BusinessDay 12 Apr 2020

Nigeria loses multiple millions of naira Easter celebration amid COVID-19: Keep faith alive, clerics urge Christians as churches cancel Easter activities

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mid the turmoil occasioned by the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, otherwise known as COVID-19, Nigerians have been advised to remain resolute and never to give in to despondency.

A number of clerics who spoke to BDSUNDAY, particularly urged Christians, who were supposed to be marking the Easter

ZEBULON AGOMUO

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Alfred Adewale Martins

but prevented to do so on account of the need for social distancing to

Emmanuel Udofia

contain the spread of the virus, to keep faith alive, nonetheless.

See page 16

he Nigerian economy is not only had hit by the slump in the oil price in the international market or the activities in the public and private sectors affected by the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, it has also been seriously impacted negatively by the cancellation of church activities

that had, over the years, helped.

Following the coronavirus outbreak and the consequent movement restriction and social distancing ordered by state and federal governments, churches have closed the doors of their worship centres.

Before the outbreak, some of the mega churches had announced activities to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus

Christ, otherwise called Easter.

Usually, some churches hold annual Easter Retreat at this time which attracts hundreds of thousands of worshippers. To successfully hold such events, the transport sub-sector of the economy is impacted positively as the mega churches that host such events engage the activities of transporters to convey See page 5

Corruption going on today is more than what we have seen in the past - Odumakin BUSINESS DAY

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Vol 1, No. 308

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Controversial palliatives tear Nigerians apart See page 2

Temper rises over neglect, discrimination

Angry citizens defy lockdown, threaten protest if FG extends it

Easter without festivities 23

Rivers: Star wars over COVID-19 containment efforts 24

Bundesliga to return on May 9 behind closed doors

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Dr. Tokunbo Oluwole (2nd left), representing Dr. Siju Iluyomade, convener of Arise Women, at the presentation of relief materials by the Arise Team, to the Lagos State Government at the Infectious Disease Centre, Yaba to help curb the coronavirus.

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Sunday 12 April, 2020

Cover Controversial palliatives tear Nigerians apart ….Analysts allege corruption in distribution process … NASS, Presidency biker over social investment programme …Civil society raises concern OBINNA EMELIKE, INIOBONG IWOK (Lagos); INNOCENT ODOH and JAMES KWEN (Abuja)

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he sharing of the Federal Government palliatives through the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, under Sadiya Umar Farouq, has so far been enmeshed in controversy.

The Federal Government had, penultimate week, started to make provision for the vulnerable in the society, disbursing N20,000 Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) payments to the beneficiaries.

The disbursement, which kicked off in Kwali Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory and some parts of Nassarawa State, was to serve as a palliative to help ease the untold hardship, which the lockdown has imposed on the vulnerable.

Farouq reportedly claimed that over 2.6million households have so far benefited from the palliative and that over 11million vulnerable persons have been identified in 35 states yet to benefit from the palliative measure.

Many Nigerians wondered what criteria were employed to arrive at the conclusion that the poorest of the poor were domiciled in Nasarawa, for instance. Critics also faulted that some videos of the exercise making the rounds on the social media show that some of the beneficiaries cannot be said to belong to the category being described as the poorest of the poor, as they look chubby and well-fed.

Allegations are rife that the sharing of the palliative packages has been discriminatory and politicised.

In some states, some residents have come out openly making a caricature of what was given out to them as a stimulus package.

BDSUNDAY gathered that the failure of those saddled with the responsibility of distributing the package to be transparent may have so infuriated some citizens who felt neglected to the point of openly disobeying the sit-at-home directive by the Federal Government.

Last week, the furore over the sharing method attracted the attention of the leadership of the National Assembly, which summoned the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq and some top officials of the Ministry in Abuja on the issue.

During her visit to the Governor of Ogun State at the Governor’s Office at Oke - Mosan, Abeokuta, Friday, the minister claimed that a total sum of N5.3 billion had so far been paid into 267,398 bank accounts of the poor and vulnerable households across 22 states under the Federal Government’s Comditional Cash Transfer Programme.

According to her, disbursement of Conditional Cash Transfer of N5,000 each to poor and vulnerable Nigerians, covers the months

of January, February, March and April, 2020, saying the payment for the months of May and June would soon be paid.

She told Abiodun that Ogun State which has not been benefitting from conditional cash transfer since inception would soon be captured from May as the team from the Ministry and the State officials would on Monday commence registration of the targeted beneficiaries.

Angry citizens allege corruption in distribution process Some analysts are blaming the breaking of the order on the uncoordinated sharing of the palliatives in the country and corruption by officials who are allegedly looking to profit from public sufferings.

“It seems the Federal Government does not have a good strategy at reaching a good number of lowincome households that need the palliatives. These are also the people breaking the stay-at-home order because they are hungry and no food to eat”, Marcel Ogonna, a senior public servant, said.

He argued that if government is claiming to have given money and food to the people, there should be data on the beneficiaries. “Every lowincome earner I know said they have not seen any palliative. So, who are government officials giving, where and when? he asked.

Ayotunde Ogunbode, an accountant, queried the whereabouts of the 12,500 metric tonnes of food items handed over to Sadiya Farouq, minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development by Sabo Nanono, minister of Agriculture, at the Minna Silo Complex in Niger State recently.

“The minister did not figure out how to dispatch the items to the many towns and villages where people need them. All she assured was the ministry has a structure in place from the federal to the local government areas to reach the vulnerable people. My mother in Ayetoro has not seen anything yet”, he lamented.

He argued that with the high cost of food items in the market, especially bag of rice, corrupt officials would rather divert as many items as they can to resale later to distributors and make money.

“It is only data, evidence of distribution and collection by the beneficiaries, making the process public and seamless and reaching out to the neighborhoods of the vulnerable that would curb corrupt practices in delivering the palliatives”, he said.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former minister of finance, condemned the Nigerian approach on the palliatives, urging the country to learn from Rwanda.

“Responsible food distribution with social distancing to assist lowincome households in the #COVID-19 era! A great example from #Rwanda where community workers distribute food and other necessities door-to-door,” the ex-minister tweeted on her handle.

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Lagos State Governor; Hajia Sadiya Umar Farouq, minister of humanitarian affairs and disaster management, and Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, special assistant to the President on SDGs, during the delivery of the Federal Government’s COVID-19 intervention materials to Lagos State Government at Lagos House, Marina, on Friday, April 10, 2020.

But Lagos State government has been impressive with its effort at curtailing the spread of coronavirus, as well as providing palliatives.

While the state is set to begin sharing of the second round of the relief items, many have observed that the items are not getting to indigents in the state.

Agnes Sessi, chairman, Lagos State chapter, Nigerian Labour Congress, who raised the alarm, urged government to make the process seamless by deploying already existing structures such as market groups, trade unions, social groups, community development unions, among others.

For others, the 200,000 households target in the first phase of the relief items sharing was negligible and using the data base of Lagos State Residents Registration Agency to identify the vulnerable was counterproductive as many low-income earners in the area not registered.

“Can the registration agency offer names of beneficiaries on their data? Officials may use that as cover up, while much of the items are taken elsewhere”, Sule Ahmad, an aggrieved resident said.

As Lagos State commences the sharing of the second phase of the relief items, Ogonna said it would be necessary for the officials to give details of the beneficiaries of the first phase as many doubt if up to 100,000 households received the items as claimed to be delivered by the state.

Ogunbode also called on the antigraft agency to beam its searchlight on funds meant for the palliatives, the items and processes as stealing from the most vulnerable in crisis period should attract high jail term.

Nigerians defy lockdown, threaten protest if FG extends it

The impact of the initial 14 days lockdown imposed on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos and Ogun states by President Muhammadu Buhari to tackle the spread of the COVID-19 is increasingly becoming harsher on Nigerians even as the lockdown expires after Monday April 13.

After nearly two weeks of shutdown many shop owners in FCT have started opening their businesses and the predominant excuse has been that they cannot shutdown their businesses and allow their families to go hungry as the expected Government palliatives have yet to reach them.

However, Nigerians appear even more distraught at the news of a likely extension of the lockdown by government as confirmed cases of the virus hits nearly 300 in the last couple of days.

A resident of Karu, a suburb of the FCT, Emmanuel Ugwu, told BDSUNDAY on Friday that people have no option but to open their businesses to feed their families. He said the lockdown has been very difficult for Nigerians, warning that any extension will lead to massive protests as government seems to have failed to provide the needed palliatives.

“The situation in Nigeria is very pathetic and it’s hitting every Nigerian hard. Things are so hard that Nigerians are dying of hunger and not even of COVID-19. As I am talking to you now many homes have nothing to eat even ordinary garri is not available for them. Everywhere you go to people are turning to professional beggars, every call you receive from family relations and friends people are just begging to stay alive,” he said.

He said that if the lockdown continues, hunger will kill more people

than the coronavirus even as he warned that any extension of the lockdown will lead to civil disobedience, saying Nigerians may prefer to die of the virus than of hunger.

“The government made us understand that there could be an extension of the lockdown. But Nigerians are ready to come out enmasse to protest if there is an extension. We prefer to die outside than to die inside our homes. If the policemen and soldiers will kill us, we are ready to die, we cannot sit at home and die of hunger, let coronavirus kill us instead,” he said.

He however, urged the government to find a way to disburse to Nigerians the funds coming from donations from private organisations and individuals such as Dangote, Femi Otedola and others to ameliorate the impact of the lockdown.

A resident of Nyanya, another suburb of the FCT, who gave her name as Rhoda Ibrahim, was in her hair-dressing shop doing her work on Friday. When asked if she was not scared of the task force on the enforcement of the lockdown, she dismissed any threat of arrest, stressing that she needed to work to help her family as there are no palliatives from government.

“The government said we should stay at home but they failed to provide us with what to eat. They are not even giving us electricity because there is darkness everywhere. So, we cannot wait on the government and allow our family to starve because of COVID-19,” she said.

Experts have also warned that Nigeria will be in bigger economic trouble as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc follow-

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BDSUNDAY 3

News EFCC replies US Senator, says his allegation over $300m Abacha loot against Magu is baseless Innocent Odoh, Abuja

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he Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has raised the alarm over the recent allegation against the Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu by the United States, US Senate’s Chairman, Committee on Finance, Charles E. Grassley on looted funds.

The Commission in a statement issued on Friday by the Acting Head of Media and Publicity of the Commission, Tony Orilade, reiterated that it is at the forefront of the transparent management of recovered funds and would not be dragged into any controversy over an allegation that has no fact or any iota of proof.

Th e E F C C i n t h e statement noted that the 86-year-old US Republican Senator had in a letter dated April 1, 2020, and addressed to the Chief Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section of the US Department of Justice, Deborah Connor, wrongly and maliciously accused Magu of “detaining individuals who have spoken against the Buhari government”.

“The allegation clearly has no bearing with the operations of the EFCC nor address the painstaking efforts of Magu in tackling the menace of corruption, without fear or favour.

“The EFCC is involved in the processes of repatriation of the looted $300million by the former Head of State, the late Gen Sani Abacha and quite aware of the tripartite agreement

Magu

involving Nigeria, the United States and Island of Jersey. “ As a n a n t i - g r a f t agency, the Commission has credible records of managing recovered funds and assets and it is rather unfortunate that the ranking US Senator, in a desperate bid to frustrate the repatriation of the funds, clearly embraced the well-worn antics of some unscrupulous elements in the country, who never succeeded in blackmailing the anti-corruption crusade of President Muhammadu Buhari,” the statement added.

The EFCC said that even the harshest detractors of Mr. Magu know and always acknowledge his firm and bold handling of the anti- corruption fight which continues to earn him accolades within and outside Nigeria.

“ On l y r e c e n t l y, t h e U S Fe de r al Bu r e au o f Investigation, FBI, gave an Award of Excellence to Mr. Magu for his unique role in a joint field operation codenamed, “Operation Rewired”. The operation yielded great results internationally in tackling the menace of cyber-crime.

“It is worrisome that a high-ranking US lawmaker of the status of Grassley could not get his facts rightly nor establish a credible premise of attacking an FBI- celebrated Magu.

Would the FBI have come out to acknowledge the effectiveness and credibility of the EFCC under Magu’s watch, if such allegation of oppressing opposition t o Pr e s i d e n t Bu h a r i ’s government had any merit?

“Besides, only recently, former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF)

and Minister of Justice, Mr Mohammed Adoke (SAN), and an opposition PDP politician, poured encomiums on Magu on the visible achievements of the EFCC under his watch. According to Adoke, “President Muhammadu Buhari is highly celebrated for fighting corruption and the poster boy of this celebrated achievement is clearly Magu’’ “It would interest Sen Grassley to know that three former governors who are ranking members of the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, which is President Buhari’s party, are currently serving jail terms for corruption. Is the EFCC also persecuting members of the President’s party?

“Grassley evidently lacks any sound basis for linking the EFCC and Magu with any oppressive or separatist agenda against government opposition,” the statement added.

The EFCC said further that records of convictions of the Commission are in the public domain as well as cases before the courts, which can be subjected to un-biased analysis and scrutiny.

“We wish to reiterate that the EFCC under Magu is too focused on the anti- graft agenda of the government to be distracted by such empty claims of the lawmaker.

Grassley and his sponsors are clearly on quicksand on this issue. “ Th e C o m m i s s i o n remains focused on its mandate against economic and financial crimes and will not be deterred by spurious allegations from individuals with hidden agenda,” the statement added

25 Ondo civil servants suspended over alleged job racketeering, N104m fraud KORETIMI AKINTUNDE, Akure

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bout twenty-five civil servants in the employ of the Ondo State Government have been suspended for allegedly committing various offences, including stealing millions of naira, employment racketeering and inputing fictitious names in the payroll of the state government.

Parading them in Akure, the Ondo State capital, the Senior Special Assistant

to Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu on Special Duties, Doyin Odebowale, said they were caught due to the recent reforms carried out by the Head of Service, Dare Aragbaye.

Odebowaletoldnewsmen that among those suspended was a civil servant (names withheld), who employed his wife and placed her on level 14.

The said wife of the senior civil servant was reported to have not attended any interview and that the state government was not aware of her employment, but she

was collecting salaries as a civil servant.

Also, a staff of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) was suspended for allegedly stealing the sum of N104 million from the coffers of SUBEB. Odebowale said: “We are here because of certain suspects the governor directed that we prosecute.

In the civil service there has been this stealing going on undetected. They do it in several ways especially through staff list.

“We have people that inputted fictitious figures

into the payroll. When the new Head of Service got into office, he put in place certain reforms to make us know those in actual service.

“We were able to discover that certain elements whose names appear on staff list were never employed. A particular man employed his wife and placed her on level 14. She never attended interview and she has been collecting salaries.”

He further disclosed that “One of them moved N104 million out of SUBEB Account.

We have other instances of other millions of naira moved.

Project Ark feeds vulnerable citizens as shutdown bites Desmond Okon

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n an effort to augment the palliatives of government during the lockdown, the Project Ark, a technologydriven initiative to provide for the vulnerable during the COVID-19 shutdown, has rolled out food distribution in Ikota Community of Lagos State.

Since the lockdown was enforced, livelihoods have been affected leading to governments’ response.

But non-governmental organisations have also developed programmes to cater for citizens.

Project Ark initiative which was launched in response to the plight of the homeless, low-income and daily wage earners during the shutdown distributed food items to 500 households in Ikota on Saturday, 4th April, 2020, with a commitment to feeding 4000 households for two weeks.

The initiative presents a technology-enabled, systematic and strategic approach to collecting and distributing dry and cooked foods, as well as sanitary items by employing a ‘One for all, All for one’ method that ensures no one is left to starve or in danger of infection.

Beyond a call for donations from Nigerians, the project

aims to support and enhance the work of other initiatives distributing relief materials in the fight against COVID-19.

A key part of the initiative is the involvement of the community in the execution process, with the aim of igniting a culture of generosity and encouraging citizens to be there for one another as it strives to build strong communities. “ We w a n t t o g o beyond giving handouts to encouraging a united effort towards solving the challenges we face as a people. An attitude of caring for our neighbors is much needed in these times and even afterwards. We want people to be able to adopt this system and implement it in their own communities to solve different social challenges”, said Alero Ayida-Otobo, the visionary of Reformers Arise Network and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Project Ark. B D S U N D AY l e a r n t that since the soft launch of Project Ark, almost 200 people and organizations have contributed to the effort through donations of cash and food items, as well offers to volunteer and provide a service.

The organisers say the project will move into more communities across Nigeria in the coming days and weeks.

COVID-19: Anglican Church donates relief materials to Lagosians SEYI JOHN SALAU

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he Diocese of Lagos, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has donated some relief materials to support government’s effort at alleviating the economic impact of COVID-19, on the back of the nationwide sit-at-home order called by President Muhammadu Buhari to curtail the spread of the virus.

“We deem it necessary, as a Diocese to lend our own support for the laudable efforts of the government to cushion the unsettling effects oftheCOVID-19pandemicon many families in Lagos State,” said Humphrey Bamisebi Olumakaiye, the Diocesan bishop and missioner, Diocese of Lagos, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion.

The Lagos bishop equally commended the Lagos State government on measures taken to limit the spread of COVID-19, since the outbreak of the virus in Lagos.

“A great leader is known during the time of crises; you have demonstrated an uncommon leadership strait,” said Olumakaiye.

The clergyman stated

that apart from the N5million already paid by the province into the designated account provided by the government, the diocese is donating various food and other essential items directly to the weak and vulnerable in the state coupled with medical supplies to support the state in the fight against the pandemic.

“We want to assure you that we are not just supporting you physically, our prayers are assured and we know that we will overcome this challenge soonest,” he stated.

Segun Oladehinde, senior secretary, Diocese of Lagos, said the initiative is to identify with the state government’s effort in alleviating the unavoidable seat at home orderanditsconsequenceson many families and businesses in the state.

“As a caring organisation we realised that we cannot be indifferent to the plight of many challenged masses of the state, which is why the diocese partnered with many other well-meaning Nigerians who have previously done it: we are trying to stretch out a hand of kindness to those who ordinarily will not have anyone to care for them,” he stated.

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News

Shell, LADOL boost fight against COVID-19 …mitigate impacts on communities Olusola Bello

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ADOL Free Zone said it is providing food and other essential materials to some communities in the country to mitigate the effect of the lockdown occasioned by the deadly coronavirus. The Logistic company is also providing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for the frontline medical staff working frantically to help contain the spread of the disease.

According to the company’s Chairman, Ladi Jadesimi, this is part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), stating that these provisions are in addition to the undisclosed financial donations it has made to Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN) in this regard.

Jadesimi, who stated this while speaking in respect of the firm’s CSR commitment towards the COVID-19 pandemic, disclosed that the company joined the coalition to fight against the disease because it believes the Federal Government is on the right track and is handling this crisis well as confirmed by the United Nations.

“We want to support the local communities to ensure that they can stay at home and follow government’s advice,” he said.

The Chairman of LADOL emphasised the need for local production and support for local companies to get through this pandemic, saying that over 80 percent of the jobs in Nigeria come from Small and Medium Sized Enterprises.

Osagie Okunbor

“Nigerians and all Africans need to be patient and persevere to get through this together,” he further said.

Similarly, The Shell companies in Nigeria have presented eight vehicles to the governments of Lagos and Rivers State to support the efforts at contact tracing and treatment of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases. The companies, comprising the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC); Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo); and Shell Nigeria Gas (SNG), also joined other players in the oil and gas industry to support the Federal Government with $30million to stop the spread of the deadly disease.

Osagie Okunbor, SPDC’s

Managing Director and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, disclosed this while presenting hospital and medical equipment to Rivers State Government in Port Harcourt where the company is headquartered.

Four of the vehicles, he said, went to the government of Lagos State which has the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and the other four, including an ambulance, were given to Rivers State.

Represented by the SPDC’s General Manager External Relations, Igo Weli, Okunbor said the multimillion naira donations would reposition three tertiary medical facilities in the state to test, treat and generally manage any COVID-19 case in the Niger Delta in the event of an outbreak.

COVID-19: Leo-Stan Ekeh Foundation donates N20m, food items to Imo SABY ELEMBA, Owerri

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eo-Stan Ekeh Foundation has paid the sum of N20 million into the Imo State COVID-19 account for the purpose of procuring sanitizers and other necessary materials to help the state government fight the pandemic.

He has also donated 40ft load of 20kg bags of rice, 100 cartoons of tomato paste,100 gallons of vegetable oil to help further in providing succor to the people of the state.

This in essence shows that the efforts put by the Imo State government to prevent the spread of the coronavirus

and provide relief materials to citizens of the state as a form of palliative against the menace of hunger following the lockdown are yielding results.

Governor Hope Uzodimma, who received the items, thanked Leo-Stan Ekeh for supporting the government to confront the COVID-19 ravaging the country and the world at large.

He acknowledged that Leo-Stan Ekeh Foundation has done well for the state not only in the area of scholarship to some Imo citizens but by providing skills and manpower to them. He called on other spirited individuals in the state to lend a hand of support to the state in the battle against

COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is a wakeup call for our brothers and sisters both at home and in Diaspora to think home and support the fight against COVID-19. Government alone cannot do all that is involved,” the governor said. Also, His Royal Highness, Eze George Azinna Ekeh, the traditional ruler of Ishi Ubomiri who represented Leo-Stan Ekeh, stated that the Foundation was appreciative of the creative energy and strategies instituted by the state government in managing the very challenging COVID-19 pandemic. He said it is a thing of joy that Imo is counted as one of the most protected states in Nigeria.

Easter: Buhari urges intensified prayers, collective responsibility to overcome COVID-19 James Kwen, Abuja

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resident Muhammadu Buhari said with intensified prayers backed by personal and collective responsibility, Nigeria shall pull through the most difficult trial posed by the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic.

Buhari expressed confidence that if all stakeholders play their part to the fullest as advised by scientists and medical experts in confronting the pandemic, the inherent resilience and determination of Nigerians will enable the nation contain the killer virus.

He said, even as the COVID-19 pandemic is a global challenge, government is not oblivious of the constant threat posed to national security by terrorists and insurgents who see the situation as opportunity to perpetrate attacks.

Buhari assured that the Nigerian armed forces and other security and intelligence services would remain vigilant and continue to contain these threats and consolidate efforts to eradicate them completely.

The President, who gave these indications Friday in his Easter Message to Nigerians, said Jesus Christ represented man’s ability to withstand temporary pains in the hope of everlasting glory.

He noted that there was no better opportunity than now for all Christians in particular, and Nigerians in general, to remain faithful and hopeful in this year’s commemoration of Easter

Buhari

that comes amid the grip with which COVID-19 has held the entire world.

“Unprecedented in living memory, majority of Christians have found themselves marking Easter in a subdued manner, away from the usual congregation in churches.

This is unusual and very unfortunate.

“However, I wish to enjoin our Christian compatriots to rekindle their faith in Christ who overcame persecution, sufferings and displayed endurance, steadfastness and above all piety.

“I urge you to imbibe and live the values of humility, discipline, perseverance, sacrifice and obedience which Jesus Christ demonstrated during His stay on earth”, Buhari admonished.

He also explained that: “As I stated in my national broadcast on Sunday, March 29, 2020, since there is currently no known vaccine against the virus, the best and most efficient way to avoid

getting infected is through regular hygiene and sanitary practices as well as social distancing.

“May I use this opportunity to commend the encouraging containment and ameliorating strategies put in place by members of the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19.

“I am very much aware of the personal and collective inconveniences suffered by our people due to measures such as restriction of movements and closure of business premises. Being a matter of life and death, these sacrifices are in everybody’s interest to save our country from calamity.”

He pointed out that “The welfare of our people is paramount. Accordingly, the most economically vulnerable in our communities will continue to be uppermost in our plans, and efforts will be made to supply them with basic means of survival.

Coronavirus: Xcene calls for increased levels of research, innovation Obinna Emelike

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gainst the backdrop of the outbreak of global coronavirus p a n d e m i c , COVID-19, Xcene Research, African leading contract research organisation, has called for increased medical research and innovation in the fight against the fast spreading pandemic.

The company at its office in Lagos made the disclosure recently, while commiserating with families of those who are battling with or may have lost their lives in Nigeria and across the world to the deadly virus. “We live in challenging times, where extreme safety measures are required for survival. The place of research is extremely important and cannot be overemphasized.

Exceptional situations require extraordinary measures and global problems require comprehensive solutions. We must, as a matter of urgency,

deliberately create an outlook for now and the future if we are to withstand pandemics such as these” said Adebukunola Telufusi, executive director of Xcene.

“It’s great to see the level of research now being directed to the development of a cure against COVID-19, we are happy about this progress and we are more than ready to support our partners locally and abroad with any research-based information that is needed to combat this outbreak” Adebukunola added.

Speaking on the national directive to stay at home and observe regular personal hygiene, Faramola Ogunkoya, a project manager with Xcene said, “we implore everyone to heed the current directives of social distancing, keeping ourselves and environs clean, washing our hands with soap and water regularly or using alcohol-based hand sanitizers to protect ourselves, we are confident that this would help

greatly to reduce the number of individuals affected and ease the burden on our health institutions to cater to those already with the virus”.

“At Xcene Research, we are dedicated to building strategic partnerships in Nigeria and across the globe to improve global health issues with a commitment to safety, excellence and results” she concluded.

The world at large and without exception Nigeria, has been hit by the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) indicating a significant and urgent threat to global health. The emergence of this new coronavirus has been recognized as an important and major challenge in Nigeria as well as the rest of the world.

XceneResearchanAfricanbased leading contract research organization with emerging partnerships across Africa has been advocating for improved Clinical research in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa.

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News

Christians enjoined to seek God’s face for end to COVID-19 SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin

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he Spiritual Father a n d Ch a i r m a n , Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church, Worldwide Ayo ni o, Most Reverend Prophet Samuel Adefila Abidoye, has enjoined Christians to sincerely seek God’s face for an end to the current COVID-19 pandemic.

The Prophet, who stated this in his Easter message, equally charged Christians in Nigeria to let the lesson learnt during the Lenten season to further strengthen their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

According to him, after fasting for forty days, the humility exhibited by the Lord Jesus Christ that rode on donkey to Jerusalem should be the guiding principles of the Christians.

The Prophet stressed the need for Christians to be their brother’s keeper and assist the less-privileged and vulnerable in the spirit of Easter to further germinate in their daily lives.

He said: “Regular reading

of the Bible and prayer that have been part and parcel of our lives and characters should not be jettisoned but should be maintained as we need to move closer to God to salvage the world so that His coming to the world will not be in vain.

“Yes, coronavirus also known as COVID-19 is seriously ravaging the world; this is the period to take our case to God and sincerely seek His face for an end to the current pandemic.”

According to him, “The COVID-19 has also forced the Church to put this year’s ascension of Horeb on hold, and this is an indication that virus is no respecter of people or race.”

Prophet Abidoye added that “As a Church we believe in the efficacy of prayer but we should as well stay healthy by following strictly the healthy tips and guide given by experts. This includes regular washing of our hands with soap, regular use of sanitizer, abiding with the social distancing rules, stay home order, among others”.

The Prophet explained

that restriction of movement as Christians to various Churches does not translate into restrictions to reading bible and praying to God even in different houses.

While commending the government at various levels for the proactive steps taken to curb the spread of the virus, the Spiritual Father called on government to create more avenues for improvement.

He charged government to look into the social security arrangements and measures to adequately take care of the people as a result of the lockdown so that hunger will not kill the people while staying at home.

“Although we are unable to hold the regular Palm Sunday and other services, that notwithstanding, let us show love and obey the precautionary measures announced by the government to stay safe and alive.

“This is the time for the Church to start thinking of embracing the trend in the Communication sector to communicate and conduct services among others.”

Nigeria loses multiple...

Continued from Page 1 participants to and from the venues.

During such events, millions of naira is spent on food, water, sanitary materials, electronic, electrical equipment, plumbing materials, and a host of others.

During such huge gathering, banks and telecommunication companies open outlets to render services to participants at the venue.

Speaking with BDSUNDAY, a pastor with the Redeemed Christian Church of God, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said although an unquantifiable amount of money may be lost in Nigeria at this period, no amount of money equals the soul of man.

“The directive by government for the sit-athome was to save lives. If we cancel Easter activities for this year to save lives, is it not better than insisting on going ahead with all our activities- crusades, retreats, and other large gatherings- and at the end people contract the deadly disease? We would have displeased God because

we refused to apply wisdom,” he said. “ Do n ’ t f o r g e t t h a t Christ Himself, who is the reason for the season, said what shall it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul? It means that no amount of money in this world is equal to the soul of man.

We must always look at it from that point of view. Let us save lives first before talking about what was lost in monetary terms,” he further said.

Silas Adi, who claimed to be a leader of one of the mega Pentecostal churches in Lagos, said the country would lose a lot of money this Easter, even though it may be difficult to quantify at the moment.

Adi said: “Talking from experience, I belong to a church that holds large retreats twice every year, excluding leadership conferences, and I know the money that is usually involved. We do hire big buses to transport our members to and from the venues; we roll out over 70 luxurious buses belonging to the headquarters

church; our members put their vehicles on the road; don’t forget that all these vehicles are fueled with diesel or petrol. Moreover, before the event, people spend a lot putting their vehicles in good shape for such journeys; so, they spend money on spare parts, paints, among others.”

According to him, “At the camp, we are fed three times a day. I am talking about several thousands of participants across the country; we buy soap; toiletries; and so many other things.

Normally, this money goes into the economy.

“I have just talked about only one denomination.

There is an uncountable number of churches in Nigeria that organise large events during Easter. Truth is, if anybody is looking at the losses in monetary terms, it is huge, but put side-by-side with the reason for the sit-at-home order, you will agree with me that it is only a living being that can talk about Easter celebration. We still have many years to celebrate if Christ tarries.”

Controversial palliatives...

Continued from Page 2

ing the fall in oil prices at the international markets, which has caused the economy to dwindle.

A security expert, who wished not be named, raised the alarm that insecurity and crime rate would worsen in the coming days and warned Nigerians to prepare for the worst.

“The economy is shutting down with the lockdown and no adequate provision is being made for the people of the lower class. There will be a sharp rise in crime such as armed robbery, theft, kidnapping, molestation simply because people are suffering.

A lot of people no longer have viable sources of income.

They have tried borrowing, begging and may resort to stealing,” he warned.

BDSUNDAY observe that while the Abuja city centre is in compliance with the lockdown, most people in the suburbs are having difficult times coping. Although most shopping malls are shut, many petty business owners in the suburbs have opened amid constant harassment from the task force.

NASS, Presidency biker over social investment programme TheNationalAssemblyand Presidency last week engaged in counter-accusations over the true position of things in the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) domiciled in the office of the Vice President.

