BusinessDay 10 May 2020

Why criticism swells around Infectious Diseases Control Bill Will NASS have its way?

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he Nigeria’s bicameral legislature is currently in the process of enacting a new legislation that would provide legal backing to the management of infectious diseases and pandemics in the country.

But a welter of criticism is swelling around some of the provisions in the bill that observers say infringe on the rights of citizens. The Nigeria Civil Society community,

Dangerous signs

Nigeria steeps deeper into Covid-19 mire Observers predict return to lockdown Shortage of reagents for testing, depleted PPE for health workers, shortage of beds in isolation centres dampen hope on winning the war

CHUKA UROKO

Ahmad Lawan

Femi Gbajabiamila

comprising 69 members, has since joined the fray. It has commended the decision of the House of Representatives to subject the Control

of Infectious Diseases Bill to a public hearing in furtherance of the right of citizens to contribute to law making.

See page 12

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vents of the past five days after the easing of the fiveweek lockdown on Nigeria’s two major cities, Lagos and the Federal

Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja plus Ogun State says it all that many citizens are yet to come to terms with the nature of coronavirus and/or the reality of its presence.

The first day of the easing of the lockdown,

Monday, May 4 precisely, Ni g e r i a n s , e s p e c i a l l y residents of the two major cities, threw caution to the winds, trooped out and carried on as though the easing of the lockdown See page 4

Local investors outshine foreign counterparts with N376bn transactions in first quarter 2020

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Vol 1, No. 312

N300

Covid-19: Online classes open new vistas in Nigerian education system Experts call for digital infrastructure

See page 2

Why Orji Kalu’s freedom riles EFCC

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The Almajirai: From political relevance to health nuisance

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Ighalo eyes season finish with Manchester United

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L-R: Joseph Makoju, immediate past group managing director, Dangote Cement Plc; Opeyemi Agbaje, executive secretary/CEO, Ogun Security Trust Fund, Ogun State; Emmanuel Ikazoboh, non-executive director, Dangote Cement Plc, and Michel Puchercos, group managing director, Dangote Cement Plc, during the presentation of 25 Police Patrol Cars to Ogun Security Trust Fund, Ogun State donated by Dangote Cement Plc in Lagos.

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Sunday 10 May, 2020

Cover

Covid-19: Online classes open new vistas in Nigerian education system OBINNA EMELIKE and KELECHI EWUZIE

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ollowing the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic especially with the absence of an immediate cure in sight, businesses, including schools have started to explore new ways of doing things.

Before now, many parents thought it would be impossible to execute digital learning in Nigeria and even to hook-up their children online to receive teaching. Such level of teaching and learning were formerly seen as exclusively reserved for some categories of people.

Nearly 830 million learners globally are today out of classroom but children in nursery, primary and secondary schools now have the opportunity to learn online since governments all over the world were forced to shut down schools to contain the spread of COVID-19.

To mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 disruption on education system as well as school closures, teaching and learning in Nigeria have gone virtual using online platforms, as well as television and radio in places internet access is limited.

On May 14, 2019 when the United States of America Mission in Nigeria indefinitely suspended the ‘Dropbox’ process, its interview waivers for visa renewals, many Nigerians who were due to travel were held back home, and even those on emergency situations.

Jude Emuwa, a college student in Atlanta Georgia, was among the many who got stuck in the country while seeking alternative to renewing their travel visas.

But the lad, who could not travel until October 2019, did not miss classes as he joined his classmates through the college’s e-learning portal, where he participated in all class works, did assignments and wrote assessment examinations.

While his uncle doubted the possibility of doing all that online, the lockdown in the country, which has seen schools closed since March this year in Lagos, has made elearning a reality for the doubting uncle whose children are now participating in their school’s e-learning classes thrice a week.

The once physical classroom has now upgraded online to Google Class, Big Blue Button, with apps like Zoom, WhatsApp among others, enabling pupils and students to learn in different ways.

Going by the current situation and health concerns, the new learning system or rather digital class, is the only option for pupils and students to refresh their brains, engage in mental activities, progress in their school work and stay safe amid the pandemic.

Again, due to the uncertainty over when schools will reopen, many educational outfits, especially private schools, see the online learning as the only way to remain in busi-

ness and not necessarily to keep the students mentally active.

New learning system commendable Obviously, the new learning system is helpful for parents, who otherwise would have to deal with energetic and idle children while they work remotely.

“After two weeks at home, I was concerned that my children are playing more than studying.

When their school mentioned the e-learning classes, I got excited because that will help their mental balance and positively engage them”, Adedayo Sukanmi, a father of three, said.

Kelvin Owute, another father, said the e-learning is timely, puts one’s mind at rest and is safer, though comes at varying costs.

For him, it is an innovation that should be encouraged by parents because the bottomline is the safety and mental wellbeing of their children.

“Nothing beats the safety and comfort at home. So, if my children can learn from the safety of my house, I should by reason of being a responsible parent encourage and appreciate their school for initiating such idea”, Magnus Okenwa, a lawyer, said.

But while parents appreciate the growing gesture by most private schools, proprietors and the teachers are at the receiving end.

Agnes Ademuda, a proprietress, explained that despite the lockdown, there are salaries to pay, which is not possible if the school is not generating any revenue.

“We opted for the e-learning to engage students in mental activities, help engage their time positively at home and also to earn money to keep staff and the school afloat”, she said.

She explained further that it takes money to access the e-learning platforms from the owners, buy and install digital facilities and pay teachers that will handle the classes.

Bola Otitoju, another proprietress, decried that schools are forced to retrain teachers for the e-learning classes, and are even hiring skilled online coaches when it is difficult to get their teachers to migrate to digital teaching.

“We couldn’t complete our second term, many parents are yet to pay their children’s school fees, the lockdown worsen the situation, yet we are now forced to migrate to digital class within a short period.

We are equal to the task, but parents will have to bear the brunt going forward”, she said.

As well, the teachers are also carrying their own cross in the matter.

The digital migration is a challenge to many teachers who have not been exposed to it until now.

For Julie Esemo, an English teacher at Almond Hills School, Lekki, Lagos, it is not business as usual.

Now, she prepares her lesson plans and shares with her students on Google Classroom. Moments later virtual class commences with several engagements all online.

While she finds it difficult assessing her students properly in the digital learning, she insists that it is the only option to get things going now, especially for her job to be secured.

Abigail Eze, twice winner of teacher of year in her school, finds the transition from classroom teaching to remote teaching easy as the technology savvy teacher regularly engages lots of students in after-school private lessons with Google Classroom.

She noted that schools across the world are keeping students engaged with Google Classroom, and Nigeria should not be left out.

Explaining how the Google Classroom works, the technology savvy teacher said the school created email for all the teachers from where you log in, create a class online and invite your students who accept your invitation and automatically have access to all the e-learning materials.

But as much as e-learning has come to stay, some teachers and even parents are concerned about its drawbacks.

Some drawbacks Many teachers say that it is difficult to properly assess the performance of students in e-learning because of the absence of physical interaction, while subjects that require students to be hands-on will be difficult to teach, especially science practicals.

Another drawback for Esemo is

the unnecessary assistance on class work by parents or use of gadgets to search for answers.

“When a student who does not do well in the physical class starts performing excellently in the virtual class, it means the parents or a big brother is involved. This does not help the student in the long run”, she said.

The digital learning, however, is not without some drawbacks.

Whereas it keeps the children on their toes and prevents them from engaging in excessive play, it comes with a huge cost on parents.

Most children are being guided by their parents to do the assignments or to use the gadgets. In some cases, the parents are the ones helping to download what has been uploaded by teachers for their children.

However, the adoption of elearning as an innovative means to continue teaching and learning during this ongoing closure has really not gone down well with parents as the move by schools has been received with mixed feeling among parents and students in terms of affordability and practical.

BDSUNDAY has shown that the process has not been easy as transition from the brick-and-mortar type of learning to digital is far from seamless.

Some parents, who spoke to our correspondent, frowned at the demand of fees by some schools.

Although, schools owners claimed that part of the money being paid now would be rolled over to become part of the third-term tuition fee as soon as schools reopen, many parents have been finding it very difficult to pay at this difficult period.

“While I recognise the need to continue with learning during this terrible time and the need to embrace innovation and technology, demanding for payment of full tuition fees should be discussed and not made compulsory, says Kayode Ayodeji, a parent of three children in Lagos.

He called on private school operators to stop demanding full tuition fees from parents in order for their children to have access to online learning platforms.

Ayodeji further observed that teaching has shifted from teachers to parents, as many are now forced to deputise overnight as homeschoolers, using systems with which they may not be familiar with.

Presently, absence of digital learning infrastructure such as smartphones, computers and accessibility of data has created a huge challenge for ‘the new normal’ in the global education system.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in its report stated that disparities in distance education are particularly evident in low-income countries as nearly 90 percent of students in sub-Saharan Africa do not have household computers while 82 percent are unable to get online.

According to the report, “Although having a mobile phone can support young learners in accessing information or connecting with their teachers, for example, around 56 million live in areas that are not served by mobile networks; almost half in sub-Saharan Africa.”

On the other hand, teachers are also struggling with the rapid transition to online learning, even those in countries with reliable infrastructure and household connectivity.

They also need to be trained to deliver distance and online education. Again, countries in subSaharan Africa face the greatest challenges.

In Nigeria, for instance, over 50 percent of the nation’s population live below the poverty line, thereby making it near impossible for such class of people to afford digital infrastructure to drive online learning.

As a result, many Nigerian parents have had to make an emergency purchase of new phones for the purpose of online classes, which they would not ordinarily afford to buy.

Today, telecom infrastructure is still to be available as well as accessible in rural area. This is why a good number of households still do not have laptops, tablets, or smartphones that could be accessible to students for online learning.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that only 45 percent of Nigeria’s population has access to power, and 45 percent have access to smart phones in a country of close to 200 million populations.

Presently, the outbreak COVID-19 pandemic has brought to bear the various challenges of Nigerian education system especially on issues around quality, quantity of education, gaps in gender, regional income levels, socio-economic status, overcrowding in public schools and funding.

Confirming this, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, minister of state for education, recently observed that the underserved are the worst hit because even with limited capacity in Nigeria, children of rich parents and those who can afford private education at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels are still accessing education.

“However, a vast majority living in the fringes of the society including the remote areas don’t have access to these devices or facilities that provide today’s kind of education, which is online learning,” Nwajiuba stated.

Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General said that “While efforts to provide connectivity to all must be multiplied, we now know that continued teaching and learning cannot be limited to online means.”

He suggested that “To lessen already existing inequalities, we must also support other alternatives including the use of community radio Continues on Page 3

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News Ondo guber Poll: Akeredolu does not deserve second term, group tells APC national leadership KORETIMI AKINTUNDE, Akure

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ntegrity Group, a group within the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) in Ondo State, on Friday urged the national leadership of the party not to support the second term bid of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu base on his performance in last three years in the state.

The group, however, described the present situation under the Akeredolu-led administration as depressive, stressing that residents in the state know Akeredolu better than the party leadership.

In a statement signed

by Sunday Ogunmola, its coordinator, and made available to journalists in Akure, the group alleged that the governor has performed woefully in terms of infrastructure development in the state.

The group urged Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a national leader of the party and Bisi Akande, former governor of Osun State Governor, not to support Governor

Akeredolu

Akeredolu’s second term bid, alleging that Akeredolu sponsored Action Alliance (AA) candidates against the ruling party candidates.

In view of the development, Ogunmola begged the leadership of the party not to support

the incumbent governor and those he used in Action Alliance (AA) to destroy APC in Ondo State.

In his reaction, Steve Otaloro, the APC’s director of media and publicity, describedtheIntegrityGroup as a faceless organisation

being sponsored by enemies of the ruling APC and the opposition to break the cohesion within the party ahead of the governorship poll in few months’ time.

Otaloro said: “Why would they be telling all kind of lies against the governor if they are not intimidated about the achievement of Akeredolu in the last three years. They are pretending to be a member of our party but indirectly destroying the very fabrics of our party value before the electorate who are going to return us back to power.

“We know their antics, they have failed in the past and they will continue to fail in their mission of destruction”.

He urged party stakeholders to be more concerned with transparency and fairness of the coming primary exercise and not the support of any non-voting national leaders.

“Our party primary will be free, fair and transparent and whoever wins will be APC flag bearer in October 10 governorship election in Ondo State and by the special grace of God the people will vote to return our party to government,” Otaloro said.

Covid-19: Online classes ...

Continued from Page 2 and television broadcasts, and creativity in all ways of learning.”

To create opportunity for students in government-own institutions as well as those in the rural communities that do not have access to online learning, governments in states such as Lagos, Ogun, Rivers, Delta and among others, are deploying multimodal approaches and building innovative partnerships overnight to deliver learning in a new way.

These states have introduction tele-classes by partnered radio and television stations to hold classes and teach students via these gadgets. During this extraordinary situation, introduction of tele-classes has become one of the best alternatives to carry forward the teaching-learning process, and to compensate the academic loss to some extent.

Despite these inconveniences, education experts are of the opinions that these efforts have the potential to expand the flexibility of delivering education in response to today’s health crisis.

They noted that the move

to digital learning is the critical thinking approach to learning that has been long overdue in Nigeria. A new framework for education structured to deliver 21st-century skills and lifelong learning for its students to compete in tomorrow’s economies.

“We are going to see the teacher-student ratio explode, post Covid-19 using digital technology, says Sim Shagaya, chief executive officer, U lesson.

Shagaya noted that Covid-19 has the tendency to accelerate things that were already happening, adding that parents should brace up as schools use digital technology more and more to ease the financial pressure.

Yoyin Adesina, chief executive officer, Corona Schools Trust Council says online learning has come to stay.

According to her, “What the government needs to do is to provide the necessary infrastructure and improve the dialogue and narration in the public-private sector of education.

Adesina, while speaking at a recent Webinar series organised by BusinessDay and MTN, called for synchronisation between the government and private sector.

“We are looking at 58, 000

primary school children; we are looking at 10.5 million out of school children, who don’t have access to education. There is a lot that needs to be done. All we have to do is to strip ourselves of what is in it for me and look at the larger picture, look at the needs, the gaps. There is the need to go to those places that education is not been served and meet the needs of the underserved children,” Adesina advised.

But as Folasade Adefisayo, commissioner for education, Lagos State, pointed out recently, e-learning may expose children to harm like pornography, violence and crime if parents do not monitor the sites their children log in to.

Another drawback is the economic reality of our time.

There is fear that indigent students whose parents cannot afford wifi, smart phones or internet access may be left out in the e-learning revolution.

“All the noise about elearning concern private schools only because the parents of the students can afford to pay the fees. Nobody is talking about public schools where many cannot afford internet access for digital class. I think govern-

ment should help to close the gap”, Eze disclosed.

For an average parent, a formidable drawback is the high fees some schools are charging to get student hooked to the online class in the face of the hardship occasioned by the lockdown.

Some charge as much as a full term fees arguing that digital learning is more expensive, some half the normal school fees and others certain amount for a month.

“My children’s school is asking for N20,000 per month, per child and I have three children in the school.

I think the amount is even more than the school fees for a child for a term when you sum it up”, Hyacinth Akah, a parent, said.

Sadiat Adeleke, a single mother, decried that her daughter’s school made the online class compulsory and charged high fees that must be paid before access to the platform.

However, the schools are insisting that digital class is optional. In reality, they are subtly wooing parents to get all their children onboard, while citing poor mental balance and being engaged negatively as some of the consequences of not doing so.

NSE vows to prosecute members associated with collapsed 8-storey building in Imo Ngozi Okpalakunne

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a b a g a n a Mohammed, president, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), has vowed to punish any of its members associated with the collapsed 8-strorey building in Owerri, the Imo State capital.

Speaking at a press briefly in Lagos recently, Mohammed revealed that its team of engineers have done preliminary investigations and have submitted their report to him, adding that it would be sent to the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) for further investigation.

According to him, “I have the report before me, we have seen some infractions.

We are going to pass this report straight to COREN, so that further investigations will continue from the council. I am assuring that any of our members caught in this, will face the full wrath of the law.

“We have engineering standards and ethical issues that engineers know about and they must abide by the rules. Of recent, we have an amended Coren Act

which empowers us to deal with infractions. Any erring member will be made to face a tribunal and we are going to delist such person from our membership and they will face the law.

“When building collapses, lives are lost. You need to hold somebody responsible for something, and that is how it works everywhere in the world.”

However, he appealed to government, companies and individuals that want to erect buildings to engage certified engineers.

Speaking on Covid-19, he described it as a war that everyone must be involved and therefore appealed to well meaning Nigerians to come to the aid of the needy in the society.

“Government cannot do it all alone, those who have should support those who do not have, by doing so we are contributing our own quota in the fight against the pandemic currently ravaging the entire world”, Mohammed affirmed.

Describing engineers as solution providers, he called on engineers in the country to ensure creation of more jobs, adding that the Covid-19 has negatively affected the world economy including Nigeria.

Redrick PR bags certificate of excellence at SABRE Awards Africa KELECHI EWUZIE

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edrick PR, foremost innovative, strategic public and media relations agency has bagged a Certificate of Excellence at SABRE Awards Africa. A testament to its deployment of wideranging market intelligence in executing integrated PR campaigns.

The award which was achieved alongside C o k e r Cr e a t i v e - a n experiential agency, for their collaborative work on the #SheaOnTheBeach campaign for global personal carecompany,SheaMoisture.

The SABRE Awards are the world’s largest PR awards programme, recognising superior achievement in branding and reputation in North America, EMEA, AsiaPacific, Latin America, South Asia, and Africa.

PRovoke Media which manages the SABRE Awards in partnership with the African Public Relations Association (ARPA) said it received 150 entries from agencies across Africa.

As a recipient of the Certificate of Excellence, Redrick PR joins a prestigious group of past recipients,

including fifteen other PR agencies across Africa awarded in the 2020 African SABRE Awards competition.

Ijeoma Balogun, chief executive officer, Redrick PR while speaking on this achievement said, “It’s an honour to be recognised for the work that we do.

This recognition reinforces my belief in the power of collaborations as it is one we share with the Coker Creative team who were our experiential partners on this campaign.

Balogun opines that this achievement gives the company the impetus needed to continue pushing frontiers for collaboration which cannot be overemphasised as the world battles with COVID-19.

Redrick Public Relations specialises in designing and executing integrated campaigns that support enterprises and start-ups to innovate, accelerate and grow.

The agency has over the years built a proven track record for generating brand impact with bottom-line results through strategic planningandcommunications for Fortune 500, MultiMillion dollar corporations as well as Start-ups.

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Sunday 10 May, 2020

News

Lockdown continues in Ogun, as Abiodun frowns at non-compliance Peter Moses, Abeokuta

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overnor Dapo Ab i o d u n o f Og u n s t a t e on Friday extended the lockdown earlier imposed on Ogun state by one week as part of moves to curb community spread of the coronavirus, saying there would be a strict enforcement of face masks and a ba on inter-state vehicular movement.

He, however, said the window of relaxation usually on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, stands as residents would be allowed to have relaxation between hours of 7am and 5pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday this week.

Govenor Abiodun, who addressed a Press Briefing on Friday evening at the Governor’s Office, Oke Mosan in Abeokuta, expressed concern that the number of the COVID - 19 cases had risen to 100 in the last one week.

Of all the cases, Governor Abiodun said 20 had been discharged, two death, leaving the state with 78 active cases, just as he frowned at

the residents’ non - compliance to the safety measures amid the increasing cases in the state.

“You, the entire people of Ogun State, have not elected me to make easy decisions.

And tough decisions, we have to make.

“Now, to preserve the lives of our people, we are persuaded to extend the current modified lockdown, which has been slightly eased, for another one weeks alongside the current guidelines. This will be reviewed, as usual, on a weekly basis,” he said.

The governor threatened to go after those smuggling people in and outside of the state in disregard to the interstate border closure.

“Reports reaching us have shown that many of our people are showing utter disregard for the precautionary guidelines, international best practices and safety measures rolled out, especially, during the window of relaxation of the lockdown.

We have heard and seen the havoc that COVID-19 continues to wreck in other lands. Let us learn from these experiences.

COVID-19: Aba landlords’ president wants rent waiver for tenants UDOKA AGWU, Umuahia

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ollowing the hardship being experienced by Nigerians occasioned by the outbreak of C O V I D - 1 9 , Er i c Ac h o Nwakanma, former deputy governor of Abia State and president of Aba Landlords Welfare Association, has appealed to his members to make the economic burden easier for tenants by giving them rent waivers on humanitarian grounds.

Nwakanma pleaded with his fellow landlords that situation placed on them a huge burden as humans to strive to survive by taking all necessary steps to avoid the spread of the disease.

“But what is of most importance is how we react as individuals and as a concerned association in helping to mitigate the realities that have emerged as a result of the presence of the disease.

This is the time when those that have capacity must assist in any way to ease the impact of COVID-19 on the lives of others”, said the president.

He further said,”There is no doubt that the emergence

of Corona Virus Disease is real. The number of lives it has claimed globally, and has continued to claim is astounding, and apparently the end is not in sight as no certain cure has been found for the disease.

Economic livelihoods and social lives have become adversely affected and in some cases have ground to a complete halt.

“My fellow landlords, this situation place a huge burden on all of us as humans to strive to survive by taking all necessary steps to avoid the spread of the disease. But what is of most importance is how we react as individuals and as a concerned association in helping to mitigate the realities that have emerged as a result of the presence of the disease. This is the time when those that have capacity must assist in any way to ease the impact of CoViD19 on the lives of others.

“As owners of properties, landlords should ensure that all activities going on in our properties do not conflict with the regulations and guidelines on CoViD19. All Landlords have a duty to report all infractions and activities that are non-complaint to the relevant authorities.

Dangerous signs Continued from Page 1

was synonymous with the easing of the activity or erasing of the presence of the deadly virus.

All the precautionary measures and guidelines ordered by the government and advised by the health authorities were scarcely adhered to even by otherwise knowledgeable men and women wh o trooped out of their homes in their thousands without face-masks to the markets or banks where mammoth crowds were seen “hugging” one another on interminable queues.

Incrementally, with each passing day, things have been getting worse and all that can be seen is danger ahead. Daily scenes and rising numbers of confirmed cases and deaths simply show that government’s projections for the fight against the deadly virus are not looking bright at all.

“The overall assessment of compliance with the measures and outcomes of modeling we have developed point in the direction of danger ahead. We, therefore, need personal discipline, increased awareness and enforcement,” Boss Mustapha , chairman, Presidential Task Force (PTF) on Covid 19, affirmed at a briefing in Abuja.

Th e r is in g n u mb e r s are not only scary, but also scandalous. It is not, therefore, surprising that community transmission of the virus is on the rise as anxious citizens have thrown all physical and social distancing protocols out of the window.

The result of this is already showing, especially in Lagos.

The Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Thursday night, released what is so far the highest number of confirmed cases in the three months of the pandemic in the country.

The centre confirmed 381 new cases in the country, bringing the total number of cases in the country so far to 3,526 with 601 recoveries and 107 deaths.

A breakdown of the new number shows that Lagos is still leading with 183 cases followed by Kano which recorded 55 cases.

Th e f e a r, w h i c h i s not misplaced, is that the numbers are going to get higher and the situation messier in the coming days and weeks, showing danger signs that need to be addressed quickly.

There are indications that government may be compelled to reintroduce the lockdown and that will

happen if, as Mustapha said, Nigerians fail to realise the fact that “our individual and collective safety is in our hands and I re-echo my call and appeal to Nigerians to demonstrate our duty to ourselves and loved ones by minimising the risk of getting infected by the virus.”

The greater danger in Nigerians’ attitude to the rampaging virus is that quite a good number of people go about with the illusion that the virus does not exist or that there is low infection rate or both.

But Okey Ikechukwu, executive director at Development Specs Academy, was quick to correct that erroneous impression in his submissions at a TV programme, Sunrise Daily. “The truth of the matter is that the record creates a deceptive impression of low infection rate,” he said, adding, “We are not testing enough people.”

If e a n y i Ca s m i r, t h e publicity secretary of Association of Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria, affirmed this, explaining that the country was slow in testing because of capacity underutilisation. He disclosed that there are over 30,000 laboratory scientists that could be deployed to ramp up testing.

Casmir noted that the country was yet to see rise in the number of confirmed cases until the end of May when the results of testing of a backlog of over 2000 collected samples will be ready and released.

Evidently, Nigeria is not doing enough testing and that, more than anything else, gives false impression to eveninfectedbutundetected persons that all is well. As at Thursday, May 7, the total number of confirmed cases for the entire South East was 19. Enugu State alone accounts for 9.

This is very deceptive.

The situation in that region of the country is like that because no much is being done there in terms of testing

as opposed to the North and the South West. The governors of the region are beating their chests over this seeming infection-free status, but that is a larger picture of a looming.

It follows therefore that, beyond the individual or personal responsibility in terms of observing the protocols as requested by the PTF chairman, government also has to play its own role and should do so diligently well. “While the citizenry will have to behave more responsibly, governments at federal and state levels have to up the ante and be alive to their responsibilities,” Joe Okei-Odumakin, president, Centre for Change, advised, noting that other causes for worry are the reported shortage of reagents to continue with testing , depleted stock of PPE even for health workers, and shortage of bed spaces at isolation centres.

Besides ramping up testing and providing PPE, reagents and all, Odumakin also advised that “The professionals must be listened to rather than resorting to kneejerk political decisions to satiate sentiments or curry fleeting advantages that will ultimately prove disastrous.”

She added that close attention must continue to be paid to the skyrocketing figures while all possible solutions should be painstakingly considered, and home-grown solutions must be factored into the equation like other nations, some of them even African, are doing.

Similarly, Ikechukwu advised that while Nigerians continue to savour the sweet-bitter taste of their new found freedom (from the lockdown) even as danger stares wickedly at them, government should step up sensitisation and communication.

“I think the only way to curtail the spread of the virus now is actual activation of genuine sanitisation; let all

the big men and women who are holding public office, who are now hiding in their houses, know that they were put in place to serve the people.

“Let communication extend up to that level; by the time people are told the implications, the number of those who would deliberately misbehave would reduce,” he said.

Ikechukwu stressed the point that the easing of the lockdown should not be mistaken for an easing of the rate of infection or the continued activity of the virus itself, citing the Ghana experience where more cases were reported after easing its lockdown.

“You saw what happened in Ghana; they eased the lockdown and the infection increased. The fear and possibility of such happening in Nigeria are real and is already manifesting in some few places,” he noted.

Before it went into lockdown, Ghana had 1,154 cases. But as at Thursday two weeks ago, the country had climbed to 3,091.

Patrick Aboagye, head of the Ghana Health Service, said the country had a 0.66 percent mortality rate and a 2.1percent infection rate based on the 130,000 tested samples done so far.

Perhaps, the position of the Nigerian government may not be the best in the present circumstance. The PTF was quoted as saying that the outcome of the easing of the lockdown in some Nigerian cities would determine whether or not to enact a stricter measure on compliance level.

Sani Aliyu, the PTF national coordinator, said they were expecting to see the impact manifesting in 10-14 days’ time, adding that their recommendation to the President for stricter measures or not would depend on the outcome of their monitoring. But, in view of unfolding events, that time no longer seems realistic.

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BDSUNDAY 5

News

Kano indigenes remain apprehensive as cause of ‘mysterious’ deaths still unknown Adeola Ajakaiye, in Kano

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ano State has continued to record more deaths, just as the state awaits outcome of the verbal autopsy being conducted on close to 680 individuals that have so far died in the past two weeks in the state.

Indigenes of the state have remained with apprehension to hear from the authorities the real cause of the deaths in Kano.

The latest of the dead persons are Professor Mousuru Lasun-Eniola of the Department of Physical Education, Bayero University, Kano (BUK), and an ace broadcaster with radio Kano, Ali Haruna Yakasai, who until his death was an assistant station manager with the radio house.

The cause of the death of these two highly placed professionals which occurred on the 6th of May, is yet to be ascertained, and the occurrence is coming on the heels of an on-going investigation into the rising cases of deaths in the state by a Ministerial

Ganduje

Task Force (MTF) led by Dr. Nasiru Sani Gwarzo, constituted by Presidential Task Force on Covid-19.

Gwarzo, an indigene of Kano, had last Sunday, while briefing journalists at the Government House in Kano, hinted that the deaths might have been caused largely by Covid-19.

This claim was also confirmed by him in an interview he granted the Hausa Service of the BBC, on the same day, but, to the surprise of many people in the state, the Epidemiologist, in another

Cleric urges church leaders to support government COVID-19 initiative

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he archbishop of Niger Province, Alexander Ibezim has urged Awka diocesan clergymen to support government directive in curbing COVID-19 pandemic in the country, especially churches.

Ibezim stated this while addressing the venerable of the diocese as he emphasised the importance of wearing face masks to church services, enjoining them not to allow sentiments to becloud their sense of reasoning.

According to Ibezim, every worshipper entering the church auditorium must wear a face mask, wash and sanitise their hands properly.

