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Tag: Zamfara

  • Zamfara extends resumption to Oct 13

    The Zamfara State government has extended schools’ resumption date  from September 22 to October 13. The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Alhaji Lawal Talata Mafara, has said.

    The October date was initially fixed by the Federal Government when the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) broke out in the country, but brought it forward to September 22 after the government assessed the situation to be under control

    Addressing reporters in Gusau, Mafara said the extension was the result of a stakeholders’ meeting.

    He said the Ministry of Education considered the peculiarities of the state, “more especially the Sallah festival, which is just a week from the date’’.

    Mafara explained that many pupils in primary and post-primary schools might not resume as expected and stakeholders agreed to extend the date.

    The decision, he said, also affected students on exchange programmes in Zamfara.

  • 2015: Zamfara deserves better

    2015: Zamfara deserves better

    As we count down towards the ground-breaking 2015 General Elections, everyone can play a significant role in changing the course of the country and their state’s history. Good governance should have been depicted as well; our state’s just like the Nigeria has being in dire need of visionary, courageous, intelligent, focus, charismatic and competent leadership. The next general election will be about the human development, security of lives and property, job creation and infrastructural development. Zamfara is among the states in the country that solely depends on the revenue allocation from the federation account as its means of survival. Regrettably, the state is endowed with vast land suitable for agricultural purposes but has been neglected by successive administrations. Ironically, agriculture is the main occupation of Zamfarawas. Since its creation 18 years ago, the state is lagging behind its contemporaries in all human development indices as released by both the National Bureau of Statistics and the United Nations Development Programme.

    The three critical success factors namely a functioning democracy, fighting corruption and building human talents leads to good governance and dividends of democracy. Bad governments that fail to deliver are replaced through democratic elections by candidates with good policies that will result in progressive reforms and development of the state. Corrupt leaders are replaced by those with integrity to enable the followers follow by example. Our state’s prosperity is underpinned by building and retraining human talent which will help meet the demand of human resources in a globalised world. The greatest gift that a good government can bestow to our future generation is not cash handouts, but knowledge, education, affordable health care, infrastructures, food security and jobs. Only then can we live with dignity and our younger ones live better than us. By practicing good governance and democratic principles, the state’s graceful decline can be arrested by a transparent, incorruptible and patriotic government. With that, we can turn deficits into surpluses, reduce our debts, increase our assets and reserves, and save billions of public funds. It is high time Zamfara join the league of truly progressive states whose leaders have the people at heart.

     

    We deserve a state that educates and nurtures talent; one that promotes and rewards diligence, expertise and entrepreneurship; one that is safe and secure for all; industrious, and healthy for investors; and one whose cardinal principles is integrity, justice and people-centric policies and programmes. It’s no longer news that taxpayers’ money has been spent for useless travels, feasts, footing, or servicing of so-called godfathers’ jamborees. White elephant projects capital projects that are not beneficial to the masses. By simply daring to change, it brings a brighter future for our state free from fear, free from intimidation, free from ignorance, free from sycophancy, free from godfathers and free from corruption. With its vast land and huge gold reserves and other solid minerals, Zamfara’s future will be very bright if its present resources are managed efficiently by its leaders. Our state has the capacity of creating thousands of jobs for our people and the country at large thereby making it self-reliant. This however, cannot be realised under the present leadership. The state deserves a chief executive whose policies are realistic and innovative, a leader who will stand by his words and promises to the electorates and a leader who knows the yearnings and expectation of the masses. It’s time we vote for a governor with fresh perspectives and foresight for a changing world, a type who understands the challenges we face and who can lead us to overcome them.

     

    Engineer Ibrahim Shehu Gusau is armed with the leadership rudiments to help get the state back to its core functions and provide future generations with the dream they deserve. Courage and tenacity are what makes a good leader, and those qualities are glaring in him. In the House of Representative, he has displayed commitment and potentials of leadership. Love or loathe him; Gusau is one who has distinguished himself even among his colleagues in the House through his contributions and debates on bills and motions. He did not only represent his constituency in the Green Chamber, but has always voiced out in support of policies and programmes that has direct impact on the masses in the country. He is intelligent, focused, thorough, vibrant and a worthy representative who can be trusted. We want to build a state where our small businesses, tertiary institutions, health-care facilities, agricultural development, infrastructure will thrive.

