, and in the process injured the DCO and burnt two exhibit vehicles.  People are not expected to take the law into their own hands.

    Abia State is peaceful and stable. Security agencies should live up to expectations by complementing the laudable efforts of the state government.

     

    • Okechukwu Keshi Ukegbu,

    Abia State

  • Tragedy averted as aircraft tyre bursts

    Tragedy averted as aircraft tyre bursts

    The tyre of a Boeing 737-500 Aero Airlines aircraft burst yesterday  during take-off at the Murtala Muhammed Airport 2 (MM2), Lagos.

    According to a source, the 141 passengers on board the Lagos-Abuja flight were scared as the pilot initiated a return.

    The spokesman of Aero Airlines, Simon Tumba, said the pilot took emergency precautionary steps by returning to base.

    In a statement, Tumba said: ”Aero flight NG127 from Lagos to Abuja yesterday made an air return as a result of a burst tyre, which occurred just as the airplane was taking off.

    “The pilot did the right thing by not trying to abort take-off.

    “He controlled the aircraft into the air and following all trained procedures, he brought the plane back to safe landing.

    “At no time during all of this were the passengers’ lives at any risk.”

    The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) confirmed the incident.

    A statement by its General Manager, Public Affairs, Fan Ndubuoke, said the aircraft, which took off from the MM2 at 3pm for Abuja, developed technical problem and made an air return as the normal procedure.

    “The aircraft, with 141 passengers on board, on arrival at the international wing of the airport,  had its passengers transferred to another aircraft while some demanded for refunds. Some passengers rescheduled their flight for today.”

    Ndubuoke said NCAA will  investigate the incident. He assured the public of the agency’s commitment to safety and security.

  • Sallah tragedy: Boko Haram kills 13 at praying grounds

    •Army, police issue conflicting accounts

    The Eid el-Fitr turned bloody yesterday in Damaturu after  bombs carried by three girls went off at two Eid prayer grounds in the city,  killing at least 13 worshippers.

    Fifteen others were injured by the blasts at Layin Gwange  and at Phase1, about two kilometres from the Central Mosque where  Governor Ibrahim Geidam of Yobe State, the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Tukur Buratai,  and other dignitaries observed the Eid prayers.

    Buratai  was in the Yobe State capital  as part of his effort to boost the morale of soldiers who have been fighting the Boko Haram insurgents and  to enable him assess the requirements of his men.

    “13 people were killed in the suicide blasts,” said Police Commissioner  Markus Danladi. “The attacks were carried out by three underage girls. 15 people were also injured in the attacks.”

    The Army’s account was slightly different,with  the acting Director of Army Public Relations,Colonel Sani Usman, saying  the suicide bombings were carried out by  “one elderly woman and a 10-year girl.”

    “Four  persons died in the first explosion and seven people injured,while five  people lost their lives in the second explosion and  11 were wounded,” Usman said,saying  the Improvised Explosives Devices (IEDs) went off as security personnel were screening worshippers entering the prayer grounds.

    He said that the situation had been brought under control and declared that  “no amount of terrorist act would deter our resolve to stamp out terrorism and insurgency.”

    The explosions sent people scampering to safety while many others chose to stay indoors.

    The police and other security agencies had intensified their watch over Yobe and Borno states over the last few weeks, following the upsurge in attacks by the terror organisation.

    The Islamic State (ISIS) group, to which Boko Haram has pledged allegiance, had issued a directive to create more mayhem during the just-concluded Ramadan.

    Only on Thursday, two bombs killed  about 50 people buying goods for the festivities  at a market in Gombe.

    The National Emergency Management Agency spokesman Sani Datti said another 75 were wounded.

  • Tragedy as hunter shoots colleague dead

    Bashiru (Opee) used to be a land speculator until recently when he started going on hunting expedition without proper orientation or training

    Tragedy struck in Olorunleke village near Atan, Ado Odo/Ota Local Government Area, Ogun State penultimate Sunday as a local hunter allegedly shot his colleague dead during a hunting expedition.

    It was learnt that in the evening of the fateful day, the errant hunter, identified simply as Jamiu, had approached his late colleague, Bashiru Opee, and invited him for a hunting expedition in a nearby forest.

    Forty-two-year-old Opee was allegedly clearing a bush path with a cutlass when Jamiu, who was holding his gun for him, “mistakenly” pulled the trigger and killed him.

    The gunshot was said to have drawn the attention of villagers who immediately rushed to the scene. The villagers were said to have invited the police who arrested Jamiu.

    It was learnt that Opee was found in a pool of blood while efforts made by the villagers to save his life did not yield fruit.

    The deceased was buried the next day according to Islamic rites.

    Although many of the villagers declined to speak to our correspondent during a visit to the community, a man who asked that his name should not be mentioned said: “Bashiru (Opee) used to be a land speculator until recently when he started going on hunting expedition without proper orientation or training.”

    Confirming the incident, the spokesman of Ogun State Police Command, Mr Muyiwa Adejobi, said the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Abdulmajid Ali, had ordered the transfer of the suspect to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for further investigation.

  • Tragedy averted as petrol tanker crushes car in Osogbo

    A tragedy was averted Friday on the Gbongan Road, Osogbo, the Osun state capital as several people escaped death when a ‎petrol tanker lost control and crushed a moving Toyota Campry salon car.

    The petrol-laden truck marked LAGOS AGL-804-XK smashed the car, critically injuring three occupants while two others walked out unhurt.

    The truck was descending a slope when it ran into the Toyota car, which provided an opportunity for the petrol tanker to come to an abrupt halt.

    ‎The men of the Federal Road Safety Commission rushed to the scene to take the injured to the hospital.