He equally stressed the need for social distancing in sitting arrangements; three people to a pew as it would help in curbing the

spread of the pandemic.

Ibezim enjoined clergymen to be careful in the distribution of Holy Communion, ensuring a high standard of hygiene be maintained.

He however, insisted that clergy’s wives should monitor the congregation from the entrance to ensure total compliance.

Ib e z i m e n c o u r a g e d churches to support the less-privileged and widows in their various churches, noting that the issue of social distancing was still difficult for some people, warning that it must be strictly maintained to avoid the spread of the disease because no one could tell who had the virus.

Ibezim then enjoined worshippers in the diocese to be prayerful at a time like this, believing and trusting God to heal the land from the plague.

separate press briefing held at the same venue, denied apportioning any percentage of such deaths to the coronavirus disease.

Clarifying his earlier claim, Gwarzo told journalists that he was misquoted, noting that the earlier media reports attributing such claims to him were “absolutely wrong”.

“That is not the truth because I have said repeatedly that the state is embarking on a study, (with) which we were very, very pleasantly impressed; and surprised that the state has already

gone ahead to do a post mortem (a verbal autopsy), and the result is not out,” Gwarzo said, when he presented some medical equipment to the Kano State governor.

A string of deaths reported recently in the state raised concerns across the country, and prompted the Federal Government to raise a team of medical experts to help unravel the possible causes of the deaths. Those who died in the state within the last two weeks include notable academics, politicians, and administrators.

Gwarzo said the Kano State government is conducting studies in the graveyards, and that the result of the study is not out.

He disclosed that the Federal team and the state concluded another protocol, which would do the actual testing of samples. According to him, it is the “conclusive result” that would indicate the proportion that had died of COVID and the percent that died of other causes.

Meanwhile, Garba Shehu, spokesperson to President Muhammadu Buhari, has called on all to wait for the result of the autopsy being

conducted as related to the mysterious deaths in the state.

“In Nigeria, there are currently verbal autopsies underway in Kano State to identify the precise cause of the sudden and rapid increase in mortality in recent days. While some may wish to believe that there are other causes at play here like hypertension, diabetes, meningitis, and acute malaria’, there are others who say it is COVID-19.

“We should be prepared to accept the medical and scientific result of the autopsies and work together to confront the common enemy. What we know all over the world is that communities with similar socioeconomic dynamics like Kano have found as very helpful, the sort of lockdown measures now imposed, with markets and other public places of worship shuttered more strictly.

“The President and his government are with the people of Kano State and will not let them down. If there is reason to believe that the mortality rate in Kano due to COVID-19 is out of control,

it will spell a serious development to which the best action would be for the Federal government and state government to work more tightly together to find solutions and implement together,” he said.

“There is no time for energy wasted on political point-scoring, whether by current or former holders of office – or for any differences between state and federal administrations to be publicly aired. This is no time for talk.

Our common purpose is to preserve the lives and health of citizens,” Garba further said.

Verbal Autopsy is a method of gathering information about symptoms and circumstances for a deceased individual to determine their cause of death; this is done through generating information from a description of events prior to the death of the persons involved.

The information are acquired from conversations or interviews with a person or persons familiar with the deceased, such information are analysed by health professionals or computer algorithms to assign likely cause(s) of death.

MindBody & Soul

with Chioma Nwosu

Letting go of a toxic relationship

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ll through my relationship with him, he’d constantly called me names, reminding me that I was insecure, that I behaved like someone who had a double personality; he’d say I needed psychological help. I endured this much manipulation and emotional abuse for over a year.

The first thing I did as soon as the relationship ended was to call my psychiatrist. ‘Doctor, since I got my bipolar diagnoses during the relationship, is the diagnoses real or did the relationship trigger a mental health issue?’ She responded, ‘Yes a bad relationship may trigger underlying symptoms, however, ask yourself why you stayed in the relationship for as long as you did even when he showed you all these toxic signs.’

It hit me. My past relationships all had the same pattern; lies, manipulation, control, betrayal, dishonesty, emotional abuse, etc. These rela-

tionships constantly made me feel like I wasn’t good enough and in turn affected my self-esteem, the endless tears, constantly trying to prove myself and always trying to overcompensate (I wasn’t perfect, I also had my shortcomings).

I did some soul searching and asked myself these questions, why do I stay in toxic relationships? Don’t I see the signs? Why is it difficult to leave? I realised that my answer was simple; I lacked self-love! I realised that I was constantly seeking to be validated. Just like me, several other people end up in this predicament where they cannot see the light or do not know how or what to do. It is said that the Universe would keep sending you the same lesson over and over again until you learn.’ Whether its a romantic or casual relationship or even a partnership, it seems you just keep attracting the same kind of people and pattern.

So what do you do when you find your self-in this pattern? How do I break free?

Below are some of the strategies I used during my journey.

Accept that you are in a toxic relationship, and this type of relationship can affect your mental and emotional wellbeing.

Do a self-check and ask yourself why you are in the relationship and what’s preventing you from leaving.

Questions like was I not good enough? It’s all my fault; maybe, if I had done things differently the relationship would be better, What did I do to deserve this, etc. would arise. You have to understand that they are the ones with the bad behaviour, not you, so try not to internalise the behaviours they exhibited during the existence of the relationship.

Take what’s left of your dignity and walk away, realise that you deserve better and be firm about your decision.

Identify and express your

emotions, it’s ok to feel a whirlwind of emotions at this time.

Take out the positive experiences and lessons from the relationships.

Forgive yourself and do not beat yourself too much about the situation.

Forgive the person completely. This might sound absurd but for you to completely heal and let go, you have to forgive the person who has hurt you. Remember hurt people, hurt people. When you truly heal, you break the toxic cycle.

Chioma Nwosu is a mental health/positive psychology advocate, speaker and founder of Olamma Cares Foundation an NGO focused on encouraging the social acceptance of developmental disabilities and mental disorders, finding and implementing long term solutions of these conditions through training, capacity building, advocacy and intervention.

Email: cnwosu@olammacares.com Instagram: _olamma_

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Sunday 10 May 2020

News Feature

Wike gives update as Total, PAMO help out with first PCR machines Ignatius Chukwu

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overnor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State is convinced that his fierce stance and hard battles against the coronavirus is to save the lives of the people in the state and to save the economy of the state from being ravaged by the angry COVID-19 pandemic.

In his latest update last week on the battles, the fiery governor joined in making wearing of facemasks compulsory in public. The government had received briefings on the ability of producers in Rivers State to meet demands with international standard masks by members of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) in the state.

Wike also stated that the Rivers State Security Council would within 24hours take stringent measures against commercial transport operators for their failure to observe social distancing. Most of them still carried more than two passengers at the back in taxis, although those at Slaughter and Elelenwo loading bays comply.

“While we agree with Mr. President’s decision to gradually re-open the country for business, we shall be guided by the peculiarities of our state on when to relax the measures we have put in place and gradually restore business activities to the state. Until then, please obey orders,” he said.

The governor warned that the state government would impose a complete lockdown of Rumuokoro, Elimgbu, and Rumukurushi if they continued with night markets and total disregard of government directive on social distancing. He threatened to shut down the famous Oil Mill Market at Rumukwurushi permanently till he leaves office.

Speaking on the state of COVID-19 transmission in Rivers State, Wike recounted the pattern of transmission and the obvious sabotage by security agencies which have frustrated efforts to check the spread of coronavirus.

“The logical conclusion therefore is that the pattern of transmission of COVID-19 in the state is evidentially predicated on outside importation just as the rate of infection and progression is also relatively low and arithmetical, when considered from the date of the index case,” he said.

His calculation is that if sudden community spread does not occur, the state would not experience a huge surge going by current efforts.

“This is not to say that we are at the peak of this crisis and that everything about the containment and transmission of COVID-19 is under control. No; we are not, because of the challenges occasioned primarily by the negative elements that continue to undermine and sabotage our efforts to protect our people from this disease.

“For instance, the 7th infected case was an offshore oil and gas

Governor Wike worker who went and passed a night in a Lagos hotel before returning to Port Harcourt on the 9th of April 2020 with the aid of the security personnel manning our borders. When his symptoms started, he was admitted to a private hospital, (St. Martin’s Hospital) on the 20th and discharged on the 21st of April 2020. Had the security agencies not compromised their responsibility at the borders, this man would have been prevented from coming into Port Harcourt with this virus to threaten the lives of other people for over two weeks before he was evacuated to the treatment centre,” the governor said.

He also said that his administration has trained over 200 health professionals to tackle coronavirus, procured relevant Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for frontline workers, and purchased or received ventilators for the treatment of infected persons.

He added that the state government has established a task force on border closure and also taken delivery of 250-bed isolation centre sponsored by the private sector, in addition to treatment and holding centres established by the Rivers State Government.

Wike informed that the State Government has received one GeneXpert RT-PCR testing machine from TOTAL E & P, which is ready to be used and will be deployed for testing in the State. He added that Pamo Hospital has also donated another PCR machine to Rivers State, improving capacity of the State Government to test for coronavirus.

The governor regretted that the FG is yet to support the Rivers State Government in the fight against coronavirus. He described as unfortunate the situation where the NCDC is yet to establish a laboratory in Rivers State.

He said: “We are virtually fighting this battle without any tangible material support from the Federal Government. We are wondering

as most of you may also be that up till now the NCDC has not established any testing centre in the state in spite of our position, huge socio-economic and demographic mix and high transmission threat hanging over us as a result.

“Was this deliberate? If not so, why and what was the justification for this dangerous neglect, which is obviously limiting our capacity to expand testing for this virus in the State.” He vowed to continue to fight off the virus despite the difficult conditions.

“It is for the very reason that we have taken our fate in our own hands with the establishment of the Border Security Task Force, which has been mandated to provide and ensure a water-tight situation in all our entry and exit points and prevent any unauthorised entry and or exit of persons and vehicles into the State during the period of the closure.”

On the distribution of palliatives, the Rivers State Governor commended the Desmond Akawor-led committee for living up to the ex-

Chikwe Ihekweazu, NCDC boss

pectations of Rivers people.

He added that the committee for the procurement of foodstuffs has performed creditably in the purchase of foodstuffs from local farmers and fishermen.

He said: “Reports reaching us from independent monitors indicate that, so far, both committees are creditably executing their respective mandate in spite of the difficult logistical challenge that is involved.

“As a matter of fact, the Procurement Committee has so far purchased and delivered to our ware houses local food items, including garri, yam, beans, fish, palm oil, plantain, tomatoes and onions worth over N590m.

“The Food Distribution Committee has successfully distributed food packages to vulnerable households in 16 Local Government Areas, namely: Obio/Akpor, Port Harcourt, Ikwerre, Eleme, Omuma, Bonny, Opobo/Nkoro, Tai, Okrika, Etche, Akuku Toru, Asari Toru, Oyigbo, Gokana, Khana, and Ogba/Egbema/ Ndoni.”

Wike reiterated that the strategy of his administration is to contain, prevent or minimise the spread of the disease and save the lives of Rivers people. He outlined several steps taken so far, and pointed out that his administration is achieving these objectives significantly.

In a question and answer session, Wike said that the response of the FG to the request by Kano State for support shows the level of inconsistency in the system. “I committed no crime calling for support. If they support us, we will also commend them like Kano State has done.

“There are those they prefer as the owners of the country, while others are deliberately neglected.

This is unfortunate.”

Wike said that following the fact that an oil worker from the rig tested positive, the state government will review all the permits granted oil companies to move workers to oil platforms.

He said: “When you raise these issues, some local politicians seeking governorship ticket, say that

we must beg. It is a matter of cooperation to ensure the safety of our people.

“Let nobody deceive these oil companies. They should not risk the lives of their workers. We are seeking the support of oil companies to save the lives of our people.

Nobody is saying don’t drill oil, but it must be done with the consideration of the safety of Rivers people.”

On palliatives by the FG, Wike said that Rivers State Government rejected the food palliatives, because the rice was contaminated and bad for consumption. “The rice has expired and we cannot go to Cross River to go and collect 1600 bags of rice,” he said.

The governor regretted that even at the time of war against coronavirus, the FG is playing politics with the security agencies.

“All the security personnel involved in the arrest of those who invaded the state during the fight against coronavirus have been transferred. The Commissioner of Police, the Director DSS and the Air Force Commander have been transferred.

“If they cannot work with State Governments to fight coronavirus, then we should expect problem in the future. I pity the security personnel. Once they put in their best, they are transferred. That is why we have set up out Task Force on Border Closure to ensure that they don’t compromise our borders,” he said.

Commenting on the deportation of Almajiria, Governor Wike said if it started from Rivers State, the FG would have vehemently opposed the idea.

“I thank God this came from our northern brothers. The Kaduna State Government said most of the Almajiris have tested positive to coronavirus. If I was the first person to take this action, the FG would have declared that nobody has the right to deport a Nigerian. Now, because it came from them, the FG has supported them.”

He noted that the Rivers State Government is working hard to sanitise the state by removing those who are likely to transmit coronavirus from the streets.

The governor added that the Rivers State Government will also dislodge those trading on dollars on the streets of new GRA in Port Harcourt. He said they have refused to maintain social distancing and respect government’s directive.

On the Palliatives by Private Sector Coalition, Wike said that the state government will not accept such palliatives until Rivers farmers and fishermen are patronised. He said that the coalition must as of necessity; buy from Rivers Farmers and Fishermen before their foodstuffs will be accepted.

Commenting on the N11bn unilaterally withdrawn from the Federation Account and handed over to the police, Governor Wike said that he has directed the State Attorney General to drag the Federal Government to court.

Responding to a question on

Sunday 10 May 2020

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Issue

Life after Covid-19 LifeGuide I with Emem Nwogwugwu

am not certain people will live the same way again around the world.

However, we all need to be hopeful and grateful to be here.

A lot of businesses will have to develop products that are essential for the markets. Any business that is not in the need market will lose on the new market share.

This new era, innovation is inevitable. If you are not innovating because you lack creativity, then hire a strategy consultant like myself with experience to help look at your business products and mode of operation and delivery. Innovate, disrupt or go home.

Big organisations will invest in digitalisation and good change management.

Change management is critical to project success, in any kind scale of industry or organisation, if the change management is not managed well, it will flop. Even as the government tries to implement new laws and systems in place, to help citizens, good communications are a key component of change management. Will share more light another week.

Big data, business analyst, product managers and agile project managers like me will be on high demand as we need real time information on managing projects that are viable. Creating new digital products will be on the rise globally. Most organisations will cut cost on hardware products and invest more on software in managing their businesses.

Having technology experience in any industry will be a great advantage.

Be flexible no matter your age, as you read this, you can take up new courses on edx.com, Udemy, Harvard Business School and many other viable online study platforms. To get experience, you

can volunteer thrice a week temporarily till you are ready to launch that aspect of your service.

There will be a demand for leaders who have experience in leading during crisis. Also, it is important consultants are also ready to offer trainings and coaching services online, - Like me, I have hosted so many live chats and webinars.

Online business is here to stay. Zoom has been a life saver but there are so many other online meeting platforms like Go To meetings, GO TO Webinars, Conference call App, ETC. Companies like Career Insigts.tv.com will be helping a lot of people get digital work experience so they can get hired here and internationally.

Digital learning has taken a new shape we need to expect new learning devices that are safer for children from technology giants. That’s a fresh market there.

Parenting will be more intentional as some parents are confronted with their children behavioral challenges that parents were not aware of in the past because of their busy schedules.

Nanny trainings will be important as their roles and responsibilities will be different and more demanding, Nannies also will need basic digital trainings if they will assist with setting up devices when parents are also working at home or at work.

Parents need to create healthy balance for their DOMESTIC WORKERS so they don’t breakdown and for a healthy mental health. Most graduates already work as Nannies as they pay some of them fairly. Using my book to stay organised, it will help a lot of Parents- ‘PARENT ORGANIZER’ BY Emem Nwogwugwu

Lastly, the world will recover but we all need time, education, more awareness, patience and love to push through.

Knowledge is the new gold. If your last certificate was many years ago, I am sorry you need to update it. You need to create time to learn new ways to do your work. Digital trainings will be on the rise for most organisations for their employees need to be forced to go digital. Some organisations even government agencies that have been used to analogue.

Some organisations will still work from home and some will hire remote workers to cut cost like amazon customer care.

Let’s talk on a global level; AI will take on many jobs. Make sure you look into handling projects using agile/scrum; most industries will manage projects using this method. Its periodic delivery will make it faster and its more economical for bigger organisations.

Churches have been forced to go digital. There might be physical meetings as people feel safe to gather again.

Thankful, most churches and non- governmental and governmental organisations have been a source of support during this pandemic, Leaders will invest in learning and implementing new change management systems and procedures. Strategic business structure will be needed. Agile business analyst and financial consultants will be needed for bigger organisations who know the value of their services.

Mindset Change coaching and mental health coaching will be on the rise as people need to be re- engineered on

Lives, Livelihoods and Lockdowns – The quandary of the ‘Three Big Ls’ and the COVID-19 Pandemic

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t is safe to saythat 2020so far, has been a play of three key words which I have coined the ‘Three Big Ls’ of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Governments world over have essentially danced around these three decision areas, ironic too, that they all start with the same consonant sound.

•Lives – preserve to ensure continuity of the society •Lockdowns – enforce to curb the insidious spread of the virus •Livelihoods– halt economic activities due to lockdown directives but with a detrimental impact on lives over an extended period.

In the earlier part of the pandemic, I was one of the strongest proponents of Lives and Lockdowns over Livelihoods As a socially conscientious individual with a passion for humanity, it just made logical sense to prioritise preservation of lives over everything. If lockdowns were the best way to achieve this over continued economic activities, then it would be a fair bullet to bite, I surmised.The past few months have however shown that with an unprecedented situation like the invisible virus that continues to leave uncertainty in its

trail, making the best decision for the society as a whole becomes less clear-cut.

Globally, it appeared that taking a cue from other countries in an almost copy and paste fashion was the trend across board, and logically so. Afterall, the sensible thing is to learn from others who have experienced the outbreak and unfortunately have to be reference points for others. However, it would seem that this approach only made sense for territories that are comparable in terms of systemic structure and strong prevailing macro-economic conditions.

For theirless developedcounterparts however, the copy and paste approach may not have been the most ideal, especially in countries lacking structure and with poor macro-econo mic conditions. While some have argued that due to such differences, the same approaches could and should not have been applied, I have a dissenting viewpoint.

Judging from countries that are currently confident to start to re-open their economies, such as Greece, Taiwan, Hong-Kong, New Zealand, Germany etc. what they

08033455364

all have in common in their success stories thus far, is their nimble decision making and strict control on lockdowns to preserve lives #StayHome #StayAlive.

It however gets a little trickier for countries like Nigeria, barring the poor infrastructure, poor governance, ailing macro-economic conditions and the slowness to take quick action– it has come to bear thatthe greatest challenge in fighting the pandemic is the Nigerian people. In a country where military presence is required to keep people orderly in a queue, or where littering the roads is second nature, due to, what in local parlance is referred to as “Anyhowness”it would come as no surprise that lockdown directives were met with little or no regard. According to the urban dictionary, Anyhowness is doing something without direction and aimlessly, essentially throwing caution to the wind.

This “Anyhowness” mentality pervades the Nigerian society and strongly came to the fore, when on May 4th, the first day of the lockdown easing, thousands of Nigerians literally burst into the streets like there was an announcement

Emem Nwogwugwu is an entrepreneur, author, life coach and certified project manager.

For over a decade she has been working to motivate people to live their best lives. how to succeed in these times. Working out won’t be seen as luxury, as mental health issues if not managed will be on the rise. Self-care will become a lifestyle for every class in the society. Health is now the new rich. I advise menu planning to maintain a healthy lifestyle; it is highly recommended.

We will win this battle of Covid-19 if we do not give up or give into fear and follow the necessary precautions. Also, cut down on your expenses. Be thankful and grateful and do not forget to say your daily positive affirmations to keep your mind sound. Be kind and remember you are here for a reason. Use your time and energy wisely. Be the solution you seek in the world. Until next week, don’t forget my organisation is here to help you through this time. As a Life Coaching, Training and Consulting company- We understand the need to create tailor-made solutions for our different clients around the world. From Mindset Change coaching, Tailor-made training solutions for your organisation, Project management and strategic planning and implementation management. This and many more services we offer. You can send me an email to book a session.

Enjoy your Sunday. Until same day, next week. You can see most of my work on Instagram via @emem.ng Thank you.

We believe in creating a Work-Life Integration Structure For Organisations And Families. Think productivity and human capital, development, Think La Pax Life Project.

Social onscience C

with Chinasa

Email Address: chinasacolins@yahoo.co.uk that the pandemic was over. People were seen in their hundreds huddled in clusters with ill-fitting or incorrectly worn face masks.

Clearly allsensitisation efforts by the government to preclude indiscriminate movements and guide social behavior had been rendered futile.What make this more disconcerting is that this mentality is not restricted to the lower class, it actually cuts across all social-classes and often purported as being street smart or “sharp”.

And so my questions are as follows, due to our way of being and seeing that COVID-19 is a social infection•Can lockdowns, no matter how long they are imposed, work effectively for Nigeria?

•Should government take a hard position and stick to the lockdown ease and essentially leave Nigerians to choose for themselves

- Life or Livelihood?

Like my sister-friend in New Jersey said, “Until it starts to happen in close proximity to you, no one will need to force you to stay home”.

New Jersey is only over an hour’s drive from New York, andso like their neighbors, they haverecorded an unprecedented number of deaths, such that almost everyone knows someone who has been taken away by the deadly virus.

As for me – the decision will be lives over livelihood, because the livelihood does not exist without the lives.However, seeing that the solution to our problems lies in our hands ultimately, I would like to leave you, dear Nigerian with one question - What are you going to do about your Anyhowness?

Author: Chinasa Ken-Ugwuh

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Adewole Ojo

editor Zebulon Agomuo

Ojo is with Four Points Communications and can be reached on adewole.ojo@fourpoints.ng.

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Sunday 10 May 2020

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Frank Aigbogun

DEPUTY EDITOR John Osadolor, Abuja

@Businessdayng

mbibing the admonition of Winston Churchill’s “never let a good crisis go to waste”, in the novel COVID-19 pandemic, could be quite difficult.

The world is in turmoil; hundreds of thousands of people have died and economies are plummeting.

Can any good come out of such a terrible era? It seems so, as Queen Duruibe, one of the many fashion designers in Aba, is thriving. She is producing face masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE). She switched to producing these items because of the demand since the beginning of the year. She is reported to be producing 10,000 face masks daily.

She joins an army of small businesses in the fashion industry in Aba, which have received support from the state government to produce items that are required to combat the pandemic. In a recent report on cnn.com, tailors in Aba have so far produced 200,000 face masks and 3,000 overalls, the Abia State Marketing and Quality Management Agency was quoted as saying. It is a classic case of local content capacity meeting opportunity; albeit, inadvertently. In spite of the best efforts of Aba tailors, they do not have the capacity to meet demand for PPEs in Nigeria. Many countries, notably the industrialised nations hit by the

COVID-19 pandemic – Lessons for local content practice in Nigeria pandemic, are struggling to get supplies for their medical personnel in the frontlines combating the pandemic.

COVID-19 is making countries realise why they should invest in local capacities to meet their needs.

With the demand for PPEs and other items required for the management of the pandemic in short supply, medical shipments have been seized in national interest while some countries have ceased export of these items. In one of the most bizarre incidents, shipments of PPEs ordered by France from China were literarily hijacked by traders who paid a higher amount right there at the airport. So, you imagine if Nigeria had invested in its local fashion industry in a systematic manner and one which has backward integration even to the cotton farms, we may well be exporting PPEs. Nigeria can do it. The country has successfully implemented a local content policy that has yielded great economic and industrial benefits in the oil and gas sector.

Last week, the Local Content Act, which is the ground norm for domesticating technical and commercial activities in the oil and gas sector that hitherto were either exported or controlled by expatriates and other countries, was 10 years old. The major objective of the law, in basic terms, is whatever

job a Nigerian can and is qualified to do, it is forbidden that such jobs be given to an expat. Same applies to service companies. The legislation went further to create the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to implement the law and also develop capacities of Nigerians and their companies to play strategically in the oil and gas industry.

Qualified Nigerians and local service companies will be particularly delighted at the growth they have experienced since the Local Content Act came into being. There have been many achievements, some of them signifying a turning point. While Egina FPSO, which was partly fabricated in Nigeria and a first of its kind, stands out as the apogee of growing technical and industrial expertise, the concomitant benefits are even more important. An engineering and fabrication yard was established in Lagos to integrate the FPSO vessel.

Projects of this type will in future be fabricated in Nigeria and will no longer be exported. Indeed, Nigeria will likely attract FPSO fabrication and integration projects from oil producing hubs in Africa.

NCDMB has been fortunate to have visionary and highly competent helmsmen since it was established. With a sharp focus on the development aspect of its mandate, NCDMB, under Simbi

Wabote, its current CEO, has been quite aggressive in deepening Nigeria’s role in the industry by laying the building blocks for an industrial transformation. Projects such as the oil and gas parks; establishment of modular refineries; Project 100 where indigenous companies with promise are supported to grow into industrial powerhouses; the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund, which eases access to fund for Nigerian companies and the 10-year strategic roadmap that has the potential to move local contribution to the country’s oil and gas industry from its current 37 percent to 70 percent by 2027.

These major steps forward, among many others, show what is possible when there is a good mix of vision, planning and high capacity to implement the plans.

This model can be replicated across many sectors. Take health, for instance. When it was touted that the COVID-19 outbreak could be treated with existing medications, NAFDAC immediately requested a pharmaceutical firm based in Nigeria to produce millions of doses of the drug. The same drug has been the source of rancour between a leading economy and its close ally in Asia. Without the local capacity to produce the drug, Nigeria would probably have had a worse outcome during this pandemic.

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Imo Itsueli Mohammed Hayatudeen Afolabi Oladele Vincent Maduka Opeyemi Agbaje Amina Oyagbola Bolanle Onagoruwa Fola Laoye Chuka Mordi Mezuo Nwuneli Charles Anudu Tunji Adegbesan Eyo Ekpo Wiebe Boer Paul Arinze Boye Olusanya Ayo Gbeleyi Haruna Jalo-Waziri Clement Isong

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Inside Lagos

9

Fear spreads in Lagos as tests show increasing positive cases of Covid-19 JOSHUA BASSEY

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here is heightening fear in Lagos as daily results from tests being conducted by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) show increasing number of persons infected by the COVID-19.

From the index case in February 27 this year, the number of infection in Nigeria’s commercial city has climbed to 1,491 as at Thursday, May 7, putting it ahead of other states as the epicentre of the disease in the country. However, 406 of these cases had been discharged by the state.

On May 7, the day Nigeria recorded its highest daily cases of 381 and 4 deaths, Lagos alone accounted for 183 and two deaths. According to statistics from the NCDC, as at that date, Nigeria had recorded a total of 3,526 positive cases of Covid-19, discharged 601 cases with 107 deaths across 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. Of the total deaths, Lagos alone accounted for 33.

The increasing cases and deaths in the state are

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu giving update on COVID-19

in spite of measures put in place by the government to contain the spread of the disease. Such measures include compulsory use of face masks in public places, limited number of passengers in commercial and private vehicles, social and physical distancing, hand-washing under running water, application of hand sanitizers, closure of hotels, churches and mosques.

Residents of the state

Owners of impounded vehicles face prosecution …as mobile courts sit on Monday JOSHUA BASSEY

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agos State government has concluded arrangement to prosecute all owners of vehicles impounded during the second phase of the COVID-19 lockdown on May 11, 2020.

The second phase of the lockdown took effect from April 5 to May 3.

Adebayo Taofiq, head, public affairs unit, Lagos State Environmental and Sp e c i a l O f f e n c e s Un i t (Task Force), said on Friday, that the prosecution would hold at the Lagos State Mobile Court, Bolade, Oshodi.

“The government has confirmed that the Lagos State Mobile Courts will commence sitting on impounded vehicles by security agencies from Monday (tomorrow).

“The Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit (Taskforce), therefore, advises vehicle owners to present themselves at the Lagos State Mobile Courts, Bolade, Oshodi.

“Those whose vehicles fall into the categories of those impounded from April 15 to May 3 should present themselves and desist from loitering around the agency’s car parks across the state,” Taofiq said.

believe that crowding markets and poor level compliance with the measures and guidelines announced by the government are contributory factors to the increasing infection in Lagos.

Yomi Farounbi, a legal practitioner, in an interview with Inside Lagos, said the daily recorded increase in Lagos calls for serious concern.

According to the former chairman of the Ni-

gerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja branch, Lagos is currently at a crossroad. Farounbi said the government needed to act fast in view of its fragile healthcare system.

Others who spoke on the development blamed the rise in infection on what they termed ‘hasty easing’ of the lockdown earlier imposed by the Federal Government to contain the spread of the virus.