    His election would curb the growing power of pockets of special interests, which so often conceal their self-serving agendas behind a facade of fist-in-the-air patriotism and unfulfilled promises. He is both the key to a brighter future and the bulwark to move the state to a greater height. He is meticulous and responsible to a fault. He represents the fountain of humility, wisdom, loyalty, discipline, hardworking, patriotism and accountability. His deep knowledge of public and private sector will be a great asset in opening the doors of investment opportunities in the state that will help to create jobs through the establishment of skills acquisition centres and small scale industries, transfer of knowledge and technology. His experiences as former commissioner, Senior Special Assistant and a former General Manager in M-Tel Communications are worth mentioning here. Armed with academic PhD degree, a professional engineer, successful businessman, philanthropist and a politician; there’s no denying fact that he has all it takes to lead the state to a sustainable path, with an economy built on human capital development.   Now that we are prepared to make another choice, let’s choose wisely in order not to put our lives into the hands of gamblers, deceivers or chance takers. The choice is therefore ours to either choose to rebuild our future, by positioning the right candidate or continue to sustain what we will inherit; unfulfilled promises and disappointments.

    • Yahaya sent this piece from Talata Mafara, Zamfara State.

     

     

  • More action needed to tackle insurgency

    SIR: The year 2014 is set to be the bloodiest ever since the end of Nigerian civil war. The country faces daunting security challenges amidst enormous economic problems. From Borno to Yobe, Adamawa to Bauchi and Kano to the Federal Capital Territory, it has been a harvest of deaths by Boko Haram insurgents. Also from Benue to Taraba, Plateau to Nasarawa, Kaduna to Zamfara, Fulani herdsmen have continued to cut down many innocent lives particularly farmers most of whom have now abandoned their farms for safety.
    These are no easy times for the government and people of Nigeria. Even though the government and the security agencies have not been keeping quiet,  yet the twin agents of death continue their repulsive style of audacious attack on defenceless Nigerians.
    The federal government needs to do more than it is presently doing in its management of the security situation in the country. In as much as it is true that terrorism is becoming a global challenge, there is need for the government to demonstrate more decisiveness in its handling of the Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen’s insurgency.
    This is the time for the government of President Goodluck Jonathan to suspend all its campaign activities and rise up to the occasion by taking proactive measures that would outsmart the agents of death. We have had enough of bloodletting in the country. The porous borders in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa among others must be tackled to stem the influx of terrorist into the country.
    It should, however be emphasised that an effective public security cannot be obtained without the active involvement, participation and support of every segments of the society because security is the responsibility of all individuals, groups, communities, organizations and other units that constitute the society.
    • John Akevi,
    Gboko, Benue State.

  • Policeman, 15 others killed in Zamfara

    The police in Gusau, Zamfara State, have confirmed the killing of 16 persons, including a policeman, by bandits in Maru Local Government Area.

    Police spokesman Lawal Abdullahi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that about 150 armed hoodlums riding on motorcycles carried out the act.

    He said the hoodlums invaded the three villages of Tungar Rakumi, Mallamawa and Kangarawa on Saturday.

    The police spokesman said 12 persons were killed in Tungar Rakumi; the rest were killed in Mallamawa and Kangarawa.

    ‘’The bandits, who are suspected to have carried out the attack to retaliate the killing of three suspected cattle rustlers by the community in Birnin Magaji Local Government Area last week, were armed with AK 47 rifles,’’ Abdullahi said.

    He said the police patrol team in the area fought back and over-powered the hoodlums, who escaped with other members of the gang, who were injured during the encounter.

    The spokesman lamented that the police always faced difficulties in trailing hoodlums in the area due to inaccessible terrain and non-availability of telephone network signals.

    He assured that despite the shortcomings, the police would continue to make the state difficult for criminals to operate in.

    Abdullahi urged the people to always notify the nearest security outfit of any suspicious movement in their areas.

  • Zamfara: Doctors treat lead-poisoned children

    Zamfara: Doctors treat lead-poisoned children

    Bagega in Zamfara State that suffered one of the world’s worst recorded incidents of lead poisoning is now habitable and doctors can start treating more than 1,000 contaminated children, a doctor and a scientist from two international agencies have said.

    For some, it is already too late to reverse serious neurological damage, said Dr. Michelle Chouinard, country director for Doctors Without Borders, at the weekend.

    Some children are blind, others paralysed and many will struggle at school with learning disabilities, she said.