    An eye witness account revealed that incident occurred around 12 noon.

    The eyewitness, who pleaded for anonymity, said: “The driver really tried, it could have been more disastrous if he hadn’t managed the situation well. The tanker is filled with 33,000litres of petrol. Who knows what would have happened if the tanker fell.”

    ‎It was gathered that the driver of the tanker ran away immediately after the accident but was later found by the policemen.

    Other vehicles affected by the accident were two commercial buses, a Honda Civic salon car‎ and two commercial motorcycles otherwise known as okada.

    The Osun State Sector Commander of the FRSC, Mr. Mohammed Husaini, who disclosed that only one person was injured, warmed motorists against putting faulty vehicles on the road.

  • Paraga craze: The beat goes on despite Ode-Irele tragedy

    Paraga craze: The beat goes on despite Ode-Irele tragedy

    •  ‘Why we can’t stop consuming alcoholic herbal drinks’
    • The dangers consumers are exposed to

    You may not know the extent of the emotional attachment that consumers of the numerous alcoholic herbal drinks that abound in the society have for their various brands until you say anything negative about the drinks. They adore their various brands and would not treat any unpleasant remarks about them with kid gloves.

    The Nation got shocking revelations about the roles that these drinks play in their lives when it sought their views about the ban of similar drinks in Ondo State after the mystery deaths that stalked Ode Irele, an ancient community in the sunshine state recently.

    In spite of the state government’s statement that the deaths were caused by the consumption of some alcoholic herbal drinks and our story last year that such drinks contain harmful substances like ethanol poisoning, the consumers demurred, stating strongly that the drinks are all they need to keep their lives going. Those who spoke with our correspondents frowned at any attempt to ban the drinks warning that it would spell worse doom than was recorded at Ode Irele.  Rather than see the drinks as harmful to their health, they amazingly ascribe curative powers to them.

    In fact, they have different appellations and cognomen for the drinks. In some quarters, the drinks are called akpuru achia (what you put in your mouth and must giggle); ogbum na atom (something that kills and intoxicates), Yoboyobo, nokia, apeteshi, paraga, shayo etc. Some commercial drivers commonly refer to them as ‘kerosene.’

    “When we ask our boys to go and buy ‘kerosene’ to wash the glass of the vehicle, we are simply asking the person to go and buy alcoholic drinks. That is what we use to clean our eyes (glass) after driving and staying in traffic for a very long time. When we drink them, the nerves of the eyes would regain their strength and every impurity in the eyes flushed out. If you take the drinks the way we do, your eyes will be wide open and you will be able to drive even for a whole day without any stress on your eyes, ” Suraju, a bus conductor, said.

    Kasali Nure, a commercial driver, sees the drinks as medication and the sellers as doctors. “We would protest if they try to ban the drinks. Have you witnessed the protest of alcoholics before? If you haven’t, it is better you don’t do anything that will provoke it. The drinks are medications and that is what I use. I don’t go to hospital. I am a believer in Yoruba adages and one of them that I hold dear to my heart so much states that a person that drinks (alcohol) early in the morning, doesn’t fall sick. You may not believe it but it works.

    “I take these drinks, especially, the ones soaked in herbs as medication. They are very potent and better than orthodox medication. I don’t know what medical doctors look like apart from what I see on the television. Whenever my body is not sound enough, I run to my doctor, the drink seller. She has the solution to all my health needs. Banning it would send me to my early grave because that is what I depend on to have sound health.”

    In some of the drinking joints, some of the consumers play the roles of preachers, convincing non- drinkers of the need to pick interest in consuming the drinks.

    “The drinks are not harmful as they are making you to believe. Drinking is good for the body and life without it will be boring. If they ban the drinks, they will end up paralysing and depriving the world of fun. It is also wrong to see those of us who drink as sinners or outlaws. Taking alcohol will not make you go to hell. It is when you refuse to help your fellow human beings that you are in the danger of going to hell. If you look at it critically, you will find out that drinkers are cheerful and generous people because you can’t drink alone and enjoy it.”

    Titi, a female consumer, strongly believes that the drinks are the only solution to her monthly menstrual pains, adding: “I often go through severe pains during my menstrual period. I had used different drugs to no avail. My freedom from this monthly trauma came after a friend advised me to be taking this gin. I have equally told others in similar situations about it and they have never regretted taking to my advice. What would people like us who depend on these drinks to do if the government bans the sales and consumption? They would only succeed in returning us to the state of pains that we bade farewell long ago.”

    A consumer, who simply identified himself as Old Soldier, gave a hilarious account of how the consumption of alcoholic herbal drinks facilitated his promotion in the army.

    He said: “Nobody can ever stop me from taking alcohol. It is not possible. Even if I am selling it, there is no Jupiter that can ban me from selling it. You cannot stop me from taking what I enjoy eating. I wouldn’t have been promoted when I was serving in the Nigerian Army if I had not been indulging in alcohol. I was to have a parade one day and on the eve of that fateful day, I took a quantity of an alcoholic drink and mixed some herbs with it. I drank it and went for the parade.

    “When the parade started, I marched energetically and luckily, some senior officers were present. They were amazed to see me march with such energy and demanded to know what my rank was. When I said it to them, they recommended that I should be promoted.

    “If I don’t drink, my life would be dull and consequently, my job will suffer. But the very moment I drink, you will see me moving about and doing my job with vivacity. My boss in my present place of employment has called to ask me why I take alcohol and I have made it known to him that, that is what helps me to do my job very well. He has observed me and found that I work better when I have taken my drink and has stopped complaining since then.”