According to them,

the Federal Government could have sustained the lockdown a little longer.

The hasty easing of the lockdown has put the country in a difficult position as “we have continued to see daily increase in the number of confirmed cases,” said a resident.

Roseline Moses, a resident of Ajao Estate, on Lagos international airport road, said she was worried about the rate of infection in Lagos. Ac-

cording to Moses, unless there is a sudden break, it would become difficult for the government to secure isolation facilities for patients. “ At t h e r a t e w e ’ r e going, the state government may soon run out of spaces to keep and treat people. Imagine having 183 cases in one day. I am scared,” said Moses.

Thomas Alao, a resident of Aguda, Surulere, suggested stricter enforcement of the social and physical distancing protocol in public places, including banks and markets.

“I still see people crowd around banks. Unfortunately, markets across the state are filled with people some of whom do not even wear face masks.

I believe this is not helping to flatten the curve of this infection,” said Alao.

Gbenga Omotosho, the state commissioner for information and strategy had earlier said that the government would not apply force in getting people to comply with the Covid-19 guidelines, as “we are in a democracy.” According to Omotosho, government would continue to use persuasion and enlighten the residents to a voluntary adaptation to the guidelines.

Agency threatens demolition of building in Apapa

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he fate of a threestorey building in Lagos hangs in the balance as the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) on Friday said structural integrity test would be conducted to decide whether to demolish it or not.

Di r e c t o r - Ge n e r a l o f LASEMA, Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, said that the test on

the building, located in Apapa area, would be conducted

by Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA).

“The attention of the agency has been drawn to a building with failing structural integrity at 7, Sule Close, Apapa Iganmu area in Lagos.

“The agency’s response team, alongside LASBCA and the Lagos State Material Testing Agency, would be

carrying out full inspection and additional testing on the above mentioned building.

“The results of the test would determine whether the building would remain standing or it would be leveled to ground zero,” he said.

Oke-Osanyintolu advised occupants of the building, to exercise caution and possibly seek alternate lodging un-

til the integrity of the building was determined.

He said that the Lagos State government was determined to prevent the unfortunate incidence of lives being lost due to unsafe building conditions.

The LASEMA boss said that agency would be working with all stakeholders to prevent incidents of collapsed building across Lagos.

Hospital inaugurates 5-man response team

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s part of measures to further curb the spread of COVID-19, the Alimosho General Hospital, has inaugurated a 5-man response team to monitor activities in

the facility.

The medical director of the hospital, Madewa Adebajo, said during the inauguration that the purpose of the team was to establish a functional monitoring group

that would swiftly identify suspected COVID-19 cases as a precaution.

The team comprises head of surgery department, head of nursing, and two members of the surgical unit.

Meanwhile, the medical director has commissioned four additional modern hand-washing devices at the entrances of the two Maternal Childcare Centres within the facility.

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Sunday 10 May 2020

Health&Science New WHO estimates: Up to 190 000 people could die of COVID-19 in Africa if not controlled

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You need tolerance when trying to conceive CONTRIBUTOR

ANTHONIA OBOKOH ighty-three thousand to 190 000 people in Africa could die of COVID-19 and 29 million to 44 million could get infected in the first year of the pandemic if containment measures fail, a new study by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa finds.

The research, which is based on prediction modelling, looks at 47 countries in the WHO African Region with a total population of one billion.

The new estimates are based on modifying the risk of transmission and disease severity by variables specific to each country in order to adjust for the unique nature of the region.

The model predicts the observed slower rate of transmission, lower age of people with severe disease and lower mortality rates compared to what is seen in the most affected countries in the rest of the world.

“This is largely driven by social and environmental factors slowing the transmission, and a younger population that has benefitted from the control of communicable diseases such as HIV and tuberculosis to reduce possible vulnerabilities,” says WHO. The lower rate of transmission, however, suggests a more prolonged outbreak over a few years, according to the study which also revealed that smaller African countries alongside Algeria, South Africa and Cameroon were at a high risk if containment measures are not prioritized.

“While COVID-19 likely won’t spread as exponentially in Africa as it has elsewhere in the world, it likely will smoulder in transmission hotspots,” said Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO Regional Director for Africa. “COVID-19 could become a fix-

I

ture in our lives for the next several years unless a proactive approach is taken by many governments in the region. We need to test, trace, isolate and treat.”

The predicted number of cases that would require hospitalization would overwhelm the available medical capacity in much of Africa.

There would be an estimated 3.6 million–5.5 million COVID-19 hospitalizations, of which 82 000–167 000 would be severe cases requiring oxygen, and 52 000–107 000 would be critical cases requiring breathing support. Such a huge number of patients in hospitals would severely strain the health capacities of countries.

A survey of health services in the African region undertaken in March 2020 based on self-reports by 47 countries to WHO revealed that there were on average nine intensive care unit beds. These would be woefully inadequate. Additionally, the physical access to these services to the general population is very low, suggesting many people would not even have the chance to get to the needed care. Diseases that could be managed could easily become more complicated as a result.

The study recommends that countries across Africa need to expand the capacity particularly of primary hospitals and ensure that basic emergency care is included in

primary health systems.

“The importance of promoting effective containment measures is ever more crucial, as sustained and widespread transmission of the virus could severely overwhelm our health systems,” said Moeti.

“Curbing a largescale outbreak is far costlier than the ongoing preventive measures governments are undertaking to contain the spread of the virus.”

Containment measures, specifically physical distancing and hygiene improvement, aim to slow down the transmission of the virus so its effects happen at a rate manageable by the health system.

All countries in the WHO African Region are using these results through the WHO country offices to inform their containment actions.

The detailed methods and results are currently in press at the British Medical Journal-Global Health after extensive peer review and validation.

Moeti announced these new projections during the WHO Africa Media Leader virtual press conference today which was held with the support of the World Economic Forum. The other speakers were Amit Thakker, Executive Chairman of Africa Health Business and President of the Africa Healthcare Federation and Stephen Karingi, Director of Regional Trade and Integration, Economic Commission for Africa.

US firm partners well-being foundation to tackle Maternal deaths in Nigeria GODSGIFT ONYEDINEFU, Abuja

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S-based Fortify and Nigeriabased Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA) has announced a formal partnership to address iron deficiency, the major underlying cause of maternal deaths during childbirth in Nigeria and other developing countries.

According to available data, Iron deficiency is the most widespread public health disorder in the world, affecting at least one-third of the global population.

The World Bank and the Copenhagen Consensus have both ranked food fortification as one of the best investments in development in terms of cost effectiveness.

The World Health Organisation (WHO), says food-based approaches represent the most desirable and sustainable method of preventing micronutrient malnutrition.

Well-being foundation in a statement in Abuja, explained that, in developing countries, the main cause of iron deficiency is low iron bioavailability of the diet.

According to the statement, Premenopausal women are particularly vulnerable due to iron loss in men-

strual blood and the increased iron demands of pregnancy. The overall global prevalence of anemia is just over 40% among two highly vulnerable populations: women aged 15–49 years and children under the age of five. In developing countries, the prevalence exceeds 50%.

“Iron deficiency can lead to premature labor, intrauterine growth retardation, low birth weight of the infant, birth asphyxia, neonatal anemia, and death (of both the mother and the child). The consequences of iron deficiency not only affect personal health, but the economic health of communities and countries as well,” the statement read.

It informed that Fortify’s efforts with leading food producers have already resulted in the monthly production of 20 million sachets of iron-fortified tomato paste varieties in Nigeria alone “Joining forces with the Wellbeing Foundation at this juncture could not be better timing. Now that ironfortified tomato mixes are reaching even the most rural villages, we can jointly work to help educate health care workers and women about the importance of adding iron to their diets,” Fortify’s Founder and CEO, Nancy Martin said.

“Saraki has been a leading voice in maternal,newbornandchildhealthin Nigeria since serving as the First Lady of Kwara State in 2003, and knows how to reach and educate stakeholders at every level in Nigeria.”

Saraki said “When we began discussions with Fortify, I was struck by how elegant yet practical a solution this is for iron deficiency anemia in that tomato paste is already built into the food supply and is a big part of meals every African eats.”

“According to the WHO the benefits of ending iron deficiency anemia are substantial as timely treatment can restore personal health and raise national productivity levels by as much as 20%,” she continued.

“This new initiative will engage with First Ladies and policymakers across Africa in accelerated efforts to eradicate iron deficiency. I know how much impact First Ladies in Africa can bring to women, families and communities, particularly in improving maternal health outcomes due to their highly visible advocacy.

Together, the Wellbeing Foundation Africa and Fortify are determined to end the devastating effects of iron deficiency on women and their families.”

ABAYOMI AJAYI

f trying to conceive feels trying on your relationship, you’re not alone. For many reasons, the decision to have a baby is easier said than done. Getting pregnant isn’t always easy. In fact, couples in the peak of their fertility only have about a 20 percent chance of conceiving every month. This adds pressure to the process and can turn a happy and hopeful experience into one fraught with stress and feelings of guilt or blame.

If you’ve been trying for a long time to conceive you may grow impatient and disillusioned. Sadness and helplessness may play out in the form of arguments, irritability, dissatisfaction, or resentment.

It is not uncommon to have arguments with your spouse about plans when trying to get pregnant, but the situation is redeemable.

It is the first step in a couple’s parenting journey, but many partners are not usually on the same page about the timing of this decision. The woman may be anxious about their biological clock while men often want to spend a little more time enjoying life as a couple.

This disconnect can often be a game-changer in many relationships that is why it is best to have the conversation well before you’re ready to start trying, even before you become a couple.

When trying to conceive there is need for tolerance. Even if both of you are open to having a family your timelines might not match up. For instance, you might be in an ideal work scenario for starting a family, while you significant other is just starting a new job that requires all of his or her time, energy, and resources.

Women are often the ones in the more difficult position, as you’re also faced with the concept of yourbiological clock.

A woman’s fertility begins to decline in her early 30s and speeds up dramatically after 35. This pressure can sometimes cause fights over a lack of understanding on the man’s part. It is important to get good communication on board and discuss the expectations of each party involved, what their role in the process might be and what time constraints you’re facing.

You may not realize how small the window of conception is until you’re actively trying to conceive. But the reality is that conception is only possible from about five days before ovulation—which occurs around two weeks after your last period, though this can vary from woman to woman—through to the day of ovulation.

That gives you maybe six days where conception is possible—and you still have just a 10-20 percent chance during this window. This biological calendar is not necessarily in sync with your career or his idea of idea of a day out with the boys.This often means putting other commitments, both personal and professional, on hold in order to maximize your chances of conceiving each month.

A lack of intimacy in your relationship is not a helpful development.

When sex becomes only a necessary step to baby-making—it’s not the sexiest thing to happen to you and it is critical to bring intimacy back into

the relationship. A word of caution to you as an infertile couple is to try not to make conception all that you are as a couple. Continue to do all the things you love to do and don’t revolve your lives around ovulation.

The decision to see a specialist or enter treatment is a big responsibility that you need to take without feeling any sense of pressure to conceive and, therefore, have opposing views of when you should seek outside medical assistance. Avoidance of seeking an opinion sometimes comes from guilt of feeling like you should be able to do this naturally. What’s important in these scenarios is to understand that seeking help from a specialist does not necessarily mean you will need help throughout the process of conception.

You could start with a basic fertility workup. Checking the sperm, uterus, fallopian tubes, and egg reserve may be all that you need to easily conceive on your own. If an issue is identified, such as low sperm count or blocked tubes, you may have identified it in a timely manner and will not be wasting months more of frustration in fighting a futile battle to conceive. For you as a couple, merely having the reassurance that everything is normal and working can relieve anxiety over trying to conceive.

After several months of trying to conceive with no success, feelings of failure and inadequacy can follow.

But cooperation is needed because it is not possible to make a baby without both egg and sperm.

Therefore, it is important to understand that no matter the issue, whether it is a male or female issue, both of you are inherently involved in the process. Avoiding guilt and blame and supporting one another through a potentially tough time will make success easier to achieve and even sweeter to enjoy. You should discuss everything, from the number of children you plan to have and when you plan to have them.

Depending on how difficult it was for you to get pregnant the first time, you might consider having less or more children than you had originally discussed, and this can be a serious point of contention anyway. If you feel strongly about having only one child, but your partner wants to fulfil his or her lifelong dream of having three or more children, tensions may arise. The best thing to do is communicate and see how you feel as time and life moves forward.

Battles over how to raise the children that you’ll someday have due to polarizing views on parenting can cause a rift.

Conception methods, such as in vitro fertilization, use ofdonor eggs, intrauterine insemination, or the use of fertility drugs it may trigger arguments about best to navigate the options without upsetting beliefs and expectations. Conception is a highly personal experience, so it is important to respect boundaries of the other person in the relationship.

If you are not having success conceiving on your own or with the help of medical interventions, you may consider whether to continue trying to have a biological child or adopt.

This decision may be an agreement and collaboration or it may result in disagreements over the notion of parenting a child that you did not give birth to. The best way out is to research as much as possible to understand the options available to you.

Abayomi Ajayi, MD/CEO Nordica Fertility Centre info@abayomiajayi.com.ng,

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Person In The News

Why Orji Kalu’s freedom riles EFCC INIOBONG IWOK and GODFREY OFURUM

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ast Friday, Nigeria’s Supreme Court nullified the conviction of a former Abia State governor, Orji Uzor-Kalu, who had been jailed some months back for corruption while in office.

Kalu was subsequently released from custody, from the Nigerian correctional facility in Kuje, Abuja.

The apex Court in the ruling also quashed the conviction of Ude Udeogu, who was the director of finance and accounts at the Abia State government house during Kalu’s tenure in the state.

Justice Mohammed Idris had on December 5, 2019 sentenced Kalu to 12 years in prison for allegedly stealing public funds while in office, while Udeogu was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.

Kalu’s company, Slok Nigeria Limited, had also been ordered to wound up and its assets forfeited to the Nigerian government. The Economic and financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had brought the criminal charge against the duo for conspiring and diverting 7.65 billion from the state treasury.

Dissatisfied with the judgment of the Federal High Court, Kalu and Udeogu filed an appeal to challenge their sentencing at the apex court.

Delivering judgment on Friday, a seven-member panel of the apex court in a unanimous decision set aside the judgment of Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court in Lagos which convicted and sentenced Kalu and Udeogu.

The apex court’s judgment delivered by Justice Ejembi Eko, declared the conviction of the appellants as null and void on the ground that Idris was already a Justice of the Court of Appeal as at the time he delivered the judgment sentencing the appellants.

Justice Eko further held that a Justice of the Court of Appeal cannot operate as a judge of the Federal High Court.

However, within the last few years, Kalu has been in the news for several reasons; in 2016, he defected from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) where he was a founding member to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). His defection to the APC had elicited criticism from PDP members and political opponents who said it was an attempt to cover up his corruption trial and desperate move to resuscitate his waning political influence.

However, Kalu had responded by saying that he had been begged to join the APC and would work to entrench the party in the Southeast.

“I was invited to dinner over 20 times by some of the party’s chieftains, including the national chairman, while the wooing lasted.

“They had been on by neck, ask-

Orji Uzor-Kalu

ing that I must come over to APC and the national chairman always buys me red wine. My red wine is still packed in his house and I visit his place regularly to chat because we attend the same church,” Kalu had said.

In 2019, he won a senatorial election to represent Abia North under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) defeating Mao Ohuabunwa with over 10,000 votes.

Ohuabunwa who had earlier defeated him in two previous elections for the same senatorial seat, however, disputed the result of the election saying that he was rigged out.

Kalu played an active role in the re-election presidential bid of incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari shortly after he joined the APC in 2016, touring all the regions of the country to sell Buhari’s candidacy and the APC. He was a major actor who helped in coordinating Buhari’s campaign in the Southeast in 2019 presidential election, while helping the party garner some chunk of the votes in Abia State and other eastern states in a region largely controlled by the PDP. Friday’s judgment by the nation’s apex Court has continued to elicit reactions among lawyers and political observers across the country.

A Lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Jhon Bayeisha said though the Supreme Court in its interpretation of the law was right, but described the judgment as a setback for the anti-graft war in Nigeria.

Bayeisha said the judgment showed an inherent contradiction and fault in the Administration of Criminal Justice Act in Nigeria and the state of the judiciary.

According to him, “I just believe he was released on technical ground; you know that the Administration of Criminal Justice Act made a provision to say that.

“This case took more than ten

Ibrahim Magu

years to prosecute; so the Criminal Justice Act is trying to say a judge handling a criminal case like this and elevated to a higher Court should leave such case for someone else.

“This is how people like this get away with these things, because it is such a technical thing. Another judge would come and start all over again.

“Of course, he may be smiling now and see it as a good judgment; but I tell you that the criminal justice system is bleeding. The truth of the matter is that when that law was made I had reservation because I knew it would not survive the test of challenge at the superior court.

“Although what the Supreme Court said is right in law but for the society and what we are trying to do in the country is a damaging blow, in fact, the whole legal system is frustrated”.

Wunmi Bewaji, politician, activist and lawyer, said the Supreme Court was right, while there was nothing unusual in the judgment, stressing that it was blown out of proportion because a politician is involved.

“The Supreme Court is the apex court and the judgment is the final, the Supreme Court has ordered a retrial that is what should be done.

I think technically the Supreme Court is right.

“If the judge was appointed into another office it may sound technical, but it has nothing to do with the merit of the case, so when a trial is reordered it means something as been identified wrong with the process.

“Nothing wrong and suspicious happened, it is because the individual involve is a politician; people may want to read meaning into it which I think is not necessary,” Bewaji said.

In its reaction Friday, Abia APC lauded the Supreme Court for repealing Kalu sentence.

Benedict Godson, publicity secretary, APC, Abia State chapter

in a press release, made available to BDSUNDAY, stated that Kalu’s freedom was an answer to the prayer of his people.

“Today (Friday) is a happy day for everyone, who loves justice and fair hearing. Our leader is out from where he shouldn’t be in the first place.

“His constituents have cried for so long, Abians have cried for so long, Nigerians have cried for so long and today, God has decided to hear all of us and set this great man free. We say glory be to God for his love.

“His freedom is not for him alone. It’s a freedom for Nigeria, because there are many persons, who have been praying, fasting and waiting for a day like this, because they know that his freedom will bring fresh air into the lives of many families,” Godson.

“It’s also not surprising that the apex court took a unanimous decision, where a seven-man panel of Justices agreed that the Federal High Court in Lagos acted without jurisdiction when it convicted him.

“Our prayers have been answered and we’re waiting to receive our leader back home and wish him sound health,” he further said.

In his address after his release, Uzor Kalu had thanked Nigerians and Judiciary.

He noted that the past five months had provided him an opportunity to learn invaluable lessons about Nigeria.

In a statement personally signed by him, the Abia North Senator stated that the judgment reaffirmed his belief in the judicial system “Today, the Supreme Court of Nigeria gave a judgment in my favor, quashing the conviction which the lower court had entered against me. By today’s judgment, the Apex court of our dear country affirmed my right to fair hearing and equal protection of the law.

“The past five months have been quite a profound period for

me. As challenging as that period has been, it has provided me an opportunity to learn invaluable lessons about our country, our peoples, our justice system and the true meaning of love. I mean love for family, love for our country and love for humanity.

“I want to use this moment to thank my family, my colleagues, my friends, my supporters, the people of Abia State, and all Nigerians for their unflinching and unwavering confidence and trust in me through the very testing period. We all know today that their prayers have not been in vain. I also use this opportunity to express my gratitude to the Nigerian Correctional Service for the unalloyed professionalism and sincere humanity extended to me by its staff while I was in their custody,” Kalu said.

“Overall, my experience tested and reaffirmed my belief and confidence in our country, Nigeria. My case is a true Nigerian story with a bold MADE-IN-NIGERIA stamp on it. It is a story of initial injustice that was caught and ultimately corrected. It is a story of restoration.

It is a story of how a wrong was righted and how justice and truth prevailed in the end. It is a story of the power of hope. My case should teach us all that even though we may not get things right at the first attempt, with patience and dedication, we shall get them right eventually. That is the lesson of my case and that is the lesson of our country – that with dedication and patience, we shall place Nigeria in its rightful place eventually,” he said.

Meanwhile, while basking in the euphoria of his freedom, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said it was ready for fresh and immediate retrial of the former governor of Abia State.

The agency in a statement signed by its Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, described the judgment of the apex court as quite unfortunate.

“The attention of the Economic And Financial Crimes Commission has been drawn to the judgment of the Supreme Court nullifying the trial of a former governor of Abia State, Orji Kalu, his firm, Slok Nigeria Limited and Jones Udeogu, a former Director of Finance and Account of Abia State Government and ordering their fresh trial at the lower court.

“The apex court based its verdict on the grounds that Justice Mohammed Idris, who convicted Kalu and others, had been elevated to the Court of Appeal before the judgment and returned to the lower court to deliver the judgment which it considered as illegal,” he said.

According to Oyewale, “The corruption charges against Kalu still subsist because the Supreme Court did not acquit him of them.

The entire prosecutorial machinery of the EFCC would be launched in a fresh trial where justice is bound to be served in due course.”

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Politics Why criticism swells around Infectious Diseases Control Bill

…Will NASS have its way? ...Reps to take legal action against online media over $10 m bribery allegation ... Over 60 CSOs set parameters for public hearing

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James Kwen, Abuja

he two Chambers of the National Assembly are currently in the process of enacting a new legislation that would provide legal backing to the management of infectious diseases and pandemics in the country.

But a welter of criticism is swelling around some of the provisions in the bill that observers say infringe on the rights of citizens.

While the Bill, which already passed second reading in the House of Representatives, is titled:”Infectious Diseases Control Bill 2020”, the one which passed first reading in the Senate is titled: “National Health Emergency Bill 2020”.

The one at the lower house was sponsored by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamilla, Pascal Obi, Chairman, House Committee on Health Institutions and Tanko Sununu, Chairman of the Committee on Health Services. The Bill seeks to repeal the Quarantine Act and enact the Control of Infectious Diseases Bill, make provisions relating to quarantine and make regulations for preventing the introduction into and spread in Nigeria of dangerous infectious diseases, and for other related matters.

There has been outrage from all quarters over the Bill by pundits including lawmakers but the actions of the Federal Legislature are pointing that it wants the Bill passed.

The Bill is heavily criticised for giving too much powers to the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in the management of infectious diseases and pandemic in the country in ways that could infringe on the fundamental human rights of Nigerians.

The Bill amongst others empowered the Director-General of the NCDC to be in charge of the administration of the new Act, notification of prescribed infectious diseases, surveillance, medical examination and treatment, vaccination post-mortem examination, destruction and disposal of infected animals, food and water, isolation of certain persons, prohibition or restriction of meetings, gatherings and public entertainments as well as control of occupation, trade or business.

Some provisions of the Bill stipulated that: “Except as otherwise provided by this Act, the Director-General of Nigerian Centre for Disease Control shall, subject to any general or special directions of the minister, be responsible for the administration of this Act. “The Director-General may, subject to such conditions or restrictions as he thinks fit, appoint any public officer, officer of any statutory body; or employee

Ahmed Lawan

Femi Gbajabiamilla

of a prescribed institution, to be a Health Officer for the purposes of this Act or any particular provision of this Act. “The Director-General may, subject to such conditions or restrictions as he thinks fit, delegate to any Health Officer all or any of the powers conferred on him by this Act. Every medical practitioner who has reason to believe or suspect that any person attended or treated by him is suffering from a prescribed infectious disease or is a carrier of that disease shall notify the Director-General within the prescribed time and in such form or manner as the Director-General may require.”

It also stated that “The Director General may require any person who is, or is suspected to be, a case or carrier or contact of an infectious disease to submit to medical examination or medical treatment within or at such time, and at such place, as the Director-General may determine.

“The Director-General may order any person who is, or is suspected to be, a case or carrier or contact of an infectious disease to be detained and isolated in a hospital or other place for such period of time and subject to such conditions as the Director General may determine”.

Another provision of the Bill that particularly generated serious condemnation is the power to order certain persons to undergo vaccination or other prophylaxis. It stated that: “In an outbreak or a suspected outbreak of any infectious disease in any area in Nigeria, the Director General may by order direct any person or class of persons not protected or vaccinated against the disease to undergo vaccination or other prophylaxis within such period as may be specified in the order.

“In addition to the power conferred by subsection (1), where it appears to the Director that — an outbreak of an infectious disease in any area in Nigeria is imminent; and it is necessary or expedient to do so for the securing of public safety, the Director may by order direct any person or class of persons not protected or vac-

cinated against that infectious disease to undergo vaccination or other prophylaxis within such period as may be specified in the order.”

Opposing the Bill, a Veteran Columnist Tola Adeniyi called on the entire Nigerian Media, Civil Societies, Traditional Institutions, Labour Unions and the Intelligentsia to rise up with one Voice and condemn the imminent passing of the insidious Bill that will force vaccination down the throats of all Nigerians.

“There is nowhere in the world where across-the-board vaccination is made mandatory. We must save Nigerians from Death Sentence being orchestrated by the Western World and their racist agencies. Whoever has taken bribes and inducements from the financiers from outside, should limit the curse to their families”.

Also, the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) alleged that lawmakers in the House of Representatives were offered $10 million for the speedy passage of the Vaccination Bill by the founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates.

CUPP in a statement signed by its Spokesman, Ikenga Ugochinyere, said it was in possession of intelligence report that the leadership of House is determined to pass the compulsory vaccine bill without subjecting it to the traditions of legislative proceedings.

“Opposition Coalition (CUPP) has intercepted very credible intelligence and hereby alerts Nigerians of plans by the leadership of the House of Representatives led by Femi Gbajabiamila to forcefully and without adherence to the rules of lawmaking to pass the Control of Infectious Diseases Bill 2020 otherwise known as the Compulsory Vaccination Bill which is proposing a compulsory vaccination of all Nigerians even when the vaccines have not been discovered”, CUPP said.

The Infectious Disease Control Bill received lot criticisms on the floor of the House too. Opposing the Bill after presentation by Gbajabiamila, Sergius

Ikenga Ugochinyere

Ogun (PDP, Edo) urged the House to think twice and avoid giving so much power to the NCDC to solely manage infectious diseases in the country.

“Be careful with trusting omnibus powers on an agency whose responsibility it will be to determine whether or not, a vaccine is necessary for combating a given outbreak. Such could give rise to conspiracy,” he argued On his part, Nkem Abonta (PDP, Abia) argued that the Bill was coming at a wrong time and called on the lawmakers to apply restraint on the speed and subject the new legislation to public hearing for public input.

Abonta said: “We are all aware of what is awash in the social media. We need a Bill for control or prevention of disease. What I am trying to say is we should not because of what we are trying to do make big error.

If we are going to do away with public hearing, then we must seek for direction and not speed.”

Despite these criticisms, the Senate also initiated the same Bill with a name, ‘National Health Emergency Bill, 2020’, sponsored by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Primary Healthcare and Communicable Diseases, Chukwuka Utazi (PDP, Enugu).

But soon after the Bill was read for the first time, the former Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu (PDP, Enugu) led opposition against it.

Ekweremadu, who under Order 14(1) of the Senate Standing Orders as Amended, demanded for the draft copy of the Bill or in gazetted form, insisting that the content of the bill must be made open before subjecting it to any consideration.

He argued that his privileges and those of other senators would be breached if details of the contents were not made available to them before it is given further legislative consideration.

“In line with Order 14(1), which has to deal with privileges, as one of the serving senators, I move that draft copies of the

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Politics Elections must hold in Edo, Ondo in line with the Constitution – Okoye Festus Okoye, national commissioner, chairman information & voter education committee Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in this exclusive interview with INIOBONG IWOK, spoke on the Commission’s readiness for upcoming elections in the country and why the recent deregistration of some political parties would not be reviewed. Excerpts:

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What is the state of affairs in INEC with the easing of lockdown in some states? he Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) only scaled down its operations in compliance with the directives of the government and health authorities but all workers engaged in essential services continued with their operations. National Commissioners and Directors continued to work from home and continued to meet through non-contact virtual means.

With the gradual easing of the lockdown, the Commission met on Thursday, May 7, 2020 to adopt specific resumption protocols and decide resumption date and the category of officers that will resume on a phased resumption schedule. The protocol also took into consideration the specific challenges in the various states and measures in place to contain the pandemic.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is a huge organisation with its National Headquarters, offices in the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory as well as offices in all the Local Government Areas and Area Councils throughout the federation. It has over 16,000 staff scattered all over the country primarily engaged in electoral operations and activities.

The Commission will not rush into opening its offices and operations without comprehensive decontamination and designing Commission specific protocols that align with the overall national framework for the gradual easing of the lockdown.

What about the by-elections that were postponed in some states; any plan on next line of action?

Before the scaling down of operations, the Commission postponed the Senatorial ByElections in Bayelsa Central and Bayelsa West Senatorial Districts, Imo North and Plateau South Senatorial District. Presently, we are aware of vacancies in Cross River North Senatorial District, vacancy in

Festus Okoye

the Nganzai State Assembly Constituency in Borno State and another State Assembly seat in Nasarawa State. The Senate has declared some of the seats vacant and we believe that as soon as things normalise the Senate and the State Assemblies will declare the remaining seats vacant.

