Nigeria is world’s second nation with high maternal, child deaths – Report

The report noted that in 2020, 788 women and children died ‘per thousand’ in India and 540 women and children ‘per thousand’ died in Nigeria.

A new report has shown that Nigeria accounts for the second-highest number of maternal and child deaths globally.

The report, which was titled: ‘Improving maternal and newborn health and survival and reducing stillbirth: Progress Report 2023’ and released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday shows that Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation is only behind India in the latest ranking.

The report noted that in 2020, 788 women and children died ‘per thousand’ in India and 540 women and children ‘per thousand’ died in Nigeria.

In the same year, India accounted for 17 per cent of global maternal, and neonatal deaths and stillbirths, while Nigeria accounts for 12 per cent.

Eight other countries with high maternal, neonatal , and stillbirths are Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Afghanistan, and the United Republic of Tanzania.

The report estimates that globally, there were a combined 4.5 million maternal, neonatal deaths and stillbirths in 2020.

“Sub-Saharan Africa and Central and Southern Asia are the regions experiencing the largest numbers of deaths, although, across all regions, there is variation regarding the pace at which countries are progressing in their efforts to achieve the global 2030 targets.

“The top 10 countries with the highest-burden account for 60 per cent of global maternal deaths, stillbirths, and newborn deaths, and 51 per cent of the world’s live births,” the report noted.

Nigeria in retrospect

It is no longer news that Nigeria’s Maternal Mortality Rate is one of the highest in the world.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa says that one in seven global maternal deaths occurs in Nigeria. That is more than 50,000 women dying per year in Nigeria.

Health experts, however, said about 95 per cent of deaths during childbirth are preventable.

Nigeria’s health minister, Osagie Ehanire, had earlier attributed the high maternal, infant and under-five mortality in the country to lack of access to quality healthcare services.

The report

Speaking on the report, the WHO in a statement said COVID-19 pandemic, rising poverty, and worsening humanitarian crises have intensified pressures on stretched health systems.

It said according to the report, global progress in reducing deaths of pregnant women, mothers and babies has flatlined for eight years due to decreasing investments in maternal and newborn health.

The WHO, Director of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing, Anshu Banerjee, said pregnant women and newborns continue to die at unacceptably high rates worldwide.

Mr Banerjee said the COVID-19 pandemic has created further setbacks to providing women and babies with the healthcare they need.

“If we wish to see different results, we must do things differently. More and smarter investments in primary healthcare are needed now so that every woman and baby – no matter where they live – have the best chance of health and survival,” he said.


In his remark, Steven Lauwerier, UNICEF Director of Health, said since the COVID-19 pandemic, babies, children, and women who were already exposed to threats to their well-being, especially those living in fragile countries and emergencies, are facing the heaviest consequences of decreased spending and efforts on providing quality and accessible healthcare.

Mr Lauwerier said funding shortfalls and underinvestment in primary healthcare can devastate survival prospects.

“For instance, while prematurity is now the leading cause of all under-five deaths globally, less than a third of countries report having sufficient newborn care units to treat small and sick babies,” he said.

“Meanwhile, around two-thirds of emergency childbirth facilities in sub-Saharan Africa are not considered fully functional – meaning they lack essential resources like medicines and supplies, water, electricity or staffing for 24-hour care.”
Human Rights’ violation

The Director of the Technical Division at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Julitta Onabanjo, said the death of any woman or young girl during pregnancy or childbirth is a serious violation of their human rights.

Ms Onabanjo said this also reflects the urgent need to scale up access to quality sexual and reproductive health services as part of universal health coverage and primary health care, especially in communities where maternal mortality rates have stagnated or even risen during recent years.

“We must take a human rights and gender transformative approach to address maternal and newborn mortality, and it is vital that we stamp out the underlying factors which give rise to poor maternal health outcomes like socio-economic inequalities, discrimination, poverty, and injustice,” she said.

She said to increase survival rates, women and babies must have quality and affordable healthcare before, during, and after childbirth as well as access to family planning services.

