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US Court Grants Nigeria’s Application to Secure Documents against P&ID Tobi Soniyi A United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has granted Nigeria's application to request from 10 US banks documents that may incriminate officials of the Process and Industrial Developments Limited (P&ID).

In the ex-parte application filled by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), Nigeria seeks subpoenas of 10 different banks for “all documents concerning any transaction,” dating back 11 years, involving 60 individuals and corporate

entities to enable it substantiate allegations of crimes and financial impropriety against The Nigerian application was brought pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1782 (Section 1782). Section 1782, a U.S. law, allows those with an interest in a case to obtain required information.

A section 1782 request is a

request to a federal court in the United States. It asks the court to help a foreign court, or a participant in a foreign legal case, to obtain information, which can be used in a legal case in another country.

The process of obtaining information is known as “discovery.” The foreign legal

case can be either on-going or under preparation. The discovery can be in the form of testimony, documents, or physical evidence.

However, P&ID filed a response to the application as an interested person. It did not oppose Nigeria’s application but urged

that, if the court grants the application, Nigeria be required to promptly provide P&ID’s counsel with copies of all documents produced, and with the opportunity to attend all depositions conducted, pursuant to the subpoenas.

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COVID-19: Governors Set to Mobilise Help for Troubled States Fayemi: We’re going to train, incentivise, deploy volunteer health work force NCDC reports 239 new cases, total now 4151 with 745 discharged, 128 deaths PPSN president explains why infection is spreading through community transmission NMA condemns standoff against NCDC in Kogi, Cross River Sanwo-Olu laments poor compliance, threatens another lockdown Our Correspondents As the scourge of Covid-19 pandemic continues to bite harder in many states across the country, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has concluded plans to mobilise assistance to states with difficulties to navigate

challenges thrown up by the global health pandemic.

The Chairman of NGF and Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, who confirmed the development to THISDAY, when contacted, however added that all was Continued on page 5

Report: Rising Oil Prices Will Have Significant Political Cost for Nigeria Zero petrol subsidy to save country $2bn yearly Peter Uzoho with agency As Nigeria anxiously expects oil prices to rise to a comfortable position and boost the country's confidence to recover from the current shock, analysts have warned that such anticipated rise would instead present grave

political risks to the country.

The collapse in oil prices has led the federal government to remove the decade-long wasteful subsidy on petrol imported into the country, a major sensitive issue that had defied implementation for Continued on page 5

Public Transport Sector Lost N3trn to 5-Week Lockdown, Planet Project Reveals... Page 10

ACTION AGAINST HUMAN SMUGGLING INTO KADUNA...

Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai climbs a truck at a roadblock to personally inspect and be sure people were not being smuggled into Kaduna... recently

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PAGE FIVE COVID-19: GOVERNORS SET TO MOBILISE HELP FOR TROUBLED STATES set by the governors to train, incentivize and deploy willing health workers to states that are currently overwhelmed by the demands of the pandemic.

That was as Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, threatened on Saturday to re-introduce a total lockdown of the state, saying residents have flouted all the safety protocols advised by experts to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

And the Parasitology and Public Health Society of Nigeria (PPSN) expressed concerns about the climbing numbers of infected persons in the last few days. National President of PPSN, Professor Chinyere Ukaga, said poor adherence to safety measures was responsible for community transmission of the coronavirus in the country.

Meanwhile the NCDC in its release yesterday stated that it had recorded 239 new cases, bringing the total figure to 4,151. Of this figure 745 has been discharged, while 128 people have died of the disease. Yesterday figure Lagos recorded 97 new cases, followed by Bauchi with 44, Kano 29, Katsina 19, Borno 17, FCT 7, Kwara 6, Oyo 5, Kaduna 3, Sokoto 3, Adamawa 2, Kebbi 2, Plateau 2, Ogun 2 and Ekiti 1.

In a related development, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) decried what it called antagonistic attitudes of Kogi and Cross River states towards the advisory by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). NMA said the law establishing NCDC empowered it to lead national response in disease outbreaks and public health emergencies.

Speaking on the resolve of the governors to move into states with obvious challenges, Fayemi said the decision had become necessary to stop the COVID-19 pandemic from

spreading further. He warned that if states with milder challenges failed to rise up to the needs of those currently being overwhelmed, it was a matter of time before the virus exploded and spread to other parts of the country.

Fayemi said the decision to step into some states was informed by the developments in the Northwest and the North-east.

He stated, “It has become imperative to move into states with challenges and assist with the battle against COVID-19. The situations in the North-east and North-west demand that we come together to arrest the developments, because if we do not do it, we might be in trouble soon – all of us. “So, we are putting together a volunteer health workforce of people, who are willing to assist in the fight against COVID-19. We will train them, incentivise them, and provide the requisite supplies that would guarantee their safety, while helping to save humanity. “It is voluntary and it is for those health workers, who can also make some money in this period because they would be handsomely rewarded. We just have to respond quickly to this challenge and tame this monster called COVID-19.�

Meanwhile, Sanwo-Olu lamented that residents of the state had continued to flout guidelines laid down for the gradual easing of lockdown. He warned that the government might be compelled to take tougher actions, which could include a review of the gradual relaxation announced a week ago.

The governor described as unacceptable the compliance level with the COVID-19 protocols, including the physical and social distancing directives, wearing of facemasks, maximum 60 per cent carriage capacity in public transportation,

all of which were meant to check the spread of the coronavirus in the state.

Sanwo-Olu, who gave an update on the COVID-19 pandemic management in the state, also directed the police to immediately begin confiscation of commercial motorcycles (Okada) whose owners were flouting the earlier ban.

The governor, 10 of whose personal aides recently tested positive for the virus, said, "In terms of the non-compliance, the list is regrettably much longer.

On the first day of this new phase of an eased lockdown, the compliance level for commercial transport sector operations was regrettably very low. “Yellow buses, especially, failed to comply with the capacity restrictions outlined in our framework. While compliance has improved in subsequent days, it is still not encouraging.�

He ordered security agencies to turn back vehicles violating the restriction imposed on inter-state movements of persons.

The governor said many commercial motorcycle operators were openly and indiscriminately defying the suspension on their operation. He said the ban on Inter-state travel, except for essential goods and services, was also consistently flouted.

In many cases, he alleged, people decided to make the final leg of the journey into the state on foot, to beat the restrictions.

According to him, “This week has been unprecedented in terms of the numbers of newly confirmed cases in Lagos State. As at Friday May 8, 2020, we had 1,683 confirmed cases. Of that number, 448 have been treated and discharged, while we have, sadly, lost 33 persons.

"In the six days since my last address to you, while we have seen a 32 per cent

increase in the number of fatalities in Lagos State, and a 62 per cent increase in the number of confirmed cases, we have also seen a remarkable 100 per cent increase in the number of persons who have fully recovered. “This trend of recoveries is very encouraging, and we believe it will continue at this rate. It gives us some of the much-needed confidence to face the difficult days and weeks ahead.�

On community transmission, Ukaga said it had been on the increase due to poor hygiene. She advocated the need for more enlightenment and education of rural dwellers on the strict observance of personal hygiene.

Addressing journalists in Owerri, the Imo State capital, the PPSN president lamented that most Nigerians were yet to acknowledge the fact that COVID-19 could also be transmitted through surface contact.

She explained, “When droplets from infected persons fall on surfaces, such as table tops, chair arms, door knobs, handset (phone), and others, the virus can remain viable in these droplets for a few days. “When these surfaces come into contact with human hands, they can be picked up and transferred to either the nose or eyes or mouth when the person rubs his eyes or nose or puts the unwashed hands in the mouth.

"This is the main reason to wash hands frequently and why infected persons are quarantined or confined to an isolated place. This is also the reason why individuals, who have been in close contact with sick persons are sought out and quarantined.�

She called on NCDC to allow PPSN members to join the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic especially, "as we have

membership spread across the country." Ukaga urged members of the society to create special awareness on the need to obey the Nigerian government on social distancing.

She said, "COVID-19 is less deadly than SARS but is far more transmissible than SARS. Wherever you are, help the others to understand the urgent need to avoid any form of gatherings. Some local people still dismiss COVID-19 as a gimmick and blame the government for making things very difficult. “When countries like Italy, Spain, and America cannot contain the virus with all their medical gadgets and modern technologies, and their people are dying in numbers on a daily basis, what will happen in Nigeria to Nigerians with poor medical facilities?"

In a statement by its president, Dr. Francis Faduyile, and General Secretary, Dr. Olumuyiwa P. Odusote, NMA reiterated that the Act establishing NCDC empowered it to lead the national response in disease outbreaks and public health emergencies. It said the law also mandated the centre to coordinate diverse kinds of feedback, but regretted that the NCDC had been unable to discharge these functions in some states of the federation.

The statement said, "The NMA vehemently decries the stance of the governments of Kogi and Cross River states to NCDC’s advisory.

While it would be welcome news for a ‘no-positive-case’ status in any state or FCT, every state must ensure that it is following the testing guideline issued by the NCDC. "NMA, therefore, appeals to the federal government to direct through the Presidential Task Force (PTF) to investigate the claims of the two state governments in the interest of safeguarding

Nigeria’s public health, and to recommend appropriate remedial intervention(s) if necessary to Mr. President.�

On the challenges with testing, specimen collection, transport, inadequate testing kits and testing centres, NMA said its review revealed verifiable difficulties in collecting samples, transporting them in the proper manner, and dearth of test kits by the coordinating authorities. It noted that having attained increased capacity of 50,000 samples per day in 21 laboratories, the inability to ramp up testing nationwide could be blamed on "poor coordination, poor planning, poor forecasting and slow response to developments."

based Teneo Intelligence, Malte Liewerscheidt, told Bloomberg.

Since the start of the year, Brent crude, which compares with Nigeria’s export grades, has slumped 36 per cent, bludgeoned by a lack of demand due to the pandemic and a ruinous price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia. Nigeria, which has relied on crude exports for two-thirds of government revenue and more than 90 per cent of export receipts in the past decade, is staring recession in the face for the second time in four years.

The government would have had more room to manoeuvre if the country produced its own petrol. But four state-owned refineries built between the 1960s and

1980s to process 445,000 barrels of crude daily have fallen into disrepair, barely functioning at a fraction of their capacity.

Much of the country’s hopes for achieving selfsufficiency in fuel refining are now pinned on the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Petroleum Refinery that is scheduled to come on stream in the second half of 2021. Owned by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, it will produce enough to meet Nigeria’s daily consumption of about 300,000 barrels of oil and have extra for export. It will also mean the government won’t have to import refined fuel, saving shipping and landing costs that will help lower the cost of petrol.

to give P&ID access to any documents it received and to any depositions conducted.

The court noted, “P&ID has an undisputed interest in the subpoenaed information as applicant states that its investigations and criminal proceedings relate to P&ID, and the requested material relates to P&ID as well.�

Nigeria was also ordered to meet and confer with the “interested parties as

is necessary.�

Nigeria and P&ID are locked in legal battles over a gas supply and process agreement entered with the Irish firm. A London commercial court had entered a $9.6 billion award against Nigeria.

Nigeria is making frantic efforts to set aside the judgement and had launched criminal investigations against the company and its officials.

Sokoto Inaugurates 3,000 Volunteers Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, yesterday inaugurated over 3,000 volunteer health workers, comprising medical doctors, nurses, medical laboratory scientists, pharmacists and environmental health workers to fight the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Tambuwal charged them to be dedicated and stressed that their jobs demanded courage and competence.

He said the volunteers would be given daily allowances, which he listed as follows: medical consultants, N5, 000; medical doctors, N2, 500; nurses N2, 000; health environmentalists, N1, 500; and ambulance drivers, N1, 000.

Tambuwal said no amount of money could equate the services they were going to render and prayed God to protect them in the course of their service.

He disclosed that the confirmed COVID-19 cases in isolation centres in the state were responding Continued on page 8

REPORT: RISING OIL PRICES WILL HAVE SIGNIFICANT POLITICAL COST FOR NIGERIA years due to over-politicisation.

Although the decision will save President Muhammadu Buhari’s government at least $2 billion a year, at a time the country needs funds to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, it is also a politically fraught move – a rebound in oil prices could rouse the opposition and test the regime’s resilience.

Previous attempts to wean Nigerians off cheap gasoline (petrol) have led to major anti-government protests.

Bloomberg quoted a senior analyst at the Lagos-based SBM Intelligence, Cheta Nwanze, as saying, “Given the relationship Nigerians have with cheap fuel, rising oil prices will have a significant political cost.

Buhari could use security

services to put down protests that are likely to erupt.�

The abolition of the subsidy saw Nigerians paying between N123 ($0.32) and N125 per litre for petrol, the lowest price in a decade, according to the Petroleum Ministry. “How much people pay in future will be determined by market forces,� Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari, reportedly said while justifying the removal of fuel subsidy.

In six decades of pumping crude, Nigeria has produced some of the continent’s best-known billionaires, while at the same time creating a deeply unequal society in which almost

half its population lives in extreme poverty. For a vast majority of its 200 million people, cheaper fuel is the only benefit they see from a state that built no social-safety net for its citizens during the oil boom.

When Buhari’s predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, tried to scrap the subsidy in 2012 and petrol prices surged, he faced two weeks of protests and riots before demurring and reversing the decision. The political damage Jonathan suffered as a result purportedly contributed to his defeat in elections in 2015.

However, Buhari has few options: with government revenue projections decimated because of the pandemic, not only will the measure save money,

it will also provide funds that are urgently needed for capital investments to aid the diversification of the economy.

Whether the government reverses the scrapping of the subsidy will largely be determined by the severity of the fiscal crisis it is facing. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) last week approved $3.4 billion in emergency funding to Nigeria, the single biggest tranche disbursed for any country so far to fight COVID-19. “If the government subsequently had to sign on to a full-fledged IMF programme, that would probably seal the end of the subsidy regime,�

Vice President of London-

US COURT GRANTS NIGERIA'S APPLICATION TO SECURE DOCUMENTS AGAINST P&ID It described Nigeria's application as “a desperate attempt to substantiate her spurious allegations of a fraud supposedly 'carried out' by P&ID.� The company also prayed that “if the court grants Nigeria’s application, the court should ensure P&ID’s access to any resulting discovery from the thirdparty subpoena recipients, consistent with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45 and

this court’s precedent. If Nigeria serves the subpoenas, all discovery should be shared with P&ID. P&ID does not expect Nigeria’s discovery efforts to turn up evidence of fraud by P&ID – because there was no fraud – but P&ID wants to make sure that Nigeria does not mischaracterise any evidence obtained by, for example, selectively disclosing bank transfers

in other court proceedings to try to make them appear suspicious.�

Reacting to the court's decision, P&ID said, “We are pleased with the U.S. court’s decision to grant P&ID discovery as part of Nigeria’s 1782 application.

Nigeria’s desperate plea to keep the results of its fishing expedition hidden was rejected by the U.S. court. As a result, AG Malami

will not be able to selectively and misleadingly use this discovery in the English courts as part of its baseless fraud case to avoid paying P&ID.�

It also said that by the ruling, the court had rejected Nigeria’s attempt to keep P&ID in the dark about the discovery it sought.

Despite Nigeria’s submissions to the contrary, the court ordered Nigeria

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NEWS

Police Trust Fund Board: HURIWA Accuses Buhari of Sectionalism, Breach of Federal Character

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has faulted the membership of the Board of Trustees of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund, which was announced by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday. HURIWA says the board that has retired Inspector-General of Police Suleiman Abba as chairman is lopsided and against the Federal Character provisions of the Nigerian constitution.

The association accused the president of being insensitive to the provisions of the constitution and the heterogeneous nature of the country by appointing Abba from Jigawa State and Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto from Sokoto State, both from the North-west geopolitical zone, as chairman and secretary, respectively, of the board. It stressed that the Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, was also from Sokoto State, in the Northwest.

In a statement by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA said it was shocked that Buhari did not involve the states in the constitution of the trust fund, despite the fact that the Nigeria Police is a common agency of all tiers of government.

The group vowed to mobilise the human rights community to institute a lawsuit on the issue if the president failed to rescind the appointments within 78 hours.

HURIWA said in the statement, “It is a universal truism that the policing institution of any nation will determine to a substantial extent the collective wellbeing of that sovereign entity and it is the efficiency, effectiveness and result oriented characteristics of such a policing institution that defines the nature of the rule of law of such a nation-state. “In effect, a strategically disciplined and professional, competent policing institution, which requires

21st century compliant tools and personnel, that can qualify a nation-state as functional and fit for purpose.�

The human rights group said as one of the organisations that championed the enactment of the law that culminated in the emergence of the Board of Trustees of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund, it supported the concept of a dedicated and transparent funding mechanism for the Nigeria Police as represented by the trust fund. “We are, however, astonished and shocked beyond comprehension that in constituting this trust fund, there is no attempt to involve the states of the federation,�

HURIWA stated.

It added, “Contrary to widely held views, the Police Force is actually a common agency of all tiers of government, particularly the states and federal government. The fact remains that the states, as the federating units, have significantly shouldered

the tasks of substantially funding and equipping the respective branches of the national policing institution in these subnational levels.

There is little doubt that the state governments have remained a strategic funding partner and backbone of the national policing institution for decades. “The constitutional division of powers between the states and the federal government demarcates and assigns functions and responsibilities to all the tiers of government.

The states and the federal government have powers to make laws and enforce them.

The Police Force is the only coercive authority available to all the governments to enforce their laws. “That is why the Nigeria Police Council, which has a constitutional mandate for ‘the organisation and administration of the Nigeria Police Force’ is chaired by Mr. President and has all state governors as members, and in the appointment or removal of the Inspector General of Police, the president shall

consult the Nigeria Police Council.�

HURIWA said, “If the Nigeria Police Trust Fund Establishment Act 2019, has no state representation, creative ways should be devised to ensure that the states are properly represented, or in the alternative, to amend the Act to achieve the same. In any case, the states of the federation have been bearing a disproportionate share of the funding and equipping of the Nigeria Police as the police contingents in the various states are not provided with basic funding to operate and deliver on their mandate by the federal government.�

The group said it was “insensitive and lopsided to appoint� the police trust fund chairman and secretary from one part of the country. “No doubt, these are highly qualified individuals, but the present administration has been severally accused of breaching the Federal Character principle enshrined in the constitution (Section

14(3),� HURIWA said, explaining, “The constitution imposes a duty on Mr. President to ensure that in the composition of an agency of this nature, ‘there shall be no preponderance of persons from a few states or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups.’�

The association stressed, “Except we have fifth columnists who don’t wish Mr. President well, these kinds of discriminatory appointments should be filtered by his aides and brought to his attention before publication. We believe his staff have not served him well in this instance. “We strongly advise, and, indeed, most respectfully urge Buhari to immediately recall the recent approval given for the constitution of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund pursuant to the Nigeria Police Trust Fund Establishment Act 2019, in the national interest, to accommodate state interests and to reflect the Federal Character of Nigeria in the commanding height and management of the fund.�

with 200 Almanjiris (street urchins) at Olooru in Moro Local Government Area of the state. The Almanjiris were on their way to the state before they were stopped in Olooru, a border area near Niger State.

The police officers manning the area had stopped the articulated vehicle conveying them on the highway, and ordered the driver back to Niger State, where it was coming from.

THISDAY investigations revealed that the affected Almanjiris were originally from Katsina State, and they had tactically evaded the police. They had planned that when they got to a police checkpoint, they would disembark and use the river route with canoe to avoid further roadblocks and reconnect at a point where the road was free.

But their inability to use the river forced them to run into the waiting hands of the security agents in Olooru.

The state police command Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ajayi Okasanmi, confirmed this incident in a press statement.

the exercise at Niger Bridge, which is the boundary between Delta and Anambra states, and at Alifikede, the boundary with Edo on the Benin-Asaba expressway.

The governor told security operatives and members of the state’s taskforce at the boundaries that only vehicles carrying agricultural products and those on essential duties should be allowed into the state, even as he sued for vigilance.

COVID-19: GOVERNORS SET TO MOBILISE HELP FOR TROUBLED STATES to treatment and urged the chairman of the state COVID-19 taskforce to brief residents on a daily basis on the situation to avoid tension and apprehension.

Osun Records New Case as Assembly Enforces Facemask Use Another case of the coronavirus was recorded in Osun State, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Rafiu Isamotu, revealed in a statement on Saturday.

This brings the number of active cases in the state to three. This came as the House of Assembly compelled the use of facemasks by workers and visitors to the Assembly complex.

The statement noted that the new case sneaked in from Kano State to Iwo area of the state before his neighbours alerted the Osun COVID-19 team.

Isamotu said, "The COVID-19 confirmation test for one suspected case came back positive on Friday out of the 14 samples we sent for testing at the NCDC accredited testing centre, the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases, Ede, during the week. The case sneaked into the state from Kano State and the neighbours immediately alerted our COVID-19 team. “Presently, we have three active cases in the state. The good news is that the new case on arrival self-isolated, although wasn't showing any symptom of the virus."

Speaker of Osun House of Assembly, Hon Timothy Owoeye, in a statement yesterday by his Chief Press Secretary, Kunle Alabi, held that the use of simple cloth face coverings would slow the spread of coronavirus.

According to the statement, "As we are all aware that the Assembly has resumed

fully for legislative activities with very few senior cadre of workers, in spite of the ravaging coronavirus, this was borne out of the need to support government in the fight against the pandemic.

"The lead agenda of the Seventh Assembly is quality legislation that will impact the lives of Osun people. In order to assuage the fear of people contracting the virus while we resumed, it has become imperative that everyone coming to the Assembly must wear facemask. It is going to be, "No facemask, no entry!

"It is the resolution of the Assembly that if everybody wears a facemask, we will be mutually protecting each other. Wearing a face covering is just one additional step that we can take to stop the spread of the virus, but it is not a replacement for other important protective measures, such as washing hands and social distancing."

He stated, “The Edo State Government is committed to wiping out this deadly virus from all communities in Edo, as we have stepped up measures to screen over 500,000 residents and test about 5,000 people within the next few days. “As part of these measures, the state’s laboratory capacity is being strengthened and training of laboratory personnel is on-going

by NCDC, World Health Organisation (WHO), and other partners. “While sample testing at Irrua specialist Hospital (ISTH) is still on-going, UBTH PCR has been validated and sample testing for COVID-19 has commenced. The validation and inspection of the other new PCR in Edo State is ongoing. We are also upgrading our laboratory facilities to cater for differential laboratory testing at Stella Obasanjo Hospital Isolation Centre (SOHIC).�

NCDC Validates New PCR Testing Centre Stella Obasanjo for Edo Hospital Ready for Following efforts by the COVID-19 Edo State Government to boost the state’s capacity to test for COVID-19 and achieve its target of testing 1,000 residents daily, NCDC validated a new Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing centre at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH). The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Patrick Okundia, who disclosed this to journalists in Benin City, noted that sample testing for COVID-19 had commenced at UBTH, while validation and inspection of the third PCR testing centre in Edo State was on-going.

Okundia noted that the state had increased its testing and screening capacity, and urged residents to use the opportunity to ascertain their COVID-19 status.

Medical Director, Stella Obasanjo Hospital, Dr. Osagie Ebonwonyi, said the hospital was well equipped to manage coronavirus patients, with ample support from the Edo State Government. Speaking to journalists in Benin City, Ebonwonyi urged residents to comply with government’s directives to curtail the spread of COVID-19 in the state.

He stated, “The pandemic is a serious issue, as government is doing everything possible to limit the spread of the disease in the state. A massive renovation is still on-going at the hospital to expand the bed space for isolation of patients. For now, we have 42 beds.

“We have over 36 patients here and they are all responding to treatment. We are happy to say we have not recorded any death in this isolation centre.�

Rivers Inaugurates Three Testing Machines at RSUTH In its determination to stem the spread of the coronavirus in the state, the Rivers State Government, last Friday, inaugurated three PCR machines at its COVID-19 testing centre at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt.

Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Friday Aaron, said Shell Petroleum Development Company donated two of the PCR machines to the state government while the third came from Total E and P. Aaron said, "This evening, we are here to celebrate, because it has been our goal to get a testing centre in Rivers State. Today, I am happy to announce that we can now do COVID-19 tests at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital courtesy of the Rivers State Government ably led by our own Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike.

"We also thank our partners, SPDC and Total, who have continued to work with us to fight coronavirus.

The NCDC was here to install and activate the PCR machines. Since yesterday, we started running tests and by this evening, we will have results come from our lab.

The good thing is that we have three PCR machines that will serve Rivers people. "

Police Intercept 200 Almanjiris in Kwara Kwara State Police Command, on Saturday, intercepted a lorry loaded

Okowa Monitors Inter-state Lockdown Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, on Saturday, personally monitored the level of compliance with the COVID-19 lockdown in the state. This was with respect to movement in and out of the state, particularly, by unauthorised vehicles and persons visiting some boundaries between Delta and the neighbouring states.

Okowa threatened to impound vehicles breaching the directive and prosecute their operators.

He, however, expressed satisfaction with the level of compliance with the order, after the monitoring

Bauchi Denies 300 Deaths, Says It’s Only 30 People Bauchi State Government described as untrue reports of mass deaths in Azare in some sections of the media.

The government said only 30 people had died in the last one week, and declared that the deaths were not related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Deputy Governor Baba Tela, who is also Chairman of the State Rapid Response Taskforce on COVID-19 and Lassa fever, made the denial while giving an update on the pandemic situation. Tela declared, "So far in Azare only one person died of COVID-19 pandemic while receiving treatment at the FMC, Azare."

On the mysterious deaths, he said it was a seasonal thing in the area, especially, during the hot season when people with underlying illnesses get complications that often led to their deaths.

The deputy governor, however, explained that what was happening in Azare was a spill-over from Kano, considering the proximity of the northern zone of the state to Kano and Jigawa states, where the mysterious deaths were occurring.

But he assured the people that medical experts were working round the clock to ascertain the disease and its causes.

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EDITORIAL

Editor, Editorial Page PETER ISHAKA Email peter.ishaka@thisdaylive.com

COVID-19 AND THE ORONSAYE REPORT The government should use this golden opportunity to cut waste by trimming the country’s parastatals and agencies

W

ith dwindling resources amid the COVID-19 pandemic that has made nonsense of all revenue projections, the federal government is falling back on the 2012 report of the Presidential Committee on Restructuring and Rationalisation of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies.

Established by President Goodluck Jonathan and chaired by then Head of Service of the Federation, Mr Steve Oronsaye (after whom the report was named), the committee proposed a drastic downsizing of the federal bureaucracy that would engender considerable reduction in the cost of governance. According to the Minister of Finance, Budget Many of and National Planning, the current Zainab Ahmed, “this is a report that has been in place parastatals and for a long time … but the agencies are has approved that sheer duplication President it should be implemented.” as they perform Major highlights of the overlapping 800-page report include functions which a recommendation for the reduction in the number of often result parastatals from 263 to 161 in needless while advocating that 38 of power tussle them should be scrapped. and conflict of Presenting the report eight interest years ago, Oronsaye highlighted sundry duplication of functions by many of the agencies. For instance, while acknowledging that the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has been quite active, the committee observed that what the agency was established to do is indeed a replication of the mandates of two existing bodies, namely, the highway department of the federal ministry of works with respect to the maintenance of safety and orderliness on our highways and the role of the police in ensuring law and order on our roads.

While COVID-19 may have forced the hands of the federal government on the Oronsaye report, it is important that they look beyond the immediate challenges.

Over the years, successive governments (including the current one) have created a multiplicity of agencies and

Letters to the Editor

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departments without any corresponding improvement in service delivery. Indeed, the only contribution many can be credited with is that they are cost centres through which some unscrupulous officials fleece government funds. Unfortunately, as we have argued over the years, many of the current parastatals and agencies are sheer duplication as they perform overlapping functions which often result in needless power tussle and conflict of interest. That accounts for why the cost of maintaining the nation’s bloated bureaucracy is rising every year.

T

his much came out clearly in the Oronsaye report. Aside identifying the waste and inefficiencies in many of the agencies, the report noted that “it is a fundamental breach of acceptable practice of good public sector governance to create a new agency or institution as a response to the seeming failure or poor performance of an existing agency in order to suit political or individual interests. Such a practice has proved eventually to precipitate systemic conflicts, crises and even collapse at a substantial but avoidably high financial cost to governS U N DAY N E W S PA P E R EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU DEPUTY EDITORS OLAWALE OLALEYE, TOBI SONIYI MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOLAFE CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN MANAGING EDITOR JOSEPH USHIGIALE

T H I S DAY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, ISRAEL IWEGBU, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU, EMMANUEL EFENI DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS BOLAJI ADEBIYI , PETER IWEGBU, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS ERIC OJEH, PATRICK EIMIUHI ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR SAHEED ADEYEMO CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO HEAD, COMPUTER DEPARTMENT PATRICIA UBAKA-ADEKOYA TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

ment.”