While the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila are reported to have said the programme has failed, Maryam Uwais, special adviser to the President on Social Investments said their position was because members cannot include their candidates into the programme.

The National Assembly Leaders reportedly said the programme has gulped over N2trillion since 2016 when the special intervention fund was created as an annual budgetary allocation targeted at the poor and the sum of N500billion was provided in the budget every year since 2016.

Lawan and Gbajabiamila, who spoke at a meeting with the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq and some top officials of the Ministry in Abuja lamented that the fund had failed to reach the intended beneficiaries, hence the need for urgent reforms.

Lawan said: “The National Assembly is very much interested in the current intervention initiatives of the ministry, particularly with respect to the disbursement aimed at assuaging the plight of the poorest of the poor in Nigeria

against COVID-19.

“We feel that we need to work together with you to ensure that there is effectiveness, there is efficiency, that those who are supposed to benefit, benefit directly”.

He stressed that the National Assembly was concerned about the conditions and guidelines for the intervention programmes which are specifically directed at the most vulnerable Nigerians.

“When for example, some conditions are set that those who will benefit will have to go online, through the Internet or BVN (Bank Verification Number) and the rest of it; I want to tell you that the majority of those who are supposed to benefit have no access to power. They have no access to the Internet.

They have no bank account, so no BVN. “In fact, many of them don’t even have phones and these are the poorest of the poor. Yet, some of the conditions or guidelines which you set inadvertently leave them out.

“We believe that when we work together, the Executive side of government and the National Assembly as representatives of the people, we will be able to reach much more of these people who are in serious distress even before the coronavirus”, Lawan said.

But in a swift reaction, Uwais said: “The National Social Investment Programme has gulped over N2trillion since 2016, when the fund was created.

“Although the total appropriation by the National Assembly (NASS) from inception, for the 4 NSIPs, is N1.7 trillion, the actual funds released for the NSIPs between January 2016 and October 2019 (when the NSIPs were handed over to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development), amounted to N619.1 billion, constituting 36.4percent of the total appropriation from the NASS. “It was further asserted, apparently, that because the beneficiaries are not known personally to the NASS members, the National Social Register is a ‘scam’ and needs to be reformed through a process that is ‘more inclusive’ of the NASS.” According to her, “The demand for the inclusion of candidates to the NSR from the NASS has been a recurring issue from the inception of the NSIPs. My role and singular focus has simply been to comply with the terms of Agreement and the MoU entered into by the Federal Government of Nigeria, as well as to establish an objective, efficient and transparent process for uplifting the poor out of poverty through structures and mechanisms that are credible and sustainable.”

Uwais further said: “I have

consistently reminded both NASS Committee Chairmen on Poverty Alleviation that there is no social protection programme in the world in which politicians are responsible for selecting the beneficiaries of cash transfers. All successful social protection programmes extract their beneficiaries from an objective community platform, if only to ensure that the poorest of the poor are supported out of poverty in an inclusive community driven and timely manner.

“The data being collated in each household enables the accurate and scientific measurement and tracking, to assure of analysis and research towards resolving poverty. Since poverty knows no ethnicity, religion or political affiliation, the process must be insulated from influences that are likely to deviate from achieving the desired objective of alleviating abject poverty, rather than be used for patronage or as compensation for loyalty”.

The National Assembly also quickly countered that it takes: “strong exception to the innuendo by the presidential aide that her rejoinder was issued towards safeguarding the entitlements of the poorest of Nigerian citizens, whose benefits are likely to cease because they are not known or connected to NASS members or any other person of influence.”

Ola Awoniyi, special adviser on Media to President of the Senate and Chairman of the National Assembly, said the Federal Legislature, said such insinuation is unfair to the members of the National Assembly and entirely baseless.

He emphasised that public office holders should be receptive to constructive ideas and suggestions expressed to enhance service delivery and to improve the performances of public projects and institutions.

Civil society raises concern over distribution of palliatives Faulting the method of disbursement, the civil society organisations in Lagos it had failed to achieve the desire objective.

In a statement to the media on Friday by Federation of Informal Workers of Nigeria (FIWON), Centre for Housing and Sustainable Development, University of Lagos, Centre for Children’s Health Education, Orientation and Protection (CEE-HOPE Nigeria), among others, signed by, Deji Akinpelu, co-founder of Rethinking Cities and made available BDSUNDAY, the CSOs urged the Lagos state government in particular to engage individuals, corporate and faith-based organisations in the distribution of the palliatives in order to reach the vulnerable individuals in remote communities.

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Lagos gets consignment of food, drinks from Electron Energy Stories by JOSHUA BASSEY

T

he Lagos State government has received a consignment of food items and drinks from Alausa Power Ltd, a subsidiary of Electron Energy Plc in support of the ongoing efforts to contain the spread of Coronavirus pandemic in the state Commissioner for energy and mineral resources, Olalere Odusote who received the items from Alausa Power on behalf of the government, described Electron

L-R: Akin Abayomi, commissioner for Health; Sam Egube, commissioner for Economic Planning & Budget; Aderemi Adebowale, special adviser, Office of Civic Engagement; Anofiu Elegushi, commissioner for Home Affairs. Standing: Olusina Thorpe, permanent secretary, Ministry of Information & Strategy

LASG launches Covid-19 website

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agos State Government has launched a Covid-19 website to enlighten residents with up-to-date information on the coronavirus pandemic.

Olatunbosun Alake, the special adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Innovation and Technology, made the disclosure in a statement on. He identified the website as https:// covid19.lagosstate.gov.ng Alake said that the website would provide instant access to vital information on Covid-19 as part of efforts of the government to contain the spread of the virus.

He added that the website: https://covid19.lagosstate.gov.ng was an avenue to curtail the spread of fake news and provide members of the public with facts and figures provided by the ministry of health and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Covid-19.

“The website has detailed information with a breakdown of the local governments where patients admitted at our Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba, reside,” Alake said.

The special adviser said that details available on the website included the latest information on coronavirus, total number of cases,

recoveries and fatalities in Lagos and entire Nigeria.

According to him, it also has details on symptoms, safety tips and statistical breakdown of cases in the 20 local government areas and 37 local council development areas of Lagos State.

He urged the residents to remain calm and be supportive of the state government’s efforts against Covid-19 by complying with the stay-at-home directive.

Alake said that the government would continually devise Information Technology strategies to relay information about Covid-19 to the public.

and others who have so far donated to the state as compatriots, whose gesture was worthy of emulation.

He said assured that the items would be judiciously used to complement the welfare package being distributed to thousands of residents by the state government.

Commenting also, Abdul Hammed Mustapha, the permanent secretary, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, appreciated the company.

Mustapha said the state government will intensify its efforts in lifting the vulnerable, especially this

period of pandemic crisis.

Deen Solebo, principal/CFO of Electron Plc, assured the company will continue to support the state’s effort in stemming the virus.

Solebo explained that the gesture was to boost government’s efforts in curbing the spread of the Covid-19 and bring relief to Lagosians whose ability to get food and other essentials were restrained due to the lockdown.

He called on the residents to observe the rules on social distancing and hygiene as announced by the Federal Government.

Fire service averts tanker explosion in Igando

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agos State Fire Service on Friday averted a fire outbreak from a 45,000 litres petrol-laden articulated vehicle along Lagos State University (LASU), Igando Express Way, Village Bus Stop, Lagos.

Acting head of the state fire service, Margaret Adeseye, who disclosed this on Friday in Lagos, said the service received an emergency call earlier in the day at 7 a.m.

She said that the firefighters from Ojo Fire Station were promptly deployed to the scene.

“On arrival at the scene, the fire-fighters discovered fuel leakage on a 45,000 litres fully laden Mazda tank-

er, with registration number AAA 198 XZ. “The tanker was conveying Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) from Apapa to Agbara. The fire-fighters, however, neutralised the potency of the content and averted another potential fire out-

break,” she said.

Adeseye said that in spite of the lockdown, a good number of fire related emergencies had been successfully managed.

Adeseye urged Lagos residents to always stay safe and report fire outbreaks on time.

Agege flags off food distribution to vulnerable families

C

hairman of Agege local government council, Ganiyu Eg u n j o b i , h a s flagged off the distribution of rice, beans and other food items to vulnerable families and the elderly in the communities within the local government area.

The package is to cushion in the effect of the Covid-19 lockdown in the state.

Egunjobi delivered the items to community leaders and other stakeholders on Friday, to ensure proper distribution of the palliatives in the community.

“This token is being made to support indigent families with 400 50kg bags of rice and 150 of beans; 600 2kg bags of Semovita; 150 bags of garri; and 100 gallons

of cooking oil to be shared among them.

“The Leaders of Community Development Associations (CDAs), under the supervision of Baales who we have already taken care of, are tasked with the distribution of the foodstuffs.

“Like the Baales, members of security agencies within our community will equally get their share.

“Phone numbers of contact persons involved in the distribution will be made public in subsequent statements from the council. It is our hope and prayer that the food items will get to the right destinations, the poorest of the poor in the neighborhood,” he said.

Egunjobi said that across the globe, the human race

is facing barrage of attacks from the pandemic.

He said that the ravaging coronavirus pandemic is not only decimating the people, but also destroying global economy.

“Here in Nigeria, at the last count, almost 300 persons have been infected with a number of casualties suffered.

“Our economy has equally suffered on account of

the pandemic with the price of a barrel of crude oil, our mainstay, in the international market at giveaway,” he said.

The council boss also said that the total lockdown on Lagos State as one of the

measures to limit the spread has hampered economic activities.

He also said that LG is the closest to the grassroots, its job as government at this critical hour is well cut out.

The chairman said that the local government had been on a mission to ensure that life went on within the community.

“We have also continually embarked on sensitisation on the deadly disease and the place of personal hygiene and social distancing in curtailing its spread.

“We are carrying out fumigation exercise across the community and have provided several palliative measures to ensure that the indigent in our midst do not go without food,” he said.

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Ogun Watch Lafarge Africa donates two ambulances as OGSG receives various relief materials

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Stories by RAZAQ AYINLA s the lockdown in Ogun State to control the spread of COVID-19 continues, no fewer than seven corporate bodies and religious organisations on Thursday, donated various items, ranging from ambulances, food items and cash donations, as part of their corporate social responsibilities to support the government in tackling the deadly disease.

Receiving various items on behalf of the State Government in Abeokuta, the Deputy Governor, Noimot Salako-Oyedele, appreciated the various donors for coming to the aid of the government at this trying period, urging them to ensure the safety of their staffers by maintaining best practices of social distancing, which was part of measures highlighted to avoid the spread of the disease.

Salako-Oyedele, while commending the various donors for their promptness in responding to the call, maintained that, the present administration in the State would continue to partner with relevant stakeholders and religious organisations, adding that, since the broke out of the pandemic, a lot of money has been spent by government to ensure that health facilities were available to manage the spread of the disease.

“Part of measures to cushion the effect at this period of lockdown is the feeding of the poor and vulnerable in the society through the donation of relief packages across the 20 Local Government Areas of the State, and following the initiative of the President, we have also called on well meaning members of the public and corporate bodies to support us in managing the

Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun state inspecting the foods and other relief packages meant to be distributed to the poor and vulnerable to cushion negative effects of lockdown against COVID-19 spread in the state.

pandemic”, she said.

Presenting two fully equipped ambulances and two generators for use at the isolation centres to the Deputy Governor, Folake Odegbami, Head, Health Safety and Environment, Lafarge Africa PLC, said the cement company felt the urgent need to support government’s efforts in managing and preventing the spread of the virus in the State.

Earlier in his presentation, the Managing Director, Ogun Osun River Basin Authority (OORBDA), Olufemi Odumosu said the organisation ‘’is formally donating some agricultural items comprising; 200 crates of eggs, 20,000 sachets of drinking water, 100 cartons of table water and 50 bags of refined garri products, to serve as relief materials to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 lockdown in the

State’’, saying the coronavirus had taken a toll on lives, economy and the society at large.

He added that OORBDA would continue to support the state government as the need arises, promising to make emergency provision for water supply by drilling of boreholes for communities considered most vulnerable and in designated isolation centres in the State.

Similarly, in an online meeting, the Deputy Governor has appreciated the management of Procter and Gamble, for the donation of 20, 000 cartons of Safeguard soaps and 36,000 Ariel Detergent soap, worth N 5.6 million to the State Government.

In addition, the League of Imams and Alfas in Ogun State led by the Wakeel of Muslims, Yoruba, Edo and Delta, commended the efforts of the State government in combat-

ing the deadly virus, adding that several prayer sessions had been held to ask for forgiveness of sins and cleansing the land of the virus.

The league also made a presentation of a draft of N2.5million, as part of their contributions to support the state government in putting an end to the virus.

In their presentation of food items, such as rice and noodles, worth the sum of N1m, the Zonal Chairman of Nasrul-Lahi-Fathi Society of Nigeria ( NASFAT), AbdulAfeez Olawoyin, gave kudos to the State Government for its continuous sensitisation of members of the public on the dangers of the disease and how to ensure social distancing and limiting gatherings to a fewer number of twenty, he noted that NASFAT would not relent in its efforts at joining hands with the government to fight the virus.

Special welfare package for health workers, mobile testing laboratory are meant to better fight COVID-19 - Abiodun

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s part of efforts aimed at combating the novel Coronavirus in Ogun State, a special welfare package has been put in place for front line health workers, who are exposed to the deadly virus in the course of treating their patients.

Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun state stated this while updating newsmen on the fight against COVID-19 at his Iperu home in Ikenne Local Government Area of the State. The governor said new measures adopted to curb the spread of the disease included, identifying and enrolling of specific private hospitals as incident and first responders, to check people of symptoms and report to epidemiologists for prompt action.

He noted that staff of such private health facilities would also be trained on COVID-19 management and provided with personal

protective equipment, saying this would complement the over 500 government health facilities available in providing services to the people.

He said “We have concluded plans to take possession of a Mobile Testing Laboratory to complement the fixed one at OOUTH, Sagamu. The mobile laboratory will be sent across the State and deployed in areas with large population and random testing carried out to access the prevalent rate in the State.

“We are establishing dry throat testing facility, where people can visit and be tested. This will help us in identifying the positives that we have in the State”, he noted.

The Governor who revealed that the State has two new cases, residing in Obafemi -Owode and Yewa South Local Government Areas, said with the new cases, the

number has risen to six from the first Case, of which three have been discharged and one was responding to treatment and was in the verge of being discharged.

Commenting on the distribution of relief food items, which started over the weekend, Prince Abiodun applauded the people for their peaceful conduct, emphasising that, the items were meant for the elderly, the poor and vulnerable.

“I want to enjoin those who have not received to be patience.

The exercise is an on-going process and in phases. A pack is meant for a household and not for a street, group or Community Development Association”, he clarified.

The Governor, while speaking against politicising efforts at containing the Virus, maintained that government was battling with a pandemic that was causing havoc all over the world.

“We are battling with a pandemic that is sweeping the whole world. This is not time for politics, it is not time for games; it is not a time to throw political yaps. We will not be distracted by those who are bent on distracting us”, Prince Abiodun vowed.

He urged the people to protect themselves and their communities against the dreaded virus, by observing all the guidelines, avoid care free attitude, while constantly having it in mind that ‘’COVID-19 is real, is in the State and no respecter of location or social status’’.

Commending health workers for putting their lives on the line, the Governor acknowledged their uncommon commitment, vigilance and professionalism, saying that his administration would continue to review measures and strengths preparedness on regular basis, to combat the Virus.

Ogun moves against prevalence of infectious diseases with waste collection system As part of measures to curb the spread of Coronavirus and other infectious diseases which thrive as result of pooling system of waste dumping and collection, Ogun state government is finalising arrangements to establish a doorto-door waste collection system.

The door-to-door waste collection system replaces the old pooling system of waste dumping and collection which allows the residents of the state to dump refuse beside and on the median of the roads for the waste and environmental officers to pack and dispose thereafter.

Consequently, Ogun state government has announced the establishment of Ogun State Waste Management Authority (OGWAMA) to take care of new policy on waste management, preventing prevalence of infectious diseases and creating wealth through waste-to-wealth.

Speaking with some journalists on the new waste management system, Ola Oresanya, Special Adviser to Governor Dapo Abiodun on Environment, said the government had decided to change the policy of the former administration which allowed the people to dump refuse on the highway, helping infectious diseases to spread.

Oresanya, who stated that it had become an offence to dump refuse on the highway in any parts of the state henceforth, said, “Before now, the process had been waste collection on the major roads and our people are encouraged to dump refuse on the roads and they have been picking it before now.

“We have to change the tide.

The new process now is to ensure refuse collection at the door step and house-to-house waste collection. We don’t allow waste to come to the roads that is the first step and that publicity is going on in that area.”

He added he had held series of meetings, in his capacity as the Special Adviser on Environment and Chief Executive Officer of OGWAMA, with leaders of Community Development Areas and Chairmen of Local Government Areas, to ensure the roads in the state are free from refuse and other waste which could spark off infectious diseases within the state.

He noted that OGWAMA plans to ensure the state becomes the cleanest in the country, saying that in a bid to actualise the set goals, some private sectors have been engaged to provide the services of waste management on the door steps of the residents as the state will not hesitate to deal with the recalcitrant by arresting and prosecuting them.

“For people that are recalcitrant, there are some people, no matter how much you encourage them, they will want to test your capacity, we have Enforcement team to arrest them.

8

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COVID-19, social media and fake news pandemic

Frank Aigbogun

editor Zebulon Agomuo DEPUTY EDITOR John Osadolor, Abuja

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS Fabian Akagha EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, STRATEGY, INNOVATION & PARTNERSHIPS Oghenevwoke Ighure ADVERT MANAGER Ijeoma Ude FINANCE MANAGER Emeka Ifeanyi MANAGER, CONFERENCES & EVENTS Obiora Onyeaso BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER (South East, South South) Patrick Ijegbai COPY SALES MANAGER Florence Kadiri DIGITAL SALES MANAGER Linda Ochugbua GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (North)

Bashir Ibrahim Hassan

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Sunday 12 April 2020

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MANAGING DIRECTOR Dr. Ogho Okiti

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Tayo Ogunbiyi Ogunbiyi is of the Lagos State Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja

R

eprieve seems not yet in sight as the coronavirus pandemic lingers on globe. As at the time of writing this piece, more than 1, 603, 719 cases of the virus has been recorded globally while 95, 722 people have lost their lives to the pandemic.

In Nigeria, we have recorded 288 confirmed cases of the pandemic and seven fatalities. Currently, Lagos ranks higher in the infection ladder with a total of 158 cases, followed by the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, and Osun with 54 and 20 cases respectively. Currently, the pandemic has spread across 16 States in the country as well the as the FCT The rapidity of the virus’ spread across the country is quite worrisome. However, in as much as it is indisputable that the Coronavirus is deadly, there seems to be the ascendancy of another kind of pandemic, which if not properly checked, could result into greater harm in the society. This fresh

plague, contending for relevance with COVID-19, is fake news.

Although, cases of fake news have been on the rise for quite some time in our clime, the sheer recklessness of its occurrence, especially since the outbreak of COVOD-19, is quite alarming. In the early days of the index case in the country, the social media was awash with several phony reports.

Out of the lot, one that particularly stand out was that of the driver who drove the Italian index case from Lagos to Ogun State and was alleged to have vowed to spread the virus across the country except he was paid the sum of N500 million by the Federal Government.

Sound ridiculous? Well, for the originators it is not. Sadly, for the unsuspecting as well as manipulative social media ‘activists’ who rapidly help spread the fake news, it is absolutely a course that is in order.

Another COVID-19 phony tale that readily comes to mind is the one that ‘authoritatively’ confirms that President Muhammadu Buhari and his Chief of Staff, Aba Kyari, have been flown to the United Kingdom for COVID-19 treatment.

Not yet done, the fake tale bearers also came up with another spurious claim that members of the Presidential Task Force, PTF, on COVID -19 are paid N1, 000,000 million each per sitting, excluding feeding and travelling allowances.

As usual, it was an ‘exclusive’

report.

Still with same menacing gusto, these harbingers of counterfeit news also commandingly confirmed that the Lagos State government has relaxed ongoing lockdown of the State as announced by the President. They even copiously quoted Mr. Governor to corroborate the claim.

Without a doubt, the social media accelerates conversations in a more interactive way that makes communication more effective and worthwhile. Information dissemination is now faster and easier while genuine business transactions can be promoted through the medium for a vast global market.

But then, that is where it all stops. The social media has unfortunately become an avenue for the display of unconcealed acts of boundless social madness. In the social media, there is little or no regard for the truth.

A few years back, fake news was not a familiar term, but globally it is now seen as one of the greatest threats to democracy, security, free debate and unity.

Fake news is as wicked as terrorism. It divides the people. It poisons the mind of an unsuspecting public. It promotes falsehood and celebrates deception.

Unfortunately, fake news spreads like wildfire on the social media; getting quicker and longerlasting attention than the truth.

For instance, a deep dive into Twitter shows that fake news was re-tweeted more often than true

news was, and carried further.

Quite often, the genuineness of information posted on the social media is suspicious. While the conventional media processes and scrutinizes news gathering and dissemination and, thus, exercises control in addition to operating a feedback mechanism which gives room for refutation when practitioners erred, the social media affords faceless individuals the space to send conniving and spurious information.

Sadly, promoters of fake news usually get away with it, since there is no compelling process or law to insist on confutation.

Through this trend, many people have been ‘authoritatively’ confirmed dead while many have equally been labelled ‘looters’, ‘thieves’, ‘fraudsters’ etc. At the end of the day, the victims of such misleading information are faced with the task of responding to issues that never really existed.

Thus, as valuable as the social media is, its abuse can be menacing. The use of a tool largely depends on the users. For instance, a doctor operates with a knife while a murderer could also kill with a knife. For users of the social media, especially the youth, the watchword, therefore, is caution.

Though, it might not be feasible to impose barriers on the cyberspace, the fact that, unlike the traditional media, the social media have no gatekeeper should be of great worry to all concerned persons.

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9

Politics Creation of another state for South-East: Where does Ohanaeze stand?

O

Chinemerem Eke

nce more we have provided the cannon fodder for those who hold the view that Ndigbo cannot agree on anything.

The issue of the moment is the creation of another State for the South East. Unknown to many, this issue has made considerable progress, as the series of media exchanges that have taken place in the past few weeks have shown. The issue remains a family matter that should be resolved in the interest of the family.

Comrade Paul Ikechukwu Njoku fired the first salvo when he asked why Ohanaeze Ndigbo President-General, Chief Nnia Nwodo had stalled the moves that would have actualised the creation of a sixth state in the South East. He asserted that his position was based on verifiable facts, though they had not been made available to the public.

A timeline of recent activities for the creation of another state in the South East is as follows November 2017, President Muhammadu Buhari promised an extra state in the South East to an Ohanaeze Ndigbo delegation that included all South East Governors, President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Nnia Nwodo, DIG Hillary Opara (rtd), Prof.

Chigozie Ogbu, Prof Barth Nnaji, former Senate President Adolf Wabara, former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, Okwesilieze Nwodo, National Woman Leader of Ohanaeze, Dame Nne Nwafor, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Igbo Caucus of the National Assembly, Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, and others.

February 2018, the South East Gover-

Nnia Nwodo

nors Forum after a meeting at Lion House, Enugu, authorised the National Executive Committee (NEC) of Ohanaeze Ndigbo to select from among the state movements in the South East the demand that best satisfies the constitutional provisions on creation of states.

11 September 2018, Nwodo, inaugurated a Committee of the whole house headed by the Vice President (Ebonyi), Prof. Chigozie Ogbu, a former deputy governor of Ebonyi State, and vice chancellor, Ebonyi State University. Barrister Uche Okwukwu was secretary of the Committee.

27 September 2018, the Committee met with the leaders of the State Creation Movements at the national headquarters of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Enugu where each group made presentations and submitted documents to support their demands.

10 October 2018, Ohanaeze Ndigbo NEC Committee on State Creation met in Enugu. It completed its assignment and submitted its report to the Ohanaeze Ndigbo President. It received presentations from Aba, Adada, Anim, Equity, Etiti and Orimili.

Comrade Njoku, whose publication

chronicled the activities of the committee, noted the cessation of activities since the report was submitted to the Ohanaeze Ndigbo President almost 18 months ago.

Njoku was a member of the Committee.

All Committee members signed the report which included the votes taken on the submissions and presentations the State Creation Movements made to the Committee.

It was after Comrade Njoku’s publication that Chief James Ugwu, the Director of Media of Adada State Movement raised issues with the work of the Committee. He said the Committee should have worked with documents that preceded the 2017 meeting with President Buhari that reignited movements for the creation of an additional state in the South East. Chief Ugwu said those documents placed Adada ahead of the other movements.

Could this be the reason for the silence of Ohanaeze Ndigbo President on the report? How does Ohanaeze Ndigbo intend to proceed in the quest for an extra state in the South East?

Time is ticking away. A way of resolving this matter that would lend itself to equity and justice is for Ohanaeze Ndigbo to work with the report of its Committee of 18 September 2018. For how long would Ohanaeze keep its silence on the report of a Committee it set up? Where does Ohanaeze stand on the creation of another State in the South East? Should it not tell the public?

It is time Chief Nnia Nwodo broke his silence. He would also need to explain his ebbing enthusiasm in a move he began so well.

•Eke wrote from Enugu

FUTO and COVID-19 sensitisation drive in host communities SABY ELEMBA, Owerri

T

he management of the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO) has set up an Advisory COVID-19 Committee to evolve proactive measures to educate the staff, students and members of the institution’s host communities with basic relevant information to nip-in-the-bud, the possibility of the virus infiltrating the institution and its host communities.

In a statement made available to newsmen by the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Institution and Secretary of the Advisory Committee, Uche Bright Nwelue explained that the Vice Chancellor - Francis C. Eze set up the Advisory Committee with an overriding objective to arm the institution with adequate information on the virus as part of the preventive strategies to tackle it.

The team, which comprised eminent professors and directors from related fields of the health sector and university administrators had since gone on outreach visits to the host communities where they met with the traditional rulers to drive the message to the grassroots, the statement said.

The traditional rulers are Eze K.E. Odu (Agwa Ukwu I of Dindi Ihiagwa), Eze Sir

L.I Ajoku (Nnaochie 3 of Ihiagwa Ancient Kingdom), Eze Enyinnaya (Nzeukwu I of Obinze), Eze G. Ejimogu (Anunu I of Umuanunu Obinze), Eze R.N Osuji (Ezeudo I of Eziokele Eziobodo), Eze L.I.N. Okoro (Ezeoha 3 of Eziobodo).

Briefing the monarchs earlier in their respective palaces on the essence of their mission, the chairman of the FUTO COVID-19 Advisory Committee, C.P.U. Agbasi enumerated some of the measures which both indigenes and residents of the areas should adopt to avert the virus, the statement further said.

He explained its origin, mode of transmission, its infection process, the incubation period and symptoms.

Agbasi enumerated the means by which the disease could be prevented to include regular and thorough washing of hands with soap in running water, regular use of hand sanitizers, covering of mouth during coughing and covering of nose when sneezing.

Others he said were: avoiding touching the face, nose and eyes and surfaces, large crowd/gathering (social distancing) in addition to staying 2 meters (6 feet) away from other people.

Agbasi stated that the mission of the Committee was part of the social corporate responsibilities of the university to its host communities and made it clear that currently, there were neither drugs for

the treatment of the disease nor vaccines for protection, pointing out that the virus could survive on surfaces such as railings, tables, phones etc for up to 24 hours.

He said that health personnel are free to use protective masks and gloves while treating suspected cases, just as he advised indigenes of the communities with symptoms of the disease to isolate themselves, keep away from family members and friends and to call the contact phone numbers that were contained in the flyers made available to the traditional rulers for distribution to members of the communities, including the website:covid19ncdc. gov.ng.

The monarchs in their respective remarks commended the management of the Institution for taking the lead over other institutions in the crusade against the corona virus pandemic, just as they hailed the Vice Chancellor Professor Francis Chukwuemeka Eze for his wisdom and thoughtfulness in setting up the committee which according to them, was one of the greatest expectations as part of FUTO’S social responsibility to the indigenes.

“Do what you should do for our communities and the communities in turn will not fail in their duties to the university” they assured the FUTO COVID-19 Advisory Committee

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Sunday 12 April 2020

Politics Corruption going on today is more than what we have seen in the past - Odumakin Yinka Odumakin is theNational Publicity Secretary of Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere.

In this exclusive interview with INIOBONG IWOK, he speaks on the government claim of antigraft war. He believes that despite the mouthed corruption fight, the situation is even worse now than it was in the past. He suggests steps the country must take to bring credibility to the nation’s electoral system. He also spoke on other sundry issues in the polity. Excerpts: where they change all the figures and that is because the Police who are supposed to guide the process are in the hand of the party in power.So, we would advocate for the India process, where all the securitypersonnel involved in elections are under the electoral body. They are the ones that pay them salaries during election period.

They are the ones that would compile the names of people that violate the electoral laws and prosecute them.

But here in Nigeria, the Inspector General of Police deploys officers across Nigeria and it affects the process like we have seen over the years. All electoral personnel who take part in the election process should be under the electoral body. If you think we need a commission to punish electoral offenders, that is a joke. INEC has no power to punish electoral offenders, the police are to prosecute; that is what the law says.If you set up a commission, it is the police that is arresting and supposed to prosecute, but the police are under the executive; if there is no will nothing would be done.

A few days ago, the media was awash with the news about the arrest of the killers of Ayo Fasoranti’s daughter.

What is the truth? t is very true; after nine months that the murder took place, the Ondo State Police command appears not interested on investigating the murder.But we thank God that the federal SARS in Ondo State have now apprehended the killers of Fasoranti’s daughter. They had come to briefFasoranti about what happened and how it happenedlast Saturday.

They did a very good job and we commend them. We were informed that those suspects have been taken into custody. But the behavior of the Ondo State police command was surprising to us; in the past nine months, they did not even tell us what they were doing on the murder, even once. But God intervened through the SARS team who did a wonderful job by unravelling the killers of that woman.

I

Are you really convinced that the suspects arrested are the people who actually committed the crime?

Yes;they are the people. The suspects have made statements to the Police; I don’t want to divulge more on this. I don’t want to be prejudice or take over the Police responsibility, but I just want to inform our supporters, our friends and sympathizes that the killers have been apprehended.

The South and Middle-belt Forum last week criticised President Muhammadu Buhari for declaring a lockdown in the three states. Some section of Nigerians disagreed with the group’s position; how do you react?

