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 Travel / 2023 Japa Goal: Here Are 10 Things You Must Do Before You Relocate From Nigeria by Shehuyinka: 4:56pm On Jan 05, 2023 |
THE number of international immigrants of African origin is projected to reach 80 million by the year 2030. In a recent PEW survey, of the 12 countries surveyed from five different continents, Nigerians ranked highest among people who desperately want to relocate to another country in search of a better life, a process now popularly referred to as ‘japa’. Many Nigerians have set relocation from the country, as a top priority in their goals for 2023 and the poor standard of living, rising insecurity and economic uncertainties that loom over the country preparing for its general elections, change in government and drastic reform measures such as fuel subsidy removal, all in one year, are some of the main reasons behind the decision to japa. A 2022 report by the European Union Institute for Security Studies revealed that the number of African migrants living outside their country of origin was around 41 million, with the majority 21 million of them living in another African country, while 11 million (56.4 per cent), five million (25.6 per cent) and three million (15.4 per cent) reside in Europe, Asia and North America respectively. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) also noted that increasing restrictive policies in traditional destinations such as Europe and new opportunities in emerging economies and trade routes, have led to greater diversification of travel destinations for Africans to countries such as Turkey, China and South Africa for business, trade, study and employment. Today, millions of ethnic Nigerians live abroad and the largest communities can be found in the United Kingdom’ (500,000–3,000,000) and the United States (600,000–1,000,000 Nigerians). Other top destination countries include Canada, Germany, South Africa and The Gambia. More alternative migration destinations offer more opportunities for work, income, business and remittances to families back home, which in turn help to boost African economies. Routes Nigeria use for relocation The five easiest routes for relocation used by Nigerians are a. study, b. work, c. marriage, d. application for permanent residency and e. asylum, but irrespective of the route one chooses to take, here are ten things you should do before you japa in 2023: READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/2023-japa-goal-here-are-10-things-you-must-do-before-you-relocate-from-nigeria/
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| Politics / Here is information on Nigeria's elections as Buhari's term comes to an end by Shehuyinka: 4:40pm On Dec 28, 2022 |
With less than six months to the end of President Muhammadu Buhari’s term in office, Nigerians will head to the polls on February 25, 2022, to elect a new president. Apart from voting for the President, Nigerians will also be voting to elect members of the National Assembly (senate and the house of representatives), State governors – aside from states with off-cycle elections Kogi, Anambra, Ekiti, Osun, Bayelsa, Imo, Edo, Ondo – and members of State Assemblies making it five ballot papers in all, but this report will only focus on the Presidential election. The National Assembly will be held on the same day as the Presidential election, while the Governorship and the State Houses of Assembly will be held on March 11 2023. Since its independence in 1960, Nigeria has had sixteen dispensations with 14 heads of states/presidents. Candidates for the 2023 presidential election Eighteen candidates are running for President in Nigeria this year. Voters register and Voter turnout Nigeria has a voter register of 93.5m voters, according to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu announcement in October 2022. According to Mahmood, “In terms of demographic distribution, 7.2mn new voters or 76.5 per cent are young people between 18-34 years while there is a slightly higher number of female (4.8m or 50.82 per cent) than male (4.6m or 49.18 per cent) voters. In terms of occupation, 3.8m (40.8 per cent) are students.” “At the end of the [CVR] exercise, 12,298,944 Nigerians successfully completed the registration as new voters. All along, we have repeatedly assured Nigerians that our process of cleaning up the register is robust,” he said. He further said, “After a rigorous cleaning-up of the data using the automated biometric identification system (ABIS), a total of 2,780,756 (22.6%) were identified as ineligible registrants and invalidated from the record, among them double/multiple registrants, underaged persons and outrightly fake registrations that fail to meet our business rules.” “Consequently, the number of valid registrations (post-ABIS) is 9,518,188.” “The 9,518,188 new voters have been added to the existing register of 84,004,084 voters. The preliminary register of voters in Nigeria now stands at 93,522,272.’’ Although the number of Nigerians registering to vote has been increasing, voter turnout in Nigeria has lagged behind the national average since 1999. Election turnout has been declining steadily since 1999, though there was an increase between the 1999 and 2003 elections from 52 per cent to 69 per cent, according to data on election statistics available since the beginning of democracy in 1999. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/with-buharis-time-in-office-coming-to-an-end-heres-what-to-know-about-nigerias-elections/
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| Politics / Buhari Makes 16 Foreign Trips In 11 Months – Spends 28 Days On Medical Trips by Shehuyinka: 11:06am On Dec 24, 2022 |
President Muhammadu Buhari has gone on sixteen trips out of the country since January 2022. Out of the sixteen trips he made abroad this year, two were for medical vacations in London, totalling twenty-eight days, which has become customary for Buhari since he was elected president in 2015. The President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, frequently defended Buhari’s international medical journeys by claiming that he “has used the same medical team for about 40 years.” Adesina also made the case that it is advisable President stick with the team that was familiar with his medical history. It is unknown how much the President has spent on medical examinations, but over the past eight years, the Buhari administration has set aside at least N33.3 billion for the State House’s medical infrastructure. This covers both ongoing expenses like “the purchase of health/medical equipment, drugs, and medical supplies” and capital projects like the building of the State House Medical Centre’s presidential wing, which is expected to be finished this year. According to budget documents for the time period under review, the State House Medical Centre took in N8.35 billion, while the presidential wing gulped N24.24 billion. General medical expenses totalled N308.26 million. Meanwhile, the President’s latest travel is to Washington, United States, alongside other African leaders at the United States-Africa Leaders’ Summit. He departed Nigeria on Sunday, 11 December, for a high-level meeting at the instance of United States President Joe Biden, who seeks more pragmatic ways to foster new economic engagement and work with African governments to advance peace, security, and good governance. He returned on Sunday, December 18. The President’s budget for his foreign travels in 2022 was N1.5 billion, N200 million less than the N1.7 billion budgeted for his international journeys in 2021. Buhari has spent more than 60 days outside Nigeria this year alone. Buhari’s travel destinations within this period include; Ethiopia, Belgium, Gambia, Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, France, Kenya, Portugal, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United States of America (USA), Turkiye, The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and The United Kingdom (UK). The President visited places like Addis Ababa, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom multiple times during this time, and because of his frequent travels abroad, some Nigerians have given him the title “minister of foreign affairs.” His extended travels have included nine days at the 77th UN General Assembly (UNGA 77), which was held on September 13, 14 days for a routine medical examination in the UK in March, another 14 days for a second examination in October, five days for a visit to the Portuguese President and the UN Ocean Conference on June 28, and yet another five days for the Economic of West African States (ECOWAS) in Ghana on June 4. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/buhari-makes-16-foreign-trips-in-11-months-may-have-exceeded-n1-5bn-budget/ 1 Like
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| Politics / Cheat Sheet: Some Bola Ahmed Tinubu Controversies That Have Refused To Go Away by Shehuyinka: 5:35pm On Dec 18, 2022 |
ONE of Nigeria’s 2023 Presidential election front-runner Bola Ahmed Tinubu has presented himself as the candidate to beat, claiming his opponents are no match for him. In June of this year, the former governor of Lagos State won the All Progressive Congress (APC) presidential primary by a margin of 1,271 to 2,115 votes, defeating Rotimi Amaechi, the former governor of Rivers State and the minister of transportation, and the incumbent vice president, Yemi Osinbajo. Called Jagaban by his admirers, Tinubu in some quarters has been dubbed the Svengali of Nigerian politics after playing an instrumental role in the election that brought the current APC-led President Muhammadu Buhari administration to power after ending the People’s Democratic Party sixteen years of rule in 2015. Tinubu has been the subject of many controversies from the time he became Governor of Lagos in 1999. This year has seen a long string of stories about him. With controversies involving Tinubu, from questionable wealth, ill-health, allegations of certificate and corruption, bagman to heroin traffickers and money-laundering ring investigation. Tinubu and his team have refuted some of the accusations levelled against him. In a recent interview with the BBC, Tinubu claimed that he acquired his wealth through several different investments. In response to a question posed by the interviewer, Tinubu said, “Because you have got know how to analyse and how to ask questions, not in an accusatory format. Are they enemies of wealth? If they are not enemies of wealth, investment do yield. I have an example of Warren Buffet. One of the richest men in the country, in America and in the world. He started from stock buying and brokerages. I inherited great real estate. I turned the values around. I am not denying my wealth. I have not been… I was the most investigated, the most accused governor in the opposition up to, you know, for eight years. and up to until 2007. And since I’ve left the office, I’m still there, I have not taken any government appointment, no government contract.” (sic) In response to the allegation he has a hold on the finances of Lagos State despite not being the Governor, he said, “Hey, excuse me, share what? Have they proven it? The world bank, IMF has investigated the record in Lagos. What’s wrong with them. It’s envy.” (sic) The faces This is a brief summary of some of the issues involving Tinubu. Tinubu school records During his first term as Governor of Lagos State, Tinubu was accused of not attending Government College Ibadan and Chicago State University, as indicated in his INEC form 001 filled when he contested the Lagos State governorship poll and that he also lied in the affidavit he attached to the INEC form, in which he declared that he lost his university degree certificate while he was in exile between 1994 and 1998. The upshot: The Lagos State House of Assembly established a panel, as part of possible impeachment proceedings due to the allegation. The House, after investigating, dismissed all allegations against Tinubu. Also, in response to the allegation, Tinubu presented the original copy of some of his certificates while he dismissed the allegations as baseless. Regarding the claim that Tinubu did not attend Chicago State University (CSU), the university confirmed that a Bola A. Tinubu received a degree from the institution in response to a query from The ICIR. According to Caleb Westberg, a registrar in the university’s Office of Records and Registration, Tinubu attended from August 1977 to June 1979. Unlike when he ran for governorship, many media reports state that Tinubu did not include his primary and secondary school records in the form he submitted to INEC for his presidential bid. “The documents showed Tinubu left the columns for his primary and secondary schools education unmarked”, a report by People Gazzette stated. Another media report from Dail Trust states that Tinubu did not attach copies of the certificates, which he stated in an affidavit, had been stolen. Tinubu’s CCT Trial The former governor of Lagos State was accused of violating the constitution by allegedly operating foreign accounts while in office in 2007. In the charges brought against Tinubu by Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) at the tribunal, he was charged with running ten foreign accounts between the time he served as governor, between 1999 and 2007, and the present. The upshot: On the former governor’s second appearance before the tribunal in 2011, the three-person panel dismissed the case. It held that “there is no significant basis to proceed against Tinubu as the charges were “defective and shoddy.” The tribunal held that the charges did not disclose a prima facie case against the accused person as there was no proof of evidence attached to the charge. Umar said the charges against Tinubu did not show that the accused persons held the accounts. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/from-age-bagman-to-education-bola-tinubus-many-controversies/
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| Politics / How Cross Rivers Civil Servants Are Denied Their Pensions By Ben Ayade's Govt by Shehuyinka: 5:29pm On Dec 18, 2022 |