She noted that more skilled and motivated health workers, especially midwives, are needed, alongside essential medicines and supplies, safe water, and reliable electricity.

mymadam:

Do you plan to open a Payoneer business account?

SilentVboy:
hmmm, and that's why I don't like Payoneer.
I prefer wise account. Or grey account.

I don't really know what u can do here now. Maybe add a grey account or wise to withdraw your money from Amazon.

Or maybe those using Payoneer can come assist u.

SilentVboy:
ok. But be aware that if you decide to go for a Payoneer account, then the minimum amount to withdraw is $50.

SilentVboy:
oh ok. That dollar account is still known as Dom account. So it's ok.
Are u from Ak city? If yes, then I greet u Eyeneka.

SilentVboy:
A dollar account where?

mymadam:

Yes. Open a Payoneer account and get paid via Payoneer. Thereafter, withdraw your funds to your Nigerian domiciliary bank account, as needed. Hope this helps 🤗

SilentVboy:
@KRSwon, Bro, it's not a Nigerian bank account that will go in there.
You will need a wise account, or Payoneer account or grey account to receive your payment.
Those are virtual account details that you will fix there.

But if you don't have any of those account, then open one for yourself.
Or u get in touch with a reliable person who has to receive payment for u.

I only have wise account which I use.

Go to Google and type "how to receive payment on Amazon kdp" and you will see how to go about it.

By Prince Okafor

Travellers across Nigeria will have to seek alternative resolution, as the aviation unions begin a two-day warning strike.

The development is coming against the backdrop of what they described as ‘unpalatable’ working conditions and entitlements.

The unions involved include National Union of Air Transport Employee, NUATE; Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, ATSSSAN; National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers, NAAPE, and Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals, ANAP.

Vanguard gathered that members of the unions after their meeting with the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) ended in a stalemate blocked the entrance to the Murtala Muhammad Airport domestic terminal, leaving many passengers stranded.
NCAA’s Director-General, Civil Aviation, Capt. Musa Nuhu, had called on the union to shelve their planned two-day warning strike with representatives of the unions in attendance.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Aviation, Dr. Emmanuel Meribole who was also at the meeting, also urged the union to halt planned strike action.

But the union disregarded the appeal and insisted on going ahead with their warning strike.

The workers are demanding the approval and implementation of the condition of service (CoS), as agreed between them and the Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC), the office of the head of civil service of the federation, and other agencies.

Others are the non-implementation of minimum wage consequential adjustments and arrears for the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMet) since 2019 and the planned demolition exercise of all the agency buildings in Lagos by the minister of aviation for an airport city project.

In a memo signed by the leadership of the five unions, the workers said an indefinite strike would ensue if the two-day warning strike fails.

However, in an interview with newsmen, the Deputy General Secretary of ATSSSAN, Comrade Frances Akinjole said: “As I am talking to you, nothing has changed. If you don’t hear anything from the General Secretary, the strike continues.

“The strike goes as planned.”

The strike has since commenced across all airports in Nigeria with many passengers stranded. Many of the passengers were seen trekking to the airport as the unions blocked exit to the domestic terminal one and the MMA2.

Security operatives, including police and military officers, are on the ground as the unions sing solidarity songs.

Meanwhile, The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) have advised travellers and stakeholders to make contingency plans in order to avoid missing their appointments.

This was contained in a statement on Monday in Abuja.

The agency said the management of NAIA would open the airport for operation as usual, but warned that passengers may experience “disruptions in flight operations as a result of the planned strike action”.

The aviation authority expressed regret over any inconvenience that passengers may face.

“The management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, wishes to inform the general public of the aviation union’s planned two-day warning strike scheduled to start Monday April 17, 2023,” FAAN said.

“Intending passengers and stakeholders are kindly advised and note so as to make contingency plans in order to avoid missing their flights and appointments. Any inconvenience experienced is highly regretted.”