    “Other state governments should not attempt to ban the drinks because if they do so, the number of people that would die would be more than what was recorded at Ode Irele. I can describe these drinks as a saviour of the consumers because they help us to overcome the frustrations of life. There are many people that joblessness and the economic situation would have quickened their deaths, but their dependence on these drinks keeps them going. When we take them, especially in the company of our friends, we easily forget our frustrations,” Tayo Samson, a lotto business operator stated.

    Prince, a lover of some of the drinks, had this to say: “It will be suicidal to ban the drinks. We have been taking them long before the Ode Irele incident and have no reason to stop them because of what happened there. The only thing the government could do is to ban those that are not duly registered by NAFDAC. There are actually so many of the drinks that are in circulation and it would be good to stop the sales and production of such drinks.

    “The drinks serve different purposes for the consumers but many male consumers take them because they enhance their sexual performance. Most of the drinks are prepared with ingredients that boost the sexual drive of men and this often forms the crux of their advertisement. Aside from sexual enhancement, they also help so many to survive the economic downturn in the country.

    Benjamin, a commercial motorcyclist, said the drinks serve as protection for him and his colleagues against cold. He said: “It is difficult for any okada man not to take alcohol. We are daily exposed to severe cold, especially during the rainy season in the course of doing our work. No matter the thickness of the cloth that you wear, cold would always affect you. The only way out for most of us is to be consuming alcohol to warm our bodies just the way sailors do.”

    The sellers also kicked against any plan to ban the drinks, saying that any attempt to do so will amount to taking their means of livelihood from them.

    Maria, one of the traders, said: “We would starve to death if they ban the drinks. Do you know how many of us are surviving on this business? If you know, then you can imagine the number of families that would be affected by such decision. Personally, I have no other skill or source of income than whatever I get from the sales of these drinks.

    “This is the trade I learnt from the outset and any attempt to ban it would amount to rendering me jobless. How would I take care of my children if I don’t have any sources of income or what skill will I go and acquire at this point in time to provide for my family? I can’t take to prostitution or steal, so they should just allow me to continue this little business.”

    Abel, a middle aged man, spoke about how peer pressure made him to be consuming the drinks which he nicknamed ‘African pot’. “I refer to it as African pot because it contains local gin. It was rampant in Apapa and they have different names. There is one of the drinks they call Yoboyobo, there is another called Nokia, which is mixed with Indian hemp. There is also small leaf as well as ginger and garlic flavour. The common one in this area is Opa eyin, Dongoyaro for waist and Awopa, which is a yellowish drink that cures fever.

    “I started drinking at Apapa because of peer pressure. At a time, it was beginning to affect my health because I was drinking it excessively to the point of becoming an addict. These drinks come in varieties but they a have the same alcohol content, which may be up to 45 per cent. I will advise government not to ban it because no incident has been recorded here. The Ode Irele incident could have been as a result of poisoning. If what happened in Ode-Irele should happen here, I will stop drinking immediately.”

    Mrs Funmilayo Akinsola, who claims to have been selling alcoholic drinks for the past 30 years, noted that the sales of harmful drinks predated the Ode Irele incident. She pointed out that the drinks that appear harmful are the ones diluted with too much chemicals. “People have been selling ogogoro (local gin) mixed with large quantity of chemicals long before the Ode Irele incident. It is this type of drink that some people consume and their cheeks would start bloating as if they are adding weight. For some, it is their legs that would begin to swell after some time. I don’t sell those to my customers, I have been in this business for long and I have my reputation to protect.”

    Asked why some of the sellers choose to sell the ones mixed with chemicals, she said: “They simply do so to enhance their profit margin. It is always discussed at our meetings. In fact, whenever we hold our meetings, our leaders often warn those girls who hawk not to use such chemicals but some of them would not desist from doing that. We have an association of Traditional Medicine Practitioners but many of these hawkers are not registered members.

    “The government should endeavour to fish out the people that are doing such deadly mixtures and punish them accordingly. We are also concerned about the health of our customers and would appreciate if the government, instead of banning all the drinks, could carry out tests to determine the good and bad ones. When this is done, they should not only flush them out of the market, they should also arrest the manufacturers.

    Mr Olamilekan Oluwafemi, a car dealer, who was spotted at one of the popular joints along Mushin road, admitted that some of the sellers  are using harmful chemicals that are damaging to the health and subscribed to the urgent need to sanitise the business. “It is true that there are so many of such drinks that are dangerous to the human life. They are so rampant in the society today and because they play on sexual enhancement, which is the in-thing in the society, many people quickly buy into them without minding the dangers they constitute to their health.

    “I totally agree that the business needs total cleansing to safeguard the lives of the consumers. But the truth is that, one can identify a harmful drink by merely perceiving the odour. If you are not a regular drinker, you may not know. Even the branded liquors made by some companies also parade many fakes. If you go to Ojuwoye market, you will see them there. For those who take beer, some are dangerous too if not properly sealed. If you open it, it would be watery and it will not foam. It is just like plain urine.”

    Explaining the use of ethanol in conventional sciences and its effect on human health, Femi Olutade, a biochemist, said: “It can be used as a reagent for extraction in chemistry and pharmaceuticals and can also be used in the production of alcoholic drinks. The quantity used in the production of liquors is at the manufacturers’ discretion. So the quantity varies with brands.

    “Ethanol is to be used in carefully measured quantity because of the dangers it poses to health. The ones in ogogoro is not measured and can put the liver and other organs of the body at a serious risk, which can lead to a disease called cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is an irreversible health condition caused by excessive intake of alcohol. Also because of the oxidative stress parameters it contains, it can initiate genetic mutation, which can lead to various forms of cancers or failure of some other organs.