Cross Rivers civil servants are retiring to poverty as government defaults on pension payment, squanders money on frivolities UPON the successful completion of his two terms of eight years as governor, Ben Ayade of Cross River State will receive 300 per cent of his annual basic salary as severance gratuity. This is apart from other allowances like hardship, constituency allowance, newspaper, furniture, medical, security, entertainment and vehicle maintenance among others. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUR5_3w6otQ Meanwhile, five thousand retired civil servants in Cross River State have not been given their pension entitlements from the state government – a violation of section 210 of the 1999 constitution which concerns the protection of pension rights. In February 2017, senior special assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on prosecutions, Okoi Obono-Obla accused the Cross River State government of misappropriating N19 billion that it received as a bailout fund to pay outstanding salaries, pensions, and gratuities. It goes back to 2015 when President Muhammadi Buhari had approved the sum of N338bn for 27 states as part of efforts to end the lingering problem of unpaid workers’ salaries, which had escalated into a crisis. Cross River State was given N7.8 billion in July 2016 and another N11.5 billion as bailout funds. But a report on the monitoring of state bail-out funds released in 2016 by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, and the Nigeria Labour Congress showed that the Cross River State misappropriated federal funds. The report showed that out of the N7,856,400,000.00 it received, it had only disbursed N3,140,883,040.77 with a balance of N4,715,516,959,23, claiming not to have outstanding salaries for workers as of November 19, 2015. Cross River State also received N19.25 billion, including 12.15 billion as the first tranche and N6.75 billion as the second tranche as Paris Club refund, a settlement of long-standing claims by state governments relating to over-deductions from their federation account allocation committee (FAAC) allocation to service the debts. Altogether, the state received over N38.2 billion as bailout and Paris Club refunds. However, there is yet no explanation as to what the funds were used for. The Senate Committee on States and Local Government Administration and the Organised Labour have asked the government to explain how it expended the fund. The Cross River State chapter of the All-Progressives Congress (APC) had vowed to probe Ayade over the fund. That was before he moved into the party. In 2017, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) embarked on an investigation into how the Cross River State government applied the Paris Club loan refunds paid to it by the federal government. The commission has been contacted for comment. In a swift reaction to the allegations by Obono-Obla in 2017, the chief press secretary to the Ayade, Christian Ita said that the bailout funds were still intact. “Not a kobo of the funds which are lodged in the state government account with the UBA has been touched, “he said. “The governor has directed that the funds be used to pay severance allowances to past political office holders and clear outstanding gratuity to retirees”. Struggling to get by James Essien struggles to pay his apartment rent of N400,000 a year. Sometimes, he borrows more money than he earns from his pension to be able to pay rent and other dues. Whenever the money comes, he uses everything to pay for debt and starts borrowing again. “We are helpless and hopeless, some of us have been forced to withdraw our children from school because they cannot pay their fees, “said Essien. “Some have terminal sicknesses, and they cannot take care of themselves”. In 1979, when he started work in the civil service, Essien hoped that he would build a house for his family in the village and own a flourishing business upon retirement. In October 2014, 35 years later, he retired from the ministry of women’s affairs as the director of administration. As a director, he explained he was entitled to a gratuity of N6 million naira, which was supposed to come immediately after he retired. But eight years after he left active service, Essien is yet to receive his gratuity. At 63, he only depends on his monthly pension of N135,000, which he says does not come regularly. Sometimes, he waits for two months before he gets one. His 32-year-old daughter was discharged this October after his children contributed N250,000 and paid her hospital bill. He could not afford the bills. She was losing blood. “I look like a failure among some of my friends because I have nothing to show for the years I spent working for the state, “he said. “I looked forward to a better life after work”. Essien hails from Ekori in Yakurr LG. He shares a two-bedroom apartment in a tree-lined estate in Calabar with one of his daughters and his wife. To keep his family running, every month, Essien spends 75,000 on food, N6000 on light and N2000 on water. He also spends N4000 for his TV cable subscription service and N12,000 on fuel. Sometimes, he spends more, all from his irregular pension of N135,000. The Sub Treasury of the office of the Accountant General of the state, which handles the verification and documentation for payment of pension and gratuity, Daniel, said that they usually receive complaints from retirees who are not paid even after they have been cleared. “Most of them are old and sick, yet they come here in their thousands every year for screening and nothing changes,” he said. “A former Chief judge in the state once called to complain that he was yet to receive his pension since September”. Between August 2016 and February 2017, the Association of Cross River State Local Government Pensioners claimed that 28 of their members died from circumstances related to financial challenges arising from the non-payment of their pension entitlements. In Ekori, where James hails from, at least three retirees have died without receiving their entitlements. He said that retirees die because they cannot care for themselves. Out of 50 retired permanent secretaries, as of 11th August 2015, at least 12 have reportedly died without receiving their outstanding benefits. Last year, an investigation revealed that after the state government had declared people ‘dead’ and stopped disbursing pensions, retirees were told to prove that they were still alive. A worker at the office of the state auditor-general said the office is now trying to resolve the issue of dead pensioners which was published by the accountant-general because some of them have come back to prove that they were not dead. Several protests, little results On the morning of November 3 2020, about 50 retirees blocked the Murtala Mohammed Highway in the Calabar metropolis in protest over the non-payment of their wages. The workers sat in the middle of the road, with their documents in their hands and some of them carrying placards that read: “Governor Ayade pay our pension and gratuities”, “pensioners are dying due to non-payment of pension and gratuities” and “Ayade harmonise pension”. One year after, the workers protested again after their demands were unmet. This time, they blocked the entrance to the Calabar Government House as they protested the non-payment of their benefits by the state government. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/cross-rivers-civil-servants-are-retiring-to-poverty-as-government-defaults-on-pension-payment-squanders-money-on-frivolities/
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| Politics / #INFOGRAPHIC: States Debt-profile Of Governors Seeking Re-election by Shehuyinka: 11:26am On Dec 13, 2022 |
This is the debt profile of Governors seeking re-election in the 2023 General election. Do visit https://icirnigeria.org/category/data-stories/ to read our insightful data stories.
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| Politics / From Age, Bagman To Education: Bola Tinubu’s Many Controversies by Shehuyinka: 11:18am On Dec 13, 2022 |
ONE of Nigeria’s 2023 Presidential election front-runner Bola Ahmed Tinubu has presented himself as the candidate to beat, claiming his opponents are no match for him. In June of this year, the former governor of Lagos State won the All Progressive Congress (APC) presidential primary by a margin of 1,271 to 2,115 votes, defeating Rotimi Amaechi, the former governor of Rivers State and the minister of transportation, and the incumbent vice president, Yemi Osinbajo. Called Jagaban by his admirers, Tinubu in some quarters has been dubbed the Svengali of Nigerian politics after playing an instrumental role in the election that brought the current APC-led President Muhammadu Buhari administration to power after ending the People’s Democratic Party sixteen years of rule in 2015. Tinubu has been the subject of many controversies from the time he became Governor of Lagos in 1999. This year has seen a long string of stories about him. With controversies involving Tinubu, from questionable wealth, ill-health, allegations of certificate and corruption, bagman to heroin traffickers and money-laundering ring investigation. Tinubu and his team have refuted some of the accusations levelled against him. In a recent interview with the BBC, Tinubu claimed that he acquired his wealth through several different investments. In response to a question posed by the interviewer, Tinubu said, “Because you have got know how to analyse and how to ask questions, not in an accusatory format. Are they enemies of wealth? If they are not enemies of wealth, investment do yield. I have an example of Warren Buffet. One of the richest men in the country, in America and in the world. He started from stock buying and brokerages. I inherited great real estate. I turned the values around. I am not denying my wealth. I have not been… I was the most investigated, the most accused governor in the opposition up to, you know, for eight years. and up to until 2007. And since I’ve left the office, I’m still there, I have not taken any government appointment, no government contract.” (sic) In response to the allegation he has a hold on the finances of Lagos State despite not being the Governor, he said, “Hey, excuse me, share what? Have they proven it? The world bank, IMF has investigated the record in Lagos. What’s wrong with them. It’s envy.” (sic) The faces This is a brief summary of some of the issues involving Tinubu. Tinubu school records During his first term as Governor of Lagos State, Tinubu was accused of not attending Government College Ibadan and Chicago State University, as indicated in his INEC form 001 filled when he contested the Lagos State governorship poll and that he also lied in the affidavit he attached to the INEC form, in which he declared that he lost his university degree certificate while he was in exile between 1994 and 1998. The upshot: The Lagos State House of Assembly established a panel, as part of possible impeachment proceedings due to the allegation. The House, after investigating, dismissed all allegations against Tinubu. Also, in response to the allegation, Tinubu presented the original copy of some of his certificates while he dismissed the allegations as baseless. Regarding the claim that Tinubu did not attend Chicago State University (CSU), the university confirmed that a Bola A. Tinubu received a degree from the institution in response to a query from The ICIR. According to Caleb Westberg, a registrar in the university’s Office of Records and Registration, Tinubu attended from August 1977 to June 1979. Unlike when he ran for governorship, many media reports state that Tinubu did not include his primary and secondary school records in the form he submitted to INEC for his presidential bid. “The documents showed Tinubu left the columns for his primary and secondary schools education unmarked”, a report by People Gazzette stated. Another media report from Dail Trust states that Tinubu did not attach copies of the certificates, which he stated in an affidavit, had been stolen. Tinubu’s CCT Trial The former governor of Lagos State was accused of violating the constitution by allegedly operating foreign accounts while in office in 2007. In the charges brought against Tinubu by Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) at the tribunal, he was charged with running ten foreign accounts between the time he served as governor, between 1999 and 2007, and the present. The upshot: On the former governor’s second appearance before the tribunal in 2011, the three-person panel dismissed the case. It held that “there is no significant basis to proceed against Tinubu as the charges were “defective and shoddy.” The tribunal held that the charges did not disclose a prima facie case against the accused person as there was no proof of evidence attached to the charge. Umar said the charges against Tinubu did not show that the accused persons held the accounts. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/from-age-bagman-to-education-bola-tinubus-many-controversies/
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| Politics / How America, Britain Influence Nigeria’s Presidential Elections by Shehuyinka: 4:50pm On Dec 09, 2022 |
INCUMBENT President Goodluck Jonathan was in the black book of the United States (US) government when then-President Barack Obama addressed Nigerians through a video message days before the 2015 general elections. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/how-america-britain-influence-nigerias-presidential-elections/
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| Politics / 2023 Election: Tinubu’s 10 Major Blunders In Public Since January by Shehuyinka: 1:50pm On Nov 29, 2022 |