That was probably by those who cannot read well, those who are challenged, because what we said was that we would support any due process by the government to curtail this pandemic. What we said was that the President had no powers to lockdown the three states; that it must be inconjunction with the governors of those states. Even in the US, President Trump could not lockdown New York; that is the same case here in Nigeria; the President cannot unilaterally act the way he acted; that remains our position.They should have consulted with the state governors. You just woke up and closed down Lagos within 24 hours. But, this is the same country where people are being killed daily; why is it that he cannot declare a state of emergency in those places.

Yinka Odumakin

But some Nigerians argue that Buhari has such powers under an emergency situation?

Which emergency power? where is it written in the constitution that the President can just shutdown the state in 24 hours? This is the poorest country on earth; why did he not declare such in Bauchi State? It is not just to issue decree, he should act within the law; this is democracy.

How do you react to complaints by Nigerians that the government should have provided palliatives?

Let those that give him emergency powers, or say he has such tell him to provide palliatives to Nigerians, that is my position on the issue.

Ahead 2023 general election, INEC has deregistered some political parties; what is your take?

Well, the political parties were deregistered according to the law. Yes, in democracy you have a right to establish political parties but we also have laws that regulate them here.The parties have been there and they know the conditions to meet before you can become a party and stay on the ballot forever if they want to. But, I think what we need as a must is to have credible free and fair elections to be able to determine the real strength of

the parties, then we can determine those that are qualified to be on the ballot.

Those who cannot meet up can try and struggle to be in the ballot in another time. So, let them give us a credible election and then you can freely say this party is not credible and you can separate the serious ones from the pretenders.With the system we have now, if they don’t want you to be on the ballot you would not be there, because the present set up of INEC is like that.

What other suggestions would Afenifere present as part of the electoral reforms?

The main issue to us is how do you hold election without any credible voter register? That is very crucial to a free and fair election in the country.You cannot continue to operate like this, we must have a credible voter register; that is not tampered with, and not full with fictitious names, like what we have been seeing in the last few years. It is very important if we are to check rigging in our electoral system.Secondly, we are also advocating that security should be in the hands of INEC instead. If you notice, the way election is done now, from the accreditation process to the point of voting in the polling unit, the parties’ agents seem to have their figures already but the real rigging starts during the collation centres

Do you expect INEC to review the time table for the gubernatorial elections in Edo and Ondo States after the Coronavirus crisis?

Coronavirus crisis must have sabotaged the preparation made towards both gubernatorial elections. INEC would have to review the whole timetable.I don’t know if they have the powers, but if not the National Assembly should give INEC the power to act during emergency cases like this.

What is your take on the clamour by President Buhari for a special court for corruption cases?

Well, it is neither here nor there. I believe if we are doing a sincere anti-graft war, where we have a professional system, the Police should be able to arrest and prosecute people in the country. But because we are running an abnormal society where there is so much hypocrisy we find that there is nothing on ground.

The corruption that is going on today is more than what we have seen in the past. With all these agencies fighting corruption; there must be the will to fight corruption by the Nigerian government, rather than being used as propaganda and campaign tool. We must be seen to be proactive; remember the APC chairman saying that anyone who joins APC their sins are forgiven. Whatever the party in government, either, PDP or APC, the government should set good example for others to follow.

Sunday 12 April 2020

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Politics Why Lagos needs more fund for disaster management - Opajobi Samuel Olu Opajobi, a political commentator and grassroots leader, is also the chairman of the Community Development Committee (CDC) in Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government Area of Lagos State. He recently spoke in an interview with some journalists and called on Lagos State government to put more funds in emergency management, engage the community in security issues, among other issues. INIOBONG IWOK brings excerpts: How did you emerge as the CDC chairman of a well-populated local government like Ifako-Ijaiye? n Ifako-Ijaiye, we have four forums, Ogba, Iju, Ifako, Obawole-Onibata forum, we have been rotating it and now it is the turn of Obawole-Onibata’s turn; my people asked me to go for it, given the way I worked closely with the last Chairman; it’s actually by election and I won .

KORETIMI AKINTUNDE, Akure

I

A

Any challenge since you resumed office?

To be sincere with you, since my assumption of office we have been enjoying the cooperation of the Local Government, even the state government as well has been good to us; the only thing I can say is the population explosion in the CDC which I don’t see as a challenge however. Compared to the last CDC, we now have more people to manage in terms of number. Since I was elected as the chairman I cannot say I really have any challenge.

Can you say you are enjoying the support of the LG as a result of the CDC cooperation with the LG in the area of revenue generation?

Definitely; since I assumed office as the CDC chairman, I have made it compulsory for our people to pay all their levies, like our annual CDA renewal, I set up a committee to help the people, you don’t need to go to the LG government as individual to pay your bill, the Committee helps you pay to the bank and distribute the receipts and we copy the LG. At our last meeting, I told all the Community Development Association (CDA) Chairmen that they should go to their respective CDAs and ensure that any bill sent from the LG particularly to the lockup shops, they collect and help the people pay to the bank; they should not pay cash to any LG official, it is now the responsibility of the CDA chairmen to go round the community, to the lockup shops as soon as the LG serves them the bills and help them pay to the bank. So, in a way, we have been able to limit the work of the LG officials to bill distribution while we take up the payment aspect.

Can you say this has been able to block revenue leakages and increase the IGR of the Local Government?

I can’t really say since I wasn’t privy to how much the LG was making before. So, I don’t really know if this has led to increase in the revenue but, this is just the style we decided to adopt in Ifako-Ijaiye and the CDA chairmen are cooperating with me and the LG can attest to it that this is a good strategy.

What are the areas you need government’s intervention in your community?

Well, first of all, I want the monthly subvention to be regular; you know we hold our meetings where we discuss community development from time to time, if people sacrifice their time to attend meetings and you cannot give them transport fare they may not come next time. Although, with the support of our able chairman, Apostle Oloruntoba, it

Forced holiday on people has brought more hardship - Ondo PDP guber candidate

Samuel Olu Opajobi

has been regular, but we want it to be more regular. Another area where we need government’s intervention is in the area of roads, not only here where I live alone, even at Ogba, Iju, Ifako and other areas, roads are bad, even if it is grading, the local government can help us do the grading before the state government comes to our aid.

As CDC chairman, you have been organising sensitisation programmes across the LG since the coronavirus pandemic broke out; tell us how you have been going about it?

Yes, we are doing this in obedience to the instruction given to us by the state governor.

When the pandemic broke out, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu invited us to the State House as community leaders and asked us to go back to our communities and continue to educate our people about the deadly virus and ways they can prevent themselves from contracting the virus; this informed our decision to carry out this exercise. Immediately I came back from the meeting with the governor, I called my exco members and made them see the need to begin aggressive sensitisation in our community; then we began; the first meeting we had was the first of its kind in Lagos; it was a huge turnout; various stakeholders- market women, artisans, health professionals, security agencies, community leaders, students’ representatives, media practitioners, government’s functionarieswere all represented.

What would be your advice to CDC where there are pockets of crisis here and there?

There is no area where they don’t have their own issue; it could be more in some areas.

We thank God in Ifako-Ijaiye, but some other

CDCs where they have large concentration of non-Yoruba speaking communities may not be this lucky, but what I will advise is that as community leaders, you must always see all the people as one regardless of their tribe.

Lagos is a metropolitan city and therefore, you must learn to tolerate others. As CDC chairman you don’t wait until there is crisis before you relate with the people; visit the mechanic workshops, talk to the artisans, relate with the market women, meet with the Hausa community, the Igbo and don’t discriminate, and be close to them all. More so, make sure you carry along the security agencies in all the happenings in your community. For instance, whenever we hold our meetings we usually invite the police, the DSS, and other security agencies so they come to listen to the security challenges from the people directly and know how to identify the flash points and know what to do. I don’t joke with security issues; that is why I don’t take it lightly with anyone who fails to pay his security due within the community.

As a community leader, what is your advice to the government of Lagos State regarding disaster management with special regards to recent explosions?

Government should learn to work with the Community for information, in the area of pipeline vandalism, the community people can be engaged. The Lagos State government should put more fund in disaster management and be more prompt in emergency response, Lagos is a highly populated city and because of our system, incidents like the Abule-Ado explosion should be prepared for and met with prompt response.

s large number of citizens are already groaning under the excruciating pain of forced “holiday” following the Federal Government’s stay-at-home order on COVID-19 pandemic, a Eyitayo Jegede, former governorship candidate of PDP, has said that there was need for individuals blessed by God and with something extra to spare to come together and salvage the situation irrespective of political affiliations.

Jegede, governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the last governorship election in Ondo State, in a statement made available to journalists in Akure, said the stay-at-home directive by government both at the federal and state levels due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has further increased the hardship on the people.

According to him, the hardship increased on the people that do not have the financial capacity to cope with long periods away from their daily means of survival.

He, therefore, appealed to the wellto-do in society to help the needy at this critical time, saying that this measure will be a way of showing good faith and affection to the people who have been asked to stay at home on safety grounds.

Jegede said: “At a time like this now that Ondo State has recorded an index case of the dreaded COVID-19, I again consider it imperative to reiterate that we all adhere strictly to the directive of the state government to stay at home.

“Again we must adhere to all precautionary measures outlined by healthcare professionals to enable us stay free from the disease while safely isolating ourselves at home away from crowded places. Apart from those rendering essential services, kindly stay at home and remain safe.

“Meanwhile, the devastating effect of COVID-19 on the global economy is no longer news. Also the stay-at-home directive by government both at the federal and state levels will mostly affect the aged, physically challenged, widows and widowers who are sole breadwinners of their families, artisans who are dependent on daily earnings.

“In view of this, let us come together and show love to the people around us at this critical period. I equally call on the state government to immediately commence the distribution of relief materials to cushion the effects of the ongoing restriction order”.

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Insight

How to turbo-charge your business through turbulent times (1) Toluwanimi Osinowo

I

t is no news that the world is facing unprecedented times in our generation.

There is no country, no industry, dare I say, no business that is not affected in one way or another by the recent maelstrom. This sudden uptick turbulence has a lot of people asking “How do I navigate my business through these times?”

Are you really thinking?

In situations like this many people want a laundry list of specific actions to take, almost like “just tell me what to do to get through this”. While this may seem comforting in the short term, it is not the best approach.

What is more effective would be to guide you through this in a way that will enable you organically generate solutions that have the potential to produce exponential results for you and turbocharge your business. How? You might ask. The short answer is by addressing the most important success factor for this type of situation: your mind.

The main difference between those who come out on top and those who don’t, between the winners and the losers in this crisis will be driven by how they think. The way we think is at the root of all human endeavour, literally. Your life cannot sustainably move faster than your mind; neither can your organization outgrow the borders of your mental landscape. Your mind is the engine room for leadership, creativity, problem solving and growth - this applies as much in the corporate world as in government and in not-for-profit. So, your mind is the engine to turbocharge your business through these unprecedented times. More obvious external factors - financial capital, human

resources etc. are only secondary levers.

Your response in this season will not be driven primarily from the boardroom or by management meetings (both of those have boundaries set by your mind) so before rushing off organizing and attending meeting after meeting as we are wont to do, stop and take time to rethink.

What you need to do Over the coming weeks, I will be taking you on a journey of discovery that has the potential to be transformational for you and your organization. It is a journey that will require you to change your mind - the way you think about and approach your business.

It is not for everybody. If you think business as usual will do even after all you see around

you, then this is not for you. If you want more and are open to what it takes, then welcome onboard.

To make the best of this and to ensure the brightest outcome, you have to truly listen. That will mean putting aside your ego – whether that is driven by your expertise or your assets – and relearning what you thought you already knew. Oftentimes, the biggest obstacle to a new level of performance is not what you don’t know but what you think you know. Listen with your whole mind.

Secondly, put what you learn into practice. Take a notepad and a pen or pencil to make notes and write down how each lesson applies to you, how you might think

differently because of what you are learning and how that might apply to your situation or your business.

Thirdly, ask questions. Questions are a sign of mental engagement and growing understanding. Do not let your questions slip. Write them down and send them in to us. The more you ask, the more you get.

Lesson 1: Learn to redefine your business One of the fundamental mistakes business leaders make is in conceptualising what their business is. Traditional business thinking makes you consider what goods or services your business is providing (product) and to whom these are being provided (customer). This seems straightforward enough, unfortunately this way of thinking is where the problem often begins. Yes, in all likelihood you have a product of some sort to provide in the marketplace but that is not your business. Conceptualising your business this way already limits the possibilities available to your mind. It is a straight-jacket for your perception and in the highest sense it is simply not true.

How then do I think about my business?

Join me next week to find out more.

Dr. Toluwanimi 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 from the University of Cambridge where he was a Cambridge Commonwealth Scholar.

He can be reached on for your questions and comments. e-mail: info@cantab-associates.com

Nigeria: Taking advantage of the advantage Ken Etete

T

he year 2020 has been described with several adjectives, notable among several; “a horror movie”. As the year unfolds and rightly so, considering the series and sequence of events, the COVID-19 pandemic is unanimously recognised as the standout performer in a local Wuhan play that has successfully been franchised for a global audience. The media is awash with so much data, opinions and most of all, fake news on its origin, impact and of course, remedies not to mention the varying conspiracy theories.

On April 6, 2020, a particular opinion struck me which necessitated this piece. It is the opinion of a global analyst. In summary, it predicted that the certain nations especially Africans will spill into a string of economic and political chaos as a fall out of the crashing global economy fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It made a beautiful albeit limited prediction of the economic/political fortunes and futures of several nations. The African proverb, ‘Dreams are related to the past but connected to the future’ sets the tone for what really lays in wait.

History proves that Nigerians and indeed Africans are a resilient people with a unique way of doing things. Kudos to Jomo Kenyatta, Patrice Lumumba, Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, Nnamdi Azikiwe/Obafemi Awolowo, and several other great African leaders for their heroic attempt at uplifting the lot of their people before the ultimate sabotage. Africa’s history for centuries has been a tale of repression by Western powers and It is no news that economic engagement with the west precipitously and revolutionarily damaged the placid pre-sixteenth century order. The current reality of Africa is not squarely a product of Africa’s

self-undoing but prolonged subjection to the demands of the world system. Africa’s instability is undoubtedly not due to lack of endemic or global economic crisis; but due to invasion by foreign interests to illegally seize African wealth by artificially creating disconnections and invoking tribal and religious division as well as numerous coups. What do Libya’s oil, Sierra Leone’s diamond, Zimbabwe’s farm land, Angola’s oil, diamond, timber and ivory, Rwanda’s coffee and land have in common?

They are all-natural resources sought after by foreign interests and hitherto prompted conflict. Practical studies also assert that ‘countries whose wealth is predominantly reliant on the exportation of basic commodities (agricultural produce and natural resources) are highly prone to civil disorder.

The United Nations (UN) reports that within the last sixty years at least 40 per cent of civil wars in the African continent have been connected with natural resources.

There has never been armed conflict or hostility in Nigeria on account of poor global economic fortunes; because approximately 80 percent of Nigerians do not rely on foreign import for their sustenance. They source their needs from their immediate environment and have no incentive to become belligerents except of course fingered by foreign interests. These ordinary Nigerians deserve the most respect because they continue to push and fight even though nothing is given to them freely. This is the basis of the conviction that Nigeria will come out of this challenge even stronger.

Although, it’s a great challenge for developing countries to cope with the human capital, financial and infrastructural demands of combating COVID-19; but does this suffice as credible basis to predict war, economic depreciation, disease and advancement of

terrorism?

While it is true that the Nigerian economy is dependent on Oil which accounts for over 95 percent of export earnings and 40 percent of government revenues coupled with the current gloomy oil market outlook, fortunes prima facie looks grotesque. Please do not interpret this as a denial but an opportunity to amplify the optimism that this “Achilles heel may yet become our Excalibur sword”. Objectively speaking, the fall in price of oil could just be another great incentive for Nigeria to transition from an Oil dependent Economy to other great untapped industries driven by our large and active population. Low oil price relatively has no effect on the peace and prosperity of Nigeria, it will rather help to drive Nigeria to a stronger country economically and politically.

With low oil price, the leadership will become more creative because it will also bolster the Government’s fight on the corruption challenge. This will actually open the curtains and let the lights of progress and prosperity.

Nigeria’s import bill which is approximately 40 percent petroleum products will drop sharply considering the extinction of Government subsidy on refined petroleum products as a consequence of the global decline in crude oil prices. This, in turn, will impact goods and services across the world. Transportation cost will drop as well as manufacturing and the general cost of doing business; especially small businesses. The slump of oil is not the end of Nigeria’s “golden era” but simply the dawn of a new one and the key is knowing how to take advantage of this advantage.

World renowned play writer and Nigerian literary icon Chinua Achebe states that the headache with Nigeria is that of leadership.

According to the great African scholar, “The Nigerian complication is the unwillingness, or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsi-

bility, and the challenges of personal examples, which are the hallmarks of true leadership” Nigeria’s foremost challenge could be said to be ‘slothful political structure’ that has been effectively exploited by both local and external parties. Prior and post colonization, different tribes existed and coexisted, tribes had disputes and solved those disputes like all societies throughout evolution. We have continued to improve on our dispute resolution options despite the negative inputs of foreign interests that have constantly reinforced barbaric alternatives of resolving disputes during times of prosperity in the African continent; I hope you remember how the good work of Thomas Sankara in Burkina Faso was unjustly aborted. Nigeria is blessed with arguably the best of creative minds and natural resources that will rise to the occasion and seize the opportunities to look inward to develop African solution to African challenges. The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy is arguably the last thing that will spur the spread of refugees, disease and terrorism; the first of course will be the foreign propaganda and conflict machinery. While we are far from perfecting conflict resolution, it is tremendously clear that there has been a massive improvement in the management of our religious, ethnic, political differences as all hands are on deck to preserve the strings that bind us. The funds and shared data from the richest countries are appreciated and will indeed speed up the arrival of treatments and vaccines against the COVID -19, but the solutions that will keep Nigeria and indeed several other African nations in these trying times will also be African. And I urge us to change our mindsets with respect to the decline of the price of oil as perhaps the curse has unknowingly become the blessing. Let us all seize the advantage of this advantage.

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BDSUNDAY 13

Issue of the Week

What manner of palliatives are these?

Ayo Oyoze Baje

P

ut bluntly, Nigerians are angry because they are hungry. And they have long been hungry as a result of poor leadership.

We still rank as the world capital of extreme poverty for obvious reasons.

We parade a leadership that concentrates much of the nation’s enormous wealth in the hands of an irredeemably corrupt, self-serving, greed-driven political elite, irrespective of their party coloration.

They promise paradise during campaign rallies but deliver peanuts to the people once they mount the pedestal of conscience-castrating offices.

But now, Nigerians are hungrier and therefore, angrier because of an enforced lockdown they never prepared for. Unfortunately, without an iota of doubt, the coronavirus pandemic has come to put to question, the manner of democracy that we practise here in Nigeria. How do we explain the fact that a lot of government’s policies are anti-people and at variance with the prevailing economic paradigm globally?

While countries such as the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Spain, Germany, and the hard hit Italy have in place sustainable programmes to cater for the vulnerable members of the society, we politicise ours here! Imagine

food packages being distributed in areas that have large concentration of the ruling party faithful? Imagine doling out N50 loaves of bread that are branded by the politicians as donors?

If Turkey could provide free accommodation and pay monthly stipends to its senior citizens, why not Nigeria? If Rwanda that overcame the genocide challenge 25 years ago could distribute packages of food and drugs to its citizens from door-to-door, why not Nigeria that obtained political Independence from the British colonialists since 1960?

The answer is found in the prevailing dysfunctional political structure skewed in favour of the political class. Members spend billions of Naira to access political power.

Their obscenely high pay packages fuel corruption. The country, Nigeria, remains the only one known, where state governors go cap-in-hand to the all-conquering federal centre, to be given their share of the federation account, every month end.

How can poor, long-suffering Nigerians smile under lockdown without buffers or succour from both the state and Federal Governments? Governments that have consistently run against Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution to guarantee their security and provide for their welfare.

A woman minister was quoted as saying that because the Southerners are not poor they are not going to receive the palliative. The

statement was quickly denied. It was a similar scenario as the Minister of Information, Lai Muhammed debunked the statement earlier credited to him that some billions of our common patrimony had been distributed to Nigerians and that not a single citizen could be termed hungry!

As the enlightened citizens were still debating the suggestion by former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar that the sum of ten thousand naira be given to every household, to cushion the harrowing hunger in the land, our set of billionaires came with their

own game plan.

While the likes of Aliko Dangote, Femi Otedola, Jim Ovia, Tony Elumelu and Folorunsho Alakija pledged one billion naira each, Chief Emeka Offor upped the ante with 15 billion naira. Their gestures, noble as they appear, triggered a lot of questions.

Concerned Nigerians wonder why the billionaires gave such huge sums of money to the Federal Government instead of using such to buy food items and needed drugs and distribute directly to the people. Why can’t the President submit a supplementary budget to the National Assembly, primarily to take charge of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic? Why should the federal and state governments not have in place adequate infrastructure, especially in the critical healthcare sector?

How come, that Abba Kyari, the influential Chief of Staff to the president could not be treated in Aso Rock clinic after some billions of Naira had been budgeted for it over the past four years? Is it true that it does not boast of ventilators? Does this not give credence to the earlier claim by the First Lady, Aisha Buhari some two years ago that the clinic had no Panadol and lacked syringes?

It is obvious that the coronavirus pandemic has come like a midnight storm to unveil the secrets of the market stalls and shops. Or, how else do we explain that barely 72 hours after the legislators asked

the Minister of Finance to provide the credible data to support the claims of the billions of Naira allegedly claimed to have been spent on the issue at hand that the office of the Accountant General went up in flames?

As iconic Human Rights activist, Joe Okei Odumakin of Women Arise for Change Initiative rightly asked via her Facebook page, the situation throws up more questions than answers. How come the office started burning when civil servants are at home? As expected, public money would be expended to rebuild the burnt parts. So also to set up a panel of enquiry, to pay the members, to come up with a White Paper on the incident, at the end of which this will gather dusts in the cupboard holding old skeletons of enquiries.

The pain in all of these saddening scenarios is the hard times ahead. There will be job losses.

Taxes are on the increase. Inflation rate will rise exponentially. Yet, our votes may not count without the Electoral Amendment Bill signed into law. We will still be bogged down with gadflies of hypocrisy, promising one thing but doing the opposite!

So, where are the strong men to lift others up and great patriots as leaders to bring Nigerians together, as Mrs. Obama highlighted? The answer is blowing in the wind.

May God save Nigerians from self-serving leaders!

not this Easter. In fact, people are skeptical about foods prepared by outsiders. Everybody is afraid of coronavirus.

The outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) appears to have altered every equation. Ordinarily, in Nigeria, political leaders are very careful about how to deal with issues that concern churches and mosques. This is because religion is seemingly the opium of the people and any policy that tends to adversely affect the church or mosque is viewed as anti-people.

So, when the number of cases began to rise and governments at all levels began to think of how to put the spread in check, it was difficult to decide on what should happen to the worship centres.

For many days, government stammered on it.

Initially, they came up with 50 members that must worship at a time to avoid body contact.

Then, they reduced the number to 20, and finally when they discovered that the leadership of most churches and mosques bought into the social distancing preaching, a total ban on worship was pronounced.

It was such pronouncement that put a death knell on all the

plans for elaborate religious activities for the Easter.

Today, church buildings that boast of thousands of seaters have been put under lock and key.

The mega churches have since devised some means of reaching their members in their individual homes with sermons, technologically.

Generally, programmes have been altered. The Lenten period usually marked by Christians was infringed upon by the deadly virus. The Ash Wednesday, some weeks ago, did not wear the usual face. The Palm Sunday was marked low-key also. Unlike when churches that observe this, made a big show of the unique event, this year’s event wore a different look. In some churches, only palm fronds were seen on the altar and entrance of the church buildings with no human being in sight. It had never been so.

Palm Sunday is the remembrance of Christ’s triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem, with a rousing shout of Hosanna by the cheering Jews, who later turned around to crucify Him. So, it is a unique event that precedes Easter, and this year, coronavirus killed that joy.

Every Good Friday, the Friday

preceding the Easter, is equally a solemn day. It was the day Christ was vicariously crucified. This is usually dramatised by some churches, particularly, the Catholic. This year, because of the law prohibiting large gathering, that emotional event lost its favour.

Before the arrival of COVID-19 in Nigeria , the Deeper Life Bible Church had almost concluded arrangements for her Easter Retreat. The annual event was slated for Thursday, April 9 to Sunday, April 12,2020.

But following the sit-at-home order, the church issued a release, postponing the programme.

Announcing the postponement, Pastor Samuel Afuwape, the church secretary, had explained that the decision was taken to align with the directives of the Federal and state governments on social distancing as one of the important strategies to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic which has necessitated a complete lockdown of activities in some states.

Many other denominations did the same. Some families that had slated wedding programmes and other important events have had to postpone such events or cancel them outright.

People who are truly strong lift others up.

People who are truly powerful bring others together” -Michelle Obama

Stay SAFE.

What manner of Easter?

ZEBULON AGOMUO

P

erhaps, except in war times that Easter celebration had been cancelled or marked in a low key in Nigeria and some other places in the world, this year will go into the history book of many nations as the first and probably the only year Easter would lose its charm when no bullet is flying.

Easter is one of the important dates on the calendar of many countries, particularly where Christianity is practised as religion.

Unlike Christmas, which has remained a controversial subject as many people doubt the date and the exact period of Christ’s birth, Easter is marked heartily

by Christians for the single belief that the basis of worshipping on a Sunday has its root on the resurrection of Christ on that first day of the week.

Usually, festivities provide Nigerians and people in other climes the opportunity to travel, share love with others, and eat choice food even if it is only for that season. In some places, actually, given the poverty level, people “enjoy” themselves only during

the December Christmas period and Easter. They look forward to such events and save towards observing them.

When, at the dawn of this year, in January, clerics across the country were reeling out prophecies about what they said God told them about 2020, none spoke about the possibility of a no-Easter-celebration.

After the Christmas celebration, many people looked forward to April for another round of merriment. As a matter of fact, many denominations had already, according to their usual practice, scheduled special events to commemorate the resurrection of Christ.

Some people had concluded arrangements to travel either to their villages or outside the country to celebrate the Easter. This time around, nobody is travelling.

Families are hurdled up together in their apartments as visitation to neighbours are not permissible.

Under normal circumstances, Easter period usually sees a spike in hotel and catering activities.

Families used to check into hotels to spend the period and caterers also make brisk business as requests for snacks and other confectionaries used to inundate, but

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Interview COVID-19: ‘Government must ensure constant power supply to enable preservation of food, others’

Engineers urged to be more creative

Ada Okeke Amam is a very passionate woman who has been in the campaign against the use of illicit drugs by the youth. Okeke, who is also the founder of Adorable Foundation, has through her organisation supported the efforts of the Nigeria Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in the fight against drug abuse. Speaking in a recent interview with Ngozi Okpalakunne, she explained that the desire to make correction of some social vices in the society motivated her to go into the fight against drug abuse. She also stressed the need for government at all levels to ensure proper distribution of food to the less-privileged members of the society as the country is locked down due to coronavirus that is currently ravaging the entire world including Nigeria. Excerpts:

E

Y

ou have been in the campaign against the involvement of youths in drug abuse; how has it

been?

It has been very challenging and expensive due to many researches and techniques involved. For one to be useful in the battle one must be informed and that calls for research to know more and what means can be effective. These drug addicts are not just the normal people you meet on daily basis; they are a very dangerous group of the society.

They act before reasoning and if you don’t take care one may lose one’s life in a bid to rescue someone out of drug addiction. Take for instance, drugs are different and so their reactions .For the locally called “Igbo” brand smokers. It makes them very hungry and you’ll find them looking very tiny, but can eat up food portion meant for seven persons. For this class, you dare not approach them without food in hand.

There are also these groups you must approach with lots of respect because they feel that they are on top of the world. So they differ. I really can’t mention them all now.

It’s a dossier.

Having been involved in this fight for a long time, what are the factors that encourage youths to be involved in such menace?

A lot of things lead people into drug abuse habits.

Sometimes, it could be frustration, peer pressure or even inquisitiveness and so many other reasons. We get to know which is the case when the drug addicts narrate their stories.

With what the NGOs and NDLEA have done in this campaign, do you think youths’ involvement in drug abuse is on the increase or has it decreased?

Well, a lot of success has being recorded, but we seem to have more cases despite

found a new friend in drug and is just pretending to wave off any form of suspicious that might hamper his new relationship. Some will start pleasing their parents or guardians so that they don’t question some of their moves when they have taken drugs.

In families where both parents are not in good terms, the child may choose to side one so as to negotiate for a cover-up in return for his or her funny moves.

It has a million ways different from the popular ones of showing arrogance; that one will eventually appear much later at an advanced stage.

Amam

the many efforts put into the drug war. When you look at the society today, you will discover that people are going through a lot of difficulty and that brings frustration in the life of the people. When they are frustrated, the next thing that will come to their mind is the intake of alcohol so as to forget some of the problems confronting them.

From taking alcohol they will settle for a cheaper stuff.

Mostly, they go for the local herbs and that is it.

So, l am appealing to government at all levels to continue in doing much as they are doing to provide a healthy environment for level playing field for all. If the society is in good shape, then a lot of persons would not have to fall into such state of mind as to engage in one form of drug or the other.

You will want to ask me, what happens to those abusing drugs in advanced countries? Yes, they too still abuse drugs, but you will find different sides to these stories.

While some is frustration caused by bad governance, some are frustration caused by gross neglect or unhealthy government policies influenced by drug lords to better their businesses. You must know which is the case here.

What should be the role of parents, guardians and teachers in this fight?

They must monitor their children or students close enough to notice the silent difference in their behaviour. Sometimes, they develop this holy appearance and some pious parents will think that their wards are living godly life, not knowing that the child had just

How would you describe the government attitude towards the issue of Coronavirus?

They are trying, but they a re n o t d o i n g e n o u g h i n providing for the populace at this great point of need, of which people are asked to stay at home. They must do all the needful to ensure good power distribution now to help with food preservation and boring moments.

Both hospitals and homes need constant power supply more now, but there is no regular power supply in most places.

Considering the economic implication of COVID-19, what is your advice to women?

They must look beyond these pandemic because at the end, the entire world would start counting its losses and hardly do time wait for anybody. They should fasten up for the days ahead and the only way out is prayers.

Humanly speaking, this monster virus has negatively changed the world for ever.

I pray that God will heal our land at this time of distress and that He will also heal the world as well.

We need God now, more than ever I tell you, especially for us women who are always at the receiving end of it all.

Ngozi Okpalakunne

ngineers in the country have been urged to be more creative in their design-thinking so as to meet the need of end users.