    Doctors Without Borders uncovered the scandal in 2010 but nothing was done until this year about Bagega, described as the worst-affected village because the federal government did not provide a promised $3 million, the group said.

    The poisoning caused by artisanal mining from a gold rush killed at least 400 children, yet villagers still say they would rather die of lead poisoning than poverty, environmental scientist Simba Tirima told the Associated Press. Villagers make 10 times as much money mining as they do from farming in an area suffering erratic rainfall because of climate change, he said.

    Managing five landfills with some 13,000 cubic metres of highly contaminated soil, and teaching villagers how to mine safely are major challenges to prevent new contamination, he said.

    “That’s a big, big worry. But I am joyful that for the kids who will be born in Bagega, we have at least removed one of the major strikes against them because they have so many strikes against them — nutritional problems, diseases …” said Tirima, who is the field operations director in Nigeria for TerraGraphics International Foundation.

    The Moscow, Idaho-based foundation advised the Zamfara State government and oversaw the 5 ½-month cleanup, or remediation, of Bagega that ended two weeks ago.

    There, people were exposed to mindboggling rates of lead contamination: Some residential soil with up to 35,000 parts per million of lead and the processing area with over 100,000 parts per million, Tirima said. The United States considers 400 parts per million safe for residential soil.

    At the peak of the gold rush, Tirima said, more than 1,000 itinerant miners and followers were camped around the village, beyond the reach of paved roads and electricity and quite cut off in the rainy season when dirt roads become impassable.

    Despite its remote location, the booming economy attracted people from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to Bagega, which also drew many locals as a regional commercial centre with a primary and high school, a hospital and weekly market. In addition, cattle herders and nomads went here to water their animals at a reservoir so dangerously contaminated it killed goats and cows.

    The entire human population of 6,000 to 9,000 was exposed, including some 1,500 children under the age of five. Human Rights Watch said the death toll of 400 was only an estimate as villagers initially tried to hide the deaths, fearing the government would stop their illegal mining. The group said it was the worst epidemic of its kind in modern history.

    The government released money for the cleanup in February, Doctors Without Borders began pre screening in March and found that nearly every one of 1,010 children tested need therapy, Chouinard said. Of them, 267 are severely contaminated and will get chelation — where medication binds the lead to a child’s blood and helps them to eliminate it faster from their system.

    All the children had more than the international standard maximum of 10 micrograms per deciliter of lead in their blood. Some had as much as 700 micrograms per decilitre, she said. The children will have to be treated for one to two years, she said.

     

     

    The more basic methods used to get at gold helped cause the poisoning. Some women used hammers to beat open rock ore. Others used some of the 60 grinding mills at a processing area adjacent to the village and water reservoir, Tirima said.

    Many took the rocks that carried high concentrations of lead into their homes for processing. The poisoning was facilitated because the particular lead compounds are very toxic and easily absorbed into the body, unlike other forms of lead, Tirima explained.

    His TerraGraphics Foundation has trained dozens of Nigerians to clean up any future contamination.

    Government officials initially reacted by trying to enforce a ban on illegal mining. When that did not work, they promised to find other sources of income for villagers, but nothing has happened in a country where corruption is endemic.

    Tirima pointed to mounting evidence linking lead poisoning to crime waves and said he fears for the community when their poisoned children grow up.

  • Zamfara as scapegoat

    A  few weeks ago, the issue of arming the vigilante group in Zamfara State became a subject of high-wired politics at the hollow chambers of the National Assembly. It almost deteriorated into fisticuffs when two senators engaged each other over the debate. Since then, the issue has become a subject of intense debates all over the country, more especially in security parlance.

    Now the arms have arrived in the country. This has opened a new page in the roiling controversy. Pronto: the federal government has seized a total number of 1,500 double-barrelled guns imported by the Zamfara State government for distribution to its vigilance group. Reports say Muhammed Dahiru Abubakar, the Inspector-General of Police, personally ordered the seizure of the arms said to have been imported from Ukraine based on the alleged contravention of firearms laws of the land.

    This is certainly not a good time for Abdulaziz Yari, the Zamfara State governor. Yari is claiming that the state needs the lethal weapon so badly in order to curb the incessant armed robbery attacks in the state. The attack, he claims, has become too worrisome due to the terror, pains and death which the men of the underworld usually unleash on innocent citizens of the state whenever they struck. The governor was said to have felt betrayed by the police hierarchy, which was said to have earlier granted a silent approval to the state to import the arms.