We recognise the challenge that will come with implementing some of the recommendations by the Oronsaye committee but public interest would be better served in doing so. Even when some of the agencies recommended either for outright scrapping or merging with existing ones are creations of statutes, it is our view that there is indeed an urgent need to restructure them. But announcing mere intention is the easy part.

The real work is in the implementation.

Instructively, Oronsaye made this same observation to President Jonathan who ended up not implementing the report. He remarked that 12 years after the White Paper on the Ahmed Joda Panel Report on the Review, Harmonisation and Rationalisation of Federal Government Parastatals, Institutions and Agencies (2000), “some parastatals and agencies, which government had decided should either be scrapped, commercialised, privatised or self-funding, are still receiving full government funding, which runs into billions of Naira.”

While we urge President Muhammadu Buhari to go ahead and administer the requisite shock therapy by implementing the recommendations that do not require legislations, we also hope that the exercise will be transparent and not become another instrument in the hands of some unscrupulous politicians.

TO OUR READERS Letters in response to specific publications in THISDAY should be brief (150-200 words) and straight to the point. Interested readers may send such letters along with their contact details to opinion@thisdaylive.com. We also welcome comments and opinions on topical local, national and international issues provided they are well-written and should also not be longer than (950- 1000 words). They should be sent to opinion@thisdaylive.com along with the email address and phone numbers of the writer.

The Pandemic Does Not Call for Politics

nambra politics is a peculiar brand, no doubt. But playing it with so much partisanship in this period of the Covid-19 pandemic and its exacting protocols bespeaks of the brand as a fatal drollery.

Ordinarily, a people under threat of a pandemic have no use for politics. The preoccupation is in finding solution to their problem. Nothing else matters as efforts are directed towards the eradication of the disease and its abiding mortality.

Two things have happened since Governor Willie Obiano mounted the saddle of leadership in Anambra State. One was the national economic recession of 2016. The other is the current Covid-19 pandemic.

Neither was by any stretch

of the imagination a usual occurrence and demanded a lot of effort to get around it.

Expectedly, the Obiano government engaged both situations with uncommon elan.

Barely two years into office as governor, the Nigerian economy went into recession.

Many states of the federation were beset by economic difficulties of unusual proportion.

A lot of them could not pay salaries. Many more were nonplussed as governance stalled for months on end. The federal government offered economic stimulus. Bailout funds were given out to cushion the effects and help the states get back into the swing of things.

While all these happened Anambra, even without claim to special allocation from the centre as an oil state, held out.

She took no bailout funds and did not go into recession.

The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has not altered the resilience of the state and the proactive nature of her governor.

The government did not wait to respond to the outbreak of the disease before it took proactive measures to stem possible outbreak. So far the state has no case of infection as her index case was promptly treated and discharged.

Quite early the administration ordered comprehensive lockdown of the state, closing schools, public offices, markets, eateries, clubs, hotels, etc., and fumigated them. This was followed by aggressive publicity campaign mounted on all the media channels in the state

and by town criers, exhorting everybody on the need for observation of the World Health Organization standard protocols on the pandemic.

Isolation and surge centres were procured, adequately equipped and managed by the Covid-19 compliant health workers. Currently, efforts are going on to enhance the laboratory unit of the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital to an N.C.D.C certified test centre.

There was also on air teaching of students by the state-owned radio station, the Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS). This initiative has since been commended by the Minister for Education in much the same way Senator Ben Murray Bruce commended the state during the economic recession.

However, it is sad to know that the only interest shown by the opposition in the prevention of

the outbreak of the pandemic in the state is to query the dedicated Covid-19 Fund. It is not just presumptuous of the opposition to allege mismanagement of a fund yet to be spent and which making he made no contribution.

Truth is that the Anambra opposition is unthinking and has no vicarious feeling of the pains of the less privileged. He thinks himself smart any time he attempts misinforming the public.

Clearly the Anambra gubernatorial election is within foreseeable distance and all manner of characters are already milling around. But it should not be a license for potty politics. What the people need at this point in time is care. A good number may be woozy with hunger, but they still have their reason. The pandemic does not call for politics.

––Ejike Anyaduba, Abatete.

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NEWS

Acting News Editor ĂŒĂ™ĂŁĂ?Ă‘Ă‹ Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă‹Ă˜Ă—Ă“ E-mail: Ă‘ĂŒĂ™ĂŁĂ?Ă‘Ă‹Ë›Ă‹Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă‹Ă˜Ă—Ă“ĚśĂžĂ’Ă“Ă?ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁĂ–Ă“Ă Ă?Ë›Ă?Ă™Ă—ËœÍ¸Î€Í¸Î€ÍšÎ Î€ÍžÍ˝Î Í¸ Ě™Ă?Ă—Ă? Ă™Ă˜Ă–ĂŁĚš

Expelling Non-indegenes Threatens National Unity, Senior Lawyers Warn ‡Litigation underway to challenge expulsion of citizens ‡Lament sabotage of guidelines by security operatives

Gboyega Akinsanmi With the sustained evacuation of non-indigenes from different states of the federation as part of measures to enforce the COVID-19 guidelines and regulations, senior lawyers yesterday warned that such decisions might stoke constitutional crisis and further endanger the unity of the country.

Besides, the lawyers argued that the decisions of the state governments to send non-indigenes to their states of origin violated Chapter III and section 41 of the 1999 Constitution, which respectively spell out the privileges of every Nigerian citizen and guarantee fundamental human rights.

In separate conversations with THISDAY, a former President of

the West African Bar Association (WABA), Mr. Femi Falana (SAN); Nigeria’s leading human rights lawyer, Mr. Ebun Adegboruwa (SAN) and a former Chairman, Governing Council, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Dr. Chidi Odinkalu expressed grave concern about the decisions of these governors.

Hiding under the enforcement

of the COVID-19 guidelines and regulations, the Kano State Government had evacuated non-indigenes, especially Almajiris residing within its territories to their states of origin across the North.

The decision of the Kano State Government had sparked reprisal in other states across the federation with Kaduna, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa and Osun,

PROGRESS DESPITE LOCKDOWN . . .

Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi with Special Adviser on Public Infrastructure, Mr. Sunday Adunmo during an inspection of Ilupeju-Ire- Ilumoba Ekiti road project . . . on Friday

among others, either expelling non-indigenes from their states of residence to their states of origin or denying them entry into their territories under the guide of enforcing the COVID-19 guidelines and regulations.

With these developments, Falana observed that the fundament rights to freedom of movement, like other rights under the 1999 Constitution, might be derogated from or abridged in defence of public health, public safety or public morality.

The human rights lawyer acknowledged that in order to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, the federal government banned inter state locomotion of all citizens for two weeks. He noted that the decision “cannot be questioned since it is based on the protection of public health.

Section 45 of the 1999 Constitution allows such derogations,� which according to him, are based strictly on public interest.

However, Falana observed the policy might be impugned if it is applied in a discriminatory or selective manner, noting that even though the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) suggested the policy, the federal government accepted it.

The senior advocate said the state governors “have incorporated the ban into the COVID 19 regula-

tions made by them. They are binding on all and sundry.�

He, however, lamented that the ban “is not effective as it is being sabotaged by security forces who have erected toll gates in the border towns.�

He faulted the decision of some state governments expelling non-indigenes residing within their territories, noting that such decision violated the fundamental rights of the affected citizens under the 1999 Constitution.

He explained that the 1999 Constitution “has recognised the fundamental rights of citizens to move freely and reside in any part of Nigeria. To that extent, the expulsion of flotsam and jetsam otherwise called Almajaris by some northern governors is illegal and unconstitutional. “The danger of the illegal expulsion at this point in time is that many of the expelled citizens are COVID 19 positive. So the actions of the governors are promoting community transmission of the infectious disease.�

He lamented that the federal government “has not deemed it fit to call the governors to order.

Some public interest litigation lawyers have concluded plans to challenge the constitutional validity of the expulsions in the federal high court after the lockdown..�

Public Transport Sector Lost N3tn to 5-Week Lockdown, Planet Project Reveals Gboyega Akinsanmi in Lagos Nigeria’s foremost indigenous public transport and infrastructure development company, Planet Project Limited yesterday revealed that public transport sector in the country might have lost N3 trillion to a five-week lockdown imposed on some states due to the outbreak of COVID-19.

The firm, which conceptualised and constructed the Oshodi Transport Interchange under two years, warned that enforcing the COVID-19 guidelines and regulations could be circumvented if

governments at different levels did not provide support or subsidy for both operators and passengers.

In an interview with THISDAY yesterday, the company’s Managing Director/Chief Executive, Mr. Biodun Otunola revealed some findings of a lockdown study on public transport his firm’s research unit conducted recently.

In a national broadcast on March 29, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the “cessation of all movements� for two weeks in Lagos State, Ogun State and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to stop the spread of coronavirus.

After subsequent reviews of COVID-19 nationwide, Buhari extended the lockdown in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun States first for two weeks on April 14 and also for one week on April 27 in a bid to curtail the spread of the coronavirus.

Eventually, on May 4, Buhari eased lockdown in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun States amid public anger resulting from the rise of crimes during the lockdown and due to the failure of governments to provide meaningful social interventions for citizens.

In his firm’s lockdown assess-

N2.1bn Fraud: Air Force Chief Forfeits Multibillion Naira Assets to FG Davidson Iriekpen A Federal High Court in Lagos has approved the federal government’s request to temporarily seize 12 landed properties linked to a former Director of Finance at the Nigerian Air Force, Air Vice Marshal Jacobs Adigun.

Justice Mohammed Liman granted the interim order following an ex parte application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The properties include houses at No. 27 Agodogba Avenue, Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos; No. 40A Bourdillon Road, Ikoyi, Lagos; Plot 164, Victoria Island Annex (Sinari Daranijo Street), VI, Lagos; Block 54A, Plot 14, Lekki Peninsula Scheme One; Capador Plaza, Adetokunbo Ademola Street, Wuse II,

Abuja; Plot 762 Aminu Kano Crescent, Wuse II, Abuja; and No. 39 Agdez Street, Wuse II, Abuja.

Others are Sand Lake Hotel, Plot 3497 Sand Lake Street, Maitama, Abuja; Plot No. 61 Lake Chad Street, Maitama Abuja; No. 2 Imo Rivers Close, off Danube Crescent, Maitama, Abuja; and No. 2 River Palata Street, Maitama, Abuja.

The judge agreed with EFCC counsel Rotimi Oyedepo that it would be in the interest of justice for the court to order a temporary forfeiture of the properties.

Oyedepo persuaded the court that the properties, scattered across Lagos and Abuja, were reasonably suspected to be proceeds of a N21.4billion fraud allegedly perpetrated by Adigun alongside Air Commodore Olugbenga

Gbadebo and a former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu.

Aside from the order for the temporary forfeiture of the properties, Justice Liman also ordered the anti-graft agency to publish the forfeiture order in a national daily newspaper to put interested parties on notice.

He adjourned till June 9 for anyone with interest in the properties to appear in court to give reasons why the properties should not be permanently forfeited to the federal government.

In an affidavit filed in support of the ex parte application, an investigating officer of the EFCC, Akube Okechuckwu, said the N21.4bn included N200m paid on January 7, 2014 into NAF Operations account by the Office of the National Security Adviser.

ment, Otunola observed that what public transport lost in five weeks “is mind-boggling. Let us look at it this way. Nigeria has over 80 million people that use public transport on daily basis.�

He explained that if the impact on public transport sector “is assessed based on the average national fare of N150 per day and multiply it with 80 million passengers, it will give us as much as N3 trillion for the period of five weeks. “To be honest, that is huge amount. So, public transport is one sector that the five-week lockdown

really affected. It is not just the transport operators. Also, all the supply chains that are linked to transportation suffered the same consequences.�

Also, according to the firm’s managing director, filling stations suffered the same consequences.

Mechanics, vulcanisers, spares parts dealers, tyre dealers and the entire chains of the public transport sector suffered the same loss.

Of course, Otunola observed that the whole economy “really suffered due to the lockdown, but transport sector suffered more because transport system

is the oxygen of the economy.

When transport sector stops, the economy stops.�

He gave empirical reasons the federal government should quickly support the public transport sector to ensure that all transport operators strictly comply with the COVID-19 guidelines and regulations.

Failing to provide meaningful support for the sector during the period of emergency, Otunola warned that the transport operators might breach the COVID-19 guidelines and regulations, which according to him, might worsen the situation.

Lagos, George, Obanikoro Mourn Oluwa Segun James The Lagos State Government yesterday mourned the death of Justice Isiaka Ishola Oluwa, saying he would be remembered for his meritorious service and contribution to the growth of the state.

Also, a former Deputy National Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Olabode George and Senator Musiliu Obanikoro paid tribute to the late judge, who died yesterday at 102.

In a letter of condolence signed by the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN), the state government said the deceased was an erudite and a rare bred Lagosian.

The letter read: “On behalf of the Lagos State Ministry of Justice, I wish to commiserate with the entire Oluwa family on the transition of our beloved Justice Isiaka Ishola Oluwa at a ripe old age of 102 years on Saturday.

“The news of the demise of our revered judicial icon, Justice Oluwa is a mixture of sadness and happiness.

Happiness; because his transition is a celebration of an impactful life, well lived and sadness because we will miss his fatherly presence and wisdom at this time. “Oluwa was an erudite, rare bred Lagosian who spent his time in retirement canvassing and championing the cause and interest of Lagosians in every sphere of endeavour.

I know him to be outspoken about the political relevance of Lagosians in all matters of appointments relevant to the management of the state.�

In his statement, George described Justice Oluwa as a man of truth, fearlessness and justice, saying the late jurist confronted the faces of evil and dark leadership with bold bravura.

He said: “I am saddened, touched and disturbed by the passage of Justice Isiaka Oluwa. He was a good man. He was a Lagosian original, predicated

on truth, fearlessness and justice.

He feared no one. He embraced everyone: the downtrodden, the trampled, those who had no voice. “There was certain defiance about this man; a certain certitude of purpose and a deliberate insistence on ensuring that the truth must be told all the time; no matter whose ox is gored. “He was brave, indifferent to the tools of animadversion; he confronted the tools of power with the typical Lagosian aura; he was locked with firm, logical attestation that the truth must always be told.

He was a rarity; almost strange, audacious, frank, assertive who challenged the evil of the hour without self-protectiveness. “ Obanikoro, in a tribute, said: “It is with a heavy heart but total submission to the will of Allah, that I join the people of Lagos to mourn the passing of one of our fathers and advocates of a new Lagos, Justice Isiaka Ishola Oluwa, at the enviable age of 102 years.

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NEWS Stakeholders Demand Sovereign Guarantee for 4th Mainland Bridge Contract ‡ Set conditions for awarding such huge contract ‡Warn its execution can wreck government Gboyega Akinsanmi The decision of the Lagos State Government to announce six Chinese firms and four others shortlisted for the construction of Fourth Mainland Bridge, a 38-kilometre suspended bridge once valued at over $2 billion, has come under scrutiny.

While indigenous engineers have warned against the award of a white elephant project at a time of national economic crisis, investors disapproved the award of the project to Chinese firms in particular without a sovereign guarantee.

In separate conversations, former President, Nigerian Society of Engineers, Mr. Kunle Mokuolu; President, Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers, Dr. Kehinde Osifala and some indigenous investors doubted the viability of the project if awarded at the time the national economy in struggling.

The state government had shortlisted 10 firms from the 32 that applied for the expression of interest for the construction of the bridge, a 38-kilometre suspended

bridge that would run from Ajah through Baiyeku towns to Itamaga in Ikorodu.

As shown in a statement by Special Adviser on Works and Infrastructure, Mrs. Aramide Adeoye and Director-General, Office of Public-Private Partnership, Mr. Ope George, the shortlisted firms include six Chinese construction giants.

Some of the firms are: CCECC Nigeria Limited, CGGC-CGC Joint Venture, China Harbour Engineering Company Limited, China State Construction Engineering Corporation Nigeria Limited, Power Construction Corporation of China and Ingenieros Consultores, S.A. and IC ICTAS Insaat Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. But an investor, who anonymously spoke with THISDAY, wondered that any serious company would be interested in the construction of the bridge.

For him, the state’s public private partnership law “is atrocious and not investor-friendly.�

He supported his claim with previous projects the state could not execute successfully under the PPP arrangement. He cited the

case of Lekki-Epe expressway, a 50-kilometre road expansion, which remained uncompleted after 14 years.

He, thus, said Lagos and indeed, Nigeria “have terrible track record in PPP. We should investigate the proposed terms of the fourth mainland bridge project. We need to know whether they are just calling it PPP in name, but in reality, it is not a PPP.�

He, also, expressed concern about the number of Chinese construction giants that were “shortlisted for the project. If it will be truly private sector

funded, and there will not be a Sovereign Guarantee, then LASG should, as a matter of principle, screen out the Chinese because of their blatant racism.�

Mokuolu, a certified engineer, explained different reasons the project should not be the priority of the government.

After the lockdown, he argued, socio-economic realities would prove that the fourth mainland bridge would become a white elephant.

Apart from the fear that the project would end up inconclusive, he argued that the

decision of the state government no doubt depicted “a dearth of knowledge for the process of sustainable development and socio-economic managemen.�

He disapproved the strategy of most foreign construction giants to construct such an iconic transport infrastructure citing their strategy “to entice our government with financial assistance� that would further entangle into debt trap.

With prudent management of public resources, Mokuolu argued that the state government could generate “to execute

our projects over a record time rather funding it with the PPP arrangement. China, like other foreign firms in Nigeria, have never been interested or committed to building local capacity in Nigeria.�

On this ground, NSE’s former president advised that the state government “should not award this contract to any Chinese company unless it is a donation from the company or the Chinese Government. They should go and tidy up the Light Rail (Blue Line) project before looking at the Fourth Mainland Bridge.�

NSC Boss Commiserates With THISDAY over Staff’s Death Peter Uzoho The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Mr. Hassan Bello, has condoled with THISDAY Newspapers Group over the sudden death of its Judiciary Correspondent, Mr. Akinwale Akintunde.

Akintunde, who was buried on Thursday, passed on Monday at the Lagos Island General Hospital following his involvement in a truck accident in Apapa on his way home from work.

In a condolence message to the Managing Director of THISDAY, Mr. Eniola Bello yesterday the executive secretary said Akintunde’s exit was a great loss especially at a time the invaluable contribution of people like him was needed to

move the nation forward.

He said: “It is with a deep sense of loss and immeasurable grief that I write to commiserate with you on behalf of the management and staff of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council on the sudden and painful death of one of your staff, Mr. Akinwale Akintunde. “Akintunde’s exit is indeed a great loss especially at a time the invaluable contribution of people like him is needed to move our nation forward. “We share and mourn this gaping vacuum created by his passing away, as we pray the Almighty God to grant your organisation, his immediate family and all stakeholders the fortitude to bear this great loss,�

NSC’s executive secretary said.

Katsina Peace Accord Has Collapsed, Says Lawmaker Francis Sardauna in Katsina A member of Katsina State House of Assembly, Hon. Jabiru Yauyau yesterday said the peace accord between the marauding bandits and the state government had collapsed.

Yauyau, currently representing Batsari constituency, urged the state governor, Alhaji Aminu Masari to work out alternative peace deal to end the activities of bandits and kidnappers in different parts of the state.

He made the call in a telephone interview with THISDAY, lamenting that killing and kidnapping of innocent citizens by the hoodlums had become a daily occurrence in the state despite the rapprochement.

The State Police Public

Relations Officer, SP Gambo Isah, had earlier told journalists that bandits numbering over 200 fully armed with AK47 rifles launched attacks on six villages killing one person.

The simultaneous onslaughts, according to Isah, were launched on Tsugunni, Yandaka, Salihawar Duba, Garin Goje, Watangadiya and Dutse Maizane villages on Friday at about 11:00pm. “They shot and killed one Alaramma Kabiru Kano, aged 57 years at Garin Goje village. Three others were injured at Dutse Maizane.

Unspecified number of cows and sheep were rustled. The bandits laid ambush for the joint forces of military and police which led to heavy exchange of fire�, he added.

WITH LOVE FROM INDIA Minister of State, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mrs. Ramatu Tijjani-Aliyu (right) receiving from 350 bags of condiments Indian Cultural Association (ICA) to support vulnerable residents of the FCT, Abuja... recently

Citing Court Order, PDP Rejects Kashamu’s Faction Congresses Chuks Okocha in Abuja The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday rejected ward, local government and state congresses a faction loyal to Senator Buruji Kashamu claimed to have conducted in Ogun State or elsewhere.

PDP, the country’s main opposition party, said it rejected the congress of the Kashamu faction in obedience to an interim order of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja that ordered all parties to maintain status quo until substantive suit is determined.

In a statement by its National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus

and the National Secretary, Senator Umaru Tsauri yesterday, the PDP disclosed that it had not conducted any congress - ward, local government and state – in Ogun State.

The Kashamu faction of Ogun PDP claimed that it inaugurated a new executive members to steer the party’s affairs for the next four years.

The faction, in a statement, claimed it had administered oaths of office to the new executives, which took place in batches of 15 persons because of social distancing order.

According to its statement, the oath was allegedly administered

by a lawyer Victor Owokoya and a notary public, Oluwatoyin Omomehin, respectively.

But in its statement yesterday, the PDP justified its decision not to recognise any congress in the state “in obedience to the interim order made by Justice Inyang Ekwo in Suit No: FCT/AB/ CS/208/2020 on March 4, 2020.�

It acknowledged that the court directed all parties in the litigation to maintain status quo until the hearing of the motion on notice which is still pending on account of the disruption caused

by COVID-19.

For the benefit of all members, the party noted that there “is

only one PDP, as a political party in Nigeria whose National Headquarters is at Wadata Plaza, Plot 1970 Michael Okpara Street, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja. 2. “It is the sole responsibility of NEC/NWC of the Party to conduct congresses for the elections of party leaders at all levels of the party; and no state organ or individual has such power except as may be expressly donated by the NEC/NWC.�

In view of this, the party said that it had not mandated any organ of the party “to exercise that right on its behalf. The same has not been exercised with regard to Ogun State.�

Survey: COVID-19 Endangers Journalists, Media Executives Raheem Akingbolu in Lagos A coalition of media and civil society organisations yesterday disclosed that journalists reporting the incidents of COVID-19 in Nigeria are endangered, citing challenges at their workplaces.

Also uesteray, a global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists, International Press Institute (IPI), also, raised the alarm that some governments globally were hiding behind the public health emergency, to muscle the media.

The coalition expressed the

concern in a report of a survey it conducted between April 27 and May 1 to assess the support available to journalists, reporting the incidents of COVID-19 in the country.

The coalition comprises the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ), Enough is Enough (EiENigeria), International Press Centre (IPC), the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), and Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ).

With the rising cases that

x-rayed the complexity of coronavirus in the country, the coalition commissioned the survey due to the perceptions that journalists might be having a hard time doing their jobs during this period.

While journalists in some countries face challenges with authorities in the area of having easy access to information, the coalition observed that Nigerian journalists also faced challenges in their offices.

It said: “The participants, 463 in number, comprise correspondents, reporters, editors, freelancers and

presenters from 73 print, broadcast and online media across 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory. “Of the 463 respondents, 65 per cent said their employers had not provided them with any support during assignments while only 35 per cent said they had been provided with some form of support,� the coalition explained.

Findings of the survey showed that journalists covering the COVID-19 required additional allowance separate from salary and payment of outstanding salaries, among others.

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MA ͹͸˜ ͺ͸ͺ͸ ˾ THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

INTERNATIONAL COVID-19 Pandemic and Nigeria-China Relations: CriticalIssuesandChina’s InternationalResponsibility(2)

I

n this column last week, focus was on the controversial invitation extended by the Federal Government of Nigeria to some Chinese medics to come to Nigeria and assist in the struggle against the COVID-19 pandemic. Today’s discussion is a continuation of the issue, but with a focus on the mistreatment of Nigerians in China and the question of China’s international responsibility. In this regard, let us put the understanding of the nexus between mistreatment and international responsibility in context to begin with.

There is no ambiguity in the notion of mistreatment. It is simply bad treatment or maltreatment, indecency, and an expression of unacceptable mania of behaviour in both inter-personal relations and political governance. On the contrary, the notion of international responsibility is complex. The concept of ‘International Responsibility to Protect,’ otherwise referred to as IR2P, is quite different from the concept of ‘International Responsibility’ of States under private international law. When IR2P is referred to in academic discussions, it is the international responsibility as initiated by the Government of Canada and ultimately endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2005.

In this regard, when situations of genocide, crimes of war, crimes against humanity, violations of international humanitarian law, etc exist in a given Member State of the international community, and the Government of that Member State is unable to put prompt end to the situation, the international community has the responsibility, that is, the international responsibility, to protect the affected citizens of such a country, without having to be officially invited by the legitimate government of the country. Such international intervention will not be in conflict with the provision of Article 2 (7) of the UN Charter which prohibits foreign interventions in the domestic affairs of other sovereign States.

On the contrary, the concept of international responsibility under private international law has it that when a foreigner legally residing in a country is accused or alleged to have violated the law of the land, or that he is assaulted or victimised, and in the process of his quest for justice, he is unable to have access to fairness, justice, it is then that the country of which the foreigner has an effective nationality can claim the application of the principle of international responsibility to protect within the framework of consular protection or diplomatic protection, depending on the status of the affected foreigner.

When we espy the conception of the two concepts, it can still be observed that the protection of a national abroad under the pretext of denial of justice in the host country of the national, is still different, but it can be rightly considered as an extension of the duty of a legitimate government to protect all citizens, foreigners and whoever is legally residing in its country at the domestic level. Agovernment should and be able to protect its citizens wherever they may be found. If every government is committed to good governance, fairness and justice for all, there will not be need for the application of the rule of international responsibility.

Consequently, the discussion of China’s international responsibility to protect foreigners, and particularly Nigerians, cannot be called to question with the many posted videos in the social media, showing how foreigners have been treated.

The Recent Chinese Mistreatment

Grosso modo, Nigerians have been maltreated in various countries of the world. The Government of Nigeria has also and always reacted to such acts of maltreatment, but again, always to no avail. The international responsibility of such countries has never been called to question. Besides, the Government of Nigeria is not on record to have any known foreign policy of protection beyond always announcing efforts at investigation and promising commitment to protect Nigerians wherever they may find themselves.

As a result, Nigerians are from time to time mistreated. The common rationale always given for such ‘alleged mistreatment’ is that Nigerians have violated the law of their host countries. We talk about ‘alleged mistreatment’ because the affected countries never accept any allegation of mistreatment. Their explanation is, more often than not, that their law does not allow anyone, foreigners and citizens alike, to flout the law of the land. This is the argument also advanced by the Chinese government in the case of the reported maltreatment of Nigerians in China.

There have been different incidents of mistreatment of Africans

VIE INTERNATIONALE with

Bola A. Akinterinwa Telephone : 0807-688-2846

e-mail: bolyttag@yahoo.com

Buhari, President of Nigeria in China but the genesis of the recent one can be traced to the cases of two Nigerians, who reportedly tested positive to COVID-19, but who also reportedly escaped from being quarantined. The escape is said to have prompted the decision to lockdown some parts of the city where Africans live and trade. More important, the Health Commission engaged in an extensive testing of African people.

The outcome of the testing revealed that 111 of the 4,500 Africans in Guangzhou tested positive. This situation can be considered as the immediate causal dynamic of the mistreatment, but surely not tenable as justification for whatever may be called mistreatment.

There are more fundamental dynamics that can to understand the issue.

Put differently, the mistreatment can be explained by three other main factors: first is the status of Guangzhou as capital of Guangdong Province and preferential choice of establishment for Africans; the second is the gap in communication between policy directive in Beijing and policy implementation in Guangzhou; and lastly is the conflict in the attitudinal disposition of the Chinese as a people and Chinese as a government.