Speaking at a zoom meeting which featured the launch of e-learning platform of Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN), Fouunder/Chief Executive, Balbus Uk LTD, Ismail Balogun, described engineers as solution providers, adding that when they combine design thinking with good engineering solution they will make end users their customers for ever.

“Engineering is about providing solution. An engineer will look at a problem, ask question, the next thing is to start imagination, combine with engineering solution, calculation and work experience.

When solution is provided, if there is a mistake, then there is need for modification before the solution is delivered to customers,” he added.

Balogun, who spoke on the theme, ‘Design thinking and engineering solution,’ defined design as an interactive process which designers seek in order to understand the problems of the end users.

He also stressed the need for people to share the knowledge they have, adding that knowledge is key to poverty alleviation.

On her part, President, APWEN, Funmilola Ojelade said the launching of the e-learning platform by her organisation was necessary to give its educational services a global reach.

Ojelade commended Balogun for educating the participants on how everyday tools can be improved upon through design thinking.

According to her, the elearning platform removes the distance barrier.

“Participants joined from all over Nigeria and from abroad. Without the e-learning platform, it would have been difficult to arrange for the presenter and to have a full class of 100 participants, and the knowledge impacted would have been missed,” she said.

According to her, “The e-class is scheduled to hold every Saturday. APWEN hopes to develop the initiative into a Massive Online Open Courses (MOOC) in future,” she added.

Some of the participants who spoke at the meeting lauded the organisers of the event and also stressed the need for the review of contract policy in Nigeria.

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Feature Why Adesina deserves a second term at the African Development Bank IFEOMA OKEKE

I

n a bid to fight COVID-19 many nations have moved from their initial prevention strategy to aggressive multi-prong strategies to contain its rapid spread, save lives and sustain economic activities to ensure a health crisis does not morph into a combination of a financial crisis, economic recession, and social upheaval.

The Sub-Sahara African region is not immune from the economic shock caused by the coronavirus outbreak. In its analysis, Renaissance Capital revised down the growth forecast for Sub-Sahara Africa from 3.5 percent to 1.3percent.

Therefore, private and gover n m en t in s t it u t io n s h a v e pledged some form of support to help Africa fight the pandemic.

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has also risen to the challenge and has announced a $10 billion facility support for African countries.

This is in addition to a $3 billion COVID-19 social bond on the London Stock Exchange to help Africa deal with the economic and financial fallouts of the pandemic. Industry watchers have commended the Akinwumi Adesina, AfDB president, who under his leadership has made this support a reality.

Adesina, who has also brought about several innovations in the financial power, has already been endorsed by African leaders for a second term due in September.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) at its 56th ordinary session of Heads of States endorsed the re-election of Adesina as President of the African Development Bank (AfDB). The ECOWAS nod was followed shortly after by an endorsement by the African Union (AU).

According to the ECOWAS leaders, “In recognition of the sterling performance of Akinwumi Adesina during his first term of office as President of the African Development Bank, the Authority endorses his candidacy for a second term.”

The excellent performances alluded to by the ECOWAS leaders include a restructuring of the Bank’s operations; a sharpening of its strategic priorities; a decentralisation of operations at country levels, and the largest general capital increase ever by shareholder countries in the Bank’s 57-year history.

The ECOWAS and African Union endorsements are connected to the increased prominence Adesina has brought to the bank and Africa’s development and infrastructure needs.

Adesina took over the helm of Africa’s premier development finance institution in 2015.

In 2017, he was awarded the World Food Prize (an award that has been dubbed the Nobel Prize of Agriculture) for his accomplishments in spearheading a transformation of Nigeria’s

Akinwumi Adesina agriculture sector.

The World Food Prize Foundation lauded Adesina’s qualitative leadership and his visionary roles over the past two decades in promoting Agriculture with the Rockefeller Foundation, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), and as Minister of Agriculture of Nigeria.

In 2019, Adesina was awarded the prestigious Sunhak Peace Prize.

During his tenure, the bank has seen its fortunes rise on several fronts, including the largest general capital increase in its history with a capital base of $208 billion dollars.

In the 2018, Aid Transparency Index Report, released by ‘Publish What You Fund’, the African Development Bank was ranked 4th among 45 development organisations around the world.

The African Development Bank has had a historic and longstanding good relationship with the United States and the World Bank, and continues to do so.

In Johannesburg in 2018, the bank launched the Africa Investment Forum, a fully transactional platform, to attract investment into Africa, with participation from private sector investors, pension and sovereign wealth funds, Heads of State and government officials to discuss specific investment deals. The Africa Investment Forum was an outstanding success by all measures.

The forum delivered an impressive US$38.7 billion in investment interests, all done in less than 72 hours!

The bank is efficiently managed and at 2 percent has one of the lowest administrative cost per adjusted common equity ratios among all multilateral de-

velopment banks.

In 2018, the African Development Bank was ranked among the top three multilateral organizations by the Multilateral Organisations Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN) a report prepared by 19 advanced economies; a three-way tie for first shared with the World Bank and the IDBG. Adesina is due for a second term, commencing in September and the African Union endorsement was seen by many as seal on an extended term. After all, the institution is first and foremost an African Bank, and African leaders had spoken.

However, a crisis is brewing at the Bank. Adesina’s unopposed second term nomination does not seem to have gone down well with some non-African shareholders, one of which was strongly opposed during his first term election.

Additionally, until this week, there had been strong Board resistance by a number of nonregional member countries who were opposed to the COVID-19 support facilities and the lifting of partial sanctions for countries such as Zimbabwe and Sudan.

The AfDB boss was said to have been livid by the delay, pointing out that Africa had to be helped quickly to join the rest of the world in the battle against the pandemic.

Interestingly, the United States has had declared packages of over $2 trillion in the fight against the pandemic. This is in addition to a reduction in Federal Reserve lending rates and liquidity support to keep markets afloat. In Europe, there are stimulus measures in excess of 1 trillion Euros.

Aside the disagreement over

the pandemic support fund, investigations shows that there is a complaint by some members of the AfDB staff against Adesina’s running of the bank.

The allegations which were supposed to have been looked into confidentially by the Bank’s Ethics Committee, have been circulated widely and against Bank rules by a certain nonregional Executive Director who it is reported has never hidden his opposition to Adesina.

Among several allegations are that Adesina intends to make the AfDB a Nigerian affair by giving compatriots key positions, but also by more easily granting lines of credit to leading Nigerian companies.”

Facts on the bank’s website, however, point to the contrary as an approved list of projects on the website show that Senegal, Cameroun, Tanzania, Rwanda, Namibia and others are key beneficiaries of about 75 projects worth $64.5bn. These countries have projects specifically targeting them, while Nigeria benefits more from multiple-country focused projects.

The publication of the allegations in a prominent French newspaper is lending credence to the view that this is a multipronged and concerted attempt by some forces to undermine Adesina’s credibility and thwart the re-election of one of Africa’s most decorated development economists.

Issues within the ranks Events recently took a dramatic turn on March 13th when a break-away group from the rank of petitioners filed a complaint against a key non-African Executive Director for allegedly misleading and manipulating the

members of the group against Adesina.

The complaint reads: “This denunciation is made in accordance with the whistle-blowing and complaint-handling policy of the African Development Bank. It is also made in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Conduct for Executive Directors of the African Development Bank.

This note is brought by a group of staff members outraged by the actions of an elected staff member, the Executive Director, who uses a group called ‘Group of Concerned Staff Members’ to take hostage our Institution.

“We were members of the group called ‘Group of Concerned Staff Members’ until we understood that we were being manipulated by a group of nonregional Executive Directors, not for the good governance of the African Development Bank but to discredit the candidacy of the current President for his re-election.”

The dissenting voices also added that, “Our objective is to trigger investigations that will confirm or infirm the breach of the Code of Conduct alleged below. Cases of Alleged Breach of the Code of Conduct by the Executive Director.”

The breakaway group contends that there are serious and repeated breaches of the Code of Conduct by the said Executive Director. A damning revelation was the fact that the said Executive Director had breached the confidentiality requirements of the rules and regulations of the Ethics Committee, by providing “exhaustive reports of all discussions (during meetings or by email) between members of the Ethics Committee”. They also revealed that the Executive Director assisted with the preparation, along with the whistle blowers, of all “reactions to be sent following discussions between members of the Ethics Committee”.

Adesina’s response Adesina, in a formal response to the allegations, insisted that: “The African Development Bank has a very high reputation for good governance”, adding that he has confidence in the Board of Governors of the Bank and pleaded that the Ethics Committee should be allowed to do its job without interference.

Investigations carried out show that the Ethics Committee has continued sitting in spite of the Bank’s exhaustive COVID-19 preparation and plans. It is believed this is an indication that the Committee intends to speedily conclude its investigation.

A bank source, who preferred anonymity, said: “Adesina will certainly have his day to defend himself. On every single allegation, he is 100 percent confident that he will be vindicated.

“The source called the allegations a ‘smear campaign’ concocted by an interest group that has never supported Adesina nor felt comfortable with the Bank’s increasingly strategic role in Africa’s much needed development finance.”

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TheWorshipper Easter celebration amid COVID-19: Keep faith alive, clerics urge Christians SEYI JOHN SALAU

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pril, every year, is a month Christian faithful world over mark the resurrection of the Lord Jesus

Christ in a special occasion called Easter. This year however, the celebration is going to wear a sombre look as the gate of churches and their doors have since been shut following the outbreak of the pandemic coronavirus (COVID-19) and the consequent sit-at-home

order by the Federal and state Governments.

Some members of the clergy, who spoke with BDSUNDAY on the impact of the lockdown on churches, especially the Easter celebration, urged their members to keep the fire burning, nontheless.

L-R: Ven. Uche Ekwensi, director in-charge of the Welfare, One of the Beneficiaries/Widow, Comfort Bashorun, Beneficiary, Adebayo Adeniyi, Wife of the Bishop, Diocese of Lagos (Anglican Communion), Motunrayo Olumakaye, Synod Secretary, Ven. Segun Ladeinde during the donations of the Food Items by the Diocese of Lagos (Anglican Communion) to the Lagosians to Support Families at the ongoing Stay at Home because of the outbreak of Covid -19 Pandemic in Lagos

Alfred Adewale Martins, Catholic Archbishop of Lagos

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aster, of course is the celebration of the Lord’s resurrection from the dead, which leads to his Ascension to the Father and the sending of the Holy Spirit upon the Church. Easter time is the most important of all liturgical times.

There are 50 days of Easter from the Easter Sunday to Pentecost. It is characterised, above all, by the joy of victory over death, expressed mostly in the great resounding cry of the Christian: Alleluia! All other expressions of faith flow from faith in the resurrection: “If Christ has not been raised, then empty is our preaching; empty, too, is your faith” (1 Cor 15:14). The octave of Easter comprises the eight (8) days which stretch from the Easter Sunday to the following Sunday. It is a way of continuing to savour the joy of the Easter day itself. In a sense, every day of the Octave is celebrated like a Sunday.

Easter is truly ‘the day that the Lord has made.’ From Sunday to Sunday, from year to year, the celebration of Easter in this world will lead us to that blessed day on which Christ has promised that He will come again in glory to take us with Him into the kingdom of His Father.

May this Easter bring us good tidings and heavenly blessings.

Given the circumstance brought

about by the COVID-19 pandemic and in line with Decree of the Congregation of Divine Worship on the celebration of Holy Week Services, our Mass of Chrism for this year would be celebrated at a date when it shall also serve for us to rejoice in thanksgiving to God for seeing us through the present trying times.

Since we cannot transfer the Holy Week celebrations and Easter to another time, we shall celebrate in ways most appropriate for these times.

The lockdown that government has imposed upon our states has compelled us to alter the aspects

Alfred Adewale Martins

of the earlier directives given in our circular in order to curtail the spread of coronavirus. We know that unless the Lord builds the house, in vain does the builder labour; and unless the Lord watches over the city, in vain does the watchman keep vigil. It is therefore, important that we step up our prayers asking God to bring an end to the coronavirus problem.

Whenever there were scourges and plagues in the history of mankind, prayers turned out to be the ultimate solution. It is in this light that we ask all priests, religious and lay faithful to pray more fervently than ever before. We already have a prayer that we are saying, and I hope that this is being said at families’ prayers. In addition to that, I want to enjoin all the faithful in the Archdiocese of Lagos to embark on a period of Fasting and Prayers for the intention of bringing an end to the COVID-19 problem.

However, on giving support to the less-privileged, Martins said, “We use this opportunity to also encourage all parishes to seek out ways by which they would help to meet the needs of the less-privileged in their parishes, particularly at this moment of lockdown in our state. The Committees responsible for welfare in the parish should be mobilised to see how the parish can respond to the needs of these unfortunate members of the Body of Christ.”

Augustine Oghumah, the presiding bishop of Christ Army Church, Lagos Diocese Augustine Oghumah

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verybody should take patience, obey God and pray at home for those that are

affected that God will relieve them of the pains, and God should show mercy upon the country generally.

Rev. Fr. Peter Olowolafe, CAN chairman, Ekiti State

T

hus far we are grateful to God for what the physicians are doing, the governor, even the President at the helm of affairs as a way of curtailing the spread of coronavirus.

Looking at the lockdown of the country; I think I am one of the principal agents who advocated for that. Since the spread of the coronavirus cannot be possible without contact with others, therefore social distancing is the best option out of the other options. Washing of hands and other preventive measures with social distancing cannot work adequately. Now, being in the Holy Week - I think this is one of the most painful situations we are experiencing; as a Catholic priest, this is the summit of our liturgical celebration as Catholics.

We are in Holy Week and the thredom, that is, the three days before Easter; Good

Thursday, Good Friday and Easter vi However, we need to sacrifice somethi for greater to come.

God willing, next year we are going have better opportunity to celebrate a many years ahead. On Easter Sunday particular, there are many states w have agreed that (like Ondo State) to the people have Easter Sunday servic with social distancing within 20 peop per service. We are still praying, if we c have something like that; we don’t kno what might happen in Ekiti before th day, but we pray that something good ha pens. And other states too; but whatev is going to happen, what I hope for is f our people to be alive and healthy - tha what I advocated for. If there is no opp tunity for us to gather as Christian chur we can always have better opportun tomorrow.

Rev. Joshua Rotimi Orikogbe of First ECWA Church and former CAN chairman, Ado Ekiti

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veryindividualcanunderstandthat we are fighting a pandemic and it is an international incident as we all know. Talking about the restriction of movements that is at the same time affecting the church; I want to sincerely believe that it is for our good.

And indeed, measures are on ground for Christians - the government doesn’t ban Christians not to worship; its only that restrictions have been given and at the same time we have been allowed to gather in maximum of 20 people. Then, if at all this cannot be; I just want to appeal that we should bear it for now because I want to believe that if there is life we have lots of celebrations that we can celebrate. Rev. Joshua Rotimi Orikogbe

Pastor Benjamin Olayiwola Akanmu, CAN chairman, Oyo State

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or health reasons, I have no other opinion than the instructions from the government. Really, the lockdown is not an issue for our state alone; it is all over the world.

Even in the Arab world; the Mohammed mosque in Medina is being locked down because the pandemic affected some people through some people who had got infected in the gathering while worshiping in Italy.

So, that is why the instruction

came out that we should avoid gath ering together of so many people but if things work well and there improvement; we will go back to ou old ways of fellowshipping togethe But for sure, what I know and use to tell people is this: only people wh are living that can continue worship ing; any dead soul cannot worshi again. So, anything that is going t cause us our lives, we have to tak care of it.

Emmanuel Udofia, Primate of the African Church

T

he African Church is part and parcel of the society and whatever the government decides that will be to the good of the entire society; by the grace of God we have to abide by such instruction. African Church on its own is rearranging its congregation into cells for worships in designated centres in ensuring worshippers do not miss the benefit of its services or programmes.

The current pandemic is an avenue for the church to invest in building its presence on all digital platforms, as it avails the church the opportunity to evangelise, leveraging social media and online platform.

Online church services is also welcome and some of our churches are doing it, because those who cannot meet one-on-one can use the social media to meet with one another and also to hold the service as if they are worshipping in the same church.

Emmanuel Udofia

igil. ing

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Sunday 12 April, 2020

Inspiration With Rev. Yomi Kasali

info@yomikasali.com

T

he above topic is from my Bible, the Lord categorically told the King that any form of Rebellion will be likened to Witchcraft, yet many believers and Christian leaders are encouraging rebellion in the name of the Lord.

I watched a video of a very popular preacher in the south-south area of NIGERIA, this person is always involved in one negative behaviour or the other, berating the Government concerning Covid19 and asking his members to refuse being tested because it’s the way

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@businessDayNG

@Businessdayng

BDSUNDAY 17

Rebellion is like witchcraft

... Covid-19 pandemic of spreading the virus... laughable indeed.

The fellow was encouraging what the Lord condemned and Likened to witchcraft; Rebellion! Any act of Rebellion to constituted authority is considered wilful sin against the Lord because it’s strengthened by deliberate disobedience to those in authority. ‘For Rebellion is as the SIN OF WITCHCRAFT, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king’ (1 Sam. 15 v 23).

The reason for the downfall of the first kind of Israel was summarized in above verse of scriptures, he was disobedient to the word of the Lord and it was considered as an act of Rebellion.

The earlier verse says, ‘...Obedience is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams’, so God had to tell him that to obey His servant the prophet was better than sacrificing to God. This was a directive to a KING from the King of Kings so that he would know that Everyman should obey constituted authority.

Let me Inspire you today on the biblically recognized constituted authorities over our lives so that we can un-

derstand the mind of God concerning Obedience and Rebellion which is the opposite of Obedience in the spirit.

It was for this reason that God casted out Satan from His presence and removed Adam from Staying in His garden. Let’s be obedient to those in Authority over us always.

5 Constituted authority that the bible recognizes GOVERNMENT: God has placed people in positions of Authority over us in nations. They are to make laws for the good of the society and we are expected to ‘obey’ those laws, pay our taxes and dues, be socially responsible and to do otherwise will be considered rebellious. Many preachers act like they’ve not read Rom. 13 v 1-4. Those in political leadership over our lives are considered ‘ministers of God’

hence we must obey them.

Please obey the law and directives of government concerning covid19.

At home: The constituted authority at home and in a Family is the Man of the house, hence, wives should respect their husbands, children obey their fathers and the home shall be in sync with Heaven’s order. Jezebel was called a witch in the Bible for manipulating her husband and controlling the home.

We should not let the Rebellious women groups out there push us into Rebellion under any circumstances. I believe a woman is not under authority of every Man but ONLY her husband and I do not want to work with any woman who says she will not be under authority of any man even her husband.

At work: This is where it

gets tricky because of some egocentric men who are also Rebellious do not want to be under the authority of women under any circumstances even at work. The boss at work must be obeyed at all times, be it a woman or man except the person asks you to do what is unscriptural like when the Woman Boss of Joseph asked him to sleep with her and he refused by jumping out of the window, he was fired. Potiphar’s wife asked for too much and something out of order with work. The Bible says, servants should obey their masters as unto the Lord.

In church: The spiritual authority men of God carry is primarily for their churches and secondarily for the nation if such are prophets and moral leaders. Many of those we call ‘bishops’ have lost moral rectitude to lead in the nation because of being found to lean towards a ‘political preference’. That is why our country lacks true Moral Leaders because the politicians have spiked the hands of those who should speak ‘truth to power’. I cannot exert authority over another man’s flock; it is for those under my leadership in FOTA. Social life: Sportsmen understand the role Umpires

and Referees play in every game to give us pleasure in our social lives. They oversee the game and determine what happens during the match. I’ve seen referees (less paid of course) give marching orders to players (better paid and more popular) and coaches and they had to OBEY because doing otherwise would be considered REBELLION and may be sanctioned even further.

That’s just the way it works in societies where things are in order.

I hope the above is clear and we can now shun Rebellion or else we shall consider you a WITCH. Drop me a note of acknowledgment and encouragement and also follow me on my Social media handles below: Instagram: @yomi_kasali Twitter: @yomi_kasali Facebook: www.facebook.com/revyomikasali Youtube: www.youtube. com/revyomikasali Be Inspired!

Rev Yomi Kasali is Senior Pastor, Foundation of Truth Assembly (FOTA), Surulere, Lagos.

Rev. Sola Aremu of Yaba Baptist Church, Lagos

Tope Ilesanmi, the CAN coordinator, Ikeja province

here are two sides of a coin to this issue.

Life has its gains and equally its pains.

Considering the impact of the lockdown on the church, I would say it has its good side and its bad side. The church is part of the society; it is a microcosm of the larger society; hence, whatever affects the society will in turn affect the church.

The good side of the lockdown on the church is the fact that it prevents the spread of the deadly coronavirus or COVID-19.

This in a way helps to reduce the risk of members either spreading the disease on one hand or contracting it on the other hand. However, the lockdown has deprived the church of her fellowship.

Primarily, there are two types of fellowships from the

he good news is that The news will go wider this He rose despite the year, and the Resurrection heavy stones and the Power will become so mightstouthearted men at ily displayed in our ‘hearts and the tomb. In the same vein, the homes’ when every believer news of His resurrection that officiates as Priests from their the priests wanted to cover is respective homes. Multiple alon the lips of everyman today.

What more? He is Risen. Even if there are doubting thomases, Jesus knows how to show himself to such with many infallible proofs.This is the reason why I am not worried about the present pandemic conspiracy to hinder the joy of The Resurrection Morning.

No! Am not perturbed, Tope Ilesanmi and no believer should. Why?

T

scriptural point of view, either vertical or horizontal. In other words, as we have fellowship with God we equally have fellowship with ourselves.

The lockdown has not really and cannot deprive the church (Christian’s) from fellowshipping with God, but it has robbed us of fellowshipping with ourselves.

The Bible emphasised it in the Book of Hebrews that we should not ignore or neglect the gathering (fellowship) of and with one another (brethren).Therefore,beyond any other thing, the church has been robbed of her fellowship.

I would have loved if the lockdown order is lifted to allow the church celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ popularly known as Easter.

The church could ensure that members observe other

preventive measures like hand washing, use of sanitizer and social distancing to mention just three. However, the church can’t be selfish in this matter.

To a large extent, the church has graciously cooperated with both the state and the Federal Government. We pray it won’t last too long before normalcy is restored to both the church and the society at large.Weshallsoonovercome this plague in Jesus name. I will like to use this opportunity to wish the whole body of Christ (Church) Happy Easter celebration. May the power of the cross, the shed blood on the cross and the power of resurrection uphold us till the appearance of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him alone be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Rev. Adepoju Ademola of First Love Apostolic Outreach, Lagos

R

esurrection morning is the moment that gave hope to mankind. In Matt 28:2 the Bible says there was a great earthquake; this is the manifestation of the power of resurrection. Why is the resurrection so

i m p o r t a n t ? Be c a u s e Christ was raised from the dead our world is now headed for REDEMPTION not disaster (COVID-19) like being experienced now in the world; with Jesus redemption is sure, God mighty power is at work

to destroy sin, sickness and other negative things.

God’s power that brought Christ back from the dead is available to us that we can love for him in an evil world.

We can differ on many things but the resurrection unites all Christians.

T

tars would be raised by every Priest in those homes instead of one Priest-Altar to a thousand congregants.

Satan has lost this battle!

One thing we must tell the world is that the Resurrection Power is not confined to walls built by human hands. He is a Spirit, and travels faster than Coronavirus. No COVID-19 can even withstand Him, else it will be roasted. So, shutting down Church Auditoriums does not reduce His efficacy.

SOULS are being saved online.

Healings,deliverance,impartations and all His wonders are going on ONLINE. Praise God!

Archbishop Joseph Ojo, Calvary Kingdom Church (CKC) Lagos

C

eremony is just a commemorative event. The real issue is to remember that He died for the whole world. Christ our Pass Over is sacrificed for us (1Corintians 5:7). The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the power that the Cross of Jesus has. Not all crosses have power.

Because the people that died on them could not rise from their grave. Do you realise that there were two other people crucified along with the Master on that first Good Friday? Only Jesus cross can be said to have power because death could not keep him in the grave. The real power of the cross is preaching the

gospel of his resurrection.

Telling someone that Jesus loves him/her and that he died for their sins.

‘And with great power the apostles gave witness to the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all” (Acts 4:33).

The power of resurrection is witnessing to the fact that Jesus died and resurrected the third day. The cross could not keep him because by law the sun must not set before the body will be removed from the Cross; the grave could not hold him because he has power over life and death.

“I am the Resurrection and the Life.”

This Easter period will be

as powerful as it has ever been. We should pray like the Apostle Paul did “That I may know him and the power of his Resurrection” (Philippians 3:10). To everyone that believes in Jesus, death will pass over them.

Virus or viruses (COVID-19) will pass over us. This is the season of the PASS OVER- passing over from death to life; from fear to faith, and from worries to assurances. I call on all believers to use this season to get closer to God. There were no Church buildings in the New Testament time. But they marked the death and resurrection of the Lord; in homes and anywhere possible.

16 BDSUNDAY

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@Businessdayng

Sunday 12 April, 2020

Sunday 12 April, 2020

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@businessDayNG

TheWorshipper Easter celebration amid COVID-19: Keep faith alive, clerics urge Christians SEYI JOHN SALAU

A

pril, every year, is a month Christian faithful world over mark the resurrection of the Lord Jesus

Christ in a special occasion called Easter. This year however, the celebration is going to wear a sombre look as the gate of churches and their doors have since been shut following the outbreak of the pandemic coronavirus (COVID-19) and the consequent sit-at-home

order by the Federal and state Governments.

Some members of the clergy, who spoke with BDSUNDAY on the impact of the lockdown on churches, especially the Easter celebration, urged their members to keep the fire burning, nontheless.

L-R: Ven. Uche Ekwensi, director in-charge of the Welfare, One of the Beneficiaries/Widow, Comfort Bashorun, Beneficiary, Adebayo Adeniyi, Wife of the Bishop, Diocese of Lagos (Anglican Communion), Motunrayo Olumakaye, Synod Secretary, Ven. Segun Ladeinde during the donations of the Food Items by the Diocese of Lagos (Anglican Communion) to the Lagosians to Support Families at the ongoing Stay at Home because of the outbreak of Covid -19 Pandemic in Lagos

Alfred Adewale Martins, Catholic Archbishop of Lagos

E

aster, of course is the celebration of the Lord’s resurrection from the dead, which leads to his Ascension to the Father and the sending of the Holy Spirit upon the Church. Easter time is the most important of all liturgical times.

There are 50 days of Easter from the Easter Sunday to Pentecost. It is characterised, above all, by the joy of victory over death, expressed mostly in the great resounding cry of the Christian: Alleluia! All other expressions of faith flow from faith in the resurrection: “If Christ has not been raised, then empty is our preaching; empty, too, is your faith” (1 Cor 15:14). The octave of Easter comprises the eight (8) days which stretch from the Easter Sunday to the following Sunday. It is a way of continuing to savour the joy of the Easter day itself. In a sense, every day of the Octave is celebrated like a Sunday.

Easter is truly ‘the day that the Lord has made.’ From Sunday to Sunday, from year to year, the celebration of Easter in this world will lead us to that blessed day on which Christ has promised that He will come again in glory to take us with Him into the kingdom of His Father.

May this Easter bring us good tidings and heavenly blessings.

Given the circumstance brought

about by the COVID-19 pandemic and in line with Decree of the Congregation of Divine Worship on the celebration of Holy Week Services, our Mass of Chrism for this year would be celebrated at a date when it shall also serve for us to rejoice in thanksgiving to God for seeing us through the present trying times.

Since we cannot transfer the Holy Week celebrations and Easter to another time, we shall celebrate in ways most appropriate for these times.

The lockdown that government has imposed upon our states has compelled us to alter the aspects

Alfred Adewale Martins

of the earlier directives given in our circular in order to curtail the spread of coronavirus. We know that unless the Lord builds the house, in vain does the builder labour; and unless the Lord watches over the city, in vain does the watchman keep vigil. It is therefore, important that we step up our prayers asking God to bring an end to the coronavirus problem.

Whenever there were scourges and plagues in the history of mankind, prayers turned out to be the ultimate solution. It is in this light that we ask all priests, religious and lay faithful to pray more fervently than ever before. We already have a prayer that we are saying, and I hope that this is being said at families’ prayers. In addition to that, I want to enjoin all the faithful in the Archdiocese of Lagos to embark on a period of Fasting and Prayers for the intention of bringing an end to the COVID-19 problem.

However, on giving support to the less-privileged, Martins said, “We use this opportunity to also encourage all parishes to seek out ways by which they would help to meet the needs of the less-privileged in their parishes, particularly at this moment of lockdown in our state. The Committees responsible for welfare in the parish should be mobilised to see how the parish can respond to the needs of these unfortunate members of the Body of Christ.”

Augustine Oghumah, the presiding bishop of Christ Army Church, Lagos Diocese Augustine Oghumah

E

verybody should take patience, obey God and pray at home for those that are

affected that God will relieve them of the pains, and God should show mercy upon the country generally.

Rev. Fr. Peter Olowolafe, CAN chairman, Ekiti State

T

hus far we are grateful to God for what the physicians are doing, the governor, even the President at the helm of affairs as a way of curtailing the spread of coronavirus.

Looking at the lockdown of the country; I think I am one of the principal agents who advocated for that. Since the spread of the coronavirus cannot be possible without contact with others, therefore social distancing is the best option out of the other options. Washing of hands and other preventive measures with social distancing cannot work adequately. Now, being in the Holy Week - I think this is one of the most painful situations we are experiencing; as a Catholic priest, this is the summit of our liturgical celebration as Catholics.

We are in Holy Week and the thredom, that is, the three days before Easter; Good

Thursday, Good Friday and Easter vigil.

However, we need to sacrifice something for greater to come.

God willing, next year we are going to have better opportunity to celebrate and many years ahead. On Easter Sunday in particular, there are many states who have agreed that (like Ondo State) to let the people have Easter Sunday services with social distancing within 20 people per service. We are still praying, if we can have something like that; we don’t know what might happen in Ekiti before that day, but we pray that something good happens. And other states too; but whatever is going to happen, what I hope for is for our people to be alive and healthy - that is what I advocated for. If there is no opportunity for us to gather as Christian church, we can always have better opportunity tomorrow.

Rev. Joshua Rotimi Orikogbe of First ECWA Church and former CAN chairman, Ado Ekiti

E

veryindividualcanunderstandthat we are fighting a pandemic and it is an international incident as we all know. Talking about the restriction of movements that is at the same time affecting the church; I want to sincerely believe that it is for our good.