    The issue of arms importation came about when the state was facing serious challenge of armed robbery in 2012. Yari was said to have reached an agreement with the state police commissioner on the need to set up a vigilance group.  The meeting agreed that the vigilance group should be armed. The governor then decided to import double-barrelled guns which he hoped would be licenced by the police through a dealer in Kano.

    It was learnt that the importation tactically bypassed the Presidency because of the belief that individuals could buy double-barrelled guns and apply for licence thereafter.  The state government must also have thought that the Inspector-General of Police would give approval for the arms because he is an indigene of the state and he is also aware of the security challenges facing the state.

    Sha’aba Lafiagi, a senator and vice-chairman of the Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence, had, on the floor of the Senate, alleged that the Zamfara State governor had purchased guns and ammunition to arm vigilance groups in his state. Lafiagi alleged that the governor had approached the IG for a permit after he bought the guns.

    When the news broke out, the Nigeria Police Force denied issuing gun permit to the Zamfara State government to be used by vigilance group in the state. In a statement, the police had insisted that it was an offence for a person to have in his possession or under his control any prohibited firearms without a licence granted by the President of the country or the IG. “While vigilance groups and other sincere community efforts towards safety and security are encouraged to work in partnership with local police authorities, the conduct and practice of such groups must be in total conformity with the law of the land.”

    Making justification for the purchase of the arms, Ibrahim Birnin Magaji, Zamfara State Information Commissioner who spoke on the issue in a recent interview aired on the Hausa Service of BBC, said the number of policemen in the state were not enough to protect the lives and property of the citizens. The arms, according to him, would be distributed to members of the vigilante group living in the areas and who know every nook and cranny of the state. The idea, he said, “is to enhance the security in the state and help the security personnel in carrying out their duties by taking them round the state.”

    Just as Zamfara arms were being confiscated, Peter Obi, the governor of Anambra State was distributing about 300 fully fitted security vehicles to 177 communities in the state. He also handed over N230.1 million to the communities to be shared among them at the rate of N1.3 million per community. This money is for the payment of salary of 10 members of each community’s vigilante group. Before this latest gesture, the state had, sometimes ago, put together a form of vigilante outfit which was then known as Bakassi boys, to bring sanity to the appalling security situation in the state.

    Now, Zamfara is being made a scapegoat for deciding to take the bull by its horns, as far as security is concerned in the state. That sounds unfair. Perhaps, Yari, the governor of the troubled state needs to talk to his brother governors in the Niger Delta to find out the means by which they have been fighting oil pipeline vandals and other miscreants without raising eyebrows from any quarters. Any of the militant leaders can also give him a pep talk on how to import firearms without really stepping on toes.

    Whichever way this issue is viewed, I personally think that Yari is just unlucky as many states have established and are still establishing vigilante groups to fight off hoodlums from their states. If we take the issue of the entire North, it may be apt to believe that the insurgency in the North-east, which necessitated the emergency rule slammed on Adamawa, Yobe and Borno states, may have a spiral or collateral effect on a contiguous state as Zamfara. Those who are terrorizing the indigenes of Zamfara could as well be some remnants or renegades of Boko Haram who are out to fill their pockets and stomachs. And we all know that this new generation of crooks have always beaten our lethargic security system to the game.

    As for the Police and other security agencies operating in the state, it is true that they may lack enough manpower or even firepower to withstand the volcanic onslaught of the bandits. But adequate operational strategy could be employed to beat the hoodlums to their games. In the past, a number of security agents have been found either wanting or of complicity with criminals, the very criminals they are employed to track down. This, they do, for pecuniary gains in a rat-eat-rat society such as ours.

    Recently, the military claimed that they were part of internal security arrangements in 28 out of the 36 states of the country, including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. This is alarming. What this means is that we have almost lost the whole country to hoodlums who have overrun everywhere. Had it not been for the presence of the military in strategic locations in some volatile areas of the country, probably the story could have been different by now.

    But beyond throwing tight security cordons everywhere, we must urgently find a way to put able-bodied men and women back to work as well as put food on people’s tables. This way, I believe that once we find solution to poverty and hunger in the society, the likes of Yari will not need to import large quantity of arms and ammunition to protect the citizens. On the other hand, the security agencies, especially the Police, should rise up to the occasion in view of the tongue-lashing they get every day on the sickening security situation in the country. They need to demonstrate that they are equal to the task.