    “The liver is a very soft organ but when alcohol is excessively consumed, it makes the liver hard and very turgid and this leads to the condition known as cirrhosis as I said earlier. I mentioned earlier that alcohol in general has the structural formulae of CnH2nOH; the OH is responsible for oxidative stress. There are some substances called reactive oxygen species; examples are OH, H2O2, sulphur, etc. This substance alters the nature of the organs of the body by complex chemical reaction.”

     

    The dangers consumers are exposed to

    Some time last year, The Nation conducted laboratory tests on some consumers of the herbal drinks to establish the dangers inherent in the consumption of the products. The study, which was part of a series of special report undertaken by the paper, was conducted at Pathcare Nigeria’s medical laboratory at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

    Blood and urine samples of five subjects were collected and analysed simultaneously at the medical centre’s Nigeria and South African laboratories over one month.

    The laboratory tests and analyses conducted on Awoyale, one of the test subjects, revealed that his blood plasma samples contained the presence of the heavy metal, lead (pb), at toxic level. Lead contained in his blood towers at 56ug/dL (56 microgram/deciliter), which is precisely 46 micrograms higher than the acceptable lead limit of 10ug/dL.

    While Awoyale’s test results showed that his blood lead level was dangerous at 56ug/dL (56 microgram/deciliter), the other test subjects, who pleaded anonymity, also recorded worrisome results from the test. For instance, two of the test subjects had cadmium concentration in their blood at high levels beyond World Health Organisation (WHO)’s permissible limit, while the heavy metal abounds in the fourth subject’s blood towered at borderline level. The fifth subject, however, suffers a deficiency of iron in his blood, according to interpretations given by the medical centre’s resident pathologist, Dr. Segun Isioye.

    Awoyale, like the other test subjects, presented a forlorn sight at press time; he perspired particularly when agitated like a sickly child caught in a wooly blanket. His freckled face tapered off into a weary smirk every time he smiled and his blackened lips twisted into a pout at the news of his test result; behind that smirk resonates a silent wail for help perhaps?

    The case of Awoyale was particularly worrisome because lead poisoning can have rapid, acute effects or chronic, long-term effects in an average human, according medical experts. Acute and sub-acute effects are typically caused by relatively large doses of lead over a short period often days to months. These effects can be dramatic and include sudden death, severe abdominal cramps, anemia, ataxia, strange headaches, and behavioral changes, such as irritability and appetite loss.

    A high level of lead in the blood is dangerous to health argued Dr.Chukwuemeka Isanbor, a Physical and Organic Chemistry don in the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science of the University of Lagos, Akoka, Yaba Lagos. According to him, a blood lead level of 70-100ug/dL can cause death. “Acute exposures often manifest as central nervous system (CNS) and gastrointestinal symptoms. Central nervous system symptoms include encephalopathy, convulsion, and stupor. Colic, a gastrointestinal symptom, is a consistent symptom of lead poisoning characterized by abdominal pain, cramps, and nausea.

    “Adults have exhibited lead-induced colic at BLL as low as 40 µg/dL. Chronic exposure differs from acute exposure in that chronic symptoms manifest as general malaise, anorexia, constipation, wrist drop, hematuria, and anemia. Although not specific to lead poisoning, basophilic stippling may be seen in erythrocytes due to changes in ribosomes. Additionally, lead targets the proximal tubules of the kidneys and is capable of inducing nephrotoxicity in the form of proximal tubular nephropathy, glomerular sclerosis, and interstitial fibrosis. A decreased glomerular filtration rate and the direct inhibition of the biosynthesis of erythropoietin (EPO) production by lead may contribute to “lead-induced anemia.” Long term accumulation of lead could lead to illness and lower cognitive functions,” he explained.

    In the face of arguments that lead ingested at lower levels poses no serious consequences on human health, recent research findings reveal that chronic effects are most often the result of smaller amounts of lead being taken in over longer times months to years. These effects can be quite subtle and nonspecific, but include all body systems. A brief list of effects documented in people includes such effects as lowered sex drive, decreased fertility (in males and females), miscarriages and premature births, learning problems, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and increased aggression and kidney problems.

  • Immigration jobs tragedy: One year after

    Immigration jobs tragedy: One year after

    Despite the recent President Jonathan’s fulfilment of job and cash promises made to families of last year’s immigration service job tragedy, Nigerians still wonder why not a single person has been punished nor the report of the senate committee on the tragedy reviewed, even as the tenure of this senate winds to a close. By Assistant Editor, Onyedi Ojiabor, Sanni Onogu and Gbenga Omokhunu in Abuja

    The recent compensation doled out by President Goodluck Jonathan to the members of the families of victims of the March 15, 2014 Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) job stampede may have foreclosed the much expected report of the Senate on the matter. Three days after the incident occurred, the Senator Atiku Bagudu-led Senate Committee on Interior was mandated by the Senate to investigate the immigration jobs screening fiasco. Over a dozen applicants lost their lives during the stampede occasioned by the sheer number of job seekers that thronged the various stadia earmarked for the exercise nationwide. Scores were injured. It is however curious that the report of the Senate committee on the tragic incident laid before the Upper Chamber in May last year  is yet to be considered over a year after the gory tale.

    Expectedly, Nigerians had greeted the sad episode with outrage. Many had called for the sack the Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, for having exposed the level of unemployment in the country, thereby embarrassing the President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration. Similar calls were also made on the Comptroller-General of the NIS, David Parradang. Others had argued that the unfortunate event had put a lie to the fabulous statistics often reeled out by officials on the administration’s job creation efforts. Prominent Nigerians and other groups had called for the outright sack and prosecution of Moro and other government officials that organised the shoddy exercise. Nigerians were further outraged by the fact that each applicant was fleeced to the tune of N1000 before they could be considered eligible for the aptitude test.