As regards Guangzhou as a preferential choice by Nigerians for settlement, it is the epicentre of China’s economic reform, and particularly the heart of China’s export-driven manufacturing sector. This means that the Beijing authorities cannot but have a more monitoring eagle eyes on what transpires in the city and in the whole province. In fact, Guangzhou is geo-politically located near Hong Kong, another hub for international business, and Macau, both of which have been exposed to westernisation in many ramifications. Guangzhou has the largest concentration of Africans in the whole of Asia and majority of them are essentially from Nigeria, Ghana, and Mali.

On the gap in communication between policy directive in Beijing and policy implementation in Guangzhou, the Central Government is directly responsible for foreign policy but it is the local agencies that are directly responsible for immigration, a critical aspect of foreign policy in international relations. As noted by one academic, ‘when Local Governments like those in Guangzhou make decisions in a crisis, they won’t prioritise national and diplomatic interests until they receive pressure and guidance from

The world of today is that of unequal interdependence, conflicting national interests, globalisationor technology-driven colonialism, in which Nigerians, and particularly the more courageous and business-oriented Igbo people, would want to quickly return to China after the COVID-19 saga.

Igbo business people account for more than 70% of Nigerians in Guangzhou, importing knocked down parts to Nigeria, filling the vacuum of Nigeria’s technical needs. Without them, most members of the middle class in Nigeria will suffer devastatingly. Consequently, the international responsibility of Nigeria is to have an MOU on the protection of Nigerians in China in particular.

In general, Nigeria must evolve a foreign policy on protection of Nigerians in every country of the world.That is one clear message from the mistreatment of Nigerians the world over. More important, Nigeria must reckon with the politics of COVID-19. Muammar Gaddafi was quoted as saying that ‘they will create the viruses themselves and sell you the antidotes. Thereafter, they will pretend to take time to find the solution when they already have it.’This statement is self-explanatory and is not limited to any given major power

Beijing’ (vide “Mistreatment of Africans in Guangzhou threatens China’s coronavirus diplomacy,” https://theconversation.com, 17-04-2020).

As further explained by the scholar, amid the ‘fear of imported coronavirus cases and a second wave of the pandemic in China, the Local Government implemented surveillance and mandatory testing and an additional 14-day quarantine for all African nationals in the city, regardless of whether they tested positive for COVID-19. These measures paid no regard to whether people had recently travelled out of China, or how they would be mistreated by landlords, hotel managers and shop keepers.’

Concerning the conflict in the attitudinal disposition of the Chinese as a people and Chinese as a government, the Government of China preaches the gospel of a win-win cooperation, particularly with Africa. It hardly talks about racism, superiority of race. It talks more often about ‘all-weather’ relationship. It talks about equity and fairness and is always coming into the open to defend Africa during debates on Africa. The main reason for this official position cannot also be far-fetched: China sees the African continent majorly as a source of raw materials, mineral resources needed for China’s economic growth and development.

And true enough, since the miraculous economic transformation of China, begun over thirty years ago, Africa has been the main source of its needed material resources. In the words of Minxin Pei, Professor of Government at the Claremont Mckenna College and a non-resident Senior Fellow of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, ‘Chinese leaders see Africa mainly as a source of natural resources. China’s fast-paced growth since the early 1990s has generated a voracious demands for oil and subsoil minerals, and Africa appeared a perfect fit since dominant multinationals had a weak hold on the continent and Beijing could easily outbid them to gain equity stakes in mines and oil fields’ (vide his article, “China’s expensive bet on Africa has failed,” Asian Review, May 01, 2020). This observation is simply to underscore the importance of Africa in the economico-political and strategico-industrial calculations of the Chinese government.

Perhaps more interestingly, the Beijing authorities are also underscoring the need to respond to the prediction of population explosion in China by 2050, and therefore the need to encourage Chinese people to travel out and seek establishment wherever they are accepted. In this particular case, Africa has always been on record to be the terra cognita for humanity, Good Samaritanism, altruism of all kinds, and unrestricted generosity to foreigners.

China, for reasons of force majeure, cannot afford the luxury of being hostile to Africa and its people in light of its own enlightened self-interest. Even if the Chinese government has any belief in racist policies vis-a-vis Africa, the manifestation cannot be consciously done, and for that matter in the public.

However, this position is completely different from that of the people of China. The attitude of the people of China can be discussed and understood in the context of China’s international responsibility.

NigeriaandChina’sInternationalResponsibility

Several Chinese people, rightly or wrongly, hold the belief that foreigners are being given unnecessary advantage over them, and from this perspective, relate to them with much animosity. Various videos of such animosity abound in the social media. The people of China do not know that the peace and security at home, in China, is also a derivation from the contributions coming from foreign countries. In other words, many Chinese not only believe that foreigners are being given extra benefits to their detriment. They also see the extra benefits as unfairness to them. In fact, when the Beijing authorities published the draft regulations aimed at easing the conditions for foreigners to get permanent residency in China, the draft was met with very ‘strong opposition.’

From the foregoing, therefore, the first issue in the international responsibility of China towards foreigners is the failure of the Beijing authorities to educate the people of China on their sensitivity to racism, and particularly to Africans, with whom the Government of China wants to develop special understanding. China cannot seek to court a lady and refuse to respect her parents. That is surely not possible in the African setting.

Secondly, there is the declaration of the policy of belief in the principle of international responsibility in all its ramifications, on the one hand, and failure to make the application of the principle universal. Without doubt, the Government of China is on record to strongly believe in the principle of international responsibility and the Chinese leader regularly talked about it in the context of an international community with a shared future. For instance, in his telephone conversation with the French President, Emmanuel Macron, on 22 January, 2020, President Xi Jinpin has it that, ‘guided by the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind, the Chinese government has acted in an open, transparent and responsible manner. We have shared control and treatment experience with the WHO and the rest of the world without reservation, and actively engaged in international cooperation to jointly meet this common threat and challenge. We are resolved to protect the lives and health of the Chinese and other peoples across the world.’

The emphasis is on the resolution to protect, not only the Chinese, but also the other peoples of the world.

(See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

SUNDAY MAY 10, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R Ëž Y 10, 2020

OPINION

Emotional Trajectories and the CurriculumPedagogy of COVID-19 in Nigeria Saheed Ahmad Rufai

I

n a world that is socioeconomically bifurcated into the developed and the developing, and characterized by progressively widening inequalities between the rich and the poor, the gradual spread of the Coronavirus across the globe has altered the patterns of operations in virtually all walks of life.

As on Satursay 18th April 2020, the pandemic which the World Health Organization (W.H.O) code-named COVID-19 has infected 2, 308, 173 persons in 210 countries resulting in 158 881 deaths.

Before the pandemic, the world had faced a learning crisis that continuously deepened the inequalities between the two sides of the divide as children of the poor only had access to poor education with potential for further impoverishment of its recipients. The evergrowing nature of the inequalities is easily perceivable in countries with fewer resources, weaker economies and, most especially, more vulnerable education system. The nexus between the COVID and education, as will be demonstratrd later, may find some explanation in the fact that the level of the global learning crisis is often measured through the number of in-school children (ISC) that are not learmimg as against the Out-of-School Children (OOSC).

I venture to state early that both the OOSC and the ISC that are not learning, are merely two sides of the contemporary challenge of education. While the OOSC offers the requisite quantitative data on the interplay of education and manpower, the ISC offers some qualitative dimension to education and possible development through learning. The various indicators and targets characterized as strong determinants of education for development and learning for economic prosperity, as stated in the World Inequality Database on Education, include wealth, gender, ethnicity, and location. Therefore, the rich countries of the Developed World, unlike the poor countries of the Developing World, are favourably positioned in the constantly widening inequalities, as determined through the various indicators of the 17 Suntainable Development Goals (SDGs). My concern in all this shall be how education-related decisions or actions taken by governments in their responses to COVID-19 have great potential to further aggravate the state of poor economies where Nigeria belongs.

Before this COVID, it was estimated that 263 million children worldwide were out of school with Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean accouting for significant proportion of the figure whereas Nigeria alone accounts for 13.7 million (or 5.21%) of such students which remarkably is the highest record globally. Yet, the educational implication of COVID-19 is far from being an exclusive concern for the league of poor countries where Nigeria belongs. Both OOSC and ISC that are not learning are scattered across the globe and there is hardly a country without its own share thereof. Afterall, countries in Europe and Northern America are not missing on the list of OOSC though they account for negligible percentage. This underscores some of the interconnected but unnoticed angles of both the OOSC and ISC to the global learning crisis that predated COVID-19.

UNESCO confirmed that the present scale of school shutdown is unprecedented in the Modern world as 9 out of 10 school children are out of school worldwide. In fact, it was estimated that about 1.5 billion children have been affected by the disruption of learning. It was only when Great Britain during World War II undertook a long-term, widespread emptying of classrooms that a rich country can be said to have experienced such a large-scale closure of schools. Neither the Bubonic plague of the 14th-Century Europe which affected 25 million people nor the 1918 influenza which killed over 50 million people the world over, brought about such a widespread disruption of school-based instruction. Anya Kamenetz recently emphasized the unprecendeted nature of this experience with regard to closures in the history of schooling the world over. On 11th April, 2020, it was officially announced that all schools in New York would remain closed till the end of the academic year (CNN). The following day, all schools in the US were declared closed till either May or end of the school year. Viewing the present situation through the lens of learning outcomes, one is tempted to agree that, it can take years for students to recover

Ehanire, Minister of Health the learning they have lost. This line of argument may be demonstrated and strengthened through an allusion to Hurricane Katrina schools closures as depicted by Kamenetz.

However, my thesis in connection with the school closures occasioned by Hurricane Katrina lies in the curricular and pedagogical implication of the instructional time involved. I shall therefore demonstrate this both quantitatively and qualitatively.

At the twilight of the disaster in New Orleans, public schools were closed throughout the fall term of 2005.

In order to mitigagte the unfavourable outcome of the loss of instructional time, most of the students were enrolled in other schools elsewhere, within the geographical coverage of Baton Rouge and Houston and a little beyond. It was noted that in many cases, the schools where the students enrolled in turned out to be of higher quality than the schools they had left. Anya Kamenetz attributed this to the fact that the schools in New Orleans were extremely substandard before the disaster.

Yet, the high quality of schooling provided for the students did not immediately remedy the ‘learning disaster’ occasioned by the loss of instructional time.

Douglas Harris, a Professor of Education at Tulane University who was a member of the research team constituted to monitor students learning on their return for reenrollment at their schools after the post Hurricane Katrina reconstruction, noted that it took the students two full academic years, to fully recover the learning lost. It should however be noted that instructional time is not the only factor that battered the student learning in this connection, as will be demonstrated in a direct engagement with the Nigerian Coronavirus experience. The ultimate question is: If it took students two full years to recover lost learning in the United States of America, despite its relatively developed educational setting, how many years will it take students to recover in the Nigerian education milieu?

In the scholarship of Curriculum and Pedagogy for Emergencies (CPfE), COVID-19 offers an unprecedented kind of learning disruption that hardly leaves an alternate space on model to consider, in keeping with the minimum standards for Education in Emergencies (EiE). The standards in question are grounded in the recognition that individuals do not forfeit their right to education during emergencies and that education should be seen as a priority humanitarian response, as well as in a broadbase desire and commitment to ensure a minimum level of quality, access and accountability for education in situations of crisis. We are familiar with the technicalies involved in formulating education for refugee crises, the war child, victims of natural disasters and epidemics like Ebola.

What is often involved in all these are varied degrees of curriculum reconstruction that focusses appreciably on structuring, proportioning and sequencing of learning experiences and activities, to develop a peculiaritiesbased education! However, COVID-19 poses an unprecedented learning challenge!

In this connection, plaudits are deserved by the various initiatives of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO), the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergency (INEE), and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee (UNHCR) some of whose frameworks for education in emergencies offer useful guidelines.

However, the learning crisis triggered by this COVID threatend the efficacy of most of the dominant tools and strategies known to EiE. For instance, the questions of Stay-Home, Social Distancing, and the unpredictable nature of its contagion require a focused educationbased intervention.

In assessing the instructional time loss in the Nigerian context, it may be conjectured that, the

governments of other educationally developed secondary school instructional time per countries like Finland, Singapore, Sweden, academic year allotted by the Federal Norway, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Government is 180 days which offers about Denmark and others.

900 schooling hours. From experience, time However, the inequalities occasioned by remaining after occasional school closures COVID-19 become easily discernible in the as a result of insurgency, terrorist attacks, context of the observation by Sarah Dydenteachers strikes, public holidays, extra Peterson of the Harvard Graduate School holidays to commemorate the death of a of Education who rationalized that, ‘The leader or a historic event), is no more than choice to do nothing because it can’t reach all 150 days which is about 750 hours. Also, immediately, ends up exacerbating existing time remaining after teacher absenteesm, late inequalities,‌whether any assistance is arrivals and early departures, is no more than 120 days which is about 600 hours per school offered dring school closures or not, families with the means will world hard to help their year. Furthermore, time remaining after children access to education’. According to student absenteesm, may be no more than Lan Wei, COVID-19 has brought about a 100 to 105 days which translates to about 500 version of an ‘adverse childhood’ in the life to 525 hours per academic year. Further, time of even the most fortunate of US children. remaining as class time devoted to teaching and learning may just be about 90 days which An ‘adverse childhood’ is a technical term in educational psychology for a traumatic is approximately 450 hours per academic experience like a divorce, death, incarceration session. Ultimately, what is left as actual class or abuse of a parent, with a cumulative effect instructional time may be approximately on the psychosocial well-being of the child.

75 to 80 days which is just about 375 to 400 How damaging can this experience be in poor schooling hours, as most teachers often countries like Nigeria? exersice excessive liberty by teaching out of Before beaming the searchlight on the original instructional design.

Nigeria’s performance in making students This analysis, which seeks to expose learn during COVID-19 lockdowm, a the level of educational wastage involved panoramic look at Sub-Saharan Africa is due. in instructional time in Nigeria, before the Interative Radio Instruction (IRI) is identified outbreak of COVIS-19, finds support in as the cheapest and most affordable. This is Abadzi, H. (2019)’s Instructional Time Loss in understandable in view of the nature of the Developing Countries and Bray, M. (2018)’s radio as the most commonly affordable and Double-Shift Schooling. It is intended to accessible technology in the world. Mary Burns enable us imagine the magnitude of further recently cited a UNESCO report that 75% of loss in instructional time already occasioned households globally have access to radio and by the COVID. From my experience as in sub-Saharan Africa between 80% to 90% a teacher educator and researcher across households have access to a working radio set. national and international boundaries, Historically, the IRI, an instructional approach I am familiar with diverse instructional that uses one way to reach students, teachers patterns and therefore do not see the and parents via prerecorded interactive lessons, challenge highlighted in the foregoing as a has proved a suucessful instructional approach preserve of the instructional system in any in Liberia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Angola, country. It indeed is a global phenomenon, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Mali, South Africa, as students are engaged in real learning Democratic Republic of Congo. through authentic reading, writing and Instructional Television is another peer work for only an insignificant fraction approach though with high cost of production. of the school time. If Nigerian schools are to It is estimated that 1.67 billion household bring about a remarkable improvement in had access to television including 75 million student acievements, there must be a careful households in sub-Saharan Africa where review of the variables that really constitute countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa, an instructional time and how they must be and Nigeria are known for their strong engaged with, with an eye on the desired technical capacity and human infrastructure learning outcomes. Now, what model of instructional make-up are students in Nigeria in the television industry. Mobile phones have been used to provide access to both contents going to be offered, to enable them recover in several sub-Saharan countries including soon?

Niger, Chad, as well as South Africa which To mitigate the risk associated with such pioneered the use of serialized m-novels via loss and its associated learning crisis, some simple cell phones through its Institute for key stakeholders in education, have offered Digital Education. The high rates of mobile some interventions. For instance, UNESCO phones ownership in sub-Saharan Africa has like INEE and UNHCR, offered some made this instructional approach relatively distance learning solutions which comprise successful. However, online learning which educational applications, platforms and resources targeted at helping parents, teachers, is arguably the most appropriate where there is technical and human infrastructure, seems schools and school administrators facilitate the list successfully exploited or patronized in student learning and provide psychosocial sub-Saharan Africa. support during periods of school closure.

How is Nigeria faring in this regard? Of Most of the solutions are free and many cater the four instructional approaches identified to multiple languages. earlier as dominant in sub-Saharan Africa, However, it is noteworthy that none Nigeria understandably has modest evidence of the above enumerated solutions was of attempted performance in two namely IRI endorsed by UNESCO as best or essentially and IT, in less than 18% of the geographical meant for learning in the present COVID. coverage of the country. What this implies is Afterall, some of them were known to the that there is no evidence of performance in education world before the advent of the this regard in any part of the North excepting COVID as various countries had adopted the emerging distance learning arrangement them for distance learning at normal times for students living in some of the Boko before using them again to prevent learning Haram terrorized territories of the Northeast disruption in the face of the COVID. It is where there are significant educationtherefore inconceivable that the education world had developed or identified an effective based interventions by UNICEF, Save the Children and others working on Education tool with potential to facilitate desirable in Emergency, as well as some occasional learning during the COVID. Let me quickly instructional radio broadcasts facilitated by demonstrate this with a recent instructional Kwara State Government in the North-Central experience recorded where the world thinks a tool could work most effectively. Despite all geographical zone. As regards the Southeastern the digital solutions and learning applications zone, there is little evidence of performance, even though there was a recent notification by offered by UNESCO in order to ensure the continuity of learning in the face of the present Enugu State Government enjoining parents/ guardians to ask their children/wards to COVID, many students in the United States tune to particular channels for instructional can not benefit from distance learning owing broadcasts. to emotional trauma, learning disability, and lack of access to computers and the internet. Similarly, the New York Times of ––-Saheed Ahmad Rufai (Ph.D March 17, 2018 revealed that 56 to 80 million Curriculum & Pedagogy), immediate individuals in China lacked access to a past Dean of Education, Sokoto State computer or an internet connection. However, University, currently works on Developthe government has continued to motivate ment Education & Peculiarities-Based school districts to keep exploring all possible, Curriculum-Pedagogy. safe means of reaching as many students as they can. This is similar to the attitude of (See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MAY 10, 2020

15

LETTERS

COVID-19: NIGERIA MUST CONSIDER LOCAL SOLUTIONS

T

he realities of the moment and conditions have thrown a great challenge to the Nigerian government and Nigerians. For the first time in centuries, Nigeria has been exposed to a situation where quick intervention could not be gotten from the western world. Instead, we have been left to our fate. Despite the great challenge the country might be facing as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, if Nigeria could deeply think, they would realize than no nation in Europe, America, Asia, or any part of the world is unshakable. We must look at the brighter side of the situation, as it has availed us the opportunity of rediscovering and reassessing ourselves as a nation.

While we are confronted with the unfortunate situation that has shut down our economy, and claimed the lives of many, it is imperative that we stand up, and prove to the world that we can bail the entire world out of the current situation. But unfortunately, greed and laziness have taken over the minds of our leaders and have reduced us to nothing. We have lost our pride as the giant of Africa. Maybe our leaders are either pretending or refusing to admit that we are being recolonized by America, Europe and Asia. We have refused to believe in ourselves.

We prefer to be spoonfed by the West at all time. We run to them for every little problem.

We have traded our dignity for a plate of

Mamora, Minister of State for Health rice. Sometime ago, it government owes the was assumed to be an people the obligation entire Africa problem, to ensure they are well and Africa could not taken care of. survive without the Despite receiving so west. Those were the much aids and financial lies, but in recent support from many time some courageous Nigerians, financial African leaders and institutions, internanations have managed tional organizations, to stand up to the and so on, the fedso- called west, and eral government cannot heavens did not fall. boldly point to any Sadly, Nigerian Nigerian who was given government has not any support, either in been transparent and cash or in kind. Even sincere in the fight though the government against the Coronavirus claimed to have given pandemic. The inability palliatives to over 3.5 of the government to million Nigerians, adequately take care of without explaining to the citizens especially Nigerians the yardsticks during the lockdown adopted in sharing period is disheartensuch palliatives and ing. As much as we when they were given. are in support of the It is sad to say that the lockdown order, as it Nigerian government is the primary measure has once again failed adopted by many and betrayed the trust affected nations, the of the people as they

have only taken the advantage of the ugly situation to further amass wealth, without showing the slightest compassion on the masses they sworn to protect.

Ultimately, we consider it embarrassing and shameful that our government has chosen to endlessly await Asia and America for cure and vaccine to end the Covid-19 crisis, even when other small African countries have mobilized their researchers to look for the cure to the virus.

Despite several billions of dollars raised by the federal government to combat the pandemic, no single kobo has so far been allocated to mobilizing our local researchers towards providing a cure to the

What Killed Balarabe Maikaba?

W

hen I received the report of the demise of Prof. Balarabe Maikaba, reservoir of Communication Research, my mood altered instantly. I started to sweat. Is it true? If it's, then what caused his sudden death? When and where did he die? Who will teach Communication Research Methods' in an enjoyable way like Maikaba did?

What is really happening in Kano? My answer to the questions was Inna lilLahi wa Inna Ilaihir Raji'un! Ya Allah forgive him.

Balarabe Maikaba was the first professor to teach me in my life after I gained admission through Direct Entry to study Mass Communica-

tion at Bayero University, Kano. I can vividly recall his first class with us on the topic: Documentation - How to cite references and bibliographies. Looking at the bulkiness of the topic, the hardworking professor used about three separate lecture schedules explaining everything in detail.

His prayer was, ‘’I wish I have enough time to teach you this’’. I respect Prof. because of this sentence. It shows that he cares about his students and always willing to contribute his knowledge. Prof. specialized in giving advice and sharing his experience as well as having fun with his students.

In our last class on the

topic 'Internal and External Validity of Research', Professor Maikaba made his opinion known on two key issues.

Firstly, he lamented the Almajiri system in the country, wondering how on Earth one could give birth to a child and throw him on the street expecting others to take care of him. According to him it's wrong to give birth to a child that you cannot take care of. He said that the action of parents of Almajirai has no position in Islam.

Secondly, Prof. kicked against the unbundling of Mass Communication by the National Universities Commission (NUC).

Initially, I thought I was the only one opposed to the move. He hinted

that though unbundling would aid specialization, it limits opportunities also. According to him, a graduate of Mass Communication can be employed in Broadcast, Print, Public Relations, Advertising, and every aspect of communication. But now that the department is unbundled, if you study broadcast, you can only work in Radio or Television. The same thing applies to Print, Advertising, Public Relations, among others.

We pray Allah {S.W.T} to reward you with Ni'ima in your grave, pardon you on the day of Judgement and grant you Jannatul Firdaus.

––Bilyaminu Gambo Abubakar, Bayero University, Kano.

virus.

Most importantly, we want to send as strong warning to the leadership and members of the National Assembly not to test the patience of Nigerians.

As a matter of urgency, they should drop any idea that is capable of provoking the anger of Nigerians. We wish to quickly remind them that they can only make laws that are in the interest of Nigerians as that is the essence of democracy. Thus, the idea of passing the bill on “forced vaccination” does not in any way reflect the common position of Nigerians, and no doubt contradicts the Nigerian Constitution. It is even unthinkable that such a controversial bill could be considered for first hearing on the floor of the Assembly, without proper consultation with the people that elected them.

Moreover, not even in the United States, where the promoter of the controversial vaccine

resides, has parliament considered passing such law that would force all Americans to take the vaccine. Nigerian lawmakers are not unaware of the fact that Americans have taken to the streets to protest against any attempt to adopt the vaccine, let alone forcing them to take it. Nigeria is not a dumping ground.

Lastly, we call on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to launch a thorough investigation into how the funds raised for the fight against the Covid-19 were appropriated. We also call on President Buhari and the National Assembly to order the Nigeria Center for Disease Control to as quickly as possible call for submission of local samples of cure for consideration, and adoption, as many Nigerians claimed to have developed a cure to the virus.

––Tope Idowu, Secretary-General, Project Nigeria Movement.

Online Court Etiquette For Lawyers

J

ust recently, I made history as one of the first crop of Lawyers to participate in online court proceedings in Nigeria. It was quite an experience, albeit the fact that it went smoothly without hitches; unlike the many false narratives perpetuated in the media against online court proceedings.

Change is the only constant thing, moreover a positive one.

Below are certain etiquettes that should be observed by lawyers and participants in an online court proceeding.

Abiding by these etiquettes will go a long way in ensuring a hitch free court proceeding.

One, download the zoom or online application.

Two, test your video and audio before the time and date fixed for the online court proceedings. Test it first, and don't constitute yourself into a bull in China shop during the proceeding. If it is zoom, you can test it at www. Zoom. us/test.

Three, position your camera rightly, considering light, distractions and noise.

Although it is online, it is still a court and certain decorum is expected.

Four, check to ensure you have enough or more than enough data. There are very little things as bad as your network telling you that you have exhausted your data in the middle of an online court proceedings.

Five, stable internet connection. Trust me, an unstable internet connection is a headache.

Six, request for your zoom meeting I.D or password

before the time fixed for hearing.

Seven, be ready to join the online court proceedings at least five minutes before the time scheduled.

Eight, always mention your name every time you are addressing the court.

Nine, online conference drains device battery very fast.

Ensure you have a back-up power plan.

Ten, put your picture on your profile.

Besides, include your name on your profile and the name of your case, and signify if you appear for the defendant or claimant; upon joining the online court proceedings, check the other participants in the proceedings. Ensure you see their names and faces.

A red diagonal line showing over a microphone symbol is telling you that the audio is mute and you can't be heard by other participants. Always mute your phone every time you are not addressing the court.

Dress code: Lawyers must be fully robed, with their wig and gown.

You can use external audio aid or earpiece if you so prefer; to show all the participants any document on your phone or device, click on shared screen.

Make sure you have the court registrars number on standby in case you run into any difficulty and you need him/her to draw the attention of the court.

Finally, leave the online proceeding immediately you are done.

––Opatola Victor, adeopatola@gmail.com

16

SUNDAY MAY 10, 2020 •T H I S D AY

17

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˞ ͚͸˜ 2020

BUSINESS

Editor: Kunle Aderinokun 08033204315, 08111813084 Email:kunle.aderinoku@thisdaylive.com

Ahmed

A Further Review of 2020 Budget It is a season of slashing and burning the many provisions of Nigeria’s 2020 budget. Built on very optimistic assumptions of secure oil and gas production in the Niger Delta and a positive ‘weather’ of gliding mid-level oil price stability, the COVID-19 and its resultant assault on the oil industry has seen the Nigerian government scrambling to rework and further rework its budget. Nosa James-Igbinadolor reports

N

igeria is broke and the economy is mired down on quicksand. Since coming into ofďŹ ce in 2015, the Buhari administration has spent trillions of naira on projects after programmes with no thought to enlarging the savings pool. Rather, the government has continuously and

uninterruptedly dipped its ďŹ ngers into the nation’s meagre savings and depleted the excess crude account from the nearly $3 billion it met in 2015 to just a little over $70 million. In early April, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered that the sum of $150 million be withdrawn from the stabilization fund of the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) to help address emerging ďŹ scal risks which the

COVID-19 pandemic had caused and to support the June 2020 Federation Accounts and Allocation Committee (FAAC) disbursement.

The morbidly ill-designed and poorly implemented Keynesian expenditure strategy by the Nigerian government that emphasised tokenism, including giveaways over substance has failed after all to save the economy. It was a prophecy foretold. Growth has

been anaemic over the last ďŹ ve years, averaging less than 1 per cent since 2015; well below levels needed to drive meaningful development. In 2018, Nigeria overtook India as having the most people globally living in extreme poverty.

The latest report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), about poverty and inequality from September 2018 to October 2019 is even more de-

18

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˞ ͚͸˜ 2020

BUSINESS A Further Review of 2020 Budget pressing. It shows 40 per cent of people in the country live below its poverty line of N137,430 ($381.75), a year, which represents 82.9 million people and highlighting the low levels of wealth in Africa’s biggest economy.

Low conďŹ dence in the economic policies of President Muhammadu Buhari has seen foreign and local investments, including portfolio investments in the country fall drastically by more than 65 per cent since early 2015. It has been projected by the government that the country’s GDP will further contract by 3.4 per cent, as against the earlier optimistic projection of a 2.9 per cent growth, as dwindling oil revenues and the pandemic forced the country to cut the budget plans for a second time to assume a lower petroleum price of $20 per barrel.