    Security is one of the most important statutory requirements that a governor needs to accomplish in order to be able to govern the people. Be this as it may, one can clearly understand the predicament of the Zamfara governor at the moment. That is why we should not condemn Yari for the importation of the lethal weapons. Rather, we should blame a system that is not working, a system that has pauperized everybody, a system that cannot provide jobs for school leavers and food for the teeming hungry mouths all over the place. It is a pity. A great pity indeed!

  • Zamfara Utd defend NNL withdrawal

    Zamfara United officials, Adamu Alhassan and Jafaru Ibrahim have faulted claims that the side pulled out from the Nigeria National League (NNL) to aid the promotion ambition of a certain club side.

    The Dutse-based said were recently withdrawn by the financiers, Zamfara State government from the ongoing 2012/2013 Nigeria National League due to financial difficulties.

    That decision has not gone down well with many club sides who insisted that the eleventh hour withdrawal was a ploy to fast track the promotion ambition of certain club that is alleged not to be affected by the imminent cancellation of points accumulated by Zamfara United.

    However, speaking separately to supersport.com on the vexed issue, Alhassan who is the Director General (DG) Directorate of Sports, said as much as the decision was tough the reason is not far fetched from dearth of finance and was never meant to favour or disfavour any side in the race for promotion.

    “I was the last person that agreed to pull-out the side from the ongoing league but the demand dated back to the first four-week of the season for reason not unconnected with finance.

    “Initially, I thought I could pull the side through by footing their bills to the extent of mortgaging personal effects but there is a limit to what an individual could effectively do as far as finance is concerned.

    “The state government said there is no money to further run the team more so as they considered the position of the side on the log with the fact that nothing could be done to rescue the team from going on relegation.

    “So it’s not true that we’re bribed to pull out to ensure a certain club gain promotion to the premier league rather we pulled out because there is no money to run the club and avoid an ugly situation where the club will be expelled for not honouring matches. We weighed the options before we chose the path of withdrawal than expulsion.

    “I’m not happy that the team pulled out but that appears to be the feasible option in the circumstance, I’m really pained but the situation is beyond my control,” said Alhassan to supersport.com.

    Similarly, Zamfara state Special Adviser on Sports Development, Ibrahim said the club followed due process in the decision to withdraw from the league and insinuation of exchange of money or assistance to gain promotion are misplaced and unfounded.

    “We did what was possible strictly in accordance with the rules and regulations governing the league, we never violated any known law, we pulled out because we’ve financial problem. We’ve been battling with relegation for a long time and it does not look like there is a solution in sight even if we won the remaining five matches.

    “Zamfara United didn’t step down to favour any side, we pulled out because of internal problem or simply couldn’t continue aimed at seeing how we could be able to solve the problem.

    “It’s a tactical withdrawal, we want to re-strategise to comeback stronger in the next dispensation,” Ibrahim said to supersport.com.

    Unconfirmed report showed that NNL Division A leaders, Giwa FC will be the biggest gainers from Zamfara United withdrawal as they are most unlikely going to lose any point against other chasing packs like Tin City landlords, Plateau United, Niger Tornadoes, DSS, FC Taraba, among others.

  • Apa United, Zamfara drop out

    Apa United, Zamfara drop out

    THE NIGERIA National League (NNL) has been hit with a spate of withdrawals and expulsion that will dramatically change the complexion of the second rate league in Nigeria.

    The duo of Apa United and Zamfara United are both out of the league albeit under different circumstances. Apa United have been expelled by the Nigeria National League board for failing to abide with the rules and regulation guiding the League, while Zamfara United officially withdrew on their own accord.

    Apa United failed to honor two consecutive matches and in the process have breached the rules governing the League in Article 4.2 (7) which states that “Any team that fails to honor two successive league matches without appropriate permission of tangible reasons, stands expelled from the League”.

    Zamfara United, who were battling relegation, have written to the NNL board and formally notified the league body of their withdrawal from the current NNL season, citing financial difficulties in prosecuting games as well as other restrictions.

    The team was earlier on in the season banished from their home ground in Gusau for four matches and sent to Bauchi to play their home matches and fined N50 000 ($375) for failing to provide a stretcher during a home game.

    This led to a spate of bad results that culminated in financial difficulties in prosecuting games which has now led to their withdrawal.

