Echotitbits – Nigeria News

Category: National

  • Lagos Ports: ‘Irresponsible government destroying lives, businesses and bridges’

    Lagos Ports: ‘Irresponsible government destroying lives, businesses and bridges’

    By Tobiloba Kolawole

    The Federal Government has been advised to decentralize Lagos ports in order to achieve efficiency in the sector and solve the perennial gridlock on the Apapa-Oshodi expressway, which continues to cripple economic activities and make life difficult for residents of the State.

    The Chairman, Association of Corporate Governance Professionals, Sam Ohuabunwa made this call in a chat at his Maryland home in Lagos. He said that a long lasting solution to the hardship that is being experienced on the road by Lagos residents is to decentralize Lagos ports and get other ports in the South South and the recently inaugurated dry port in Kaduna functional.

    Ohuabunwa decried the lack of will by government in bringing sanity back to the Apapa-Oshodi road. He said ‘everyone’ is forced to use the Apapa port because it is the only port that is allowed to function and service the entire nation.

    “Nigeria has Port Harcourt port, Calabar port, Onne Port, Warri port; why are they not being put to use? Everyone is forced to come to Lagos port; it is the port with the best facility, why?” Ohuabunwa said.

    The former CEO of Neimeth Pharmaceuticals PLC said that the use of the Lagos Port and the neglect of others in the east dates back to the Nigeria civil war, which started in 1967 and ended in 1970.  

    Ohuabunwa said: “It was like a policy, during the war, those eastern ports were shut understandably so that arms couldn’t go to Biafra. Since the war ended, we have maintained a form of discrimination against those ports. Some of them have become so shallow, government says it has no money and they are not willing to properly privatise the ports so that people with money can come and deepen the ports.

    “I think that the issue is that government should decentralise port operations. If government says in the next six months nobody should open Apapa or Lagos ports, the place will change. Or remove some of those restrictions that are making it more difficult to do business in other ports.”

    It is obvious that the traffic constraint as a result of activities in Lagos ports is not the only issue to worry about. The trickledown effect on infrastructures like road and especially some bridges in Lagos is of critical concern as Ohuabunwa stated.

    He said: “It is just that everybody is coming to Lagos. Do you see the vehicles occupying the streets? Do you see where stationary trucks stay on bridges for months?  You think that’s a normal thing? Bridges that are supposed to carry transient weight are carrying static weight and not only blocking traffic but also damaging those infrastructures. Wait until a few years and we shall see the impact of these static weights these flyovers are carrying. It is irresponsible governance; I have not seen anything like it.”

    Traffic gridlock along the ports in Lagos, especially around Apapa and the indiscriminate packing of trucks on the highways, including bridges has become a menace that has defied government interventions. Last July, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had ordered a 72-hour operation to remove trucks parked indiscriminately and restore order in the area. But in less than three months, the wrath and perennial gridlock persist.

    Some road users who spoke to The Guardian said the order didn’t go far because security and traffic management personnel in charge were inefficient and corrupt. They also noted that one critical underlying factor causing the menace – bad roads has not been fixed.

  • 2019: Atiku doubts Buhari’s commitment to free and fair elections

    2019: Atiku doubts Buhari’s commitment to free and fair elections

    By Tobiloba Kolawole

    The presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 election, Atiku Abubakar has reacted to President Muhammadu Buhari’s refusal to assent the Electoral Act 2018 Amendment Bill. Atiku, who appears to be the main opposition to Buhari’s reelection bid, expressed doubt about the President’s commitment to free and fair elections in 2019.

    The former vice President made his position known on Friday via his Twitter handle: “Mr. President, assurances that your administration will conduct free, fair and credible elections cannot be taken seriously. For Nigerians and especially us in the opposition, you just missed an opportunity to walk the talk.”

    Another prominent PDP member who has voiced his disappointment over Buhari’s decline to assent the Electoral bill was former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, who said that the President’s action can only mean he does not trust the judgment of his party members at the National Assembly that actively took part in the passing of the bill.

    “What is President Buhari’s fear concerning this Electoral Bill? Can the interest of a single individual be placed above that of Nigeria and its people? Is he saying that even his party members in the NASS were wrong to have passed the Electoral Bill? May God save our country?” Fayose wrote on his twitter handle.

    Meanwhile, some Nigerians have alleged that the real reason President Buhari declined assent to the Electoral Act 2018 Amendment Bill was to benefit from faceless voters who had no permanent voters cards (PVCs). One of those making the accusation is a former aide of ex President Goodluck Jonathan.