And indeed, measures are on ground for Christians - the government doesn’t ban Christians not to worship; its only that restrictions have been given and at the same time we have been allowed to gather in maximum of 20 people. Then, if at all this cannot be; I just want to appeal that we should bear it for now because I want to believe that if there is life we have lots of celebrations that we can celebrate. Rev. Joshua Rotimi Orikogbe

Pastor Benjamin Olayiwola Akanmu, CAN chairman, Oyo State

F

or health reasons, I have no other opinion than the instructions from the government. Really, the lockdown is not an issue for our state alone; it is all over the world.

Even in the Arab world; the Mohammed mosque in Medina is being locked down because the pandemic affected some people through some people who had got infected in the gathering while worshiping in Italy.

So, that is why the instruction

came out that we should avoid gathering together of so many people, but if things work well and there is improvement; we will go back to our old ways of fellowshipping together.

But for sure, what I know and used to tell people is this: only people who are living that can continue worshiping; any dead soul cannot worship again. So, anything that is going to cause us our lives, we have to take care of it.

Emmanuel Udofia, Primate of the African Church

T

he African Church is part and parcel of the society and whatever the government decides that will be to the good of the entire society; by the grace of God we have to abide by such instruction. African Church on its own is rearranging its congregation into cells for worships in designated centres in ensuring worshippers do not miss the benefit of its services or programmes.

The current pandemic is an avenue for the church to invest in building its presence on all digital platforms, as it avails the church the opportunity to evangelise, leveraging social media and online platform.

Online church services is also welcome and some of our churches are doing it, because those who cannot meet one-on-one can use the social media to meet with one another and also to hold the service as if they are worshipping in the same church.

Inspiration With Rev. Yomi Kasali

info@yomikasali.com

T

he above topic is from my Bible, the Lord categorically told the King that any form of Rebellion will be likened to Witchcraft, yet many believers and Christian leaders are encouraging rebellion in the name of the Lord.

I watched a video of a very popular preacher in the south-south area of NIGERIA, this person is always involved in one negative behaviour or the other, berating the Government concerning Covid19 and asking his members to refuse being tested because it’s the way

BDSUNDAY 17

Rebellion is like witchcraft

... Covid-19 pandemic of spreading the virus... laughable indeed.

The fellow was encouraging what the Lord condemned and Likened to witchcraft; Rebellion! Any act of Rebellion to constituted authority is considered wilful sin against the Lord because it’s strengthened by deliberate disobedience to those in authority. ‘For Rebellion is as the SIN OF WITCHCRAFT, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king’ (1 Sam. 15 v 23).

The reason for the downfall of the first kind of Israel was summarized in above verse of scriptures, he was disobedient to the word of the Lord and it was considered as an act of Rebellion.

The earlier verse says, ‘...Obedience is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams’, so God had to tell him that to obey His servant the prophet was better than sacrificing to God. This was a directive to a KING from the King of Kings so that he would know that Everyman should obey constituted authority.

Let me Inspire you today on the biblically recognized constituted authorities over our lives so that we can un-

derstand the mind of God concerning Obedience and Rebellion which is the opposite of Obedience in the spirit.

It was for this reason that God casted out Satan from His presence and removed Adam from Staying in His garden. Let’s be obedient to those in Authority over us always.

5 Constituted authority that the bible recognizes GOVERNMENT: God has placed people in positions of Authority over us in nations. They are to make laws for the good of the society and we are expected to ‘obey’ those laws, pay our taxes and dues, be socially responsible and to do otherwise will be considered rebellious. Many preachers act like they’ve not read Rom. 13 v 1-4. Those in political leadership over our lives are considered ‘ministers of God’

hence we must obey them.

Please obey the law and directives of government concerning covid19.

At home: The constituted authority at home and in a Family is the Man of the house, hence, wives should respect their husbands, children obey their fathers and the home shall be in sync with Heaven’s order. Jezebel was called a witch in the Bible for manipulating her husband and controlling the home.

We should not let the Rebellious women groups out there push us into Rebellion under any circumstances. I believe a woman is not under authority of every Man but ONLY her husband and I do not want to work with any woman who says she will not be under authority of any man even her husband.

At work: This is where it

gets tricky because of some egocentric men who are also Rebellious do not want to be under the authority of women under any circumstances even at work. The boss at work must be obeyed at all times, be it a woman or man except the person asks you to do what is unscriptural like when the Woman Boss of Joseph asked him to sleep with her and he refused by jumping out of the window, he was fired. Potiphar’s wife asked for too much and something out of order with work. The Bible says, servants should obey their masters as unto the Lord.

In church: The spiritual authority men of God carry is primarily for their churches and secondarily for the nation if such are prophets and moral leaders. Many of those we call ‘bishops’ have lost moral rectitude to lead in the nation because of being found to lean towards a ‘political preference’. That is why our country lacks true Moral Leaders because the politicians have spiked the hands of those who should speak ‘truth to power’. I cannot exert authority over another man’s flock; it is for those under my leadership in FOTA. Social life: Sportsmen understand the role Umpires

and Referees play in every game to give us pleasure in our social lives. They oversee the game and determine what happens during the match. I’ve seen referees (less paid of course) give marching orders to players (better paid and more popular) and coaches and they had to OBEY because doing otherwise would be considered REBELLION and may be sanctioned even further.

That’s just the way it works in societies where things are in order.

I hope the above is clear and we can now shun Rebellion or else we shall consider you a WITCH. Drop me a note of acknowledgment and encouragement and also follow me on my Social media handles below: Instagram: @yomi_kasali Twitter: @yomi_kasali Facebook: www.facebook.com/revyomikasali Youtube: www.youtube. com/revyomikasali Be Inspired!

Rev Yomi Kasali is Senior Pastor, Foundation of Truth Assembly (FOTA), Surulere, Lagos.

Rev. Sola Aremu of Yaba Baptist Church, Lagos

Tope Ilesanmi, the CAN coordinator, Ikeja province

here are two sides of a coin to this issue.

Life has its gains and equally its pains.

Considering the impact of the lockdown on the church, I would say it has its good side and its bad side. The church is part of the society; it is a microcosm of the larger society; hence, whatever affects the society will in turn affect the church.

The good side of the lockdown on the church is the fact that it prevents the spread of the deadly coronavirus or COVID-19.

This in a way helps to reduce the risk of members either spreading the disease on one hand or contracting it on the other hand. However, the lockdown has deprived the church of her fellowship.

Primarily, there are two types of fellowships from the

he good news is that The news will go wider this He rose despite the year, and the Resurrection heavy stones and the Power will become so mightstouthearted men at ily displayed in our ‘hearts and the tomb. In the same vein, the homes’ when every believer news of His resurrection that officiates as Priests from their the priests wanted to cover is respective homes. Multiple alon the lips of everyman today.

What more? He is Risen. Even if there are doubting thomases, Jesus knows how to show himself to such with many infallible proofs.This is the reason why I am not worried about the present pandemic conspiracy to hinder the joy of The Resurrection Morning.

No! Am not perturbed, Tope Ilesanmi and no believer should. Why?

T

scriptural point of view, either vertical or horizontal. In other words, as we have fellowship with God we equally have fellowship with ourselves.

The lockdown has not really and cannot deprive the church (Christian’s) from fellowshipping with God, but it has robbed us of fellowshipping with ourselves.

The Bible emphasised it in the Book of Hebrews that we should not ignore or neglect the gathering (fellowship) of and with one another (brethren).Therefore,beyond any other thing, the church has been robbed of her fellowship.

I would have loved if the lockdown order is lifted to allow the church celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ popularly known as Easter.

The church could ensure that members observe other

preventive measures like hand washing, use of sanitizer and social distancing to mention just three. However, the church can’t be selfish in this matter.

To a large extent, the church has graciously cooperated with both the state and the Federal Government. We pray it won’t last too long before normalcy is restored to both the church and the society at large.Weshallsoonovercome this plague in Jesus name. I will like to use this opportunity to wish the whole body of Christ (Church) Happy Easter celebration. May the power of the cross, the shed blood on the cross and the power of resurrection uphold us till the appearance of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him alone be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Rev. Adepoju Ademola of First Love Apostolic Outreach, Lagos

R

Emmanuel Udofia

@Businessdayng

esurrection morning is the moment that gave hope to mankind. In Matt 28:2 the Bible says there was a great earthquake; this is the manifestation of the power of resurrection. Why is the resurrection so

i m p o r t a n t ? Be c a u s e Christ was raised from the dead our world is now headed for REDEMPTION not disaster (COVID-19) like being experienced now in the world; with Jesus redemption is sure, God mighty power is at work

to destroy sin, sickness and other negative things.

God’s power that brought Christ back from the dead is available to us that we can love for him in an evil world.

We can differ on many things but the resurrection unites all Christians.

T

tars would be raised by every Priest in those homes instead of one Priest-Altar to a thousand congregants.

Satan has lost this battle!

One thing we must tell the world is that the Resurrection Power is not confined to walls built by human hands. He is a Spirit, and travels faster than Coronavirus. No COVID-19 can even withstand Him, else it will be roasted. So, shutting down Church Auditoriums does not reduce His efficacy.

SOULS are being saved online.

Healings,deliverance,impartations and all His wonders are going on ONLINE. Praise God!

Archbishop Joseph Ojo, Calvary Kingdom Church (CKC) Lagos

C

eremony is just a commemorative event. The real issue is to remember that He died for the whole world. Christ our Pass Over is sacrificed for us (1Corintians 5:7). The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the power that the Cross of Jesus has. Not all crosses have power.

Because the people that died on them could not rise from their grave. Do you realise that there were two other people crucified along with the Master on that first Good Friday? Only Jesus cross can be said to have power because death could not keep him in the grave. The real power of the cross is preaching the

gospel of his resurrection.

Telling someone that Jesus loves him/her and that he died for their sins.

‘And with great power the apostles gave witness to the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all” (Acts 4:33).

The power of resurrection is witnessing to the fact that Jesus died and resurrected the third day. The cross could not keep him because by law the sun must not set before the body will be removed from the Cross; the grave could not hold him because he has power over life and death.

“I am the Resurrection and the Life.”

This Easter period will be

as powerful as it has ever been. We should pray like the Apostle Paul did “That I may know him and the power of his Resurrection” (Philippians 3:10). To everyone that believes in Jesus, death will pass over them.

Virus or viruses (COVID-19) will pass over us. This is the season of the PASS OVER- passing over from death to life; from fear to faith, and from worries to assurances. I call on all believers to use this season to get closer to God. There were no Church buildings in the New Testament time. But they marked the death and resurrection of the Lord; in homes and anywhere possible.

18

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@Businessdayng

Sunday 12 April 2020

Arts An Easter without the arts OBINNA EMELIKE

I

t is no longer news that Coronavirus (Covid-19) is ravaging the world. The concern now is how to curtail the virus, which has grounded global economies, killed many people, and has forced humans to live life on the edge.

Of course, the art sector is part of the global economy and is equally affected as museums and art galleries across the world are closed, ongoing exhibitions suspended, many performances, concerts and shows cancelled.

It is truly a tough time for the artists, art lovers, collectors and gallery owners.

The situation is really tough with the lockdown in place, which has made movement impossible, while the art sector records zero appreciation and patronage this Easter as potential visitors and buyers are keeping safe at home. The sad situation, which is courtesy of the coronavirus pandemic, is the first time galleries and museums are closed for public visits during Easter holiday.

If not for the lockdown, people would have been at

Wheatbaker Hotel Ikoyi to see ‘Dis Lagos Life’,a photo exhibition that captions the daily happenings in Lagos.

Well, the exhibition is suspended because of the lockdown. The worse is that Wheatbaker, venue of the exhibition, has since shutdown as the unprecedented low patronage cannot sustain its operations.

Even if the exhibition holds and Wheatbaker is open, the public will still stay back in compliance with the stay-at-home directive of the

government.

It is also not a good outing for SMO Contemporary Art , curator of the exhibition and the six talented artists whose 58 honest, intimate and audacious photos are not seen and appropriated by the public due to the reality of our time.

Nike Art Gallery in Lekki, Lagos, which is a major attraction for fun seekers during holidays, may not open for public visitation this Easter, while all enthralling creative performances

including art exhibitions at Freedom Park Lagos are not available this Easter.

As well, the swelling patrons of Alexis Galleries, frontline gallery in Victoria Island, Lagos, are lockdown at home and cannot visit their first point of call for art appreciation and patronage.

Beyond patronage, galleries usually witness a good number of visitors during festive periods such as Easter, who come to see a gallery for the first time.

Today, the galleries are

closed, no visitations and no money to make.

The average artist who depends on gallery sales is hard hit by the development. Ayotunde Salawu, a budding artist, noted that with over 15 recent works in three galleries, he looked forward to the Easter sales with optimism.

He is among the many artists whose works were returned or locked in galleries until the lockdown is over.

“Established artists often really on private and commissioned works, which the owners pay heavily to acquire. But we younger artists are still pushing for relevance, hence depend on galleries, their contacts and luck to excel because there are many good artists out there”, Salawu said.

He regrets the disappointment this Easter and hopes for a better tomorrow.

In the same vein, PhillCollins Erha, another artist, said that in his seven years studio practice, he has never been called to collect his works instead of proceeds from the sales of his work.

“My gallery contacts called last month that I should come and collect my works as they are shutting down, suggesting that I am

in a better position to safeguard my works until the heat is over”, Erha decried.

The Delta State-born artist, noted that for galleries to do that, it means the tough time is going to be for a long time and bad for aspiring artists who depend on sales of their works.

But Noble Eji, a rising art collector, disclosed that this is the right time to buy works directly from the artists and cheaper instead of galleries that inflate prices.

“What I do is to call a few good artists I know and ask if they have something I can buy for future use. Some of them live in popular neighborhoods and you can always access them despite lockdown”, he said.

So, instead of visiting galleries this Easter, Eji is urging art lovers who can afford security escort, to visit the artists at home, but with safety in mind.

Truly, the situation is unprecedented for the arts, but safety is better than money now. The good thing is that artworks, like wine appreciate in value the more they age. A work that did not sell cheap today, will bring a fortune tomorrow.

Let’s keep safe. Happy Easter!

also asking the public to take action by donating or tweeting out information about numerous fundraisers helping those impacted by COVID-19.

Global Citizen’s current efforts mirror its usual fundraising operations. Each year, the organization announces a specific set of goals that address social and environmental issues—and secure financial commitments from celebrities, corporations and philanthropists—for its annual Global Citizen Festival in New York’s Central Park.

The music festival, which normally occurs in September, is free to people who take certain social media and online actions through the festival’s app and website. In recent years, artists including Beyoncé, Rihanna, Coldplay and Janet Jackson have headlined.

Last year, Global Citizen announced plans to expand the 2020 Global Citizen Festival into a 10-hour five-continent event, Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream, slated for Sept. 26. The organization hasn’t announced whether it plans to move forward with this year’s festival or postpone or cancel the event due to COVID-19.

Pepsi’s involvement with this month’s broadcast extends the PepsiCo Foundation’s $45million global program to bring food to underserved communities during the crisis. So far, the initiative includes delivering 20 million meals to U.S. communities through the foundation’s Food for Good program, a partnership with Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign that provides emergency grants to U.S. schools and community organizations and a partnership with the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty and USDA to reach rural U.S. students.

PepsiCo is also funding personal protective gear for healthcare workers in the U.S., Europe and China, and investing in financial support for restaurant workers.

One World: Together at Home won’t be the first musical event to address the pandemic. After SXSW was canceled, The Fader turned its annual Fader Fort into a digital music festival to raise money for music charities. iHeartRadio also aired its Living Room Concert for America on March 29 on Fox, which raised $10 million, according to organizers.

One world, together at home ...as Global Citizen teams with Pepsi for virtual music concert

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s brands continue pivoting to virtual experiences due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Global Citizen and Pepsi have partnered to produce a one-night, international livestreamed event to highlight healthcare workers and amplify the efforts of organizations providing aid those impacted by the crisis.

Global Citizen, an international advocacy platform dedicated to ending extreme poverty by 2030, will host One World: Together at Home, a Live Aid-style broadcast of musical performances recorded in musicians’ homes, interspersed with footage of healthcare workers’ experiences fighting the disease and PSAs from world leaders, athletes and activists.In a rare show of solidarity, late-night talk show rivals Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert will co-host the broadcast, alongside characters from Sesame Street.

The lineup of musical performers, curated in collaboration with Lady Gaga, includes Alanis Morissette, Andrea Bocelli, Billie Eilish, Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day, Burna Boy, Chris Martin of Coldplay,

David Beckham, Eddie Vedder, Elton John, Finneas, Idris and Sabrina Elba, J Balvin, John Legend, Kacey Musgraves, Keith Urban, Kerry Washington, Lang Lang, Lizzo, Maluma, Paul McCartney, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Shah Rukh Khan and Stevie Wonder.

The broadcast will air live on April 18 beginning at 5 p.m.

EST on global networks such as: NBCUniversal: NBC, Bravo, E!, MSNBC, MSNBC.com, NBCSN, NBC News, NBCNews.com, NBC News on YouTube, Peacock, Syfy and USA; Walt Disney Television: ABC, ABC News, ABC News Live, Freeform and Nat Ge Others are: ViacomCBS: CBS, Channel 5 in the UK, Network 10 in Australia and Telefe in Argentina; BET and MTV globally across more than 180 countries; and CMT, Comedy Central, Logo, MTV2, Paramount Network, Pop, TV Land and VH1 in the U.S, Bell Media platforms in Canada, MultiChoice and RTE, while BBC One will broadcast an edited version of the event for U.K. audiences on April 19,2020.

The multihour program will also be broadcast on iHeartMedia stations and stream online on multiple platforms:

Alibaba, Amazon Prime Video, Apple, Facebook, Instagram, LiveXLive, Tencent, Tencent Music Entertainment Group, Tidal, TuneIn, Twitch, Twitter, Yahoo and YouTube. The digital stream will feature additional performances and more stories from the people on the front lines of the pandemic.

“As we honor and support the heroic efforts of community health workers, One World: TogetheratHomeaimstoserve as a source of unity and encouragement in the global fight to end COVID-19,” said Hugh Evans, co-founder and CEO of Global Citizen, in a statement.

“Throughmusic,entertainment and impact, the global live-cast will celebrate those who risk their own health to safeguard everyone else’s.”

According to Pepsi’s vp of marketing, Todd Kaplan, the brand has suspended its “That’s What I Like” campaign indefinitely to reallocate its marketing efforts and full U.S. TV and digital media spend to support the promotion and production of the broadcast. Kaplan explained that Pepsi was looking for a method to bring people together while they’re apart, specifically through music.

“Pepsi hopes to bring people all over the world together to support a common cause through the power of music and entertainment,” Kaplan said. “Having worked together previously—most recently the 2018 Global Citizen Zero Waste Festival— we knew that Global Citizen would be the perfect partner for such a task.”

Pepsi is working with numerous agency partners to support marketing and creative elements, including VaynerMedia for TV, social and digital promos; Motive for digital; OMD for paid media; Acceleration Community of Companies for PR; and the in-house PepsiCo Design Center for logo design.

The broadcast extends existing initiatives from both Global Citizen and Pepsi. For the past few weeks, Global Citizen has promoted social distancing and highlighted public health efforts with Together at Home-branded content on the organization’s website.

The platform has sponsored livestreamed, at-home music performances on Instagram and curated blog posts about companies shifting their efforts to fight COVID-19. It’s

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Arts

Some A-list African artists to follow this lockdown season degree course.

Ranti’s work is inspired by a love of words and metaphor, and by her fascination with the extraordinary properties of clay. She makes constant reference to the concepts of Light –metaphorically and physically, in process and form; Organic states; rawness – by working intuitively and collaging freely cut slabs of clay around a thrown base; and play – by pushing what she calls “this wondrous material” to its limits.

OBINNA EMELIKE

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hile galleries and museums are shutdown across the world because of efforts at curtailing the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19), art lovers can still follow their passion online by following their most cherished artists on social media and visiting their websites.

Some of the top African visual artists worth following in this season of lockdown include: Yinka Shonibare, the master artist Foremost of the artists is Yinka Shonibare MBE, an award Winning British-Nigerian artist.

Shonibare is a master of technical and visual versatility, well known for his embrace of richly patterned Dutch wax textiles, which are applied to the surface of canvases and three- dimensional landscapes.

Working across painting, sculpture, photography, film and installation, Shonibare’s work examines race, class and the construction of cultural identity.

Shonibare’s works have formed part of prominent collections, including the Tate Collection, London; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C; Museum of Modern Art, New York – among others.

He was the keynote speaker at Art X Lagos 2018, where he presented special exhibition exploring his career highlights and also gave ART X Talks programme.

Abdoulaye Diarrassouba, Cote d’Ivoire, contemporary artist Abdoulaye Diarrassouba, also known as Aboudia is an African contemporary artist based in Brooklyn, New York.

Aboudia first drew international attention for his work chronicling the civil war that broke out in Abidjan in 2011.

He has since become known for creating multi-layered, mixed-media paintings of Abidjan street scenes, featuring child-like figures rendered in a style that draws from the aesthetics of graffiti and traditional African carvings and captures his subjects’ innocence as well as something much darker and chaotic.

According to Aboudia, the laughter and tears of children remain his driving force, and to provide concrete assistance to them and their mothers.

Aboudia has held solo shows in New York, London and Barcelona, and his works are held in major international collections.

Zanele Muholi, South African artist and visual activist Zanele Muholi is a photogra-

Yinka Shonibare

Cyrus Kabiru

Zanele Muholi

Joy Labinjo

pher and visual activist. She is the co-founder of Forum for Empowerment of Women (FEW) and Founder Inkanyiso (www.inkayiso.org), a forum for queer and visual (activist) media.

Muholi studied Advanced Photography at the Market Photo Workshop in Newtown, Johannesburg, and in 2009 completed an MFA: Documentary Media at Ryerson University, Toronto. She is an Honorary Professor at the University of the Arts/ Hochschule für Künste Bremen.

Muholi’s self-proclaimed mission is to re-write a black queer and trans visual history of South Africa through ongoing photographic projects.

One of her ongoing series is Somnyama Ngonyama (Hail, The Dark Lionness), which confronts the politics of race and pigment in the photographic archive through self-portraiture characterized by the use of heightened contrast.

Awards and accolades received include France’s Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2017) and the Africa’Sout! Courage and Creativity Award (2016). Zanele Muholi showcased her works at the Stevenson gallery booth at ART X Lagos in 2018.

contextualises from discarded urban fragments and obsolete technology. The most publicly documented of these has been the series C-Stunners: wearable art in the form of striking pieces of eyewear that capture the confidence and attitude of a young generation of globally aware Kenyans.

Kabiru’s work is held in numerous collections, including the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, Cape Town, South Africa; and the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, USA. Recent exhibitions include All Things Being Equal, Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, Cape Town (2017); and Making Africa – A Continent of Contemporary Design, Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany and Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain (2015 – 2018).

Cyrus Kabiru, self-taught sculptor Cyrus Kabiru is a self-taught sculptor whose practice straddles the intersection between fine art, haute couture, performance and documentary, yielding works that articulate his experience of contemporary Africa.

He is best known for his intricate found-material sculptures, which he fashions and re-

Joy Labinjo, award-wining artist Joy Labinjo, an award-winning artist, graduated from Newcastle University with a BA in Fine Art, where she was awarded the coveted Woon Art Prize in 2017.

Labinjo’s paintings draw on

Paul Onditi

Kelani Abass

her British-Nigerian heritage and explore the relationship between belonging, identity and culture. In her current work, she uses family photographs as a starting point for her paintings. Piecing the images together according to vibrant colours, patterns and poses, she creates collages which, in turn, inspire the compositions of the paintings. Labinjo’s eclectic visual vocabulary and mixed technique explore various modes of representation and echo her experience of multiple identities – growing up Black, British, Nigerian in the 90s and early 00s.

Her exhibitions include: The Everyday Political, Cafe Gallery Project, London, UK (2018); The Accumulation of Things, Bonington Gallery, Nottingham, UK (2018); Gatherings, Goldtapped, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK (2018); and Belonging, Morley Gallery, London, UK (2018). Labinjo’s first solo exhibition at Tiwani Contemporary will take place in November 2018.

ment with contemporary practice is rapidly gaining international attention.

Onditi’s richly layered mixed-media images explore contemporary global issues through the use of highly experimental, labour-intensive techniques. Filmstrips, prints, transferred images, and layers of pigment, caustic acid and oil paint are meticulously patched together to capture the tensions embodied in the ideological, political and religious divisions that have plagued our collective existence since time immemorial.

Onditi studied at the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Offenbach am Main, Germany, and returned to Nairobi in 2010, where he now lives and works.

He has exhibited locally and internationally, including at the Museum für Angewandte Kunst in Frankfurt (2010), was invited for a solo show at VOLTA New York in March 2016, and was selected to represent Kenya at the 57th Venice Biennale (2017).

Paul Onditi Paul Onditi is a young artist from Kenya, whose engage-

Ranti Bam, award-winning ceramist Ranti Bam was born in Lagos, Nigeria and raised in London.

She received an MA from The Cass Faculty of Art, Architecture and Design, where her thesis was entitled ‘How can art and design help man understand his inseparability from his environment?’: A dialogue between the known and the experienced’. The research allowed her to make tangible her love of Eastern philosophy, etymology and clay.

After extensive travels, including a two-year pause in Greece, she was accepted onto the renowned City Lit ceramics

Alimi Adewale, Lagos painter and sculptor Alimi Adewale, is a renowned Lagos artist whose work explores various aspects of urbanisation, and the condition of everyday man. In richly textured “sculptural” portraits and landscapes, often rendered in oil on canvas or in mixed media involving photography and acrylic paint, Alimi combines elements of minimalism and abstraction to evoke the movement, tensions and intensity inherent in the cosmopolitan environment.

His nudes, meanwhile, probe the unacceptability of the idea of the nude figure in art, especially in African art, while his sculptures examine the experiential function of art in relation to the traditional function of African sculpture.

His solo exhibitions include Restrictions, Galleri Astley, Uttersberg, Sweden (2016); Divergence, Alara, Lagos, Nigeria (2015); and Megalopolis, Just Africa, Stockholm, Sweden (2015). He was the Artist in Residence at Konstepidemin, Sweden, in September/October 2016 and at Miliki, Lagos, in March/April 2017.

Kelani Abass Versatile artist, Kelani Abass probes the shared history and character of man and machines and the ontological significance of time and memory through a wide range of media that includes, and often combines, photography, print work, collage, painting and installation, and frequently incorporates archival material. The resulting works render personal stories against a backdrop of social and political events and create new meanings and narratives.

Abass studied painting at the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, graduating with distinction. His many accolades include first prize in the 3rd Black Heritage International Painting Competition, organized by Caterina de’ Medici Africa (2010).

Abass’ work has been included in numerous group shows, and been the subject of five solo exhibitions: If I could save time, CCA, Lagos (2016); Aso Ìgbà, Art Clip Africa, Lagos (2016); Asiko, CCA, Lagos (2013); Man and Machine, Omenka Gallery, Lagos (2011); and Paradigm Shift, Mydrim Gallery, Lagos (2009).

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Sunday 12 April 2020

Life&Living

2020 Easter in isolation: How to celebrate from home

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Jumoke Akiyode-Lawanson

t’s Easter Sunday, and usually, most Christians start their day off in church today before meeting up with friends and relatives to have a fun filled feast and treasure hunt for Easter eggs and Easter bunnies with the kids, but this year is very different, as most of the world will be spending this Easter in isolation due to the lockdown as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although we might not be able to gather with a lot of friends and family to celebrate; we must remember that the holiday signifies the death and resurrection of Christ who died to cleanse our sins, and so, we have so much to be thankful for regardless of the ongoing crisis.

Watch the Sunday service online: Most churches stream their services online, so you don’t have to miss out on the praise, prayers and thanksgiving this Easter. If it’ll make you feel any better, you can decide to dress up and look nice, after all, it’s Easter!

Decorate your house and set up fun games for the kids: Holidays are milestones for children, as they

look forward to all the fun they’ll have. So, if you’re stuck at home with your children, look for ways to make it fun for them. Engage them by making some hand crafted home decors and make sure there’s a treasure hunt in the house or backyard with rewards of Easter eggs, and they’ll love you for it.

Make some delicious food to eat with your immediate family: Do some good home cooking for just you and your family at home.

Luckily, food stores and restaurants have been classified as essential services, so if you don’t have the

strength to cook, you can order in food and still have your family brunch or dinner together while sharing fun memories and stories.

Give to the poor and vulnerable: Embrace the spirit of Easter this period and give to the less privileged. Easter is a time to give back with acts of kindness. These are hard times for so many people who don’t have homes to go to, or who have lost their jobs and are finding it hard to get through each day. Just think to yourself, what would Jesus do? Try and donate to charities and support non-profit organisations

helping with COVID-19 relief efforts. Show love and give hope to the hopeless this Easter.

Video call friends: I’m sure you miss hanging out with close friends and family, but they don’t have to be so distant with technology. Try video calling some of your friends, cousins or your children’s friends from school on FaceTime or WhatsApp and have fun catching up on good memories and playing games online.

Watch movies: This is a great time to sit down with some popcorn and watch your favourite Christian

movies. Films like ‘The Passion of Christ’ are classic Easter movies that tell a detailed story of how Jesus Christ was betrayed, suffered persecution, died, and rose again on the third day, so that we could all live. There are also a lot of other films from children’s bible stories that would be interesting to watch with the family at this time. Another good movie is ‘The War Room’ that tells the story of how God answers prayers. At a time, where we are seeking a miracle from God to heal our land, it’ll be good to watch movies like this to keep our faith up.

Innovative makeshift home offices people have made during quarantine

M IFEOMA OKEKE

any people had to start working from home almost overnight because of the coronavirus pandemic—so it’s safe to say not everyone was prepared for the shift. Some folks have had to get a little creative when coming up with work stations in their homes and apartments. Their hilarious home office setups include everything from ironing board desks to water bottle stands. Here are some makeshift home “offices” that will have you in awe of what people can do when desperate times call for desperate measures.

1. Turns out ironing boards make great desk extensions.

Don’t have enough space on your small at-home desk? Take a page from professor Elizabeth Crooke’s book and just add on an ironing board.

2. But they also just make great desks.

However, if you don’t have a desk at all, ironing boards can also be used as makeshift desks. Just make sure the legs are stable so that your computer doesn’t come crashing down.

3. Liquor cabinets can be the ideal

standing desk height.

Happy hour still isn’t until 5 p.m.

But if you’re fine with having all this alcohol staring you in the face all day, a liquor cabinet may be the perfect alternative standing desk setup.

4. Perhaps hallway offices will become a new trend.

Unfortunately for some people, sharing a studio apartment means the front hallway is their office and

the clothes hamper is their new desk.

But hey, minimalism is all the rage in home décor.