    As a consequence to this, all matches played and results played by both teams are canceled and declared void, while their eventual demotion to the Nigerian Nationwide League (NNWL) has also been ratified by the board of the NNL.

    However it is left to see what happens of the Apa United situation, as no official word has come up from their camp as regards the punishment handed down by the NNL board.

    Prior to these turn of events, Apa United were placed last in 15th place on the log in Division B on the Nigeria National League log with 26 points from 22 matches while Zamfara United in Division A were also at the basement with 19 points from 24 matches played.

     

  • SUBEB chairman ordered to refund N747.2m

    The Zamfara House of Assembly has ordered Alhaji Murtala Jangebe, the Chairman of the state Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), to refund N747.2million to the board’s accounts.

    The order was contained in a report presented to the House on Monday by a special committee set up to investigate the operation and financial activities of SUBEB.

    The committee said the amount was allegedly misappropriated from the SUBEC account by the chairman.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the committee was set up in the wake of allegations of high profile fraud that rocked the board in the last two years.

    The committee further recommended the prosecution of Jangebe and all those found guilty in the scam for what it called “criminal disregard for laid down financial regulations“.

    The report, a copy of which was made available to NAN, was unanimously adopted by the House.

    The committee, led by Alhaji Aliyu Kagara, representing Mafara 11 constituency, told the House that after investigations, it was discovered that the board, under the leadership of Jangebe, had been operating 15 separate accounts with different banks.

    He said the committee audited seven out of the 15 accounts with the assistance of the state auditor general as a co-opted member in order to give its findings a  professional touch.

    It added that under the “pensions account“ operated by the board in Eco Bank, the chairman  allegedly made illegal expenditure of N148.6million without the consent of the board or approval of the Governor.

    “The chairman also deliberately went ahead, without the resolution of the board’s permanent members and approval of Governor, to divert N100million out of pensions funds to a fixed account.

    “This is indeed a serious financial misuse of public funds as stated by pension reform act of 2004,’’ the report said.

    The committee further revealed that under the “salary account` of the board operated with the UBA, it discovered illegal expenditure of N65.7million.

    An example of such payments, the committee added, was the N8.6million paid to one Sani Mailafiya as “miscellaneous expenditure” without any supportive document.

    “These expenditures covered payments made without vouchers and other necessary supportive documents,’’ it said.

    The report said the chairman also furnished the committee with an inflated monthly salary expenditure of education authorities in 14 local government areas as N284.4million.

    “After scrutiny by our committee, it was discovered that the actual monthly salary payments to all 14 local government LEA staff is N264.6million, leaving a difference of N19.7million,’’ it stated.

    “It was discovered that after auditing all teaching and non-teaching staff under SUBEB in October 2011, the sum of N14.9million was recovered as left over but the amount was diverted for personal use by the chairman.”

    The report also stated that it discovered unaccounted expenditure of N378.1million under the “Teachers’ Profession Account“ operated in Sterling Bank.

    It was revealed that “out of the N150 million received by SUBEB from UBEC in 2011 as training funds between October and December 2011,  the chairman made several withdrawals from the account to the tune of N145million without vouchers and other supportive documents.”

    The committee further said that out of N140 million training funds received by SUBEB from UBEC in 2012, N132million was withdrawn under false claim of training 265 education managers.

    “The Director of Primary Education testified before the committee that no training was conducted; rather the money was misappropriated without justifiable reasons.

    “The committee also observed that the Chairman, Zamfara state SUBEB connived with the Director Primary Education and transferred N72.3million in to his personal account no 2014082999 with First bank,’’ the report said.

    Other accounts where fraud was uncovered include UNICEF and ETF intervention accounts under which the sums of N41.2million and N42.7million respectively were alleged to have been misappropriated.

    The chairman was also indicted by the committee for non remittance of about N20million as revenues accrued from contracts tax and deductions for National Housing Fund, Zakkat and others into the board’s account.

    “Due to excessive misappropriation and misconduct of public funds entrusted upon the present Chairman, Murtala Jangebe, the committee does not have trust in him to administer the Zamfara state Universal Basic Education Board,’’ the report added.

    “As a result, the committee recommends that prosecution be made for criminal disregard to laid down financial regulations for all those found guilty through the state attorney general.’’