    Observers however believe that the non-consideration of the report by the Senate after almost a year of its presentation represents the height of insensitivity on the part of the Nigerian legislature which is supposed to be the “voice of the voiceless.”

    The recent presentation of employment letters and cash gifts to some of the families of the deceased and injured without any measure of punishment for those responsible for the gross abuse of the hapless job seekers by the NIS, they say, is like telling the perpetrators to go and sin no more.

     

    THE TRAGEDY

    The NIS had advertised to recruit young Nigerians and demanded a fee of N1,000 from each of them to be paid into a designated account. The money was received from 710,000 jobless Nigerians for only 4,500 existing vacancies in the Service. The recruitment exercise which was meant to test the mental and physical fitness of the applicants turned disastrous due to shoddy preparation by the handlers. The hapless young Nigerians were made to gather in different stadia across the country under the scorching sun, with officers herding them like sheep while dishing out orders. Out of desperation, stampede ensued in some centres; the weak and tired and pregnant ones were trampled upon. By the time the dust settled, 15 persons had been sent to their untimely graves while scores sustained injuries of various degrees. For instance, the 60,000 seat capacity National Stadium, Abuja, which was one of the venues for the exercise was filled up to about thrice its holding capacity. Ditto for other centers across the country. About 50 applicants in Abuja including pregnant women were injured in the stampede that broke out, as applicants tried to gain entry into the main bowl of the stadium through the one gate designated for the exercise.

    At the Benin centre, the case of late Mrs. Sandra Amu, who was said to be in her early stage of pregnancy, was particularly pathetic. The Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium was parked full with thousands of applicants milling around the main bowl. In line with the directives that they must be on ground as early as 7am on that fateful day, she was said to have arrived the venue very early. But late in the afternoon, the young mother was trampled to death as a result of the uncontrolled human traffic from a desperate and surging crowd of young job seekers.

    The Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, apparently touched by the plight of the bereaved and injured, had given the widower of the late Mrs. Amu N2million and offered employment to 11 of the 20 who sustained injuries at the Benin centre. The governor also pledged legal assistance to those who may pursue their rights at the courts.

    THE OUTRAGE

    In reaction to the incident, many Nigerians called for the sack of Minister Moro and the CGI of NIS, Parradang. They also requested that the duo should be prosecuted for involuntary homicide over the sham recruitment process that provided avenue for the Ministry of Interior to illegally extort at least N710million from the 710,000 applicants nationwide in compulsory levies.

    Moro somehow stirred the hornets’ nest when in his initial reaction to the incident blamed the applicants for their impatience. “The applicants lost their lives due to impatience; they did not follow the laid down procedures spelt out to them before the exercise. Many of them jumped through the fences of affected centres and did not conduct themselves in an orderly manner to make the exercise a smooth one,” Moro had said.

    He also said he was not going to resign. “The point at which we are now is not about resignation. That time has gone,” Mr. Moro said in response to a question over why he refused to quit despite widespread calls by Nigerians on him to do so. “At the time, I think emotions were very high. I was in the eye of a storm. At that time, a lot of options were on the table. The issue is, do you resign or do you stay to sort out the problem that have been created? ”

    SHOCKING REVELATIONS AT SENATE’S HEARING

    Just like the tales of woe that trailed the NIS job aptitude test, the presentations of the various officials responsible for the exercise before the Senate Committee on Interior painted a picture of lack of coordination and shoddy plans. The Minister of Interior, Moro, apologised to Nigerians over the ill-fated recruitment exercise. He accepted responsibility for the tragedy which he said could have been averted if the exercise had been attended by only those that duly registered for it.

    The NIS boss, Parradang and the Secretary of the Civil Defence, Fire, Immigration and Prisons Services Board (CDFIPB), Mr. Sylvanus Tapgun, told the committee that they were not properly carried along by the Ministry in the planning and execution of the tragic NIS operation. While Parradang claimed that no money was given to the NIS to conduct the aptitude test for the 710,000 applicants by the Ministry, Tapgun said that Drexel Technical Nigeria Limited – the consultant who anchored the application exercise on behalf of the Ministry provided only N45million as “discretionary contribution” for the screening.

    Parradang and a permanent member of the CDFIPB, Mr. Mustapha Zakariya, further claimed that the recruitment exercise was not approved by the board. The NIS boss had specifically faulted the entire exercise and said that he was not carried along in the entire process. He told the committee that he got to know about the date of the exercise on the day the Minister of Interior  appeared before the Committee to defend the 2014 budget of the Ministry.

    Parradang had said: “On September 9, 2013, the Civil Defence, Fire, Immigration and Prison Services Board, placed advertisements in some national dailies for appointments into the Superintendent, Inspectorate and Immigration Assistant cadre signed by the then board Secretary, Dr. Attahiru.

    “I immediately placed a call to the then Secretary that I am not aware that the board met on this issue. I immediately placed a call to the Permanent Secretary too, asking whether there was any decision of the board to place an advert in the newspapers or not.

    “I also placed a call to the two commissioners that are seated before you here today whether they were aware that the board met and agreed for a publication to be made for  recruitment into the Service, but they all answered in the negative.

    “I immediately wrote a letter to the then Secretary of the board in which I expressed my dismay that as a stakeholder and as the head of the NIS, that is supposed to do the recruitment, I was not aware of the exercise.

    “He pleaded with me that I should understand with him that he was under immense pressure to put that advert up. He said I should not write the letter but I said no; this is an official matter and that it is not an issue to do with Parradang but with the NIS.