The Commission will fix the date for these by-elections as soon as the situation in the states and the country normalises and as soon as the health authorities and security agencies certify that we could conduct the elections without compromising the health and security protocol in place.

There are fears among stakeholders that date fixed for the Ondo and Edo States’ governorship elections may not be feasible considering the prevailing situation

in the country. What is the plan of the Commission?

The tenure of the Governor of Edo State will expire on November 11, 2020 while that of the Governor of Ondo State will expire on February 23, 2021. The Commission has fixed September 19, 2020 as the date for the conduct of election in Edo State and October 10, 2020 for the conduct of election in Ondo State. By Section 178(1)&(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999(as amended) and section 25(7)&(8) of the Electoral Act, 2010(as amended) it is constitutionally mandatory that the Edo Governorship election must be conducted not later than October 13, 2020 and that of Ondo State not later than January 25, 2021.

These are constitutional stipulations and dates cast in stone and the Commis-

sion is not vested with the constitutional right, power or authority to conduct the Edo Governorship election a day after October 13, 2020 and a day after January 25, 2021 for Ondo Governorship Election.

Therefore, the constitution makes it mandatory that the Edo governorship election shall be conducted not earlier than June 15, 2020 and not later than October 13, 2020. For Ondo, the constitution is emphatic that we cannot conduct the election earlier than September 27, 2020 and not later than January 25, 2021.

For Edo State, the Commission reserves the rights and has the discretion to adjust the timeline and schedule of activities within the constitutional window of June 15 and October 13, 2020 while for Ondo the Commission can adjust the timelines within the confines and ambit of September 27, 2020 and January 25, 2021.

The Commission is not constitutionally empowered to postpone an election whose constitutional timeline is cast in stone and is immovable. The Commission can only adjust within the window allowed by the Constitution. We are preparing for both elections and will officially issue the statutory notice for the Edo Governorship election on June 1, 2020 and that of Ondo on July 1, 2020.

Several of the deregistered political parties have complained that they were unjustly delisted, especially Kowa party.

Would the commission look into these complaints or review the process?

The Commission deregistered political parties that had failed to meet the constitutional and statutory threshold for continued existence. The Commission is not contemplating or planning to review the list of deregistered parties. The political parties no longer have legal existence.

We are a constitutional body and any individual or association with a grievance has the right to go to court to ventilate his or her grievances. As far as the Commission is concerned, there is no political party in Nigeria known as Kowa party.

Why criticism swells around Infectious ... bill should be made available before any other legislative action is taken on it.

“This is very important because it would not augur well for the Senate to follow the same route with the House of Representatives where a controversial Bill on Control of Infectious Diseases was passed for first and second reading last week,” Ekweremadu maintained.

Seemed to unperturbed by the hues and cries against the Bill, Gbajabiamila who is the lead sponsor disagreed wholeheartedly with the suggestions that this is not the ideal time to seek reforms of the infectious diseases and public health emergency framework in the country via the Infectious Disease Control Bill.

He said the allegations that the Bill is a sinister attempt to turn Nigerians into guinea pigs for medical research while taking away their fundamental human rights was far from the truth.

The Speaker however, said the House will subject the Bill to a public hearing where Nigerians from all walks of life

would be given the opportunity to contribute to the draft law.

“Suffice it to say that none of these allegations are true. Unfortunately, we now live in a time when conspiracy theories have gained such currency that genuine endeavours in the public interest can quickly become mischaracterised and misconstrued to raise the spectre of sinister intent and ominous possibility.

“The Control of Infectious Diseases Bill will be put forward to a public hearing where stakeholder contributions will be sought to make improvements to the Bill before it is reviewed and debated by the Committee of the whole,” Gbajabiamila added.

In demonstration of its intolerance to opposition against the Bill, the at its plenary last Tuesday resolved to take legal action against an online media organisation for allegedly reporting that the House has collected $10 billion from Bill Gates to pass the Infectious Disease Control Bill.

Speaker of the House, Gbajabiamila mandated the Clerk of the House, Patrick Giwa to liaise with the Majority Leader of the House and the Legal Adviser to the National Assembly to commence legal action against the media outfit.

The House reached this resolution at plenary, following the unanimous adoption of a motion of Personal Explanation by the Deputy Speaker of the House, Ahmed Wase (APC-Plateau).

On the other hand, the controversial Bill has received the support of the NCDC Director-General, Chikwe Ihekwazu as he pledged support for the new quarantine and public health Bill while responding to questions by Members of the House at recent appearance before the Green Chamber.

Ihekwazu said there was the need for an updated legislation to the infectious diseases control law, stressing that the NCDC is the most affected by the provisions of the current Act. He however, maintained that the

House did not consult him before commencing work on the new Bill but did not said whether the legislature must consult him before bringing up the law that would enhance the fight against infectious diseases.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Civil Society community, comprising 69 members commended the decision of the House of Representatives to subject the Control of Infectious Diseases Bill to a public hearing in furtherance of the right of citizens to contribute to law making.

The Civil Societies, in a statement recommended that the House should provide information on the committee responsible for the coordination of public hearing and communicate a practical schedule for public engagement on the Bill.

Other recommendations demanded the House to host a virtual and physical public hearing, carry out multi-layered stakeholder consultations and intensify publicity on the Bill to enlighten Nigerians on the provisions of the Bill.

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Sunday 10 May 2020

State of the Nation

Why coronavirus in Nigeria could get worse

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BUNMI MAKINWA he COVID-19 situation in Nigeria will likely continue to get worse and the virus will remain a serious problem for a fairly long time in the country.

The reasons are numerous and the logic is obvious, as dictated by common sense, science of what is known about the pandemic, and the context of the country.

It appears that there is a high level of awareness amongst Nigerians on COVID-19. While such awareness is very useful, it is more important how many Nigerians know what to do to avoid the virus, and are capable of doing it day after day and time and again.

Despite lessening of lockdown and some reopening of business life in most of the country, the rising novel coronavirus presence means that people must take actions to avoid getting infected and infecting others. People must also be capable to manage suspected cases and infected people.

In very simple language, humans change behaviour when awareness becomes knowledge, and translates into action. There must be the means and support to carry out the new or modified behaviour consistently over the required period of time. It is not easy to change people and society, but it is achievable. The preventive and coping measures for COVID-19, including personal hygiene, wearing face masks and social distancing are new behaviours that must be internalised and done repeatedly.

How many people in Nigeria will be infected with COVID-19?

How many people will die of the disease?

The answers to the questions on the future trajectory of the disease are done through modeling and calculations or by building scenarios. The resulting projections and conclusions, though, are only as good as the information and data that are fed into the models.

Here are a few data and facts on Nigeria. First case was on February 27, 2020. Two months later on May 3, 2020, there were 2,388 people infected and 85 people have died, and 351 people have recovered.

The progression of the disease in Nigeria can be glimpsed as follows: Feb 27 – First case identified; 24 contacts to be traced. March 9 - Second case; 216 contacts to be traced. 27 screened or tested.

(11-day period) March 31 – 139 cases recorded. 6,655 tested (33-day period).

April 15 – 407 cases recorded.

9,167 contacts to be traced. (48day period). April 30 – 1,932 cases recorded. 15,759 tested. (63-day period) May 1 -2,170 cases recorded. 9,305 contacts to be traced.

16,588 tested. (64-day period) May 3 – 2,388 cases recorded.

(66-day period) The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, responsible for testing

among other functions, will be the first to admit that the extent of testing coverage is too little to allow for any reliable projections to be made. Besides, there are several other factors at play, some of them are peculiar to Nigeria and others are on the novel virus about which much is still being learned.

Despite the limitations, it is clear that there has been a rapid increase in the number of infected people as testing increases, and within a very short period. The increase has happened mostly during lockdown period, and given that the disease thrives best in the course of human social and daily interaction, more infections will be seen as lockdown is reduced or is lifted.

The point made is not an argument to continue lockdown, rather it is about how to manage life with COVID-19 as a permanent, constant, invisible enemy.

Are people ready for the new life?

There are no good records of deaths in the country. People die on roads, at their homes and in churches, mosques, and at places of traditional healing. There is no reason in tradition, beliefs and customs to report the deaths.

The costs and processes of filing reports and getting certification of deaths can be cumbersome, and they do not encourage people.

No autopsy is needed for burial of

dead people. The fact is that we do not have now reliable numbers of deaths, nor shall we know how many people will die of COVID-19. Period!

If more organised countries with better record keeping could not accurately account for COVID-19 deaths as distinct from deaths caused by other diseases, it will be too much to expect Nigeria to do better Many parts of Nigeria are already in the community transmission stage of the virus and it will become nationwide. The number of COVID-19 positive people will increase and the very likely different expanding interplay of cause-and-effect can be seen as a bulging concentric circle which is described below.

The more people test positive the more their contacts that have to be identified through contact tracing. The more contact tracing is done and the more it is effective, the more people will be available for testing and the more people will be found to be positive for COVID-19. The more people test positive, the more the numbers of people who will go into Isolation Centres. Self-quarantine requires special knowledge and competence by individuals and families.

At the same time, many people will be asymptomatic – they are infected by the virus and they do

“

If more organised countries with better record keeping could not accurately account for COVID-19 deaths as distinct from deaths caused by other diseases, it will be too much to expect Nigeria to do better

not show symptoms but they can, and do infect others. The ratio of asymptomatic people, according to studies across countries (no study of Nigerian situation is available), has been found to be as high as 40 to 50 per cent of all infections. Such people unknowingly constitute a silent growing source of infection. It is dangerous but real.

Contact tracing is very difficult in the Nigerian context given the difficulties of identification of people, poor access to several areas and reluctance to self-report.

Cultural norms that encourage protection of family members and political interference are additional problems. For these and other reasons, many infected people will not be found.

In the same context, more people will show up at hospitals with “regular” illnesses and some of them will turn out to be COVID-19 cases. They will cause infections within hospitals and amongst health providers. The increased infections within hospitals and of care providers, coupled with the diversion of care, materials/ equipment and attention to COVID-19 will put a strain on medical facilities in general. It will also weaken provision of medical and health care for many chronic and serious ailments. More patients with other diseases will die or have prolonged illnesses.

In the order of things, number of deaths will increase overall, which in turn will heighten the panic on COVID-19. Hospitals and clinics will become un-inviting for people who are slightly unwell as they will want to avoid perceived possible infection of COVID-19.

Their health will further deteriorate and their immunity will become fragile.

Meanwhile the Isolation Centres, following major increased number of COVID-19 patients, will become overwhelmed; staff, equipment and materials will become inadequate.

In the natural cycle of CO-

VID-19, as infections grow many infected people will in turn infect others.

The possible heavy infections of health care providers will affect overall health care provision for all kinds of diseases and bring down the quality of care that has been poor in general.

The concentric circle of infections, poor level of care, deaths and more infections will continue to expand, as it has been demonstrated in Italy, Spain and USA. It is bad news.

The good news is that many people that are infected by COVID-19 will survive, as experience across the world has shown.

Another good news is that concerted efforts are being devoted to responding to COVID-19 by the federal and state governments of Nigeria. Some states have shown high level competence and significant capabilities in handling stages of the pandemic.

Perhaps the most important saving factor is that the rich and powerful are forced to rely almost exclusively on the available local facilities for health and medical care at this period. Invariably, some much needed improvement being accorded the health sector to cater for the privileged class will trickle down to benefit the generality of citizens.

Societal and individual behavior change and modifications must accompany any serious, determined attempt to limit the impact of COVID-19. Mere awareness of the disease does not result in sustained changes by society or individuals. Studies and practice of behavior and social changes over decades demonstrate that carefully construed approaches tailored to categories of people are needed.

The really good news is that the behavioral approach, alongside medical and clinical care, can limit the impact of the virus on Nigeria. .Makinwa is the CEO of AUNIQUEI Communication for Leadership.

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State of the Nation Now we know our ‘friends’!

AYO OYOZE BAJE “There is no art to find the mind’s construction on the face’’ -William Shakespeare or decades, discerning Nigerians had always known that several of their so called representatives there in the corridors of power were betrayers of whatever promises they made to them during the electioneering campaigns. They were, and sadly still remain their betrayers. History is replete with those, who by the lure of the lucre could sell not only their friends but even brothers and sisters, if only to satisfy their epicurean tastes.

For instance, the biblical Judas Iscariot, one of the 12 disciples, did it to Jesus, the acclaimed spiritual saviour of mankind, by betraying him to the soldiers for 30 pieces of silver. That was in Gethsemane.

Brutus also did it to Julius Caesar, by one of history’s most notorious betrayals and brutal assassinations ever. That was on March 15, in the year 44 BC. Now, you know why it was referred to as the ‘Ides of March’!

But here we are in May, 2020 and it is becoming patently obvious, the brutal betrayers of the good people of Nigeria are none else but some of those entrusted to protect the lives and property.

Thank God, that the coronavirus pandemic has provided the ample opportunity for the enemies of the people, pretending to be friends to show their true colours.

Or, how else can we explain the painful fact that the airports were kept open even weeks after the index case of an Italian was identified? All because they wanted their sons and daughters, who were still outside our shores then to make it back home. That done, immediately some top-notch politicians saw the inflow of mouth-watering sums of money from international donors and some of our kind-hearted billionaires, some offices started going up in flames! The Accountant Generals’ office, that of INEC office all in Abuja were not left out before the CBN branch in Jos! “These are mere coincidences, my friend. No one can prove that the donations have any link whatsoever to the string of arson we have so far read about,’’ Bamgbose said and he added a statement that got me thinking. ‘’Mr. Baje, you worry yourself too much about Nigeria’s problems. Let me tell you, nothing substantial will come out of it, even if there are so-called ‘thorough investigations’ conducted, using our common wealth to pay the investigators. At best, they will come up with a White Paper, followed by a Blue Paper that soon turns Black and eventually gathers dust in some government’s cupboards.

If I’m wrong, list those who have been brought to book, or speedy justice on account of the burning of government-owned offices, from

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the NET office in Lagos, across to Enugu and up to Kaduna, over the decades.’’

That got me really reflecting about Nigeria’s recurring incidents of evil. But one has to decide to stand on the side of Truth, and speak it, as only that will set Nigeria free, for the sake of posterity.

How would we be judged by history? That underscores my line of thought. But sadly, some people do not care a hoot if some precious and irreplaceable lives are lost; so far their nests are feathered even with some filthy dollars!

That brings to mind the serious allegation by the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), that Bill Gates offered the House of Representatives a whopping sum of $10 million (dollars) bribe for the speedy passage of the compulsory vaccine bill. According to Samson Atekojo, writing for the Daily Post of May 4, 2020, the spokesperson of the opposition parties, Barrister Ikenga Ugochinyere, urged the lawmakers in the Green Chamber to rise up against what he terms “impunity”.

With regards to the credible intelligence intercepted by the CUPP, the odious aim of the offer of the huge sum by Gates, is to ‘’forcefully and without adherence to the rules of lawmaking pass the Control of Infectious Disease Bill 2020, otherwise known as Compulsory Vaccination Bill.’’

Giving details, he said that ‘’The alleged deal on the passage of the bill was struck during a trip to Austria a few months back, while the financial support for the promotion of the Bill was allegedly received last week.’’ The push is to have a hurried attempt to pass the Bill by any means necessary. But Nigerians are not going to swallow it hook, line and sinker.

Acording to BusinessDay also of May 4, 2020, former Senator Dino Melaye, who represented Kogi West said that the Bill runs against the grains of the fundamental human rights of Nigerians. It is against his freedom to human dignity as enshrined in Article 4,6,7,10,11,12 and 14 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Ratification and Enforcement, Act Cap A9 Laws of the Federation

of Nigeria, 2004. It is also at variance with Articles 2(3), 7,8,9,12, 17, 21 and 22 of The International Covenant On Civil, Political Rights, 1976. That is in addition to Articles, 3,5, 8,9, 10,12,13,17 and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948. It should therefore, be done away with. Good enough that he has dragged the National Assembly before a Federal High Court in Abuja over the Bill.

Similarly, a member of the House ofRepresentatives,RimaKwewum, representing Takum/Donga/Ussa/ Yangtu of Taraba State, said that the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila cannot force the Vaccine Bill down the throats of Nigerians.

According to the NewsGuru report of May 4, 2020, “The absolute powers being proposed by the Bill for the Director-General of NCDC are unthinkable. The man can disperse any gathering and even just based on mere suspicion quarantine anybody’’.

With all these in view, one cannot but wonder if some of our leaders have not forgotten that they are elected representatives of the people. And that we run or are supposed to be engaged in a democratic dispensation. Why such an anti-people, demonic and despotic Bill, one cannot but ask, for God’s sake?

As we wait and watch the unfolding drama, one notes that other enemies of the people, who are betrayers include those who do not believe that COVID-19 exists, and those who have turned it into a cash cow to line their pockets.

There are also those who disregard government’s directives on personal hygiene and safety. And of course, those who have politicised the palliatives; those who refused to reach out to the poor and needy but claim to have expended billions of Naira, doing same.

Note that as former Speaker, Yakubu Dogara recently highlighted no Nigerian leader who betrays the country ever ends well or would go unpunished. .Oyoze Baje is the national president, Guild of Public Affairs Analysts of Nigeria (GPAAN), and author of ‘Drumbeats of Democracy’.

Complete lifting of COVID-19 lockdown: The dangers ahead Continued from back page was a military advisor and community leader. Every other person made it (returned alive after the war) except Vincent who died in the battle field. With all manners of blockage, hunger as a weapon of war, national and international conspiracy against the then Eastern region, and the disregard of the rules of engagements in war situations, life was hellish. We saw MIG fighters manned mostly by Egyptian pilots virtually every day flying at very low altitudes and bombing soft targets – schools, markets, churches, etc. Every day, people, including little kids/children, sick people and aged run into bushes for safety and protection.

Schools were relocated inside deep forests. There was malnutrition and diseases. No medicines except herbs. Practically, there were no means of livelihood for most people. And poverty was very high, if not walking on the streets. People were eating all manners of grasses and animals including rats and lizard. This particular enclave lost close to 3 million people mostly women and children. Yet majority of people survived that gruesome three years. Operating under very hostile and excruciating environments, the Biafran Armed Forces were still able to produce bombs, rockets, other machines and equipment, refined petroleum and effectively operated one of the busiest airports in Africa – the Uli Airport, in present Anambra state. Despite the 20 pounds policy after the war in 1970, the Igbos were able to rebuild all the war ravaged communities in just two decades.

Then my personal experience … when I was shot by kidnappers in July 2012, the main worry of my relations, colleagues and associates was how can the ever busy Prof Chima Onuoha be in one place for one week. I also thought that I can’t survive being tied down with all manners of medical fittings for one week.

But wait a minute, I was in the hospital and being assisted to make any move for six months.

While in the hospital, I engaged myself intellectually, at least to reduce the boredom and stress of my predicament. I wrote a number of journal articles while hospitalised.

What points am I making?

People have passed through more horrifying and difficult times and survived. Adversity sometimes can be turned into innovations and achievements.

And this COVID-19 pandemic will not be an exception. With serious leadership, this country can use the moment of this pandemic to address her hopeless health infrastructure. Recall that no race has suffered the level of persecutions like the Jews in this world, yet Israel is a great nation.

People live for the economy and not the other way round. The major challenge is that governments at all level (local, state and federal) have refused to do things right or sincerely.

I have other worries which are: •Why are many of the northern states not observing the physical and social distancing guideline, particularly during burials?

•Why are some Imams and Christian leaders still gathering

crowds in the face of this pandemic? I even listened to a cleric who told an equal overzealous assembly that there is nothing like coronavirus and they were hailing him. That was self deceit probably hinged on ignorance or assumed immortality.

•What is the motive behind moving almajiris from northern states to southern states this period? Why are they being hidden in trucks? It is on record that some of these almajiris being moved to other states have tested positive to COVID-19.

Northern leaders have refused to educate and rehabilitate the almajiris for decades and they are taken to part of their cultural/ religious heritage. Why moving them to the South now? Could there be sinister motive?

•We saw some COVID-19 patients in isolation centre in Gombe State demonstrating openly yesterday for lack of attention from government.

The video clearly showed them mixing up freely with the other members of the public. What can we make out of this?

•Where are all those religious healers who will not allow us to rest during normal periods? They have all disappeared. I hope Nigerians are taking note.

I observed the high level of congestion and crowds in banks, markets and many places in Lagos on Monday, May 4, 2020 during the partial lifting of the lockdown. There were traffic jams all over the place. Down here in Port Harcourt, the whole roads were blocked with vehicles.

The dangers ahead … when the lockdown is completely lifted, the same poverty and ignorance will make people to throw caution to the winds. There won’t be anything like physical and social distancing. The mercantilist, prosperity preaching and fake religious leaders/healers will resurface and continue to deceive gullible followers and members of the public in believing in the protective powers of the Holy Spirit and Allah. And people will be more careless as crowds will build up again. The various markets in the country will resume fully. The consequences of this nonchalance will be dire. The infection rate will skyrocket and there will be massive deaths. The government will plead alibi, trying to exonerate itself by stating “as a democratic and listening administration, we gave the people what they wanted – freedom”. Of course, that is freedom of death.

Poverty will be exacerbated, there will be the real economic dislocations, unemployment rate will triple, crime rates will increase exponentially and there will be melancholy in the land.

The same economy we are trying to preserve will be in a shambles.

By then, the advanced nations will come with their so-called vaccine having condemned all indigenous African efforts (like the Madagascar’s ‘Covid Organic’ or the herbal drugs produced by the monks in the Ewu Monastry, Delta State, Nigeria). This will continue to tie African nations to the economic apron spring of the western nations. I am not a prophet of doom. I am only thinking aloud…

•Onuoha, a professor of Management, writes from Port Harcourt

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Sunday 10 May 2020

The Sunday Magazine

The Almajirai: From political relevance to health nuisance

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ZEBULON AGOMUO he Northern political elite have over the years tolerated the existence of the Almajiri culture for its nuisance value. The Almajirai are street urchins, who aimlessly roam the streets of major cities of the northern states, begging alms. Their livelihood depends on whatever they get from ‘Good Samaritans’.

Over the years, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has come under intense criticism over its inability to check registration and accreditation of underage children during elections, in the northern part of the country, against the principle of Universal Adult Suffrage.

Up till the last general election last year, cases of child-voting were rampant in many parts of the North. It is also a known fact that politicians in the North have found the Almajirai useful during elections. They mobilise the children to cast votes for them in connivance with agencies that should check such electoral fraud.

During elections, the Almajirai, who roam the major streets in those parts of the country come handy. A plate of food to the hunger-buffeted children could serve as a compensation for a vote cast. And because this class of people lacks the mental capacity to analyse the programmes being mouthed by the politicians and their political parties, in relation to their future; they always fall prey to those politicians.

Every election, photo clips of voting proceedings usually show long queues of voters filled with these underage Almajirai with their permanent voters’ cards.

During this period, politicians that recruited them could go to any extent to protect them. As soon as elections are over, they are forgotten. It was also alleged that

they usually surrender the voters’ cards to those who recruited them.

Today, with the raging coronavirus in the country, the Almajirai have become endangered species.

They are being tossed to and frofrom one state to the other. And their presence in any state now is being considered a huge threat to public health. They are susceptible to COVID-19 as a result of their roving lifestyle. They move in droves, and are always dirty.

They neither adhere to the principle of social distancing nor frequent washing of hands, not to talk of use of sanitizer. The advent of the coronavirus in their traditional states has made them persona non grata.

In the last few days, the media have been awash with news about repatriation of Almajirai from one state to the other, and rejection of same by some other states. There have been reports over blame

game among the states on the possibility of infected Almajirai being moved to other states.

The decision of the authorities in Kano to move about 167 Almajiri children to Kaduna sparked a row.

Kaduna State government had claimed that some of the children were COVID-19 positive, and wondered why Kano should move them down.

But responding through its Education Commissioner, Sanusi M. Sa`id Kiru, who doubles as the chairman of a special task force in charge of the Almajiri evacuation, Kano said: “This issue is very disheartening because the whole matter of Almajiri repatriation was started by the Kaduna State government, which first moved about 2000 Almajiri from the state to Kano without proper handing over to us.”

The commissioner further said: “The 155 we evacuated to the

state, were properly screened, profiled and well documented before we handed them over.”

A few days ago, Taraba State rejected about 100 Almajirai sent to it by the Nasarawa State government.

There has been massive clamp down on the Almajiri children relocating from North to the states in the Southern part of the country.

These children are said to hide inside truck load of cattle coming to the South.

The other day, Ondo State “deported” 20 Almajirai that were said to have been dumped in the state in the dead of the night. Currently, every state is on the lookout for the unwanted visitors.

An analyst, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it was only now that COVID-19 is ravaging every state that the Northern states realised the serious danger the Almajiri children posed to the nation.

“Are the Almajiri children not part of the over-bloated population of Kano? Why are they rejecting them now? When it is convenient for them, they recognize them as integral part of the state, but now they are no longer indigenes of Kano. Can you see politics?” the Analyst said.

Pat Egeruo, a Computer programmer, said: “I think the coronavirus is in Nigeria purposely to expose a lot of shenanigans in the country. For the first time, it has reduced everybody to ordinary person. We have for once understood that we are equal mortals after all.

“It has also opened the eyes of the so-called leaders to the real meaning of life. Some claimed they did not know that the Nigerian health care system was this terrible. Now, it has exposed the hypocrisy of the political North.

Every election year, they use the Almajiri children against the Constitutional age requirement, now

they are rejecting them, tossing them from one state to the other.

It is simply amazing.”

A media practitioner, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “I first came into contact with the Almajiri children a few years ago. I was travelling to Jigawa through Kano. I saw an army of dirty, plate-carrying children along the road begging alms from motorists. Some of them were following a particular boy carrying a transparent bucket containing fried food (I really did not know what it was). The hungry-looking children were begging motorists to buy that fried thing for them. These are the children politicians in that part of the country use to rig elections.”

Before his dethronement in March as the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi had repeatedly warned that the refusal of the Northern elite to take a hard look at the Almajiri system with a view to ending it would snowball into something sinister in the nearest future.

On Monday, February 17, 2020, while speaking at the 60th birthday of Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, in Kaduna, Sanusi had highlighted the main problems facing the north as poverty, millions of out-of-school children, malnutrition, drug abuse, Almajiri, and the Boko Haram insurgency.

He warned that northerners were on the verge of destroying themselves if they failed to address the myriad of challenges facing them.

The warning came a week after the World Bank in a report said 87 percent of the poor in the country resided in the North.

According to him, investing in education is the only way the region will save itself from imminent destruction. “…You can’t be happy with the drug problem, you can’t be happy Continues on page 18

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The Sunday Magazine

The virus victims

Some state governors in northern Nigeria are shipping off street children, some infected with COVID-19, to neighbouring states to lower their case count and avoid prolonged lockdown, in violation of the constitution and extant laws writes ISAAC ANYAOGU.

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could hear the terror in her voice over the telephone, it was laced with desperation.

“They are bringing them to our land, those Almajiris - they are smuggling the virus into our land!”

“Calm down,” I appealed though I could feel the start of panic gnawing at my innards.

She works at a local government office in Abia State, south eastern Nigeria, my source for news in that part of the country, since I am based in Lagos, the commercial capital.

That evening, her terror was real.

I could smell it, the way you smell a thunderstorm just before it hits.

The discovery on May 5, of dozens of destitute children from northern Nigeria, hidden in cattle trucks and covered by food produce, en route to the state of 3.1 million people has many in the state on knife’s edge.

State government officials acting on prior intelligence intercepted a truck laden with local produce and found the children hidden in compartments of the truck beneath vegetables and fruits. They looked like they had been exhumed.

Further investigation shows that this paranoia over the infiltration of states by street children possibly infected with COVID-19 is alive in many states in Nigeria. In Ondo State, South West Nigeria, the governor is calling on residents to report unusual large population of young people believed to be secretly ferried into the state. Rivers State government, in South-south Nigeria, has ordered all vagrants and street children rounded up and deported.

Many states in Nigeria are now on high alert, not against a marauding enemy, but against children, some still suckling a thumb on the

fear they may spread the pandemic in their state. These children, are called Almajiris, rejected by own parents, scorned by society and abused by their tutors.

After months on lockdown, Nigeria’s COVID-19 infections has risen above 3,000 and keeps rising in an economy tilting towards prolonged recession due to fall in crude oil prices and burgeoning government debt.

So governors, eager to show they have properly managed the pandemic and reopen their economies, are shipping street children, including those infected across state lines, in violation of social distancing rules and provisions of the constitution.

Nigeria’s Almajiri problem In northern Nigeria, many children as young as five are brought by their parents to learn at the feet of an Islamic scholar in a different town or city as part of their Islamic

education.