“Since the President was sworn into office in 2015, he has never directed anybody to defy court orders, in the strong belief that we can’t practise democracy without the rule of law and the commitment of his administration to this principle has not changed….

timesupreloaded:
Japan is a shithole country. You have been completely dumbed down. North Korea is a trillion times better than deflation shithole Japan

timesupreloaded:
ogun kill global brand. I say Japan and America are shitholes you donkey

Yusman316:

The U.S is his problem. How will you feel if you are having a long standing dispute with your neighbor, and someone from another state is coming to your neighbor's aide? How will you feel about that person?

timesupreloaded:
Japan is a shithole country. You have been completely dumbed down. North Korea is a trillion times better than deflation shithole Japan

theforemost:



If Russia is truly losing, then Russian and not American would be negotiating peace

Nigeria broke as debt payment exceeds revenue

Nigeria's gross oil and gas federation revenue for the first four months of the year was projected at N3.12 trillion but as at April 30, only N1.23 trillion was realised, representing a mere 39% performance.

Nigeria’s fiscal position worsened in the first four months of the year as the cost of repaying debt surpassed the government’s revenue in the first quarter of 2022.

According to details of the 2022 fiscal performance report for January through April, Nigeria’s total revenue stood at N1.63 trillion while debt servicing stood at N1.94 trillion, showing a variance of over N300 billion.

Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, on Thursday warned that urgent action is needed to address the nation’s revenue challenge and expenditure efficiency at both the national and sub-national levels.

The report showed that gross oil and gas federation revenue for the first four months of the year was projected at N3.12 trillion but as at April 30, only N1.23 trillion was realised, representing a mere 39% performance.

Despite higher oil prices, the report showed that oil revenue underperformed due to significant oil production shortfalls such as shut-ins resulting from pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft as well as high petrol subsidy cost due to higher landing costs of imported products.

However, non-oil taxes trailed targets marginally, with average performance of 92.6%.

“Revenue performance is expected to improve in the second half of 2022 as a result of concerted efforts to address the oil theft and pipeline vandalism, the report said. It added that there is also seasonality to some of the non-oil taxes, which means that the nation expects to collect significantly more in the second half of the year.

“The improved revenue collection should also moderate the Debt Service to Revenue ratio, which is currently above our target level,” the report said.

The expectation of improved revenue collection should also moderate the debt service to revenue ratio, which is currently above the nation’s target level.

Precedent

In the first quarter of 2020, Nigeria’s debt service as a percentage of revenue rose to 99%, according to the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy (MTEF/FSP) report released by the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget, and National Planning.

The data showed that in Q1 2020, Nigeria incurred a total sum of N943.12 billion in debt service while the Nigerian government retained revenue at N950.56 billion. In effect, Nigeria’s debt service to revenue was estimated to be 99% during the period.

On Thursday, the new report showed that the Nigerian government’s share of oil revenues in Q1 2022 was N285.38 billion (representing 39 percent performance), while non-oil tax revenues totalled N632.56 billion, representing 84 percent. In essence, the government generated N401.8 billion from company income tax (CIT) and value-added tax (VAT) as CIT and VAT collections were N298.83 billion and N102.97 billion, respectively, representing 99 percent and 98 percent of their respective targets.

Customs collections (made up of import duties, excise and fees, as well as federation account special levies) trailed target by N76.77 billion (25.42 percent) while the other revenues amounted to N664.64 billion, of which independent revenue was N394.09 billion.

Underlying Factors

The report noted that for Nigeria, “fiscal risks are somewhat elevated”, following weaker-than-expected domestic economic performance and structural issues in the domestic economy. It warned that revenue generation remains the major fiscal constraint of the nation and the systemic resource mobilization problem has been compounded by recent economic recessions.

The underlying factors also include the Russia and Ukraine war, which the report said has assumed a new and worrisome dimension with severe implications on food and energy prices. It listed the resurgence of COVID -19 in some major economies, which has led to slowdown in economic activities in those countries; as well as renewed elevated inflation in most economies, prompting monetary tightening in these economies with the inherent negative impact on capital inflow to emerging markets economies.

Also identified as a contributing factor is the challenging domestic macroeconomic and business environment and the negative impact of insecurity on the domestic economy.