5. Working from home doesn’t mean you can’t work outside.

Being quarantined doesn’t mean you can’t get a breath of fresh air. Just turn that recycling bin into your new standing desk!

6. People are using their chairs in innovative ways.

In quarantine, chairs don’t have to be used as chairs. If you’re looking for a makeshift standing desk, take that chair from the floor to the table and you can stand and type all day.

7. Because everyone is really missing their standing desks.

Working from home isn’t exactly forgiving on your back. But if your standing desk is stuck back at the office, no worries—plopping your

laptop on a stack of water bottles on the kitchen counter is a great substitution.

8. You can also work from the bathroom Mitali Chakraborty missed her standing desk so much she resorted to using her bathroom sink with a box stacked on top as an at-home version.

9. Working from home could also mean working from the car.

Need a change of scenery but can’t go inside anywhere to work? If you have a spoiler on your car, you can change “working from home” into “working from a parking lot.”

10. Or it could mean working from your baby’s high chair.

Apparently, some baby high chairs can work just fine as desks. Who knew!

11. You can make your own exercise bike desk Quarantine isn’t stopping people’s workouts. And luckily, there’s no need to brave a panic-filled Walmart and drop hundreds on an exercise bike desk if you have a regular bike and a tall desk.

12. Some people have had to transform their closets into offices.

To be fair, some closet setups look bigger than some studio apartments but working among your clothes is a bit claustrophobic.

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Women’s World Compassion for humanity moved me to launch Ibom food bank project – Imaobong Uboh

Imaobong Uboh is the founder of Travelers Sensitisation and Mediation Initiative, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) active in the transport sector.

Recently, she set up Ibom Food Bank initiative, the social intervention arm of the NGO to distribute food items to the most vulnerable people following the outbreak of the coronavirus and the lockdown announced by the Akwa Ibom State government. In this interview with ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, she gives an insight into the motivation, her involvement in other projects and how the initiative has brought joy and succour to the poorest of the poor. Excerpts:

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hat motivated you to lunch the Ibom food bank initiative?

It is the compassion for humanity. I knew people were going to be hungry during the lockdown. Not being allowed to go out because of the lockdown. I have been in a situation where I was hungry; in fact, I had contemplated suicide because I had no money to buy food. I knew many people could be in a situation where they would have nothing to eat. Mine was suicidal. If you have not been there, you won’t understand. If you have been there, you will have a reason to reach out to those who may be in that situation like you.

How are you going to achieve this?

I made a facebook post seeking donations from people for us to buy food items for distribution and also for people to donate food items as well. Believe me, the response has been tremendous. Donations come from all parts of the world including Akwa Ibom State. People feel excited to contribute in helping the most vulnerable during this lockdown.

How much have you raised so far?

Before now, I used to know the total amount of money donated off hand. But when the amount came in more often, I lost count but I have the details and I am sure it is above a million Naira. The donations are coming almost on a daily basis.

What about the fear that the distribution might be politicised?

The distribution of the foodstuff is being done in an unbiased manner.

People may have the fear that it would be done through party lines, that may not be the case. I told the people I am not adopting a partisan approach. I am not passing through any party structure. I am giving the food items to every vulnerable person randomly.

Are people in doubt of your transparency about this project?

So far, nobody has doubted my transparency. Trust is earned. For example, 98 percent of those making donations, I don’t know them.

I have never met them. They are in various parts of the world. They saw my video post and came to my page, people said, ‘we came to your page and we have been watching you and then you have earned our confidence, you have won our trust.’ Whenever money is donated, the first thing I do, I post it on my facebook page, that we have gotten so, so amount of amount of money and I intend to do a breakdown.

When you are handling a project like this, when someone sends you one thousand naira, it may not be a lot of money, it is about trust. There are people who are donating N100,

Imaobong Uboh 000 and more. And someone sends you two thousand and says that is what I have; you dare not mess with that trust.

How far can this go; how long is it going to last?

In the course of the distribution of the food items, I have met people that are unemployed and by implication poor. So I thought, I could go beyond just giving them foodstuff.

I could impact life skills as well that will help them earn a living still on the platform of Ibom food bank initiative. I have listed the stages of Ibom food bank initiative, the lockdown stage, which is the stage we are currently are, there is also the post lockdown stage, people will still need support even after the lockdown, and then when everything is over, there is also the exit strategy. This will involve skills acquisition, being able to meet the people in their various local government areas and then trying to impact skills that they are passionate about. It could be carpentry, tailoring, it could be make up artistry, it could be cake making, it could be paint making, it could be liquid or dry soap making, Andhowdoyouseektoachieve this?

How I seek to achieve this is, I would want to partner with skills professionals in the state and it is at this point that everyone has to take responsibility of giving back regardless of social status. You don’t have to be a billionaire to give back to the society. I plan to partner with skilled professionals and appeal to them to voluntarily adopt people. You could say you are a tailor and that you can voluntarily adopt 10 people to train for free. That would be your own way of giving back to the society.

How feasible do you think this can be?

Already, I have more than five professionals who have indicated interest. One is a shoe maker, he has agreed to take ten people, another said he is into agriculture, snail farming, garri processing. They said they can take five people each. We have a lady who said she can teach people Television presentation skills. Another says he would accept people for Information and Communication Technology training. Since we are on the food distribution stage, I have not yet started campaigning about it now but people have already indicated interest. I have a way of selling the ideas to the people

when I start campaigning about it.

Apart from the skilled professionals coming up to adopt people, I also hope to partner with the public to raise funds for us to pay and make up for those who are not adopted for the training. We can raise funds and pay for training fees for random people and then we would be going around to monitor how they are doing. After their graduation, we would buy them their required tools.

This is an elaborate programme? Can you run this on your own without a board of directors?

I have come to experience something about our people. This is not the first project that I have had. I have had like two other projects. Before this food bank initiative came because of the coronavirus, I had ‘Stop-Blackmail-Project;’ I also had ‘Stop-Cultism’ campaign, when we had issues with cultism. The thing about our people in this part of the world is that they are unnecessarily envious. When you bring a project to partner with people, they are seeing it as a way to project you. So you will find out that they will intentionally make the project not to work.

This happens when you are not paying people to attend meetings.

People don’t want to start with you from the scratch. They only want to come and identify with it when it is a success story. So, the two other projects, they succeeded in making me suspend them for now. I am going to make sure that those ideas and projects don’t die because there is a significant impact we needed to achieve. So, when this one came, there is no way I would have wanted any one to stifle my dream project.

I have a non-governmental organisation, Travelers and Mediation Association; I am now using the NGO to execute the project. Sadly, in this part of the world, when you want to travel fast, you travel alone.

There are some projects you need to do at a particular time. It is like coming to talk about donation for coronavirus after the lockdown, nobody will answer you. So, I had to run with the speed of it. I am not working alone. I have people who are working with me.

How are you going to reach the people in all the local government areas?

I have the capacity to go round all the local government areas but it depends on the donation. For instance, I have approached some political leaders in the state, I went to them when the pandemic broke, some of them have supported it and some said they are going to work with it. But the next thing is they took trailers of foodstuff to their villages. It then dawned on me that I have been able to impart this culture in them. That is the best part of it, whether they work with me

or not. Again, when I called some of them, they said one has to take the food items to the villages and people would be saying ‘why are strangers coming to distribute food when we have people we elected.’

Personally, I can go to all the local government areas, what does it take, apart from packaging the food items and taking them to the villages? I can do one local government or two in one day.

When you go to the villages to distribute the food packs, how do people receive you?

People are always very excited.

People are not suspicious. The level of lack and hunger in the villages is much. When you meet a hungry man and you want to give him food, the first thing that comes to a hungry man’s mind is not that you are giving him poison. It is not whether the food is poisonous. The first thing that comes to his mind is how to eat and be satisfied. When we go out there, they are very excited. They run after out vehicles, they plead for more. Nobody is scared of anything.

You also run an NGO; what is the core objective of the organisation?

It is called Travelers Sensitisation and Mediation Initiative. The focus is on the Nigerian Transport Sector and Nigerian travelers. We are looking at how we can pick one mishap in the sector and improve on it. It focuses on the challenges that travelers face, how to ensure global best practices. For example, most travelers don’t even know their rights. They go to the airports, they are not treated properly. We have to sensitise them because before you start demanding for your rights, you must first know them. Again, what is expected of our roads, most of them don’t have provisions for cycling; we should build our roads the way it is built elsewhere in the world.

We should build roads with pedestrian and cycling paths to encourage trekking and cycling. There are few NGOs in that sector.

What successes have you recorded with the NGO? We have done sensitisation programmes with many groups and agencies including the Federal Road Safety Corps, the World Bank supported projects and others. We have done a lot of work in partnership with key agencies in the transport sector. Again, Ibom food bank is part of it because everybody who has been asked to stay at home is a traveler because traveling is basically moving from one point to another. We needed to reach out to all those who were asked to restrict their movements since they cannot go to fend for themselves. So, Ibom food bank is a social intervention programme of Travelers Sensitisaton and Mediation Initiative.

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Sunday 12 April, 2020

Travel

Air cargo demand slumps in February as COVID-19 takes hold Stories by IFEOMA OKEKE

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he International Air Transport Association (IATA) released February 2020 data for global air freight markets showing that demand, measured in cargo tonne kilometers (CTKs), decreased by 1.4 percent compared to the same period in 2019. Adjusting the comparison for the impact of the Lunar New Year, which fell in February in 2019, and the leap year in 2020, which meant an additional day of activity, seasonally-adjusted demand was down 9.1 percent month-on-month in February.

By February, the negative impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on air cargo demand were becoming visible. The month witnessed several significant developments: Manufacturing production in China, one of the world’s largest air cargo markets, dropped sharply due to widespread factory closures and travel restrictions.

Global export orders fell to a historically low level. The global Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) is in contraction territory, with all major trading nations reporting falling orders.

Significant cargo capacity was lost as a result of airlines reducing passenger operations in response to government travel restrictions due to COVID-19, severely impacting global supply chains.

Cargo capacity, measured in available cargo tonne kilometers (ACTKs), dropped by 4.4 percent year-on-year in February 2020. This is subject to the same distortions as the non-seasonally adjusted demand numbers.

“The spread of COVID-19 intensified over the month of February, and with it, the impact on air cargo.

Adjusted demand for air cargo fell by 9.1 percent. Asia-Pacific carriers were the most affected with a seasonally-adjusted drop of 15.5 percent.

“What has unfolded since is a story of two halves. The disruption of global supply chains led to a fall in demand. But the dramatic disruption in passenger traffic resulted in even deeper cuts to cargo capacity. And the industry is struggling to serve remaining demand with the limited capacity available.

“We only got a first glimpse of this in February. Among all the uncertainty in this crisis, one thing is clear—air cargo is vital. It is delivering lifesaving drugs and medical

equipment. And it is supporting global supply chains. That’s why it is critical for governments to remove any blockers as the industry does all it can to keep the global air cargo network functioning in the crisis and ready for the recovery,” Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO said.

Regional performance Airlines in Europe suffered a sizeable decline in year-on-year growth in total air cargo volumes in February 2020, while North American and Asia-Pacific carriers experienced more moderate falls. Middle East, Latin America and Africa were the only regions to record growth in air freight demand compared to February 2019.

Asia-Pacific airlines saw demand for air cargo contract by 2.2 percent

in February 2020, compared to the year-earlier period. Seasonallyadjusted cargo demand fell by 15.5 percent compared to January 2020, to levels last seen in early 2014. The drop in demand was largely due to the impact of COVID-19. Capacity decreased 17.7 percent - the largest fall since early 2013. Cargo capacity in China dropped sharply in February, driven in large part by the collapse of belly-hold capacity.

North American airlines saw demand decrease by 1.8 percent in February 2020, compared to the same period a year earlier. Capacity increased by 4.1 percent.

Cargo traffic on the Asia-North America trade lanes decreased by 2.4 percent year-on-year as a result of factory closures in Asia due to COVID-19.

European airlines posted a 4.1 percent decrease in cargo demand in February 2020 compared to the same period a year earlier.

European carriers were among the first to cancel flights to and from Asia, contributing to the drop in demand in February. The Within Europe market decreased by 7.8 percent year-on-year. This suggests that the region was affected by global supply chain disruptions and early COVID-19 containment measures – notably in Northern Italy, an important manufacturing region. Capacity decreased by 3.8 percent year-on-year.

Middle Eastern airlines’ cargo demand increased 4.3 percent in February 2020 compared to the year-ago period. Capacity increased by 6.0%. However, given the Middle East’s position connecting trade between China and the rest of the world, the region’s carriers have significant exposure to the impact of COVID-19 in the period ahead.

Latin American airlines experienced an increase in freight demand in February 2020 of 1.8 percent.

Capacity decreased by 2.6 percent year-on-year. The region was relatively unaffected by the COVID‑19 outbreak in February. However, disrupted global supply chains and a fragile economic backdrop in some countries in the region continue to create headwinds for air cargo.

African carriers posted the fastest growth of any region for the 12th consecutive month in February 2020, with an increase in demand of 6.2 percent compared to the same period a year earlier.

Capacity grew 3.0 percent yearon-year. The Africa-Asia and AfricaMiddle East trade lanes continue to bring robust growth to the region.

Delta extends Medallion Status, Club Memberships, others to support SkyMiles Members’ future travel

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elta SkyMiles Medallion Members will enjoy the same loyalty benefits throughout 2021 as they have in 2020. The 12-month Status extension is part of Delta’s work to offer greater flexibility as coronavirus impacts travel plans, so customers can rest assured their Status will be there when they’re ready to fly.

“On behalf of all of us at Delta, I want to thank our customers for your continued loyalty during these unprecedented times. While our focus is on keeping customers and employees safe and healthy today and always, you are a part of the Delta family and we know how important these benefits are to you,” Sandeep Dube, Delta’s Senior Vice President – Customer Engagement and Loyalty, and CEO of Delta Vacations said.

“That’s why as coronavirus continues to dramatically impact travel across the globe, you don’t have to worry about your benefits – they’ll be extended so you can enjoy them when you are ready to travel again.”

The following updates will hap-

pen automatically over the coming weeks, with no action needed from customers.

Medallion Members: All Medallion Status for 2020 will be automatically extended for the 2021 Medallion Year.

All Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) from 2020 are being rolled over to 2021 to qualify for 2022 Medallion Status.

Delta Sky Club Individual and Executive memberships with an expiration of March 1, 2020, or later will receive six additional months of Delta Sky Club access beyond their expiration date.

Delta SkyMiles American Express Card Members: If you have one of the following in your SkyMiles profile “My Wallet” that is valid now or has expired since March 1, 2020, we are extending the expiration dates to give you additional time to enjoy your benefits: Delta SkyMiles Gold Card Members with a $100 Delta flight credit will get a six-month extension beyond their current expiration date.

Delta SkyMiles Platinum Card Members with Companion Certificates with an original expiration date between March 1 and June 30,

2020, can use them when they book and fly by Dec. 31, 2020, and those that expire between July 1, 2020, and April 1, 2021, will receive an additional six months beyond the current expiration date.

Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card Members with Companion Certificates with an original expiration date between March 1 and June 30, 2020, can use them when they book and fly by Dec. 31, 2020, and those that expire between July 1, 2020, and April 1, 2021, will receive an additional six months beyond the current expiration date.

Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card Members will also get a six-month extension to use their Delta Sky Club One-Time Guest Passes beyond their current expiration date.

SkyMiles Members: If you have one of the following in your SkyMiles profile “My Wallet” that is valid now or has expired since March 1, 2020, we are extending the expiration dates to give you additional time to enjoy your benefits: Upgrade Certificates or $200

Travel Vouchers with an original expiration date between March 1 and June 30, 2020, are extended – now, they can be booked and flown by Dec. 31, 2020. And, SkyMiles Members with Upgrade Certificates or $200 Travel Vouchers that expire after June 30, 2020, will receive an additional six months beyond the current expiration date.

SkyMiles Select members will receive a six-month extension to the Priority Boarding benefit and any unused drink vouchers.

“We are continuously monitoring how coronavirus impacts travel and will make additional adjustments to support our customers’ needs as the pandemic evolves,” said Dube.

SkyMiles members enrolled in a challenge or promotion to earn Medallion Status, such as the Status Match Challenge, Reclaim My Status or a promotion offered through their employer, can restart that promotion when they are ready to travel again. Those Members will receive next steps from Delta in the coming weeks.

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Travel

Easter without festivities OBINNA EMELIKE

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t the wake of the 2016 economic recession, most Nigerians switched to survival mood, cutting off unnecessary expenditures and flamboyant lifestyle, especially luxurious holiday abroad. Then, the sharp change in foreign exchange rate from about N150 to $US1 to over N360 to $1US was unimaginable, while rendering the Naira almost valueless.

In spite of the little purchasing power then, people still celebrated festivities but in low key.

Currently, the situation on ground is unprecedented with the lockdown in place to curtail the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19). Today is Easter Sunday and there are no signs of celebrations anywhere, even the churches did not open for services, a development never witnessed even during the civil war.

Out on the streets in Lagos and Abuja, there is no movement, no gathering and no festivities for Easter this year, all because of the need to save lives.

While Christian faithfuls are keeping safe at home in compliance with the stay-at-home directive of the government, the public, especially traditionally Easter fun seekers are also lockdown at home.

In line with the sad development, the sprawling beaches in Lagos, which host thousands of fun seekers every Easter are empty today, recreational and amusement parks in Abuja are closed, picnic venues are on lockdown, resorts shutdown and excitement venues lifeless.

Of course, tourism is grounded with the development.

From the touts that collect gate fees at the beach, tents that sell food and drinks, horse guides, children play ground operators, and to the ordinary hawkers, it is all about missed opportunities and losses as fun seekers stay back from all attractions this Easter.

Fun seekers haven such as Sultan Beach, Badagry Beach, Elegushi Beach, Port Harcourt Beach, Ibeno Beach in Akwa Ibom, Marina in Calabar, among others are empty as the public stay away in compliance with the stay-at-home order.

Big outfits, such as Hi Impact Amusement Park, the biggest family themed park in Nigeria, Funtopia, Ikeja Waterparks, Abuja Amusement Park, among others are counting huge losses from the missed sales opportunities this Easter.

The sad thing is that some of the outfits obtained bank loans to update their facilities

Empty resort, as fun seekers stay safe at home

and fun offerings for Easter after the wear and tear from the pressure on their outfits last Christmas holiday.

Mopupe Asala, a children team lead in a Lagos park, decried that the park recently installed five new water wheels, which it planned to launch this Easter, but could not because of the situation on ground.

“We flew in two water park engineers from Dubai to install and test the wheels this Easter but they have since gone back because of the virus scourge.

We will spend huge sum to bring them back after the scourge is over”, she lamented.

As well, cruise lovers who look forward to the opening of the Hi Impact Cruise Ship in Lagos Marina this Easter, will have to wait as the situation on ground does not encourage such huge gatherings and luxury showcase.

Major hotels are already closed, signaling no Easter brunch or dinner for families and loved ones who have traditionally marked Easter Sunday with special lunch and dinner in big hotels. As well, the usual Easter packages sold every year to potential guests did not make impact this time because of the many cancellations that

National Theatre, unusually quiet during Easter holiday

followed earlier bookings.

Marcel Agada, a sales director in an international branded hotel in Lagos, disclosed that for the first time, guests were not interested in the hotel’s Easter promotion package.

“We had to withdraw the fun loaded and heavily discounted Easter package three weeks ago when we had several cancellations from guests”, Agada said.

Explaining further, he noted that the room was the major offering of the promo and when potential guests are cancelling their room bookings, there is no business to

pursue again.

“If the churches are closed for Easter, why not hotels too.

Yes, hotels are down, but I think safety matters now. Guests will always come back when safety is assured. Easter 2021 will be better”, Agada assured.

The many public spaces and parks are also empty.

Freedom Park, Lagos Island, which has become popular for creative events, is as quiet as a graveyard, while the National Theatre, Iganmu Lagos is very empty as well. The cinemas are closed as well, while art galleries suspended ongoing exhibitions and pubic visits on Easer.

The situation is truly unprecedented as most Nigerians confessed to witnessing nothing this bad before.

“Even during the civil war, people far away from the battlefield still had fun. The world is grounded, not just Nigeria.

Today, it is on record that 2020 Easter was not celebrated. It is sad for the Christians, for Nigeria and for the world”, Jude Odiba, a bank executive, said.

He noted that the huge impact of a virus that originated from China points to how global the world has become and why it requires global approach to tackle the virus.

As the world witnessed an Easter without festivities today, tourism and hospitality stakeholders pray that efforts at curtailing the spread of the virus yield the expected results as the industry is collapsing.

Families and fun seekers, who are staying safe at home, also hope for a better tomorrow when people can go out to unwind again.

Happy Easter!

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Sunday 12 April 2020

Focus Rivers: Star wars over COVID-19 containment efforts …Conflicting orders between Rivers and FG …FG grants permit but Wike shuts Chopper Company …Oil companies catch cold as conflict threatens to spread …Attention shifts from war against virus to political fireworks Ignatius Chukwu

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he moment Nigeria recorded its first case of COVID-19 in Lagos through an Italian visitor; Port Harcourt went cold; knowing by all calculations that Rivers State was just one flight away from it.

The Rivers State government led

by Nyesom Wike announced control measures in addition to the ones being dished out by federal authorities.

While some Nigerians were still pressuring the President to address the nation, Governor Wike did just that.

Wike shocked the state when he announced closure of boundaries.

Many knew trouble was brewing and a conflict with the centre was a matter of time. All of those highways being locked were federal roads.

Many travellers got trapped both on the East-West Road which is gulping N746billion to rebuild since the Goodluck Jonathan days (with another N150billion earmarked) and the Oyigbo end of the Port HarcourtEnugu Expressway. Some cried out for help, saying they had spent up to seven days at the boundary points.

Many, who were interviewed, said they were travelling from as far as Kano State and did not know there was local ban in Rivers State.

When the FG announced its own nationwide shutdown along with curfew in Lagos, Ogun and Abuja, it gave exemptions. Now, many wondered which rule would prevail, the conditions given by the FG or the orders given by Rivers State government.

The highpoint was that Wike declared curfew in parts of Port Harcourt while the FG declared it in three states. Whereas no persons were arrested and prosecuted at that point, over 200 had been clamped into detention and taken to court where a plea of ‘guilty’ fetched N10,000 fine and exit while not ‘guilty’ attracted N100,000 bail.

One order that showed red flag was the order that when flight arrives to Port Harcourt, the passengers would not be allowed into the state. The governor said he knew he had no power to stop flights into the state but that he had right to stop the passengers from moving into the state.

Many wondered how a passenger would get to the airport but would not go home or to his destination. It was not clear how the law would be implemented. Reporters at the airport said the order was being implemented but they could not explain what happened to the passengers. The governor said he expected the federal agencies to understand and cooperate but it was not clear how the cooperating would apply; to stop flights into Rivers State or to keep them at the airport.

The next red flag was the governor’s second broadcast where he revealed that some multinational corporations had made passionate appeals for exemptions to enable them sustain oil operations but he had said no. Alarm! If you say such ‘No’ to oil companies, how would they sustain oil operations?

Soon after, the FG ordered that

Wike oil operations should continue and essential operations must continue.

There was no such order from the state. It was however, gathered that some administrative measures were taken and some exemptions including the press were given, but it was clear that conflict would soon arise.

N10bn red flag The next twist was the announcement by the FG that N15billion was set aside to support the fight, and that N10billion would go to Lagos.

Governor Wike immediately made a broadcast where he accused the FG of politicising the war against the virus. He said the money comes from Rivers State (3rd highest oil producing state after Delta and Akwa Ibom) but that the money was sent to Lagos.

Many commentators countered that Lagos was fighting the battle for the entire nation and that the FG was waging the war in Lagos for the rest of the country. Others point at the various actions already

Caverton-Helicopters

taken by Lagos to contain the virus which must have swallowed several billions; isolation centres, treatment centres, restriction of movements, support to the vulnerable, several stop-and-check points, several tracers, thousands of volunteers working with numerous equipment, and massive awareness campaigns being the first point of entry.

Wike floated his own bank accounts for companies to begin to donate but for over one week, only one company came forward with noodles at a time the Lagos donation had climbed to N15billion. It had to take the Rivers House of Assembly members and later the commissioners to announce donation of one month salaries.

The governor said in one of his broadcasts that the FG was not helping the state at all. A son of the soil who works in the presidency as a special adviser, said it was untrue, that the Federal Government and allies were building a 250-bed treatment centre in Port Harcourt. A

governor’s aide countered, saying for the governor to be inspecting it, it cannot be a FG’s project. He asked newsmen to count their tongues with their teeth. Newsmen are still counting.

Anger and possible frustrations grew in the state. The Organised Private Sector (OPS) in the state led by PHCCIMA’s president, Nabil Saleh, stepped in and pulled donations and distributed through Rivled Foundation in the 23 local council areas of the state.

The governor began to tone down and began to announce plans to roll out palliatives such as food centres, passage of essential goods, half open markets, and handouts.

The masses began to commend him.

Then, the Carveton saga! The governor swiftly drove with a convoy to the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) Base behind Bori Camp on G.U. Ake Road.

There, he stormed the Carveton Helicopters Company and demanded for the pilots and passengers of his flight to be brought out. In fact, he demanded for the manifest.

Later, the world learnt that the pilot and his co-pilot (Samuel Ugorji and Samuel Buhari), were arrested.

The police owned up to the arrest even as some sources insisted it was the task force that arrested them.

The task force: The governor had at the onset set up a Committee on COVID-19 and made the Commissioner of Information and Communications, Paulinus Msirim, the chairman. The task was mostly awareness creation and mobilisation for vigilance. When the first case was announced, the governor announced a higher-powered committee made up mostly of the heads of the security agencies in the state and he heads it.

This can explain the said arrest of the pilots by the commander of

the Air Force. He is a member of the task force. What seems to spin the eye is the speed of prosecution after arrest. It could only happen in New York. Next, 10 passengers were fished out and same day, they appeared before a magistrate and same day remanded in prison custody.

The next day, the entire Carveton was ‘arrested’ when the company was shut down in the state. The company reacted in Lagos, saying they had all the permits but that seemed to infuriate the governor.

He simply shut them down.

Who is Carveton to Rivers State government matters? A Rivers retiree who worked all his career years in the Government House, Blessing Nwikina, tried Thursday to provide insight. He posted on journalists’ platform that Carveton was not new to Rivers issues. The company was also involved in a part of the Amaechi vs Wike/Jonathan wars few years ago when Jonathan and Wike were at the federal level.

Then governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi had bought some jets for the state and during the conflict with Goodluck Jonathan, the jet was grounded ahead of the Governors’ Forum elections on grounds of illegal purchase. Amaechi said jet was properly acquired with documentation from Carveton. This seemed to sway public sympathy to Amaechi.

The National Assembly stepped in to save Amaechi through a hearing.

Nwikina recalled Thursday, April 9, 2020, that Stella Odua was minister of Aviation, and that Carveton strangely appeared before the Parliament and denied being part of the acquisition and said their letterhead was forged. Nwikina said years later, the company was to go begging the people they may have offended.

Many now say maybe the begging and confessions may have rankled the nerves of the Jonathan camp and may have made Carveton a persona non grata all this while.

Could the company have stepped on a wire this time?

Carveton serves top oil companies and is trusted to ferry them to places. One of the oil majors granted them a loan few years back to upgrade and serve better. It was gathered that it is such oil company workers that had overstayed to over 28 days instead of 14 offshore that Carveton was bringing back to Port Harcourt. It is also believed the flight was to take their replacement back, but got enmeshed in the crisis.

The hammer on the company and the ripple effects in the industry has set tongues wagging and new ideas popping up. The governor said he is not against the business community but out to save the lives of his people.

The truth is, in a fight between the Rivers State government and federal authorities, the oil companies and their service providers will suffer. The governor has insisted that there are enemies and opposition members plotting to spread the virus in Rivers State. Many scream, but some take it with circumspect.

Whatever, there is panic in the oil industry top players. What happens in the coming days would tell more on the nerves of the industry players.

Sunday 12 April, 2020

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BDSUNDAY 25

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COVID-19: The question of cultural belief Daniel Obi

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here is strong immunity belief among some Nigerians that is though, not scientific. Sometimes some of the people joke that they have too many socioeconomic challenges, foisted by the leadership which global tragedies consider and avoid Nigeria. How do you explain a country with so much abundant resources but majority of the citizens is living below poverty line.

This strong belief about immunity is shared among social classes, promoted by religion. When you consider that Ebola did not spread to too many African countries with small outbreaks occurring in Nigeria, Mali, and isolated cases recorded in Senegal, the United Kingdom and Italy, this belief gets stronger.

Coronavirus is today ravaging Europe, Asia much more than Ebola in Africa. Ebola epidemic of 2014 claimed a total of 11,323 lives out of a total of 28,646 cases mainly in Liberia (4,809 deaths); Sierra Leone (3,956); and Guinea (2,543). Nigeria and Mali recorded eight and six deaths respectively with four in UK, according to studies.

But so far, coronavirus has claimed a total of 81,000 deaths out of 1.4 million cases globally.

Italy with over 17,000 deaths has the highest figure. Statistics from Google indicate that America has death toll of 12,800; Spain, 14,000; France, 10,300; Iran, 3,800 while China has death toll of 3,300; UK, 6,159.

Nigeria has recorded six deaths so far from the pandemic. Many Nigerians are no doubt frightened while many others believe that the disease is far from them. The latter group think that the disease will simply come and go like Ebola.

The low death toll and the high number of recoveries, 6 weeks after the virus entered Nigeria also gives credence to such beliefs that Nigeria will overcome it with fewer deaths.

This belief in some Nigerians, expectedly informed the flouting of the stay-at-home orders issued by the government to slow the spread of the virus ravaging countries with no clear solution in sight yet.

From the educated to common man on the Nigerian street, there is a strong feeling that coronavirus is much more a European problem than African issue as some Nigerians still attend parties and other functions without qualms.

In fact, Nigerian media is replete with reports of flouting of the social distancing and stay-at-home order.

Last week, a popular actress, was arraigned and convicted for violating the social distancing directive meant to curtail the spread of the Covid:19 pandemic. The celebrity

and her husband were accused of holding a birthday party in their home with numerous guests in attendance.

Report in the Guardian also indicates that Lagos residents are back on the roads, causing traffic jams in spite of the lockdown to curtail the spread of the virus.

“In different parts of the state, Lagosians were seen on the roads, driving, walking or having group fitness exercises together. The highway at Gbagada was blocked by residents who turned the road into a fitness class …, thus making mockery of the social distancing policy and restriction order.