Prior to British colonialism, a system referred to as Tsangaya, modeled after the Madarasahs existed in the Kanem-Borno empire where Islamic values were taught young children. They also acquired skills including masonry, fishing, farming and trading.

But over the years, the system has been eroded and what emerged from its ruin, represents a path to our demise. It has become a cover for parents to shirk their responsibilities towards their children and how to groom an army of infamy.

“The Almajiri system of education as practised today in the northern Nigeria is a completely bastardised system compared to the form and conditions under which the system was operating and its output during the pre-colonial period,” said Idris AbdulQadir, a university scholar while giving the 21st convocation lecture of Bayero University in 2003.

Western education was a major threat because it provided the clearest route to white-collar and civil service jobs. Wealthy northern parents sent their children to Western schools while the poor depend on the failing Almajiri system.

Now, this is where it gets disturbing. Since the poor can procreate and offload the resulting children onto a Mallam in another state, contraceptives was viewed as an affront to their egos. Islamic clerics, angry about the substitution of their values by Western ones, provided theological justifications against everything from birth control measures to vaccines.

But without state funds to finance the Almajiri system in very poor societies rife with rampant corruption by government officials, the clerics, without the means to cater to the needs of the hordes of children sent to them, unload them to the society to beg for alms for sustenance.

It gets worse. These Mallams,

impose a form of weekly fees called ‘Kudin sati’ to the students giving them the option of either begging or stealing. These children are then let loose on the society like a swarm of locusts on a maize farm.

But securing enough alms to get by from an impoverished society is like searching for crude oil in a decommissioned well. According to a World Bank report on Advancing Social Protection in Nigeria, 87 percent of Nigeria’s poor are in the north. Begging for alms in a society where squalor has too many company was never going to be sustainable.

Northern Nigeria also has the most uneducated. According to a UNICEF report, 72 percent or 9.5million out of the 13.2 million Nigeria’s out-school children are in the north and many are Almajiris and girls.

Illiteracy and a culture that favours early marriage and didn’t take kindly to condoms, festers the Almajiri problem. According to the National Council for the Welfare of Destitute (NCWD) the population of the Almajirai in Northern Nigeria was over 7 million.

Since these religious centres of training are neither registered nor regulated, the children have become willing tools for fundamentalists on a crusade of calumny and politicians with doubtful chances of securing victory at the polls. Now with a pathogen that does not discriminate on the loose, the Almajiris present a threat so insidious, the politicians would rather they didn’t exist - at least not in their climes.

Reality check Politicians from northern Nigeria control the executive and legislative branches of government. They control two-third of seats in the parliament, head the judiciary and

almost all relevant government ministries and departments. But not once has the problem of the Almajiri occupied anyone’s list of priorities.

Ironically, it was the government of former president Goodluck Jonathan, a southerner who began plans to provide structure and cohesion to the Almajirinci. He had already constructed over 100 schools and began the process of integrating them into society. His defeat at the election put paid to the plans.

The dystopian reality of millions of diseased and homeless children festers because it serves a purpose, no matter how sordid. Democracy is a numbers game and victory belongs to the party with the most votes. All the voter needs to have in Nigeria is a pulse, the less they know, even better. Elections in the north are marred by underage voting and the Almajiris play a key role.

Data from census figures are useful for planning but are fraught with irregularities in Nigeria. Figures are weaponised to maintain a stranglehold on power and win the larger chunk of the national resources. Crude oil proceeds are shared according to states and the north always emerges largest.

Inflated figures distort national planing and partly explain why the region that gets some of the largest chunk of the national resources also has its worst poverty, literacy and death rates.

“Almajiris will be issued voters’ cards - long before any of us, but access to education and health care for them are not the priorities of the Northern elite - and have never been,” says a public affairs analysts, Chike Chukudubelu in a social media post.

During the 2015 general election, Muhammadu Buhari won the Presidency on the strength of block votes from four northern states: Kano, Katsina and Kaduna and Jigawa.

Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) polled 15,424,921 against 12,853,162 recorded for the then incumbent, former president Goodluck Jonathan of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

In Kano state alone, APC won 1,903,999 against PDP’s 215,779.

In Katsina State, Buhari won by 1,246,504 votes and in Kaduna State, he won by 643,675 votes, while in Jigawa, his winning votes were higher than the PDP’s by 743,084 votes. These four states gave him over 4million votes higher than his opponent’s.

These four states also account for the bulk of Almajiris in Nigeria.

In 2017, Kano State governor said they had almost 3million of the Continues on page 18

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The Sunday Magazine

The virus victims Continued from page 16

street children in the state following a state-sponsored survey.

Almajiris also serve a more destructive purpose. “They remain untrained armies available to anybody poised to ferment trouble,” said AbdulQadir.

Leena Koni Hoffmann, in a research report for Chatam House International in 2014 found that In the aftermath of Buhari’s third loss at the polls in 2011, demonstrations by his supporters – mostly young Muslim northerners – degenerated into deadly clashes with security forces in Katsina, Kaduna, Kano, Plateau and Bauchi states.

“The homes and businesses of several members of the northern elite who had openly supported Jonathan and the PDP were attacked, for what the protesters perceived as the betrayal of the north’s interests and the failure of democracy to improve their lives.”

Thousands of these street children have become ready armies for religious fundamentalists in northern Nigeria. They are summoned upon the suspicion that their religious values have been trampled upon and they carry out mayhem and wanton killings with

the tacit support of corrupt security agencies.

Nigeria’s illicit drug fighting agency, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said the North-West region has the highest number of drug-related arrests in years, with 2,205 arrests in 2015 alone and has maintained the same trend five years later.

IN 2017, a motion on drug abuse in the north adopted by the Senate disclosed that three million bottles of codeine were consumed by drug abusers daily in Kano and Jigawa states.

Mojisola Adeyeye, directorgeneral of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), said that 70 percent of the youth essentially, the young boys, abuse illicit drugs in Kano.

Predictably, the Almajiris are also responsible for scary levels of new Covid-19 infections in the north.

The message about hand washing and social distance gets drown by the violent rumble of a hungry stomach.

Covid-19 threat To solve the Almajiri problem in a pandemic, northern governors are now pushing them away from their communities with all the dignity of a discarded tissue paper. The problem

will go away, when they do.

On May 3, the Taraba State Government rejected several ‘almajiri’ children transferred from Nasarawa State. The children had to sleep outside the office of the Secretary to the Taraba State Government and were only attended to at 10 a.m. on the next day.

They were later driven to the state border to wait for the state officials. The state officials later came and formally rejected the children with a letter addressed to the Nasarawa State government to take back their children.

“The government of Taraba State wish to return the pupils to you and requests that the pupils should be properly profiled indicating their local government of origin in Taraba State and ‘individual status’ in respect of the pandemic,” excerpts of the letter dated May 4, 2020 read.

The Kano State government in April said it completed plans to evacuate 251,893 Almajiris from eight local government areas back to their states, following upsurge in confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Nasir El-Rufai, governor of Kaduna State said 21 out of the 61 Almajiris that were returned to the state tested positive for the novel coronavirus and they now repre-

sent the biggest infections in the state on May 2.

But deporting these street children to their states of origin, violates the citizenship rights accorded Nigerians by the Constitution.

Section 41 of the 1999 Constitution provides that “Every citizen of Nigeria is entitled to move freely throughout Nigeria and to reside in any part thereof, and no citizen of Nigeria shall be expelled from Nigeria or refused entry thereby or exit therefrom.”

Section 42 provides that “A citizen of Nigeria of a particular community, ethnic group, place of origin, sex, religion or political opinion shall not, by reason only that he is such a person – (a) be subjected either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any law in force in Nigeria or any executive or administrative action of the government, to disabilities or restrictions to which citizens of Nigeria of other communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religions or political opinions are not made subject.”

The Secretary to the Federal Government, Boss Mustapha has condemned the action of the governors, urging that minors should be treated better. He heads the Federal task force to contain the pandemic and approves requests for assistance to these states pawning off children across borders. Rights group, Human Rights Agenda Network (HRAN) in a statement said the deportation of the Almajiris is illegal and unconstitutional because every Nigerian, irrespective of his or her status, is entitled to the full enjoyment of the fundamental human rights in the Constitution.

“These children are entitled to their constitutional right to free and compulsory primary and secondary education. Rather than carry out their constitutional duty of providing for the security and welfare of the people, northern state governors in particular have allowed Almajiris roam the streets, exposing them to exploitation,” the group said.

Since these children are minors, bouncing them across state lines is also a violation of the Child Rights Act (CRA) enacted in 2003 which

The Almajirai: From political relevance...

Continued from page 16

with the Boko Haram problem.

You can’t be happy with political thuggery. You can’t be happy with all the issues; the Almajiri problem that we have,” he said.

Challenging the northern youths, he said: “You don’t need to rise on being from Kaduna State or being from the North or being a Muslim to get a job, you come with your credentials, you go with your competence, you can compete with any Nigerian from anywhere.

“We need to get northern youths to a point where they don’t need to come from a part of the country to get a job. And believe me, if we don’t listen, there would be a day when there would be a constitutional amendment that addresses these issues of quota system and federal character.”

According to him, “The rest of the country cannot be investing, educating its children, producing graduates and then they watch us, they can’t get jobs because they come from the wrong state when we have not invested in the future of our own children.”

It has been said over the years that the Almajirai are easy preys to violent groups in the North.

Allegations are rife that some of the suicide bombings traced to the Islamist Sect, Boko Haram, were carried out by aimless and naïve Almajiri children who were conscripted by the insurgents, and their bodies strapped with lethal explosives.

Some people said that a plate of food to a hungry Almajiri child could be enough to enlist him.

Over time, some groups that see religion in everything had

resisted some initiatives by some religious organisations to provide reorientation and quality education to the Almajiri children.

A case in point was the initiative in 2017 by the Most Reverend Matthew Hassan Kukah, Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, who wanted to take off the streets

about 10 million of the children in a special education and skills acquisition programmes.

Kukah, had, at a forum for the promotion of inter-religious harmony held in Minna, Niger State, said: “One of the greatest concerns in Nigeria now is to get the Almajiri children off the streets.

protects the rights of the child.

Curiously, 11 states out of 19 in northern Nigeria have refused to adopt it. They are Bauchi, Yobe, Sokoto, Adamawa, Borno, Zamfara, Gombe, Katsina, Kebbi, Jigawa and Kano. Even those that have added it as part of their laws, observe it in more breach.

It is easy to see why. The Child Rights prescribes, in its very opening paragraph that “In every action concerning a child, whether undertaken by an individual, public or private body, institutions or -service, court of law, or administrative or legislative authority, the best interest of the child shall be the primary consideration.”

In northern Nigeria, children who are yet to see their first menstrual period are married off as child brides, a UNICEF study found that only 45 percent of girls attend school in the north and Nigeria, largely due to child marriages in the north, along with five other countries, accounts for half of new-born deaths globally.

However, condemnation of the action of these governors have been muted by large swaths of human right activists, child right defenders, religious and traditional institutions in Nigeria. Their commentary about the street children are freighted with contempt. The Almajiris are pariahs, a national shame, a festering open sore; we’ve all become inured to its stench.

Painting a dreary picture of the pandemic in the state, El Rufai said that prior to the pandemic, the state had only 20 intensive Care Unit beds in the state and didn’t have a testing facility but it has now built two and is in the process of acquiring new testing facilities.

Many states in the north are financially-challenged and face difficulties dealing with pandemic.

Ganduje, Kano state governor has appealed to the Federal Government for support but cannot see the irony of deporting thousands of children while seeking Federal Government support to care for victims.

This, many say, is the missing link in governance of some states in northern Nigeria - governance that tries so hard erase reason.

“The (Kukah) Centre will soon sign a (Memorandum) of Understanding with a foreign partner to make sure we get the Almajiri children off the streets”.

But a Muslim rights group, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), had resisted it, saying it was geared towards converting the children into another religion.

Ishaq Akintola, a professor and director of the group, had declared: “We welcome ideas from everyone but the implementation must be in the hands of Muslims in the region. Any other thing will make the intention questionable. We cannot pretend to be so naïve as to entrust our Muslim children to Christian gospellers”.

He alleged that Kukah’s idea was “a ploy for evengelisation, modern colonialism and a potential time bomb.”

Analysts speak in tandem that from what is happening currently with the Almajirai, Sanusi’s warning appears to be fulfilling.

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BDSUNDAY 19

BrandsOnSunday SPOTLIGHTING BRAND VALUE

How brands can survive Coronavirus crisis Nigel Hollis, Michael Umogun

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he office is an organized environment that encourages focus and productivity however these are difficult times that have seen the office become suddenly not too attractive to many people and working from home is much preferred for health reasons.

Unlike humans, brands cannot isolate themselves so easily part of a brands primary objective is to be visible so that it can be chosen at the moment of truth. With the full effects of the Corona Virus outbreak still to be realized in many markets what can management and marketers do to ensure the continued health of their staff and brands?

First, put plans in place to continue business and protect employees and

customers. Second, recognize that every business in the same industry is likely to take a hit. Third, how well you ride out the crisis will depend on responding to it more effectively than your competitors. How can your brand best ride out the turmoil? And how can you ensure a swift return to business as usual? Doing dry run and rehearsal of possible worst-case scenarios matters as you would be better prepared

for the challenge before it occurs. If your resident IT and statisticians can model the possible impact for you and how to respond effectively that could also be helpful. Bottomline do not be too relaxed and caught out, play out the different consequences and as the boys scout would say it ‘be prepared’ Beyond the immediate response, when facing something like Corona Virus the response to peo-

Traditional media remain ‘Trustworthy’ source on Covid-19 – says Kantar survey …Social media records 11% shows loss of trust DANIEL OBI

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here is an increase in media consumption across channels as countries, including Nigeria move deeper into the coronavirus pandemic. But among all the media news channels which have gained in usage, traditional nationwide broadcast and newspapers are the most trusted sources of information, says Kantar latest report.

The report said 52% of the 25,000 consumers across over 30 countries including Nigeria polled identified traditional media (broadcast and newspapers) as ‘Trustworthy’ source.

“Government agency websites are regarded as trustworthy by only 48% of people, suggesting that government measures are not providing citizens around theworldwithassurancesand security” while social media platforms are regarded by only 11% of people as a source of trustworthy information.

Kantar is the world’s foremost evidence-based

insights and consulting company. In its latest report, the global firm spoke to over 25,000 people in over 30 countries including Nigeria between 14th and 23rd March 2020 with 500 interviews per country.

In later stages of the pandemic, the report said web browsing increased by 70%, followed by (traditional) TV viewing increasing by 63%.

Social media engagement increased by 61% over normal usage rates.

According to the report, Whatsapp experienced the greatest gains in usage as people look to stay connected. In the early phase of the pandemic Whatsapp usage increased 27%, rising to 51% in the late phase of the pandemic. “Whatsapp, Facebook and Instagram

have all experienced a 40%+ increase in usage from under 35-year olds”.

In spite of usage increase in social media, the report said there is a crisis in trust as traditional nationwide news channels (broadcast and newspaper) remain the most trusted sources of information.

The report also identified that some markets including Nigeria are more optimistic than others, believing that their economy will recover quickly once the situation dies down. China was more optimistic with 67% followed

by Nigeria with 58%. Saudi Arabia came third with 49%.

South Africa 32% and Spain was less optimistic with 20%.

The report also showed that people are making many changes to their lifestyle in response to the outbreak.

This include washing hands more often/for longer period; avoiding non-essential social contact; avoiding visits to pubs, cafes and restaurants when possible; self-isolating at home; avoiding public transport when possible; and working from home.

ple’s feelings is going to be critical. To do so effectively, management and marketers must suspend their own viewpoint and put themselves in their customer’s shoes. Good time for emotional intelligence 101. How do they feel? What help might they need – functional or emotional? And how might they expect the brand to respond? People’s response to a crisis is going to vary by their basic attitude to life, and it is important to align your brand’s response with its existing positioning and values or it will seem inauthentic.

Ultimately it is about how your brand can improve its relevance in a time of need and defuse any potential concerns related to your business. For instance, home delivery might seem like a great idea but only if the delivery person has sanitized their hands.

This is the best time brands playing in the health and related sectors should

collaborate with relevant authorities to create visibility and relevance for the society. It is disheartening that marketers of sanitizers and hand wash are making a kill instead of showing empathy. It would be fair to say though that the laws of demand and supply are at play the truth remains that brands that show empathy now would be remembered and rewarded during better days.

Brands that have invested in technology would also benefit when there is a clamp down or restriction of movement. Good news is our situation in this clime (Nigeria) have not gotten that bad, but we would like to note that even in China Kantar is still talking to thousands of consumers via WeChat and What’s App. A good number of our home panels are still running, and this is a delight as we can provide service in difficult times to our clients.

While it might seem

callous to say so, crises can also offer the opportunity for growth. In China, Luckin Coffee began delivering alcohol-based sterilizers and antibiotic hand soap in addition to its beverages and stocking its network of vending machines with the sanitizer products.

Whether this proves a successful strategy or not, the demand for DTC services and delivery is only likely to grow in the coming weeks and will likely have a longterm impact on consumer behaviour.

I would like to close with the cheering news that our first case of Corona Virus has fully recovered and may be leaving the Infectious Disease Hospital in Yaba (Lagos) very soon. So, to the Nigerian brand managers how have you been coping with the whole Corona virus palaver?

Nigel Hollis (Chief Global Analyst, Kantar) and Michael Umogun (Lead, Marketing and New Business Kantar Nigeria)

COVID-19: NBC, Coca-Cola pledge to support FG, States with hydration needs of frontline workers

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he Coca-Cola System, comprising Nigerian Bottling Company Limited (NBC) and Coca-Cola Nigeria Ltd, has restated its commitment to support the fight against COVID-19 in Nigeria with material donations to the federal and state governments.

NBC and Coca-Cola Nigeria in fulfilment of the commitment have already donated over 13 million centilitres of its beverages, including Eva premium table water and other soft drinks to provide hydration and nourishment for patients and healthcare workers at Isolation and Treatment Centres across different states in the country. Both companies also promised to continue to donate these products through the duration of this crisis, according to a statement.

In Lagos, the Isolation and Treatment Centres and frontline institutions that have received the donated materials, the statement said, include the Onikan Centre, the Gbagada Cen-

tre, Lagos University Teaching Hospital and the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) whose street sweepers and medical waste workers are still actively working during the pandemic.

In a letter to the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Managing Director of NBC, Matthieu Seguin, explained that it was standard practice for it to support communities during emergencies.

He praised both the Federal and Lagos State Governments for their efforts at curtailing the spread of the virus and providing quality medical care for confirmed cases.

Ma n a g i n g Di r e c t o r, Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited, Yebeltal Getachew added: “As a company that is closely connected with consumers and deeply rooted in communities, we see the unprecedented impact of this pandemic on the country first-hand.

We applaud the heroism of our healthcare workers and commend the government for its increasingly

effective measures. We are appealing for everyone to come together at this time so we can defeat this pandemic with a singleminded focus.”

Receiving the first set of donated items on behalf of the Lagos State Government at the Onikan Treatment Centre, Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Olusegun Dawodu, thanked the Nigerian Bottling Company for the initiative, saying that the gesture shows that the company is indeed a perceptive brand that understands the specific needs of the community where it does business.

Other states that have so far taken delivery of the donations, the statement said, include FCT, Edo, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Rivers, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Imo, Kaduna, Kano, Niger, Lagos, Anambra, Delta and Ekiti while others are lined for the coming days. Other Isolation and Treatment Centres that have received the support include the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Metta.

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Sunday 11 May 2020

BusinessInterview

‘Inadequate power supply responsible for Nigeria’s economic difficulties’ Bamidele Adebisi is a Nigerian professor at the Manchester Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom (UK). Adebisi, a chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy is an advocate of clean and affordable energy supply in Nigeria which is the idea behind his involvement in Nigeria Intelligent Clean Energy (NICE) market place project. In this interview with Ngozi Okpalakunne, he talked about the project, the contributions of Nigerians in the Diaspora towards the nation’s development and other issues of national interest. Excerpts:

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hat is the NICE project all about?

Nigeria Intelligent Clean Energy marketplace project is one of the market-focused energy projects funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) to address the need for clean, affordable and secure energy in Sub-Saharan Africa. It started in November 2019.

My university, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK is working in partnership with VAYA Energy and Qbot Energy, companies based in Abuja and Manchester, respectively on this project. NICE will build an innovative technical architecture to enable a localised energy service offering and a peer-to-peer (P2P) platform for local energy trading and sharing. It is envisaged that this will meet the needs of local communities in Nigeria where this initiative is being trailed. The platform will be designed to support community or private energy Service Company, along with a negotiated agreement with the electricity network operator in the region. This model would allow for the optimised use of locally generated power while also working with the electricity grid.

This P2P energy concept draws inspiration from and builds on other P2Ps such as Uber, Airbnb, among others. The idea is to enable trading and sharing of energy, improving access to low cost renewable energy while ensuring security of supply.

While it connects a variety of distributed energy resources such as solar and biogas, it will also manage flexibility through battery storage and controlling loads from sites integrated into the platform, allowing people within a community to trade or share energy with their neighbours. This concept employs new technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual mini-grid, smart metering, Internet of Things (IoTs), local energy market place, demand side management and a host of others.

Nigeria is a very communitybased society, which is a great advantage here. You would find that most people who have the means would share water from their bore holes, or ‘share’ their electricity by allowing their friends and neighbours to watch television or keep foodstuff in their refrigerators, or in some cases, even allow others to connect to their generators for power supply. Now, those with extra capacity can monetise this service and because of the financial incentive, contribute to the generation capacity of the national grid. The intelligent energy management and data driven predictive control system utilising Machine Learning for optimising the energy management system operations and the visualisation dashboard are currently being developed and tested in the UK. A small-scale pilot will be deployed in a community in Abuja, where energy sharing between a secondary school and private local buildings will be trialed. Although there are few hundred of houses in the community, about 10

of them will be involved in the trials.

Once the test bed is up and running, interested stakeholders, policymakers, government officials and the public will be invited to see and assess the benefits of the concept to the wider society. Results from the pilot and the simulated mini-grid based at Manchester Metropolitan University Engineering Laboratory will be used to develop an attractive business model for schools, businesses and other consumers to locate solar and battery storage on-site, while providing low cost electricity supply to the community.

Constant power supply has been a major challenge in Nigeria; in what other ways do you think Nigeria can find a lasting solution to it?

I think it is important for all hands to be on deck here. It is not just a problem for government; it is a societal challenge. First, we need to realize that we are the government, we voted for those in power, but more important, as individuals, we feel it when there is no power. Industry feels it, homes feel it. Inadequate power supply is partly responsible for our national economic difficulties; our national economic growth would depend on a sustainable solution to this challenge, to state the obvious.

So, we need to admit the scale of the problem and ascribe the urgency it requires to it. I would encourage everyone in society to look inward for answers to the questions we are quick to throw at the authorities; and this project is just one way to do that.

There is much evidence to support how Nigerians, as a community and resilient people have provided innovative solutions to other problems.

Take for instance, in the 1950s, many who could not afford to study abroad relied on their communities to fund their journeys, either as grants or loans. This was done outside the official banking sector.

We should be thinking of a bottom up approach, rather than the top down approach of expecting government to provide every service.

The potential is huge if communities could start building on the rich national resources in solar power to provide energy. We need to take responsibility for production and efficient consumption. If we think of the energy as ours, we would find a way to generate and use it efficiently.

We also need to know such basic things as how much energy is required, what is our current capacity, how much more capacity can we build into the system and by what means? How can we have sustainable energy production and consumption?

I do not think the problem is wholly that of government, manpower or even inadequate resources. There is part of it that is about ownership.

One solution might be for individual communities to take responsibility for producing enough for its people, then think about sharing excess capacity to other communities, via the national grid.

Recently, the Senate in Nigeria proposed a bill for the ban of importation of generating sets into the

Bamidele Adebisi country; do you think it is a step in the right direction? And what is the economic Implication of that?

It appears that this is a simplistic solution, targeted at a sector- diesel generator suppliers. Electricity, like all other commodities, responds to the economic law of demand and supply. Demand for generators is a result of demand for electricity. In fact, diesel generators are not the cheapest source of energy. Therefore, their popularity among individuals and businesses is only due to lack of cheaper and more sustainable alternatives.

The bill will only mean banning generators without providing alternative sources of electricity. This will certainly impinge on available electricity for industry. What we really want is cheaper electricity by increasing capacity, rather than banning generators, which at least is bridging the capacity gap at the moment. We should focus more on projects to produce power. When there is enough capacity in the system at affordable costs, generators will be naturally phased out of our system.

How would you assess the contribution of Nigerians in the Diaspora in the development of their home country?

Having lived in the United Kingdom for some years now, I have associated with Nigerians in the Diaspora.

I am also in touch with friends, family and academic colleagues who are in Nigeria. I know that Nigerians remit billions of dollars back home to support families, or to charitable causes.

We come to Nigeria to visit as academics, members of advisory boards, public and private consultants. Medical doctors come to hospitals, giving of their time and resources. Some have left enviable jobs abroad to come home and volunteer as government officials. Frankly speaking, some have found their return quite challenging because there is no enabling environment. In the UK and other Western countries, you work in a culture that encourages innovation and you have more opportunities. I am not saying these countries are perfect, or even that opportunities are wide open, but people are well recognised for their achievements, and the environment enables them to achieve more.

India has developed its own version of the Silicon Valley, largely because several of the computer and IT specialists who did well in the US have returned home. I believe many Nigerians would want to do the same if there was an enabling environment.

Sometimes, we ask the question how much Nigeria values the expertise of her people in the Diaspora, especially when we see how much the same expertise is valued by their hosts. I know for example that the Diaspora community has been asking for the right to vote in elections, but that hasn’t happened. I have friends from the US, Brazil and other countries who live in the UK but can vote in their countries’ elections. Countries such as Singapore moved from third to first world by creating a ministry for the Diaspora. When citizens returned, they were paid what they would have

been paid by their host countries.

I am proudly Nigerian, although I live outside of the country at the moment. I am convinced that contribution of Nigerians in the Diaspora would go a long way in addressing some of the challenges we currently face as a country. That is, in fact, why I am involved in the NICE project.

Considering the situation in other countries of the world, do you think Nigerian government has done enough in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic?

Looking at where Nigeria is in the current development index, I will say you can’t give what you do not have. Government has given what they have, but that raises the question whether that is the best.

The time of adversity is not the best time to run helter-skelter. It’s the time to discharge the results of your research and innovation prior to this time. Nigeria does not seem to have a homegrown reliable model of the reproduction or severity values of the novel virus, nor reliable forecast of the number of cases, deaths, bed requirements per region, and so on. Usually, these models are built by Universities in collaboration with relevant government departments and interested partners from the private sector to inform logical decisions.

I hope there will be a time afterwards when we can review the situation and learn from it in readiness for any future pandemic or disaster.

Different sectors should be looked at to see how all could work together in a proactive manner to plan for the future. Words like simulation, pre-emptive planning, predictive analysis, among others should enter the Nigerian lexicon. In agriculture, how much food do we need in the next few years? Our budget is mostly reactionary and short term, focusing mainly on recurrent rather than relevant capital expenditure. Proactive and strategic planning now will prepare us if there is a future disaster.

Having studied in Nigeria and now a Professor in the UK, what is your advice to the Nigerian government regarding the educational system?

It is difficult to judge the Nigerian educational system because it is unlike other parts of the world. There is a huge divide between haves and have nots; private and public universities. Majority of institutions lack the amenities and facilities for excellent research and education, but there are still a few good ones. We desperately need to bridge the academic divide between the institutions that have nothing and those that can be considered reputable. This is important, because if the majority of workers come out of substandard universities, they will get into the labour market unprepared.

Our educational system also needs to take account of the now and plan for the future. Some of the public secondary schools and universities still live in the past. The curriculum, textbooks, laboratory equipment, attitude to research, could do with a bit of upgrade.

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Arts German gallery presents mixed-media exhibition of new works by Nigerian artist OBINNA EMELIKE

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he Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery in Berlin presents a mixed-media exhibition titled “Ikwokirikwo: Dance of the Spirits” by Gerald Chukwuma, a Nigerian artist. The show, opened on May 9, 2020 and captures and represents mediations of the Ikwokirikwo dance, an ancient and almost forgotten tradition of the Igbo people in Nigeria.

Ikwokirikwo is a form of communication combining elements of the Igbo culture, religion, ritual and invocation. It is a dance performed by a woman to lure warriors.

“To make these works”, says Chukwuma, “I had to go where the dancers go when they dance, to enter that same state of elevated consciousness. During all the time I spent with them, I never saw a single written document; but it’s hard to imagine how words would capture it – a quality that certain very specific movements of the body have acquired over centuries – but art has that power. To perform what the spirit feels – to invoke what the dancers invoke.”

According to the Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, the size

and vibrancy of works in the exhibition, created over three months, reflect the painstaking process involved in their production – of building, cutting, nailing, burning, chiselling, and painting. The spiralling figures draw the viewer into their dance and the flashes of colour.