“Efforts will however focus on improving tax administration and collection efficiency,” the report said.

“Crude oil production challenges and PMS subsidy deductions by NNPC constitute significant threat to the achievement of our revenue growth targets, as seen in the 2022 Performance up to April.

“Bold, decisive and urgent action is urgently required to address revenue underperformance and expenditure efficiency at national & sub-national levels.”

CBN warns Nigerians to stop converting naira to dollar

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a stern warning to Nigerians converting Naira to the US dollar.

According to CBN, it would place a post-no debit on bank account(s) of any customer violating this rule.

Governor of the apex bank, Godwin Emefiele who read the riot act during the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on Tuesday, specifically warned politicians amid rising electioneering spending.

The CBN governor said: “As far as we are concerned, we monitor liquidity in the subsystem. We will use our powers to mop up cash and for those taking money from banks to buy dollars. It is illegal to do so. If the security agencies hold you, you will know the implication of that.

“We are monitoring customers and banks, any bank involved will be sanctioned. We will place Post no Debit on the defaulting customer’s account. It is a very injurious tool to stop you from conducting illegal flows, either domestic or foreign currency.

“We will conduct investigations, and we will have proof and you will not be able to conduct transactions in any Nigerian bank.”

'Thank God for Plumptre' -Reactions as Nigerians gush over Super Falcons star despite WAFCON exit

Nigerians have taken to social media to sing the praises of Ashleigh Plumptre, who many have now labelled as the 'best defender' in the Super Falcons.

Nigeria's quest for a 10th Women's Africa Cup of Nations trophy suffered a hitch, following the Super Falcons's 5-4 defeat to hosts Morocco via a penalty shootout on Monday night, July 18.

Super Falcons held Morocco, to a 1-1 draw after extra time playing most of the game with nine players following two second-half red cards.

Halimatu Ayinde and Rasheedat Ajibade were sent off in the second half for two cynical tackles.

However, 12 minutes after going down to ten women, the Super Falcons broke the deadlock through substitute Uchenna Kalu scoring the opener to give Nigeria the 1-0 lead in the 62nd minute.

But the lead only lasted just four minutes, before a poor error from goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie proved costly as the Atlas Lionesses found the leveller.

It was a 'frying pan into the fire' for Nigeria as the Falcons were down to nine (9) women with 20 minutes to go.

Another VAR intervention saw Ajibade receive her marching orders as Nigeria played the final 20 minutes doggedly trying to keep the Lionesses at bay.

The defending champions managed hold their own against the Moroccans, as they eventually forced the game into extra time.

With nothing to separate both sides in the extra time, the game would be decided on penalties.

However, a missed spot kick from Ifeoma Onumonu gifted Morocco a ticket to their first-ever WAFCON final in which they play South Africa's Banyana Banyana on Saturday, 23rd July.

Social Media Reactions to Ashleigh Plumptre's display vs Morocco

However, following the Super Falcons' exit from this year's edition, fans have taken to social media to single out Leicester City defender Ashleigh Plumptre for her incredible performance once again for the nine time African champions.

Plumptre has since managed to establish herself as one of the integral members of the Super Falcons team, and Thursday night gave Nigerians something to cheer about with her impressive display at the heart of the team's defense once again.

Here's how Nigerians have reacted on Twitter below:

WAFCON 2022: We showed character in defeat to Morocco – Super Falcons star, Plumptre

Published on July 19, 2022
By Mike Oyebola

Ashleigh Plumptre has said the performance of the Super Falcons despite being two players down spoke to the character and quality of the team despite the defeat to Morocco in their semi-final clash at the 2022 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations.

Randy Waldrum’s side’s hope of winning a 10th African title was dashed by the host nation, who prevailed 5-4 on penalty shootouts.

The game ended in a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes of a thrilling contest.

Midfield lynchpin, Halimat Ayinde was sent off for a poor challenge three minutes after the break.