    “So, I wrote him a letter that I was not given any benefit of a reply till way back in October when he had been removed from the ministry. Along the line, we were asked to look for funding and I had to look for funding for this exercise from the Budget Office.

    “I wrote the Director-General of the Budget Office a letter that we have waiver from the Federal Civil Service Commission to recruit 4,556 operatives of the NIS. He told me categorically that the Federal Government was very conscious of overheads and there would be no money made available for it. I thought he was just being reluctant.

    “So I kept pressurising him. I went to that office practically every day for the whole of  that week and subsequent weeks. The last concession I got from him was that I should wait and anticipate that it would be captured in the 2014 budget.

    “So, along the line, the committee of the board met, we discussed this issue of Drexel, being the service provider.  I said look, I am not in support of anybody collecting money for recruitment.

    “I remember very clearly during that meeting that I told them that I read in the papers that in Niger State, there was a recruitment like that and people were meant to pay and there was a lot of outcry and the governor of the state had to step in and cancel it.

    “I said look, we may go this way if we don’t take time. But we kept going and we had no other board meeting to my knowledge till when the then secretary called us to the Steering Committee meeting in January. I told them that it was advisable for us to stagger the exercise and to go by states of origin.

    “But when we appeared before this committee of the Senate, we got to know that we would be conducting recruitment exams on March 15.

    “That was the first day I heard that. I did not hear from any board; there was no board meeting to that effect. As a man in uniform, you must follow the last order. Subsequently, if anyone asked me when Immigration recruitment would take place, I used to tell them that I don’t know. Sometimes, I would say the Minister has declared categorically that we will recruit on March 15.

    “Then, I sent the Deputy Comptroller-General, Human Resources of NIS, to attend all subsequent meetings and when it came to the issue of funding, he told me that they had made a budget of N212million to be used for that exercise.

    “I asked him where the money was going to come from since Immigration does not have such money. He said it was expected that the consultant should provide it. I said okay, go and take representatives of the service provider to the minister, maybe he would have funding for the exercise.

    “He told me there was none till about March 13, when N45million was made available for him to carry out that exercise. We were left with the option of having to mobilise all our officers in the state commands to attend to the recruitment exercise. We sent bulk Short Message Service (SMS) to all of them saying, ‘look gentlemen this is the day we have to work with.’

    “All of them kept calling me to ask how they were going to get money to do this exercise? I told them if any money is given to me, I will make it available to you. No money was made available to the NIS and the exercise was supposed to be conducted.

    “If you notice too, there was no advertisement giving clear guidelines on how to go about it until March 14 that people were asked to go to the various centres for the tests.”

    Asked why the NIS could not stop the fatal exercise, the NIS boss stated, “We were not the drivers of this process at all. So the decision to stop it would never have come from us.”

    On why he did not see the tragedy coming, Parradang said, “Of all the capacities that God has given human beings, nobody knows what is going to happen tomorrow.”

    On his part, Tapgun said that the consultant released N45million out of N212million requested by the board for the conduct of the exercise, a situation he argued, caused “serious logistics problems on the day of the exercise.”

    However, Moro insisted that adequate arrangements were made by the Ministry, the CDFIPB and the NIS to conduct a credible electronic recruitment into the Immigration Service. He said all efforts were geared to save the NIS from the negative image of job racketeering which had plagued it over the years.

    Said Moro: “We sincerely made appropriate and adequate preparations for a hitch-free exercise, but as most things in administrative and human conditions, the yield curve of expected outcome is mostly undefined.

    “My heart goes out to the families of those who have lost their dear loved ones. I sincerely sympathise with those injured. I share in their grief. I share in their pains. May I, at this juncture, assure you, distinguished senators and Nigerians, of my respect for the sanctity of human life.

    “The loss of these young Nigerians, who are needed as a critical human resource factor for nation building is most regrettable. As the Minister of Interior, under whose purview this unfortunate exercise took place, I cannot abdicate my responsibility. The buck stops here.”

    ONE YEAR AFTER

    The number of Nigerians who benefitted from the President’s largesse even though far less than those that were directly or indirectly affected, obviously would thank their stars for a supposedly happy ending to a tragic incident. To them, it took the blood and sweat of their loved ones to secure a means of livelihood in the ever-ballooning job market in the country.

    Parradang had in a tribute to mark the one year anniversary of the fatal recruitment exercise in Abuja, titled: In memory of the 15 NIS job seekers “described the tragedy that emasculated the exercise as both “humbling” and “agonising.” Parradang was however grateful to the President for fulfilling his promise of automatic job slots to relatives of the dead and injured.

    He listed those who paid the “supreme sacrifice” in their attempt to secure the NIS jobs as follows: Dorathy Edidiog ????Dorcas Danladi, Lucy Akpan Eno, Muhammed Musa,

    Taiwo Dorcas, Sunday Okezue Kalu, Ama Grace and ??Brown Darlington???. Others were Ibrahim Mohammed, ?Maryam Kekere, Sandra Amu, ??Patience Agada, Mudashiru M. Ahmed, ??Auta D. Adams and Oyiza Yusuf.

    The statement read in part: “It is a year today, 15th March 2015 when 15 young Nigerians died under painful circumstances when they presented themselves for the recruitment exercise into the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).

    “On behalf of all officers and men, I wish to use this medium once again to extend my sincere and deep condolences to the families of the deceased…”

    It will be recalled that shortly after the incident, the President Goodluck Jonathan, ordered the cancellation of the entire recruitment exercise and constituted the Presidential Committee on NIS Recruitment to assist the Civil Defense, Fire, Immigration, and Prison Services Board (CDFIPB) in a fresh recruitment exercise which is currently in progress.  In constituting the said Committee, the President promised automatic recruitment into the NIS for three members of the family of the deceased (one of whom must be a female).