    According to Reno Omokri, who made reference to a data by DeepDive Intelligence that is now circulating online, President Buhari won the 2015 Presidential election because over 13 million people with no PVCs voted.

    “The real reason Buhari does not want to sign the Electoral Act is because 75% of the faceless voters who voted without PVCs in 2015, voted for Buhari. That is how he rigged the 2015 election. That is what the new Electoral Act will stop”[SIC], Reno said.

    This is the fourth time President would decline assent to the Electoral Act 2018 Amendment Bill. Reasons for previous refusal had been hinged on errors in the document sent by the National Assembly.

    According to the President’s Senior Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters (Senate), “President Muhammadu Buhari has taken decision on Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2018. In accordance with his power under the 1999 Constitution, he has communicated that decision to the Senate and House of Representatives, in accordance with the law.”

    Enang was however unwilling to give specific reasons why the President withheld assent to the bill for the fourth time but only stated that Buhari has communicated to the National Assembly.

    However, if Nigeria’s membership of the Economic Community of West African States is anything to go by, President Buhari would have breached the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance. Article 2 of the protocol forbids member countries from making “substantial modification” to their electoral laws less than six months to elections “except with the consent of a majority of political actors”.

  • ‘Politicians are not ready for free and fair elections’ – Sam Ohuabunwa

    ‘Politicians are not ready for free and fair elections’ – Sam Ohuabunwa

    By Tobiloba Kolawole

    As the 2019 general elections draw near with about 76 days to the polls, concerns about INEC’s readiness to conduct free and fair elections are among critical issues up for debate across the country.

    In an exclusive interview with the President and Chairman, Association of Corporate Governance Professionals of Nigeria last weekend in his Lagos home, Sam Ohuabunwa made known his concerns about having free and fair elections in 2019.

    • Nigerians are not ready for free and fair elections

    The renowned Pharmacist who founded Neimeth Pharmaceuticals PLC feared that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) may be capable, ready and willing to conduct credible elections but that it does not operate in a vacuum and might be susceptible to desperate politicians who are bent on subverting due process to win elections at all cost.

    Ohuabunwa said “I believe that INEC in all sincerity is capable of conducting a free and fair election. The question is would the election be free and fair?  The other point I must make is that INEC may be capable, ready and willing but it still operates in an environment where politicians want to win election by all means.”

    He said further that In an environment where there is a high number of politicians and people with criminal tendencies; and a short staffed, ill equipped police force with a baggage of bribe taking, INEC as an umpire would be overwhelmed.

    Ohuabunwa said “INEC, I believe is largely a body of professionals, they will do all the preparation. Who are the people who stole PVCs from INEC office in Akwa Ibom, is it INEC that stole them, could they have stopped them? So that is the concern, INEC may be ready but the nation itself, especially the political actors are not ready for a free and fair election.”

    He agreed that there is need for an attitudinal change, an orientation of the people, politicians and the electorate alike.

    “This competition shouldn’t be a do or die. I have always believed that every political office should be an opportunity to serve, for you to make sacrifices. If you genuinely want the office, canvass as quick as you can, present yourself and let the people make a decision. If you are not a governor or house of rep member or a minister, there are other things you can do. But Nigeria is like a zero-sum game and they are willing to do things including shedding blood.”

    • Reducing the cost of conducting elections and curbing electoral malpractices

    On issues bordering on high cost of conducting elections and reducing malpractices in Nigeria Ohuabunwa strongly believes that electronic voting would solve many of the problems.

    “Elections should be such that it is demystified. Declaring public holiday to do elections, all those things are archaic. Elections can be conducted even for a week. When you are free you go to the polling centre if you have to go press some buttons or ultimately you can vote from your house”, he said.

    The former CEO of the defunct Pfizer Nigeria feels that Nigerians can cast their votes for their preferred candidates electronically just as it is used for varying numbers of transactions and activities. He argued that if Nigerians can transfer money, sell or purchase through their mobile phones, they should be able to use the same device to vote candidates into elective positions.

    He tried to allay the fear of critics on the susceptibility of electronic voting to rigging, “every system can be rigged, all you need to do is to put the safety guards. Whether it is physically or electronically, the system should be subjected to verification. We should demystify this idea of declaring holidays and people not going to work.