It was not long before Rasheedat Ajibade followed Ayinde to an early shower, for a similar dangerous tackle.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, the Super Falcons battled on and nearly scored the winning goal late in extra time through substitute Monday Gift, who hit the woodwork.

“I don’t think anybody can fault the players on the pitch for how we tried to fight,” Plumptre was quoted by ESPN.

“Even with nine players, for that amount of time, because it is not just the physical side, it is also the emotional and mental side, the frustration of having two players coming off.

“I am not going to comment on the decision, but that affects everybody on the pitch. Most of us were tired but we still put in a good effort.”

The Super Falcons will now play for the bronze medal against Zambia on Friday.

Christistruth00:
Fake News


The report is Fake and unsigned

Here is Nathaniel Solomon who was no 46 on that useless fake list and listed as dead at Lekki Toll gate granting Punch Newspaper an Interview on 11 Sep 2021

https://punchng.com/video-i-fainte

The report is fake

Check page 304 it listed only Abuta Solomon as a Fatality at Lekki Toll gate and his brother Nathaniel was awarded N25 Million

That same Nathaniel Solomon was then listed In number 46 of the fake report list as dead at Lekki Toll Gate

This is evidence that there was deliberate Misinformation over Lekki Toll gate

There was no massacre at Lekki

Photojournalist Eti-Inyene Godwin Akpan reported on the 2020 protests against police violence in Nigeria. (Photo: Eti-Inyene Godwin Akpan)

A Nigerian journalist took photos at the scene of killings his government denies. Then the harassment started

 “I now sleep with one eye closed, trying to watch my back every second," he says.

ByJonathan Rozen

November 11, 2021

The photos showed blood-soaked concrete, a gashed open thigh, and an injured protester grimacing in pain on the ground. Taken by photojournalist Eti-Inyene Godwin Akpan on October 20, 2020, the images tell the story of Nigerian forces’ mass shooting of anti-police brutality protesters at Lagos’ Lekki Toll Gate, an incident the government continues to deny.

One year after Mr Akpan published the photographs on social media, he planned to display them in Lagos at a museum exhibit marking the anniversary of the protests against police brutality that swept Nigeria late last year. But he postponed the show indefinitely after receiving two calls summoning him, without explanation, to the local offices of Nigeria’s State Security Services (SSS, also called DSS), a federal security agency.

“I now sleep with one eye closed, trying to watch my back every second,” Mr Akpan told CPJ in a phone call. “They know I know some things and I have some images…”

The calls came minutes after Mr Akpan gave a live interview on local TV about his work documenting the 2020 protests. Akpan said that he asked the callers for a formal, emailed summons. He feared that without it, the SSS might mistreat him or hold him for a prolonged period without access to a lawyer or his family, the kind of behaviour that CPJ has documented in the past. The calls echoed intimidation tactics he said he faced a year earlier following his posting on social media about the toll gate shooting – tactics that led him to temporarily flee the country.

Reached by CPJ via messaging app, SSS spokesperson Peter Afunanya denied that his agency called Mr Akpan in early October 2021. He also dismissed concerns over the SSS’ history of detaining journalists.

“Right in front of my eyes, I saw dead bodies,” reads the caption on Mr Akpan’s Instagram post from the October 2020 shooting that killed protesters, according to local and international media and rights groups. It was the deadliest incident in last year’s protests, known as the End SARS movement – a reference to the protesters’ call to dismantle Nigeria’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad unit.

Journalists covering the protest movement were beaten, harassed, and fined by law enforcement. One reporter, Onifade Emmanuel Pelumi, was found dead at a mortuary on October 30, 2020; he was last seen alive in police custody after he covered unrest around the protests in Lagos.

Images of the Lekki Toll Gate killings are particularly sensitive, Mr Akpan told CPJ, because they contradict the government’s account. In a press conference, Nigerian Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed marked October 20 this year by calling it “the first anniversary of the phantom massacre,” which took place “without blood or bodies.” Last year the Nigerian army admitted it used live rounds at the toll gate, but said its forces only shot into the air.