Chukwuma describes his work as a visual orchestra; the mix of woods like a series of bass tones, the use of fire to bring out the black, nails hinting at percussion, playing with found pieces from aluminium cans and phone cards. “Beautiful, durable, and colourful”, they form the melody.

For many years, the artist’s work has drawn inspira-

tion from Uli art. A gift from Awa, the goddess of earth, these patterns and designs are traditionally applied to women’s bodies or the walls of a house, disappearing after a few days or when rain arrives to wash them away.

In Chukwuma’s hands, they become not merely transient but transcendent.

Chukwuma (b. 1973) lives and works in Lagos, Nigeria. He graduated in 2003 with first-class honours in Fine and Applied Arts from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. As one of Nigeria’s fast-rising contemporary artists, he is noted for his intricately crafted sculptures on wood panels. The use of traditional Uli and Nsibidi

symbols links his work to the Nsukka art tradition, which is credited with expanding the Igbo cultural aesthetic in modern interpretations. He explores migration as a constant process of transformation and reinvention.

In the course of his career, Chukwuma has participated in numerous exhibitions in Nigeria and internationally. His solo presentations in recent years include “Wrinkles”, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London (2019); “Standing Ovation”, Gallery 1957, Accra (2017); “People’s Paradise”, Temple Muse, Lagos (2016); “Soaking Up Beauty”, Constant Capital, Lagos (2014) and “Highlife II”, Ethnocentrique, Lagos (2013). Selected group exhibitions include showing at 1-54 London with Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery (2019); “Kubatana”, curated by Kristin Hjellegjerde, Vesfossen Kunstlaboratori- um, Norway (2019); “A Journey into Contemporary African Art”, Belvedere Art Space, Beirut, Lebanon (2010); ART X Lagos, Civic Center Lagos (2018); The Art Story, Cartool Art Gallery, UAE (2018).

“Ikwokirikwo: Dance of the Spirits” opens to the public from May 9 – June 13, 2020, at the Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery Berlin.

Udemma Chukwuma releases Left with Shadows, her debut novel

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eft with Shadows, a thought-provoking novel by Udemma Chukwuma addresses the implications of divorce as children, whose parents are separated, often suffer psychological and emotional trauma.

Chukwuma in this debut novel, engages Nwakaego, the protagonist, to project the many dangers such as depression, hopelessness, loneliness, lack of sense of belonging, hatred, suicidal thoughts, which are very common with children from a broken home. The author says sometimes making children be at the mercy of relatives who exposes them to a lot of danger as such child abuse, child labour, thereby tampering with their mental health.

“The increase in children engaging in different forms of social vices could be attributed to lack of constant expression of love in

and nurture their children, to be responsible citizens because a broken child is a broken society,” she advises.

On how she feels to become an author, the author who is overjoyed with her latest achievement, says: “There is nothing as fulfilling as having a copy of your own book in your hand, the feeling is beyond words.”

Th e n o v e l w o u l d b e available at bookstores from June but people can pre-order while the official launching would be made known as soon as the COVID-19 induced social distancing is relaxed across the federation.

About the book Distraught, Nwakaego (the protagonist) on two occasions attempted to take her life. She was lonely, she was scared and she despaired, after Uncle Ojo, the husband of her guardian, Aunty Ndubunma, had violated

NCAC to launch facemask campaign, empower culture sector

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aving successfully produced and kitted select frontline service providers and various caregivers in the forefront of the battle against Covid-19 pandemic, the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC ) has disclosed that the next stage of the culture agency’s focal agenda is to launch a nationwide campaign #protectnaijafacemask to encourage Nigerians to brace for the use of face masks in public places.

Olusegun Runsewe, director general, NCAC, had last week produced and kitted security agencies, the media and a select group of professionals in the front line of the covid 19 pandemic with branded facemasks made exclusively from Adire and Ankara fabrics, and also gave out sanitizers made from the natural resources sourced locally in order to promote homegrown efforts to curtail the pandemic and also open certain cultural economy.

Explaining the need and exigency for the #protectnaijafacemask campaign, Runsewe stated that there are imperical facts that wearing facemask has about 100 percent capacity to prevent the

spread of the micro droplets, usually transmitted through the mouth and sneezing through the nose.

“We at NCAC believe that wearing face masks is very important and essential to the suppression and prevention of the communial transmission of the covid 19 pandemic, hence the frontal awareness efforts by NCAC to prepare and positively change the attitude and minds of Nigerians to facemasks lifestyle”, he stated further.

Drawing key example from the Czech Republic, which successfully adopted facemask strategy and thereafter, with the consequent low covid 19 impact in the entire European countries, the NCAC boss who had in the past drove the national campaign to diversify the Nigerian economy through tourism, with” oil is good but tourism better and sustainable” campaign, further disclosed that the nationwide awareness drive on the use of facemasks, will help create a post covid 19 cultural economy that will see the Nigerian women, widows and youths producing facemasks as part of NCAC intervention.

“We are already grounded in providing skill acquisition

as part of our cultural mandate and with this campaign in focus, we can through our various offices in the six geopolitical zones empower the rural women and unemployed youths to take to tailoring and produce an average of ten million facemasks in three days, made from local fabrics and according to our standard.

“This campaign is a must do and not talk and no action.

This cultural agency of government is on strong footing to deliver on this expectations” Runsewe assured, noting that as much as covid 19 protocols of social distancing, strict hygiene are important, the desirability and importance of wearing facemask cannot be overemphasized.

Olusegun Runsewe

“Indeed, the spread of the disease across our nation with a population of 200million people is a bit scary and despite the the great intervention of the National Center for Disease control, we must be seen to be culturally supportive through this campaign, which also is not in any way the scientific solution to mitigating the scourge but as a knowledge and awareness based effort from NCAC to empower Nigerians to wake up and live with reality of facemasks wearing in public places as a new way of life.

On getting a national musical and entertainment response to the #protectnaijawithfacemask campaign, the national and cum pan African cultural influncer, noted that the possibility would be exploited and be given the face of as the “we are the world” musical extravaganza of the 90s was used to raise fund and create awareness about mitigating poverty in the world.

“You can bet we shall adopt that musical effort but it shall be cultural in content and context and we may request musical and cultural troupes to come up with something unique that will appeal to national unity and consciousness.

Udemma Chukwuma

homes, divorce and separation among couples. Such children, due to the psychological trauma of their parents’ separation take solace in friends who show them some love and at the long run might introduce them to some bad habits.”

Chukwuma says she dedicates the 150 pagesbook to every child from a broken home.

“I am talking to everyone out there with Left with Shadows,especially parents, who do not know the psychological and emotional trauma their child or children go through as a result of a broken home.

“It is of great importance for parents to stay together

her. Shesuddenly realised she had nobody but her own reflection. She began to havetrouble getting to sleep; or staying asleep; as the thought of Uncle Ojo again creeping up on her, in the dark, continued suffocating her.

About the Author UdemmaChukwuma is a Journalist, an Arts and Culture reporter. Hermother is a Cameroonian while the father, a Nigerian. Left with Shadows is herdebut novel.

She is currently writing her second novel. She lives and works inLagos, Nigeria. For further information, visit the UdemmaChukwuma AuthorFacebook page.

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Sunday 10 May 2020

Travel Why Nigerian tourism sector needs stimulus package Obinna Emelike

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n the aftermath of Nigeria’s economic recession of 2016, governments at all levels started calling once again for the diversification of the economy from its crude oil base.

Some many sectors were considered, especially agriculture, mining and manufacturing. But less attention was given to tourism despite its huge capacity to lift the economy.

Sadly, no one took the diversification calls serious when the economy improved and the country emerged from the recession.

At the peak of the economic crisis, Patrick Utomi, a renowned professor, in his keynote address at the annual general meeting of the Nigerian Association Tour Operators (NATOP) in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, on February 11, 2016, disclosed that tourism is the lowest hanging fruit for economic diversification.

He supported his points with practical examples of countries that are earning huge tourist receipts such as United Arab Emirates, France, Spain, Thailand and some African countries such as South Africa, Egypt, Kenya and even Gambia where government earns substantial revenue from tourism.

For the outspoken professor, tourism offers easy entry amid numerous opportunities that have lifted many from unemployment in countries where investments in tourism have been concerted and sustained effort.

Presently, the coronavirus pandemic has grounded many economies across the world including Nigeria. As well, it has impacted the tourism sector with huge losses.

According to Saleh Rabo, president, Federation of Tourism Association of Nigeria (FTAN), the travel sector is losing over N12 billion daily as a result of the impact of Covid-19, while the hotel sub sec-

tor loses N2 billion daily.

Some other tourism experts think that the loss is more and still piling up as the pandemic still ravages the world amid the uncertainty of when it would be finally curtailed.

But in view of leaving out tourism in the proposed stimulus package of the federal government to some sectors of the economy as palliatives to cushion the impact of the pandemic, it signals that the government still don’t understand the potential of tourism.

The sector encompasses many things; transport, aviation, hotels, entertainment, tours, travel agency, cultural shows and festivals, business and leisure travel, meetings, incentives conferences and events (MICE) among others.

It has huge capacity for wealth and job creation, human Apical and infrastructural development, amid impressive

impact on gross domestic product (GDP).

Sadly, the potential means little or nothing to government and policy makers who have continually failed to discover and take advantage of the potential for economic diversification and growth.

However, most tourism stakeholders think that government should take advantage of the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic to truly explore and exploit the huge potential in the tourism sector.

“We have failed to make appropriate investments in tourism for a long time and the advent of each economic crisis reminds us of our mistakes and missed opportunities. Coronavirus is offering us another opportunity to invest rightly in tourism and make the sector count in the national economy”, Yemi Fernandez, a tourism investor, said.

In the same vein, Obidike

Nwagboso, a hotelier, noted that as the world is now discussing recovery and post coronavirus plans, Nigeria should give tourism priority as part of economy diversification, which should be more action than words now.

“Global oil price crashes at the slightest crisis, nobody is depending on crude revenue now except Nigeria. Post coronavirus, we need to take economic diversification seriously and tourism is offering itself”, Nwagboso said.

To ensure quick recovery for the sector, Saleh Rabo, president, Federation of Tourism Association of Nigeria (FTAN), in a letter of appeal to president Muhammadu Buhari through the Economic Sustainability Committee headed by Yemi Osinbajo, the Vice President, asked the federal government for N150 billion stimulus package for the sector considering that it was not included in the N500

billion stimulus package recently announced by the CBN. The stimulus package, according to the FTAN president, is necessary to encourage the players who are mainly private sector to bounce back from the huge losses caused by the pandemic.

If government fails to support the sector, Rabo noted that it would collapse with recovery far in sight.

Already, the hospitality sector, which purchases about 40 percent of agro-allied produce annually from Nigerian farmers and agroallied companies, may not afford 20 percent of the produce this year if the lockdown lingers.

Despite the stimulus, others think that recovery will start from the local front, hence are calling for concerted efforts at repositioning domestic tourism.

Speaking on the benefits of a thriving domestic tourism, while in office as the president, Nigerian Association of Tour Operators (NATOP), Nkereuwem Onug, who is now BOT chairman of NATOP, noted that a robust domestic tourism would translate into improved product offerings, more leisure infrastructure, especially worldclass hotels, resorts, parks, bettertrained personnel, among others.

He also disclosed that domestic tourism can only improve in the country if both government and private sector collaborate consistently in implementing all the enabling laws, removing all bottlenecks and threats to investment in the sector, improving on product offerings, adopting global industry standard and service culture.

Going by the present realities, many will jettison foreign trips and inbound travels long after the pandemic is curtailed. This positions domestic tourism and also means that government needs to listen to the advice of Onug and others on ways to attract more investments and make domestic robust with impressive impact on our GDP.

UNWTO leads call for action by govts to support tourism recovery … as words alone will not save jobs T

he Global Tourism Crisis Committee has united behind the World Tourism Organization’s rallying cry for governments to “go beyond words” and begin taking decisive action to safeguard the millions of jobs under threat as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Crisis Committee was convened by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in response to COVID-19. With tourism among the worst affected of all major economic sectors, the United Nations specialized agency for tourism also warns of the social and development toll the economic impact might have.

UNWTO is taking the lead in ensuring governments do all they can to safeguard livelihoods and shield the most vulnerablemembers of society.

UNWTO echoes wider call for action not words In the third meeting of the Committee, UNWTO urged members to increase pressure on world leaders to rethink tax policies and employment policies relating to tourism and to help make sure businesses survive to help drive wider recovery efforts.

This call to action comes as decision makers come under mounting

pressure to take concrete steps to help combat COVID-19. Drawing up financial and economic responses has been the central focus of the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank recently, while the European Commission has been enhancing political cooperation within the European Union. The Tourism Crisis Committee meeting was also held against the backdrop of the Saudi Presidency of the G20 calling on governments, private organisations and philanthropists to contribute a collective US$8 billion to address the existing financing gap and properly address the pandemic.

UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “This crisis has shown the strength of solidarity across borders. But nice words and gestures will not protect jobs or help the many millions of people whose lives are dependent on a thriving tourism sector. Governments have an opportunity to recognize tourism’s unique ability to not only provide employment but to drive equality and inclusivity. Our sector has proven its ability to bounce back and help societies recover. We ask that tourism is now given the right

support to once again lead recovery efforts.”

Looking beyond a locked down world The call to action comes as UNWTO reports on the extent to which COVID-19 has brought global tourism to a standstill. The UNWTO “Travel Restrictions” report notes that 96 percent of all worldwide desti-

nations have introduced full or partial restrictions since the end of January.

Secretary-General Pololikashvili has also called on governments to lift such restrictions as soon as it is safe to do so in order that societies are once again able to benefit from the social and economic benefits tourism can bring.

Looking ahead, the Global Tourism Crisis Committee is working on a Recovery Plan for the sector. This will be centred around open borders and enhanced connectivity while also working to raise consumer and investor confidence.

To help countries get back to growth, UNWTO will soon be launching a new Recovery Technical Assistance Package. This will enable its Member States to build capacity and better market and promote their tourism sector in the challenging months ahead.

Tourism speaking as one UNWTO formed the Global Tourism Crisis Committee to join every part of the tourism sector as well as leading international institutions

together to create a united response in order to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and prepare tourism for recovery. From within the UN system, the Committee includes representatives from WHO (World Health Organization), ICAO (the International Civil Aviation Organization) and the IMO (International Maritime Organization). Joining them are the chairs of the UNWTO Executive Council and its Regional Commissions. The meeting also saw an increase in the number of countries actively involved in the Committee. Present this time were representatives from Kenya, Zambia, Senegal, Jamaica, Brazil, Chile, Malaysia, Maldives, China, Greece, Croatia, Spain, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

The UNWTO Affiliate Members Department was again present to represent its Members from across the private sector, civil society and academia. Alongside them, the private sector was represented by members including IATA (the International Air Transport Association), ACI (the Airports Council International), CLIA (Cruises Lines International Association), WTTC (the World Travel & Tourism Council).

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Travel

Holiday destinations to have on your radar for your first post-lockdown escape Stories by IFEOMA OKEKE

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hile we wait for the pandemic to pass and lockdown to end, we can’t help but dream of the holiday destinations we’ll be ready to visit when it’s safe to jet off.

The Foreign Office’s advice remains against travel abroad “indefinitely” and if you’re wondering when we can travel overseas again, your guess is as good as many - but escaping to far-flung locations will be a luxury to savour when the time arrives.

Our holiday wish list for the first half of 2020 might have gone out the window but we’re looking ahead to the end of the year and 2021 at the once-in-a-lifetime trips we’ll be taking to celebrate our freedom and explore the sublime corners of the world we can only daydream about now.

These are the post-lockdown escapes to consider while you wait out the crisis.

The Maldives Everyone from Serena Williams to the Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas have holidayed here and there’s a reason why the Maldives are a

The Maldives

classic paradise. The remote beauty sought by couples in love and honeymooners, the impossibly soft sands and the unrivalled luxury at its five-star hotels, we’ll never tire of escaping to these idyllic islands.

In fact, Kuoni tells us that in the last week it’s seen a rise in new holiday bookings for 2021 and the Maldives is the top destination where people are heading.

The small and romantic island resort Maafushivaru Maldives was recently completely restyled. Chic, architecturally stunning and with its own little island, Lonubo, the resort

allows you to have private picnics and candlelit dinners just for two.

Finnish Lapland Many travel experts believe that once we emerge from isolation, we’ll opt for destinations that allow us to social distance and spend time in wide, open spaces. Dubbed ‘the last wilderness of Europe’, Finnish Lapland offers the right amount of seclusion and winter breaks packed with snowy adventures. With its glorious lakes, gentle mountain peaks and epic forests, this is a place where immersing yourself in nature and looking after your mental health

is the way of life.

Jamaica Due to be released in November, new Bond movie No Time To Die will put the spotlight on Jamaica after the Caribbean isle was confirmed as one of the filming locations. The film takes 007 fans to Port Antonio on the north coast but you’ll want to experience various parts of the island, including the Blue Mountains, Rio Grande rafting and Floyd’s Pelican Bar. Zermatt Following the abrupt end to the ski season in mid-March, the more than one million British skiers will be ready to hit the slopes hard this winter and Zermatt is the place to head. The car-free Swiss resort offers the highest skiing in the Alps, along with a superb apres-ski scene.

If you’re looking for a ski holiday that seriously impresses, Zermatt offers all the luxury and incredible experiences you can have (heli-skiing, anyone?).

Baja California Los Cabos was on everyone’s radar last year thanks to a new flight route from the UK, but those in the know will veer from the crowds and head to the untapped East Cape of Baja when we can travel abroad again. Costa Palmas, in particular, is a true hidden gem of Mexico fit for the well-heeled. While we can’t

promise you’ll bump into the Clooneys, you will find miles of golden beaches, rarely touched mountain trails and fresh-water swimming holes.

Cotswolds While we’ll be ready to jet off to faraway places when we can travel overseas again, our time in isolation has given us a new appreciation of the beauty spots found right on our doorstep. Some travel experts believe we’ll be travelling at home before restrictions are lifted for trips abroad, too. One place we’re looking forward to retreating to is the Cotswolds, where we can stretch our legs on long country walks and enjoy delicious pub lunches at the Wild Rabbit.

Orlando Flight-booking website Skyscanner says that Orlando has been the most searched-for holiday destination for travel in 2021 since the UK went into lockdown on 24 March. Its flight data looked at searches for travel between 1 January 2021 and 19 April 2021 and found that New York, Bangkok and LA were other popular spots. With its mild winter temperatures, sprawling malls and world-class theme parks, Orlando has plenty to offer travellers, especially if you’re travelling as a family or group of friends.

Evacuation: AON Condemns FG’s Engagement of Foreign Airlines

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he Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) has condemned the decision by the federal government to patronise foreign airlines for the evacuation of Nigerians abroad.

The body said that government’s action is disappointing after it had made earlier statement that it would engage two domestic airlines to carry out the evacuation exercise.

A schedule released by the Foreign Affairs Ministry said the first batch of evacuees of 265 from Dubai would arrive Nigeria Wednesday, May 6,2020, another 300 persons are to arrive from London on Friday May 10 on British Airways and on Monday, 11th May Ethiopian Airline would airlift those coming from United States of America.

In a statement signed by Nogie Meggison, the Executive Chairman of AON, the body said that Nigerian airlines have the capacity to bring their countrymen and women back to their fatherland and expressed shock that despite the fact that Nigeria does not have the resources now due to low oil price and despite the fact that airlines are struggling to keep their workforce due to huge loss in revenues occasioned by the

COVID-19 lockdown, a government agency would engage foreign airlines to evacuate Nigerians when the country has airlines that are capable of doing that.

“AON is shocked and disappointed by the decision taken by the federal government to evacuate Nigerians back to our country with foreign airlines. So we are calling for government to identify those officials who took such decision. At a time government is searching for ways to boost its revenue, some officials are giving away the country’s meager resources.

“These foreign airlines are not going to create jobs for our teeming youths. The federal government has made a call to employers not to sack their staff in the face of the current economic crunch

caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, but how can the airlines cope when the opportunity for them to make money and pay their workers were taken away and given to foreign carriers?

“British Airways cannot provide jobs for Nigerians, Emirates cannot provide jobs for Nigerians, Ethiopian Airlines cannot provide jobs for Nigerians; it is our airlines that can do that. But the support they need is being taken away by some government officials and given to foreign carriers from whom we don’t gain anything, except landing charges of about $2000,” he said.

The Chairman of AON described the action of the officials who took the decision to engage foreign carriers to evacuate Nigerians as economic sabotage.

Why we guarantee 100% fund refund to client-leading travel agency, Forbes Project Limited

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ith the sole aim of providing optimum services that guarantee ease, safety, comfort and above all timeliness to clients; one of Nigeria’s leading travel agency, Forbes Project Limited has reiterated its commitment toward giving out quality services with affirming 100 percent money back to any of business transacted with the reputable travel agency that includes Visa Procurement, Car rentals, Tour packages, Hotels & Flight reservation amongst others.

Speaking on this commitment, Olushola Micheals, the CEO Forbes Project Limited , disclosed

that the firm as a whole is reputable; that is the more reason 100 percent assurance is given to client on Visa Procurement with money back should visa processing be denied.

He said ‘We give our clients money back guarantee so as to assure them that their money is in safe hands. We do it in form of a written agreement, where both parties sign and commitment begins’.

Incorporated in 2013, Forbes Project Limited has excel in organizing tour packages to individuals and procurement of Visa and Holiday packages of top Nigerian entertainment personalities.

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Sunday 10 May 2020

Feature ‘Call Bob Nigeria’ shows how Niger Delta entrepreneurs can fill gaps in deepening oil industry

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IGNATIUS CHUKWU

s emphasis on local content grows stronger, the need for companies from the oil region to fill emerging gaps in the oil industry seems more glaring, and could be what ‘Call Bob Nigeria’ represents.

According to the chairman of the logistics company, George Chwulewa Okoroma, a fellow of the engineering profession CEO of Gambeta Groupe, his ability to spot a gap that showed up while he was doing engineering jobs has turned into a huge business and the emergence of ‘Call Bob Nigeria’.

In an exclusive interview with BDSUNDAY, Okoroma, who is president of the Association of Consulting Engineers of Nigeria (ACEN) and an engineering consultant revealed the steps that gave birth to Call Bob Nigeria and how the young professionals in the oil region can emulate the strategy.

“Engineering is development and no nation survives without it.

After my graduation, I worked with a construction firm for a period and I saw I would be very good as an entrepreneur, so I decided to set up my own firm called Gambeta Nigeria Limited (now Gambeta Groupe). I have done business with a multinational oil corporation (Agip) at Obagi and other locations.

“So, I saw a gap in their facilities to provide equipment for construction and some movement of personnel and materials to their various locations. I noticed this gap in the logistics services. Yes, they provide their own vehicles but they sought to lease too from vendors. So, I set up a company called Chilewa Investment Ltd, exclusively for long leasing. Somewhere along the line, we noticed some gap and that some persons are not just looking at long but short leases. The multinationals in emergency or to meet an immediate gap would call for short lease vehicles (two or three days) while the long lease is still running.

They may be in Lagos or Abuja and would want some equipment and vehicle on ground here in the Niger Delta. They would need the services from local companies in the region. We were getting calls for short services.

“When the calls became serious, and we had a young man who just graduated at Masters level from Imperial College in the sensitive course of Management (Technology & Entrepreneurship), I said okay, can you call Mr. Bob. Somehow, the idea just flashed to say, why not call this business; ‘Call Bob’. That is how Call Bob came up as an enterprise. Today, we have a company called ‘Call Bob Nigeria’, and the MD is a well-schooled young man with civil engineering like me but he is more into technology, entrepreneurship, business

development, etc. He is able to come up with the idea of translating those calls into business in the area of leases. He has done so well.

“Every business comes with its own challenges. Under long lease, you go to bed as soon as you have handed in the vehicle, but in short lease, you have frequent challenges. You deal with different clients, different locations, etc. So, it is about the issue of how to track the vehicles.

“So, Call Bob Nigeria in collaboration with Burnsley Technologies Limited came up with fleet management solution, drivers improvement device, which we now installed in these vehicles so that in real time, we know where the vehicles were, how to intervene or make replacement of a vehicle, etc. We would have vehicles in the pool as back up.

“Call Bob is there any time for such short leases and those interventions especially in movement, human resources and materials to any location, especially in the oil and gas. Some may think Logistics is not core engineering practice but they have to know that Engineering encompasses many areas. Logistics deals with engineering, too. It’s all integrated, it’s a business chain.”

The CEO of Gambeta Groupe and fellow of the Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE) who was pioneer chairman of the Omoku chapter gave details of how the company functions in the short term leasing space.

Details: How Call Bob deploys competence: As we speak, we have over 20 vehicles available at any time.

They cut across SUV, Hilux which is more in demand, shuttle buses, etc. Most of these oil companies move their staff and so they need the buses for about two weeks and back-to-back for crew change. Call Bob is ready and is very useful in the oil region.

Investment opportunity beckons Expansion is on our mind. We have clients who know who to call now. So, we are looking for investors to come in under our umbrella. We take their vehicles and we give value to the vehicles, maintain them and make them readily available for lease. Any investor with some spare cash can buy vehicles and bring to Call Bob. The world now is about partnership. No one man has it or knows it all. So, we are open for investors.

Another area is our technology can also be extended to fleet owners. With Covid-19 and the insecurity that may come, the strategy is useful; in case of accidents, hijack, diversion, etc. We have also intervened for other vehicles with technology. Our camera-based technology can give analysis of what actually happened. It is developed by our Nigerian technologists in partner-

George C Okorona

ship with those from Morocco and South Africa. We are all Africans.

As a consulting engineer, I have a network in Africa. As the treasurer of FEDEC Africa, (Federation of Consulting Engineers) with headquarters in Geneva, we have the opportunity to reach out. We leverage this platform to penetrate Africa and they get to know Gambeta and Call Bob. We urge Nigerian content companies to support us so we can develop our capacity.

Attitude of drivers and vehicle maintenance issues, a critical issue Beautiful! These two factors mean a lot, but technology will tell you the number of hours the vehicle has been on the road. You have the time to plan and know when to run and when to maintain. That is why we have drivers’ improvement system. Most times, you do not know what the driver is doing on steering, but with camera and geo-fencing, you know what the driver is doing; sleeping, overspeeding, etc? It tells you that a driver is sleeping and you will be the one to call you and accuse him of sleeping. Of course, the drivers are conscious of this fact. A driver can tell you he is on the way to Aba but head to Ogoni, but this technology will tell you really where the driver is heading to. The fleets are well managed and you have value for your money.

We are in a pandemic situation in Nigeria, and Call Bob can be of

help especially to move palliatives and foodstuffs. We are available to support. We can take a token for fuel. It’s just to help the government. We are a local company and we have drivers from all the ethnic groups in the state for local convenience and feedback. Call Bob is ready to offer help.

Repositioning in the outsourcing era That is why we are beefing up operations. Oprah Winfrey says there is nothing like luck but all about readiness meeting opportunity. We still want to boost our fleet despite the difficulties of manufacturers not being open yet.

What we are trying to do now is to make sure our vehicles are put in proper conditions. The economic era coming would be tough. The oil companies want nothing more than 50,000 km logged but we expect them to reduce that. What we are doing is to beef up by refurbishing. We can make the vehicles be in very strong condition. With price of crude oil the way it is, we expect low profile. We are ready.

We can also look out for people who want to dispose of their vehicles.

The silent mentor How his work and influence helped the younger ones and helped engineering.

I am so glad that I have been a silent mentor to many people.

I have influenced and mentored a lot of young people through

this group and through the IOCs such as Total E&P. Total wrote a profound statement on me during my investiture as ACEN president.

They attest that I have trained many engineers now in the IOCs, NDDC, ministries, etc. During my investiture, a crop of young men and women formed themselves into Gambeta Alumni. It made me happy because I hear about Harvard Alumni. My own little way in this region has created alumni of a brand of engineers. There can be no better evidence of what one man can do to bring up young professionals.

In business, I think I am a reference point. I set up Royal Fortress in Omoku which has spurred many hotels in Omoku and Port Harcourt. One man in Agip built a hotel to model Fortress. Krisdera Hotels & Resort Ltd was modeled after mine though it is bigger. There is another in Egiland (Titikpe). The owner stayed in my hotel and eventually built a big one. I am happy about this.

I speak French and some of my clients and guests are attracted to me because of French language.

We contributed our own little quota. In Total, I was the first indigenous person in Orashi region to start this kind of services. Other companies emulated this model and waxed strongly, too. Today, we have many others.

We provide vehicles and good drivers. This is important and critical. Businesses are going down and fleets are also going down. We have over 60 drivers in companies.

This is also support to the community. We are a recruiting firm with certification. We are member of Nigerian Employers Consultative Assembly (NECA). We have about 40 graduate-attachés seconded to Total E&P. We generate taxes to the government through many ways, PAYE, etc. We are a member of Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (PHCCIMA).