“At Lagos Island, there were pockets of traffic on the Lekki-epe expressway. In Lekki, the traffic stretched and lasted for a long time because some motorists who tried to cut corners drove against traffic”, the report said.

Other media channels also carried stories of failure of social dis-

tancing order in parts of Lagos.

In other places, keke, okada and commercial bus drivers were seen operating their business while avoiding police checkpoints. All these are in an attempt to earn money for daily food.

Some other individuals find the stay-at-home order as convenient time to visit friends whom, in their imagination are not the virus carriers.

In addition to the belief system, an analyst also linked the flouting of the stay- at home orders to the inability of the government to provide safety nets to cushion the economic hardship that resulted from the lockdown.

Nigeria’s informal sector is about 65% of Nigeria’s $446.5 billion GDP (2019) and it accounts for about 90% of self-employment and those who earn their living through daily economic activities. In this scenario, the stay-at-home order will definitely hit hard on many homes

and therefore they will be forced to flout the order to find daily food.

Akonte Ekine, a public relations practitioner said the stay-at-home and social distancing orders were borrowed concepts which do not suit Nigerian or African system that are communal in nature and most of who get their food from their daily work.

How do those who live in clusters observe social distancing or those who work daily for their daily food observe stay at home order, Akonte argued saying that Africa also lacks data that government can use to provide reliefs to houses unlike some countries in Europe.

He recommended regular testing of people to identify carriers of COVID-19.

This argument was further supported by George Ogola, in his write in Bizcommunity. He said social distancing, self-isolation and quarantines are largely impractical in a number of African countries.

“WHO has urged the public to implement a number of measures.

These have included social distancing and self-isolation. In addition, governments are increasingly imposing quarantines. These measures have been legitimised by the international news media. They’ve also been reproduced largely uncontested across Africa – from Johannesburg to Nairobi to Lagos.

“Unsurprisingly therefore, governments across the continent have instituted the WHO guidelines and followed in the footsteps of Europe, China and the US”, Ogola said.

Adoption of cultures that are alien to Africa to curtail the virus, provision of relief materials by government officials that are not wide spread, hunger and people desire to find daily food and belief system that coronavirus is far from them have all combined as factors that influenced the flouting of the stay-athome order.African countries need systems that align to their culture.

Lafarge donates isolation centres, ambulances to fight COVID -19 in Nigeria

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afarge Africa Plc, Nigeria’s operations of the world’s building materials giant, LafargeHolcim (LH) has announced donations to support Nigeria’s capacity to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lafarge Africa is providing the use of three of its facilities in its host states for use as isolation centres during the pandemic. In addition, the company is donating equipment for facilities, product donations for infrastructural support including generators, ambulances and critical personal protection equipment (PPE) for professionals at the forefront of the battle against the Coronavirus pandemic.

In addition, interventions that support water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) initiatives have been enabled for the host communities. Furthermore, the company’s host community engagements

and sensitization programmes on COVID-19 have so far directly impacted thousands of people at the grassroots level, the company said in a statement.

The CCEO Lafarge Africa Plc Khalid El Dokani said: “Our intervention will be used to support healthcare facilities in Lagos and in our host communities. Infrastructure and kits to protect the healthcare personnel and support staff who take care of patients are very important to ensure that our compatriots fighting to help contain COVID-19 do the job professionally and safely.

The personal protection equipment we are providing will also play an important role in containing the spread of COVID-19. Our communities have been standing by us over the years in making building materials for the development of Nigeria.

We are committed to standing by them and with the Nigerian Gov-

ernment and people in defeating COVID-19.”

On its longstanding commitment to health and safety, the company said in the statement that Lafarge Africa has built and equipped health centres across its host communities and operates a modern

healthcare facility in Ashakacem, Gombe State which is fully accessible to community members.

Staff at the facility have undergone training in identifying and reporting the symptoms of COVID-19.

While the COVID-19 pandemic is an unforeseen emergency, the

longstanding commitment to high standards of safety and welfare of staff and stakeholders has enabled the company to quickly rise to the challenge of curtailing the spread of the virus.

Khalid El-Dokani further stated: “Beyond the strict safety measures we have put in place across our offices and plants, including adopting remote working, and the donation of personal protection equipment, we have also supported the fight against COVID-19 through public communications on preventive measures.

Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, the Communications, Public Affairs and Sustainable Development Director remarked: ‘Lafarge Africa’s intervention to support the containment of COVID-19 in Nigeria is in line with the LH Group’s core values which guide its operations in over 90 countries.

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Sunday 12 April, 2020

SundayBusiness Food & Beverages With Ayo Oyoze Baje

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he current situation in the world whereby heart disease (hypertension, stroke) remain the leading cause of premature deaths, especially among males all is worrisome. Yet, the heart, as the vital organ that pumps blood to about 73 trillion cells of the human body must be sufficiently active and healthy all day long, all years of your precious life. Unfortunately, modern antihealthy lifestyles have led us to this sorry pass.

The good news however, is that heart disease could be prevented through adequate nutrition.

Generally, for a healthy heart you should eat breakfast every day.

Avoid frying and baking of food, instead steam them.

Diet for a healthy heart But first, let us understand important issues such as Normal Blood Pressure, hypertension (prestages 1 and 2) and stroke.

Normal Blood Pressure The heart, which is the size of a clenched human fist is a muscular organ located at the left rib cage that pumps blood to other parts of the body.And this takes place as long as one lives; from the embryonic stage to the time of death.

It beats by contraction of the muscles to release blood through the arteries to all the living cells and relaxes to receive blood into it through the veins. As it does, both contraction and relaxation, it exerts some pressure on the artery and vein walls.

Sy s t o l i c Pr e s s u r e i s t h e pressure exerted when the heart is contracting.

Diastolic Pressure is that exerted by the heart while relaxing. Both are measured in millimeters mercury (mmHg).

Blood Pressure Systolic Diastolic Normal <120 <80 Pre-Hypertension120-139 8089 Hypertension I 140-159 90-99 Hypertension II ≥160 ≥100 There are usually no symptoms in the pre-hypertension stage.

HIGH Blood Pressure (HBP) is therefore, a condition when the systolic blood pressure is over 140 and diastolic is above 90.

Symptoms of HBP include:

frequent headache, dizziness, tinnitus, blurred vision, confusion, fatigue, irregular heartbeat (palpitation), bleeding from the nose (episterxis), lack of sleep (insomnia), chest pain or heaviness of the heart (agina pectoris). Yet, all these warning signals may not be easily visible or common to the sufferers or victims.

That is why, it is called the silent killer.

Th e r e a r e t w o t y p e s o f hypertension.

Essential Hypertension: which is physiological or hereditary in nature, and Secondary Hypertension which is organically caused as a result of diseases of some organs.

Causes of Hypertension: These include family history; as it may be inherited, age, stress, psychological effects, diseases of some organs, diabetes, obesity, high salt diet and if there is history of stroke in the family.

What is stroke?

Stroke or cardiovascular arrest (CVA) is the sudden death of the brain tissue, caused by lack oxygen supply to it. This happens when there is regular interruption of blood supply to a portion of the brain. That portion of the brain so affected is called infarct.

The two ways that brain tissues can die are: ISCHAEMIC CVA/STROKE – when there is a blockage or reduction of blood flow in an artery

Tin-Can Customs generates N31.2bn in March amid coronavirus lockdown AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE

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espite the movement restriction in Lagos alongside Ogun and Abuja to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus outbreak, the Tin-Can Island Port Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) said it has collected a total of N31,210,006,189.8 in March 2020.

According to the command, this figure represents a growth of N5,219,992,904.96 to its revenue profile, when compared to the sum of N25,990,013,289.84 collected the same period in 2019.

A statement signed by Uche Ejesieme, public relations officer of the command stated that Musa Baba Abdullahi, Customs Area Controller (CAC), created a clear roadmap for the actualisation of his mandate, bearing in mind the enormous expectations from the command as one of the major revenue earners for government.

He stated that mobilisation of critical stakeholders through series of roundtables and consultations towards ensuring that trade facilitation is given a boost in line with global best practices, is part of the command’s strategy in driving revenue for the government.

Ejesieme noted that the CAC had solicited the support of all parties in the trade value chain, particularly on the need for strict compliance with the fiscal and monetary policies of the Federal Government.

“Further to this was the removal of all bureaucratic bottlenecks and obstacles which might hinder access to information and intervention in critical areas. This was exemplified in the open-door policy of the customs area controller as well as establishment of trade facilitation and Dispute Resolution Platforms for expeditious resolution of disputes arising from the various transactions,” he noted.

According to him, there are optimism that the operational template that has been put in place by the customs Area controller, would surely lead to monumental

revenue collection for the nation in the wake of Coronavirus outbreak and dwindling oil revenue.

Ejesieme further disclosed that the command had begun sensitisation campaign on the need and ways to stay safe as advised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), adding that this was enabled by a circular from Customs’ headquarters, which compelled all commands to commence awareness and education on ways of containing the virus in the port.

“Beyond this, the area controller also directed the erection of signages at strategic places in the command, which conveys very salient information to stakeholders on additional measures adopted to ensure the safety and health of our employees and other stakeholders,” he added.

that feeds that area of the brain.

HAEMORRAHAGIC CVA/ STROKE – takes place when there is bleeding within and around the brain due to “arteriole rupture” or vascular accident causing compression and head trauma.

Bleeding within the brain tissue is known as intra-cerebral haemorrhage caused primarily by hypertension(highbloodpressure).

Causes of stroke These include: Uncontrolled High Blood Pressure.

Heart disease such as mycardial infraction.

Pericarditis.

Heaviness of heart or chest pain (Angina pectoris).

Fat deposit (arteriosclerosis).

Transient Ischaemic Attacks (TIAs) are brief attacks that last between a few minutes and a whole day but the victim recovers. They are caused by: High blood cholesterol, high alcohol consumption, obesity, diabetes, cigarette smoking.

Prolonged use of oral contraceptive and family history contribute to it.

Olive oil reduces the chances of cholesterol level. The presence of alpha-tocopherol in the oil helps in preventing blood arteries disorder.

How to manage High Blood Pressure Regular exercise. Reduction of stress. Avoid too much intake of caffeine.

Quit smoking. Lose weight.

Regular exercise such as brisk walking, cycling. Avoid table salt because of high content of sodium.

Go for medical check-up and keep blood pressure diary.

Dietary intervention * Tomatoes are said to contain the highest amount of lycopene.

They help to reduce the risk of heart attacks and stroke. So, eat tomatoes in salads. * Eat a carrot everyday (boiled or steamed) to reduce your risk of stroke by more than 50 per cent.

You should include it in your diet, either in the form of juice or adding to vegetable soup.

Drink green tea as it is helps to lower your risk of heart disease by improving the health of the cells lining the blood vessels. *Almonds are as rich in proteins as red meat per kilogramme.Eating an almond per day reduces the risk of heart attack by 50 per cent. * Three glasses of milk daily lead to 18 per cent decreased risk of heart disease, according to the January 2011 edition of American Journal of Chemical Nutrition.

Seventeen studies were conducted in Europe, USA, and Japan.

Baje is Nigerian first Food Technologist in the media ayobaje@yahoo.co.uk; 07068638066

Jumia, P&G partner to provide easy access to hygiene, sanitary products in Nigeria SEYI JOHN SALAU

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ollowing the recent restriction of movement across Nigeria to curtail the spread of Coronavirus, e-commerce platform, Jumia, has announced the partnership with consumer goods producer, Procter & Gamble (P&G), to make essential hygiene products accessible and available on its platform to Nigerians during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Massimiliano Spalazzi, CEO of Jumia Nigeria , said both companies are committed to seeking ways to soften the unpleasant effects of the movement restriction imposed by the government to curtail the spread of the COVID-19 in the country.

“We are proud to partner with Procter & Gamble as part of our commitment to provide customers access to essential hygiene and sanitary products during this challenging time.

This partnership is in line with our “Stay Safe” campaign. We strive to continue operating so that customers continue to stay at home, use e-commerce to shop, and stay safe during the lockdown,” said Spalazzi.

With the new partnership by

both organisations, customers on Jumia platform will be able to make orders from a range of P&G products and get them delivered at their doorsteps via contactless delivery service.

“We are proud to join Jumia in this initiative to supply essentials to consumers in Nigeria .

Safeguard, Oral B, Ariel, Always, Pampers & Gillette will now be available for safe delivery across the entire country,” said Adil Farhat, the managing director of P&G in Nigeria, while speaking on the brand’s commitment to help provide essential services in a safe way during the lockdown.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, Jumia has been an important online channel for many Nigerians to access the essentials needed for daily upkeep. The company recently announced a partnership with Reckitt Benckiser to enable customers have access to hygiene products at affordable prices during the lockdown.

S i m i l a r l y, J u m i a a l s o implemented contactless delivery for prepaid packages on the platform that enable consumers to make prepaid payments for products online and get them delivered without a direct body contact or cash exchange with the delivery agent.

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BDSUNDAY 27

SundayBusiness COVID-19: Why now is good time to implement mortgage guarantee programme

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t a time when household income has been crimped by coronavirus, a disease that has become a global health emergency, when fear of a new wave of mortgage default has become palpable, is good time to implement Mortgage Guarantee Programme in Nigeria.

An initiative by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the programme holds out hope for low income earners who, ordinarily, cannot take mortgage loan because it is unaffordable to them. The current state of the economy affects low income earners in a way that makes it difficult to think of other basics of existence than feeding.

Mortgage Guarantee programme comes as a homeownership enabler. It is a kind of mortgage which is given to a borrower by a lender, where an identified third party will take responsibility for the loan if the borrower defaults. The programme is structured in such a way that once the borrower defaults, the third party receives a claim from the lender, pays the lender off, and assumes responsibility for the mortgage.

As such, mortgage guarantee products incentivise lenders to accept loans with lower downpayments, thus increasing affordability. With increased affordability, it means more people will be brought into the mortgage net, making more money available to more home seekers.

Besides incentivising mortgage lenders, a quality mortgage guarantee programme is also used to provide credit loss protection to lenders in case of borrower’s default and, according to CBN officials, a robust primary mortgage market is a synergy of several components, all working together to effect affordability and access for intending buyers.

If homeownership level in Nigeria has remained low at less than 5 percent in the country, which is Africa’s largest economy, it is more because of the absence of mortgage system than anything else.

The country has practically no process that supports housing development and homeownership unlike advanced societies such as England where there is a body called building society which subsidises mortgage and delivers same to home buyers either through banks or by itself.

One of the major problems of the mortgage system in Nigeria is accessibility. Another is lack of clarity. When you approach mortgage banks for loan, they will begin to ask you for things that you cannot provide and so, mortgage is not accessible.

In terms of clarity, there is no unified system. It is obvious that there is no clarity in the mortgage system and if there is any such thing, it is not yet published and so people don’t know and, if people don’t know, it means such a process does not exist.

This is why the coming of mortgage guarantees products which exist in various forms, and are administered by different agencies are most welcome. Tokunbo Martins, director, Other Financial Institutions Supervision Department (OFISD) at CBN, explains that, “in most cases, the national government of the host country is the driver of any successful mortgage guarantee programme, which they administer either through a government agency, a private entity or a hybrid encompassing both types of entity”.

The highpoint of this programme as homeownership enabler lies in its numerous benefits.

It is a product of great value to any housing market because it offers opportunity to both the supply and the demand sides of the mortgage market. It provides potential opportunity of lower down-payment for borrowers, while opening up a larger market for lenders who make the decision to finance the target population for the programme.

The importance of this programme in Nigeria cannot be overemphasised given that Nigeria is a country where typical downpayment is over 20 percent, with extremely high additional costs for regularisation, titling and other home-buyer responsibilities.

“Mortgage guarantee in our market will also be used as a valuable tool to regularise and standardise the market in every area

Talking Mortgage with CHUKA UROKO (08037156969, chukuroko@yahoo.com) from documentation to underwriting to collateralisation and mortgage dispute resolution.

These are major issues we need to resolve”, Martins noted in a paper she presented at a real estate forum in Abuja recently.

Continuing, she said, “One of the most important benefits of mortgage guarantee is that it has the capacity to encourage the influx of investor funds, both local and international, into the mortgage market. A well-executed mortgage guarantee programme provides comfort to intending investors by signaling the presence of standards in the industry that would likely reduce the risk of losing their invested funds”.

In addition to all these, the programme also ensures increased access to housing finance; access to higher amount mortgages; better loan rate terms; market standardisation and increased consumer literacy; more stable property values, and overall more stable and improved national housing sector leading to better economy.

It also ensures reduction of

FBN Holdings, Sanlam Group still in talks on FBN Insurance Obinna Emelike

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he deal that will see FBN Holdings Plc sell its 65 percent stake in FBN Insurance to the Sanlam Group is yet to be concluded as discussions between both parties are still ongoing.

Though FBN Holdings Plc formally notified the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) during the week as statutorily required, of the ongoing discussions, a top authoritative source at the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) confirmed that no deal had been agreed yet.

The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said, “Yes, we are aware that FBN Holdings and Sanlam Group are still very much in talks. They have kept us abreast of the ongoing discussions.”

He further explained

that, “Nothing has been concluded. What FBN Holdings has done is a requisite statutory notification to the Nigerian Stock Exchange when listed companies are embarking on such transactions. They will still return to us here at NAICOM as the regulators of the insurance business for a final sign off.”

The NAICOM source, who hailed the move, said, “We view their intention as purely a smart business decision. It is not in our place as regulators to stop shareholders from selling off their stakes.”

Both FBN Holdings and Sanlam Group are institutional shareholders in FBN Insurance. While FBN Holdings holds a 65 percent stake, Sanlam Group owns the remaining 35 percent.

It was learnt that divestment is a strategic move by the foremost financial institution to concentrate more on its core banking

business.

When completed, the transaction will witness the transfer of FBN Holdings’ 65 percent stake in FBN Insurance Plc to the Sanlam Group. The Group is one of the largest financial services groups in Africa with over 100 years of insurance business experience and presence in 44 countries across the world and an unmatched heritage of leadership and excellence along the way. Sanlam belongs to the top three exclusive leaders club in the insurance business in 11 African countries.

The transaction has so far involved extensive negotiations and thorough due diligence undertaking, both done in strict compliance with the regulatory requirements and intended to benefit all stakeholders.

This strategic move by FBN Holdings to divest from FBN Insurance may

be a deft move by the Group to gain more liquidity in a bid to leverage its strength further in the core banking space where it has remained one of the top players. The move may also delight shareholders with a higher value for their investment.

FBN Insurance was established as a Life Insurer in 2010 with a set vision to be Nigeria’s first choice in wealth creation and financial security. It has since grown to become a specialist life insurance company offering a broad range of investment and risk insurance products.

The company has consistently declared dividends to shareholders in the past seven years; its declaration of dividends has steadily increased by an average of 50 percent year on year. It can be safely said to be in a fantastic financial state of health.

credit risk; expansion to new markets/deepening of existing markets; reduction in capital adequacy requirements; enhanced access to financing such as portfolio risk rating, refinancing and securitisation.

With all these in place, mortgages become more affordable to citizens; more people can meet their housing needs on their own; there will be financial system stability; more jobs and economic security for the citizens; better social inclusion and contentment for the citizens, and achievement of political and economic promises.

Like any other economic plan or policy, the programme which has proposed pilot project with Nigeria Mortgage Guarantee Company (NMGC) as special purpose vehicle (SPV) is not without constraints.

The project consultants, while cautiously optimistic about the viability of the project, have identified multiple constraints to its success and, according to the OFISD director, the biggest constraint is the 1978 Land Use Act.

Dettol donates hygiene products to support Ogun state fight against COVID-19 SEYI JOHN SALAU

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n supporting government efforts to curtail the spread of Coronavirus, Dettol has donated a variety of hygiene products to Ogun State in supporting the state government’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

This donation forms part of Dettol’s contribution to the Ogun State government’s stimulus package of relief materials being distributed to 500,000 homes across the state.

Ogun, one of the 14 Nigerian states to have recorded cases of COVID-19 has been on lockdown since Friday, 3 April. Citizens affected by the lockdown in the state will benefit from the stimulus package which will help soften the economic impact of the pandemic on individuals and families.

Dapo Abiodun, the Ogun State governor, said the packages include staple food items and other essential hygiene products such as hand sanitizers produced by

the Ogun State Ministry of Health, antibacterial soaps, stain removers and water packs.

According to him, the goal of the government is to keep all families in the best condition during the compulsory stay-at-home period. Dayanand Sriram, the general manager, RB West Africa, said the contribution is in line with Dettol’s decadeslong efforts to curb the spread of infectious diseases caused by bacteria and viruses, as well as the promotion of good hygiene practices in Nigeria.

“RB is proud to support Ogun State government’s stimulus package and the distribution of relief materials to citizens across the state during the lockdown. We will continue to support t h e Fe d e r a l a n d St a t e governments, as well as the health authorities’ efforts in the fight against COVID-19,” Sriram stated.

Dettol, through its flagship Clean Naija Initiative, a campaign designed to educateanddrivebehavioural change to achieve a cleaner and healthier Nigeria.

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Sunday 12 April, 2020

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SundayBusiness Like Nigeria, Ghanaian operators still collect demurrage, rent charges on overtime containers - GPHA …Insists port business still ongoing amid lockdown

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ness continuity plan that was put in place. For now, we are clearing all kinds of cargo, so those whose documentations are ready to clear good should go through the permit system with Customs and GPHA and get the goods cleared,” she said.

According to her, with proper documentation, clients should be given a pass by security agencies at various barriers to get to the port.

“Once you have our identification cards, the Customs and GPHA permit which shows that you have some duties at the port, you will be given access to pass. The GPHA says, as much as possible, it wants the port to be free and not have issues of congestion, therefore, it has entreated all persons whose goods have arrived at the port and have received documentation, to come clear them as early as possible to avoid paying demurrages,” Gyebi–Donkor said.

She stated that it is better that goods are cleared from the port in order for the cargo owner to free the port

of backlog and himself of any demurrage.

“Come for the good, if they are food, you can take them to the market and sell as the directive has said; if the goods are not captured under the directives, go and keep them in your warehouse,” she added.

Ggyabi-Donkor assured that all is being done to ensure that a smaller number of people enter the port for operation.

Recall that the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) had earlier directed terminal operators in Nigeria to suspend payment of rent charges for 21-days to cushion effect of the 14-days lockdown in Lagos, Ogun and Abuja, but this directive is yet to take effect.

Terminal operators, on the other hand, have argued that the cost would be a huge burden on their bottom line, adding that there would be no need to waive rent charges as Nigerian ports have remained operational as directed by Federal Government and the NPA despite the lockdown.

News

NANNM dissociates self from protest against Kwara governor SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin

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ational Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) has rejected the purported protest by some of its members and threatened to sanction any member who violates public service rules.

Shehu Aminu, chairman of the association in Kwara State, who made this known in a statement he signed and released to journalists in Ilorin, warned members to desist from being used to launch political attacks against Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq.

Aminu urged citizens to avoid any action that might dampen the spirit of the governor who he said is doing so much to build a model state.

The association’s position comes on the backdrop of mounting public criticisms against the protest and the video footage which many dismissed as political and insensitive at this time of global pandemic.

“The attention of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, Kwara State branch has been drawn to the news just gone viral of the purported nonchalant attitude of the state government to the

Expert advises SMEs on cost-saving measures

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AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE with agency report

ust like operators in Nigeria, Ghana has also not suspended demurrage – fees paid for overstayed containers – and rent charges at the port, due to outbreak of the coronavirus also called COVID-19 in Ghana, the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), has said.

According to the GPHA, all operations at the port are going on as usual apart from measure that have been instituted to reduce the number of people who can enter the port to help in respecting the social distancing protocol.

Meanwhile, Customs Licensed Agents and Freight Forwarders in Nigeria have continued to accused terminal operators and shipping companies of failing to suspend the same charges in Nigeria despite the fact that ports and banks within the port have remained open for port related business, BusinessDay check has revealed.

Esther Gyebi–Donkor, general manager, Marketing and Corporate Affairs of GPHA, told the B&FT, an online news platform in Ghana, that matters have not reached the extent where restriction will be put on nonessential cargo which will require modalities to suspend the charging of demurrage and rent.

“There shouldn’t be issues of demurrage and rent at this time. There was a busi-

News

plight of nurses working in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic,” Aminu said in the statement.

“We wish to state equivocally that this association dissociates itself from this falsehood while commending Abdulrahman Abdulrazaqled administration for the dogged commitment, efforts and huge financial resources that has gone into this fight against this global pandemic,” he further said.

“We assure all members of the continued concern of the administration for the welfare and protection of our members which was explicitly expressed by His Excellency in his recent press briefing.

he Managing Partner at HR-EX Consulting, Enitan Oyenuga, has advised organisations and operators of businesses to adopt cost-saving measures in view of the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Oyenuga, who disclosed this in a statement, anticipated rise in the cost of operations of small businesses.

She maintained that working with a group of small business, it was discovered that there are actions small businesses are taking to minimise the impact of these changes and safeguard the future of their businesses, “I do hope these ideas will help you land on a solution that works for your own business.”

Oyenuga further explained that in light of the national lockdown to combat the spread of

COVID-19, a number of companies had started cutting down wages of their workforce.

She noted that with large cuts at leadership levels and graduated percentage reduction below the management team; it has been observed that leadership, “in some of the worse hit sectors completely foregoing their salary, implementing up to 50 percent pay cut for management level employees and 30-25 percent for the rest of the organisation.”

She affirmed that in implementing a salary cut, organisations must ensure no one was paid below the minimum wage, communicate a timeframe for the pay reduction, exempt lowwage employees, get the employees’ consent prior to effecting the change and others.

According to her, “In addition, with replacement cost valued at about 33 per

cent of annual salary for the role, unpaid leave means a savings in recruitment and on-boarding costs when business as usual resumes, allowing for employees to easily pick up from where they left off.

“If you decide on mandatory unpaid leave, consider how to figure out your critical staffing for the period.

You may want to consider the work that is required, work schedule or rosters, existing performance data performance and skills required during this period.

“Engage them on the need to cover the reduced workload. Engage and inform all employees on the change (the alternative being employee layoffs).

Communicate a timeframe for the unpaid leave period. Get the employee’s consent prior to effecting the change. If the situation is likely to continue after the set period, inform well in advance.”

MindBody & Soul

with Chioma Nwosu

Stop. Breathe. Think - Mindful breathing

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remember the first time I had a panic attack, tears rushed down my eyes as I wailed, I was hyperventilating and sweating profusely as if I had just run a long-distance race, my body trembled nonstop. I needed help to stay grounded during this period of anxiety. I took a deep breath in, ‘inhale - 1.2.3.4.5’, ‘exhale - 1.2.3.4.5’, continuously until the tears seized and body became calm. This was a breathing technique I had learnt from one of my numerous reads off the internet.

Mindful breathing is a type of relaxation and meditation technique that uses the breath as an object of concentration. By focusing on the breath you become aware of the mind’s tendency to jump from one thing to another. The simple discipline of concentration brings us back to the present moment and all the

richness of experience that it contains. It is a way to develop mindfulness, the faculty of alert and sensitive awareness. The mindfulness of breathing is a good antidote to restlessness and anxiety, and a good way to relax: concentration on the breath has a positive effect on your entire physical and mental state.

The most basic way to do mindful breathing is simply to focus your attention on your breath, the inhale and exhale. You can do this while standing, but ideally, you’ll be sitting or even lying in a comfortable position. Your eyes may be open or closed, but you may find it easier to maintain your focus if you close your eyes.

Start by taking an exaggerated breath: a deep inhale through your nostrils (3 seconds), hold your breath (2 seconds), and a long exhale through your mouth (4 seconds), do this

repeatedly. Observe each breath by focusing on the rise and fall of your chest or the sensation through your nostrils. As you do so, you may find that your mind wanders, distracted by thoughts or bodily sensations. That’s OK. Just notice that this is happening and gently bring your attention back to your breath.

Stay safe. Sending love and light.

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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29

@Businessdayng

Sunday Business Entrepreneurship Drumbeat with MUNA ONUZO

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midst the crisis in the world today, startup founders like great athletes must keep honing their skill to be ready to fight with all they’ve got as the competition for market share has entered a different dimension.

This time of isolation and global crisis is not a time to indulge in despair. It is a time to look inward to re-assess your business goals and objectives and to find the smartest way to keep your business alive and thriving, acquire new clients while keeping your current ones still loyal to your brand.

Startups that launched their businesses based on the bandwagon effect and not to solve a problem will find this period of isolation most difficult. While companies that have been founded based on proven and viable business ideas are currently innovating. Unfortunately, the me-too-business owners are lost and in need of direction.

As a startup founder or small business owner, you may have started your business as a way to augment your salary, have something doing instead of staying at home or build a company that will outlive you. It is also possible that you started your business as a way to revolutionise the world and make it a better place.

The above are all laudable reasons to start your business. However, regardless of your reason for starting your business, the fact is that you currently have a channel for wealth creation in your hand.

What you do with it in this time of crisis

LifeGuide

with Emem Nwogwugwu

Why you need advisory for your new business

will determine how the next chapter of your life unfolds.

If you are patient, and focus on your goal, you will thrive and grow a sustainable business. I must state that reaching your business goals would not be a walk in the park, especially now the world has been forced to go digital in this period of crisis. It is a crucial venture that requires discipline, much more of your time and resources than the full-time job you might have quit in favour of being your boss.

As you run your startup, my advice would be to forget what you think you know, as daily, your assumptions will be challenged. It is a given that you will get to a pointwhereyouwouldstopseeingyourvision and get confused about the next step to take to move your business forward.

It could also be that financial and growth projections were not met, initial startup capital dried up, and no new customers were acquired. The good news is that you are not alone in the experience.

Most startup founders have encountered these scenarios above in one way or another. Unfortunately, many give up on their dreams because they did not know how to deal with the challenges they encountered at different stages of their business growth; while others doggedly pursued their goals against all odds.

Businesses get to this point of desperation due to running with no sound structure or business plan in place to guide execution and consistent income generation.

It is advisable to set up a board once you start your business. This action keeps you as a startup accountable. Where you

cannot afford a board, immerse yourself in business training that will help guide you out of the deadlock you find your business. Businesses fare better when Founders have a mentor, coach or board to guide decision making. There is a lot to be gained by engaging experts and consultants to help your business through periods of change.

The Startup Doctor Business Clinic was launched to level the playing field, especially for those businesses that cannot afford to hire consultants. This column is a weekly publication designed to answer all the questions you would have asked a business consultant without the hassle or expense of hiring a business consultant.

It is styled in form of letters received and letter written in answer to your queries.

So, make sure you start your queries with “Dear Startup Doctor.”