In the middle of last month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday projected that Nigeria was headed for a recession, its worst in three decades as it expected the economy to contract by 3.4 per cent in 2020, implying a recessionary slide on the modest 2.27 per cent real growth recorded by the country in 2019. Supporting the projections of the World Bank, which predicted an imminent recession in subSaharan Africa in its latest Africa’s Pulse report, the IMF, in the World Economic Outlook, projected that economies in the region would contract by 1.6 per cent in 2020.

Hit by crashing oil prices and lockdowns to curb the spread of the virus, the Nigeria government has been forced to rethink the underlying assumptions around its budget. The COVID-19 outbreak has magniďŹ ed existing vulnerabilities, leading to a historic contraction in real GDP growth and to large external and ďŹ scal ďŹ nancing needs.

As the IMF noted in April,“The nearterm economic impact of COVID-19 is expected to be severe, while already high downside risks have increased.

Even before the COVID-19 outbreak, Nigeria’s economy was facing headwinds from rising external vulnerabilities and falling per capita GDP levels.

The pandemic, along with the sharp fall in oil prices has magniďŹ ed the vulnerabilities, leading to a historic decline in growth and large ďŹ nancing needsâ€?.

So, the centre has been forced to tighten expenditure as it seeks to cope with the strain of the economy coming to a near-standstill as a result of the persistent volatility in the oil market that has seen global Brent crude price futures to as low as $11 last month. Nigeria has been grappling with a signiďŹ cant drop in oil prices and a collapse in global fuel demand caused by lockdown measures aimed at containing COVID-19. The Director of the Budget OfďŹ ce, Mr. Ben Akabueze projected that oil and gas revenues would drop by over 80 per cent this year.

Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed announced last week that the federal government was considering lowering the oil price benchmark in the 2020 Budget from $57 to $20 to reect obvious income realities. “We are in the process of an amendment that is bringing down the revenue indicator to $20 per barrel,â€?the Minister proclaimed at a web conference on Citizens’ Dialogue Session on Government Fiscal Policy Decisions on the fall in Oil Prices and the COVID-19 pandemic. She added that Nigeria was having trouble selling some of its oil cargoes and would have to cut production to below what it originally expected in the budget.

N312.820 billion, representing 15 per cent of its N10.59 trillion budget passed in December 2019, is being sheared off the budget as the federal government further reviewed its proposed produc-

Zainab Ahmed

tion volumes from 2.18 million barrels per day to 1.70 million barrels. The country, as part of an agreement with OPEC and other producing nations, agreed to trim output to help balance the global market.

In addition, the federal government has also decided not to hold bidding rounds for major oilďŹ elds until crude prices recover while some upstream projects will be completed much later than originally planned as a result of the crash in the price of crude oil.

A signiďŹ cant modiďŹ cation in the overall numbers of the budget was virtually unavoidable as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic. Among the many casualties of COVID-19, was the oil and gas industry that has taken a massive beating as prices spiralled uncontrollably down the hill. This has negatively affected the country’s current account deďŹ cit which stood at $9.17 billion in September 2019 when the average crude oil price was $65 per barrel of crude. It is projected that when the latest ďŹ gures are released by the central bank, the deďŹ cit would widen to as much as $15 billion.

What this all means is that the Nige-

DG, Budget OďŹƒce, Ben Akabueze

rian economy is critically in need of cash inow to meet infrastructure and recurrent needs and it has turned principally to global ďŹ nancial institutions to fund its budget.

At the end of April, IMF approved $3.4 billion in emergency funding to Nigeria, the single biggest disbursement for any country yet with the coronavirus pandemic. The Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI), was approved by the IMF on April 28, 2020, is to help Nigeria mitigate the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic and also to sort out balance of payment issues.

The Fund’s Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, said,“We have already disbursed the money to Nigeria.

In emergency assistance, once the board approves, we disburse within days to the country and it goes to the Central Bank in dollars before it’s converted to naira for the Federal Government’s use. “The conditions are quite favourable.

The repayment period is ďŹ ve years, up to two and a half years is a grace period and the interest on the loan is 1 percentâ€?.

In a statement, IMF Deputy Managing Director, Mitsuhiro Furusawa, added

Nigeria will have to rely on ďŹ nancial assistance and loans in the short term to meet its budgetary obligations.

The Buhari administration’s blatant refusal to save for the rainy day but spend and spend and spend, is ďŹ nally catching up with the us

that the pandemic and the plunge in oil prices were severely impacting Nigeria, and that the funds will provide much-needed liquidity to respond to urgent balance of payments needs. He also called for the country to expedite the uniďŹ cation of its exchange rate, a major source of corrupt patronage for those close to the levers of power in the country.

While the IMF ďŹ nancial support to Nigeria will help limit the decline in international reserves and provide ďŹ nancing to the budget for targeted and temporary spending increases aimed at containing and mitigating the economic impact of the pandemic and of the sharp fall in international oil prices, it is pertinent that the Nigerian government understands that when the impact of the COVID-19 shock withers, the government’ commitment to medium-term macroeconomic stability remains crucial to support the recovery and ensure debt remains sustainable.

The options open to the government to access critical funds are limited. It cannot afford to increase the already arduous tax burden neither can it afford to expand the rectilinear tax base that depends heavily on corporate income tax by the oil majors.

This suggests that the federal government will likely prioritise its attempt to raiseN3.45 trillion at in additional concessionary funding from the World Bank, AfDB. Extremely weak foreign direct and foreign portfolio investment inows make this highly inevitable in such a subdued economic environment.

Thus, faced with an odorously unventilated coffer, Nigeria will have to rely on ďŹ nancial assistance and loans in the short term to meet its budgetary obligations.

The Buhari administration’s refusal to save for the rainy day but spend and spend and spend, is ďŹ nally catching up with the economy.

19

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˞ ͚͸˜ 2020

BUSINESS / DEVELOPMENT

Water Crisis in Lagos, the Battle Frontline for COVID-19 With the figures of confirmed cases released since the outbreak of COVID-19, it is evident Lagos is the epicenter of the pandemic. While Lagos State government, in its characteristic manner, is leading the fight against the plague, water for washing hands and sanitation, which plays a critical role in the control of the spread of the disease is scarce, rarely available to most residents, thus weakening the strength of the onslaught. Kunle Aderinokun writes that the state government should, as a matter of urgency address the water issue, and it may have to prioritise investment in the water, which is one of the basic needs of man, with a view to containing this scourge and forestalling future and unforeseeable pandemic

S

ome describe the COVID-19 crisis as the worst pandemic to hit mankind in recent time, but some believe this is only a dress rehearsal and a wake-up call to prepare mankind for far worse pandemics to come. Bill Gates warned in a TED Talk in 2015 about a global catastrophe coming in the form of microbes (not nuclear missiles) and four years down the line, humanity is facing an extinction event of global proportions. “We’re not ready for the next epidemic‌ The greatest risk of global catastrophe looks like this [like a virus]â€?(...) not missiles, but microbes,â€? he said.

Gates claimed governments had invested “very little� in a system to contain the next pandemic and that a failure to prepare could make the next one “dramatically more devastating than Ebola.

If only the world had listened!

Today over 1.865million infections (as at 12th April 2020) have been recorded with over 115,132 dead. That’s is a four per cent death rate, four per cent shy of the Spanish Flu that killed over 50million people out of half a billion infections between 1918 to 1920.

The world is in reactive mode now, rather than proactive trying to catch up on testing and containment rather than treatment of a pandemic that has gone out of hand.

Countries round the globe have learnt a bitter lesson and will, no doubt, review their priorities going forward and prepare for worse pandemics ahead.

Don’t forget Gates warns of microbes to come, not just one.

So what areas need redress in the case of Nigeria and especially Lagos, which had 1,764 out of 4,151 cases of Covid-19 infections in Nigeria as at Saturday, 9th of May 2020. That is about 43 per cent of Nigerians infected. That shows how Lagos must lead the way in preparing for future pandemics. Lagos clearly is the frontline of the war against epidemics!

Going by recent records, Lagos State received global applause for its success against Ebola in 2014 and right now is leading the way in the fight against COVID-19. Question is why is Lagos having the highest infection rate? Even though one should rather ask a more critical question: Why should Lagos (more than any place else) prepare itself? This is the million dollar question.

Population Density Firstly, Lagos is the most densely populated city in Africa with over 20 million people living within 1,171 square kilometres, meaning there are over 14,000 people living per square kilometre making it the 6th most populous in the world, according to UN

Table

Table SOURCE OF WATER Bottle or Sachet Own Private Borehole Piped water into the home Shared Borehole Water Tanker Water Cart (Mai Ruwa) Open Wells Other

% of respondents regularly using this water source who use it for drinking 97 58 35 30 22 11 5 31

(Source: Africa Groundwater Atlas. 2019. Case study: Use and perceptions of groundwater in an urban area - Lagos, Nigeria. British Geological Survey 2019)

Habitat Data.

Lagos the Gateway Secondly, by virtue of its position as the commercial capital of Nigeria and also berth for ocean going vessels and the nation’s busiest Airport, Lagos is the gateway to the world and as such in the frontline of vulnerability to global pandemics.

Sanitation Lagos has improved its waste management over the years with the LAWMA Private Sector Partnership (PPP) model working well to rid Lagos of its solid waste.

However, its liquid waste still poses a major challenge with sewage being hauled by trucks from homes and dumped into the lagoon untreated. This waste in addition to salt water incursions have already contaminated the aquifer in the state reaching depths of 300meters based on recent surveys.

A research article in the African Journal of Sciences written by Oladapo et al in 2013, shows the level of contamination of the water aquifer in Lagos as shown in table below: Salt water and contaminants have penetrated to aquifers as deep as 300meters in the Lagos area.

The Lagoon is already contaminated with sewage being dumped on a regular basis which in itself poses a major health risk. Microbes from homes and

hazardous wastes from Industries and hospitals are dumped into the lagoon water and could mutate to something dangerous in the near future. This practice has to stop.

Water and Sanitation According to Water Aid, a UK-based organisation, 55million people in Nigeria don’t have access to clean water, 116million people don’t have access to a toilet and 60,000 children under five die each year due to due to poor water and sanitation.

No real progress can be made in the fight against epidemics without a clear strategy on sanitation and water.

The fight against COVID-19 is being contained by restriction of movements, however, in the event a future epidemic that is airborne or water borne breaks out, Lagos will be the epicenter and not Wuhan or Lombardy in Italy.

It is time to look deeper into sanitation and water in Lagos. Time for action.

Water and COVID-19 Today washing of hands is being touted as the most potent defense against COVID-19 in addition to using face masks and hand sanitisers.

Notwithstanding, sanitisers and face masks have become scarce and prices have skyrocketed leaving the common man with the last resort, stay at home and wash your hands, wherein lies the

biggest problem.

There is no water to wash hand! Pure water today sells for N150-N200 per bag as against N100 per bag before the crisis.

Water tankers and Mai Ruwa (water peddlers) have also upped their prices as Lagos residents have no other alternative. Existing water infrastructure covers only 40 per cent of the state, based on Lagos Water data leaving the balance 60 per cent to depend on water tankers and Mai Ruwa while those that can afford pure water pay exorbitant rates for it.

A recent internet-based survey paints a dire picture of the water situation in Lagos as majority of homes have to rely on boreholes for source of water and over 97 per cent consider only bottled or sachet water as safe for drinking.

Most of the respondents to this survey, therefore, use groundwater direct from a borehole as their main water source.

However, many people used multiple sources of water, and differentiated between sources in terms of how appropriate they thought each was for various purposes, such as for drinking, cooking, bathing, washing laundry and dishes, flushing, cleaning toilets and bathrooms. Most of those surveyed, even those with private boreholes, use bottled or sachet water as their main drinking water source. Factors that were most important in their choice of which water source to use for drinking were quality, taste/appearance, reliability, and ease of access.

The proportion of users of each source using the water for drinking is shown in the table as extracted from the survey.

According to UNICEF, “Poor access to improved water and sanitation in Nigeria remains a major contributing factor to high morbidity and mortality rates among children under five. The use of contaminated drinking water and poor sanitary conditions result in increased vulnerability to water-borne diseases, including Diarrhea, which leads to deaths of more than 70,000 children under five annually. “Seventy-three per cent of the Diarrhoeal and enteric disease burden is associated with poor access to adequate water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), and is disproportionately borne by poorer children.� “Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 by 2030 requires extraordinary efforts. Based on World Bank estimates, Nigeria will be required to triple its budget or at least allocate 1.7 per cent of the current Gross Domestic Product to WASH. The ambition is highest for rural sanitation where the gap for improved services is 64.1 per cent. Funding for the sub-sector is weak, and significant household contribution is needed to eliminate open defecation despite low family incomes.� UNICEF. By 2030, there will be over 29million people living in Lagos, perhaps, there is no better time to ramp up the Sustainable Development Goals in Water for Lagos than now to forestall disaster.

Time to invest in water and sanitation!

20

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˞ ͚͸˜ 2020

BUSINESS/FOCUS

Access Bank Positions for Superior Customer ([SHULHQFH ,PSURYHG (ÍżFLHQF\ Through its aggressive expansion drive, Access Bank Plc has grown from humble beginnings to become one of the biggest banks in Africa. It has secured a broad geographic footprint across the continent and is spreading its tentacles to the rest of the world, with superior customer experience and improved efficiency as its hallmarks, writes Chima Obinna

T

he COVID-19 pandemic is expected to fundamentally change the face of banking globally. As a result of this, forward-thinking financial institutions are already taking steps to position themselves to deliver superior customer experience and improve their efficiency, attributes Access Bank has in its DNA. According to a recent report by one of the leadingglobalprofessionalservicesfirms,PwC, as the economic fallout of the virus spreads, banks now find themselves juggling some big priorities that require concrete steps to reposition now while also recalibrating for the future.

PwCnotedthatinnovativefinancialinstitutions are already working to keep their distribution channels open, despite social distancing advice and supervisory and compliance functions that were never designed for remote work. “They’re trying to manage revenue and customer expectations and they need to keep an eye on strategy and brand issues that will define their future, as market forces and customer behaviour potentially change coming out of this crisis,� it added.

All these have been the focus ofAccess Bank Plc, which last year successfully consummated a merger between the now defunct Diamond Bank and emerged as the largest bank in the country, in terms of customer base and an extensive retail footprint.

AccessBankisafullservicecommercialbank operating through a network of more than 600 branches and service outlets, spanning three continents, 12 countries and 29 million customers.Duetothemerger,thebankemploys 28,000 thousand people in its operations in Nigeria, Sub Saharan Africa and the United Kingdom, with representative offices in China, Lebanon, India and the UAE. Clearly, one thing the ravaging pandemic has revealed, according to Barclays boss, Jes Staley, is the fact that having thousands of bank workers in big, expensive city offices, “may be a thing of the past.�

Staley, pointed out that about 70,000 of Barclays’ staff worldwide are presently working from home due to coronavirus lockdown measures, leading the bank to rethink its long term strategy.

This was exactly what Access Bank Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Herbert Wigwe, was trying to communicate to staff during a recent Employee Town Hall Meeting via Microsoft Teams. Unfortunately, the video which went viral was misinterpreted that the bank was planning to sack 75 per cent of its workforce as well as close over 300 branches. This is not accurate,andsincethebankfinaliseditsmerger process,ithasdeliberatelyavoidedtorationalise its staff and branches, even in places where it has branches that are closely located.

Thebankhassinceclarifieditspositiononthe matter.AccordingtoitsCompanySecretary,Mr. Sunday Ekwochi, the closure of a bank branch is an action that requires the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). According to the bank, it has not applied for nor obtained the approval of CBN for the closure of its branches as widely speculated. “The bank has only suspended operations in some branches following the directive by the CBN. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, we suspended in-branch operations at different locations as directed by the CBN and in line with business continuity plans at vulnerable spots, while we continued to provide services through our alternative digital platforms. “In line with the phased re-opening of the economy effective May 4, following the Presidential directives, we will be resuming in-branch services in some of our affected

This is evident in the bank’s partnership with the Africa Fintech Foundry (AFF), aimed at nurturing the next generation of cutting-edge financial-technology firms.

TheAFFisapan-Africanacceleratordesigned to find and invest in start-ups that implement a global viewpoint while still focusing product offeringsonAfrica.AccessBankplanstoharness theverybestNigeriahastooffer,workingclosely with them to make Nigeria a retail banking powerhouse. The bank has also continued to develop products to support digital payments across Africa.

Remarkable Performance

Access Bank Building

branches in a programmed manner to ensure the health and safety of our employees and customers. “This is also necessary to provide relevant contingencyshouldtherebeanyincidentarising from the pandemic. “We deny in its entirety the baseless and twisted speculation that the bank is sacking 75 per cent of its workforce,� he explained in a notice to the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

The bank noted that based on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, not all its branches would be fully open for in-branch services until later in the year. “This has made it impossible for many of our outsourced workers to perform duties as usual. We have commenced engagement with various stakeholders with a view to ensuring that they provide the relevant services and optimum manpower as may be required by the bank on an on-going basis,� it added.

IndustrysourcesalsosaidthefactthatWigwe, who also announced a 40 per cent pay cut for himself could convene a meeting with staff on the matter showed his level of transparency.

Enhancing Customer Experience

As part of its commitment to increase access to banking services in communities across the country, Access Bank last week announced plans to open 10 ‘Access CLOSA’ outlets in six cities in Nigeria. The CLOSA branches are Access Bank’s Branded Cabins situated in metropolitan areas offering banking services to its customers.

The bank described the move as a timely intervention to mitigate the effect of restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It stated that the branches would be located not less than three kilometres or more than 20 kilometres from the nearest existingAccess Bank branch, and would offer banking services such as cash deposits and cash withdrawals (no 3rd party withdrawals), customer on-boarding, funds transfer subject to a limit of N150,000, BVN enrolment, card issuance, card activation, cheque deposit, bills payment, and ATM services.

Speaking about the initiative, Wigwe said: “Access CLOSAwas introduced last year, and now, the peculiarities of the coronavirus has made it even more important to bring banking

services closer to the people. “Access Bank understands that the risk of transmission is higher in congested spaces and to mitigate this risk, we will be commissioning 10 more banking outlets to serve the needs of our esteemed customers. “The CLOSA banking service is not being introduced to replace our existing branches, but rather aid the Bank in delivering on its commitment to offer best-in-class service to our customers. We are not aloof to the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, and whilst we will do all that is required to ensure branches remain safe for our employees and customers in line with the protocol advised by the health authorities, we urge our customers to leverage on our digital channels in carrying out transactions.�

Managed byAccess Bank and agency bankingrepresentatives,AccessCLOSAbranchesare set to begin operations in Rivers, Lagos, Kogi, Kaduna, Bayelsa, Delta and Anambra states.

Business Expansion

Access Bank has continued to expand its footprints, intensifying domestic and international operations. In 2018, the bank launched its ‘Africa’s Gateway to the World’ campaign – a strategic initiative which aims to promote ‘access to finance’ in Africa and beyond. It startedthiscampaignbyleveragingtechnology to offer its consumers new products. A good example was its partnership with Remita, which has offered PayDay loans to over five million external customers. The product was available on the web, through the bank’s USSD code, via ATMs, Access Mobile, WhatsApp Banking, and QuickBucks – its instant loan disbursal application.

Staying true to its goal of becoming Africa’s gateway to the world, Access Bank started the year 2020 with a major announcement, acquiring a majority stake in Kenya-based Transnational Bank (TNB). Through this, the bank plans to build on TNB’s existing expertise in agricultural financing while leveraging its resources to improve TNB’s other business segments. Also, Wigwe recently shared his plans to open operations in four additional African countries within the year.

Access Bank has also embraced digital technology to propel both its sustainability targets and itsAfrican gateway strategic drive.

Ninemonthsafterthemergerprocess,Access Bankpostedanimpressiveperformancein2019 with gross earnings rising 26 per cent to N667 billion, up from N528 billion in 2018. Interest andnon-interestincomecontributed81percent and 19 per cent respectively. Interest Income grew by 41 per cent to N536.8 billion in 2019, as against N380.9 billion in 2018, boosted by the growing efficiency of the bank’s enlarged balance sheet.

However, non-interest income decreased by 12 per cent to N129.8 billion in 2019 compared with N138 billion in 2018, following the bank’s strategic intent to grow income sustainably through traditional banking. Operating income improved by 25 per cent from N311.807 billion to N389.338 billion in 2019.

A further analysis of the numbers showed that asset base grew by 44 per cent to N7.15 trillion as at December 2019 from N4.95 trillion in 2018. Customer deposits increased by 66 per cent to N4.26 trillion in 2019, compared with N2.57 trillion in 2018. Non-performing loan stood at 5.8 per cent, down from 10 per cent in 2018.

The positive performance continued in the first half of 2020 asAccess Bank recorded gross earnings of N211.12 billion in the first quarter (Q1) ended March 31, 2020. This represented an increase of 31.85 per cent above the N160.12 billion posted in the corresponding period of 2019. Net interest income rose from N56.838 billion to N72.212 billion, while non-fee and commission income improved from N13.068 billion to N22.998 billion.

Profit before tax (PBT) increased by 2.64 per cent from N45.10 billion to N46.29 billion in Q1 2020, while profit after tax settled at N40.92 billion in the period under review, from N41.14 billion in Q1 2019.

Afurther analysis of the results showed that net loans and advances increased by 2.61 per cent to N3.14 trillion from N3.06 trillion in full year (FY) ended 2019, while customer deposits rose by 4.7 per cent to N4.45 trillion from N4.25 trillion in FY 2019. Total assets expanded by 1.87 per cent to N7.28 trillion from N7.14 trillion in FY 2019.

Wigwe added: “Our resolve is to ensure that our customers have best in speed, service and security. We projected merger synergies of N153.9 billion (cost and revenue) over three years. Thus far, we have recorded synergies totalling N42.8 million in nine months, of which N28.8 million is recoveries. “In 2020, we expect to realise significant cost synergies, which will substantially cut down our cost and boost profitability. Being a systemically important Nigerian bank, we are aware that sustainable returns can only come from a sustainable and resilient business model.As such, our intent to embed resilience at the core of our financing activity is further strengthened,aswejourneytogethertobuilding a bank that is more than banking,� he said.

As financial institutions prepare to face the disruptionscreatedbytheCOVID-19pandemic, experts advice that banks focus on vastly improving customer experience, value creation for customers as well as delivering efficiency.

In this regard, Access Bank has a head start.

45

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˞ ͚͸˜ 2020

BUSINESS/MONEY

Wigwe: Recalibrating for the Future True to type, the MD/CEO of Access Bank, Herbert WIgwe, is making ingenious moves to maintain the leadership position of the financial institution he helped build to be one of the biggest in Africa, writes Demola Ojo

J

ust after the turn of the century in 2002, Hebert Wigwe and his business partner, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, saw a unique opportunity and grasped it, by acquiring Access Bank which at the time, was a small commercial bank ranked 65th out of the 89 banks in the country.

Eighteen years after, both Wigwe andAccess Bank have grown in leaps and bounds; the former succeeding his partner as MD/CEO of the bank in 2014, the latter becoming one of the largest banks in Africa.

Starting out as a management consultant, Wigwe, a celebrated banker and chartered accountant, is now renowned for supporting the establishment and growth ofAfrican businesses. Through Access Bank, he has aided the development of some of the continent’s biggestcompaniesintheconstruction,telecommunications, energy and oil and gas sectors.

Armed with a degree inAccountancy from the University of Nigeria, an MAin Banking and Finance from the University College of NorthWales,andanMScinFinancialEconomics from the University of London, Wigwe - who is also an Alumnus of the Harvard Business School Executive Management Program – has brought all his knowledge and experience to bear in propelling Access Bank to the top.

Last year, in a show of strength and courage, Access Bank acquired another top tier Nigerian bank, Diamond Bank, in a deal worth $200 million. The acquisition of Diamond Bank positioned Access as the leading retail bank in Africa. At the end of 2019, the bigger, better Access Bank posted an impressive performance with gross earnings rising 26 per cent to N667 billion, up from N528 billion the previous year.

Under Wigwe’s watch, Access Bank has become one of Africa’s leading financial institutions with a strong bias for excellent service delivery, which is attested to by its 2019 scorecard. It has secured a broad footprint across the continent, has spread its tentacles to the rest of the world, and has been ranked among the top 500 global banks according to a report by The Banker magazine.

COVID-19, Challenges and Opportunities

In the midst of a global pandemic that has put enormous pressure on corporations across different sectors of the economy including financial institutions, Wigwe’s experience and expertise will be needed now more than ever, to steer Access Bank into a future replete with hazards and opportunities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has left many individuals, businesses, and countries floundering. Businesses have had to – and will still need to - take proactive measures to get the best deal for shareholders, staff and customers. The pandemic is expected to fundamentally change the face of banking especially, as market forces and customer behaviour change.

The present times are a test of a CEO’s ingenuity and adaptability, attributes that Wigwe has already brought to bear in managing such a huge and successful organisation.

Forward-thinking CEOs are already taking steps to position their organisations to not only survive, but thrive. Communicating measures and getting the buy-in of employees is crucial in these unpredictable times.

Wigwe is making sure to project into the future, prepare and stay ahead of the curve.At the end of last month, he informed shareholders at the bank’sAnnual General Meeting (AGM) of measures to reduce expenses significantly.

Rather than lay off, a compromise was reached with staff that some personnel would have to take varying degrees of cuts.

During an Employee Town Hall Meeting held online via Microsoft Teams, some strategic moves that the financial institution would take this month to ensure it weathered the ravaging effects of the present crisis were further discussed. “...We are also looking at a professional cut.

Access Bank MD, Herbert Wiwge

I understand that that is very tricky because it comes with pains. I will be the first to take the heat and I will take the largest pay cut, as much as 40 per cent. Everybody may have to make some adjustments of some sort. “We understand the difficulties people are going through but also understand the higher calling of creating an institution that can continue to provide for us. When things improve tomorrow, we shall revert to normal.

Weunderstandthedifficultiesfacingthepeople but we have to protect our franchise,� Wigwe explained.

Unfortunately, a part of the meeting which became a viral video on social media was misinterpreted to mean that the bank was planning to sack 75 per cent of its workforce as well as close over 300 branches. This is not only false, but further helped in shedding light on the fact that since its merger with Diamond Bank, Access Bank has deliberately avoided laying off staff or closing branches, even when such branches are in close proximity of each

other.

Last year’s acquisition of Diamond Bank contributed to a 31 per cent increase in the new and bigger bank’s operating expenses, after the deal boosted employee numbers and resulted in wage harmonization.

Wigwe’s decision to lead by example and sacrifice for the good of the institution in these dire times is surely a boost to the morale of staff, especially as he clearly stated that it was a temporary decision. His predilection to embracing technology in steering the affairs of the bank also bodes well for the future.

He has championed the need for increased digital banking and has forged partnerships aimed at nurturing the next generation of cutting-edge financial-technology firms, while also developing products to support digital payments across Africa.

Innovation Bearing Fruit

In adapting to the present realities, Access Bank is reaping the fruits of decisions taken in

the recent past to bring banking closer to the people. With retail banking deeply entrenched in its DNA, it is committed to increase access to services in communities across the country through its CLOSA initiative.

The CLOSA branches are Access Bank branded cabins situated in metropolitan areas offering banking services to its customers, from cash deposits and withdrawals to funds transfer, BVN enrolment, card issuance, card activation, cheque deposits, bills payments, and ATM services.

According to Wigwe, “Access CLOSAwas introduced last year, and now, the peculiarities of the coronavirus has made it even more important to bring banking services closer to the people.�

Wigwe’s game-changing moves in the past have prepared Access Bank for these unpredictable times. His ability to recognise opportunities and adapt to the times will surely prove useful in navigating towards a prosperous future.

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SUNDAY MAY 10, 2020 •T H I S D AY

A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

10.05.2020

BIKIYA GRAHAMDOUGLAS

Proud Kalabari’s ‘Girl’ Love for Arts And Entertainment ASSISTANT EDITOR OLUFUNKE OLAODE/funkola2000@gmail.com

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BIKIYA GRAHAM-DOUGLAS

I’m Creating Space for Artists Like Myself Bikiya Graham-Douglas has fond memories of Port Harcourt where she spent her formative years. She chats with Vanessa Obioha on her growing interest in the arts and entertainment scene and how COVID-19 will impact the sector

Graham-Douglas

I

n the months preceding the 2020 edition of Lagos Theatre Festival (LTF), Bikiya Graham-Douglas had her hands full. It was her first time organizing the festival which was originally founded by the British Council. Graham-Douglas was appointed the Executive Director of the festival in October 2019. The team she met on the ground were professional and willing to give her new ideas a clinical finish.