THE All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate Bola Tinubu has continued his campaign for the February 25, 2023 election, making recurring gaffes that have left many doubting his mental fitness to lead Africa’s most populous nation. Since he formally declared his interest in the presidency on January 10, the former Lagos state governor has spoken incoherently and erroneously several times in public while his aides labour to quell the aftermath. Here are ten gaffes the APC presidential candidate made this year. 1: Expired PVCs Addressing market women who visited him in Abuja in January, Tinubu told his guests that the Permanent Voter Card (PVC) they kept with them had expired. “In case they do not announce to you on time, the PVC you have has expired.” But the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) countered him and confirmed he misinformed Nigerians. Tinubu apologised through a statement by his media aide, Tunde Rahman. “Immediately upon being apprised of this, Tinubu apologised for the incorrect statement and felt sorry for any confusion it may have caused.” 2: Recruitment of 50 million soldiers In March, Tinubu said at a colloquium celebrating his 69th birthday in Kano state that the Federal Government should recruit 50 million soldiers to boost the nation’s security forces. According to Tinubu, the recruits “will eat cassava, agbada, corn (agbado is corn in Yoruba language), in the morning, yam in the afternoon…” His aide, Tunde Rahman, again admitted his principal had committed a blunder and apologised. “Asiwaju seeks the expansion of security personnel by 50,000 for the armed forces, not the 50 million that was mentioned in error. It was an accidental verbal mistake of which we all commit from time to time, especially when reciting a series of large numerical figures. “He did not mean 50 million youths, which is almost a quarter of our total population.” READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/2023-election-tinubus-10-major-blunders-in-public-since-january/
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| Politics / 100 Days To Presidential Election: Leading Candidates Battle Hurdles by Shehuyinka: 5:39pm On Nov 16, 2022 |
ONE Hundred days to the 2023 presidential election, scheduled for February 25, 2023, the leading candidates are battling hurdles which may affect their chances of becoming Nigeria's next President, The ICIR reports. Going by projections, the leading candidates are Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP). The APC is the ruling party and its candidate, Tinubu, will be counting on the 'incumbency factor' in his quest to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari. The PDP is the major opposition party and still retains a large and vibrant support base across the country, having been in power for 16 years - from 1999 to 2015. The LP, hitherto one of the numerous political parties on the fringes, has been galvanised by the 'Obedient' movement centred around its flagbearer and to a large extent, is now seen as the 'Third Force'. Checks by The ICIR indicate that these three leading candidates are contending with hurdles, which may damage their chances, as the election draws nearer. Spirited opposition from the G5 governors is a major threat that can truncate Atiku's latest quest for the Presidency. A ghost from the past, in the form of drug trafficking allegations, and a tendency for gaffes, threaten Tinubu's ambition. An unexpected, damaging attack, launched by Anambra State governor Charles Soludo, could dissipate gains made by Obi. Atiku at the mercy of G5 governors The G5 governors - Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia) Femi Makinde (Oyo) and Samuel Ortom (Benue) may well turn out to be Atiku's nemesis in the presidential contest. Having governors in your party is a major advantage in Nigerian national elections but as things stand at the moment, Atiku cannot count on the governors, who are openly leading a mutiny in the PDP. The governors have continued to undermine Atiku's presidential ambition at series of regular public events, which appear to be organised just to provide a stage to knock the PDP presidential candidate. "To hell with Atiku and any other Fulani man. And any man supporting Atiku and all that is an enemy. I want this to be known as long as I am governor. They should go and tell him. You want me to be a slave for a Fulani. Anybody supporting Atiku is an enemy of Benue,” Ortom declared while playing host to other members of the G5 in Makurdi, Benue State capital, on November 6. Already, the Rivers State chapter of the PDP has decided against campaigning for Atiku ahead of the general elections. Despite being a PDP-ruled state, there are reports that people are not allowed to paste Atiku's posters in the state. Wike is the leader of the G5. Having lost the PDP presidential ticket to Atiku, he was subsequently overlooked as running mate, despite reports that a committee headed by Ortom endorsed him as the party's VP candidate. Atiku's pictures and posters were conspicuously missing when the Rivers State chapter of the PDP launched campaigns for the 2023 elections in Port Harcourt on October 24. Going by normal practice, state chapters simultaneously campaign for the presidential flagbearer while canvassing votes for party candidates for all the elective positions. But it appeared that the PDP had no presidential candidate when Wike launched the party's campaign in Rivers State. Atiku was ignored. Justifying the development, the governor said Rivers State will not campaign for Atiku. He made this clear, saying: "Some have asked me why they did not see the presidential candidate, the party chairman’s photos in our campaign vehicles. I said what are you talking about? The presidential candidate entered my state and picked members of the Presidential Campaign Council without the governor of the state having a contribution. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/100-days-to-presidential-election-leading-candidates-battle-hurdles/
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| Crime / Terrorism Threatens Hiking, Mountain Climbing In Abuja by Shehuyinka: 11:47am On Nov 11, 2022 |
FOR RESIDENTS of Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT), trekking to waterfalls, hiking footpaths in the countryside and climbing mountains on a Saturday for pleasure has become a source of worry because of the activities of bandits, terrorists and other criminals who have the city unsafe. Sinafi Omanga of The ICIR reports. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBQ2E0vXAaA At the peak of a mountain around Katampe District of the FCT, 35-year-old hiker, Kamji Jan sat on the plain, rocky ground in the company of two friends. They smiled as they chatted and sipped from bottles of energy drinks. Jan and his friends were joined by other hikers at the mountaintop. They soon started to sing, dance, and take photos on the rocky plane. They are members of Naija Adventurers, a hiking club in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. As often as their schedules permit, members of this group leave the noisy metropolis to the quietude of the countryside, especially the mountain tops to take in the beauty of nature or keep fit as they brave the odds to get to the top of the mountain. “It feels great to be up here, away from the city noise. I’m catching fun with friends and burning calories by climbing to the mountaintop,” Jan said. For several months, Jan and other hikers could not engage in this weekend hobby for fear of being abducted or killed by gunmen in the FCT. They only resumed this Saturday. “I stopped hiking for a long while. I stayed back to be sure that the security situation improved. “Insecurity is a thing of concern for all of us especially the hikers because we can’t hike in the city. We hike in places like this and some of the bandits hide in rocky areas such as this”, Jan said. Like most parts of the country, Abuja has witnessed an increase in terrorist activity and kidnapping cases by armed gangs. The upsurge in security breakdown has triggered trepidation among residents. To understand how insecurity affects recreational hiking in Abuja, this reporter joined hikers on their trip through mountains and forests for two months. Hiking trails turned bandits’ routes In an earlier report published by The ICIR entitled “The untold stories of victims kidnapped by Nigeria’s gunmen’’, an Abuja resident, simply identified as Uzoma narrated how he was kidnapped and made to trek many hilly in the remote part of Abuja. The hilly remote areas that were hitherto the preferred destinations of Abuja hikers became the main attractions for Kidnappers. In such circumstances, the hikers had to give way to the armed kidnappers. Uzoma spent days moving from one remote location to another with the help of the abductors’ aide called “Smallie”. “I am not sure that boy is up to 20, he wasn’t carrying a gun. I think he is a younger brother to the leader,” Uzoma told The ICIR. Many victims of abduction in Nigeria share similar stories of being hidden away and tortured for days or weeks in remote areas by the bandits. For instance, the Prelate of the Methodist Church in Nigeria, Samuel Uche-Kalu who was abducted alongside two other clerics said they were forced to trek long distances in the bush. They were abducted while en route Enugu-P/Harcourt Express Road. The gunmen released them after a ransom of N100 million was paid. While recounting his ordeal in the hands of the abductors, Uche-Kalu said the leader of the gang identified himself as “The commander-general of the forest”. Membership of hiking clubs in the FCT declines Amina Maza and Lovina Abah are colleagues. They are friends too. While trekking through the forested hills, Amina, a first-time hiker began to worry about her safety. She asked Lovina if the trail was safe. Amina recalled the harrowing experience of her cousin who was kidnapped by bandits in Kaduna. “This place just reminds me of my cousin,” she said. But in response, Lovina teased her instead. Speaking with The ICIR, Lovina, a married woman said she too sneaked out in the morning to hike because her husband would not let her for fear of insecurity. “I have missed hiking so much and I also wanted to introduce Amina to it, that’s why I sneaked. My husband would not allow it if he knew where I was going,” she said. Some members of the Naija Adventurers club told this reporter how their family members and friends talked them out of hiking due to fear of insecurity. The tour guide of Naija Adventurer, Mudiaga Osagu said many members of his club have actually stopped hiking. “We used to have between 300 to 400 members for a hike on a Saturday like this but it’s been challenging to get them out recently because of fear of insecurity”. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/terrorism-threatens-hiking-mountain-climbing-in-abuja/
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| Politics / Abuja: Giri Town Road In Deplorable State Seven Years After Contract Award by Shehuyinka: 10:31am On Nov 07, 2022 |
LOCATED along the Abuja-Lokoja expressway, Giri, an agrarian community about eight kilometres from Gwagwalada, is an urban slum. In Giri, good roads, potable water and access to quality education are a mirage. For years, the sorry state of Giri road had made life unbearable for the low-income residents who work in the city centres. Most have been forced to relocate to other neighbouring villages. This road is important to residents of the communities because it is the only access to Abuja city via the Lokoja expressway. About seven years ago, the Giri road rehabilitation contract was awarded, but the condition of the road remains deplorable. The investigation also reveals that the details of the road construction contract are shrouded in secrecy. “We are tired every time we hear they have started work on the road, but in the end, the contractors will disappear, while the road remains in a pathetic condition,” Umaru Gidado, a resident of Giri town, lamented. Many residents who spoke to this reporter narrated the ordeals they face daily on the road whose construction has lasted for more than seven years. Another resident of Giri town, Muhideen, told this reporter that he has lived in the village for years, and the road has never been motorable. He accused the authorities of a lack of empathy for the delay in completing the road. “At a time, they tried to fix the road, but we don’t know what happened; the road has gone from bad to worst. “We were happy when we saw little effort on the road, but it wasn’t for long. We are constantly dealing with very dusty and bad roads,” he said. Another resident, Abdulkarim Mumuni, said several chairpersons of the local council had attempted to fix the road without success. “The current chairman’s house is close to the road. Contractors were working on it at a point, but they left again, and we don’t know why. “Everyone has given up on the road, and only the Council people can say what is stopping the construction of the road. It is worse during the rainy season, Mumuni said. Business owners lament When this reporter visited Giri, it was observed that most of the roads in Giri town are not motorable, while the central road, which is the Giri road linking most of the streets, is in shambles. Business owners continue to count losses as the road remains in a bad state, and people hardly stop by the roadside to buy anything. “This is what we face every day on this road, it has always been like this, and it is affecting our business,” a roadside trader said. Another resident who owns a shop on the road said, ” during the rainy season, it is terrible, and during the dry season, it is dusty. My goods are always covered with dust which affects my business. “The bridge over there collapsed sometime this year, but thank God, they have fixed that one; if not, it would have been worst.” Road awarded since 2015 – Audit report According to the FCT audit report of 2019, the construction of the road was awarded to a contractor, Tinamat Biz Construction Ltd, for the sum of N157, 302,075,00 (One hundred and fifty-seven million, three hundred and two thousand, seventy-five Naira) in 2015. Seven years later, the entire 1.6km road is still unpassable despite the payment of an initial N50,000,000 (fifty million naira) to the contractor in 2015, according to the Audit report. The report further stated that the project was ongoing and at a 41 per cent completion level. The 2019 report recommended that drainage be built to save the road from gully erosion and added that the contractor should be mobilised back to the site. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/abuja-giri-town-road-in-deplorable-state-seven-years-after-contract-award/