The Startup Doctor is your business consultant. I promise to answer all your letters weekly so long as you stay committed in the process of building a successful business. I don’t claim to know all the answers; however, with the help of other successful business owners across industries we will come up with weekly solutions to each letter we receive.

As a Startup Founder myself with several successful businesses under my belt, I have encountered the kind of challenges you have or are currently experiencing. I am equally conversant with the frustrations that are common among startup founders in an emerging economy. I know how harsh the economic environment can be for budding businesses, what with the unfriendly government policies that

08033455364

“

I must state that reaching your business goals would not be a walk in the park, especially now the world has been forced to go digital in this period of crisis

do not favour startups and the demands of family and friends on your little earnings.

I have found and implemented successful strategies that I have used to build my businesses. I promise to share the same business principles that guided my steady growth as a startup with you. God’s grace and listening to the wise counsel of my board, coaches and mentors manifested in wisdom in managing different situations, people and challenges.

From the disappointments I experienced in my quest to successfully build my startups to the success stories that saw these businesses thrive; I will draw on these experiences of being a successful business owner in Nigeria without reservation to help you in your startup journey.

By this, I would like to declare The Startup Doctor Business Clinic officially open. May I be your companion on this journey? I will help you gain clarity and develop winning strategies and the best structure and plan your startup needs to compete in the market place.

To ensure that what I share with you weekly is relevant to your situation, I will publish your letters and also share my answer to your queries. Therefore, if you have a business question bothering you as a startup on how to start, raise capital, market and brand your business, manage your account, hire and manage your staff, partnerships, etcetera, feel free to ask the Startup Doctor.

Send your question to thestartupdoctor@ gmail.com, and I will do my best to give you a detailed solution to your challenge next week.

To your continued success!

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.

Facts of COVID-19 and ways we can cope

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ith everything going in the world today, we can’t ignore the pain most families are going through right now, from loosing their love ones and staying strong to protect themselves. We haven’t even fully understood the magnitude of this pandemic until it’s all over completely.

The world will never forget 2020 in a hurry. I pray, there is a quick recovery, some kind of miracle seeing the impact in the economy already.

Seeing that many nations have experienced a pandemic in the past and how were they able to recover from it and grow from the experience.

It will be a good time to learn from other nations and see where we can make amendments. Most importantly I am hoping most leaders in African countries have learnt a big lesson from this. The importance of quality education and healthcare should no longer be overemphasized.

We now truly know who the true heroes are- Essential workers – Doctors, nurses, grocery workers, teachers, the force men, helping to maintain peace and orderliness in the country ETC How we can recover as humans and as a nation.

We are aware that the International Monetary Fund has reassessed the prospect for growth for 2020 and 2021, declaring that we have entered a recession – as bad as or worse than in 2009.

We must respond decisively, innovatively and together to suppress the spread of the virus and address the socioeconomic devastation that COVID-19 is causing in all regions.

The magnitude of the response must match the scale of the crisis -- large-scale, coordinated and comprehensive, with country and international responses being guided by the World Health Organisation.

And response must be multilateral, with countries showing solidarity to the most vulnerable communities and nations.

There should be shared responsibility and global solidarity in response to the impacts of COVID-19.

It is a call to action for us all as humans.

The nations of the world must be united to beat the virus and also to tackle its profound consequences on lives and the economy of nations.

First, we need a global coordinated health response to suppress transmission and end the pandemic.

Access to testing kit. Having a unified method on how to quarantine infected patients, manage their treatment procedure and more awareness on how the general public can respond or report an infected patient for early pick up and treatments to avoid the spread of the virus.

Countries are advised to support each other, to avoid more spread of the virus.

Create more remote jobs- for the populace. We know we need guide against anything that threatens the peace and livelihood of people. The job loss impact can lead to a lot Communication Strategy – Having a clear communication strategy in communicating with the masses on new developments and precautions to take before and after the pandemic is crucial.

People need to know what’s happening and ways they can navigate this season, before and after the pandemic. We need the help of all forms media; this will help with informing the populace.

Information on general progress reports, on patients recovery and ways businesses can access loans will be very useful.

Now more than ever there is a need for clear trainings for the populace to avoid lies and propaganda.

We need to engage the service of Life Coaches, mental health practitioners and counselors through government agencies and none- government agencies to coachpeople on how to raise back and take charge of their lives.

There should be synergy between the private sector and government sector in tackling these major issues.

Schedule- we need organizations to create a schedule for their employees, be clear on working hours, also if there are pay cuts to avoid burnt outs.

Emergency Response PreparednessIt’s important that there is a plan in place to respond to any health issues that might occur in your organization or at home, some people who experienced the shut down might still be dealing with trauma and stress even months after, and that can lead to other health issues. Having an emergency preparedness plan will help save lives in your household andyour workplace.

We also should take note that recovering will take time. This has taken a toll on the global economy and even Nigeria.

We should all be realistic with our expectations. We need to stay strong and be flexible with our decisions in all areas of life.

I will say, let employers make it compulsory that employees and families focus more on their mental health and the quality of nutrition is very important, while they work on resuming work after the lockdown.

This will be a good time to book me for your personal and organisational training on leadership, productivity, work-life integration and many others organisational trainings that we offer. We create tailored made training courses, that are effective with cutting edge solutions’ and it’s my area of expertise.

Until next week, stay safe, stay positive, make yourself intentionally happy.

This will pass.

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Sunday 12 April 2020

Health&Science COVID 19: Expert tasks FG to increase investments in research

Trying to conceive after an ectopic pregnancy Contributor

SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin

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nexperthaschargedtheFederal Government has to increase its investments on research to solve the various medical and other challenges confronting human race in Nigeria.

Zakari Aliyu-Suleiman, anaesthesiologist and consultant, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) gave the charge on a Radio Kwara interactive programme called the Platform.

According to Aliyu-Suleiman, most developed nations strive hard and make breakthrough as a result of their investment on research and commitment towards ensuring adequate medical and health care for the citizenry.

He, therefore appealed to the government at all levels to prioritise research in Nigeria.

The guest had while admitting that the Nation have the neces-

Y

sary manpower in the health sector to take care of the present Covid 19 challenges, called on the Federal and State governments to take necessary precautionary measures and step up strategies to prevent the explosion and curb the spread of Covid 19.

The medical practitioner however, suggested proper monitoring of Covid 19 discharged patients and advised Nigerians to obey and submit themselves to the author-

ity for the Nation to overcome the Coronavirus pandemic.

Aliyu-Suleiman commended the initiative of the Faculty of Engineering, Bayero University, Kano for their efforts to develop locally made ventilators, saying that such would help to solve the immediate problems.

The Medical expert equally praised the Kwara State Government for fumigating markets and other public places in the state.

How Xerde Technology responds to impact of COVID-19 pandemic Anthonia Obokoh

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erde Technology Limited, a start-up in Lagos has built a virtual platform to help curtail the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

The platform called the COVID Response NG enables users to carry out a free COVID-19 assessment test, donate items and funds to help reduce the economic and social impact of the virus on the people, across local communities.

Also, the platform brings volunteers under various taskforce teams.

Khadijat Abdulkadir who is a certified Software Architect, an entrepreneur, the founder and chief executive officer of Xerde Technology Limited, in a statement

stated that the various taskforces includes; emergency and clinic identification, Covid-19 assessment, information, food security and social media.

According to her, to respond to the lockdown and alleviate the impact of the novel coronavirus, well-meaning individuals, organisations and even tech start-ups are using their resources and expertise to drive a social impactful cause.

“Businesses are putting collaborative efforts to strike a balance while going digital at a Global lockdown time like this is key. The tech industries are making efforts to digitise process, see that life goes on and nothing comes to a halt,” said Abdulkadir.

She stated that the pandemic poses not just as a global and public

health problem but also an economic and social threat, that has in turn affected small businesses, corporations, and individuals.

Abdulkadir added that the taskforces are headed by professionals in their careers noting that with the creation of COVID response NGwebsite; www.covidng. comand mobile application by XerdeLimited, users can carry out a free COVID-19 assessment test and make donations.

“The Food Security Taskforce has currently surpassed its fundraising target Via a Social Financial platform; TUDO and looks forward to partnering with the Nigeria Center for Disease (NCDC)and Government to disburse these funds and items to people who deserve them,” she said

Coronavirus : UBTH seeks medical, personnel protective equipment from FG, Corporate Organisations IDRIS UMAR MOMOH, Benin

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he management of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) has called on the federal government and corporate organisation to support the hospital in the fight against the dreaded coronavirus with donations of medical supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE).

Darlington Obaseki, Chief Medical Director of the hospital made the call during a press briefing in Benin City after a tour of facility prepared for patients of covid-19 at the tertiary health institution.

Obaseki represented by Casmir Omuemu, Chairman Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC) UBTH, said the hospital has put in place a nine bed facility with global best practice to handle cases of covid-19 in the institution arising from the upsurge in the cases of the deadly corona virus in state.

He added that health workers have been adequately trained to carryouttheirdutiesasprofessional.

Meanwhile , the Edo State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Associa-

tion (NMA) has called on governor Godwin Obaseki to immediately close all borders within the neigbouring states to curb the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Valentine Omoifo, state chairman of the association made the called in a statement made available to newsmen in Benin City.

Omoifo who urged the state government to heed it’s advice on the need to close all borders leading into the State, noted that several states that have taken such action to protect their citizens have achieved positive results.

The NMA chairman who lamented that the state leads other states in the South- South geopolitical zone of the country in the number of positive cases and deaths noted that the measures put in place by the state government to enforce sit- -at-home and Social distancing orders have been largely ineffective.

“Sadly, Edo State has continued to have increasing numbers of cases of the Covid-19 largely from new entrants into the state or those

they have had contacts with.

“It is therefore our well considered opinion that Edo State immediately closes all its borders as several other state have done to protect their citizens with positive results.

“While we note the government’s decision for a partial lockdown and advising social distancing in our social life, it is disheartening that measures put in place to enforce these orders have been largely ineffective’,he said.

He opined that Edo State has continued to have increasing numbers of confirmed cases of the Covid-19 largely from new entrants into the state or those they have had contacts with.

Omoifo, who also lamented the challenges faced by medical personnel in Edo state particularly at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) and Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital (ISTH), said there is an urgent need for the provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for doctors and other frontline medical staff in all hospitals across the state.

Abayomi Ajayi

ou must have heard of an ectopic pregnancy. It is a relatively common type of pregnancy which affects around 1 in 50 pregnancies.

Ectopic pregnancy occurs when the fertilised egg is implanted outside the woman’s uterus, usually in the Fallopian tubes but it may also occur in the ovary, abdomen or cervix.

Not only does ectopic pregnancy end in the inevitable heartbreak of miscarriage, it can also be potentially dangerous for the mother as well.

The condition is described as ectopic because the fertilised egg fails to develop because it is in the wrong place and it often leads to abnormalities that prevent the pregnancy, though in rare instances term pregnancy can result.

In a normal pregnancy, the egg is fertilized in your Fallopian tube. It then travels through the tube and lands in the uterus, where it starts growing. But in an ectopic pregnancy, the egg doesn’t make it to your uterus. Usually, it gets stuck in your Fallopian tube, either because of a problem with your tube or the egg.

Sometimes, the fertilized egg implants in your ovary, cervix, or somewhere else in your abdomen.

At first you may not have any symptoms of an early ectopic pregnancy.

They may seem very similar to a normal pregnancy. You might miss your period and have discomfort in your belly and tenderness in your breasts.

Only about half of women with an ectopic pregnancy will have all three of the main signs: a missed period vaginal bleeding, and belly pain.

Ectopic pregnancy can cause a Fallopian tube to rupture. If that happens, you could have major pain and severe bleeding, and you would need medical care right away. Possible signs include pain in your rectum or an intense urge to have a bowel movement.

Pain in your shoulder could also be an emergency. While it might not sound pregnancy-related, if one of your Fallopian tubes bursts, blood can pool near your diaphragm and irritate nerves that run to your shoulder.

If your pain is severe, sharp, and sudden, or if you feel lightheaded or dizzy, or if you’ve fainted, get medical help immediately. These are all signs you could be going into shock.

If you have had an ectopic pregnancy, you may be worried whether you can get pregnant again. This is an emotional time and you may be desperate to try to conceive again after an ectopic pregnancy and or may feel you need more time to emotionally and physically recover.

It is important that after a traumatic experience such as ectopic pregnancy you allow yourself time to recover.

If you need to seek help at any point you should not be afraid or ashamed to do so.

The truth is that many women can continue to have children after the previous pregnancy was ectopic, but there are possible causes and/or effects that may cause infertility. Your chance of conceiving depends very much on the health of your Fallopian tubes.

Statistically, the chances of having a future successful pregnancy are very good and at least 3 out of 5 women are healthily pregnant within 18 months of an ectopic pregnancy. This may rise to over around 85 percent over two years.

First let us discuss common causes of ectopic pregnancy. The reasons for an ectopic pregnancy are various.

Believe it or not, any sexually active woman of childbearing age is at risk of an ectopic pregnancy and often the

reason for the ectopic pregnancy will never be determined. However, ectopic pregnancies are more likely if you have had a previous ectopic pregnancy, fertility treatment, there is a chance of ectopic pregnancy resulting from embryo transfer during IVF treatment as embryos can travel into the Fallopian tube, for example, during the implantation stage. There is also an increased risk of ectopic pregnancy for older women, Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, PID, tubal surgery, endometriosis, etc.

The No.1 cause is blockage of a Fallopian tube as it prevents the egg from passing through and reaching the uterus. Half of cases of Fallopian tube obstruction are due to a pelvic inflammatory disease called salpingitis, which causes inflammation of the Fallopian tubes and may lead to infertility. However, the most common cause of pelvic inflammatory disease is chlamydia, a sexually transmitted infection that can cause inflammation without producing any symptoms.

The main risk factors for ectopic pregnancy include advanced age (above 40) endometriosis, adhesions caused by scarring from previous pelvic surgery and abortions. Sometimes the embryo is discarded directly by the body, even before producing any pregnancy symptoms. The woman may not even realise she was pregnant and, of course, not know that it was an ectopic pregnancy. In other cases, it can cause mild pain and bleeding, which is often interpreted as being associated with irregular menstruation.

If the embryo begins to develop outside the uterus, pelvic or abdominal pain may be severe and other symptoms such as nausea, discomfort and bleeding may occur.

In reality, 1 in 80 pregnancies will be ectopic. It is a devastating experience for a family; often an experience where all the focus gets put on the woman, but the man also has an overwhelming sense of duty that they have to be strong and hold things together for the rest of the family.

Recovering from the ordeal of ectopic pregnancy may be challenging but you can do it. Your body is likely to go through a whole process of recovery following an ectopic pregnancy and it is important that you be gentle with yourself and give yourself time to heal.

Because such an invasive and frightening thing has happened, it is not unusual to become very worried about any symptom you may experience and to have many questions racing through your mind. You may also find that you have different questions about your body at different stages after treatment.

Note that ectopic pregnancy is not hereditary. You are no more at risk of an ectopic pregnancy than anyone else, even if your immediate family members suffered. Also, miscarriage is not related to ectopic pregnancy.

Exercise and sport in general makes no contribution to ectopic pregnancy.

Also, no evidence links ectopic pregnancy to flying, but you should not fly if you have or might be having an ectopic pregnancy.

In diagnosing an ectopic pregnancy, various tests are carried out. Ectopic pregnancies can be notoriously difficult to diagnose because it often presents with symptoms that can be suggestive of other conditions such as gastroenteritis, miscarriage or even appendicitis.

As doctors we rely on women to give clear histories about their symptoms and so the more you can us about what has changed, what feels different and what is worrying you, the more likely we are to be able to diagnose you.

Can you get pregnant with no Fallopian tubes? If your fallopian tubes were removed or both have been deemed completely blocked, it is still possible to get pregnant with IVF because it bypasses the Fallopian tube and the embryos are placed directly into the uterus.

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BDSUNDAY 31

Sports

Rohr says ready to accept NFF’s terms

...agrees to sign new Super Eagles contract

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Anthony Nlebem

ernot Rohr, Super Eagles’ Technical Adviser, has disclosed that he is ready to extend his contract with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

Amaju Pinnick, NFF president, on Monday, disclosed that the contract extension papers with conditions will be sent to the Franco-German tactician next week, for him to study.

The NFF boss stated that the contract entailed that the coach would be paid in Naira and would have to be domiciled in the country and monitor games of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).

Despite the conditions, Rohr insists his aim is to continue with the national team and help them qualify for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2023 World Cup. “I want to finish my work in Nigeria, I want to go to the next AFCON and World Cup, which means we must continue work-

ing together,” he told ESPN correspondent Colin Udoh in an Instagram live video.

“I want to show my players and employers that I have the motivation to continue. I cannot speak about what we said in the meeting in February because it’s confidential,” he added.

Rohr says the only thing he wants is the freedom to discharge his duties.

“I don’t want more money, I don’t want more bonuses, I

don’t want anything special. I only want to work as free as I could. I have to speak with my assistants because I have to pay them all from my salary. I also have to speak to them.”

Rohr insisted that staying in Nigeria is not a problem, saying he had lived more in the country in the last three years.

“All I can say is that I am always in Nigeria, most of my time. It’s been three years since I’ve been in Nigeria.

“I spend time in Nigeria but, all my players are in Europe and it is only one (Ikechukwu Ezenwa) that’s in Nigeria. I hear lots of things about it on social media, TV and newspapers, about what has been said. But I cannot comment on it. I have to see my players in their clubs and meet their coaches, watch their matches and communicate with them.

“I spend more time in Nigeria than in Europe. I am waiting for them; I am waiting for the proposals.”

Rohr’s contract is due to expire in June this year and negotiation has been ongoing for months.

Barcelona crisis heats up as top directors resign Anthony Nlebem

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ince the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic which have led to the suspension football games in Spain, LaLiga champions, Barcelona have been facing critical financial challenges on how to manage the team’s massive wage bills.

The turmoil took a different dimension of Friday as six board directors resigned criticising the club’s handling of a social media scandal and the financial implications of the Covid-19 crisis.

Two of the club’s four vice presidents, Emili Rousaud and Enrique Tombas, were among those to quit, joined by directors Silvio Elias, Josep Pont, Jordi Calsamiglia and Maria Texidor.

Barcelona players, including club captain Lionel Messi, took an additional pay cut to guarantee non-playing staff will receive full salaries while soccer is paused.

In a letter to fans, the directors pointed a finger at president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, and expressed doubts about the board’s ability to handle the implications of the pandemic, which has slashed income and led to a 70% players’ pay cut.

They asked Bartomeu to call presidential elections as soon as possible and criticised the club for hiring a third party, I3 Ventures, earlier this year to monitor social media coverage of Barcelona.

Bartomeu has denied accusa-

Bundesliga to return on 9 May behind closed doors Anthony Nlebem

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he Bundesliga could resume on 9 May, according to German daily Bild reports in Friday’s edition. The German league has been on hold since it was suspended on 13 March due to the coronavirus outbreak.

According to Bild, games are more likely to resume in the second week of May rather than on the weekend of 2 May - an option put forward earlier this week by the German Football League (DFL), the organisation who will make the final decision as to when competition restarts.

“For the moment, we are only discussing plans - everything else will depend on a lot of other external factors,” a DFL spokesman explained.

The DFL have been studying the logistics of resuming the domestic season and one of the key factors will be holding games behind closed doors with a maximum of 126 people being allowed

to attend - that figure includes players, coaching and medical staff, four ball boys, stadium security, and representatives from both clubs and a maximum of 30 journalists.

The Bundesliga, which includes the top two divisions in Germany, is officially suspended until 30 April. The third division, which is under the remit of the German Football Federation (DFB) is hoping to resume on 16 May - also without the public for health and safety reasons.

DFB president Fritz Keller warned that it is likely that many German clubs will not survive the economic aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic - including clubs in the top flight.

Germany is one of the four countries with the highest number of positive coronavirus infection cases - with 118,235 cases confirmed as of this morning (5,323 new cases during the last 24 hours) and 2,607 deaths according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).

Coronavirus: Real Madrid staff takes voluntary pay cuts Anthony Nlebem

R tions the company created social media accounts to smear future presidential candidates, and former and current players, but he rescinded the club’s contract with the firm.

I3 Ventures also denied any wrongdoing.

“We have arrived at this point because we cannot reverse the way the club is managed in the face of important challenges in the future, especially in the postpandemic era,” said the letter.

“We also want to show our displeasure over the unfortunate episode about the social media accounts,knownas‘Barcagate’,which welearnedaboutthroughthepress.

“As our last act of service to the club, we recommend that elections are called as soon as circumstances permit so that the club can be managed in the best way possible and deal with

the important challenges of the immediate future.”

There was no immediate reaction from Barcelona or the embattled president Bartomeu.

Bartomeu, who is unable to stand for re-election as he has served two terms, became Barcelona president in 2014 after Sandro Rosell’s resignation. He has faced increasing criticism from supporters, who staged noisy protests against him in the last two matches at the Camp Nou and called for his resignation.

Barcelona have won 8 of the last 11 LaLiga titles are currently topping theLaLiga table before soccer in Spain was indefinitely postponed in March.

Spain is of the countries that has suffered worst outbreaks in the world, with over 15,238 deaths and more than 150,000 cases.

eal Madrid’s players and coaching staff have taken a voluntary pay cut.

The sacrifice of 10% to 20% will help avoid “traumatic measures” for the rest of the club’s non-footballing staff during the coronavirus pandemic.

The basketball club are also reducing their salary A statement on their official website read: “The players and coaches of the football and basketball first teams of Real Madrid, led by their captains, together with the main directors of the different departments of the club have agreed to voluntarily reduce their remuneration for this year by between 10% and 20%,

depending on the circumstances that may affect the closing of the current 2019/20 sports season.

“This decision, taken by players, coaches and employees, avoids traumatic measures that affect the rest of the workers, as well as contributing to the economic objectives of the entity in view of the decrease in income that it is suffering these months as a result of the suspension of competitions and the paralysis of a large part of its commercial activities.”

Players from Real Madrid’s LaLiga rivals Barcelona had accepted a 70% cut and pledged donations to help the club’s non-sport staff to continue to receive their full wages at the end of March.

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NEW YOU CAN TRUST

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COVID-19: Nigeria needs a purposeful response

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Introduction here is currently no known vaccine in preventing the global pandemic – coronavirus (COVID-19). Healthcare experts say if you wash your hands regularly with soap or with alcohol-based hand-rub, and observe some other basiclevel infection-control precautions, you may wade off the disease; or reduce likely exposure.

Globally, death toll arising from COVID-19 continues on an alarming rate with the most developed countries actively topping the chart. However, death figure in Nigeria is inching towards 10.

Healthcare lesser than ideal What exactly does healthcare look like in Nigeria? Obsolete and ill-equipped, with unavailability of essential vaccines and drugs. In 2017, Zahra and Aisha Buhari; daughter and wife of the Nigerian President both raised the alarm that the clinic which services the Aso Rock was lacking in the supply of basic drugs. Zahra alleged that the Aso Rock clinic lacked conventional Paracetamol tablets, while Aisha decried that the facility did not have a single syringe despite the huge budgetary allocation of N3billion it received.

Before the pandemic, Nigeria’s healthcare was in a deplorable condition.

Having an estimated population of more than 200 million people, only 72 thousand-plus Nigerians are trained medics. According to the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), over half of Nigerian doctors practice abroad. The rough statistic is that there are 42,000 doctors to 200 million people and this, as the World Health Organisation (WHO) puts it means that the physician-to-patient ratio is 4 doctors to 10,000 patients - patients have to usually wait long hours before

being attended to.

Faisal, Jamil and Chowdhury (2017) projects that Nigeria’s major public health challenges are infectious diseases, maternal mortality, infant mortality, road accidents, disease surveillance, noncommunicable diseases, and poor sanitation and hygiene. Talking about poor sanitation and hygiene, Nigeria ranks as one of the leading countries in open defecation worldwide. Suleiman Adamu, minister of Water Resources, explaining the reason for the open defecation surge, admitted that “approximately 47 million people do not have access to sanitation services in its most basic form” to prevent a global viral disease - which potentially has no end in sight - and which is best minimised through good hygiene practices, Nigeria has a long way to go.

Legal regulatory for healthcare access Citizens do not have an actionable right of healthcare per se under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended (the constitution).

Although, the Constitution under Section 33provides that citizens have a right to life, it does not envisage that ill-health could derogate from the right.

The major pronouncement on healthcare in the constitution is encapsulated under the “fundamental objectives and directive principle of state policy” in Section 17 (3) (c), (d) which states that: ‘The state shall direct its policy towards ensuring that – (c) the health, safety and welfare of all persons in employment are safeguarded and not endangered or abused; (d) there are adequate medical and health facilities for all person’.

The courts have held that the above fundamental objectives and directive principle of state policy are ‘non-justi-

ciable’. In law, an enactment is nonjusticiable if it is non-enforceable.

In Ugwu v. Ararume the Supreme Court per Hon Justice Muhammad, JSC held that: ‘An enactment is justiciable only if it can be properly pursued before a court of law or tribunal for a decision. But where a court or tribunal cannot enforce such enactment then it becomes non-justiciable’.

Notwithstanding the above, courts have also held that certain conditions could activate the fundamental objectives and directive principle of state policy to make them become full-fledged, actionable rights.

In AG Ondo State v AGF, the Supreme Court held that ‘the directive principles (or some of them) can be made justiciable by legislation’. Furthermore, in Ugwu v Ararume (sic), the Supreme Court noted that “the executive does not have to comply with the enactment unless and until the legislature enacts specific laws for its enforcement”.

In a move which appears to give credence to the fundamental objectives and directive principle over healthcare, the National Health Act was enacted in 2014. First proposed as bill in 2004, the bill’s enactment took a decade-long. Despite that, the Act and other sundry healthcare regulations are yet to meet up with international standards on healthcare.

probing into lifestyle. As at 2015, Cuba’s physician-to-patient ratio was 8 doctors to 1000 citizens; which is more than double of the physician-to-patient ration in the UK and the US. Healthcare is a fundamental human right in Cuba. Article 9 of the Cuban constitution stipulates that every sick person must be treated.

Articles 43, 48, 49, and 50 of Cuba’s constitution mandates free healthcare for every citizen, safety of workers and healthcare assistance to the aged.

The saying is true of Cuba that Cubans “live like the poor, but die like the rich” because rather than pay hugely to cure a disease, the health system prevents it.

And what more? While the entire world grapples with Covid-19, Cuba has gone a step further, it is now taking the burden of the world upon itself - and presently, Cuban doctors are in Italy - rescuing lives from coronavirus. For the records, Cuba’s most valuable and biggest export is its doctors.

Lessons from Cuba Even though Cuba is regarded as poor, its health care out performs many others globally. In Cuba, doctors annually visit each household; checking hearts, blood pressure, and

Conclusion The outbreak of the deadly coronavirus disease should force Nigeria to make a purposeful resolve for an improved healthcare.

Off the Cuff

Quick Takes

Populism taken too far

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n Nigeria, politicians are not known to be friendly with the people. They pretend to be, only when an election draws nearer.

They come with all manner of promises and with their sugar-coated lips they hoodwink the people to cast their votes. After elections, they never come back until time for another circle of polling.

This has been the culture here. So, whenever a politician begins to dangle carrot, he must be angling for something.

The announcement by some state governors lifting ban on movement restrictions to enable residents and indigenes of their states mark the Easter could be described as the smile of a vampire.

In some of these states, innocent people were arrested and treated like common criminals for the simple fact that they violated the sit-at-home directive by government. State governments had mounted campaign and sensitisation programme on the need for people to stay home in their own interest.

The ban on movements was necessitated by the leap in the number of the coronavirus cases being recorded in Nigeria, and it was believed that getting Nigerians to sit-at-home could help contain the spread. Although many people had made a bone out of the restrictions on account of the high level of poverty in the country, many others have also insisted that there is no alternative than to stay home if the COVID-19 war would be won.

In Lagos for instance, many residents see the sit-at-home directive as a way to punish

Tope Akinyode .Akinyode is a Lagos-based multidisciplinary and human rights lawyer tweets @TopeAkinyode

them. Some even manifest outright ignorance about the existence of the virus in the country.

They ask about the identity of the so-called Italian who was said to have brought the virus into the country; they asked about the names of those being treated, discharged or those declared dead by government on account of the disease.

They believe the coronavirus that is in Nigeria is not the same that is wreaking havoc in Italy, America, Britain, Spain and other places.

It is also their thinking that Nigerian politicians are out for some mischief with the claim that the virus is in Nigeria.

And because of their level of understanding of what is happening, they willfully flout the social distance, and stay-at-home directives.

You see markets in full activity; people milling in and out of markets buying and selling; people in drinking joints playing draft, Ludo games and all manner of gambling activities going on. In some places, you see some youths sitting idly and throwing banters. Some others play football on the streets. Football is a body-contact game and they care less about the negative consequences.

In some parts of Lagos State, you would think that there were free movements with the high vehicular traffic on the road. Apapa area is a beehive of activities. There is constant holdup, not just of tankers and trailers, but of normal vehicles. The policemen and LASTMA officials on the road are overwhelmed.

While people are neglecting to abide by the restrictions, Nigeria is recording more and

$210m more cases of the virus infestation. It simply means that nothing has changed. And while many concerned Nigerians are even thinking that government should come up with a stricter method of enforcement of the directive, governors are breaking the ranks, declaring free movements for their people to celebrate Easter.

What they have done is just to confirm the faulty assumption by some people that the coronavirus in Nigeria was just a mere story to hoodwink them. Some now ask if you were more knowledgeable or informed by the state governors who in their wisdom decided to relax the sit-at-home directive for the sake of Easter celebration.

Reacting on his twitter account, Harvey Olufumilayo, a medical practitioner, said, “It’s beginning to look like some state governors need the virus in their states to get some Sinzu FG funds.”

Aisha Yesufu, another Nigerian, tweeted: “Now that Governors are lifting the lockdown orders for people to attend religious events no one is consulting the devil. When a spread of the virus due to this irresponsible event happens you will remember that the devil is a liar! Okay oooooh!”

Nigerians have been warned not to go the way of Italian citizens, whose lackadaisical attitude to the warnings against the pandemic, eventually led to the carnage being recorded in that country today.

ZEBULON AGOMUO

The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) says the balance of the stabilisation fund would be $201 million after the $150 million withdrawal ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Alien in his own land!

“I can tell you for sure, I never knew that our entire healthcare infrastructure was in the state in which it is until I was appointed to do this work. My prayer is that Nigeria’s situation does not escalate to that extent because the country lacked what is required to handle the situation”.

-Boss Mustapha, chairman of the presidential task force on Covid-19 and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), speaking when the task force met with the leadership of the National Assembly in Abuja last week.

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