Though she had trouble getting sponsors for the festival despite the support from British Council and Freedom Park, GrahamDouglas and her team eventually raised N50 million in kind for the festival.

Everything was going smoothly until COVID-19 struck. In fact, Nigeria announced its first index case on the day the festival opened. Graham-Douglas panicked. What would happen to productions? Will people still want to attend the festival? The moments of fear, however, did not linger as she swung into action, taking health precautions by providing sanitizers at designated venues, checking temperatures of attendees and vendors, and ensuring that surfaces were constantly cleaned. “We got lucky and are pleased to say it’s the biggest and most enjoyable one so far. God really came through for us,� she enthused.

Graham-Douglas is no newcomer on the arts and entertainment scene. She is a stage and on-screen actress, a performing artiste and a promoter of arts. One of the children of four-time Nigerian Minister Alabo Tamunotenyim Graham-Douglas and Bolere Elizabeth Ketebu, former Nigerian Ambassador to Ireland and Iceland, GrahamDouglas has always been at the forefront of promoting arts since she returned to the country over a decade ago. The graduate of Business Economics with Business Law from the University of Portsmouth, U.K, founded the Beeta Universal Arts Foundation (BUAF), an arts organization focused on promoting the arts through production and education,

in 2010. “Development is part of my ethos and when I moved back to Nigeria from the UK, I saw we needed leadership in arts development. Being a solutions-driven person, I had to create this space for artists like myself,� she said.

BUAF started off with stage productions, producing plays in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja, Ireland and South Africa. It was also commissioned to produce a play for the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Port Harcourt World Book Capital for the year 2014 to 2015.

The foundation further spread its tentacles to accommodate playwrights whose voices were not heard through the Beeta Playwright Competition (BPC). The competition opened to playwrights between ages 18 and 41 rewards winners with a publishing deal worth one million Naira and production of the winning plays. Some of the winning plays such as ‘Our Son the Minister’

by Paul Ugbede and ‘Jagagba’ by AbdulQudus Ibrahim have been published and produced on stage. At this year’s LTF, three playwrights from the competition showcased their works including John Ukut’s ‘Room 7’ which had extra showings at the festival.

The actress shared that the competition was made possible by the support of Union Bank, and as the competition is in its third year, she is confident that it will be a successful outing. Already, 1000 entries have been received and 80 percent of the submissions were from female playwrights.

Apart from the competition, the Foundation also gave grants to five tertiary institutions: the University of Lagos, University of Port Harcourt, University of Abuja, Nnamdi Azikiwe University and Lagos State University through the Beeta Campus Outreach. The initiative is geared towards enhancing learning in the creative department of the institutions. “For me, seeing these young men and

women succeeding in their own right and BUAF being a part of their journey, is the biggest satisfaction one can get for the work one does,� she gushed with pride.

On screen, Graham-Douglas has donned many characters in various films and TV series including the 2013 movie ‘Flower Girl’ where she played Stella and earned an Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA) in 2014. However, the character that increased her celluloid fame was Hadiza Bako, a controversial character in the hit TV series by Femi Odugbemi, ‘Battleground’. “Hadiza Bako was a complex, intelligent, daring, ambitious, yet flawed character. She was gutsy and dared to do what many wouldn’t have done. She was also mysterious as you never knew what her next action would be. Not easily outsmarted, she kept everyone on their toes.

I think that was her appeal.�

To play that character peerlessly, the actress studied some notable TV characters. “Lady Macbeth and Cersei Lannister from HBO’s TV series ‘Game of Thrones’ were my case studies for building Hadiza’s character. Also, she was very far from my reality being a northern Muslim woman. I read about the culture, watched films and listened to accents of prominent northern women to get the accent right. It was a proper education for me to develop the character and I’m really pleased it paid off.

People loved to hate Hadiza and I love that I achieved that. I really enjoyed playing her, and when you enjoy playing a character your audiences will enjoy watching the character.�

That character gave fans the impression that she was a northerner. “A lot of people thought I was from the north. In fact, some would speak Hausa to me. I heard I was from Kaduna and my uncle was a general in the army and I married a southern Man,� she laughed. “I went to Maiduguri late last year and many people there thought I was one of them. It was a nice feeling. They were welcoming and very appreciative of my work.�

In reality, Graham-Douglas was born Botoba Tamunolobobikiya. “Botoba means Boto’s daughter.

Boto was my great-grandfather and Tamunolobobikiya means ‘one who holds God would never fall’. I go by Bikiya which means ‘would never fall’ and I hold on to the promise of my name in my everyday life and living.�

Graham-Douglas has fond memories of Port Harcourt, the garden city where she spent her formative years and inspired her love for arts. She remembers visiting the Cultural Centre to watch plays.

“In fact, my interaction with the plays at Cultural Centre inspired my decision to be an actress,� she pointed out. “There was and still is a vibrant choral music scene in Port Harcourt and I remember many performances in our household. My father was Commissioner of Culture and Tourism at the time and he later became Minister of Culture and Tourism, so the arts were always a part of my forming years. Growing up there was a lot of fun. It was really the garden city. There were no airs to anyone, everyone was equal and we all just had a laugh. We prayed, ate and sang together.

I hold the city very dear to my heart. I am a Port Harcourt girl through and through.�

She, however, admitted that she is not fluent in her language. “I don’t speak as much as I would like to but I understand it. I’m working on getting better because the Kalabari language is so beautiful and musical. I’m a proud Kalabari girl.�

With the global crisis caused by COVID-19 upending stage and movie theatres across the globe, Graham-Douglas predicts that consumer behaviours post Covid-19 will change the pattern of distribution for content providers. “I foresee people changing their distribution strategy for their content. People will become more innovative on how to create content and the formality of traditional content will change. Ultimately, people like the makebelieve world and would crave content as they know it. We will face a slight depression but a surge will happen to stabilize traditional content.�

She advised that artists should find alternative ways to create content, cut spending while being effective, take advantage of technology, engage the business sector, and trade ideas for the profitability of the arts in Nigeria. “I believe Nigerians love arts. Our art is who we are but the distractions of corruption, hunger and survival get in the way but we are encouraged and are seeing positive strides, more commitment, sponsorship and acceptance. I am sure that things will stabilize in time.�

In the meantime, she is coping and has discovered an uncanny passion for documentaries during the lockdown. She made a long list of the documentaries she had seen so far which includes the Netflix hit docu-series ‘Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness’. However, the documentary that struck a chord with her was the 2016 concert tour series on American singer and actress Barbra Streisand, ‘Barbra: The Music, the Mem’ries, the Magic.’ “I really enjoyed the documentary and it left me with a profound statement: ‘To get something you have never had, you have to do something you have never done’,� she stated.

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High Life Who is After Obasa?

T

hey say that misfortune is a family of troubles that visits in quick succession. The Honourable Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, is essentially playing host to this brood of troubles.

In the latest episode of this, it is being alleged that the Honourable Speaker is allegedly involved in a scam venture, the result of which is the dispensation of 10 million to his wife, on a monthly basis, since 2018.

Honourable Mudashiru Obasa has been in the nets of accusation for quite a while now. While he is evidently not the most beloved of the Lagos State House of Lawmakers, recent events indicate that there is very little love lost between him and those out to get him.

This scandal involving his third wife is based on a document that allegedly details Obasa’s approval of the 10 million monthly payment to the wives of the lawmakers – who are then supposed to use these funds for a grassroots support programme. In essence, the wives of the lawmakers – under the leadership of the wife of Honourable Obasa – would manage and extend this gender inclusiveness scheme across the 40 constituencies of Lagos State.

The alleged reasoning behind selecting the wives of the lawmakers is that they are more intimately touched by the feelings of socio-economic and political inequalities. Who else to head this group but the wife of the boss?

Curiously, several of the wives of the lawmakers have decried their alleged involvement in the scheme. Reportedly, they have not sniffed any such amount, except for the 100,000 they get for travel and entertainment expenses whenever they congregate.

Folks have been quick to point out that it is the year 2020, and a scheme that was approved in 2018 and has squeezed out 10 million monthly, must have garnered at least 250 million by now. In other words, Obasa is accused of having looted a quarter of a billion under the guise of the womenfolk socio-economic and political liberty.

In the meantime, there’s still the accusation that Honourable Obasa squeezes 17 million monthly from public funds to maintain his house, guesthouses and ofďŹ ce. Is someone after the Honourable Speaker, or something else is going on?

Obasa

with KAYODE ALFRED 08116759807, E-mail: kayex2@yahoo.com

...Amazing lifestyles of Nigeria’s rich and famous

The Triumphs And Grace of Dapo Abiodun at 60 One of the clichĂŠs commonly referred to is that age, for all the emphasis it engenders, is just a number. That clichĂŠ is only true to an extent. The life of Prince Dapo Abiodun, Executive Governor of Ogun State, is a study in context.

Since his birth on May 29 1960, Dapo Abiodun has been on the trail to nationwide prestige. One of the descendants of the royal family of Iperu, Prince Abiodun had the privilege of great parenting and a multiplicity of educational instructions. First he studied civil engineering at the Obafemi Awolowo University Ife, Osun State, and then moved to Kennesaw State University, Atlanta Georgia, where he studied Accounting. Aside these, he also holds an honours and doctorate degree in finance from Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State and another in business administration from Adeleke University, Ede, Osun State.

His might in politics became

Abiodun

obvious in 1998 when he was elected to

a senatorial position under the aegis of the defunct United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP). Sometime after that, he introduced the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State. Ever since, Prince Abiodun has experienced temporary defeats in some instances, and successes in others. Until he was elected into the gubernatorial position in 2019, under the auspices of the All Progressives Congress (APC).Prince Abiodun’s ascent to the governorship position began on May the 29th, coincidentally his 59th Birthday. That day had to be a doubleheader celebration, and so it was. The event, held at the Marquee inside the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, was something of a novelty.

Folks from all walks of life were on ground to celebrate both his 59th year and his new position.

It’s almost a year since he started directing the affairs of Ogun State, but it’s also almost a solid 60 years of grace, good fortune and diligence.

1st Anniversary: Oba Saheed Elegushi Serenades Second Wife, Hadiza The Sciences tell us that Earth will grow weary and short of people, of cities and thrones and powers. But, because the mountains will remain and the rivers that run around them will endure, love will never be in want.

Oba Elegushi and his wife are tuned in to this truth, and waste no time in celebrating it and themselves.

Monday the 3rd of May, 2020 marked the one-year anniversary for the monarch of Ikate Kingdom, Oba Saheed Elegushi, and his second wife, the glowing Olori Hadiza Yakasai Elegushi. If these were the old days, there would have been parades and pageants and every colourful thing. But, ever adherents of modern-day trends, both the Elegushi and his Olori took to social media to express themselves.

Olori Hadiza was the first to break the dam of emotions. She stated that their year(s) together doth read like ages, and that that was because in their love they have lived many lives. That last bit was the Olori quoting Abraham Lincoln

– evidence that when Oba Elegushi won her love, he won a Kingdom to himself.

Oba Saheed Elegushi responded in the same fashion of affection. He wondered aloud how a year had gone so fleetingly by, and touched that flame with the gist that Olori Hadiza had added colour to his world. That last bit comes from possibly the most stylish and colourful traditional heads in the country – a big, big compliment to Olori Hadiza.

The royal wedding anniversary was not really the loud and town-colouring event it would have been in other instances. Olori Hadiza mentioned this herself, making references to the ongoing Holy Month of Ramadan (fasting) and caution against the spread and operation of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Recall that Olori Hadiza is the second wife of Oba Saheed Elegushi, after Olori Sekina. She is the evergreen stem that was plugged from the tree of Alhaji Tanko Yakkasais of Kano. She is the Olori who took her time before

Hadiza

she was grafted into the Ikate royal household to serve the Oba and his people as Queen.

While it is only a year, both Oba Saheed Elegushi and Olori Hadiza are a study in love and affection – the kind that the coming years will only serve to deepen and sweeten.

Sad...As Former Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode Loses Former Ally, Ayotunde Medayese to Cancer In the beloved children’s poem, we are instructed to “row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream: merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily; life is but a dream.� The truth in that singsong is of great weight, but applies to the fleetingness of life. For Ayotunde Medayese, the Chairman of Format Media Group, that dream is over.

Just a few days ago, the news of Ayotunde Medayese’s death flitted into Nigeria. Although the full details of his death are still unavailable at the moment, it has been determined that the man had succumbed to death in South Africa after months of battling with cancer.

The news of his death is disheartening to his relatives, friends and colleagues in more ways than one. Death by cancer is one of the most dreaded ways to go, as it is both painful and debilitating. But little can be done at the moment, other than mourn a life well lived, a life of impact, and a name familiar to many who thrived under the Ambode regime in Lagos State.

While alive, Ayotunde Medayese was one of the foremost allies of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode. Although he was more of a behind-the-scenes backer and

Medayese

confederate of Ambode, he was one of those who enjoyed the Governor’s patronage in the form of numerous contracts befitting his status and station.

By all accounts, Ayotunde Medayese was

a jolly good fellow who got along with many people, especially those inclined towards the arts.

Ayotunde Medayese was a graphics man, a role that is evidenced by his Chairmanship of Format Media Group in South Africa and Formats POP Limited in Nigeria. He was a man of skill, and a product of the prestigious Yaba College of Technology, with a HND in Painting, Art & Design. He excelled as a Freelance Artist at Explicit Communications Ltd. and as a Visualizer at Rosabel Advertising.

He also enjoined the friendship of several other people other than Ambode.

Biodun Richard Oshinibosi, the General Manager of Abelinis Limited credited Ayotunde Medayese with boosting the project-managing company as a startup by giving them their first operational space for free. Medayese was also a steady presence at the shoulders of the former president of the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA), the celebrated Kolade Oshinowo.

The details of his burial have not been released, but his was a life well lived.

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Adebayo Adeoye bayoolunla@gmail.com; 08054680651

Oil Mogul, Jubril Adewale Tinubu’s Other Passion

Ehimuan

Wale Tinubu, Group Chief Executive, Oando Group, does not claim to be “a man of God�, who must be seen to be winning souls into the vineyard of God. Indeed, the dark-complexioned lawyer and oil guru has never professed to be a preacher whose companion is the holy book with which he sermonizes.

Yet, his lifestyle is inspired by the teachings in the holy Quran as exemplified by Prophet Mohammed ( SAW).

Besides, as a bibliophile, he has read a volume of memoirs of great individuals in history, who lived exemplary lifestyles.

So also, in his peregrinations, he has encountered many whose lives have impacted humanity greatly albeit quietly.

Therefore, one of the enduring lessons he has learnt in life, having imbued copious Quranic verses and learning from his heroes, is that “when you help the needy, leave your camera at home.�

Perhaps, this explains why he has been very supportive of the hoi polloi in the society; he gives without making a noise about it. This is his other passion many are not aware of simply because he would rather do this without making a song and a dance of it.

Juliet Ehimuan’s Enviable Position Today, there is a class of few intelligent women who will give their male counterparts a good run for their money in the country. These executivelevel women call the shots in corporate Nigeria, politics and other fields of human endeavour.

One of such inspiring women breaking the glass ceiling is none other than Juliet Ehimuan, the newly appointed Non-Executive Director at Nestle Nigeria.

Ehiuman, who can be best described as an epitome of beauty and brains, flaunts enviable credentials, both in academics and career.

After obtaining a first degree in Engineering from the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), IleIfe in Osun State, she proceeded to the Cambridge University, where she obtained a postgraduate degree in Computer Engineering. Her adventure in the corporate world has become a reference point for aspiring young women in corporate Nigeria. A woman of many parts, she worked as the Performance Monitoring and Quality Assurance supervisor with Shell Petroleum Company for a period of two years from 1995 to 1997. She later joined Microsoft UK as the Program Manager where she oversaw projects for MSN subsidiaries.

Luckily, she climbed up the ladder as Business Process Manager for MSN International.

She founded her own business known as Strategic Insight Consulting Ltd a few years ago.

And in the last few years, she has built for herself a strong brand.

In 2011 she was appointed the Country Director for Google Nigeria. A woman of poise and grace, she is also a compassionate soul who has done a lot in the area of service to humanity. However, in spite of her achievements, she remains humble. Her bright personality has won her a wide network of high profile friends from all walks of life.

Tinubu

A close source to the oil magnate revealed that, since the commencement of this year’s Ramadan fast, he had expended millions of Naira on foodstuff and cash that he gave indigent Muslim faithful around him. “It is like a vow he has made to God. He

does it annually during Ramadan and Ed ill Kabir Festivals. This is just one of his several philanthropic deeds, as well as interventions, to help the cause of humanity,� the source added.

By virtue of his rare accomplishments, the GCE , is one of the few businessmen who have written their names in gold.

The string of industry awards that litter his ornate office is evident of his success story in the sector. So far, it can be said that Providence has been fair to him, especially when you consider his intimidating resume, international connection and riches.

He has scored many firsts in the pasts and he still continues in that trend, in fact he was born a leader. Naturally, he has been placed far above his contemporaries and competitors.

Undoubtedly, today the Lagos State-born oil mogul is one of the few Nigeria’s businessmen that can rub shoulders with other top businessmen around the globe as he commands respect in the world business sector. He has succeeded in engraving his name in the hearts of the generality of his compatriots.

Has Buruji Kashamu Eaten the Humble Pie?

Kashamu

Has Senator Buruji Kashamu now eaten the proverbial humble pie? This is the question on the lips of many who are familiar with political developments in Ogun State.

It is a fact that the crisis rocking the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, in the state has taken a new twist and it is not favourable to Kashamu.

It was gathered that, since Kashamu lost control of the party, following the exit of the party Chairman, Chief Bayo Dayo, his fans

have allegedly pitched their tent with his main rival in the party, Ladi Adebutu.

Both Kashamu and Adebutu have been at each other’s jugular over the control of the party.

It was also gathered that, members of the state executive committee led by the Secretary, Mr Semiu Sodipo, had since dumped the Kashamu group and joined forces with the Adebutu faction.

Out of the 14-member executive committee, 13 belong to the Adebutu group, while the Kashamu camp is left with only the Assistant Auditor, a situation that suggests that the Adebutu group has taken over the party structure in the state.

A source revealed that going by the development, Adebutu is literally on his bended knees, seeking truce that he had earlier kicked against. ‘’Buruji is holding on to the last straw and he has to eat the humble pie to save his political career from crumbling before his eyes,’’ the source disclosed.

The source added that, for eight years, the Kashamu faction had been in total control with

the support of court judgments.

According to the source, “As far back as 2010, Senator Buruji Kashamu had clashed with former President Olusegun Obasanjo over the choice of the chairman, Senator Dipo Odujurin, while he sponsored Bayo Dayo. “There was litigation over the contest. At last, the court declared Dayo as the authentic chairman. That was how he took over the control of the party. “The battle over the soul of the party is an extension of the crisis that engulfed the PDP, prior to the 2011 general election. “ Former Governor Gbenga Daniel was edged out of the party by Kashamu, who took over the structure. Daniel was forced to seek political relevance by floating a new party, the Peoples’ Party of Nigeria, PPN, for his supporters to contest.�

It will be recalled that Kashamu is not in the good books of the Prince Uche Secondusled NWC. He was suspended in 2017 and later expelled in 2018 over what the party described as anti-party activities.

Auto Magnate, Adebayo Adesola’s Mother Goes Home Popular auto magnate and Managing Director of Vision Wheel, Adebayo Adesola, has been in mourning since death, in its raw wickedness, plucked life out of his mother, Iwalola Caroline Oluwajedalo Adesola, on May 1, 2020.

However, the businessman, aware that his mother lived a fulfilled life before her death, pulled out all the stops, as he and his siblings gave their beloved mother a befitting burial at the Vaults and Gardens, Ikoyi, Lagos yesterday.

The deceased, it was also gathered, would have turned 71 yesterday when she was buried.

The ceremony was carried out by the popular undertaker, Ebony Funerals.

In an emotional tribute, the multimillionaire businessman said his mother would be remembered for her compassionate nature, her giving spirit and her unwavering devotion to God. According to him, “Today would have

been your 71st birthday, but instead GOD chose to make it the “celebration of your life� and your committance to Mother Earth. How we wish you had stayed longer, so you could reap much more for sacrifices you made while raising us. But He is an unquestionable GOD. Even death could not take away your smile. Rest in your Father’s bosom as you foretold before you passed. Rest in Peace my Dear Mother’’ The late Adesola was born on the 9th of May, 1949 to the family of Alhaji Alli in Owo Local Government, Ondo State into a polygamous family. The deceased, who was only allowed primary education, would later learn tailoring.

Thereafter, she moved to Lagos at age 17 and got married to Samuel Adesola , an engineer, with whom she had six children. She was a committed and devoted mother that would do anything to see her children thrive. Her sacrifices eventually paid off, as her children became successful in their respective fields. In 2003, her lifelong dream of

Adesola

going to school was fulfilled. She enrolled in an adult learning school, where she was taught to read and write. She spent the greater part of the

Ex Kano Governor, Col. Sani’s Humanitarian Gestures

Self-styled billionaire, Retired Col. Sani Bello, is famed for being a man who only minds his business, even as he keeps breaking new grounds. But his wizardry and business savvy as an entrepreneur in the oil sector has exposed him as a gold fish that has no hiding place. Since the former Kano State military governor left the Nigerian Army, he has dedicated his entire life to philanthropic activities.

In line with his spirit of giving, the Chairman of MAINSTREAM ENERGY (MESL), last week, donated a sum of N500m as medical Intervention to restrain the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Nigeria. It

was gathered that the Niger State billionaire made the donation through his company , Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited (“MESL�), operators of the Kainji and Jebba Hydropower Plants in Niger State.

It was also gathered that the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH) and the Minna Isolation Centre in Niger State, being the frontline institutions dealing with the pandemic, are the first beneficiaries to receive the medical and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

A source disclosed that the institution had fully equipped a 50-bed isolation Centre in Minna, Niger State, which included medical equipment such as ventilators, ECG machines, haematology

analyzers, x-ray machines and PPE. The source added that, some other critical equipment had been provided for use in the isolation ward of the UATH, including X-Ray machines, digitizers, personal protective equipment (PPE), CT scans, and 350KVA generating set “Nine rooms at the newly constructed Trauma Centre within the Teaching Hospital were furnished to provide accommodation for doctors and nurses who are in the frontline of providing medical services to COVID-19 patients and are unable to return home to their families due to isolation requirements,� the source added.

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with JOSEPH EDGAR ̥͸Π͸Πͽ͝ͺͽͿΠ̢͚

Femi Gbajabiamila– Which Bill Again?

This my egbon na from different cloth o. While this Covid thing is wreaking havoc on the lives of Nigerians, the man is pushing Bill.

Me, I don’t kuku read anything that has to do with this baba since that time, he wore one kind Gucci cloth and do one-in-town party for him wife. So, I have not been following the issue. All I have been hearing is people abusing him up and down on one Bill he is pushing. Just this night, I now saw a report from some people who call themselves CUPP and they say that $10m is the bait and that is why the Bill is getting such an accelerated hearing with strong backing. How they came about this their information which they say is

verbal investigation-another word for gist leaves much to the imagination.

But seriously why are we in a hurry to do a bill which people have said will make vaccination compulsory for all Nigerians when there is no cure for the illness? I ask again, what is the hurry? So in trying to get a balanced view, I went into research to see Gbaja’s position. The only trouble I always have is his beards. The thing too plenty and is now turning grey so this distracts me. But what I found out was that he said, that the ongoing regulations are obsolete and even hamper the Federal Government and their agencies from really engaging an epidemic like this. Make small sene sha, because you remember when the

lockdown was first announced, some mumu lawyers came out to say the President didn’t have the power to do that-imagine, people are dying and these ones are still quoting law.

Which kind Law? So in that aspect just maybe this Gbajabiamila Bill makes sense. But like everything Nigerian, people cannot just be crying wolf if they have not smelt something. Baba if it is true about the compulsory vaccination, mbok just calm down. That would be so wrong my brother. Please let us concentrate and see how we will fight this thing first before you bring that your own and while you are still at it, try trim the beards, the thing too plenty abeg.

GENERAL BURATIA – PLEASE ACCEPT MY CONDOLENCES My brother, this cannot be easy time for you. I hear you have relocated to the North East and have sworn that you will not come back until the insurgents have been completed routed out. From what I am hearing, be like say you go need to build new barracks there o. Anyways, I have received the passing of mummy with a heavy heart. For those of you who know me, my mummy is my pillar.

She is my juju and my talisman even though we don’t agree all the time, she remains my last line of defence.

So this tells you just how much I am feeling your loss right now. But we cannot ask Allah any questions but to accept his decision in good faith knowing that he knows best. Take heart my General and may Allah give you the strength and fortitude to bear this loss even as you face those lizards who call themselves insurgents. Sorry, fear no let me call them real name before they come and do fatwa on my head. Na condolence I set out to do o, before I go and carry another thing. Take heart Bro.

lockdown, testing Kits come finish.

Which kind of wahala is this and why was I even born at this time?

Why didn’t they just born me during the Burma War let me kuku know that it is war that kill me, instead of this one that when I cough fear will catch me? Well anyways that is how I just found out that this Lagos based firm working with its partners is bringing in over 750,000 WHO endorsed testing kits into the country. The firm which is one of the two marketing firms authorized by the British firm that owns the franchise to distribute the Rapid Antigen Tests in the Nigerian market. Mr. Mohammed Hameed who is the head Honcho of Itiel Partners in a brief statement confirmed that the test kits which have been widely used in Malaysia and the UK, come with major functionality which includes rapidity - results in 30 minutes, simplicity – no need for additional equipment and accuracy.

He further opined that although they are a business outfit, they were delivering the kits at near no profit as their own contribution to this ‘war’. Thank you, my brother.

people. You are truly a great man and that is why I will try not to yab you for at least six months. But let me just ask one small question, where did you have the time as Petroleum Minister and Chairman of NNPC if I am correct to write book? Not one but six. Na wa o, I hope the books are not like those Bible tracts that Jehovah Witness used to distribute door to door or how else would you find time to write six books despite the seeming tight schedule? Well, like I have said, don’t let me dwell too much on that so that you can focus and recover well. Six books? I still they think am sha.

THANK YOU ITHIEL PARTNERS You know I saw a news report the other day where His Excellency, Governor of Lagos State Mr. SanwoOlu was quoted as saying that we were fast running out of test kits.

Mbok, come and see the fear that enveloped me. Just as the lockdown was being eased and Nigerians now besieged the banks to collect pennies, risking their lives and rendering almost nonsense the gains of the

Buratai

IBE KACHIKWU – WELCOME BACK SIR I have been saying it that you have been quiet. I almost asked my sister Anne Omezi who I know worked with you while you were in office.

But I just say I should respect myself and mind my business. I am so happy to hear that you went through some medical challenges and that you have overcome it. We thank God o. God will continue to protect his

Kachikwu

Gbajabiamila

recently when this same firm handled our just concluded Virtual Summit which was the largest ever convergence of people to discuss the Nigerian economy. The summit pulled such heavyweights like Kola Adeshina of the Sahara Group, Gabriel Ogbechie of Rain Oil, Ken Etete of Century Group and former Presidential Candidate Mr. Tope Fasua. The publisher of the Leadership Newspaper group, Mr Sam Nda -Isiah gave the opening remarks. Welldone my brother, more power to your elbow.

MODION COMMUNICATIONS – A PROMISE WELL KEPT This agency owned by my brother Odion recently clinched the globally acclaimed SABRE Awards Africa 2020, the most coveted prize in Public Relations as I hear.

Their gripping teaser activation for Leadway Assurance, tagged #seeFinish, was adjudged the winner for ‘the Sabre Award for Superior Achievement on Brand building’.

The second Award came on the back of their work in crisis management for their Gokada Account which gave them recognition in the Reputation Management category. According to Odion Aleobua who is the CEO of Modion and also former Head of Communications at the defunct Forte Oil Plc and my very good friend- my very good friend o- the Award puts his firm on the spotlight of African Public Relations. Mbok the boy has tried and I witnessed his professionalism and creativity

MUDI’S FACE MASK That is how I saw a picture of Mudi looking like Spider man. The man had designed a sweetly tailored face mask which played a powerful game with the bowler hat he was wearing. The man had blended the two lines of fashion and safety to arrive at this very compelling style. The need for us to remain safe especially with this virus which is no respecter of anyone cannot be overemphasized but in so doing, the need to also still appear quite trendy and sophisticated has not been lost on this boundary pushing lamp post of the fashion industry. He has just launched a new line of matching bowler hat/face mask combo for the discerning power broker as he begins to take his meetings on the back of the relaxed lockdown. I have ordered one for myself without the bower hat though because I will still have to showcase my dreadlocks.