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| Politics / Benue Retirees Live In Penury As Government Defaults On Pension Payment by Shehuyinka: 1:20pm On Nov 06, 2022 |
Old retirees in Benue state lead a life of poverty and hardship resulting from irregular payment of pensions and gratuities. IJEOMA OPARA writes about the distressing experiences of senior citizens in the state. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbAGrFjloWA SEVENTY-YEAR-OLD George Okopi recalls with teary eyes, the death of a son whom he lost to an illness he could not afford to treat. Losing a son due to his inability to pay medical bills was not the reality he imagined during the pen-down ceremony at the end of his career in 2010. After thirty-five years of working with the Otukpo Local Government in Benue state, Okopi looked forward to retirement with the assurance of stable living. He was confident of sustaining his small family with his gratuity, which amounted to N2.7 million, and a monthly pension of N59,000. But, twelve years later, Okopi had received only about N200,000 of his gratuity, and his pension comes three times a year on average. In 2018, Okopi’s son, Emmanuel, got diagnosed with typhoid and malaria. Although the cost of treating malaria and typhoid at a government-owned hospital is usually less than N50,000, according to a medical practitioner Kachi Ugochukwu, the old retiree said he was billed N130,000 for Emmanuel’s treatment. But he could not raise the money for the treatment, and shortly after, his son died. He wiped off tears from his face with the left hand as he narrated how Emmanuel died barely three days before his final university examinations. Okopi George wipes tears off his face. Photo: The ICIR. “I lost one of my sons in the university because he was sick. We went to a government hospital but I didn’t have enough money to pay the bills, so we withdrew him, and he returned to school in Makurdi. He died there, three days before his final exams,” Okopi said in tears. In 2014, Okopi himself suffered partial stroke that left his right side paralysed. Since he does not have the money and physical strength to raise his other children, he handed some of them over to relatives who now care for them. Workers, like Okopi, dread retirement because of challenges associated with idleness and old age, including declining health conditions. In Benue, these fears are worsened by irregular and, in some cases, non-payment of retirement benefits by the government. The ICIR found that local and state government retirees in Benue receive pension payments only three or four times yearly, while gratuities are rarely paid. Okopi is one of the thousands of Benue retirees plunged into a life of penury upon retirement. While he could hand over his children to relatives to care for, fellow retiree Abu Acheme, who also became broke after retirement, married off his daughters to save the cost of living. Acheme said his monthly pension is N110,000, but the government doesn’t pay regularly. He confirmed to The ICIR that he was being owed arrears of four years and a month, totalling N5.4 million as of September 10, 2022. Out of his gratuity of about N4 million, the government only paid N300,000, less than 10 per cent, since his retirement in 2012. “The state owes me four years and one month. I served the government with the hope that I could secure a better future for my children, but I cannot. There is no joy in marrying your children out because you cannot afford to give them a good life,” he said. Pensioners retire to farming The ICIR investigation shows that many Benue pensioners have had a raw deal with successive governments who have failed to fulfill labour contracts with their old workforce. Many shared stories of huge loss, depression, hardship, and frustration due to the government defaulting to pay pensions and gratuities. For survival, the majority have taken to subsistent farming, regardless of their age, declining physical strength, and security threat on farms. One of them is sixty five-year-old Florence Adogo, who retired as a headteacher under the Otukpo Local Government in 2016. Adogo ran out of luck in April when she was abducted and brutalised by kidnappers. Despite paying a ransom, Adogo was shot in the hand by her captors at the point of release. She has undergone three surgeries and will commence physiotherapy soon. But Adogo is unsure of where the additional medical fee will come from, as she has exhausted her entire savings. “I spent about N500,000 on the treatment here in Otukpo. Now, I go to Adoka almost every week for the hand. The money I have spent there is over N400,000.” Despite the fact that her hand is not fully healed from the gunshot injury, Adogo has returned to the farm for sustenance. “At first, I used to criticise my colleagues who were due for retirement but didn’t want to go. I thought this was a time to rest and receive a monthly bonus. But it is not so. “My parents are in the village suffering. I have children I should take care of, but I cannot. The only thing that helps me sometimes is the little farming that I do. Thank God it was my left hand they shot,” she said. In 2015, Nigeria adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG 10 aims to reduce inequality by 2030, especially in vulnerable populations, such as older people. One of the targets is to empower and promote social and economic inclusion, irrespective of age, sex or other status. For Nigeria, achieving this goal by 2030 seems unlikely, as older citizens continue to deal with social and economic insecurity worsened by non-payment of pensions. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/retiring-to-poverty-benue-retirees-live-in-penury-as-government-defaults-on-pension-payment/
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| Politics / Mapping Out Those Affected, Lost To Nigerian Devastating Flooding by Shehuyinka: 12:53pm On Nov 06, 2022 |
She had expected her community to be flooded this year, but the level of flooding had exceeded her expectations. Flooding in Nigeria has been widespread and devastating this year, unlike in previous years.READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/flood-series-mapping-out-those-affected-lost-to-nigerian-devastating-flooding/
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| Business / Inside The World Of Nigerian Women's Body-enhancing Surgeries by Shehuyinka: 12:34pm On Nov 06, 2022 |
THERE are a million and one reasons why a woman would want to resort to surgical procedures to enhance the beautification of her own body. These reasons include popular acceptance, self-esteem and sexual appeal. For Taiwo, one thing is sure: she will do a liposuction surgery when she has had her fair share of childbearing. She stresses her shape is inviolable for now. She says, “I will do liposuction, which is fat removal, after I’ve had my kids. I can only do this if I’ve tried working out and I’m still not comfortable with my tummy fat.” Olamide Joyce is sold out on the trend, which she says attracts wide support. “How come people tend to support people that did their bodies? See how Maria (Chike) became everyone’s favourite because she is light-skinned and beautiful,” Joyce quips. A brief history The rise of cosmetic surgery and body beautification can be traceable to the 6th century BC. There is a legend of Sushruta who is regarded as the father of plastic and cataract surgery. His legacies are plastic and cataract surgery. Also in India, reconstructive surgeries were carried out as far back as 800 BC. Sir Harold Gillies is described as the father of modern plastic surgery who helped soldiers solve the issue of facial injuries during the first World War. In Nigeria, cosmetic surgery gained news traction when a former first lady of Nigeria, Stella Obasanjo, reportedly died from complications arising from a tummy tuck procedure. Before that, American-Nigerian philanthropist and entrepreneur Modupe Ozolua, in 2001 founded Body Enhancements Ltd, a cosmetic surgery company, one of the first of its kind in West Africa. She also tried to evangelise safe methods. Ozolua, has now moved on to humanitarian efforts with Empower 54, providing free corrective surgery to children born with birth defects, as well as medical support to Boko Haram victims, doesn’t regret pioneering the cosmetic practice in Nigeria. Double board-certified plastic surgeon Stanley Okoro, who runs a practice in the United States and Nigeria, agrees that cosmetic surgery is not a recent phenomenon. “If you go back in time, women always dress well even till the time of the bible. They always tie girdles or corsets to make their waistline smaller so they can look attractive. So this is not new. Plus, when you look good, you feel good about yourself,” he said. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/inside-the-world-of-nigerian-women-and-body-enhancing-surgeries/
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| Business / Here Are Ways Redesigning The Naira Notes Will Affect You by Shehuyinka: 12:00pm On Oct 29, 2022 |
THE Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) redesigning of select currency notes of N200, N500 and N1,000 would come at a huge deficit cost to the economy, according to sector experts. The government is struggling with a huge debt deficit and would likely borrow massively to fund the currency redesigning, which, the experts argued, would deepen inflationary pressure on Nigeria’s currency. The CBN had on Wednesday October 26 disclosed its plan to redesign the naira, citing concerns of “illicit” funds in circulation, which it said bandits and kidnappers had been exploiting in perpetrating their crimes. The apex bank will be introducing the redesigned notes into the financial system on December 15, 2022, and has given January 31, 2023 as the expiry date for legal tender of the notes being rested. The bank’s governor, Godwin Emefiele, told journalists in Abuja at a briefing that the redesign move was informed by, among other reasons, concerns over significant hoarding of banknotes by some members of the public. According to Emefiele, statistics had shown that over 80 per cent of currency in circulation were outside commercial banks’ vaults, which was fuelling illicit financial flow within the economy. He further noted that worsening shortage of clean and fit banknotes, with its attendant negative perception of the CBN, had increased risk to financial stability. He stressed that increasing ease of counterfeiting had been evidenced by several security reports at his privy. What the decision means to Nigerians The redesigning decision is not unexpected to trigger economic dislocation – especially considering the short time frame – and trigger rush by the people to banks to dispose of old notes, as well as withdrawal runs at automated teller machines immediately the new notes come into circulation. It is feared that rural dwellers who live far from where banking services are available would experience hardship dumping the old notes, as well as, initially, obtaining the new ones. Some financial analysts are expecting the coming experience to bring more traditionally unbanked people into the banking system. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/here-are-ways-redesigning-the-naira-notes-will-affect-you/
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| Politics / Fayemi Commissions Uncompleted Multi-billion Naira Cargo Airport [+ Photos] by Shehuyinka: 3:22pm On Oct 21, 2022 |
FORMER Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi commissioned a yet-to-be-completed Agro-Allied International Airport initiated during his administration, The ICIR can confirm. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyRrLBkXZ_8 Cited almost close to the Afe Babalola University in the state capital, the multi-billion naira cargo airport was awarded to the CCECC Nigeria Limited by Fayemi in 2019. Speaking to a large crowd of admirers at the airport commissioning ceremony on Saturday, the former governor expressed satisfaction that the project eventually saw the light of the day ten years after its conception during his first administration in 2012. He said that the airport would unlock the vast potential inherent in the state, noting that it would attract investors, provide easy transportation of agricultural products and job opportunities and open the state for rapid development. The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, also at the ceremony, described the airport as “an extremely very important project” which would, in turn, facilitate the import and export of goods and commodities.” He also said that the airport would connect people to the ultramodern Afe Babalola Teaching Hospital, reducing foreign medical tourism in the county. “I was at ABUAD. I saw the university, the farm, the industrial park, and the hospital,” he said. “Airports are by no means the best catalysts for economic growth of any state or nation. The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, also at the ceremony, described the airport as “an extremely very important project” which would, in turn, facilitate the import and export of goods and commodities.” He also said that the airport would connect people to the ultramodern Afe Babalola Teaching Hospital, reducing foreign medical tourism in the county. “I was at ABUAD. I saw the university, the farm, the industrial park, and the hospital,” he said. “Airports are by no means the best catalysts for economic growth of any state or nation. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/fayemi-commissions-uncompleted-mult-billion-naira-cargo-airport-photos/ 1 Share
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| Crime / Sokoto, Zamfara: The Hard Realities Of Being Disabled And Displaced In Nigeria by Shehuyinka: 2:04pm On Oct 16, 2022 |