After Mr Akpan first published the pictures, he told CPJ that anonymous callers pressured him to take down the Instagram post and replace it with one saying the images were fake. He said his bank account was frozen and that SSS agents arrived at his office looking for him, which SSS spokesperson Afunanya denied.

After that, Mr Akpan decided to heed friends’ advice to leave the country. In the days before he fled, Mr Akpan told CPJ that he believed the images he had captured could contribute to the historical record of the protests. But to protect this evidence for future generations and continue his work, he needed to be safe.

He fled to Ghana by crossing over land through Benin and Togo – a journey of hundreds of miles facilitated by CPJ and Maxime Domegni, an editor with the Global Investigative Journalism Network.

Mr Akpan did not know anyone in Benin or Togo. Nor did he speak the local languages of those two francophone countries. But CPJ introduced him to two local investigative journalists — Igance Sossou in Benin and Ferdinand Ayité in Togo – whose help would prove invaluable.

Messrs Sossou and Ayité have both faced reprisal for their work and told CPJ in separate interviews that they agreed to assist Akpan out of journalistic solidarity.

“I understand the risk hanging over journalism in the West African sub-region,” Mr Sossou, who was arrested in late 2019, imprisoned for six months, and fined over social media posts, told CPJ via messaging app. “If you are a journalist who experienced what I experienced between 2019 and 2020 in Benin, you are necessarily sensitive to the case of Eti-Inyene.”





After Mr Akpan slipped across Nigeria’s western border, he met Mr Sossou in Cotonou, Benin’s economic capital. Mr Sossou said he assisted Mr Akpan with changing his money into local currency and finding a car and driver to transport him to Togo’s border, which Mr Akpan crossed on foot before finding a cab to Lomé, Togo’s capital.

Mr Ayité, whose newspaper, L’Alternative, has been repeatedly suspended and who continues to face harassment by authorities, told CPJ he met Mr Akpan in Lomé. Mr Ayité arranged and paid for Mr Akpan’s dinner and overnight accommodation as well as a motorcycle driver who could safely navigate the border with Ghana the following morning. Once across, Mr Akpan caught a bus from the Aflao border town to Accra.

“We are just journalists and we have no borders. Wherever one of us is threatened, all journalists are concerned,” Mr Ayité told CPJ. “Solidarity must be the cardinal value of our profession and I think that this is what guided Ignace Sossou and my modest self to come to the aid of [Akpan].”

Mr Akpan told CPJ that his travel across Togo and Benin would have been “so difficult, if not impossible” without this assistance. “I would have been attacked or duped,” he said. “It was an amazing collaboration.”

After arriving in Accra, a friend helped Mr Akpan find accommodation. He stayed in hiding for four months but decided to return to Nigeria in February 2021. The stresses of exile, exacerbated by the pandemic, made him struggle with loneliness and depression, he said.

“I felt that there was still work for me to do in Nigeria. These stories [of the protests] still need to be told,” Mr Akpan said, adding that he initially avoided telling his mother and sisters of his return because it would make them worry. Despite one sister’s advice never to set foot back in Nigeria, he felt that the protests had diminished enough to reduce the risk. But the intimidating calls returned this October, as Mr Akpan promoted his photo exhibition.

Mr Akpan told CPJ that the callers claiming to be SSS agents never sent him an emailed summons, as he had requested. After their calls, he received other calls from people asking him questions about his photography. He said the people claimed to be potential clients, but when he requested the callers send their details over email, they never followed up, compounding his fears. He said he now takes extra precautions to secure his communications and store his information.

Yet, Mr Akpan has not stopped trying to record historic events. He went out with his camera on this year’s October 20 anniversary to photograph a memorial marking the Lekki Toll Gate killings, where journalists were again attacked by police. The solidarity he experienced over the last 12 months has given him courage and strengthened his commitment to speaking the truth, he told CPJ. “I rest assured that I’m not alone,” he said.

"The approval was done about three years ago, it is not something new, it is the construction that failed apparently from what we can see."