Yes, I can be vain like that. Well done Mudi well done.

Odion

Mudi

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MAY 10, 2020

SPECIALREPORT

Director General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu (left); Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha; President Muhammadu Buhari; Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire and Director General, National Agency for Control of Aids, Dr. Sani Aliyu shortly after receiving briefing from the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 in the State House…recently Photo: State House

COVID-19: The State of States’ Response (2) The first part of this special report, which started last week, dealt with states’ response to the challenge of Covid-19 before and during the period of lockdown, spanning some five weeks. It addressed the situations in 18 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Interestingly, however, this part two, which is intended to clear the rest of the states not covered in the first part – 18 of them – covers the first week of the easing up of the lockdown by the federal government, a situation which appears to have changed the tenor of the game as far as the battle against the spread of Coronavirus is concerned.

With the numbers climbing curiously each day of the last one week, the challenge has proven, not only to be formidable and disturbing, but also promising to be around for some reasonable length of time, even as the battle has largely become one of personal responsibility of the citizenry, going forward. With the testing capacity of the country almost incongruous to the numbers being released, the situations in many of the states in the last seven days have also exposed the inanity of leadership at some levels as well as the dangers posed by the seeming non-cooperation of a majority of Nigerians in the battle against Covid-19. This does not preclude from the equation, however, the swirling allegations that the whole process of managing the challenge posed by Covid-19 might have been shrouded in needless secrecy and therefore suspect. As exemplified with the first part of this report last week, the Editors of THISDAY have also rated the remaining 18 states on the strength of their response to Covid-19, their cooperation with federal agencies and committees as well as the challenges militating against a smooth run of the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Continued on Pages 53-55

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ÍŻÍŽËœ Í°ÍŽÍ°ÍŽ Ëž THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER

SPECIALREPORT Ëž ͚̓ΠË? ËŞ ̥ͺ̢ Ëž Continued from Page 52 Plateau: Making the Best of the Circumstances Reporter

There are 15 confirmed cases in the over 654 cases tested so far for coronavirus in Plateau State.

These 15 cases were said to be in stable conditions, with the index case progressively responding to treatment, and may be discharged soon. No death has been recorded in the state.

Commissioner for Information, Mr. Dan Manjang and his counterpart in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Ndam Lar, attributed the low number of cases in the state to the many steps taken by the state to contain the virus.

The state was among the few to first isolate and quarantine 43 of its citizens in Wase Local Government Area, in the Southern zone of the state, after some Chinese miners returned without subjecting themselves for proper scrutiny before uniting with the people of the community. But after the usual 14 days isolation period, they all tested negative and were set free.

Governor Simon Lalong had quickly gone with his family for a test, which came out negative, and had encouraged citizens to also do the same, as the infection was not a death sentence. He Lalong also reeled off restriction measures for citizens to guard themselves against becoming victims.

He had immediately set up a taskforce, comprising stakeholders in the health and other sectors, which he personally chaired, to monitor and ensure enforcement of the restriction order.

He prohibited street trading, street hawking, and begging, and placed ban on all drinking joints, social centres and nightclubs. He also ordered mandatory provision of takeaway packs by restaurants to avoid crowding, and cancelled all festivals, burial and wedding ceremonies and anniversary celebrations, among many others. The state government also advised against unnecessary movement and travels, having ordered closure of all schools from primary to tertiary levels.

To avoid transmission from neighbouring states of Bauchi, Kaduna, and Benue, the governor ordered a total closure of all borders to prevent entry and exit from the state, and also mounted CCTV cameras at the borders to monitor compliance. This was in addition to the fumigation of the entire state, especially, public places, earlier locked down for about three weeks.

There are three isolation centres in Jos and some others across the three senatorial zones in the state. In Jos, The Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), Bingham University Teaching Hospital (BhUTH), and Plateau Specialist Hospital are the designated centres.

Lalong also influenced the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to establish a testing centre in the state, being the first and probably the only testing centre in the whole of North.

Perhaps, the major challenge in the state is in the area of palliative distribution.

EDITOR’S SCOREBOARD: Below Average Leadership

Taraba: Confronted by Poor Contact Tracing Reporter

In Taraba State, a total of 134 people have been tested for Covid-19 out of which 15 tested positive.

Thirteen of the positive cases were among the 130 travellers from Kano State that were intercepted and quarantined by the Technical Committee on Covid-19 set up by the state government.

So far, the state has not recorded any Covid-19 related death. One of the positive cases that is in a critical condition, is currently undergoing treatment at the State Specialist Hospital, Jalingo, while seven others are being treated at the isolation centre situated at the NYSC permanent Orientation Camp at Sibre, near Jalingo.

Meanwhile, the biggest challenge presently being Ishiaku faced by the Technical Committee is to trace seven people, who were initially discharged but later tested positive for Covid-19.

EDITOR’S SCOREBOARD: Below Average Leadership

Gombe: A Disaster Waiting to Happen Reporter Segun Awofadeji

In Gombe State, the government claimed its laboratory hasn’t yet been accredited by NCDC. This is as Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya has approved the establishment of a testing centre in the state. Chairman of the Taskforce on Covid-19, Professor Idris Mohammed, who disclosed this at a press briefing, said already, the state has placed order for Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Machines.

Lamenting that there is no covid-19 testing machine in the Northeast region, Mohammed noted that for any suspected case; sample has to be referred to Abuja, Enugu, Edo or Lagos for laboratory analysis.

He said up to 1022 tests have so far been conducted with 103 testing positive. While 19 were responding, according to him, and have turned negative for their first follow-up test, the state hasn’t recorded any death. But the response level from the state is so far good.

Also, in curtailing a further spread of the virus, the state has banned commercial motorcycles, while the tricycle operators are allowed to carry only oneYahaya adult passenger at a time.

Calls to Muslim prayers are allowed only to notify the faithful of the time for prayers and not to observe congregational prayers in the mosques. Just last week, Gombe become a first state where the COVID-19 patients held a press conference to protest their abandonment.

But there’s poor compliance to some of the measures such as border closure, restrictions, banning of gatherings, social distancing, curfews and use of facemasks. From the compliance point of view Gombe is a disaster waiting to happen.

EDITOR’S SCOREBOARD: Below Average Leadership

Bauchi: In Search of a Test Centre Reporter Segun Awofadeji

Mohammed

Bauchi State does not have a testing laboratory for now, but all samples are taken to Abuja. But the Deputy Governor, Senator Baba Tela, said the state would soon get a testing center for to ensure prompt and timely testing of patients infected with the virus.

Tela who is Chairman of the State Rapid Response Taskforce on COVID-19 and Lassa fever, said “This development can reduce the difficulties we usually faced before accessing tests to coronavirus in Abuja. If this was actualised, we can conduct our tests in Bauchi easily without any hitches.�

THISDAY checks also revealed that a total of 688 have been tested, 842 samples collected, 791 sent to the laboratory while 103 pending Reports also indicated that total confirmed positive cases are 80, with 73 still active.

Regardless, the state is doing everything possible to curtail the spread of the infection. There’s a Taskforce in place, partial lockdown, vigorous

sensitisation and surveillance activities.

Executive Chairman of Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Agency (BASPHCDA), Dr. Rilwanu Mohammed, said the State was not resting on its oars in ensuring that the infection did not spread beyond what it is now and advised the people to continue to adhere strictly to all the prescribed public health protocols put in place by the government.

EDITOR’S SCOREBOARD: Good Leadership

Enugu: Effectively Arresting the Situation Reporter Christopher Isiguzo

At the moment, a total of eight cases of Covid-19 have been recorded in Enugu State since the outbreak of the pandemic in February this year. Of the eight, there are six active cases, while two patients had been discharged after testing negative twice.

Since the outbreak, Enugu state government has continued to demonstrate its determination to contain the rampaging virus in the state. To demonstrate that commitment, the government has earmarked the sum of N320 million to take care of the business.

The government has also approved the immediate upgrade and relocation of the state Isolation Centre to ESUT Teaching Hospital, Parklane, Enugu since the existing structure at Colliery hospital lacks the necessary facilities as recommended by NCDC. Apart from the Parklane hospital, the state also designated its Ultra-modern Diagnostic Centre, GRA as well as the Nsukka General hospital as Isolation Centres. These Centres are equipped with the state-of-the-art facilities to control the virus.

The state has also given approval for the procurement of more personal protective equipment, sanitizers, masks, respirators and all that are needed to help the physicians manage their patients, have also been made possible by the state government.Ugwuanyi The state not only approved N100 million to be kept in the Emergency Operation Centre account, in case of any emergency, it has also created Toll free lines 117 and 112 as well as a dedicated line for emergency response: 08182555550.

As incentives, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has approved the payment of weekly allowances to about 124 health workers directly involved in the handling of Covid-19 patients. This is apart from a 25 per cent increase in the salaries of health workers in the state.

However, there’s no testing facility in the state at the moment as the only one serving the entire south-east zone is domiciled in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, making it impossible to test as many people as possible in the zone. But the governor, who has locked down the state to ensure that travelers from other states do not bring the virus to the state, has spent many nights at the state borders.

Apart from adopting the compulsory use of facemasks as part of the containment measures, the government had also met with authorities of the state’s main market, including the Enugu North local government authority and security agencies, where they decided days and time that the market would open.

EDITOR’S SCOREBOARD: Good Leadership

Ebonyi: Ready for the Worst Case Scenarios Reporter Benjamin Nworie

Umahi

Despite courting avoidable controversies lately, the Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi, is ready for worst-case scenario with the full service of the National Virology center, which his administration built. The Virology center has become more useful for sample test of the coronavirus other than the Lassa fever, which necessitated the project.

So far, Ebonyi has recorded five confirmed cases of COVID-19. The cases are currently being handled at the State isolation center for medical treatment. Though Umahi was the first governor in the Southeast to take proactive steps to contain the spread of the virus in state by shutting down

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R Ëž MAY 10, 2020

SPECIALREPORT Ëž ͚̓ΠË&#x; ËŞ ̥ͺ̢ Ëž churches, borders, and other public facilities, the first case was recorded about three weeks ago.

To ensure a total lockdown of borders, holding centers have been decentralised to all the 64 development centers. The idea is that anybody who sneaks into any of the communities will be arrested by the villagers and handed over to the COVID-19 taskforce for medical examination, after which they will be freed after fourteen days if tested negative.

In compliance with the random testing directive of the state government, about 493 persons have been tested across the state while over 700 returnees have been held at the holding center.

EDITOR’S SCOREBOARD: Good Leadership

Kogi: Ă’Ă‹Ă–Ă–Ă?Ă˜Ă‘Ă?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ Ă“Ă?Ă’Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă?Þã Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă˜Ă?Ù×ÚĂ?ĂžĂ?Ă˜Ă?Ă?

Reporter Christopher Isiguzo

The situation in Kogi State is a complicated one.

While it continues to boast as one of the two states with no index case, there have been reported cases of deaths traceable to the virus.

The state claimed to have made adequate preparations to contain the spread of the virus, yet, not enough is on the ground to corroborate this assertion. Besides, the state is also said not to have cooperated with the federal agents that were in a position to assist, thus fuelling a lot of insinuations about his motives.

Although the Commissioner for Health, Dr Saka Audu Haruna, confirmed that there was no case yet and urged the people not to panic, because the government was on top of the situation, reports by independent findings have proved otherwise.

But Haruna has urged residents to adhere strictly to all instructions for prevention of the Coronavirus and keep personal hygiene always. This nonetheless, the state has closed schools from primary toBello the higher institutions, imposed restrictions on movements across the state, banned commercial motorcycle and tricycle operators, in order to contain the spread.

EDITOR’S SCOREBOARD: Poor Leadership

Ondo: ĂœĂ‹ĂšĂšĂ–Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÓÞÒ Ùå Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ËÚËĂ?ÓÞã

Continued from Page 53

Akwa Ibom: Poised to Tame the Menace Reporter Okon Bassey

With two deaths and six active cases, Akwa Ibom State is now on the national chart as one of the states with the Covid-19 disease. To check the spread of the dreaded COVID-19 in the State, Governor Udom Emmanuel, signed into operations, the quarantine and restriction movement regulations 2020.

The new law, which came into effect March 30, 2020, was in view of the serious and imminent threat of the disease to Public Health. In the last laboratory test conducted on 44 suspected cases, three persons were confirmed positive, while one person died, bringing to two the number of deaths recorded in the state.

In a move to contain the fears generated by coronavirus pandemic, the state government immediately ordered the state owned aircraft, Ibom Air to suspend operation till further notice.

A total lockdown in the state was announced and embargoed on passenger traffic as well as ban on interstate transport services with severe penalty, including 14 days in detention for defaulter andUdom screening at various boarder of entry to the state.

Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Task Force was immediately set up and awareness, through the media, by way of jingles on COVID-19 infection in English, pidgin and local dialects created.

A 300-bed isolation centre is being set up in Itu Mbang General Hospital, some kilometres from Uyo, the state capital, to complement the existing isolation centres at the IDH Ikot Ekpene and Ibom Specialist Hospital, Uyo. Also, Primary Health Centres in the state received Personal Protective Equipment from the government.

Above all, the governor said the state has some 407 medical doctors and 2000 nurses to help fight the pandemic. The initial constraints of the state government were lack of the much-needed cooperation from the conglomerate of health professionals in the state and poor information management on the covid-19.

EDITOR’S SCOREBOARD: Average Leadership

Imo: Overwhelmed by Leadership Demands Reporter Amby Uneze

Reporter James Sowole

Ondo State Commissioner for Health and Chairman of the Interministerial Committee on COVID-19, Dr. Wahab Adegbenro said over 246 persons have been tested in the state. Of the number tested, 13 tested positive and had been admitted at the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH) Akure.

However, in line with the NCDC protocols, six patients had been treated and discharged, Adegbenro said, adding that the remaining seven patients were very stable and responding to treatment.

So far, no death has been recorded, Adegbenro said, noting that testing everybody along the streets was not feasible. According to him, that somebody had tested negative today does not mean that the person cannot test positive later if he or she is exposed to the virus.

The challenges, he claimed, were the noncooperation of the people as they still go about as though everything is normal. The commissioner said many people do not take precautionary measures against the spread of the virus, as they don’t maintain the required physical distance and that in spite of Ă•Ă?ĂœĂ?ÎÙÖĂ&#x; boundary closure, some people still sneak into the state.

EDITOR’S SCOREBOARD: Average Leadership

Bayelsa: Ă“Ă?ĂœĂ™Ě‹Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? Ă“ĂžĂ&#x;Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Reporter Onungwe Obe

The five confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Bayelsa State are still being treated at the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital Isolation centre, Okolobiri. But the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Inodu Apoku, said the cases were doing well and might soon be discharged.

The index case, a 49-year-old hypertensive and diabetic woman, had gone to the hospital to complain of non-productive cough, headache, fever and chest pain. Her sample was taken and sent to the testing centre at Irrua, Edo State and the result came back positive. This necessitated the testing of her family members and hospital staff that attended to her in the hospital. Four members of her family also came out positive and were taken into isolation too.

Sadly, Bayelsa does not have a testing centre. It only has collection centres and two isolation centres for the treatment of Covid-19 patients at NDUTH, and the newly converted 80-bed mother-and-child referral hospital built by Chevron Nigeria Limited at the Bayelsa Medical University, Yenagoa.

There is no confirmed record of the total number of people that have been tested. But the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Inodu Apoku, confirmed that the state had collection centres, which have been taking samples from suspected casesDiri for testing.

Among those that have been tested is Governor Douye Diri, who tested negative after attending a meeting of the National Economic Council. The state government is containing the spread of the pandemic by closing the state borders, prohibiting large gatherings and enforcing the 8pm – 6am of the nationwide curfew.

EDITOR’S SCOREBOARD: Good Leadership

For the past six weeks, Imo state had remained under lockdown in an effort by government to keep the coronavirus (covid-19) at bay, but in spite of all the measures to keep Imo out of the pandemic, the state has recorded two active cases recently. Yet, the government, last week relaxed the lockdown while still retaining the 6pm to 6am curfew.

Though the two cases have remained a speculation as nobody, including Governor Hope Uzodimma or the State Taskforce on Covid-19 team led by Prof.

Maurice Iwu, could confirm the status of the patients.

As every information connecting to the cases are hidden from the public and the press, this had created panic among the public and ignited much apprehension and controversy on the reality of the patients and government’s commitment to put the pandemic at bay.

The isolation centres so far created by government had remained under-utilized, because there are no testing kits in the state. Again, the community tracking and testing of potential carriers are non-existent, creating doubt that Imo can be completely free from the pandemic since nobody had been tested.

The palliative meant for the vulnerable and lessUzodinma privileged people are scantly distributed among few individuals.

Importantly, however, the two cases so far recorded, according to NCDC, were sourced from the Government House, Owerri by aides to the state governor.

EDITOR’S SCOREBOARD: Average Leadership

Delta: The Difference is the Professional Reporter Omon-Julius Onabu

Delta State has not been caught napping in the battle against Covid-19 as the state government took proactive steps to effectively contain the disease long before it recorded its first index case.

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, a medical doctor, as one accustomed to instinctive response to even the most challenging of emergencies, had promptly set up a response team, comprising state health ministry officials and the state coordinator of the NCDC, headed by the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Mordi Ononye.

The six isolation centres, which were later increased to 12, were promptly created across the state within 24 hours, after the federal government announced the fist case in Nigeria involving an Italian in Lagos in February.

Four isolation centres were subsequently created at FMC Asaba, Central Hospital Asaba, Central Hospital Warri and DELSUTH Oghara. Aside the state-of-the-art medical and communicable disease-control facilities and personal protection equipment (PPE), 20 ventilators were dedicated to the management centres. Various special duty allowances had also been announced for the medical and health workers.

At the last count on 7th May, Delta State had recorded 17 confirmed cases in six of the 25 local government areas, since the index case on April 7, 2020 including 11 active, three discharged and three deaths.

Two of the patients had died before results confirming their COVID-19 status were received.Okowa Nonetheless, Okowa assured the people last week that the scores of contacts with the confirmed

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R Ëž MAY 10, 2020

55

SPECIALREPORT Ëž ͚̓ΠË&#x; ËŞ ̥ͺ̢ Ëž cases had been successfully traced, quarantined and tested.

Two weeks ago, the government launched a COVID-19 Testing Laboratory at the Central Hospital, Asaba, through collaboration with the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital in Edo State, where samples of suspected cases had hitherto been taken, thus scaling up the testing capacity.

While launching free facemasks with the first one million pieces produced by graduates of its entrepreneurship scheme, Governor Okowa also ordered the closure of its borders with other states on 28th March, prior to the total lockdown of the state from 1st April to 14th April, extended by another two weeks before it was later relaxed.

However, despite the arrest and conviction of over 200 violators including security operatives, getting maximum public compliance with the stay-at-home order, restrictions on movement as well as social distancing at public places, markets and worship centres have been a major challenge.

From the technical perspective, the apparent reluctance of some private medical facilities to make early referrals has constituted another challenge. Nevertheless, Delta is certainly enjoying the advantage of having a seasoned medical doctor as Governor.

EDITOR’S SCOREBOARD: Excellent Leadership

Jigawa: Struggling Amid Rising Figure Reporter Ibrahim Shuaibu in Dutse

The Jigawa State recently recorded 32 new cases of coronavirus and now has confirmed 41 cases even as the figure increases daily. Last Tuesday, there was a rise in the transmission of the virus at the community level in the state.

The state also recorded unexplained deaths of people in recent days. The state government said the 32 new cases were not from the Almajiris, who returned to the state, but of community transmissions from the cases recorded.

Governor Badaru Abubakar said some of the people still see coronavirus as something that was not true, adding that if the people didn’t take it seriously, “we are endangering the lives of many, especially the aged with underlying medical conditions.�

Out of the 57 samples taken from contacts of the initial five infected persons in the state, 32Badaru returned positive. In Dutse, contact tracing of only two patients resulted in 23 infected persons. With 32 new cases in the state, the state is itching to take samples of approximately 300 contacts, which might result in 100 more confirmed cases.

Of the new cases, 23 were from Dutse, 2 in Gwaram, 3 in Birnin-Kudu, 1 in Kazaure, 2 in Taura and 1 in Miga.

EDITOR’S SCOREBOARD: Average Leadership

Borno: Rising to the Challenges Reporter Michael Olugbode

Borno State was lucky to have a major health facility all thanks to the federal University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, which has all it takes to test Covid-19. The testing capacity presently is about 100 per day but there are plans to upgrade to 500.

As at Friday, 125 positive cases had been recorded, with active cases standing at 111 and death at 14. Two patients have however recovered. There are two isolation centres in the state capital, Maiduguri with a capacity of 130 beds. This, the state is planning to also upgrade to 500.

The government is presently building an isolation centre in Biu and the upgrading of a facility donated by an individual in Marama is ongoing.

One of the major challenges is the belief by the people that there is nothing like COVID-19 even with the state presently ranking 4th in the nation. Truth is that the state too never helped in this regards as the death of prominent indigenes of the state due to the ailment were kept secret and the people continued to live in denial.

From the little that could be said of the ďŹ ght against the pandemic, the contact tracing has not been optimal. How else could contacts be traced, when the government was not really transparent with its management of the Zulum situation?

With the relaxation of the lockdown, the number has continued to grow. Besides, the communal way of living of the people is another challenge to social and physical distancing. From all indications, it will prayer and miracle for the state to stabilize.

EDITOR’S SCOREBOARD: Good Leadership

Yobe: An Aggressive Race against Time Reporter Michael Olugbode

Yobe State is one of the last to register cases of Covid-19, but as at today, it has 13 positive cases and has recorded one death so far. He was a director in the state ministry of health, who died while awaiting the result of his sample sent for test.

The state has three isolation centres equipped with ventilators and other necessary equipment, but still has to send specimens to neighbouring Borno State for test.

There was however an alarming news, which came from the state in the course of the week that over 155 people died mysteriously within six days, a report which the state government classiďŹ ed as rumour and still investigating.

The state is yet to be on total lockdown but strict measures have been taken, including curfew and movement into or out of the state.

The challenges remain, the economy of the people, which makes it difďŹ cult to lockdown Buni

Continued from Page 54

the state. Also, the understanding of COVID-19 seems limited with many believing that it was made up. This development has forced the state to educate traditional rulers and sensitise them to in turn, enlighten their people.

EDITOR’S SCOREBOARD: Average Leadership

Rivers: A Pandemic Mired in Politics Reporter Ernest Chinwo

As at Friday, May 8, although the number of persons so far tested are not yet available, Rivers State has recorded 17 conďŹ rmed positive cases of Coronavirus, out which two have been managed and discharged; two fatalities and 13 active. Also, as at Friday, more victims had tested negative for the second time and were waiting to be discharged.

The state has however installed three PCR testing machines at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt by Friday and the equipment were undergoing test-run as at the weekend. The machines were donated by private corporate organisations.

The two local government areas that make up the Port Harcourt metropolis: Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor, are currently under complete 24-hour lockdown ordered by the State Government in its bid to stem the spread of the pandemic in the state.

Other parts of the state are also on varying degrees of restrictions as hotels, restaurants, markets and others remain closed while religious gatherings are also under strict checks.

The state government has lamented neglect by the federal government, which they said had not provided the state with any facilities or assistance in the ďŹ ght to check the spread of the pandemic in the state.

Governor Nyesom Wike of the state has also accused agencies controlled by the federal government, especially the police, of not effecWike tively implementing the lockdown of the state borders. He also claimed that the federal government compromised the border security of the state by granting waivers to companies, especially, oil and gas companies, without informing the state. Wike said some of the cases recorded in the state were oil workers smuggled into the state by oil companies with waivers granted by the federal government.

EDITOR’S SCOREBOARD: Average Leadership

Kebbi: Tackling the Pandemic Headlong Reporter Onuminya Innocent

In Kebbi State, the state medical response team has been on ground even before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Commissioner for Health, Dr. Muhammad Jarfar, disclosed this recently in Birnin Kebbi, the state capital, adding, “we did not wait for the outbreak before inaugurating our response team�. However, as part of measures taken to contain the spread of the virus, the state created a medical outpost at the border towns to screen any traveler coming into the state if the journey was important.

The state also created infection centres in all the 21 general hospitals, where it quarantines suspected cases before transferring such to the designated isolation centre at the Kebbi medical centre for further treatment.

At medical centre is a 300-bed space, even though the state is preparing to create more Bagudu isolation centres in all the three senatorial districts so it could accommodate more patients. Already, the state is planning to engage the service of retired medical personnel in case there’s an explosion of the virus. These feats, the commissioner said has become practicable, given the uninching support of Governor Atiku Bagudu of the state.

Thus, currently, the state has recorded 18 conďŹ rmed cases with 3 deaths.

EDITOR’S SCOREBOARD: Good Leadership

Zamfara: Taking the Bull by the Horn Reporter Onuminya Innocent

The Zamfara State Government is not lagging behind in the ďŹ ght against Covid-19 as it has continued to put measures in place to contain its spread.

Commissioner for Health, Dr. Yahaya Muhammad, who is a member of Covid-19 Task Force Committee set up by Governor Bello Mutawalle, informed that the state had three isolation centres to treat conďŹ rmed cases of coronavirus.

The state has acquired ventilators as well as PPE for medical personnel who are in front line of the battle. This is in addition to hundreds of thousands of facemasks, which the state procured and distributed to the residents.

Some of the measures so far taken included, preventing inter-border travelers from entering the state, while all markets in the state are Matawalle presently shut down except for the food markets.

There’s also curfew from 8pm to 6am as declared by President Muhammadu Buhari, which the state has been enforcing. Regardless, the state has so far has recorded 66 conďŹ rmed cases with 3 deaths.

EDITOR’S SCOREBOARD: Average Leadership

ARTS & REVIEW A

PUBLICATION

10.05.2020

AT HOME IN NIGERIA, YET NOSTALGIC...

Leaving his base in Germany for a two-week visit to Nigeria, artist Jimmy Nwanne never reckoned that a pandemic, which had been in the news since late last year, would eventually lead to a lockdown that would prolong his stay.

Okechukwu Uwaezuoke writes

S

ure, there is something that sounds odd about being stranded in one’s home country. But then, that exactly is Jimmy Nwanne’s experience.

“Yeah, I’m afraid that’s what it is,” the dreadlockssporting artist says even as he acknowledges the absurdity of his predicament. “Nigeria is home and it is a good feeling to come spend some time here and connect with people… I came for a two-week break and to hold a few meetings. Unfortunately, my stay is now stretching longer than I’d imagined.”

Talking about the meetings, they did hold. Besides, he was able to hang out with a handful of his close friends and was already looking forward to returning to base in the German town of Kaiserslautern when the news of flight cancellations and the closure of the international airports for a month came like a bolt from the blue. “I had to rush to the airport several times on different days to see if could get a flight before the lockdown, but there wasn't any. That meant that I would have to wait this out in Lagos, even though I planned to be here for two weeks.”

Since the lockdown began on Monday, March 30, he has been hunkering down in a fellow Germany-based colleague’s pied à terre, located somewhere in the outskirts of Lagos, so to speak, waiting for the metaphorical ill wind to blow over.

Held back in Nigeria against his wishes, he would have wanted to return to his family when he had planned to. But then, what could else he do? “I really miss my family first and foremost,” he discloses. “At this crucial time, I would have loved to be around my kids. I have been able to stay connected with them virtually via WhatsApp video calls.”

Then, there was also this exhibition, which he had initially planned to hold in Kaiserslautern last month. It had, for obvious reasons, been postponed until further notice. “Lately, the gallery

One of Nwanne's paintings (details) has been discussing with me about plans to reschedule the opening to sometime in June 2020 and that requires my being there to help organise things.”

Previously not so well-known among the Lagos aficionados, the Nnamdi Azikiwe University graduate of painting had wormed his way into their consciousness when, in July 2017, he was featured in a six-man exhibition held at the Ikoyi-based Wheatbaker Hotel. The exhibition, titledWanderlust, also had

Germany-based artists like Chidi Kwubiri, Emeka Udemba and Junkman from Afrika as well as Germanylinked mixed-race female artists like Numero Unoma and Yetunde Ayeni-Babaeko as participants. Supported by Deutsche Bank, Still Earth Holding, the German Consulate in Lagos, ELALAN and Louis Guntrum Wines, it has stretched from its opening date on Monday, July 10 to Friday, September 15, 2017.