As Nigeria’s Northwest grapples with insecurity, over 500,000 Nigerians have been forced to flee their homes. When violence breaks out, vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities bear the heaviest brunt. In this report, The ICIR’s Nurudeen Akewushola travelled to Sokoto and Zamfara to document the stories of being disabled and displaced. When terrorists invaded Kwanar Maje village in Zamfara one deadly evening in 2021, everyone scampered for safety. Some hid in their farmland, some hopped into the forest. 30-year-old disabled Lawal Musa also ran for his life as he stumbled intermittently while wobbling in the bush. Even though Lawal luckily escaped, he came back to meet the lifeless body of his father, who had been gruesomely murdered by the terrorists. Traumatised and left on his own, Lawal now begs to make ends meet at Anka IDP camp following his displacement from his former village. “We were chased from our village by bandits because they were killing people incessantly, but I was lucky to escape by God’s grace. “The saddest moment of my life is that my father was killed by the terrorists,” Lawal said, his voice breaking intermittently. Aside from the fact that Lawal has to contend with being disabled, he also battles with epilepsy with no means to access health care services. Amidst cold and harmattan seasons, Lawal sleeps on a bare floor, in the open. Lawal is one of the people with disabilities whose lives were turned upside following terrorist attacks in Nigeria’s Northwest. Missing data, failed policy The security situation in Northwest Nigeria is fueling the fastest-growing displacement crisis in the country. The development has left many villages deserted, with people facing harsh conditions after losing their livelihoods or farmlands. According to the UN Refugee Agency, as of May 2022, Zamfara, the epicentre of violence in the Northwest, records the highest number of displacements in the region, with over 172,798 IDPs (18 per cent of the total IDP population). In Sokoto State, an estimated 71,289 IDPs were identified. Amidst this raging conflict in the region are people with disabilities who have been identified to be disproportionately affected by displacement and are at greater risk of violence, discrimination and exclusion. While some of them are left behind, the ones who manage to escape face barriers in accessing humanitarian support such as food, sanitation, and medical assistance. Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act in 2019. Section 25 of the law mandates the government to ensure the safety and protection of people with disabilities in all situations of risk, violence, emergencies, and natural disasters taking cognisance of their peculiar vulnerability. As part of her response to the situation of displacement in the country, the federal government set up a committee to develop a policy to guide the management of IDPs in 2003. Various government and non-governmental groups rubbed their minds while gaining inspiration from existing international laws. The outcome of this effort, adopted nine years later, came to be known as the National Policy on Internally Displaced Persons in Nigeria. Approved in 2021, the overall goal of the policy is to strengthen the institutional mechanism and frameworks for the realisation of the rights, dignity, and well-being of vulnerable populations through the mitigation of impact and achievement of durable solutions to internal displacements in Nigeria. Part of the policy recognises people with disabilities. According to the policy, IDPs with disabilities “shall receive medical care to the extent practicable, which shall include psychological and social services whenever necessary”. “The physical environment(of IDP camps) shall be modified to improve movement, and those who need mobility devices such as wheelchairs or hearing aid equipment are to be given. Where necessary, they should also have access to trained personnel such as caregivers, physiotherapists, and sign language interpreters. Additionally, information should be made accessible to them, IDPs with disabilities should be prioritised during service delivery, and children with disabilities should be enrolled in special schools. Data gaps and widespread under-reporting make it challenging to assess the impact of terrorism ravaging the country on people with disabilities. This is due to the fact that most assessment reports limit indices to sex (male and female), age (children and aged) and geographical location, excluding people with disabilities. This makes it difficult to target them for possible humanitarian assistance. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/sokoto-zamfara-the-hard-realities-of-being-disabled-and-displaced-in-northwest-nigeria/
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| Health / Here’s How BHCPF Is Changing The Face Of Primary Healthcare In Niger State by Shehuyinka: 11:39am On Oct 03, 2022 |
Lack of drugs, inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities, as well as staff shortage in health centres have been the bane of good healthcare delivery at the grassroots level. JUSTINA ASISHANA visited some local government areas in Niger State and reports on how much the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) has changed the narratives. Saidu Aisha, 35, almost lost her son in 2020 when the infant was running a high temperature fever, and there was no equipment at the laboratory of the Primary Health Centre (PHC) in her community to conduct a test on the sick boy. “At the time, there were also no drugs at the health centre,” said Aisha, a housewife who lives in Nasarafu Ward in Bida Local Government Area of Niger State, North-Central Nigeria. “After examining him, the health worker on duty wrote on a paper the type of tests we needed to run, saying that they could not do them there,” Aisha added. The woman and her son spent hours in a long queue at the General Hospital where they went for the tests. After that, they shuttled between the hospital and the PHC for tests and other medical services. Nearly two years after the sordid experience, Aisha is full of praise for the government for making drugs available at the PHC. “Now there are drugs at the centre,” she enthused. Drugs are essential to medical care to improve patients’ health and quality of life. They can save lives and improve health. On the other hand, the scarcity of drugs in a health care facility has drastic implications for patients. If drugs are in short supply, their prices may rise, imposing financial burdens on patients and their families, and causing mortality if the sickness is severe. According to Adamu Bashir Fatima, the officer in charge of the centre in Nasarafu, the health facility could not dispense drugs or conduct laboratory tests before the availability of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF). The PHC at Nasarafu is among the 274 focal PHCs in Niger State under the Federal Government’s health intervention programme. Due to shortage of funds and drugs, Fatima said, she and her colleagues at the facility used to merely prescribe medications for patients and direct them to conduct tests outside the facility. She said, “Before the basic healthcare provision fund, we had no drugs. We did not receive any funds from the government, so we ran the health centre as we could. We would write out tests for patients and they would go to the general hospital to do the tests. “But now we have enough drugs bought with funds allocated to us from the BHCPF. We have also brought some equipment. “Then, it was only pregnancy and malaria tests that we could carry out. Now we test for hepatitis, typhoid, urinalysis. We check blood pressure and sugar level, which we could not do before.” The Federal Government had initiated the BHCPF under Section 11 of the National Health Act 2014 as catalytic funding to improve access to primary health care. The fund is meant to provide free minimum primary healthcare to the poorest and most vulnerable Nigerians through accredited PHCs in each of the 36 states of the federation and Abuja. According to the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), the overall aim of the BHCPF is to significantly move Nigeria towards achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC). The fund aims to achieve, at least, one functional public or private primary health care (PHC) facility in each political ward. In addition, the fund seeks to have the same in, at least, 30 per cent of all wards over the next three years, 70 per cent within five years, and 100 per cent within seven years. Focal PHCs wear new looks Most of the 274 focal PHCs across Niger State accessing the BHCPF are wearing new looks of blue and milk colour to depict their renovation. Entering some of these PHCs, a visitor will see some new ceilings, new roofing and, in some cases, an extension of the buildings. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/heres-how-bhcpf-is-changing-the-face-of-primary-healthcare-in-niger-state/
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| Politics / In Southeast, Residents Count Loses As Fed Roads Remain Uncompleted, Abandoned by Shehuyinka: 11:07am On Oct 03, 2022 |
In 2021, students of the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture in Abia State protested after Chidinma Ogbonna, a final year student, was killed by a truck driver who was said to have lost control of his vehicle while negotiating a bad portion of the dilapidated Umuahia –Ikot Ekpene highway. Accidents along the highway-particularly from the Umuahia end have become a recurring decimal. In 2018, a 400-level student of the University, Obinna Chiaha, was also killed by a commercial driver who was trying to overtake a trailer at high speed. Umudike, one of the communities In Ikwuano Local Government Area which hosts the university, is a beehive of activities. The road is ever busy with students crisscrossing to undertake different activities inside the market. Sadly, both students of the University and other residents of the community have borne the brunt of the dilapidated state of the road, which, apart from having potholes, is narrow, being a single lane. Through protests and letters, they have asked both the State and federal governments to intervene. In 2019, the Federal Executive Council, FEC approved the emergency repairs of the road. Adimchi Chibundu, who owns a boutique along the road, alleged that the government at the time had told him and other business owners to move their shops as the plan was to dualise it. “We were ready to remove our shops because we felt that the government had finally heard our cry and considered the economic benefits of the road,” he said. “They also promised to pay compensation”. The contractor at the time, Desak Construction Coy Nigeria Limited, was not mobilised to the site. Chibundu said he did not remove his shop after he noticed that no work was ongoing and that the plan was not to dualise the road afterall. In 2021, the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, announced that the re-construction of the 50-km Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene Federal Road had been re-approved for funding, now under the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Road Tax Credit Scheme, to be executed by Hartland Nigeria. The FEC had approved N13.2billion for the project. Fashola was quoted as saying that the approval was in response to appeals made by the member representing Ikwuano/Umuahia Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Sam Onuigbo, who had sought the government’s intervention on the deplorable federal road. The minister urged the lawmaker to prevail on his constituents to remove all structures and crops within the right of way to allow for free and speedy reconstruction of the road. Managing Director of Hartland Nigeria Limited, Fayez Khalaf confirmed the release of funds by the federal government to enable the company to expedite action on the project during a site inspection in February. The lawmaker Onuigbo also confirmed that the money had been released. Khalaf the construction company’s MD was quoted in 2021 as saying that the immediate focus was to rehabilitate the deplorable 10-km Umuahia-Oboro portion of the road to end the suffering of the road users and filling of the failed portions, especially at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike. Same old story… However, months after the funds for the reconstruction of the road was approved and released, nothing changed. As residents of the community waited for the construction company to resume work, the Federal Road Maintenance Agency, FERMA stepped in and started filling the potholes. “That is why it is a bit motorable”, said the traditional ruler of Umudike Community, Eze Dike. “We don’t know the essence of having FERMA do maintenance on a road which has been fully awarded and paid for”. Dike said that each time the potholes open again and FERMA is not on the ground, he gets youths of the community to fill them up with sand during sanitation to prevent accidents. Residents who spoke to The ICIR said that they noticed some drainage construction work and k ongoing at the Okwe and Ahiekwe end of the road in January. But after some time, the construction stopped. As the road remains in its bad state, business owners continue to count losses. Because it is ever busy and small, commuters hardly stop by the roadside to buy anything. A trader who runs a provision store where she sells beverages and snacks by the roadside said she cleans her wares every morning due to dust. “I am tired of talking about the state of the road because we have complained severally, “she said. “The road is strategic, giving that this is a student community, and so, it is surprising why the government does not want to work on it”. Chibundu the boutique owner also said he hardly makes sales because dust often covers his clothes on display and those inside his shop. Fruit sellers and those who deal in foodstuffs always cover their wares to protect them from dust emanating from the road. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/in-nigerias-southeast-residents-count-loses-as-federal-roads-remain-uncompleted-abandoned/
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| Health / Ogoni Oil Spill: Floundering Clean-up Roadmap And Oil Communities Anguish by Shehuyinka: 12:48pm On Sep 29, 2022 |