By Ifeoluwa Adediran

Barely 24 hours after a Lagos State government official said only 15 floors were approved for the 21-storey building which collapsed in Ikoyi, Lagos, the deputy governor has issued a contradiction.

Obafemi Hamzat, the deputy governor, said while addressing journalists at the site of the collapsed building on Tuesday morning that the owner of the building got approval for 21 floors.

On Monday, Gbolahan Oki, the general manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), said the government approved 15 floors for the 21-storey building.

“He got an approval for a 15-storey building and he exceeded his limit. I am on ground here and the materials he used are so inferior and terrible,” Mr Oki had said.

But the deputy governor contradicted the claim.

“This particular one was approved for 21 floors, not 15. If you count, the second building was 14 or 15. The approval was done about three years ago, it is not something new, it is the construction that failed apparently from what we can see,” he said.

Mr Hamzat also confirmed the earlier sealing of the building by the state government over poor construction.

“It was sealed from June. It was sealed because the agency came in to do a structural test, they saw some abnormalities, so they shut it down for those things to be corrected.

“They were making corrective actions when this (collapse) happened,” Mr Hamzat said.

He added that the emergency agencies are not sure of the number of people that are trapped in the building because it is not a residential building and there is no list of people that were there when it collapsed.

As of the time of this report, 10 bodies had been recovered from the incident, while nine victims were rescued.

Nigeria is a country of rather painful ironies. Ironies manifesting in material, physical and even human propositions, ironies that can drive the most optimistic of peoples into disillusionment.

Ponder how a country so evidently blessed with both human and natural resources will struggle to hold its own in the comity of nations. Daily, the country sinks deeper into trouble and ignominy, no thanks to the irony of political leaders, most of whom are totally at sea as per the weight of the responsibility of their offices. One of those is the man known as Abubakar Malami, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Federal Republic of Nigeria!

In many democratic jurisdictions, the Attorney General is the most senior cabinet minister. Democracies are expected to be governed by the rule of law for which the AG is usually the chief superintendent. This means that the occupier of that office is the chief enforcer of the country’s constitution, and he does that, regardless of whose ox is gored. In a democracy, all men should be equal before the law.

In 1993, for instance, President Bill Clinton of the United States of America appointed Janet Reno as the country’s Attorney General. One year later, when allegations that Clinton had suspicious business dealings during his term as Governor of Arkansas surfaced, it was Reno’s duty to initiate investigations. She promptly appointed a special counsel to investigate the affair. When the Paula Jones and Monica Lewinsky sexual affair broke out a few years later, Reno appointed another special investigator, Ken Starr, to investigate Clinton. Starr would eventually identify 11 grounds for Clinton’s possible impeachment. The point here is that as Attorney General, you stand in a unique position to further the cause of justice, without any bias, even for the one who may have appointed you!

It is not difficult to imagine that the framers of the Nigerian constitution also had that contemplation. Probably in recognition of the importance of the AG’s office, the Constitution of the Federal Republic, 1999 as amended, stipulates in S.150 that; “there shall be an Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) who shall be the Chief Law Officer of the Federation and a Minister of the Government of the Federation.”

It happens that of the crowd of ministers that this constitution prescribes, only the Attorney General’s office is in the document, which undoubtedly underscores the importance of that office. The holder of this office is expected to be a blameless emblem of the legal profession, one who upholds the tenets of the law without pandering to any other sentiments but the dictates of the country’s laws. And when countries face the type of turbulence that Nigeria currently grapples with, the occupier of this office is expected to be above board, serving, and seen to be serving no other interest than that which promotes the laws of the country and the unity that leaders of Nigeria claim to desire!

The question then is: can we say that Nigeria’s current Attorney General and Minister of Justice understands and lives by all of these? The answer is no and that is a multifaceted irony.