  • Polio: Fighting a tough battle

    Polio: Fighting a tough battle

    As preparations begin for the next sub-national Immunisation Plus’ Days (IPDs) using bivalent oral polio vaccine, Oyeyemi Gbenga-Mustapha takes a look at why the vaccine preventable polio is still endemic in Nigeria.

    Nigeria is one of the three countries that is still polio-endemic, it is in this unenviable company with Afghanistan and Pakistan. Of all the three, Nigeria is the reservoir of wild polio virus, it is the only country with ongoing transmission of all three serotypes- wild poliovirus type 1, wild poliovirus type 3 and circulating vaccine- desired polio type 2. The Northern states are the main source of polio infections.

    In 2009, operational improvements in these northern states led to a 90 per cent decline in cases of wild poliovirus type 1 and a 50 per cent decline in overall cases compared with 2008.

    As of last week, Polio Global Eradication Initiative, a monitoring organisation of polio situation in Nigeria, reported that two new cases of wild polio virus 1 have been found in Kano and Taraba states, bringing the total number of wild polio cases for this year to 18. The case from Kano is the most recent case in the country.

    According to medical experts, as long as a single child remains infected, children in all countries are at risk of contracting polio. Failure to eradicate polio from these last remaining strongholds could result in as many as 200, 000 new cases every year within 10 years. Polio has no cure but can be prevented.

    In most countries, the global effort has expanded capacities to tackle other infectious diseases by building effective surveillance and immunization systems.

    A delicate balance

    Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus. It invades the nervous system, and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours. Initial symptoms are fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness in the neck and pain in the limbs. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), one in 200 infections lead to irreversible paralysis (usually in the legs). Among those paralysed, five per cent to 10 per cent die when their breathing muscles become immobilised.

    According to WHO, globally, Polio cases have decreased by over 99 per cent since 1988, from an estimated 350, 000 cases to 223 reported cases in 2012. The reduction is the result of the global effort to eradicate the disease.

    Nigeria is fighting to end the endemic. However, there are sundry factors militating against the actualisation of this hope.

    The polio eradication programme continue to miss too many children in key geographic areas and population groups due to a mixture of operational and social factors. In 2012, going by data supplied by Polio Global Eradication Initiative, 61 children were paralyzed by polio in the first half of 2012, as opposed to 24 at the same time in 2011. In 2011, more than 95 per cent of all cases occurred in the eight persistently endemic northern states of Borno, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara.

    A formerly strong primary health care system in northern Nigeria has been weakened over many years due to incessant polio outbreaks and resistant of a segment of the populace over the safety of the vaccination. This has led to serious gap in the administration of the vaccine and subsequent disruption of campaigns as well as the killing of vaccinators. Now routine immunisation services are either no longer available or irregular; coupled with limited resources for health services and gaps in vaccine storage and distribution.

    According to a nongovernmental organisation, PATH, Northern Nigeria has one of the lowest rates of immunisation coverage in the world. In many parts of the north, barely 10 percent of children receive all of their routine vaccines. Coverage rates for the vaccine against tetanus among women are equally low.

    Misunderstood scheme

    The north is rife with misperception on the effects of the contents of the vaccine on health, especially reproduction. Campaigns have been on in the north that vaccination leads to reduction of productivity, this has been countered at all levels but the impact is still there.

    But in the face of sundry factors including insecurity, especially of Boko Haram, ridding the country of the polio virus can remain a mirage. Conflicts and insecurity do weaken public health systems.

    For instance, attacks on health workers in Kano State have robbed vulnerable populations of basic life-saving health interventions. In the face of these, Nigeria continues to pose a significant risk to surrounding countries. In 2011, polio viruses originating from Nigeria were detected in five countries on West and Central Africa. Despite dozens of vaccination campaigns over the past years, according to Polio Global Eradication Initiative, no more than 65 percent of children have received four or more Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) doses in Borno, Kano, Sokoto and Yobe states.

    Viruses with genetic evidence of long periods of circulation without detection are still being found, indicating surveillance gaps. Sub national engagement of political leadership remains patchy. Future benefits of polio eradication are immense. Once polio is eradicated, the world can celebrate the delivery of a major global public good that will benefit all, no matter where they live. According to WHO, Economic modelling has found that the eradication of polio would save at least US$ 40 to 50 billion over the next 20 years, mostly in low-income countries. Most importantly, success will mean that no child will ever again suffer the terrible effects of lifelong polio-paralysis.