THE Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, under the Federal Ministry of Environment, was charged with the responsibility “to ensure full environmental recovery and restoration of Ogoni ecosystem for Ogoni people and other impacted communities. Six years down the line, Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt, reports that while the roadmap to that clean-up is floundering, the communities are still reeling in pain and anguish over the damage done to their lives and ecosystem The Ogonis are a people in the Rivers South-east senatorial district of Rivers State. With its over 2 million residents in the Niger Delta community, their running battles with oil spill and its attendant environmental consequences have negatively affected Ogoniland. According to records, four years before Nigerian Independence, Royal Dutch/Shell, in collaboration with the British government, found a commercially viable oil field on the Niger Delta and began oil production in 1958. In a 15-year period from 1976 to 1991 there were reportedly 2,976 oil spills of about 2.1 million barrels of oil in Ogoniland, accounting for about 40 per cent of the total oil spills of the Royal Dutch/Shell company worldwide. In Ogoni, virtually all the oil wells operated by multi-national companies commonly experience spillage. The oil wells, the pipelines and other facilities like manifold routinely spill crude petroleum substances in large scale and at disturbing frequencies. The ownership of these wells, pipelines, and related facilities are generally spread among Shell Petroleum Development Company, (SPDC), the Petroleum Pipelines Marketing Company, (PPMC), the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC), and the Department of Petroleum Resources, (DPR). Often, the incidents of spillage are traced to sabotage or equipment failure. Consequences Because of oil spills, oil flaring, and waste discharge, the soil is no longer viable for agriculture. Furthermore, in many areas that seemed to be unaffected, groundwater was found to have high levels of hydrocarbons or were contaminated with benzene, a carcinogen, at 900 levels above WHO guidelines. Fanfare about Cleanup So in 2016, when the federal government made a fanfare of its agenda for a cleanup of oil spillage in Ogoni, it bore the marks of a major media event. President Muhammadu Buhari promoted the planned event with uncharacteristic energy, promising that the project was a priority. The media was awash with commentaries that highlighted the event as a departure from previous government’s marking a milestone for the new administration. A date was set and communities across Ogoni were agog in anticipation. A few days to the scheduled date, President Buhari flew out of the country obliging Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to flag off the event. The locals turned up jubilant, offering praises to the government. In the euphoria of the moment, the federal government set up the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, (HYPREP), under the Federal Ministry of Environment, charged with the responsibility “to ensure full environmental recovery and restoration of Ogoni ecosystem for Ogoni people and other impacted communities.” Initial Report Prior to the clean-up attempts, the United Nation Environment Programme (UNEP) initiated the investigation and assessment of the situation in Ogoni. The exercise lasted about 18 months with its report released to the federal government on August 4, 2011. The report marked a watershed in charting a roadmap to addressing the perennial Ogoni environmental disasters. For instance, the report established that commercial oil activities in the manner and at the scale it was going presented an existential threat to indigenous communities particularly in respect to sustainable livelihoods from natural and environmental ecosystem. It pointed to stark environmental disasters on land, aquatic life, and the mangroves. All these, according to the report, were polluted, completely destroyed, or altogether blighted. Disconnected from the natural resources such as farmlands, fishing areas, and agencies for production of herbal remedies, the indigenous people of oil-bearing communities despaired and turned restive. The report recommended a restoration of the environment, remediation of the land, including the construction of integrated soil management centre for excavation and treatment of soil. It called for a comprehensive health audit on the indigenous people. It further recommended for alternative means of livelihood for the people as well as training for new skills for the youths. Several communities spanning four Local Government Areas, including Eleme, Gokana, Khana, and Tai in Rivers state find themselves in this situation. Floundering Implementation Expectedly, HYPREP was called upon to implement the key recommendations of the UNEP report. The lingering, even cruel environmental neglects in the oil rich Niger Delta had given rise to the prolonged anti government militancy of the youths. At the onset of the project, over 21 contractors were selected for different levels of the clean up. But rather than douse tension, the very presence of the contractors seems to have engineered a contrary emotion in Ogoni communities. Excitement and jubilation that heralded the flag off ceremony petered out so dramatically. Activities of contractors at the clean-up sites became subjects of renewed acrimony and agitation by the communities. For instance, across the Ogoni communities, many people do not seem to have any confidence in the technical competence of the contractors. Ostensibly, enormous funds had already been expended on the projects by government but the communities insist they have not seen any pronounced change in their condition. The air did not offer them a fresh breath, the blighted mangrove vegetation did not show new life, the water in the streams did not wash away the oil coating on its surface neither did the soil return offer any promise of fertility. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/ogoni-oil-spill-floundering-clean-up-roadmap-and-tales-of-anguish-of-oil-communities/
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| Politics / Okowa’s Non-Payment Of School Retirees Is Leading Teachers To Early Graves by Shehuyinka: 9:11am On Sep 27, 2022 |
ON the evening of Wednesday, September 9, 2020, Ochade Ndude was returning from church around her Umusedeli home in Kwale, Ndokwa-West Local Government Area, Delta State, when one Okoli suddenly approached her and asked that she hurriedly mount his bike.https://www.icirnigeria.org/in-delta-okowas-non-payment-of-primary-school-retirees-is-leading-teachers-to-early-graves-part-1/ 2 Likes 1 Share
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| Health / Corruption, Irregularities Mar BHCPF Scheme In Kano by Shehuyinka: 10:00am On Sep 25, 2022 |
By day, this yellow, rickety pickup truck is meant for moving heavy loads – mostly firewood – from one village to another around Jali community in Tudunwada Local Government Area of Kano State. At night, it is the only vehicle in the community which is 120 kilometres from Kano city. It is always on standby to move any prospective patient due to the lack of a standard healthcare facility and poor road network in the village. Even though the truck appears unkempt and inconducive to patients’ good, its owner, Haruna Sani, 45, says he has used it to rescue over 80 patients – mostly pregnant women – from the community in the last 15 years. For them, this ramshackle truck is the closest thing to an ambulance in a night emergency – and the difference between living through an emergency and dying in one. Pregnant Woman Dies Inside Truck after Protracted Labour Sani’s gesture is humanitarian, but Hassana Ibrahim was not lucky enough to enjoy it. She had already been laid in the back of the truck when the vehicle’s kick starter went bust, the driver explains. A group of hefty men was mobilised to push the truck for nearly 30 minutes. Then the trip of over 20km to the nearest hospital began. Unfortunately, Hassana died on the way. “Perhaps Hassana wouldn’t have died if my truck was in a good condition that day,” Sani says. “She was already inside the truck in labour pains when we started pushing the vehicle for 30 minutes, so she was already tired. She later died when we were close to the hospital.” Jali Primary Healthcare Centre is about 100 metres from the late Hassana’s house, but the centre lacks the required facilities for child delivery. This was why Hassana was being transported a further 20km before her death. Ownership Tussle Mars BHCPF Project at Jali, Yaryasa Facilities The Jali Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) is in deplorable condition despite its enlistment as a recipient of the federal government’s Basic Healthcare Provision Funds (BHCPF) scheme. Two years after Kano as a state began its implementation; there is no visible impact of the project at the centre. Here is why: among the stakeholders of Jali and Yaryasa PHCs in the Yaryasa ward of Tudunwada local government area, a controversy has been lingering over the rightful owner of the BHCPF project. Akarami Nuhu Aliyu, an official of the Kano State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (KSCHMA) at Yaryasa PHC, claimed that he was among the trainees for the project at Yaryasa before it was allegedly hijacked. According to him, the scheme was diverted due to an alleged unresolved personal dispute between Magaji Ubale, the former officer in charge of the Yarsaya PHC, and his former head of department (HOD), Medical, Suraju Sabayuki. “All enrolees on this list are people of Yaryasa, but due to the diversion, only officials of Jali facility can access the BHCPF Bank account. “Jali is over 20 kilometres away from Yaryasa, the enrolees cannot afford transport fare of about N800 to the village and the issue stalled BHCPF implementation at both facilities,” Aliyu explained. Shehu Garba, a physically challenged 65-year-old man, and Elia Saleh, the 80-year-old chief imam of Yaryasa Ward are among the enrolees. They lamented that all hopes of accessing free healthcare at the Yaryasa facility were dashed after the scheme was diverted. When contacted on the telephone, both Ubale and Sabayuki denied having personal issues. Both have their different explanations: Ubala linked the failure of the project to an alleged diverEADsion by his ex-boss; Sabayuki insisted the move was a unanimous decision by all stakeholders. Re hard-to-reach Jali community where the pathetic death of late Hassana occurred. The road to Jali is bad, driving on it is a painstaking hurdle. The ongoing construction of a bridge has worsened the situation of the road. When our correspondent arrived at the portion with the most resistance, he had to abandon his travel vehicle on the roadside and proceeded on the journey on a commercial motorcycle. He eventually met with Sale Haruna, the person in charge of the Jali PHC. Sale is the only permanent staff at the facility. Since March 2020 when he was contacted to take over the project, Haruna could not provide any dedicated list of enrolees for Jali PHC when our correspondent visited him on July 7, 2022. “The KPHCMB said it is only this facility (Jali) they accredited and they know. So, I just received a call from our then HOD (Sabayuki) around March 2020 that the BHCPF will now be implemented at Jali PHC. “A Director from KASHMA (Dr. Abdullahi) called me last month (June 2022) that their team will come and sort the challenges of our list very soon,” he explained. Jali PHC Official Withdraws Cash Despite Zero BHCF Implementation Despite the unresolved controversy, our correspondent learnt that Haruna had withdrawn N50,000 from the BHCPF’s account. He claimed to have spent the money on transportation. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/corruption-irregularities-mar-bhcpf-scheme-in-kano/
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| Health / How Cross River PHC Boss And Husband Fleece Basic Health Care Provision Fund by Shehuyinka: 9:28am On Sep 25, 2022 |
In Bogobiri the heart of Calabar, the Cross River State capital, three health workers sit around a table covered with Cross River State’s blue and white cotton material and a heap of books spread across the length of the table. This is supposed to be one of the primary health care facilities in the state, and it is one of the facilities selected to benefit from the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF). This health facility that caters for areas including Etim Edem Park, Watt Market, Bogobiri, Barracks road and more, is basically a table with a mountain of books on it, and a few white plastic chairs all placed at the entrance of the hall within the premises of the Apostolic Church. There is no building, no store room, no labour room and the health workers operate at the benevolence of the church, which stands opposite a mosque in this community of mostly Muslims. “We have operated like this for about five years now,” says Ms. Mary Henshaw, who is in charge of the facility, adding that all efforts to get a befitting building has proved abortive due to lack of finances. Ms. Henshaw revealed that most of the health emergencies rushed to the facility have been referred to their mother facility at Ekpo Abasi, a distance of approximately 4 Kilometers and that women who needed to deliver at night had to find their way to the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, as the ‘centre’ does not run a night shift. And that was the fate of Malam Aminu Bin-Usman when his wife was due for their last baby. “My wife wanted to give birth in the night, we couldn’t come here. We had to run around and go to the teaching hospital,” he said, adding that it was easier for him because he owns a car and that the trouble for others without personal vehicles can only be imagined. Malam Aminu, who is a member of the Ward Development Committee (WDC), a group of influential men and women tasked with overseeing and mobilising collective action at the grassroots, held that the greatest challenge faced by the facility is accommodation. According to him, accommodation problems have made it difficult for the facility to serve the community. In June this year when Elizabeth Ugbong went to deliver her baby at the Primary