    “It is gratifying to note that this Presidential promise has been kept in its entirety when he met with families of the deceased on the 13th of March, 2015 at the Presidential villa, where in addition to the three automatic slots, the Federal Government also offered N5million only to each member of the deceased families, to cushion the effects of the loss of their bread winners and loved ones, pick the pieces of their lives and move on.

    “It is pertinent to state that the process of identifying genuine and authentic relatives/family members of the deceased has been daunting, laborious and time-consuming, as cases of multiple representations had to be thoroughly sorted out to ensure that only real family members are beneficiaries of the Presidential promise of automatic job placement.

    “The CGI, President of Immigration Officers Wives Association (IMMOWA), and State Command Comptrollers on behalf of the Honourable Minister of Interior/Chairman CDFIPB had been in touch with family members of the deceased all to reassure them that their loved ones did not die in vain. To us in the NIS, the memories of these 15 persons who paid the supreme sacrifice in their quest to serve the fatherland will remain evergreen in our minds.”

    Whither: Senate Investigative report?

    Following the belated gesture of the President last week, the question on the lips of most Nigerians today, is where is the report of the Senate Committee on Interior that probed the calamity? The Chairman of the Committee, Senator Bagudu had in May 2014 submitted a verbatim report of the Committee which did not include the executive summary containing findings and recommendations of the committee to the Senate. Although the committee had two weeks to conclude its report, Bagudu said they could not submit the report as scheduled because the supporting documents requested from stakeholders who made presentations during the public hearing were not yet available.

    Bagudu, according to reports, also dismissed insinuations that members of his committee neither saw nor signed the report. “As far as I am concerned, every member of the committee made inputs into the report at compilation stage as regards findings  made about the recruitment tragedy and even very much contributed to the recommendations arrived at, at the end of the day.”

    A source close to the committee insisted that the delay in considering the report by the Senate should not be blamed on the committee. He argued that since the committee had carried out its assignment and submitted its report, it now behooves on the Senate’s leadership to list the report for consideration.

    The source said: “There are so many other reports submitted that have not been considered. However, on our part, we have done our job. The committee has laid its report before the Senate. ”

    Analysts are quick to point out that the report of the Senate on the incident may have died on arrival since the Minister of Interior, Moro, who is at the epicentre of the recruitment storm is one of the political protégés of the Senate President, David Mark.

    Although, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Senator Ita Enag, had in one of his media briefings insisted that all outstanding reports before the Senate would be considered before expiration of the 7th Senate, a Senator who spoke about the report in confidence said that the report may not be considered by the Senate in view of the close bond between the Minister and Mark, who many believed influenced the appointment of Moro as a minister in 2011. The source said: “Nothing can come out of the report because the minister involved is widely known to be like a political son to the Senate President, apart from both of them belonging to the same ethnic stock in Benue State.”

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Information, Media, and Public Affairs, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, when asked about the status of the report and the cause of the delay in considering it, directed one of our correspondents to the Office of the Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, saying all enquiries should be directed to him.

    Responding to a question on why the report of the committee is yet to see the light of day in the Senate, Ndoma-Egba, dismissed insinuations that the report was deliberately being kept under wraps due to vested interests. He said the report was undergoing normal legislative procedure and would be considered at the appropriate time.

    Ndoma-Egba in a text message to one of our correspondents in Abuja simply said: “Reports are scheduled by the Committee on Rules and Business and the report will certainly be  scheduled before the end of this Senate. Why would the Senate want to cover up? What is the Senate’s ‘personal’ interest in the report other than the public good?”

    CONCLUSION

    Even though President Jonathan had fulfilled part of his promise to the victims of the exercise, it is yet to be seen when applicants who paid N1000 each to buy scratch cards will get their refund as directed by the President. Moreover, the report of the Senate investigative panel which Nigerians expected to unravel the incident and spell out appropriate dire sanctions against those culpable appears to have been placed under ‘arrest’ inside the hallowed chambers of the people’s assembly. Even though the Senate Leader has assured that the report would be considered before the 7th Senate winds up in June, such assurance can only be taken with a pinch of salt until the peoples’ representatives walk their talk.

    Would this unpardonable delay in the consideration of the report be another case of justice denied on the part of the victims? We wait to see.

  • The tragedy of the Nigerian youth (II)

    As stakeholders of this country, it is important that we should not leave the affairs of the country to the government alone. Everyone has a coefficient of productivity to give and your productivity is determined by your participation. The world, like Nigeria, has gone through very testing moments in history; hence, we need to deliberate and fashion the way forward in our national history.”

    These were the words of Dr. Christopher Kolade, former Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom while delivering the opening address at the 2014 BrandiQ symposium with the theme: “Politics, Business & 2015 General Elections: Driving Stakeholder’s Participation Through Deliberative Engagements.”

    I was glad to witness hundreds of undergraduates from the University of Lagos, Redeemers University, Ede, Osun State, Bells University, Ota, Ogun State, Pan Atlantic University Lagos, Lagos State University and Yaba College of Technology, Lagos who actively participated in the symposium. Students from other tertiary institutions across the country attended but not in large numbers like the institutions I mentioned.

    One thing struck me at the event. It may be true that most Nigerian youths are wary of politics because of the exclusionary nature of the brand of politics we play here. However one thing is clear; they want to be part of the process but do not know how to get actively involved.

    Those that get involved are disenchanted by the fact our undergraduates are really not different from party stalwarts that they encounter in places like Mushin, Abule Egba and other hot spots across the country. To their dismay, they find out that their elections on campuses are not different from the party conventions in Nigeria.