    “Secondly is to also reduce the powers and privileges of political office so the struggle will reduce. Also is to restructure and make the center weak. Something tells me that the centre was not as attractive in 1963 as it were today because if it was I would not believe that Ahmadu Bello refused to come to the centre but stayed in the region and sent Tafawa Balewa instead, which showed that the region was better” Ohuabunwa said.

  • Federal and State governments to deploy ICT for economic recovery.

    Federal and State governments to deploy ICT for economic recovery.

    By Tobiloba Kolawole

    The Federal Government and State governments in Nigeria are consolidating efforts to take advantage of the far-reaching potentials in the deployment of information and communications technology for social and economic gains.

    At the opening ceremony of the 6th regular meeting of the National Council on Communications Technology, which held last Thursday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, the Executive Governor of Ogun State, His Excellency, Ibikunle Amosun reinforced the need for governments at all level and the private sector to invest in ICT to fast track development and reduce unemployment rate to the barest minimum.

    In his opening address, Governor Ibikunle Amosun, who was the chief host of this year’s NCCT meeting underscores the impact of communication technology on development. He said, “The interests to share and the ideas to exchange among the people have assumed a multi-dimensional proportion and have totally become driven by technology. These evolving challenges of information management have led to advancements in Big Data, Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cryptography and Robotic Engineering.”

    It is imperative that a society that is desirous of continued growth and development must not only put in place necessary machinery to ensure seamless information and communication but must also place a high premium on the various means of communication. This is why the conception and hosting of the 6th National Council on Communication Technology in our dear State, is a welcome development at this critical time in our nation’s development.”

    Governor Amosun further emphasized that there is a nexus between modern development and Information technology, which necessitates that any country that is desirous of achieving a turn around transformation in the economy, social welfare delivery, employment, effective agricultural process, education, and other areas must proactively invest in ICT.

    Amosun said “on our part as an Administration in Ogun State, we appreciate the need to deploy technology in all our programmes and policies. Our belief is that, in Ogun State, by building an ICT ecosystem and leveraging on the benefits of technology, we will not only sustain the momentum of the achievement of our Administration, but we will also fast-track the process of development.”

    The Ogun State Governor highlighted his government’s efforts to identify and help channel the exuberant energy of youths in Ogun State towards innovation. He said the aim is to encourage a crop of tech-savvy people who will deploy disruptive innovation technologies to solve society’s socio-economic challenges.

    “This is one of the major reasons, amongst others, for featuring Technology in our 2018 Investors Forum and, the hosting of the 2018 TechSummit Ogun on Thursday 18th January 2018”, Amosun said.

    He also said “Apart from opening up a wide range of opportunities in employment generation for our teeming youth on a macro level, the TechSummit Ogun was also conceived to explore the potential for creating new economies along the ICT value chain, such as web development and maintenance; programming; software design and hardware engineering. It is my joy that our dear State has continued to take full advantage of the expected manpower needs by facilitating ICT hubs to provide needed skills acquisitions.”

    FrontPage recalls that about two weeks ago, the Ogun State Executive Council approved a new ICT policy that highlights the development of human resources; provision of infrastructure; the roles of Government and other stakeholders; and strategies to be adopted in the deployment of ICT towards the development of vital economic sectors such as education, health, Agric, commerce and industry, tourism, etc.

    The Chairman of the National Council of Communications Technology and Minister for Communications, Hon. Adebayo Shittu reiterated the impact of ICT as a veritable tool for advancing the growth and economic diversification in countries. The minister noted that a World Bank econometric study carried out in 2009 showed that every 10% increase in ICT investments generates a 1.38% increase in GDP.

    In his address, Shittu said that “the Nigerian ICT sector today is one of the fastest-growing despite the economic recession and contributed 9.8% in GDP in 2014. The challenge is how to address the issues of revenue, investments, cost savings, employment generation, and national productivity among others.

    “In pursuit of national agenda, we have continued to reposition the ICT sector in the areas of infrastructure and industry development, local content optimization, enabling policy, legal and regulatory framework; deepening of ICT in Government and mainstreaming of ICT into all spheres of national life among others”, Shittu said.

    While highlighting some of government’s efforts towards ICT integration, the Minister said that through Galaxy Backbone, internet access has been provided to about 40 MDAs, over 11,000 nodes of wireless LAN to all MDAs at the Federal Secretariat, over 40,000 email addresses for government officials under the gov.ng and mil.ng domains, which is aimed at ensuring that government data is hosted locally on a secured website with data back-up to MDAs and 200 servers hosting 94 MDAs.