Healthcare Center (PHC) in Bebuabie, in Obudu Local Government Area of Cross River State, she was asked to bring delivery items that included rolls of tissue paper and disinfectant. She was also asked to pay a bill of N18,000 – more than twice what the mother of three makes a month from the small hair-braiding business she runs from her house in the community of mostly farmers. Speaking through an interpreter with her second child tucked in between her legs alongside a blue bucket she was using to wash clothes, Elizabeth added, “After giving birth, the hospital staff refused to let me go and take care of my children insisting that I must pay the N18,000 before I am freed.” It took the intervention of her uncle who coughed out N10,000 after she had spent a week in the PHC before she and her newborn were discharged. It was the same situation for Josephine Abang who had to cough out the sum of N11,000 to be allowed to give birth at the government-owned health clinic in Ohong, in Obudu, the local government of the State Governor, Ben Ayade. But no receipt was issued for the N11,000 collected from her. “I paid N4,000 for registration and I was later asked to pay N7000 when I gave birth.” The mother of one was on her way to the health facility for post-natal care and said she also bought “toilet tissues, Izal, and Dettol,” as the clinic staff insisted it was mandatory for her to provide them if she is to have her child at the clinic that serves the rural community. The demand for money and other consumables by the health facilities before attending to patients runs foul of the intentions and objectives of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF). CrossRiverWatch investigation further uncovered that despite authorities saying the scheme has fully commenced in the state, drugs required to treat patients for free are not available, and there is no sign that they have started receiving payments from the State Health Insurance Scheme (AyadeCare) for the smooth operation of the program. Misappropriation Of Basic Health Care Provision Fund Established under Section 11 of the National Health Act (2014), President Muhammadu Buhari officially rolled out the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) in 2018. The Fund, sourced from one per cent of the Federal Government Consolidated Revenue and contributions from donor agencies, is aimed at providing basic healthcare for Nigerians who cannot afford it, especially at the local health centres. The fund is disbursed and implemented through three gateways: the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, (NPHCDA), which gets 45% of the funds, and in liaison with the State Primary Health Care Development Agency, which funds eligible PHCs in participating states. The second gateway is the National Health Insurance Scheme gateway which gets 50 per cent of the funds and works with the state’s health insurance scheme (in Cross River, AyadeCare ) to insure the most vulnerable and help them access a basic minimum package of health services, and five per cent through the Emergency Management Treatment (EMT) gateway. Facilities receiving BHCPF are to provide antenatal care, delivery, and postnatal care for pregnant women, immunisations and treatment for malaria, pneumonia, measles, and dysentery for children under five, malaria treatment, hypertension and diabetes screenings, and family planning for all adults. On Tuesday, May 21st, 2019, Prof. Isaac Adewole, the former Nigerian Minister for Health while addressing the Senate said 14 states including Cross River had refused to participate in the program by not paying the required counterpart funding in the year the Cross River State Government had budgeted to spend over N1 trillion. Adewole, who described the BHCPF as a “game-changer,” added that the fund has been structured “in a way that money will flow from the Central Bank to the primary healthcare facilities, bypassing all obstacles.” Two years later, Governor Ben Ayade’s launch of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund and the State Health Insurance Scheme marked the commencement of the program that aims to provide free and affordable health care for the poor in Cross River State. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/how-cross-river-phc-boss-and-husband-fleece-basic-health-care-provision-fund/
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| Business / [EXPLAINER] Here Is Why There Is Improvement In Power Supply by Shehuyinka: 3:39pm On Sep 20, 2022 |
MANY electricity consumers in Nigeria have confirmed improvement in power supply in the past one month. The improvement levels have, however, varied, in line with the government’s introduction of different tariffs for consumers. The Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) had in 2020 introduced a ‘service reflect tariff’, which classified consumers into bands A, B, C, D and E. The initiative seeks to address load rejection from distribution companies (DisCos), which could lead to grid collapse if left unaddressed. The idea, in other words, seeks to address power allotment to the respective DisCos according to their load capacity. It also seeks to track their payment returns. According to the service reflective tariff groupings, band A enjoys an average of 20 hours per day; band B, 16 hours; and band C, 12 hours, while bands D and E receive a minimum of only eight and four hours daily. One electricity consumer confirmed an improvement in supply. “Our estate is in band A, and we are enjoying a minimum of 20 hours of power supply per day. This is quite commendable, and I hope they sustain it. I sell food in the estate, and meat in the refrigerator is preserved because of the constant power,” a restaurant operator in Kubwa, a satellite town in Abuja, Oluchukwu Mgbemena, told The ICIR. The Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, said he has been receiving feedback from some distribution companies on the improved power supply. In a recent Tweet, Aliyu referred to a post by the Yola Electricity Distribution Company hailing its ability to sustain power supply despite the heavy downpour in the state. The ICIR survey showed that the Federal government’s work on grid expansion and current dam water level improvement were major factors contributing to power supply stability to homes. Also identified as having a huge impact on the recorded improvement are transmission expansion and rehabilitation of sub-stations. “Nobody can tell us that they have generated power that we have not evacuated. The stability we are currently enjoying in the sector is as a result of so many things. We are doing aggressive grid expansion. And now, we have water in the dams,” the managing director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz, told The ICIR. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/explainer-here-is-why-there-is-improvement-in-power-supply/
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| Politics / What If Tinubu Has Parkinson’s Disease? by Shehuyinka: 3:13pm On Sep 20, 2022 |
THE rumour is rife that the APC presidential candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu is afflicted with Parkinson’s disease. Several videos online captured his right hand shaking uncontrollably. On other occasions, he was assisted for balance by people nearby, or was found dozing off at public events. Yet nobody could speak with certainty, at least for now, that Asiwaju is diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. The candidate also has not disclosed information about his health condition. When The ICIR contacted his campaign organisation in August for confirmation, mum was the word. The only hint about Tinubu’s medical condition probably was conveyed in Professor Wole Soyinka’s criticism of Emilokan’s song by the members of Pyrate Confraternity. The Professor of Literature, while condemning the song, alluded to a pan-African historian and writer, Cyril Lionel Robert James, who also was afflicted with PD before he died in 1989. According to Soyinka, the Trinidadian historian “suffered from Parkinson’s disease, but remained alert, lucid and combative for decades after the onset of the disease.” That reference, some concluded, was a dead giveaway. Soyinka unwittingly let the cat out of the bag. Notwithstanding, researchers have linked hand tremors to Parkinson’s disease, though the incidence rates in Africa are lower than those reported for European and North American populations. In a longitudinal study conducted by a University of Lagos Professor of Neurology, Okubadejo Njideka, and others, few genetic studies of PD have been reported from Africa and none in blacks. But that was a 2006 research. In several studies published by The Lancet, an authoritative science journal, PD is described as a brain disease that affects body function. In the early stage, the symptom is barely noticeable on one’s hand. Over time the condition worsens as the disease progresses. The main motor symptoms of PD, according to the studies, are tremors, stiffness and loss of balance or slow movement, while the non-motor symptoms include memory loss, daytime sleepiness, leaking of urine, constipation, depression, psychosis, fatigue and others. At some times, the speech also gets slurred. Those who have come close to Asiwaju confirmed that he exhibits some of those symptoms. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/what-if-tinubu-has-parkinsons-disease/
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| Health / Factcheck: Us-funded Labs In Nigeria Led To Monkeypox Outbreak? by Shehuyinka: 9:07am On Sep 20, 2022 |
The media space, especially social media platforms, was inundated with claims that the current spread of monkeypox was linked to at least, four United States biological laboratories in Nigeria. Monkeypox in 2022 was first found on May 6 in the United Kingdom in a person with travel ties to Nigeria, which was where the initial cluster of cases was found. Monkeypox has never before spread so widely elsewhere since it was first discovered in Central and West Africa in 1970. From May 18, cases were reported from an increasing number of countries and regions, predominantly in Europe and North and South America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. As cases began popping up in different countries, so did unverifiable claims linking the monkeypox outbreak to it being manufactured in biological labs. In a widely reported press statement, Nigeria became a target after the Russian government alleged that monkeypox was biologically made from, at least, four U.S.-controlled biological laboratories in the country. At least, 60,000 confirmed cases have been reported from more than 100 countries and territories since the start of 2022. Background Three weeks after the first reported case in Europe, the Russian government claimed that the new spread of monkeypox was linked to, at least, four U.S.-controlled biological laboratories in Nigeria. The report linking biolabs in Nigeria to the spread of monkeypox was released during a Russian Defense Ministry press briefing by Chief of Russian Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Protection Force, Igor Kirillov, titled, ‘Briefing on the results of the analysis of documents related to the military biological activities of the United States on Ukrainian territory.’ During the briefing, Kirillov claimed that the U.S. operated, at least, four biological laboratories in Nigeria and linked the current monkeypox outbreak in Europe to the alleged US-funded biolabs (US-financed facilities) in Abuja, Zaria, and Lagos. He said, “According to the WHO report, the introduction of the West African strain of the causative agent of monkeypox originated in Nigeria, another state where the United States has placed its biological infrastructure. “According to available information, there are, at least, four biological laboratories controlled by Washington in Nigeria.” The report made headlines on social media platforms and some media houses in Nigeria, India, Iran, Russia and Europe. It was also shared on Twitter by pro-Russian accounts. Two tweets were shared by AZ OSINT (@AZmilitary1), a Twitter user, on Friday, May 27, immediately after the Russian government made the announcement. The first tweet, 1:43 pm, read, “☣️�Smallpox of monkeys was brought from Nigeria, where, at least, four biolabs of the United States work, said Igor Kirillov, head of the radiation, chemical and biological protection troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation�☣️” The second tweet was a collage of images purportedly proving the existence of US-sponsored bio-laboratories in Nigeria, possibly linked to the recent monkeypox outbreak. AZ OSINT tweets, which have now been deleted, are archived here. “Russia Ministry of Defense published photos as evidence of the existence of bio-laboratories in Nigeria (they have released more material we hope to have time to translate it for you), related to monkey smallpox spreading. Currently, there are 4 ��biolabs in ���” The Twitter user shared a link to a Telegram post in the second linked tweet. The channel, иноорон оccии, is validated by Russia’s Defense Ministry’s verified Twitter handle (Ministry of Defense of Russia). The post on Twitter and Telegram elicited responses indicating that some believed the claims were true. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/factcheck-us-funded-labs-in-nigeria-led-to-monkeypox-outbreak/
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| Politics / Nelson Mandela Freedom Park Osogbo In Ruins, Overtaken By Goats by Shehuyinka: 9:07am On Sep 08, 2022 |