    It is therefore sad that our campuses now reproduce the traits of power and corruption that our elders exhibit. It is little wonder that we now only see NANS marching in solidarity with government as opposed to marches against the oppression of Students, joblessness, social conditions, or even Boko Haram. They could not even stage a protest over the job seekers that died in the last immigration recruitment scam!

    How will any positive thinking Nigerian not bemoan the situation where students in our tertiary institutions fall over each other seeking for politicians to adopt all because they want to be “Youth Leader” both within and outside the Campus.

    I grieve to see Student Union Executives reproducing the same corrupt dynamics that are prevalent in the society. Vices like highly corrupted electoral processes, imbibing the same corrupt tendencies of the political elites, appropriation of the paraphernalia of dubious power such as having security men, moving in convoys, joining cult gangs to disrupt lectures and examinations, serving as hit men to eliminate “tough lecturers” are now the norm.

    Is it not therefore strange that the Universities have become graveyards where neither corruption in high places, neglect of students’ conditions are no longer issues? In time past, accommodation crisis, lack of adequate funding for libraries, laboratories, health facilities and other sundry issue are often on the front burner. What Student Leaders should be agitating for are no longer mentioned. How did our Universities deteriorate to graveyards of silence? I am not agitating for protest for the sake of protest, but student Unionism was always about a better life for students. When handled properly, its leadership should be a place of practice for the grooming of leaders of tomorrow.

    Apostle Hayford Alile, former Director General of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) – who was the chief host of the event – reminded the students of his days as an official of the proscribed National Union of Nigerian Students (NUNS) – the forerunner of NANS. He told the audience of how the union was able to confront then Prime Minister of Nigeria, the late Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa over the activities of a former Minister for Foreign Affairs. They did this as students and were assured by the PM that he will do everything possible to ensure that their allegations were looked into and if the minister is found wanting he would not remain in the cabinet.

    True to his words, Apostle Alile said the minister was not returned after a cabinet reshuffle. He thus challenged the students to know that they have power in their hands.

    Dr. Christopher Kolade – in his submission – reminded the audience that democracy is a participatory exercise and should be treated as such. Others speakers who lent their voices include the Guest Lecturer, Prof. Emevwo Biakolo and discussants such as the Editor of The Guardian, Mr. Martin Oloja; the Editor-in-Chief, BusinessWorld, Mr. Ray Echebiri; Former APCON Regisrar, Dr. Josef Bel-Molokwu;  and former Lagos State   Commissioner for the Environment, Dr. Muiz Banire.

    Prof Biakolo who set the tone for the day’s intellectual deliberation examined the Nigerian State and the political malaise bordering on political participation. He proposed that Nigerians and stakeholders mediate and mitigate the areas contestation while also fast-tracking the process of forging a common sense of destiny for the country. “We must also engage politicians seeking our votes to enunciate their contribution in the empowerment of the populace. The secondary mediation role must be seriously done by stakeholders within the media sphere and its other adjuncts that help in shaping public opinion,” he said.

    Responding to some of the pungent issues raised by Prof. Biakolo, one of the discussants, Mr. Echebiri spoke on the impact of politics on business. He gave extensive data from the NSE to show the extent politics, and by extension, government policies, have on the business climate of the country.  “Clearly, the decline in the Nigerian stock market demonstrates that politics affects business. Most foreigners are leaving the country because of the tensed and gloomy prediction about Nigeria on the 2015 elections. Because of this most stock brokers are experiencing difficult times.” He explained.

    Speaking from the context of the media and politics and its impact on the subject matter of driving deliberative engagement, Mr. Oloja, stated that every Journalist and PR practitioner should understand the complex Nigerian history of multicultural diversity.  “It will be suicidal to report Nigeria without understanding the historical nuances of the country. Today, the ubiquity of the social media and other agents of technological innovations have made research a major tool of distinctive journalistic activity. This is because every issue imaginable has been treated and it is only research, analytics and infographics that makes journalism relevant today.”

    He stressed that the use of analytics is not only very vital to journalists but also to politicians who would want to measure the impact of their projects. He stated that whatever gets measured gets attention, Hence, the need for everyone – especially the youth – to embrace the reality of deploying analytics and research in engaging our intellectual enterprise.

    In the same vein, communication expert and strategist, Mrs. Chioma Agwuegbo urged the youths to take advantage of the immense opportunity which the forth-coming election presents. “We cannot make meaningful and optimal contributions to the Nigerian state if all we do is criticise and decry government without taking ownership of the country that belongs to us all. Every youth can influence society positively by fully utilising the opportunity which the social media presents. Some great Nigerian youths like Linda Ikeji, Japheth Omojuwa, Tolu Ogunlesi and others are agents of change in the country today because they have deployed their creative energy through the social media. Social media is a means to an end and not an end in itself.”

    In his presentation, Dr. Muiz Banire stated that the missing link in the Nigerian challenge begins with citizen’s lack of commitment to the Nigerian project. “Our level of engagement starts from belonging to a political party. This is non-negotiable if we are to make any meaningful impact in the political history of Nigeria. There is a huge deficit of quality people in Nigerian politics. Nigerian youths should be actively involved in election activities and political process. Although the issues of god-fathers and candidate imposition makes the challenge even more daunting for the discerning Nigeria youths, all hope is not lost. The Nigerian psyche has been so abused that the average person has a low self-esteem about himself in terms of making meaningful contribution in politics.” This, according to him, shouldn’t be.

    In his closing remark, Dr. Kolade urged the youths to show a more collective and coordinated approach in engaging the political parties and governments. He remarked that only a cohesive and structured citizen political participation can act as a catalyst for improving the lot of Nigeria as a country.