Message to young people Please focus on entrepreneurship. That is the way to go now that there are no jobs. Government may not have enough resources to provide jobs for everyone, so innovation, creativity, dedication, and commitment are the only way. Once you have these, you are good to go.

Please, take Rivers State and help it to become the hub of entrepreneurship, the hub of engineering and technology so that a time will come when we will be giving jobs to people from all over the nation and beyond. It is doable.

I use this opportunity to commend the Rivers State government for all the actions so far taken to protect the people against the ravaging COVID-19. I can only appeal to the FG to support the state because here is the major centre for expatriate community in Nigeria.

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Feature Lagos commuters groan as gridlock returns on major roads AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE

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aul Osita is a 35-year old office executive, who lives in one of the suburbs in Lagos State.

He works with one of the financial service companies that are located on the Island.

Osita’s job description requires him to be in office latest 8:45am before the start of business at 9:00am going by the new guidelines by Federal and State Governments, which stipulates that businesses that want to resume must open by 9:00am and close at 3:00pm to limit people’s exposure to the risk of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Osita, who resumed office work on Monday 4th May, 2020 following the resumption of commercial activities after the gradual easing of about 35 days lockdown directive imposed on Lagos and Ogun States alongside Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja to contain the spread of the pandemic, told BDSUNDAY how he spent close to 8hours commuting to and fro his home in Okota area of the state, to his office in Lagos Island that very Monday.

“On Monday morning, I left my house few minutes past 6:00am with the aim of getting to the office before 8:30 am. Do you know that I couldn’t get to the Island until 9:30 am? This means that I spent over 3 hours on a journey that ought not to exceed 1 hour 30 minutes. The traffic was killing and it was as if vehicles were trooping out en mass to congregate at a certain point in the Lagos Island that very morning,” he said.

The worst aspect of the whole dilemma, he stated, was the fact that he drove himself to the office that very morning to avoid human contact on public transport because one could hardly trust Lagos commercial drivers to adhere to the social distancing rule.

According to him, “I did not even know that what I saw on my way to the office that morning was a tip of the iceberg because the experience during the return journey in the evening was more traumatising. After close of work at exactly 3:00pm, I waited for one more hour for the traffic to ease before hitting the road.

Unknown to me, leaving the office by 4:00pm was not a good decision as I did not get to my house till after 9:00pm that night.

That was 5 hours after.”

“Prior to COVID-19, I used to take public transportation to and fro the office because it is cheaper, less stressful and if one encounter heavy traffic congestion, one can easily come down and take motorcycle popularly known as ‘Okada’. But at the end of my journey that Monday, I ended up spending more

...Motorists struggle to beat 8pm curfew

Congestion because the N4,000 fuel that I bought that morning almost got finished,” Osita lamented.

Apart from Osita, many Lagos residents and commuters have been going through excruciating pain in recent days following the return of heavy traffic congestion on almost all the roads within the metropolis immediately after the gradual easing of the lockdown by the Federal Government.

Many who spoke to BDSUNDAY said it now takes a minimum of 4 to 7 hours for someone to successfully get to one’s destination due to the heavy traffic situation. They said the harrowing experience now take a huge toll on their health and businesses.

To some, the heavy traffic congestion can be attributed to the fact that many enlightened Lagosians believed that the only way to achieve social distancing is by avoiding public transportation.

Toyin Yusuf, a Lagos business owner, who has been out of business for the past 35 days of the lockdown order, said that she preferred to drive herself to her shop on the Island to boarding public buses to avoid contracting COVID-19.

“I live in Ikorodu area of the state and my shop is somewhere in the Lagos Island.

Formerly, I used to board BRT buses from Ikorodu to my shop but to avoid this novel virus, I had to put my car on the road, at least three times a week in line with the state directive of alternating opening of markets, and the experience has not been easy at all in the last one week. After driving myself on Monday, I started expe-

riencing pains the next day due to the effect of the stress,” Yusuf said.

She stated that the traffic situation has always been tough at night because everybody would be rushing home at the same time to beat the 8:00pm curfew hour. “Most times, when I leave Island exactly at 3:00pm, I would not be able to get to my house until 9:00pm and in some cases, 10:00pm because the situation differs on daily basis,” she added.

“I drove in and out on Monday, May 4, cumulatively for 7hours for same distance I did in 90 minutes during the lockdown,” said Gbenga Bamgbeoye, a media practitioner with one of the media houses in Lagos.

Bamgbeoye, who described his traffic experience in the last five days of commuting to office after the ease of lockdown in Lagos on Monday as ‘horrible’, said that what people have been witnessing on Lagos roads in the last five days shows that the free flow of traffic experienced within the five weeks of lockdown was as a result of the fact that Nigerians were afraid of the law and not COVID-19.

He however, decried the fact that traffic robbers are gradually returning on major Lagos roads and bus stops following the return of heavy traffic on the road.

“The order day, a colleague of mine narrowly escaped robbery attack on Apapa-Oshodi Expressway on his way home after spending several hours on gridlock. This was one of the things Lagosians dread the most about traffic congestion. In some cases, many lose their belongings and even their lives to these

robbers,” Bamgbeoye stated.

According to him, many people in Nigeria today do not believe that coronavirus is real while some see the infection as ‘big men’ disease. “This was why many people rather than staying at home to protect themselves as advised by the government through the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and World Health Organisation (WHO), they troop out to do the business, which they can as well do from home.

“I have my fears of what the results may be in the coming days; I mean confirmed cases!

The crowd at banks since the first week of business resumption has been scary. Buses still carry full passengers especially at night when everybody wants to go home at the same time and by all means, despite Lagos State government guidelines,” he added.

BDSUNDAY can recall that as at 3:55 pm on Friday 8 May, 2020, Nigeria has successfully tested 23,835 samples, with 3,526 confirmed cases, 601 cases have been discharged and 107 deaths have been recorded in 34 states as well as the Federal Capital Territory.

Based on this, pundits believed that governments at all levels need to regulate the movement of people especially within high risk states such as Lagos to curtail the spread of the various.

To them, clustering of people on the road especially as regards to high volume of human and vehicular traffic spells doom for the country as confirmed cases in Nigeria, which is yet to pick, may end up skyrocketing in the coming weeks.

Foundation trains corps members on solar technology Ngozi Okpalakunne

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s part of efforts to reduce unemployment among the youths, Wurvicat Solar Foundation recently kicked off a free training of about 5000 STEM Corp members on solar technology and entrepreneurship skills in Lagos.

The online training, which will run for five years in the six geo political zones of the country, is aimed at raising network of youths equipped to shape a secured, sustainable, affordable and clean energy for all.

Speaking at the event, Atinuke Woraola Owolabi, executive director, Wurvicat Solar Foundation, said the training, which tagged “Energy 247 ACE”, was borne out of the vision to bring the persistent epileptic power supply in Nigeria to a stitching halt and ushering a future where energy is constant, clean, affordable and sustainable.

Owolabi also explained that the training aimed to raise young engineers with professional skill set to salvage the growing demand for renewable energy.

She regretted that Nigeria since Independence has not been able to light up all the rural communities, adding “While we have been unable to ‘Light Up Nigeria’ especially the rural areas using the Grid Power Network, technology has provided us an easy process to create a modular power generating system that is blended according to the needs of the communities and households that requires it.”

According to her, at the end of the free hands-on training of each batch, it is mandated that each batch embarks on a Solar Project in a rural community, in their different states of service.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire who also spoke at the event lauded the organisers of the training for their passion and tenacity to make the programme a reality Adefulire also affirmed that a significant proportion of the world’s energy supply is still generated from fossil fuels, which are associated with GHG emissions that cause local, regional and global environmental problems.

She noted further that because economic development is inextricably linked to energy sufficiency, energy demand and production are set to increase in line with the rising population with most of the demand being in cities as a result of urbanization. These levels of energy production and use from current energy sources are not only difficult to achieve, but also unsustainable from an environmental point of view.

“Some of the key environmental and social challenges associated with urban development are un-proportionally high energy consumption, a high level of greenhouse gas emissions, a vast ecological footprint, high resource consumption and large infrastructure costs aggravated by urban sprawl, the growth of informal settlements and the lack of livelihood opportunities.

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Sunday 10 May 2020

CapitalMarket Local investors outshine foreign counterparts with N376bn transactions in first quarter 2020

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TELIAT SULE n spite of the bearish sentiment sweeping through the Nigeria’s capital market, domestic investors executed N376 billion out of N626.87 billion transactions done in the first quarter of 2020. The value of the transactions done by domestic investors in the first quarter represented 59.82 percent of the entire first quarter transactions.

This implies that foreign investors were responsible for N251.87 billion, representing 40.18 percent in the first three months of this year.

On a month on month basis, domestic investors traded N165.14 billion in January 2020; N77.16 billion in February, and N132.69 billion in March. On the other hand, foreign investors traded N70.31 billion in January; N71.34 billion in February, and N110.22 billion in March.

“The Nigerian Stock Exchange polls trading figures from market operators on their Domestic and Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) flows. As at 31 March 2020, total transactions at the nation’s bourse increased by 63.58% from N148.50billion (about $484.60mill i o n) i n Fe b r u a r y 2 0 2 0 t o N242.91billion (about $630.04million) in March 2020. The performance of the current month when

compared to the performance in March 2019 (N110.11billion) revealed that total transactions increased by 120.60%”, the NSE said in its March 2020 report.

However, more foreign funds left the nation’s capital market in the first quarter of 2020. The total foreign inflow for January was

Bolaji Balogun bows out of Lafarge after returning the firm to profitability TELIAT SULE

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afarge Plc has announced that its chairman, Bolaji Balogun has notified the board of his voluntary retirement as chairman and member of the board of Lafarge Plc effective June 4, 2020. He has served on the board of the company for 15 years partly as a non-executive director and chairman of the firm.

The board of Lafarge has announced Adebode Adefioye as the successor to Balogun. The retirement of Balogun came at a time the Lafarge board he superintends recently returned the company to profitability. In its audited financial statement for the period ended December 31, 2019, Lafarge Plc recorded N115 billion as profit after tax.

At the end of the 2018 financial year, Lafarge posted a loss after tax of N8 billion. Consequently, the board of the company has recommended N1 per share as the final dividend.

“The Board of Lafarge Africa Plc is pleased to announce that, Adebode Adefioye will succeed Mobolaji Balogun as Chairman

effective 4th June 2020. Adefioye, a Non-Executive Director of the Company is the Chairman, Board Finance and Strategy Committee, Chairman, Board Property Optimization Committee and a Member of the Nominations, Governance and Remuneration Committee.

He has also served on the Statutory Audit Committee and the Risk Management & Ethics Committee of the Company.

“He has over 32 years work experience in different industries and is a graduate of the University of Lagos with Masters of Science degree. He is a member of the Institute of Directors and the Institute of Public Analysts of Nigeria.

He was appointed to the Board of Directors on the 20th December 2012 and currently sits on the Boards of Wema Bank Plc as a NonExecutive Director and Eterna Plc as an Independent Non-Executive Director. He also sits on the Governing Council of Bank Directors Association in Nigeria. Adefioye will step down from all Board Committees of the Company on assumption of the role as Chairman of the Board”, Lafarge said in a notice to the Exchange.

N23.81 billion as against N46.5 billion foreign outflow; inflow was N18.97 billion in February compared with N52.37 billion foreign outflow during the same month, and N22.49 billion foreign inflow in March in contrast to N87.73 billion foreign outflow during the same month. That brought the total

inflow to N65.27 billion in March as against N186.6 billion outflow in the same quarter.

Compared with the first quarter of 2019, foreign inflow in March 2020 at N65.27 billion was far lower than N97.63 billion in March 2019. On the contrary, foreign outflow of N186.6 billion in March

2020 was higher than outflow of N124.24 billion in comparable period in 2019.

When the domestic transactions are further analysed, retail domestic investors accounted for 45 percent while domestic institutional investors accounted for 55 percent in the first quarter of 2020.

NSE Commits N100m to Support the Fight against COVID-19

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he Nigerian Stock Exchange announced it has committed N100million to support the fight against Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Nigeria. N60million out of this sum will be donated to the Capital Market Support Committee for COVID-19 (CMSCC), while the balance N40million will be devoted to the “Masks For All Nigerians” campaign.

The CMSCC is a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) led committee, comprised of the capital market community and set up to galvanize the capital market ecosystem to play an active role in curbing the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria.

In addition to its efforts as part of CMSCC, the “Masks For All Nigerians” campaign will see the NSE donate over 100,000 reusable face masks to states most affected by COVID-19. In addition, The Exchange will run an enlightenment program on the safe use of masks on traditional and social media.

This initiative comes on the back of a growing call for the use of masks as an effective measure in slowing the spread of COVID-19. With the increasing body of evidence that the use of masks by the populace could slow the spread of coronavirus, several countries, including the United States of America, Austria, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Canada, and Nigeria to name a few, have adopted this

control measure.

Speaking on the initiative, the Chief Executive Officer, NSE, Oscar N. Onyema, OON said, “At the Exchange, we recognize the health and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Nigerians and the need to adopt more proactive steps in stemming the tide. In line with our tradition of supporting the communities where we operate, we have launched the Masks For All Nigerians campaign to ensure that protective masks get into the hands of citizens in the more vulnerable places.”

“Through our media enlightenment engagement, we will raise awareness on the proper use of masks, continue to encourage adherence to the guidelines that have been provided by relevant agencies, and emphasize that wearing of masks alone is not enough protective measure against COVID-19. We have also been deliberate with this intervention by patronising local manufacturers in our efforts to support indigenous businesses, who we have mandated to comply with the mask production specifications provided by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC),” Onyema further stated.

On his part, the President of the National Council, NSE, Abimbola Ogunbanjo said, “We are facing an

unprecedented existential threat that requires us to adopt a more collaborative approach in fighting this pandemic especially where social interaction is inevitable. As we work to encourage the use of Personal Protective Equipment through adequate production and distribution of reusable face masks, we call on the capital market ecosystem to support this initiative by wearing a mask when in public settings and donating masks especially to those at the bottom of the pyramid so as to protect lives leading to the reactivation of our economy.”

The Exchange has displayed remarkable resilience during this pandemic and continues to support the fight against COVID-19 in line with the strategic pillars of its Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility (CSR) strategy – community, workplace, marketplace, and environment.

The Masks For All Nigerians campaign and the donation of masks will provide immense support to the Government in reaching communities who have hitherto been left vulnerable.

The Exchange continues to support remote working and trading; promote market deepening activities; create an enabling regulatory environment for stakeholders; and recognise the efforts of public and private sector players in raising awareness, ramping up testing, and increasing the capacity of the health sector to slow the spread of COVID-19.

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SundayBusiness Travails of food vendors Food & Beverages With Ayo Oyoze Baje

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mongst the severe changes that have characterised the COVID-19 lockdown are the disruptions to the food supply, manufacture, preservationandmarketingaspects of the value chain. All because the stay-at-home order from the federal and state governments came suddenly, many of those involved in one or more aspects of the food security in the country have had tales of woes to tell. It is important to take note of such and more significantly, put in place sustainable policies and measures to mitigate the challenges should the world combat a similar health hazard in future.

In a country where the transport system still faces infrastructural hitches, including bad roads and

inadequate rail network, especially between the rural and urban centres, the lockdown grossly affected the movement of raw food items. For instance, Lagos being a coastal city that largely depends on raw food items from the hinterland states had food entrepreneurs stranded for weeks. Notable raw food items such as yam, sweet potatoes and cassava tubers, fruits such as oranges, mangoes, apples, bananas, plantains and leafy greens such as bitter leaf, water leaf, efo and ugu were all short in supply.

Those engaged in selling them directly to their customers were left short changed. Food companies that process them were shut down only to come back to face the high cost of the same materials.

From responses to some of those involved in their purchase, costs have gone up between 75% to 100%. Those stored were subjected to epileptic power supply. It is not surprising therefore, that some of them became vulnerable to all manner of spoilage such as by weevils, fungi, bacteria and viruses.

But worse than this was the alleged supply of some of these rotten food items which are clearly hazardous to human health by the federal government to the SouthWestern states. These were out rightly rejected by them but made public by Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State. Thank God, that they were not given out to unsuspecting citizens. Several of the beneficiaries would have been taken to their early graves even faster than those who fell victims to the dreaded

coronavirus pandemic! The pain is that the masterminds behind such heartless food supply may not be investigated and brought to speedy justice. That is impunity at work and Nigeria for you.

The implications of food poisoning affectingsuch vitalorgans as the stomach, small intestine, the kidneys, liver and heart is yet to dawn on us as a country. Much more media attention is required at this point. Prevention is always going to be better; wiser and cheaper than cure.

In fact, it is not enough for the food vendors to supply the items to the consumers but in safe and healthy conditions. Almost on daily basis, we find raw meat, fresh fruits and vegetables openly displayed in markets without covers but attracting flies and some pathogens, including bacteria and viruses.

This is one area that the Ministry of Health of several states have not done enough, to protect the consumers.

As a way forward, there is need for mass sensitization of food vendors on the nitty-gritty of keeping their items in conformity with internationally accepted food safety. Some officials of the Ministry of health as well as nutritionists should be assigned the duty of frequent training in this aspect.

What is the nature of the raw food items they sell? What are their keeping qualities, in terms of colour, flavour, texture and the nutritional values? What is their shelf life, or how long it would take for them to expire? What are the most common

pathogens, or disease-causing organisms that could attack them?

And what diseases could these lead to? What physical and organoleptic (smell, flavour, taste) changes could be linked to such diseases? Answers to these questions will be of great importance to food safety.

Close monitoring of the status of edible food made available to the public has therefore, become more important than ever before.

In addition, is their operating environment. It is a common sight to find restaurants situated close to filthy gutters clogged with all manner of dirt! These, as highlighted attract all manner of diseasecausing germs, microbes and insect vectors.

But the government must go further to ensure that it provides some facilities that would assist in food preservation. It is not only an eye sore to see mass of tomatoes, oranges, mangoes, bananas and plantains rotting away at some city markets but a preventable economic loss.

It behoves on the government to make sure that the food vendors so trained are given certificates worthy of their experience.

This should serve as one of the conditions to qualify them for selling what they do to the public. Besides that, is the significance of having accurate database to start with.

Once achieved, it would assist the government to know how many of them sell fresh meat, how many sell fresh fruits, vegetables, root crops and of course, the cooked version of them all. Such credible data would

also help the government in tax collection that should be in tandem with the prevailing economic situation of the food vendors and not to cripple their businesses.

And talking about taxes, from my visits to several small and medium scale food companies, there are recurring complaints about multiple taxation. That is, from both the local and state governments across the cities in the country, even when the concerned authorities deny such.

This is inimical to the growth and sustainability of such businesses.

Rather than concentrate on what the government could gain from the food vendors, it should focus first and foremost on providing them with the enabling environment to succeed. They need stable electric power supply, potable water, clean environment and of course, access to single-digit loans to grow their ventures.

Assofaridentified,infrastructural challenges, ignorance of food safety and food preservation, unhealthy environment, lack of data and multiple taxes are some of the challenges the food vendors contend with. Sustainable solutions to them would go a long way to making a success of their operations in the post COVID-19 period.

Baje is Nigerian first Food Technologist in the media ayobaje@yahoo.co.uk; 07068638066

Adapalm begins monthly production of 120 tons of CPO ...targets N3 billion monthly revenue, 35, 000 workers SABY ELEMBA, Owerri

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lans to revitalize the ailing Adapalm Oil in Imo State for optimal production to enable the state jack up its internally generated revenue (IGR) has began.

Presently the state-owned money spinning venture has started to produce about 120 tons of Crude Palm Oil (CPO) monthly.

During the one hundred days in office of Governor Hope Uzodimma, he announced that the monthly internally generated revenue (IGR) was a mere N1.2 billion but informed that his administration would devise means of raising it an appreciable height.

Increasing taxes and rates in the state may make the masses see the governor Hope Uzodinma led government as being insensitive to the plight of the citizens, as well as, the business community now that the Coronavirus pandemic has touched the economy of the entire world.

To make the administration to have a human face, the government rather chose to resuscitate the moribund Adapalm.

But the short lived former Governor Emeka Ihedioha administration had injected life into the Imo State owned money spinning

venture and that is the reason it could now produce 120 tons of CPO monthly.

Now Governor Uzodimma had embarked on an inspection visit to Adapalm, where he expressed confidence in what he saw, saying, that his mission was to have on-the-spot assessment of the present state oil palm industry and to see ways the government could contribute to facilitate industrial growth, harmony, expansion and increased productivity, despite the resultant lockdown as a result of the global coronavirus pandemic.

He expressed happiness that production had commenced once again at Adapalm and that 120 tons of Grade A oil per day was been produced.

Uzodinma said that the government was committed to bringing back the company as one of the state’s hopes of economic survival after the global economic downturn due to the coronavirus scourge.

“We are committed to bringing Adapalm back to stream. It is one of our greatest hopes of surviving the post Covid-19 period immediately after the coronavirus pandemic era. Of course, you know that the economy is almost becoming epileptic. We have to look inwards to see how best we can restructure our economy, boost

Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) strength and then ensure that our citizenry are also busy”, the governor said.

Assuring that placing Adapalm in its rightful place would raise the internally generated revenue of the state, and that the company on its own is a value chain that can produce not only palm oil, but also other oil-related products like margarine, sheer butter, palm kennel oil, among others.

The governor stated that the government was keen on expanding the company due to the poten-

tial 35,000 jobs that could be created. He explained that Imo State stands to benefit from N2 billion to N3 billion turnover once the place is fully revived.

But the access road that leads to the industry has been in ruins and could affect the present production of 120 tons per month and the N3billion revenue projection when revived fully and producing at optimal capacity, but Uzodimma had noted the deplorability of the access road to the Adapalm Plantation and other oil installations in the area and appealed for

patience with the government to fix the road.

Meanwhile Governor Uzodimma has appealed to irate youths of the Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area where the business venture is domiciled to eschew restiveness and vandalism of government property and other oil installations as his administration would not tolerate rascality and recalcitrance from any quarter.

He frowned at the illegal activities perpetrated on Adapalm and Imo State oil, especially the felling of 6,000 palm trees linked to Seplat Petroleum Development Company, and warned that government would not take it lightly with any person or group that tampers with the economic trees of the state.

Conducting Governor Uzodimma round some oil facilities owned

by Seplat and a few other oil conglomerates, Austin Kalu Egwuagu, chairman, interim management committee of Adapalm, thanked the governor and his entourage for finding time to visit the facility despite the attendant Covid-19 pandemic.

Egwuagu added that the committee would not disappoint Governor Uzodimma’s administration as they were having the ‘3R’ mantra of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Recovery as watchword.

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Sunday 10 May, 2020

SundayBusiness COVID-19: Time to reckon with Talking Mortgage informal sector as growth factor with

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s COVID-19 continues to ravage regional and global economies, contracting national revenues and reducing household and company income, ways of rejuvenating economies should be the main preoccupation of economic managers at various fields of human activity.

In Nigeria, efforts are being made to find growth sectors of the economy and housing is a strong suspect. Everywhere in the world, a good and thriving housing industry rides on the back of a functional mortgage system.

Operators of the country’s mortgage have recently come to the realisation that they need the informal sector with its large number and undeclared economic power to grow and be more profitable. There is no better time to do that than now when coronavirus is holding economies down.

Before now, there was an ongoing debate on the possibility of including the informal sector with its estimated N81.048 trillion annual income in a new housing fund that could be created and added to the existing Pension Commission’s (PenCom) multifund structure with the aim of narrowing down housing affordability gap.

This, however, has to happen alongside lowering of mortgage interest rate to single digit of 8- 9 percent, down from the current 17-22 percent commercial rate which operators charge on mortgage loans. The argument flows on the assumption that the inclusion of the informal sector operators who constitute about 67.54 million of Nigeria’s 81.15 million workforce in the contributory pension scheme will lead to increased housing affordability.

In the same vein, as economic activities continue to shrink leading to loss of jobs, salary cuts and significant drop in personal income, most of the primary mortgage banks (PMBs), which are struggling with hash operating environment and rising nonperforming loans (NPL), are looking to the informal sector to sustain their operations and also stimulate growth in that sector.

Low capital base coupled with the prevailing economic conditions have so impacted the operations of these banks that a good number of them are unable to meet their contractual and statutory obligations to their clients and regulators respectively.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says that notwithstanding PMBs’ improved performance in the past couple of years, their

SAPIENCE: Rethink with

Toluwanimi Osinowo info@cantab-associates.com Obinnae-mail: Emelike Lesson 2 : Reorder your priorities core part of your thinking that must be addressed if you are to face turbulent times successfully and indeed take full advantage of the opportunities that they will create, is your pattern of business priorities.

We are now able to address this productively having gone through Lesson 1, where we learned how to redefine our businesses and recognise the importance of the intangible aspects of our businesses.

The first thing to note is that your business is not about you. Unfortunately, this is the normative wayof thinking about business. People generally go into business with themselves in mind. You may raise your arms in protest at this assertion but on closer examination you will find it to be true. The focus of a lot of businesses is their own survival.

In essence, the business exists to maintain its own existence and if possible, to increase its size in the

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process. This is folly- it is a redundant system that is self-centered and selfreferential.

It is self-centered. Unfortunately, this self-centered mode of thinking is so deeply entrenched in our collective mind, that we have developed all sorts of schemes to keep it alive by masking it even from our own selves.

We have “customer service” but we do not mean true service. Instead, we have come up with this scheme in realising that the customer is an important agent in our self-centered agenda. For many businesses the customer is a means to an end, a tool to be “used” to achieve our end of self-sustenance and self-promotion.

Good “customer service” simply means that I “use”my customers in the best way possible in order to maximise my gain. If I do not have good customer service, I may not retain the use of these customers but if I have a good customer service, I will retain them for longer time and earn a greater profit.

It is self-referential. All you need

loans and advances, deposit liabilities and other liabilities decreased.

But the operators are not resting on their oars. They are building blocks and putting measures in place to engender growth of this fledgling sector in order to increase access and affordability, and by extension, enlarge the clan of homeowners in the country.

Unbundling of mortgage origination process, further reduction in loan origination period, introduction of computerised land titling registration, land title insurance, introduction of uniform underwriting standards (UUS) for informal sector, enactment of foreclosure law, and wider public awareness for the sector are part of the push by the operators for the growth of the sector.

Mortgage is a sub-sector of the economy and the operators are saying that since the larger economy is not doing well and the mortgage sector is not insulated from what is happening in the larger economy, what is happening to them is not unexpected.

“We know what happened to oil price and the foreign exchange market. These have affected everything in the economy. In the case of oil, both the volume and the price went down. All

CHUKA UROKO

(08037156969, chukuroko@yahoo.com)

these affected consumer purchasing power. Don’t forget that the balance sheet of the mortgage banks were not strong abnitio”, said, Ayodele Olowookere, CEO, Omoluabi Mortgage Bank Plc. He stressed that the problems of the mortgage banks revolve around their small capital base and so there isn’t much they can do. “For all the money that I have, unless I raise additional capital, I don’t think I can do 1,000 mortgages. To do mortgages, you need long term funds and that is the only way you can do long term mortgages”, he said.

Udo Okonjo, CEO/vice chair, Fine and Country West Africa, agrees, emphasizing that the real core factor responsible for the slow growth in this sector is that the banks and the mortgage institutions don’t have long term funds; all they have are short term deposits.

“The underlying fundamental for mortgage growth is that we have to have saving culture and large financial base because mortgages are long term funds. In an ideal world, you will be talking

about 20-25 years mortgages at very low interest rate”, Okonjo added.

Technically speaking, Nigeria has no mortgage system and Okonjo reasons that the country doesn’t really have a real estate sector. “What we are doing is just scratching the surface. If we really want to create wealth through real estate which is one of the major ways the developed world creates wealth, then we have to develop and grow the mortgage sector”, she emphasised.

But the operators are not deterred. “We are here to stay and grow this sector”, Olowookere assures, revealing that “at Moluabi, we are looking at the best way to do things, especially in credit management and evaluation.

We are looking at the informal sector.”

“People in this sector are not collecting salaries, but earn huge and regular income. So, we are finding creative ways of bringing them into the net. We are also looking at new ways to raise capital by bringing in more shareholders,” he further said.

How to turbo-charge your business through turbulent times (Part 5) to do is take a look at any notable company celebrating a significant milestoneand you will have to arrive at the [logical] conclusion that a great company is one that is large and profitable; one that has managed to makemore profit than its competitors. So, companies boast about their geographical reach, their rate of growth, their profitability and so on and so forth. Our rhetoric betrays our true motivations– motivations that will eventually permeate everything in the business. Of course, some of these things are not wrong in themselves and may even be desirable but they are not priority.

Our priorities should be different.

Your business is about other people. This is not primarily a change in activities but a deep change in mindset. You are in business to serve.Not just to join the trend of “service” as a business buzzword but to truly serve another person. To care for them like you would like to be cared for, to seek their wellbeing and welfare.