THE Nelson Mandela Freedom Park in Osogbo, the Osun State, once held promise for Osun residents, but that magic was short-lived. JOSEPH OLAOLUWA reports about the decay of the park and the secrecy surrounding the funding. The administration of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola in Osun State designed the Nelson Mandela Freedom Park in Osogbo, the state capital, from what used to be a plank market and garage. The park was designed to have a garden at the centre with adequate sitting corners, planted trees, and flowers. Strategically placed were terracotta heads of past governors and administrators of the state. Close by those terracotta heads was a fountain protected by perimeter fencing. The park is situated by the side of the railway line, while a gantry-like ladder was constructed over the line to help residents enjoy the view. One side of the park had a well-cultured garden, relaxation tents and bouncy castles, while the other side had sitting corners and a fountain. The project had two gantries at the entry and close to the road. It also has big parking spaces at the various entrances of the project; the parking spaces were said to be well-utilised when the park blossomed. The Nelson Mandela Freedom Park was used as the venue for one of the activities to flag off the end of Aregbesola’s eight years as governor. The Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, was in attendance. However, the attraction associated with this project was short-lived due to what residents described as its abandonment and neglect. On February 5, 2022, The ICIR reporter paid a visit to the park. It revealed the tourism centre was unkempt and uncatered for. There was no gateman, security man or any other official at the entrance. However, several minutes after the reporter entered the park, an attendant appeared and asked for a N300 access fee, even though N500 was printed on the ticket, which interestingly was for the previous year’s Christmas carnival. The attendant, who introduced himself as Brand, says he manages the facility on behalf of Bristol Family Park, the concessionaire. He told The ICIR that the construction of the Olaiya overhead bridge close by the park was responsible for the low turnout of visitors. “I am the one that manages this place. People are few today because of this overhead bridge. We are doing a re-opening when the bridge is completed,” Brand said while explaining the desolation at the park. Dusty chairs, stagnant water in the fountain, no food A cursory look outside the park walls showed its surroundings littered with waste and weeds creeping over the walls. On entrance into the park, The ICIR reporter observed dusty chairs at the park, which showed how long it was put to use. Even the bouncing castle was deflated. The fountain was not functional. It was replaced by a pool of dirty-smelling water. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/nelson-mandela-freedom-park-osogbo-in-ruins-overtaken-by-goats/
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| Politics / TIMELINE: Eight Buildings Collapsed Under Ex-lagos Commissioner’s Watch by Shehuyinka: 8:36am On Sep 08, 2022 |
IN Lagos State, buildings have been collapsing like a pack of cards over the past one year. The frequency of collapse over the last year became a permanent feature so much so that hardly did a month go by without a building collapsing, with deaths recorded in most of the tragedies. The latest of the collapse happened on Sunday, September 4, 2022, when a seven-storey building at Sandfield, Lekki, crashed, killing six persons. The next day, the state Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr Idris Salako, under whose watch many buildings had collapsed, resigned. No reason was given for his resignation, which the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, promptly accepted. Sanwo-Olu on Wednesday, September 7, 2022, deployed the former Commissioner for Special Duties, Engineer Tayo Bamgbose-Martin, to the Physical Planning ministry to replace Salako. Timeline of building collapse in Lagos under Salako’s watch Residents of the state were jolted on November 1, 2021 when a 21-storey building under construction in Ikoyi came down, killing 40 persons, including the owner and developer, Olufemi Osibona, popularly known as Femi Fourscore; and a friend of his who was on his way to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport to travel out of the country but Osibona had persuaded to stop over at the building site. Also victims were Osibona’s personal assistant, construction workers and a food vendor. The building was part of three towers that Osibona’s company, Fourscore Homes, was building on the vast Ikoyi site. Some of the units were priced as high as $1.2 million each. Hours after the building crashed, a letter surfaced online revealing that the consultant to the Fourscore Homes project, Prowess Engineering Limited, had withdrawn its structural consultancy job on it citing the structure as unsafe and vulnerable to collapse. - Advertisement - A video also went viral showing how officials of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LSBCA) sealed the building at a point after they marked it structurally defective. But, somehow, the contractors restarted work on the project, increasing the floors till it collapsed. The Foreshore tragedy signposted what would seem a lack of will by government’s officials in taking firm action on structurally defective buildings in the state, as subsequent instances would show. Reported cases tracked by The ICIR revealed that, at least, eight major buildings had collapsed in Lagos this year alone, while 24 persons died from the incidents. In February 2022, a three-storey building collapsed at No. 16, Akanbi Crescent, Sabo, in the Yaba area of Lagos, trapping five persons. Four persons died in that incident. The state government blamed the developer for resuming construction on the site without authorisation after it had been sealed on two occasions. There was talk after a review meeting on the incident that the government would prosecute Gboyega Bello, the developer of the building. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/timeline-eight-buildings-collapsed-under-ex-lagos-commissioners-watch/
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| Politics / Mixed Reactions Trail Establishment Of Benue Community Volunteer Guards by Shehuyinka: 2:28pm On Sep 04, 2022 |
MIXED reactions have continued to trail the establishment of the Benue Community Volunteer Guards by Governor Samuel Ortom. Ortom had on August 4, 2022, inaugurated the 500-man Community Volunteer Guards as a response to attacks by armed Fulani herdsmen in rural communities in the state. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CsJD87Xi74 According to Ortom, the Volunteer Guards would complement efforts of conventional security agencies in the state. The governor, in another move, wrote President Muhammadu Buhari to seek permission for the Volunteer Guards to bear arms. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cQxaWutpvU Following allegations and counter allegations that trailed the development, which pitched the government against the Fulani herdsmen, The ICIR spoke to parties involved in the saga. Ortom, in an exclusive interview with The ICIR, explained that the lack of concern shown by the Buhari-led Federal Government to the killings and displacement of over two million people in Benue necessitated the establishment of the volunteer guards. “So on the Fulani attacks against our communities, what we are trying to do may not necessarily put an end to it but it will minimize the level of insecurity that we have in our land, because the conventional security of the state have done their best, but I can tell you that from 2017 alone when we enacted the prohibition of open grazing and enacted provisions for ranching, to date, more than 120 security personnel have been killed; more than 5000 people from 2011 till date have been killed,” Ortom said. The governor also disclosed that the state government had secured the conviction of over 400 Fulani herders, and confiscated more than 25,000 cows over the herdsmen’s failure to adhere to the anti-grazing law. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4ZUVusRAE4 “Four places were designated for public hearing and we went through due process. It went through the State Executive Council, it went through the House of Assembly. The House of Assembly organised four different venues for public hearing, it was held and passed and I signed it into law in 2017. Miyetti Allah came out and said they will never obey that law. READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/mixed-reaction-trail-ortoms-establishment-of-benue-community-volunteers-guard/
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| Politics / Ngige, NSITF Management Accused Of Billion Naira Deductions From Staff Salaries by Shehuyinka: 11:52am On Sep 04, 2022 |
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, in alleged connivance with the management of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), is being accused of illegal tax deductions from the salaries of over 5 000 workers of the Trust Fund. An aggrieved source said the deductions run into billions because of the organisation’s large staff population. The controversy is an offshoot of the Federal Government’s approval of a new minimum wage in 2019. The salary review extended across all levels of civil servants in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), including the NSITF employees. Findings revealed the approval was also validated by the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC). A memo with reference number, NSITF/AC/DIR/ADMIN/5/S.13/26 obtained by The ICIR, the NSITF management, through the executive director in charge of administration, also confirmed the salary upgrade for all the staff from Grade Level 03 to Grade Level 17. The confirmation was dated April 13, 2022, and the payment was expected to take effect from April 2019. In other words, there was a percentage increase in the salary of the employees, from the vehicle drivers to supervisors and managers. A breakdown revealed that grade levels 03 to 07 would get a 23.2 per cent upward review. From officer II to the senior manager, grade 08 to 14, there was a 14 per cent increase. In contrast, grade level 15 to 17 officers, the principal managers and general managers are expected to benefit from a 10.5 per cent increase. With the adjustment, an NSITF staff in level 3, receiving N50, 000 as take-home, would have a salary increase of 23.2 per cent. That is, an additional N11, 600 increase to the existing N50, 000 to make N61, 600. In three years, this amounts to hundreds of thousands in Naira. “Payment of the consequential adjustment has been carried out in line with approvals from the (NSIWC) and the supervising ministry, and the ministry of labour and employment,” the memo sighted by The ICIR read. “Percentage of computation of salary increase/arrears for various ranks/levels are Motor Driver to Supervisor (Grade Level 03 to 07):23.2 per cent; Officer II to Senior Manager (Grade Level 08 to 14): 14 per cent and Principal Manager to General Manager (Grade Level 15 to 17): 10.5 per cent.” The NSITF ultimately agreed to pay the employees in three tranches since there was an outstanding directive by the Federal Government for agencies yet to implement the new minimum wage policy. The Fund has mostly been in the news for wrong reasons, either a case of stealing of public funds or abuse of office, especially by its past executives. There were other cases of breach of the Public Procurement Act 2007, where at least nine sacked top officials were directed to return ‘excess remunerations’. Payment of lump sum commences On April 1, 2022, the NSITF eventually made its first tranche of payments to the staff. The second amount was scheduled for June 30, 2022, while September 30, 2022, was set as the payment of the last tranche. However, the union dragged Ngige of allegedly conniving with the management of the NSITF to deducting up to N500, 000 from the employees, depending on salary levels of the employees. “For instance, someone who received N400, 000 as his first tranche got N250, 000 in the second, and we don’t know how much would get to us in the last tranche,” an official at the Fund said, raising doubt that there were no defined benchmarks as to what type of tax and percentage of deductions adopted. “There were no defined parameters to which the deductions were made,” the source said. “In my case, I ought to receive N1.5m for the three tranches. N500, 000 per tranche.” READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/ngige-nsitf-management-accused-of-multibillion-naira-deductions-from-staff-salaries/
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| Politics / Security Agents Told Me FG Gave Them Order Not To Fight Fulani Herdsmen – Ortom by Shehuyinka: 8:15am On Aug 30, 2022 |
BENUE State governor Samuel Ortom has alleged that armed Fulani herdsmen cannot be brought to book for violent attacks on agrarian communities across the country because of a Federal Government order prohibiting security agents from apprehending and arraigning them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cQxaWutpvU In an interview with The ICIR, the governor said those being referred to as bandits are members of Miyetti Allah. Ortom also alleged that all Miyetti Allah does is claim responsibility for attacks and collect huge sums of money from the government. He claimed that the Federal Government is protecting them. “I have spoken to some security men who told me the Federal Government gave them directive that they do not have to move against these Fulani men. That is why I keep saying that the Federal Government’s action and inaction clearly show that they are complicit in the criminality that is going on in Nigeria. They call them bandit because they do not want people to call them Fulani herdsmen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4ZUVusRAE4 “Remember what the Sultan of Sokoto said some time ago: anywhere you arrest ten bandits, most of them are Fulanis. That is a Fulani man himself, and that is why when I am talking, I try to differentiate it by saying that those people who are coming against us here because we have lived with Fulani before. These are from Mali, Niger, Senegal, and other parts of the world who had chosen to relocate here and take over. We have not sent any Fulani man away from Benue State. Some are still here, and some are even in my government. MORE ON THIS STORY HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/security-agents-told-me-fg-gave-them-order-not-to-fight-fulani-herdsmen-ortom/ 1 Share
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