It becomes more disturbing when you realise that Abubakar Malami is also a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). This is a prestigious juncture in lawyers’ careers wherein their every pronouncement is like a creed to upcoming legal practitioners. It is not just that, by virtue of his position, the Legal Practitioners Act, (1962) as amended makes him President of the General Council of the Bar. He is also a member of the Body of Benchers, the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee, Legal Practitioners’ Disciplinary Committee, and the Legal Practitioners Remuneration Committee chair. Therefore, the AGF is not just the country’s chief law officer, he is also the mirror through which the legal profession is seen, within and outside the country. As a result, every word he speaks should emerge from deep introspection since they can convey a million and one interpretations in the minds of his listeners. This is even more so in Nigeria, where the people are divided along several primordial lines!

What we, however, sometimes get from Mr Malami belies the maturity and circumspection that you expect of that office. A couple of months back, the AGF was in the eye of the storm for comparing Igbo spare parts dealers plying their business in the northern part of the country with marauding cattle herders. For any minister at all, not to speak about the country’s chief law officer, to draw such inferences devalues the office to which he has been appointed.

Yet nothing is as demeaning of Malami’s office as of last week’s press conference where he spoke about the alleged terrorist activities of two citizens: Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Adeyemi, leaders of the Indigenous People of Biafra and Yoruba Nations, respectively.

Without paying too much attention to the shocking conjectures for which this senior lawyer concluded that the two men might be involved in terrorist activities, the idea behind the Presidential Ad-hoc Committee to investigate IPOB/ESN is faulty.

Assuming, without conceding that IPOB/ESN is responsible for the recent killings and brigandage in the south-east as the committee reckons, have there been such investigations (which identified alleged sponsors) about the crisis in the North-East, North-West and North-Central where Nigeria has incurred a colossal loss of life and property since about 2009? Has anyone been brought to justice for these? What is the fate of the six financiers of the Boko Haram insurgency allegedly recently identified by the United Arab Emirate? What about the 400 Bureau De Change operators said to have been arrested for allegedly funding the activities of Boko Haram? Have security agencies or any other government agency invited Sheik Abubakar Gumi who seems to know everything about the terrorism going on in the North-West and some parts of the North-Central to tell what he knows about the shameful situation? If none of these has happened, why? Why the choice of separatist movements like IPOB and Yoruba Nation? Is the government so possessed with keeping Nigeria one than the lives that are being lost daily, the erosion of the people’s faith in their country and the prospects of every Nigerian feeling a sense of justice? On Wednesday, there were newspaper reports of “bandits” imposing levies on communities in Sokoto State, (next to Malami’s home state) and setting ultimatums for the remittance of same. Does this not come across as something the government should go all out to contend with?

Now, beyond Malami’s unfortunate display of sectional sentiment is the legal essence of last week’s vituperation. For starters, one would imagine that a country’s number one law officer would understand that information reeled out that Thursday should be for prosecuting this matter(s) in court.

To bring these facts into the public space is programming the minds of Nigerians against the accused persons and trampling on the accused’s rights to the presumption of innocence. It is an official seal on medical trials, something this office should ensure no Nigerian suffers.

In accusing Adeyemo who is currently being held in the Benin Republic, Malami spoke about monies ranging from about N12 million and N200 million as indicative of funds being channelled into the sponsorship of terrorism. Really? Is this the kind of money used to sponsor terrorism over the eight-year period for which he claimed the Adeyemo accounts were investigated? What precise terrorist activities did Igboho perpetrate before his self-appointed mission of chasing killer herders out of the South-West, which brought him into the limelight last year?

More importantly, has Mr Malami considered the alternative dispute resolution philosophy that his legal profession currently advocates for litigants? As legal advisor to the president, does the AGF think that crushing the opposition, militarising the state, and fighting cases in court, are the only ways to stem the sweeping tide of violence and insecurity in the country? Or is he too conflicted to be clear about the need to adopt the carrot and stick approach in returning peace to this troubled country?

Overall, given the immaturity of Nigeria’s political elite, (which makes the appointed consider himself an unquestioning servant of the appointor) and the importance of the office of the Attorney General of the Federation, the country should seriously consider the idea of separating the office of Attorney General and Minister of Justice.

Abdulrasheed Bawa, chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Thursday, said he cannot publicly mention those financing Boko Haram and other terrorism acts in Nigeria