Your business does not exist to perpetuate its own existence – it exists to improve the welfare of someone else. Your customers do not exist to make you great; you exist to make them great. Your priority should be the customer (if we can call them that at this stage).

This is a major point. One that

would require hours and even days of robust discourse to fully grasp- it must not be skimmed over in this short article. We are dealing with the root of your business which sits in your mind. Remember that your real business is NOT the goods you produce and/or supply. Your real business is delivering meaning to people and the meaning your business communicates to customers finds its origin in you. Even though it may be true that your organisation intermediates whatever you may be doing - so vendors, colleagues, processes etc. can contribute positively or negatively to execution of your intention - the point still remains that the essence of your business originates in your mind and has its effect in the mind of the customer.Your business mindset must change from prioritising self to prioritising others. You should not underestimate the transformative potential of this change in mindset. It lies at the root of everything.

How does this reordering of priorities affect my profit? Join me next week to find out more Questions 1. Take a piece of paper and write down why you are in business.

Clearly state out what the priorities of your business have been.

2. Would you still do this business if all the money/provision you (and your family) needed to live well was guaranteed for the rest of your life? If not, what would you do? What does your answer tell you about your motivation and business priorities (your answer to Question 1)?

3. Is there a discrepancy between your answers to Question 1 and Question 2 above? Why do you think that is?

No part this article may not be reproduced, copied or used in any manner whatsoever without the prior written permission of the author.

Dr. Osinowo is a thinker and teacher: coaching high-potential leaders, advising organizations and originating breakthrough ideas. He is the founder of CANTAB Associates and the pioneer of SAPIENCE which is both a philosophy and methodology of thinking. He previously worked in the London office of the leading global strategy consulting firm Bain & Company. He studied Medicine at the University of Cambridge where he was a Cambridge Commonwealth Scholar. He can be reached for your questions and comments. e-mail: info@cantab-associates.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/toluwanimiosinowo

Sunday 10 May 2020

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29

Sunday Business Business Clinic with

Seven steps to transition your side hustle into structured organisation

Start-Up Doctor MUNA ONUZO

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n the course of my work as a business consultant, I have seen many business owners who have and are still struggling with scaling their side hustles. Although many people started with side hustles that eventually grew into big organisations, there are still many who struggle with knowing the difference between both structures.

Every industry has a unique system. The oil and gas sector’s business protocol differs from those of the automobile industry or the food processing business.

To begin, you need to understand the sector your side hustle falls.

This knowledge will help you start to put the building blocks of growth in place. On Startup Talk this week, I will highlight the difference between an organisation and a side business hustle and share seven of the fifteen steps to transition your side hustle into a structured organization, no matter how small you are today.

A side hustle Vs an organisation It is essential to state here that your side hustle and an established organisation are both classed under the same tag as “Businesses.” What this means is that your side hustle is also a business though a “microbusiness,” while an organisation can be either a “small, medium or established enterprise (SME).”

The focus of this article then is to help you understand the differences between both types of businesses and what you can do to move your micro endeavour into becoming an SME. The difference between a side hustle and an organisation lies in the time and attention it receives from the business owner. A side hustle is a business you engage in by the side, while you go to school, have a full-time job or nurse your children as a full-time housewife. Also, a vital characteristic of a side hustle is that the founder often assumes the role of the production manager and delivery driver, among others.

One significant thing about a side hustle is that without you, it cannot run successfully. Another difference is that working in your side hustle only happens in your spare time when compared with an organisation.

Though, this is a service or product you are currently providing on the side to augment your income, this type of business is still classed as a micro business due to its unstructured nature.

What makes it a business in the first place is the fact that there is an exchange of value between you and your customers. That is, you deliver value in exchange for money.

Instagram: @startupdoctor | @munaonuzo Mobile: +2348077701104 Email: thestartupdocto@gmail.com This exchange of value for financial reward equally applies to an organisation. However, where a side hustle differs from an organisation is in the nature of its structure. Any seriousminded organisation would have gone through the process of formal registration with the appropriate regulatory body. In the case of Nigeria, every organisation must be registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission before it can fully operate as a formal business. Once your side hustle is put on the grid, this is the indication that you have successfully started the journey towards becoming an established organisation.

Difference between a side hustle and an organisation The real difference between these two is that an organisation has gone a step further to create systems, structures and to hire the right personnel to ensure consistent delivery of commercial excellence. All these, without the direct hands-on, day-to-day involvement of the founder. The founder or CEO’s role is more of policymaking, risk assessment and management. The CEO is also in charge of executive management and defining the global vision, goals and objectives of the organisation, while ensuring the workforce is meeting the financial target.

For clarity sake, a side hustle is not an inconsequential endeavour. Some side hustles have earned in six months much more than their founders ever made in a year. Some have selfsponsored themselves in school, gotten married and raised their children from their side hustle.

However, if your goal is to build a Startup that will become a mega

business, then you need to start thinking about formalising your processes.

Many businesses started from home or the boot of their cars or garage of the founders. This informal structure is excellent and can work only for as long as you are satisfied with the current state of your income. However, if like me, you are ambitious, driven and passionate about running a well-established organisation, you will fight with all you’ve got to scale your side hustle.

Starting your business as a side hustle may be the only way for you to learn how your business works and how best to operate within the industry you have found yourself. This period in your company might well also be the only time that trial and error are tolerated in your business. Make the best use of this time. Making mistakes in this low-risk environment will avail you the firsthand knowledge on how to and not to run your business. This process will

also help lay a solid foundation for your business growth goals.

Not leveraging this opportunity could be a waste of the lessons you have gleaned from your days of little beginnings.

Therefore, you need to be as smart as your contemporaries who are career-driven and have made no bones about their goal to build their dream life through paid employment. They will have a juicy package and be paid pension upon retirement. They will also receive huge bonuses that will enable them to take out a mortgage and make a down payment on their homes. While you are still struggling and sinking all your pay not on paying off a mortgage, but into building your business. Fellow founder, this is not a pretty picture. It is a sad reality, and the sooner you wake up to the fact that business is warfare, the better! As a Startup, you will experience many discouraging episodes.

Your mind will tell you to give up on this dream and hang on

to your employment, especially when you remember the perks.

However, since you have read up to this point, I dare say that you are ambitious, fearless, and passionately driven to change the destiny of your micro business. I promise you that you cannot get the dividend of your labour if you choose to play or stay small. So, let us go mega!

Seven steps to transition your side hustle into an organisation There are, in truth, fifteen steps to take to make this a successful and sustainable transition. However, for the sake of this article, I will only list the first seven steps. To access the other levels, join my mailing list on www.startupdoctor.ng.

These fifteen steps each have sub-actionable steps that you need to follow to meet your set business transition goals systematically. I dig deeper into these sub-actionable steps in my workshops which you can get more information on once you join my mailing list.

I have used these fifteen actionable steps with my mentees, many of whom have recorded successful transition testimonials from employment to entrepreneurship. Two especially went on to win the World Bank grant, worth a whopping sum of seven million naira each in the recently closed-out GEM project.

These steps are the real deal.

You too can become the next big organisation if you come on this journey with me.

Below are the seven steps: Step One: Register your business.

Step Two: Acquire a Tax Identification Number.

Step Three: Open a current account.

Step Four: Get a dedicated mobile line, email address in your business name and a physical address where you can receive customers or regulators.

Step Five: Create a brand identity for your business Step Six: Create a digital footprint on social platforms – Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, website or blog etcetera Step Seven: Create a Customer Relationship Management system (C. R. M) For the full steps, join the Startup Doctor’s email list on www.startupdoctor.ng.

Point to note: You can efficiently serve more customers by creating a system for your business, putting structures in place and hiring the right hands.

It is when you carry out these steps that you will begin to build an organisation that will attract investors, partners and guarantee recurring income.

Don’t forget to write to me and share your business challenges on thestartupdoctor@gmail.com. And to join my mailing list so you can get more business success strategies.

To your continued success!

Keep Sparkling, Muna Onuzo The Startup Doctor

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Sunday 10 May, 2020

TheWorshipper ‘Why digital method employed by churches now will not pose membership problem post-COVID-19’ Rev Fr Olowolafe Peter, chairman Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Ekiti State, speaks on the lockdown, COVID-19 donations and government’s approach on easing the lockdown in Lagos and the FCT. Excerpts by SEYI JOHN SALAU: How is the lockdown so far in Ekiti State, as it affects normal worship? y experience has been sorrowjoyous indeed.

It is sorrowful because I never thought of such thing like this all my life. It is joyous, in the sense that in the midst of all these challenges our faith remains intact and I trust, in his appointed time, he will surely heal our land. With the help of our amiable Bishop, Most Rev Felix Femi Ajakaye and some members of our community, St Paul Catholic Church, Omuo-Ekiti, and special thanks to Senator Olujimi Biodun, money and food stuffs were distributed to older members, especially women and the indigents.

Some persons have criticised the action taken by the President to ease the lockdown in Lagos and the FCT. What is your take?

It will amount to gross omission if I failed to appreciate our President, Buhari. Right from the onset of this pandemic, I supported a total lockdown of the interstate and intercommunity movement so as to curb the menace. For me, I am totally in support of the direction the government has taken so far. However, I will like to plead for sincerity and openness in all their services. Also, we should look inward to see how we can

M

Rev Fr Olowolafe Peter

help ourselves. We are blessed in Africa with the best medical and traditional practitioners. We should ignore this idea of copy and paste of anything from America, Europe and China.

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) have been accused of not doing enough for members over the

pandemic; how true is that?

Point of correction, there is nothing like CAN and PFN. There is only one umbrella body for all Christians in Nigeria known as CAN. CAN is divided into five Blocs for easy administration.

These include, CSN, CCN, CPFN / PFN, OAIC and TEF. So, PFN is just a wing of CPFN/PFN Bloc.

Be that as it may, I will like to

Religious leaders in Enugu unite against spread of COVID-19 SEYI JOHN SALAU

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eligious leaders in Enugu State are said to have pledged to work with the state government to ensure that the coronavirus pandemic is contained in the state.

They have also committed to ensuring their members adhere to all safety guidelines in the state.

Callistus Onaga, the Catholic Bishop of Enugu Diocese, urged Christians in the state to strictly follow all safety protocols as recommended by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

Onaga, on behalf of other church leaders, said that all clerics

in the state needed to ensure that their members abide by the outcome of the meeting held with Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, the Enugu State governor.

According to him, details of the meeting would be relayed to their respective followers, as he calls for God’s intervention to ensure that efforts of the various arms of government in containing the pandemic achieve the desired results.

Zurqallaini Saeed, chief imam, Enugu State, said that the Muslim community in the state would abide by the resolutions reached at the meeting.

According to him, every religious leader in the state needed to contribute their best in

commend our national president, His Eminence Rev Ayokunle Samson for the exemplary leadership he has demonstrated so far, and all the states’ chairmen of CAN. I believe we have tried in supporting our members and encouraging them as well to adhere strictly to the government and medical directives on Covid-19. Nevertheless, there are many rooms available to further support and show love to our members as a body and church.

Is that to say that churches should continue to make donations to the government even as the lockdown gradually ease across the country?

Personally, I don’t have any problem with such brilliant idea (donations). For me, we need rather to commend them and challenge even others to emulate them. Nevertheless, the government should ensure adequate and proper use of such donations.

Donations to the government or individual are aimed at the same common good where there is sincere love for one another.

The church must be going through a lot considering the extended lockdown; what is your take on the continued closure of churches and their place of worship?

Nobody can silence the church of Christ. It is not my church; the church belongs to Christ. There-

fore, I don’t have anything to worry about. In Matthew 16:18 Jesus assured us that no evil or human authority shall prevail against the Church: ‘And I say to you, that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.’

Also, in the same gospel of Matthew 28:20, Jesus promised his abiding presence. ‘And behold, I am with you always, even to the consummation of the age.’ Therefore, my soul is at peace because our God is a faithful God. Good; if any pastor is empowered and directed by God to heal illness, there is nothing wrong with that.

After all, Christ used the apostles to perform many miracles as recorded in Acts of Apostles.

With the rate at which churches are going digital; do you foresee a problem with church membership post-COVID-19?

We will have to leverage the media again to encourage and reawake our members to return to the church. The present online service cannot be a problem in any way. For example, my church members know that you cannot receive the Eucharist on line. This means that you have to make sure that you come to the church.

The present online is just meant to be a means to share the gospel with our members this period of emergency.

RCCG HUS embarks on weekly community feeding outreach in Kubwa SEYI JOHN SALAU containing the scourge.

Church leaders present at the meeting included the Anglican Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Bishop Emmanuel Chukwuma and his Nsukka Diocese counterpart, Most Rev. Aloysius Agbo.

Bishop Amos Madu of Oji River Diocese (Anglican Communion), the Catholic Bishop of Nsukka Diocese, Most Rev. Godfrey Onah, the State Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rt. Rev. Christian Obiefuna.

Others were Archbishop of Enugu Methodist Church Nigeria, Most Rev. Christopher Ede, Chairman, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Bishop Godwin Madu, CAN State Secretary, Apostle Joseph Ajujungwa.

T

he area headquarters o f t h e Re d e e m e d Christian Church of God (RCCG), His Unity Sanctuary (HUS), Kubwa, Abuja has embarked on community feeding outreach to support the indigent members of the church community during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Yemi Ayodele, the area pastor, said that the stay at home order is really biting hard in some quarters and things may likely not get better in a few weeks from now.

According to him, as part of the Christian Social Responsibility of the church in times like these,

the RCCG HUS is playing its role of supporting the indigent in the society, hence the weekly feeding outreach which started in April.

Ayodele opined that the church plans to continue to hold its weekly feeding programme in the pipeline area of Kubwa in the FCT. He also confirmed that at each of the feeding outreaches, not less than 200 people were fed.

Ac c o r d i n g t o h i m , t h e feeding outreach is just one of the several initiatives the church has embarked upon over the years which include yearly free medical outreach to the identified indigent and aged members of the community.

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BDSUNDAY 31

Sports

Ighalo eyes season finish with Manchester United

M ANTHONY NLEBEM

anchester United striker Odion Ighalo said he hopes his loan deal at Old Trafford is extended until the Premier League season is completed following the coronavirus lockdown.

The 30-year-old moved to Old Trafford from Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua in January and has a contract until May 31.

Premier League bosses hope to resume the season in June but China’s Super League is also edging towards the start of their season after it was delayed by COVID-19.

“I would like to finish the season if it’s possible,” Ighalo told BBC Sport.

“I was in good form, good shape, scoring goals and now we’ve stopped now for over a month. I’ve given it my best and hopefully we’ll come back to play.

“The team had a good momentum before the pandemic started.

At the moment I’m on loan, and this will cut short my time at the club.”

Man United are reportedly keen

to extend Ighalo’s contract even though their attacking worries have eased during the lockdown.

The former Watford player has scored four times in eight games in all competitions for United.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side are fifth in the Premier League table with nine games remaining, chasing a Champions League spot after an indifferent season.

Solskjaer said his players had been wearing GPS trackers as part of their training regime as they prepare for a possible return to action.

“It’s not to keep track of them or spy on them but it’s been so long now, this phase and at different stages we’ve added things and I think the GPS has inspired and motivated a few of them just to go that little bit extra,” the Norwegian told the BBC’s Football Focus programme.

“We hope we’re getting closer and closer, we’re hoping so anyway and it’s time to ramp it up a little bit.”

Premier League clubs will meet on Monday to discuss their “Project Restart” plan.

No green light for Premier League return ANTHONY NLEBEM

O

liver Dowden, UK’s Culture Secretary, has warned that the Premier League does not yet have the green light to resume, but confident that the season will be completed.

Premier League clubs are due to meet on Monday to discuss the latest plans for ‘Project Restart’ - a day after an expected small easing ofcoronaviruslockdownmeasures.

Clubs are understood to have been told that the use of a limited number of neutral venues is the only way to complete the campaign, to limit the strain on essential services and discourage gatherings of supporters near stadiums.

But those at risk of relegation argue that the integrity of the com-

petition would be compromised by the neutral-venue plan.

Brighton chief executive Paul Barberisopposedtotheidea,withthe Seagulls hovering two points above the drop zone. Brighton were scheduledtoplayfiveoftheirremainingnine games at home.

Despite extensive contingency planning, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Oliver Dowden warned the Premier League was yet to get the go-ahead, with testing and player welfare major hurdles.

“They’ve not been given the green light,”DowdentoldBBCRadioonFriday.

“If we can get a plan that works then I’d like us to be able to go ahead with it because I think it would be good for the nation, it would be good for football as a whole.

“I’m really hopeful we can get this up and running but public safety

must come first so it’s only if we’re confident of that, we’ll be able to proceed.”

In Germany, the Bundesliga announced this week that it would resume matches on May 16, behind closed doors and subject to extensive coronavirus testing.

Dowden’s comments came as TheTimesnewspaperreportedthat Football Association chiefs would block any attempt to declare the PremierLeagueseasonnullandvoid and abandon relegation.

At least one club reportedly wants relegation to be scrapped if neutral grounds are used.

But The Times said it was understood that the FA board supported the Premier League board’s position that the league table should be decided on sporting merit even if it were cut short.

Gusau, Kalli, Uchegbulam, Azeez still shocked at Okenwa’s death ANTHONY NLEBEM

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ays after he passed on after a battle with leukemia, members of the board of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and other prominent figures in the Nigeria football firmament are yet to come to terms with the demise of MemberofNFFBoardandChairman of the Nigeria National League, Hon. Chidi Ofo Okenwa.

Chairman of Chairmen of Nigeria football and Member, NFF Executive Committee, Ibrahim Musa Gusau said on Friday that he was still lost for words: “I am still to recover from the shock. That Chidi Okenwa is dead? I knew he was sick and at the last board meeting we held via video conferencing, I noticed it and I told him after the meeting that he should return to hospital. We are all shocked that the meeting turned out to be his last with the board. Very sad.”

Another member of the NFF Executive, Babagana Kalli said: “It is very, very sad. Chidi was a very honest and energetic person. He was a good friend and committed soldier of Nigeria football. He was friendly to everyone. We can only pray to God to grant his soul eternal rest.”

EmmanuelIbah,anothermember of the NFF Executive, said: “I am still devastated. We were very close and it is still difficult for me to come to terms with his death. I am grieving intensely.”

Further to his earlier comments on Wednesday, former NFF 1st Vice President and Chairman of Imo State Football Association, Mazi Amanze Uchegbulam, added: “I am yet to

recover from the news of his death.

Chidi Okenwa was so well grounded in association football rules. Since 2005, he hooked with me and no week passed without Chidi engaging me with association football rules for clarification and understanding.

He was most enthusiastic. It was the same way I also hooked up to the late Pa John Ojidoh in 1994 to know about our Statutes. Chidi learnt very fast and I have always been proud of him. ” President of the Nigeria Referees Association, Otunba Tade Azeez, said: “It is not easily believable that Chidi is dead. We will surely miss him.

He was never afraid of standing up to challenges. He had that rare gusto to confront challenges and deal with them.”

Chief Operating Officer of the League Management Company, Alhaji Salihu Abubakar, said: “I am still in mourning. Chidi was a reservoir of knowledge and could reel out the Statutes, rules and other football conventions with ease. His death is a great loss to Nigeria football.”

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Complete lifting of COVID-19 lockdown: The dangers ahead

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t is no longer news that the Covid-19 pandemic has been ravaging the entire world. As at Wednesday, May 6, 2020 there are 3,724,688 cases with 260,938 deaths in the world. This pandemic has brought many advanced nations to their kneels including USA which is the world’s biggest economy and strongest militarily, with first class infrastructures and health facilities. As at the last briefing in May 6, 2020 she has over 1,216,739 cases and 72,233 deaths.

It is projected that USA will record about 134,475 deaths by August 2020. Five weeks ago, we had less than 200 cases in Nigeria. Today, we have 2950 cases with 98 deaths and 481 discharged and with gross inadequacies in preparation and medical facilities. Testing remains abysmal. Some governors are hiding vital health information like COVID-19 related deaths, thereby exposing more people to the pandemic. Like many of our things in this country, it is alleged that there was a deliberate laxity on the part of the authorities to do the needful. If the airports and borders were closed early enough, the affliction rate would have been greatly reduced. The airports were left open to allow the high and mighty outside the country then to return. Of course, the big men brought the pandemic into the country. I am not interested in this direction of analysis; my interest is from when the authorities eventually woke up.

It is four weeks now that the federal government placed Lagos and Ogun states and the Federal Capital Territory on lockdown on the account of the spread of COVID-19. Other state governments also announced their own form of lockdown.

Governor Nyesom Wike’s measures appear to be more comprehensive and strict. Some critics see them as draconian.

But the good news is that Rivers state has recorded very few cases. This is highly

commendable. We have since seen all manners of palliatives by spirited individuals, corporate bodies, churches and state governments. Some of the palliatives from state governments are very ridiculous and laughable. How can a kindred share a bag of rice, one tuber of yam and one carton of indomie (noodles) or an autonomous community sharing ten bags of rice, two bags of beans and ten cartons of indomie (noodles)? How about the crowd that gathers to share these peanuts? Nigerians in Diaspora are contributing money and sending palliatives to their various communities. And their efforts are better than what governments are doing in terms of quality and quantity of items being distributed. My community is one. I thank our sons and daughters abroad. Maybe that is what was alleged that the Minister for Humanitarian Affairs was using as excuse for the lopsidedness in sharing money in the northern states from our commonwealth to the exclusion of states in other zones.

According to the allegation, she said that southerners have people abroad who can assist their families and communities, while the northerners do not have. You can see this porous mentality cum argument. We also saw how security agents turned the closure of state boarders into lucrative ventures. They collect money from people and allow free movements of people and vehicles. The bane of our development efforts is lack of accurate and recent data. Another challenge is insincerity on the part of our leaders. Worst still, Nigeria has no safety nets or welfare programmes for her citizens and the most vulnerable segments of the society. This is pathetic and therefore culpable, given the huge human and natural resources at her disposal.

It is estimated that between 70 and 80 percent of Nigerians depend on daily struggles and hassles for their daily needs

and livelihood. Some say that the figure is higher. Based on this fact, Prof Charles Soludo, an erudite scholar, has argued against complete lockdown by most African countries because of its devastating impacts on these economies and their people. African nations already have weak economies and their people are very poor. These nations are likely to record more deaths from hunger than from the disease.

Very good argument! I will return to this poverty topic shortly. Prof. Steve Ibenta (my friend) called for caution on the blanket opening up of the economy. Dr. Reuben Abati (a notable columnist), drawing from the ugly experiences in Denver Colorado, during the Spanish flu of 1918 and similar mistake in Marseilles France between 1720 and 1722, where the authorities succumbed to the pressures from business people (with their narrow profit motives) to open up those cities only to sustain unimaginable disasters, shortly after. The cities lost nearly half of their populations. Other patriotic commentators have also added their voices for or against the debate. I want to add that I see great danger ahead if governments succumb to the massive pressures to open up the whole economy without adequate precautions and arrangements. I therefore, support the school of thought that the lockdown should be relaxed in phases.

For inexplicable reasons other than poor leadership, Nigerians are used to poverty. According to The World Poverty Clock, Nigeria is the world’s headquarters of extreme poverty. In a report released in May 2018, Nigeria had 87 million poor people replacing India with the population of 1.3 billion people and with only 73 million people who are extremely poor. In a

BENEDICT CHIMA ONUOHA .Onuoha, a professor of Management, writes from Port Harcourt

recent report (May 4, 2020) released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), 40.1% (or 82.9 million) of Nigerians are extremely poor. The NBS in the same report put the urban poverty index at 18.04% while the rural poverty rate is estimated at 52.10%. A report about five years ago showed that there were 112 million poor people in Nigeria. The point I am making here is that poverty rate is even decreasing though at a sluggish rate.

There are no reasons why it shouldn’t be too low. After all, China was able to pull out over 700 million of her people from poverty in less than three decades.

At this juncture, let me go into little history and my own experience on how people survive unexpected/unplanned/ uncomfortable events like wars, persecution, isolation or lockdown. This pandemic is an example. In 1967, we returned from our 74 Obalende road residence Lagos, to the village during the outbreak of the civil war. I was about 5 years, but observed everything that happened throughout the three year period of the war. My two senior brothers – Emmanuel and Edward, barely 17 and 15 years respectively joined the Biafran Army. My paternal and maternal cousins – John and Vincent also joined the army. John also returned from Lagos and Vincent was in the seminary. Many of my other relations joined the army. My father, being a Second World War veteran

Continues on page 15

COVID-19 and recapitalisation of insurance companies in Nigeria (Part 2)

Akin Oladeji-Johnbrowne

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hat is good for NAICOM at this period is to have a rethink on recapitalisation propositions of insurance companies, listen to informed opinion of African Finance Ministers, World Bank and ECA to postpone the recapitalisation to at least 36 months.

Having achieved the recapitalisation deferment goal as mentioned above, NAICOM should immediately change her supervisory and regulatory strategy frameworks. Emphasis should be placed on supervisory support of the insurance companies rather than punitive regulatory actions. As we are all aware regulatory officials in Nigeria generally have bias for monetary penalty rather than supervisory correction. The supervisory support will require NAICOM to engage in new manpower hiring, staff training and mental rejuvenation of existing staff to see their role as supporting the insurance industry from systemic failure.

New and old staff should disabuse their minds from servant master regulatory models.

Also, NAICOM should be bold to encourage merger and acquisition as may be expedient during post Covid-19 period. The supervisory

slogan should be “insurance must win”. If merger and acquisition model is expedient for survival of some companies, NAICOM must provide clear-cut basis for dealing with post-merger adjustment issues to avoid mistakes overlooked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in similar situation in the past.

During post Covid-19 period, no insurance company should be allowed to payout dividends, bonus or do share buyback. The dividend embargo will assist the companies to shore up their balance sheet to support the Nigeria economy during what is expected to be Covid-19 recession. New Zealand, Australia and United Kingdom are already adopting the dividend embargo policy. In fact, in the Eurozone, government and European Central Bank have moved to ban dividend payments by companies, especially those that have obtained government support in the past.

In Germany, companies were encouraged to stop dividend payment to prevent capital being distributed to shareholders that could be allocated to fight post covid-19 events.

The dividend embargo is consistent with postulation of Professor Lawrence Booth which argued that institutional structure, including a country’s financial system, institutions, culture, and industrial organization is important in determining dividend policy.

The time-tested dividend irrelevant model of Professor Modigliani and Miller is supportive of this idea too. In a perfect market, dividend irrelevance argument holds, whereby a dividend payment or omission is identical in impact to changes in a firm’s share structure.

Consequently, the dividend payment itself is irrelevant to valuation; what matters is the

firm’s free cash flow. In the real world what matters are the institutional and financial structure of markets. Therefore, if dividend embargo is adopted by NAICOM; it is supported by theory and consistent with practises as we have seen in other jurisdictions and literature of finance.

Insurance companies should be required to provide a 3-yearrecapitalisation strategy and succession planning program that will work in tandem with NAICOM supervisory support for the insurance industry. The strategy and planning timeline submitted by each company should be audited during routine inspection by officials of NAICOM. Any aberration from the strategy submitted by each company must be sanctioned with financial penalty. The planning document must be robust to include all corporate governance and risk matters.

It must also be approved and supported with undertaking from the Board of Directors of each insurance company.

Government must provide fiscal and monetary supports to individual, small and large companies during Covid-19 period in a consistent and transparent manner. The legislative arms of government at all levels must work cooperatively with the executive arm for the overall benefit of businesses and individuals. Canada’s initial financial support for Covid-19 is $82 billion and the proposed utilisation of the fund is well known to Canadian. In addition, Canada approved a $74billion wage subsidy for small enterprises to

argument their wage bill during Covid-19 pandemic. At the Provincial level, Premier Scotte Moe of Saskatchewan, Canada initiated a tax-exempt Saskatchewan Small Business Emergency Payment Program to support companies that have been forced to close or severely curtail their operation due to restrictions placed by the battle against Covid-19. The United States of America response to Covid-19 is also available in coronavirus.gov including assistance to small businesses and individuals. Nigeria government support should not be opaque and must be in sync with programs of state and local governments for the pandemic. Donations from public and corporate institutions must be transparently utilised without conflicting reports from government officials. Publicity and paparazzi of donations from individuals, companies and government officials should be real and not propaganda.

In conclusion, the Covid-19 pandemic is an eye opener to recognise the importance of contingency planning in organisations in Nigeria. The regulators including Securities and Exchange Commission, CBN, Nigeria Stock Exchange and other similar bodies must audit contingency plans of organisation being supervised on a continuous basis. It should form part of routine supervision requirements to mitigate against similar Covid-19 occurrence in future.

Dr. Oladeji-Johnbrowne, a Fellow of Institute of Chartered Accountants, Institute of Taxation Nigeria and Securities and Investment Institute, United Kingdom, is currently based in Canada as an independent Economic Policy Advisor).

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