No doubt, Nwanne’s participation in Wanderlust did a lot to buoy up his self-confidence as an artist. For him, it was no mean feat being featured on the same platform alongside such internationally-renowned artists as Emeka Udemba and Chidi Kwubiri. Of course, he also owes so much to the SMO Gallery and Arthouse Contemporary Limited with its sister organisation, the Arthouse Foundation, for their recognition, which became the Open Sesame he needed to gain access into the talent-glutted Lagos art scene.

Indeed, Nwanne had not only, previously featured in two other local exhibitions, but also taken part in an Arthouse Foundation’s artist-in-residency programme from September 11 to December 8, 2017, which climaxed with an exhibition in January 2018. Besides, his works had attracted respectable hammer prices at the Arthouse Contemporary Limited’s past auctions held in Lagos.

“It is always a pleasure to get the chance to feature in Nigeria,” he enthuses. “In Igbo, we say ‘Ana esi na uno amalu mma aputa ezi’, which roughly translates as: ‘Beauty begins at home’. Whatever I am and can do, it is a pleasure to show it here so that people here can have direct access to or contact with my creativity.”

(See concluding part on www.thisdaylive.com)

TRIBUTE

And Millie Small’s Joyful Vocals Trail Off...

Okechukwu Uwaezuoke

Millie Small at the height of her fame

"S

he was such a sweet person, Hill district in London, where she received Go Bring Come”, “Readin' Writin'Arithmereally a sweet person,” BBC intense training in dancing and diction. This tic” and “I Want You Never To Stop”, among quoted Island Records was where she made her fourth recording of several others. founder Chris Blackwell as “My Boy Lollipop”, courtesy a rearrangement “The problem was that after My Boy telling the Jamaica Obby the Jamaican guitarist and composer Ernest Lollipop,” Blackwell was quoted by The server while informing the Ranglin.

Guardian of UK as saying, “We just couldn’t newspaper that Millie Small Already two months its release, the hit single find another song of that calibre.”

– full names, Millicent Dolly saw Small rising to sudden superstardom. She, Despite a few attempts at shaking the May Small – had died from a stroke. “Very funny, great for instance, appeared in May 1964 as a guest one-hit-wonder tag with a couple of singles, sense of humour. She was really special,” he added. on the ITV’s special programmeAround the Small resigned to the dictates of fate.

Blackwell also credited Small with taking the Beatles. On December 28 the same year, she She spent a couple of years in Singapore Jamaican musical genre ska to an international level also featured in ITV’s Play of the Week episode – between 1971 and 1973 – before returning with her first hit record “My Boy Lollipop”.

“The Rise and Fall of Nellie Brown”, in which to spend the rest of her life in the UK.Arare The song itself was her rendition of “My Girl she played the role of Selina Brown. March 6 the interview she had with Thames news in 1987 Lollipop”, written in the mid-1950s by Robert Spencer following year saw her making an appearance let on that she was broke and was living in a of The Cadillacs, a group known for belting out the on theAustralian TV programme Bandstand as youth hostel with her toddler daughter, Jalee, rhythm and blues genre known as doo-wop, which part of a concert in Melbourne. Small’s internawho was born in 1984. Blackwell, who got to originated among the city-dwellingAfrican-Amertional tour would trail into the early 1970s. hear about her condition, bought her a home ican youth in the 1940s. It was first recorded in New Meanwhile, the song retained the No 2 in in Britain and rehabilitated her.

York in 1956 by Barbie Gaye before Small, appropriatboth the UK and the US charts. Her fame also She hit the limelight onAugust 6, ing similar rhythm, recorded her version in 1964. That extended to other countries, including Nigeria 2011 – on the 49th anniversary of Jamaica's same year, the hit single chalked up international sales where “My Boy Lollipop” literally became one independence – when she was awarded of 5 million copies. of the themes of the post-independence and the Commander in the Order of Distinction “It became a hit pretty much everywhere in the Civil War years. for her contribution to the Jamaican music world,” Blackwell continued. “I went with her around Somehow, the fame she enjoyed with “My industry. In July the following year, she stated the world because each of the territories wanted her Boy Lollipop” eluded her with her previous and that she had resumed recording and planned to turn up and do TV shows and such, and it was just subsequent songs. Between 1963 and 1969, she to perform in Jamaica for the first time in over incredible how she handled it.” also recorded singles like “Don’t You Know”, 40 years.

Small, then a nubile 16-year-old had some time in “Until You’re Mine” “Something's Gotta Be Born on Monday, October 6, 1947, as one of late 1963 accompanied Blackwell – who besides being Done”, “Sweet William”, “Oh, Henry”, “I Love seven brothers and five sisters, in the Jamaican her legal guardian was set to manage her career – from the Way You Love”, “Bring It On Home To Me”, parish of Clarendon, she died on Tuesday, Kingston to London. Blackwell had taken her to Forest “My EDITOR OKECHUKWU UWAEZUOKE/ okechukwu.uwaezuoke@thisdaylive.com Street”, “It’s Too Late”, “Killer Joe”, “Carry May 5 in London, UK.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MAY 10, 2020

CICERO

Editor:Olawale Olaleye Email:wale.olaleye@thisdaylive.com, SMS: 08116759819

IN THE ARENA

Sustaining the Eased Lockdown is a Civic Duty Strict implementation of government’s directives and increased responsibility by citizens are two vital elements to ensuring the success of the relaxed lockdown rules, writes Demola Ojo

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he sight of huge crowds congregating outside banks last Monday at different locations in Lagos State, as in other parts of the country, was not only worrying, but served as ammunition for those who contend that the easing of the five-week old total lockdown placed on Lagos, Ogun State and the Federal Capital Territory is premature.

In place of the lockdown in these locations, the FG introduced a nationwide 8pm to 6am curfew, persisted with a restriction of interstate travel and extended a ban on both local and international air travel. Entertainment, recreational and hospitality outlets are still closed to the public, schools remain shut and religious gatherings remain prohibited.

In a strategy designed to reduce the pains of socio-economic disruptions, induce a recovery of the economy while strengthening the public health response, the FG permitted some businesses to reopen, while also allowing the domestication of rules by states.

The Lagos state government, for example, said markets for non-food items will be allowed to open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays while food stores will be open for business on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The shops, offices and markets will only be open between 9am and 3pm.

But this attempt at an orderly return to economic activity has had its challenges, as the lack of physical distancing and the liberal adherence to the use of masks wasn’t only at banks but at other places President Muhammadu Buhari addressing the nation like bus stops. be communicated to all, among which is reverting With the relaxed lockdown, it is expected that to the total lockdown that hampered economic the rate of coronavirus infections will increase. activities.

This is backed by empirical evidence from other But while citizens are being educated and countries that have toed this path, from nearby Ghana to far-flung Japan. But rather than jettison encouraged to constantly disinfect, follow social the strategy of easing lockdown rules, more needs distancing rules and wear masks in public, the security agencies also need to live up to their to be done to make sure it works. responsibilities and effectively enforce these Communication needs to be amped up at all directives. Especially important is the lax enforcelevels, to sensitise both individuals and corporate organisations. Those who can afford to stay home ment of interstate travel, with multiple reports of this being flouted in connivance with security should, while employers have a role to play by personnel. encouraging working remotely when it’s possible.

The authorities also need to ramp up testing, as The example of Sweden is relevant here. The there IS still no true picture of how widespread Scandinavian country adopted an unconventional the coronavirus is in Nigeria. At the extreme end response to the COVID-19 pandemic while other of the spectrum are Kogi and Cross River states, countries, including its closest neighbours (Norwhich are both “coronavirus free” because tests way, Denmark and Finland), moved to implement have not been conducted in those states, with stay-at-home orders and mandatory lockdowns. controversy brewing in Kogi.

Sweden’s initial public health response to the Low test figures is why Kano still has a relapandemic was to encourage personal responsibiltively low number of confirmed cases. For exity and offer recommendations to its citizens ample, the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 rather than impose strict emergency measures. said at the beginning of last week that 80 per The country’s strategy is now being upheld as cent of Kano samples came back positive. an alternative way to tackle the pandemic going A large number of the almajiria that returned forward. to their homes in Kaduna from Kano tested In domesticating this strategy, the repercussion positive for the virus. A fifth of 125 Lebanese of defying the safety regulations in place should

nationals returning to Beirut from Kano last week also tested positive. This suggests that with more testing, there would be a lot more positive cases in Kano.

In truth, this also applies to Jigawa, Sokoto, Borno and other places across the country where testing has been at a bare minimum, as well as Lagos, which has the most recorded cases. Without a true picture of the number of people infected, it is difficult to come up with strategies in the national interest.

What is clear is that the virus is here and can’t be wished away. One of the leading proponents of a COVID-19 vaccine, American billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates, wrote on April 30 that the earliest a fast-tracked vaccine can be ready is in 18 months. To this end, the Nigerian government and its citizens will need to work in synergy to mitigate the effects of the virus.

Constant communication has to be the tool - continually preaching a change in lifestyle by improving personal hygiene and protecting the vulnerable among us. In regard to measures taken by the PTF to curb COVID-19, citizens need to make sacrifices and see adherence to safety protocols as a civic responsibility.

P O L I T I CA L N OT E S

Remembering the Yar’Adua Example

T Yar’Adua

he 10th year remembrance of the passing of former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, held in the week, precisely May 5, without any form of celebration or marking. No thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has since shut down the entire economic, social and political space!

But, at the mention of Yar’Adua, a lot of things come to mind, chief of which is leadership by example. That was a man, who did

not have to desperately sell what he stood for but showed it through examples of personal and instructive choices.

Sad he didn’t wait long enough to inculcate more of his disciplines and unpretentious goodwill in the people, the few examples he exhibited in the short period he lived will continue to resonate with both the political leadership and the people in general. May his soul continue to rest in peace!

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MAY 10, 2020

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BRIEFINGNOTES Unending Recovery of the Abacha ‘Assets’ The recently repatriated $311million from the US, being part of the monies reportedly stolen by the late General Sani Abacha, must be judiciously used to regenerate Nigeria’s economy, writes Shola Oyeyipo

A

lthough the incumbent leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari came into power riding on its promise to Nigerians that it would fight corruption to a standstill, not many are currently convinced that the administration is truly committed to its pre-2015 presidential election anti-corruption campaign promises.

This is reflective in the way Nigerians have reacted to a twitter statement by the Attorney General of the Federation, Mallam Abubakar Malami (SAN), where he described the recently recovered $311million Abacha loot as “Abacha assets.”

Malami wrote thus: “I am happy to confirm that the Federal Republic of Nigeria, on Monday, May 4, 20202, received $311,797,866.11 of the Abacha assets repatriated from the United States and the Bailwick of Jersey.”

For a man in Malami’s position, there is significant difference between an asset and looted fund, even though it is also being described in some quarters as the appropriate legal terminology.

Interestingly, a statement by the Special Assistant on Media and Public relations to the AGF, Dr. Umar Gwandu, described the money as “alleged stolen funds by the country’s former military ruler, General Sani Abacha, from the United States and Jersey.”

These statements had only papered the fact and arousing suspicions among Nigerians, who feel that rather than redefine the looted fund, it should be put into meaningful and measurable uses that would impact on the economy and Nigerians especially, as agreed between the US and Nigeria before the monies were released.

This is however coming amid allegations

by Nigeria’s main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that there were plots by the so-called ‘the cabal’ in the presidency and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to use fake subheads and duplicated projects as ploy to re-loot the repatriated $311million.

But President Buhari was more definitive in tagging the money as it is. His Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Garba Shehu, in a statement Monday, May 4, 2020, said: “$311 million stolen from the citizens of Nigeria during the Abacha regime were safely returned to our country from the United States.”

He added that: “These funds have already been allocated and will be used in full for vital and decades-overdue infrastructure development: The second Niger Bridge, the Lagos-Ibadan and Abuja-Kaduna-Kano highways–creating tens of thousands of Nigerian construction jobs and local skills, which can then be useful in future projects. Sani Abacha “Part of the funds will also be invested in the Mambilla Power Project which, when completed, will provide electricity to some three million homes – over 10 million citizens – in our country.

“The receipt of these stolen money – and the hundreds of millions more that have already been returned from the United Kingdom and Switzerland – are an opportunity for the development of our nation, made far harder for those decades the country was robbed of these funds. “Indeed, previous money returned last year from Switzerland – some $320 million– are already being used for the government’s free school feeding scheme, a stipend for millions of disadvantaged citizens, and grain grants for those in severe food hardship.

“Without these funds, the fight against COVID-19 would be even tougher.”

Facts from the US government have shown that necessary legal procedures had been taken and the money had already been clearly defined as ill gotten from Nigerian by Abacha. This was clarified in an agreement signed by the Nigerian government with the US authorities before the money was released.

A Monday, February 3, 2020 publication in an official website of the United States government, where the Department of Justice noted that it

entered into a trilateral agreement with Nigeria and Jersey to repatriate over $300million to Nigeria, described the money as “assets stolen” by former Nigerian dictator, General Sani Abacha.

According to the Department of Justice, on behalf of the U.S. government, it executed the trilateral agreement with the governments of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Nigeria) and the Bailiwick of Jersey (Jersey) to repatriate to Nigeria approximately $308 million traceable to what was termed “kleptocracy of former Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha and his co-conspirators.”

The statement read further: “In 2014, U.S. District Judge John D. Bates for the District of Columbia entered judgment forfeiting approximately $500 million located in accounts around the world, as the result of a civil forfeiture complaint the Department of Justice filed against more than $625 million traceable to money laundering involving the proceeds of Abacha’s corruption. After appeals in the United States were exhausted in 2018, the government of Jersey enforced the U.S. judgment against over $308 million located in that jurisdiction.

“General Abacha and his cronies robbed Nigerians of vast public resources and abused the U.S. and international financial systems to launder their criminal proceeds,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. Today’s

landmark agreement returns to the people of Nigeria hundreds of millions of the embezzled monies through a lawful process that ensures transparency and accountability.”

“The forfeited assets represent corrupt monies laundered during and after the military regime of General Abacha, who assumed the office of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria through a military coup on Nov. 17, 1993, and held that position until his death on June 8, 1998. The complaint alleges that General Abacha, his son Mohammed Sani Abacha, their associate Abubakar Atiku Bagudu and others embezzled, misappropriated and extorted billions from the government of Nigeria and others, then laundered their criminal proceeds through U.S. financial institutions and the purchase of bonds backed by the United States.

Jersey’s cooperation in the investigation, restraint and enforcement of the U.S. judgment, along with the valuable contributions of Nigeria and other law enforcement partners around the world, have been instrumental to the recovery of these funds.

“Under the trilateral agreement signed today, the United States and Jersey will transfer 100 per cent of the net forfeited assets to the Federal Republic of Nigeria to support three critical infrastructure projects in Nigeria that were previously authorised by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and the Nigerian legislature.

Specifically, the laundered funds under this agreement will help finance the construction of the Second Niger Bridge, the LagosIbadan Expressway and the Abuja-Kano road – investments that will benefit the citizens of each of these important regions in Nigeria.”

Apart from the repatriated $311, the US Department of Justice said it was still working to ensure forfeiture judgment against approximately $30 million stashed in the UK and over $144 million in France.

“The United States is also continuing to seek forfeiture of over $177 million in additional laundered funds held in trusts that name Abacha associate Bagudu, the current governor of Kebbi State, and his relatives as beneficiaries. The United States has asked the government of Nigeria to withdraw litigation it has instituted in the UK that hinders the U.S. effort to recover these additional funds for the people of Nigeria. The United States entered into the trilateral agreement to repatriate the Jersey assets, because of its longstanding commitment to recover asset for the benefit of those harmed by grand corruption and because of the important safeguards embodied in the agreement,” the statement added.

Mark that Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), is the Governor of Kebbi State and he is one of the president’s men. There are already allegations by the US government that the Buhari-led federal government was planning to give Bagudu $100m out of the recovered loot. But Bagudu had denied this, alluding to an understanding that’s unrelated to the Abacha loot and which the UK government was privy to.

However, if Bagudu was a member of the opposition PDP, the media trial and the harassment that would be ongoing by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is better imagined.

The latest tranche of money has brought the total Abacha loot recovery to $3.626bn. In 1998, Gen. Abubakar Abdulsalami recovered $750m from the Abacha family; in 2000, Gen Olusegun Obasanjo recovered $64m from Switzerland; still in 2002, Obasanjo got another $1.2bn from a deal with the Abacha family and another $160m in 2003 from Jersey, British Island. Obasanjo got another $88m in 2003, $461m in 2005 and $44 in 2006, all from Switzerland.

On his part, former president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan retrieved $227m from Liechtenstein while President Buhari got $322 in 2018 and the last $311 in 2020.

The decision of this administration to have purportedly expended the 2018 $322 recovered loot for conditional cash transfer of N5000 monthly to about 300,000 poor homes in the country under the government’s Social Investment Programme (SIP) was largely disapproved by Nigerians, who considered it wasteful expenditure in the face of more important needs such as the Ajaokuta Steel Company, the unreliable healthcare system and moribund educational system.

If the Buhari government is truly committed to fighting corruption by any inch, it must not only invest the $311m on meaningful projects, it must be very transparent in the use of the fund.

Spending it on intangible social investment cash transfers or other forms of paltry benevolence to the poor masses is simply laying the foundation for the mismanagement of the money.

Government should therefore put away all forms of hurdles preventing the US government from accessing and repatriating other Abacha loots for the common good.

NOTES FOR FILE

Covid-19: Police as the Weakest Link

IGP Mohammed Adamu

The battle against Covid-19 has left a rather loose end and perhaps, the weakest link of all the anti Covid-19 channels untended. And that’s talking about Nigeria’s security men and women. The security agencies, particularly, men of the Nigeria Police Force have failed to live up to billings in the overall fight against Covid-19.

Not only have they compounded the idea of contact tracing by giving easy access to everyone for as long as they could “play ball”, they did nothing to secure the country, when it mattered the most, while allowing the dregs of the society to have a field day – damaging the already fragile peace of the environment.

It is, therefore, sad that the police failed to be patriotic at a time,

when not only the nation needed them the most, but a period when humanity demanded of them a simple sacrifice in collective interest.

From allegedly sabotaging the efforts to secure the borders against community transmission of the Coronavirus to looking away, when other crimes were being committed, they literally bungled a national battle against covid-19. Although a few of them still maintained some dignity and were both patriotic and professional in the discharge of their duties, justifying the reason some of those fouling the lockdown rules had been arrested and isolated for testing, a majority of them cared less and went on to jeopardise what should have been a collective success in the fight against a common enemy – Covid-19.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MAY 10, 2020

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CICERO/REPORT

Teasing the All Quiet Political Front It’s bemusing how Covid-19 had quieted the otherwise lousy political turf, writes Segun James

A

great evil stalks the world today – the coronavirus Pandemic. Who would have believed that barely five months into 2020, the year would be fraught with bad news, much of it economic and the other, healthcare. It is therefore not surprising that all has been quiet on the nation’s acrimonious political stage as more urgent issues take the centre stage.

Africa’s largest opposition political party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has gone quiet and the internal crisis plaguing the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) seems to have been tucked in the backburner.

Even Adams Oshiomhole, the gregarious National Chairman of the APC, who was shaken by opposition within his party on how he runs the APC, has been boisterous and beaming with confidence lately as it seems he has overcome his worse political crisis.

On Workers Day (May 1st), Oshiomhole returned to his active days as Labour leader. He spoke on workers’ rights and why employers must not sack workers following the lockdown occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic. No politics, no shouting match, no crisis.

All these no thanks to the rampaging coronavirus, which has crept its way into the center stage of the nation’s political hierarchy, killing the most powerful and sending others to isolation camps and quarantine centers without regards.

For the first time, politicians now realise that the hospital they failed to take care of has suddenly become their saving grace at the most critical point. They’ve also realised the need to take care of the home front, build hospitals, schools and good roads as they may end up saving them some day.

So, what’s been happening on the political front in the last four months?

A few events in Nigeria’s recent political history have had a more crushing effect on the morale of the people than the Supreme Court judgment on the Bayelsa and Imo States governorship elections. Barely INEC National Chairman, Mahmud Yakubu at a news briefing 24 hours for the declared winner, Mr. David Lyon, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State in attendance, to be sworn in as governor, the apex court sacked that she had just distributed millions of Trader him. His offence? None except that he had a Moni and small business assistants to traders at deputy, who had changed name four times.

Obalende market, during lockdowns!

Although the court never said the name change Journalists at the Lagos House in Marina, venue was illegal or that someone else laid claims to of the press conference were left wondering, who the names, but the name change was enough to she met at the market during a lockdown and how sack the winner who was never part of the name the money distributed. It was ridiculous, yet, the change issue in the first place. task force got away with it.

As expected, the PDP praised the judgment If the situation at the national level of the PDP as its candidate, who came a distant second was was not uplifting, there was a little stirring at the sworn in. The party said the victory was a proof comatose chapter of the party in Lagos State. This that the judiciary was indeed the last hope of the was when a top politician in the state, Mr. Babapeople. tunde Gbadamosi jumped ship and returned to the But the party cried to high heavens, when the party. It was a big win for the party leadership at victory of Governor Emeka Ihediora of Imo was the state – a proof that the PDP was still alive in the overturned. It said the APC victory was procured state. and that the way and manner it was contrived Since its leader, Chief Olabode George, was proved that the apex court justices were APC ousted in a palace coup, the situation has never members disguising as judges. remained the same for the PDP in Lagos. All efforts In the midst of these, there was a little rumble, to get George back to full party politicking and when PDP spokesman, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan wake the party up from coma has proved abortive, demanded that the Presidential Task Force on the even as the rebels, who engineered his removal COVID-19 pandemic account for the N5bn grant now remorse their actions. given to it.

One of the persons, who have made mockery of While Ologbondiyan may have tried to stir up the Nigerian political firmament, is the Governor of controversy, his chairman and leader of the party, Kano State, Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje. The GoverMr. Uche Secondus was nowhere to be found, nor even in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic a situation which made Ologbondiyan’s efforts has had a reason to play politics with every situasomewhat ineffective. Meanwhile, Ologbondiyan’s tion no matter how grave. counterpart in the APC has been on recess, disNo sooner had the federal government, in cussing nothing. appreciation of the efforts of the Lagos State govNot surprisingly, that was how the demand for ernment to stem the spread of the virus gave Lagos accountability from the PDP died despite the fact State N10bn than Ganduje idemanded N15bn for that the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster his state. While many of the states made the move Management and Social Development, Hajia to buy testing equipment and create isolation Sadiya Umar Farooq, one of those saddled with centers, Ganduje said it was the federal governthe management of the grant, had come to Lagos ment’s job, not his. and said on live national television with Governor

Now, Kano has become the epiccenter of the pandemic in the country with people dropping dead every day on streets. Yet, the Governor of the second most populous state in the federation still dared the federal government by relaxing the lockdown imposed by President Muhammadu Buhari.

As at last count, intellectuals, traditional leaders, elites and top security agents in the state had died, even as the pandemic continues to rage in the state, especially among the street urchins called the Almajiris. After all, Almajiris means “immigrant” in Hausa, signifying that the children came from far, ostensibly to imbibe Islamic values. Instead, they have become ‘terrorists’ on the national fabrics.

Not surprisingly, too, they have made Lagos their new port of call as they spread the coronavirus around.

All these happened soon after the Governor created four Emirates out of Kano and later deposed the Emir, Muhammed Lamido Sanusi. Ansd what Lamido’s sin? He dared to speak truth to power.

In Bornu State, the rampaging Boko Haram militants seem to have gone into hiding in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. From all indication, the insurgents must be leading a double life. By day, they are soldiers/spies or government officials and by night, they become terrorists, who show no sympathy or regards for the human lives. And since the coronavirus berthed in the country, their guns had gone silent and their sponsors, obviously fighting for survival.

Today, an uneasy calm has returned to the polity in the country after months of clashes between political parties and party members, triggering lawsuits and trade tackling. But until the Covid-19 pandemic lifts it shroud over the earth, it would remain silent on the political scene.

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FROMTHECOURT

Supreme Court Triggers an Endless Trial Last week’s Supreme Court judgment, which quashed the conviction and sentencing of a former governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, has accentuated concerns about the apex court’s recent disposition to justice, especially, for those standing corruption trials, Davidson Iriekpen writes

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he Supreme Court, on Friday, quashed the judgment that convicted and sentenced a former Abia State Governor, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, to 12 years imprisonment. The apex court, in a unanimous decision by a seven-man panel of justices led by Justice Bode RodhesVivour, struck down section 396(7) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act and declared it unconstitutional.

It held that the Federal High Court in Lagos that convicted Kalu acted without jurisdiction, when it convicted him; his firm, Slok Nigeria Limited and former Director of Finance in Abia State, Jones Udeogu. It added that Justice Mohammed Idris, who heard the trial, should not have, having been elevated to the Court of Appeal before then.

On December 5, 2019, a Federal High Court in Lagos sentenced Orji Kalu, to 12 years’ imprisonment for N7.2billion fraud and money laundering. The court convicted Kalu, a sitting senator, on all the 39-count charge preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The former governor was charged alongside his the Commissioner for Finance, Udeogo, and his company, Slok Nigeria Limited.

While Kalu and his company were found guilty of all the 39 counts, Udeogo was convicted on 34 counts and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.

But Justice Ejembi Eko, who read the lead judgment, held that Justice Idris, having been elevated to the Court of Appeal, was no longer a judge of the Federal High Court Kalu leaving the court premises during his trial which culminated in the voided conviction and therefore acted outside his jurisdiction.

He said Section 396(7) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court in elevated to the Court of Appeal, he becomes a Justice Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, which empowers the President Lagos. of the Court of Appeal and is recognised as such by the of the Court of Appeal to issue a fiat to Justice Idris to Constitution and nothing less. They posited that for adjudicate on the case, is a nullity on the grounds that it him to revert to the High Court as a trial judge does not Enter the ACJA was in conflict with the provisions of the Constitution. seem right, adding that his recognised and constitutional Frustrated by the lack of conviction of high-profile The apex court posited that Justice Idris was no longer nomenclature is Justice of the Court of Appeal. They, government officials, who have massively corruptly a judge of the Federal High Court as at the time he sat therefore, wondered that when a judge sits as a trial enriched themselves and others, destroying the image and delivered the judgment that convicted the defenjudge, as in this case, under what title would he sign the of the country locally and internationally, the EFCC dants for the offence. judgment he delivers? and civil society and non-governmental organisations According to him, having been elevated to the Court “Is it Justice of the Court of Appeal or Judge of the mounted pressure on the federal government to enact of Appeal before then, Justice Idris lacked the powers Federal High Court? Without yet seeing the full judgthe Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), to return to sit as a High Court Judge. Consequently, ment, I think it has merit,” said one of the lawyers who which was a step to tame the menace of corruption. the apex court vacated the judgment that convicted the craved anonymity.

The National Assembly eventually passed the bill, defendants and ordered a fresh trial of the defendants.

Although those who disagreed with the verdict admitwhich was signed into law by President Goodluck ted there is nothing they could do since the judgment Jonathan shortly before handing over power to President is from the highest court in the country, they however, Muhammadu Buhari in 2015. This move was highly How It All Started accused the court of destroying the gains so far made to commended by a cross-section of Nigerians, who were As soon as Kalu left office in May 2007, the EFCC achieve and sustain speedy dispensation of the justice eager to see corrupt public officials and others go to jail arraigned him before Justice Binta Murtala Nyako of and checkmating the antics of unscrupulous public for corruption. The Act was also meant to address all the the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court on July 27, officials and other suspects standing trial for corruption. bottlenecks associated with convicting corrupt officials 2007 on a 107-count charge. The charges bordered on They alleged that all the recent judgments by the apex alleged money laundering and illegal diversion of public and speeding up the dispensation of justice. court seemed to erode the gains made to sustain the fight And because each time corruption trial got half way, funds to the tune of N7.2billion. against corruption. the judges handling the cases would either be petitioned, But Kalu challenged the competence of the charges Some of those who spoke to THISDAY pointed to the transferred or elevated and the case would start afresh, a against him, as well as the jurisdiction of the court to court’s judgment recently, where it struck out the fraud hear and determine the case. He asked the court to quash subsection was inserted in the ACJA, 2015 to address the charges filed against former governorship candidate of situation. the charges, a request the court refused his to grant. the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Kwara Specifically, section 396(7) states: “Notwithstanding Following the refusal, the former governor took the State, Mohammed Dele Belgore (SAN) and former case to the Court of Appeal in Abuja. The appellate court, the provision of any other law to the contrary, a judge Minister of National Planning, Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman. of the High Court, who has been elevated to the Court in a unanimous judgment, upheld the competence of the The court allowed the appeal against the ruling of the of Appeal shall have dispensation to continue to sit as a charge, adding that the high court was constitutionally lower court delivered by Justice Rilwan Aikawa sitting High Court Judge, only for the purposes of concluding empowered to exercise jurisdiction on the trial. in Federal High Court in November 2018. any part-heard criminal matter, pending before him at Dissatisfied with the verdict, Kalu approached the Belgore and Suleiman had filed a no-case submission the time of his elevation and shall be concluded within Supreme Court, begging it to set-aside the concurrent after the EFCC closed its case in the N450million fraud reasonable time, provided that this section shall not findings of the two lower courts. Through his lawyer, charges preferred against them. But the trial court prevent him from assuming duty as a Justice of the Court Chief Awa Kalu (SAN), the former governor, pleaded dismissed the no-case submission. of Appeal.” with a five-man panel of justices of the apex court, Dissatisfied with this, the duo appealed the ruling at It was on the basis of this subsection that the immediheaded by the then Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice the Court of Appeal in Lagos, which also dismissed the ate past President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Mahmud Mohammed, to quash the criminal charges appeal.

Bulkachuwa granted fiat to Justice Idris, who had been filed against him.

But the Supreme Court in its judgment allowed the hearing the Kalu case to conclude the matter after he was But the apex court, in a unanimous judgment, disno-case submission and struck out the charge. It opined elevated to the Court of Appeal. missed the appeal and ordered the appellant to go and that the offences for which the defendants were charged face trial before the high court. While upholding the could not be tried in Lagos but in Kwara State, where Court of Appeal verdict, Justice Suleiman Galadima, The Judgment and Its Controversies they were committed. It therefore ordered the case be who delivered the lead verdict, said the apex court was While many lawyers and analysts have hailed the sent to Kwara State to start afresh. satisfied that the former governor had a case to answer verdict of the Supreme Court, many others disagreed, “Considering where we are coming from, anyway concerning the allegations levelled against him. saying it would whittle down the fight against corrupyou look at it, these judgments by the Supreme Court, The apex court then ordered a former Chief Judge tion. Those who hailed the judgment agreed with the are certainly three steps forward, 12 steps backwards,” of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, to apex court that a judge could not be a member of two concluded a Lagos-based lawyer, who did not want his re-assign the case to another judge to enable the trial to courts simultaneously and concurrently. name in print. commence afresh. Justice Auta later assigned the case to They further argued that when a judge has been

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MAY 10, 2020

CICERO/TRIBUTE

Akinjide: Enviable Life of a Legal Icon Chief Richard Osuolale Akinjide, SAN, laid still after breathing his last on Tuesday, April 21, but before he made his last ‘submission’ to the final arbiter, he had already been ‘discharged’ and ‘acquitted’ that he lived life to the fullest and gave his all. Funke Olaode pays tribute to this legal czar, who conquered his world

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hief Richard Akinjide, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, shone as one of the brightest of his generation. His intellectual prowess in both international and national affairs was equal to none. He was an embodiment of law. He breathed law, lived law and ate law. Akinjide made a success of law both in name and fortune. He was highly influential and well

connected.

Although he’s been around for a while, what constantly threw his name up was his political calculation of the twelve two-third (12 2/3) judgment, that ushered in the Alhaji Shehu Shagari government.

An encounter with Chief Akinjide at his ‘The Rock’ residence tucked inside Idi-Ishin in Jericho GRA Ibadan, birthing an interview titled: ‘I Am Fulfilled’, cemented a relationship that would last till the end of his days on the planet earth.

Akinjide meant different things to different people, because of his political ideologies. And the relationship he had with this writer was no less than filial.

Born on November 4, 1931, in the Aperin area of Ibadan, in the then Western Region. His grandfather was Akinjide; his mother hailed from the Balogun Oderinlo family from Mapo area. His maternal grandfather, Balogun Oderinlo was a warrior and his statue is by the side of Mapo.

The late Akinjide was a lucky fellow with an enduring pedigree. His father was a big-time trader and farmer. And being the first child and the first grandson, everybody doted on him. That the late Akinjide was brilliant was an understatement.

He enrolled at St. Peters Primary School, Aremo in Ibadan and later proceeded to Oduduwa College, Ile-Ife, where he sat for the Senior Cambridge School Certificate and emerged with a distinction. In 1952, he boarded MV Accra ship to

England and landed in Liverpool. In England, he enrolled at the University of London where he had LLB in Law and was called to the English Bar in 1955.

He also obtained a certificate in Journalism. He returned to Nigeria in February 1956. He was subsequently called to the Nigerian and the Gambian Bar and became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in 1978. When he returned to Nigeria after his studies, he practised briefly under S.L Durosaro before setting up his own practice, Akinjide & Co. Upon returning to Nigeria, he got entangled with politics having been a regular visitor at The House Commons while in London.

He was vibrant as a young politician, and at the age of 29, he became a lawmaker representing Ibadan at the Parliament. He later became the Minister of Education in the government of Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa during the First Republic. He continued to blaze the trail as a politician and legal practitioner. He was the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president between 1970 and 1973.

A member of the judicial system’s sub-committee of the Constitutional Drafting Committee of 1975-1977, he later joined the National Party of Nigeria in 1978. He became the legal adviser of the party and was soon appointed the Minister for Justice under the administration of President Shagari in the Second Republic.

Akinjide’s legacies are eternal. It is significant to note that it was under his watch that Nigeria temporarily reversed executions of armed robbers, the abolition of a decree barring exiles from returning to the country.

The advent of democracy in 1999 saw the late Akinjide pitch tent with the PDP. His daughter, Oloye Jumoke Akinjide later served as the Minister of State for FCT. For the late Akinjide, he played his part and left the stage with honour and dignity. Akinjide came, saw and conquered!

Akinjide

IMOUKHUEDE LECTURE SERIES

Memories of 2019 as COVID-19 Puts 2020 Edition on Hold The 2019 and maiden edition of the Joseph Imoukhuede Lecture series was a huge success. The second edition would have held this month but for the COVID-19 pandemic. Samuel Ajayi reports the takeaways from the maiden edition

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he maiden edition of the Joseph Imoukhuede Lecture series held in Benin onApril 29, 2019, was a bang. Joseph Enaifoghe Imoukhuede was a top civil servant who was trained at Cambridge University and was the first non-Yoruba Permanent Secretary in the civil service of the Old Western Region. He was also the pioneer secretary to government and head of service of the then newly created MidWestern Region. Delivering the maiden lecture last yearApril was no other person than Prof. Tunji Olaopa, a technocrat, former Permanent Secretary at the Presidency and Executive Vice-Chairman of the Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy.And even the roll call of who was who that graced the occasion showed how much the late Imoukhuede was loved. There was renowned poet, Odia Ofeimun, the Deputy Governor of Edo State, Phillip Shuaibu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Job Creation and Youth Empowerment who is also a son of the late top civil servant,Afolabi Imoukhuede, among other dignitaries.

Olaopa traced the trajectory of the career of the late Imoukhuede which coincided with those of other public service greats such as Allison Ayida and late Chief Simeon Adebo. Olaopa said there was a convergence of historical, administrative, and personal dynamics that made the career of Imoukhuede unique.

“The trajectory of Chief Joseph Imoukhuede’s life and career is a testament to the coincidence of historical, administrative and personal dynamics that makes Imoukhuede one of the most significant administrative figures in Nigeria,” Olaopa said.

Speaking further, he said: “Let me make a confession at this point: delivering this lecture brings me face to face with a huge absence in my reform and administrative scholarship. And that absence is constituted by the towering and redoubtable achievements of Pa Imoukhuede, especially within the ensemble of great pioneers that I have dedicated my intellectual energies to profiling for the rehabilitation of Nigeria’s institutional dynamics. And yet, Imoukhuede stands shoulder to shoulder with the best in that period that marked what has often been regarded as the golden era of the public service in Nigeria.”

Olaopa further said the top civil servants of that epoch were

The inaugural Joseph Imoukhuede OBE Lecture Series held in Benin City in April 2019. At the centre were the lecturer, Prof. Tunji Olaopa, and SSA to the President on Job Creation and son of the late renowned public administrator, Afolabi Imoukhuede

committed and patriotic in their dealings as well as in their service to their fatherland. He explained that they were schooled in the value-based administrative tradition of the British colonial masters who laid a foundation of a profession that was the envy of not just other professions in the country but also all over the world.

He added: “First, there were a corps of pioneer civil servants schooled in the value-based administrative tradition instituted by the British, and who were eager to lay a foundation of a prestigious profession that was world-class. These pioneers belonged to a Nigerian society that had its time-honoured value foundation intact, an era when people attained positions of responsibility that were earned by dint of learning achievement, distinct professionalism, a deep sense of self-worth underpinned by honour, exemplary conduct and the noblest of character. Meritocracy was sacrosanct in staffing and appointments,

even as the quota system was already a guiding policy in diversity management.”

He said the then federal Public Service Commission was unqualifiedly incorruptible in the discharge of its work of professional gate-keeping which it guarded jealously and with the utmost integrity, explaining, “Policy work thrived under a seminal spirit that allowed the public service to take advantage of an institutionalized town and gown multidisciplinary cross-fertilization of knowledge and skills available in the academia, industry, the civil society, Donors technical assistance and the global community of service and practice; very much unlike the reigning anti-intellectualism in the policy space today, a tendency dominated by the attitude that dismisses every attempt to reinforce the policy process with research findings as theory and therefore not practicable.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MAY 10, 2020

SUNDAYINTERVIEW Sanjay Mathur

Mathur

Nigeria’s COVID-19 Testing Is Less Than 120 Tests Per Million Sanjay Mathur believes in the Nigerian project and has vast knowledge of the corporate world and the business of healthcare. As the Managing Director of VCare Diagnostics Limited, Mr. Mathur seems to hold the aces in helping Africa’s most populous nation successfully contain the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic.

The VCare MD says the healthcare firm will address the immediate gap of about 40% diagnostics test which are currently outsourced to labs around the world. In this interview, Mr. Mathur shows the way out of the woods for the Nigerian government in fighting the coronavirus pandemic with its state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment and laboratory. His vision is to create an impact in Africa’s healthcare industry and to address and provide solutions for the huge gap in the industry. He was nominated as a member of the National Planning Commission for Vision 2020 by the President Umaru Yar’Adua administration in 2009.

Mr. Mathur, a former Managing Director of Conoil Plc and regional manager of ExxonMobil, in this interview with Demola Ojo says Nigeria needs to test more for COVID-19

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hat is VCare diagnostics all about?

VCare Diagnostics Limited is a stateof-the-art reference laboratory. What this means is that we are set up to perform quality and cost-effective, high-volume and specialized samples for hospitals and other laboratories. What makes VCare unique from others is our capacity to conduct 100% of our tests in Nigeria. Prior to VCare, up to 40% of samples from Nigeria were exported to countries like India, South Africa, UK and others as local capacity was lacking.

This is the VCare model: we fill key gaps in the healthcare diagnostics space, vis-à-vis the provision of high-quality, accurate results in the least turnaround time, thereby helping patients and physicians to reduce treatment time.

The vision of VCare is to become the go-to reference lab for all the B2B and B2C segments by ensuring that no samples leave Nigeria. The positive impact of this is faster test results which improves treatment outcomes. We believe that this will positively impact on the mortality rate in Nigeria.

Apart from investing heavily in the latest technology and equipment, we also invested in quality manpower. Our lab is

headed by Dr. Aramide Kolawale, who is the Lab Director, and our Quality Assurance Unit is led by Mr. Abiola Adejumobi.

We also use cloud-based technology where all machines are connected to a cloud and we can, on a real-time basis, seek help from experts through our technology partners, Techmed Healthcare, India, an ISO 15189 and NABL accredited company.

Are you equipped to test for COVID-19?

VCare is well-equipped for biotechnology testing and provides services for microbiology and infectious disease conditions. Though we are one of the very few diagnostics

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MAY 10, 2020

63

SUNDAY INTERVIEW

t NIGERIA NEEDS TOTEST MORE FOR COVID-19 ANDVCARE IS BEST POSITIONED 50 )&-1 t

companies to have a prime focus on molecular biology, the testing programme is currently centred on the NCDC, the federal and state governments.

Do you have the equipment for testing COVID19?

Yes. We have a biosafety level 2 (BSL-2) laboratory, equipped with a large BSL-2 cabinet. We also have exclusive rights for marketing and supply of real-time PCR equipment, reagents, and kits. We represent two companies, BIONEER & Boditech, South Korea.

How many tests can the equipment carry out per day and how quickly can the result of the test be known?

BIONEER platform has the advantage of being small, portable, easy to use with a capacity to process 20 – 22 samples per hour. This equipment can be placed closer to the field, thereby saving time and preserving sample stability & integrity.

BIONEER products are CE, ISO 9001 & ISO 13485 certified.

Is this what NCDC is currently using?

One of the best decisions the federal government and the NCDC took was to engage only in RT-PCR testing for the detection of COVID-19 infections. Some countries which initially relied on rapid testing kits have reported poor results. For instance, India which initially adopted a rapid testing method has now switched over to 100% RT-PCR. In rapid testing, about 70 to 80% of results are compromised. In Nigeria, the RT-PCR platform was already in use at the NCDC and several other research-based institutions that engage in molecular biology.

Our products are basically the same, except that we have newer and more compact models. For instance, our BIONEER product has an automated RNA extraction component called ExiPrepTM 48A Dx that allows for faster results before amplification and detection using ExicyclerTM 96. BIONEER platform has the advantage of being small, portable and the number of tests it can do per hour.

COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Nigeria and it appears the virus is spreading fast. What should the country be doing to contain the spread?

The World Health Organization emphasizes testing and social distancing as the focus area for all countries. Compared with other countries, Nigeria has performed less than 120 tests per million. Ghana and South Africa are approaching 5,000 tests per million. Hence, there is an urgent need to expand the testing capacity for COVID-19 in addition to current steps being taken in the country. Nigeria should also be doing more in terms of raising community awareness and the ways COVID-19 control measures will affect day-to-day living, albeit temporarily.

In terms of testing, what do you think is the major hurdle?

One of the major hurdles for Nigeria and the NCDC is the limited availability of the RT-PCR testing across the country.

Currently, only 13 centres nationwide are providing COVID-19 testing. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has plans to expand testing to 30 million Nigerians. To achieve this goal, there will be a need to increase the number of centres providing these tests. Establishing new test centres is capital intensive but serves the important purpose of scaling up biotechnology

research in the country, which is useful for other diseases like cancer, HIV, and TB. Capacity is a big issue for developing countries. How can this be scaled up to meet the current national emergency in Nigeria?

Our product platform makes it easier to scale up capacity.

The availability of testing equipment and reagents/kits across the country and nearer to the public is an important gap in our current national strategy. Our portable RT-PCR equipment can be set up easily at field locations such as local government health centre, universities, and government laboratories that are closer to the people for community testing. This equipment can also do a wide variety of other tests like HIV, Hepatitis A/B/C, HPV genotyping, TB, CMV, ZIKA, etc.

We propose that the government should provide portable RT-PCR machines, which could be used at every isolation centre across the states and cities. This will enhance testing capabilities, as well as reduce the downtime for testing. These could be placed either at each isolation centre or each federal/state hospital as it will increase the capacity of testing multifold.

Kano is a big challenge to the Nigerian government right now. What’s your advice to the government?

Testing. Testing. Testing. Even WHO advises that the only way to overcome this pandemic is more testing and isolation.

Hence, my advice will be to ramp up the testing from its current levels to several thousand tests per day.

Where should our focus be: is it on testing or lockdown?

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken the world by surprise and most countries were underprepared in terms of testing capacity. This challenge is also worse in low-resource countries like Nigeria where skilled human resources for PCR testing are not readily available. So, it is a global health emergency and it has exposed the deficiencies of public health infrastructure even in some of the best healthcare systems.

In order to characterize the outbreak and also the transmission dynamics of this COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria, more people have to be tested.To achieve scale, an integrated approach to testing is required

Synchronized lockdown is being practised the world over to contain the spread of the virus because it is essential to breaking of the spread of the virus. Hence lockdown is necessary. However, this cannot take away the fact that testing for COVID-19 must be the major focus as the majority of people with COVID-19 will have no symptoms. The danger lies with the demography of people who are asymptomatic.

Think about it: if health workers, teachers, house staff, or other providers of essential services were to have an asymptomatic disease, it will be good to test and isolate them to prevent further spread. Every country needs to make every effort to increase testing. As I said earlier, Nigeria currently has the lowest testing rate per million population and is the most populous country in Africa.

Nigeria can achieve a lot by aggressive testing as contained in the NCDC strategy for COVID-19: ‘In order to characterize the outbreak and also the transmission dynamics of this COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria, more people have to be tested.

To achieve scale, an integrated approach to testing is required.’

NCDC also highlights that the testing capabilities are strained under community transmission and extremely strained under widespread transmission.

How effective do you think social distancing and lockdowns are in preventing the spread of COVID-19?

Lockdown comes with its own sets of problems and opportunities. COVID-19 can be spread by contact but also by air.

This means an infected person can spread the virus through sneezing or coughing, the same way as one catches a common cold. A safe distance of six feet reduces the chances of catching the infection but the virus can stay airborne for some time after a person has sneezed. One of the key benefits of lockdown is it helps in the containment of spread through social distancing.

The chain of spread can only be broken through lockdowns when an infected person will not be able to infect more people.

Lockdowns also helps countries to buy time to boost strategies to better manage health emergencies so that those who fall ill can get better treatment.

The Lagos State government raised the alarm a few days ago that it was running out of reagents. Can you help since you run a diagnostics laboratory?

The shortage of diagnostic kits and laboratory consumables is a global event that impacts Nigeria as well as the world.

Due to increased demand, countries are fighting to get a larger share of testing kits from the few manufacturers of these kits.

As holders of exclusive distribution rights from BIONEER, a leading provider of RT-PCR equipment and reagents, we are ready to assist Nigeria with supplying these kits. These are the same test kits and reagents that are being used in South Korea, USA, India, and the UK. We can help the federal and state governments in sourcing these reagents in the shortest possible time. We can also provide our laboratory for testing as we have the required infrastructure like Biosafety cabinet BSL2 for the safety of the environment and staff.

Have you contacted the NCDC with your proposal to scale up testing?

We have reached out to the NCDC with our proposal and hope to get a favourable response from them.

Sunday May 10, 2020

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Price: N400

MISSILE

Adegboruwa to Governors “But when you don’t allow citizens of other states to reside and take abode in your state freely, you are telling them that they are not part of the federation.

Any governor executing such illegality is not fit to remain in office as a governor, having committed a breach of his oath office to uphold the 1999 Constitution.” – Human rights defender, Ebun Adegboruwa, (SAN), calling on governors to stop expelling non-indigenes from their states.

SIMONKOLAWOLE SIMONKOLAWOLELIVE!

simon.kolawole@thisdaylive.com, sms: 0805 500 1961

Memo to Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo

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our Excellency, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, you would recall that when the coronavirus pandemic began to take its toll on the Nigerian economy, President Muhammadu Buhari set up the Economic Sustainability Committee (ESC) and made you the chairman.

Your brief, according to media reports, is to help work out a sustainability plan for the economy post-COVID. The seven-member committee under your leadership is made up of three ministers, the group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), among others. This is heavily loaded.

Before I proceed, though, first things first. The COVID-19 pandemic has damaged economies around the world, but the stronger countries are braving the once-in-a-lifetime global health hurricane mainly because they have the capacity, even excess capacity. The biggest economies have injected over $7 trillion in stimulus packages — in form of government spending, tax breaks, loan guarantees and printing money. The US stimulus package includes direct transfers to citizens and residents. The UK is paying 80 per cent of salaries of private businesses to protect millions of jobs. Japan’s own package is about $1 trillion, with $55 billion in cash handouts to citizens.

Your Excellency, I do not need to tell you that a vast majority of Nigerians believe that the government has not done enough for them in these difficult times. Not many Nigerians want to hear that the government itself needs bailout.

With a huge budget deficit, low crude oil prices and a crash in forex inflow, this must be one of the most difficult times for the government in the history of Nigeria. And with the economy grinding to a near halt in the last eight weeks, I do not expect the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and Customs to have good tidings to deliver at the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meetings in the months ahead. We are in soup.

However, Your Excellency, I am not writing you this memo to list the problems. My educated guess is that your committee already has a fair idea of what the problems are — far more than an average Nigerian like me. But, pardon me, knowing the problems has never been our problem in Nigeria. Every Toyin, Tochi and Tanko can provide a comprehensive list of the problems. Committees upon committees always come up with brilliant ideas, plans and programmes. Where things always come unstuck is implementing them with an unbreakable political will. We would go to bed happy that finally we are charting a new course; we would wake up only to see summersaults and slow motion.

Mr Vice-President, I do not intend to preempt the work of your committee, but there is one common mistake I propose you avoid from the very beginning: the fallacy that the Nigerian economy is not diversified. This lie is so repeated it has almost become the truth.

But this is patently untrue, and I am certainly not the first person to point it out. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), this was the GDP distribution, by activity, among the top six sectors of the economy in 2019: agriculture (25.16%), trade (16.01%), information and communication (13.04%), manufacturing (9.06%), and mining and quarrying (8.85%).

What again is diversification?

What many intend to say, I believe, is that

Osinbajo the sources of government revenues are not diversified. Government relies on oil revenues to finance a significant slice of the national budget.

We also rely on oil exports to provide at least 90% of forex inflows. Oil is basically the only product we export — the rest are so tiny they amount to less than 10%. But the fact that the sources of government revenue and forex are not diversified does not mean the economy itself is not. It only means we are not deriving enough value from our diverse economic activities, so they are unable to contribute enough to public revenues and forex inflow. But the economy is bigger than government revenue!

Your Excellency, you will wonder why I am saying all this. It is very critical: the conceptual fallacy that the economy is not diversified is a major thinking error in government. This fallacy makes the government focus more on its own source of revenue (oil) while hurting the sources of revenue for millions of Nigerians. Government has failed to see for so many years that prosperity for Nigerians is automatic prosperity for government: there will be millions of jobs created and several taxes paid — PAYE, VAT, company income tax and such like. This thinking failure, in turn, has retarded government’s ability to diversify its revenue base in a sustainable, less coercive way.

The diverse sectors of the economy that are generating the most activities and should be propelling revenue growth and prosperity have continued to be undermined by governments at all levels as they implement regressive policies that harm value creation, promote importation, accelerate forex flight, and sustain the underdevelopment of Nigerian businesses.

We are dealing with problems whose solutions are obvious. We do not need to produce another bulky “economic recovery” document. We do not need to propound another set of theories.

We do not need meetings upon meetings. We have produced enough economic policies in this country to last a lifetime.

Mr Vice-President, what we need, in my opinion, is an action plan. What we need is ruthless commitment to implementation, the same way we have pursued the rice policy despite the pains and the pushbacks. Permit me, Your Excellency, to point your attention to some of the “little” areas I believe your committee should consider in designing the post-COVID economy. In my previous article, I said we should not allow this COVID-19 crisis to waste. I said other countries will learn and start doing things differently. I concluded that we need to seriously and urgently rethink how we organise our economy and politics.

Because of space constrain, I will advance a few thoughts today.

Here we go. I touched the cotton and textile industry in my previous article. I later got a call from Comrade Issa Aremu, the former general secretary of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN), who took me on a journey into the history of the rise and fall of the textile industry in Nigeria. As at 1978, he said, Nigeria’s textile industry was the third largest in Africa and one of Nigeria’s biggest employers of labour. The textile industry in those days: Asabatex, UNTL, Zamfara Textile, Arewa Textile and Aswani Textile, among others, having one page each. We did run well. What hindered us? Let’s look at where the rain began to beat us.

I am not here to lament, Mr Vice-President.

There is good news. While commending the CBN for the revival of cotton production, Aremu believes the industry can bounce back to life. He listed the value chain and the millions of jobs the industry alone can create in weaving, spinning, finishing and the biggest one — garmenting.

Now, Mr Vice-President, do you know that the uniforms of our armed forces, police and paramilitary forces are made in India and Bangladesh? Shame on us! Look at how we shoot ourselves in the foot! We turn around to wonder why unemployment is high while rendering our tailors jobless! We conclude that the economy is not diversified! Shame on us!

I grew up at time there were vehicle assembly plants all over Nigeria: Peugeot in Kaduna, Leyland in Ibadan, Mercedes in Enugu, and so on. They were assembling cars in a way that helped the local economy: they used Nigerian components. We produced several parts, including the glass, the wires and the tires, locally. The rubber industry was alive. Glass manufacturing was bubbling. Today, we are shamelessly importing Toyota vehicles, burning our forex and killing key factories and jobs. For a start, why can’t our own Innoson vehicles be patronised by governments at all levels?

We complain that millions of our youths are unemployed as if the jobs will fall from heaven.

With due respect, Mr Vice-President, I am not teaching you your job but you chair the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC). Why there is evidence that PEBEC has achieved some results, government still remains a major headache for SMEs. Government cannot be talking about diversifying revenue while its agencies are terrorising SMEs — the biggest engine of any economy in the world. Government cannot see that prosperity for SMEs means a lot to diversifying its own revenue. Instead of helping them grow to keep them on sound footing, government unleashes tax collectors on them for quick revenue gains — and kill them in the process.

I can go on and on, Mr Vice-President, but I think I have made my point: we don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Your committee is all about Nigeria’s economic sustainability and not some quick-fire revenue relief, so it must go beyond how to generate quick money by the usual way of placing higher tax burdens on businesses.

Rather, how can we maximise benefits from key contributors to the GDP? Even our almighty oil sector is grossly underdeveloped. It can perform far better, especially in the midstream sub-sector. Let us pluck the low-hanging fruits right in front of our noses. Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurances of my best wishes as you lead the thinking process.

And Four Other Things…

KALU’S LUCK The Supreme Court has given yet another controversial verdict by quashing Chief Orji Uzor Kalu’s 12-year jail term and ordering a retrial. The judge who convicted the former governor of Abia state had been elevated to the Court of Appeal only for him to return to the lower court to deliver the judgment. The apex court says this is illegal — and this voids an aspect of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) which allows a promoted trial judge to get a fiat to deliver judgment. There was anger over what some think was a wrong focus on technicalities rather than justice.

But in law, the process is an integral part of justice. Retrial will definitely consume more resources. Painful.

THE END? The current plight of the almajirici — young northern boys sent out of their homes to far places ostensibly to learn the Quran but apparently to beg for a living — breaks my heart. We are dealing with a generation of millions that are basically pawns in the socio-political landscape. The outbreak of COVID-19 has led to the internal deportation of these children to their “home states” — where there is hardly anybody or anything to return to. The society has badly let down these children, some of whom have now been infected by the virus. Hopefully, northern leaders will seize this unique opportunity to confront this challenge and restructure their society.

Disheartening.

KOGI DRAMA You cannot make up what is going on in Kogi state. Since the outbreak of the coronavirus disease in Nigeria, it was easy to project that it would spread to every state of the federation. But Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi state insists his domain will never (officially) record one case. On Thursday, Bello asked NCDC officials who visited him to be quarantined for 14 days or be tested for COVID-19. They took to their heels.

Why? Bello has always said there is a plot to bring the virus to Kogi. What other way than to declare the officials positive and argue that they wanted to infect Kogites? Sense will not kill Bello, but that is fine as long as COVID-19 doesn’t kill Kogites too. Drama.

MASK MATTERS A Yoruba proverb says on the day an elephant dies, you will see all manner of knives in the arena. This COVID-19 season has led to the emergence of all kinds of face masks, which is not a bad idea, but I worry about the mass mishandling of the protective gear. I see people wear the mask as if they are protecting themselves against dust, so they pull it up and down at will in order to talk or breathe better.

Some draw it below the nose — meaning they can actually inhale virus particles that might have settled on the front of the mask.

Some pull it below the mouth, thereby exposing themselves to the same danger.

Who is going to educate us before the virus eradicates us? Disturbing.

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