    “We are working to have ICT infrastructure designated as critical national infrastructure. Efforts are being made to procure additional communication satellites to complement the existing NigComSat-2 as a means of reaching areas that cannot easily be covered by terrestrial fiber”, the Minister explained.

    He said further “we are also working to make more investments in building the capacity and harnessing the talents of our youth. In particular, we are increasing Accelerators and Incubator programmes as a means of building and harnessing the capacity of our increasingly ICT savvy youth population.”

    “Going forward, the government will expand its investment in ICT infrastructure to extend connectivity to un-served and underserved areas. In this regard, attention will be paid to the issue of multiple taxations of ICT infrastructure. A robust, safe and resilient infrastructure is the key enabler of a digital economy.”

    Also, the Special Adviser on ICT to the Governor of Ogun State, Bunmi Adebayo stressed the need for a synergy between ICT professionals and service providers on one hand with the aim to recognize problems and attendant solutions for alleviation. He further emphasized the Government’s role in creating and enacting necessary social policies to address such problems.

    Adebayo highlighted some of the achievements of the Ogun State Government through the Bureau of ICT.

    “We have been innovative in this end in Ogun State and it may interest you that Ogun State is the First State to provide the longest Government Sponsored 250-kilometer Fiber optic layout in the Country in partnership with MainOne Cable, a private sector company, in a “Quid pro quo” arrangement by giving concession on Right of Way fees. The first to deploy a Satellite-based ICT solution to deliver Precision Management to Agricultural potentiality of our land, Pertinent positioning of our Agro-cluster and Agricultural yields.”

    The first to host the only CISCO Networks Academy Support center (ASC) for English Speaking West and Central Africa stretching to the Gambia and Southern Nigeria which is managed by the center”, Adebayo said.

    The theme for this year’s meeting of the National Council on Communications Technology was Leveraging ICT as a Vehicle for Economic Recovery and Growth. It began with a technical session on Monday 19th November and ended on Friday 23rd November. The meeting focused on how the highly acknowledged potentials of the ICT sector can be used to achieve the main policy objectives of economic recovery and growth.

    The National Council on Communications Technology is the highest governmental policy advisory body in the ICT sector with the Federal Minister for Communications as the Chairman.

    Members of the NCC includes the permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Communications, State Commissioners and highest state official in charge of ICT matters across the 36 states of the Federation; Chief Executives of Government agencies and parastatals in charge of ICT and key private sector stakeholders.

  • World Diabetes Day 2018: 400 people, including children around the world at risk

    World Diabetes Day 2018: 400 people, including children around the world at risk

    By Tobiloba Kolawole

    The International Diabetes Federation has urged families to learn more about the warning signs of diabetes. This was the call by members of the body around the world to mark Diabetes Awareness Month and World Diabetes Day 2018, which also held in across Nigeria last Wednesday.

    In a statement, the body revealed that new research from IDF has discovered that parents would struggle to spot this serious life-long disease in their own children. Despite the majority of people surveyed having a family member with diabetes, an alarming four-in-five parents would have trouble recognizing the warning signs. One-in-three wouldn’t spot them at all. The IDF also said these challenges and recent findings underline the need for education and awareness to help people, particularly families, spot the diabetes warning signs early.

    This year’s event was marked with the theme of Diabetes and the Family because the impact of diabetes on the family has been described as a big challenge to raising healthy children.

    Since 1980 Diabetes cases have risen from 100million to 400 million people living with diabetes in 2018. In a television interview, a Lagos based medical doctor, Tuyi Mebawondu said: “as non-communicable disease, we are seeing a kind of pandemic of diabetes and its impact is essentially a burden on the family”.

    Tuyi emphasized that parents ought to make it a priority to ensure every member of the family is tested for diabetes, including children. He stressed that early detection will help in the effective treatment and management of the disease. “The diagnosis of diabetes at the early stage is key because if you don’t pick it at the early stage you will pick it when life-threatening complication sets in” he stated.

    “Our lifestyle has to change a lot. This is because as much as you want to alter your diet, as much as you don’t exercise, you smoke and live a sedentary life, the chances of having diabetes is higher” Tuyi said.

    Again, diabetes has a critical impact on the organs of the body. It increases the risk of heart diseases, stroke and hypertension; in fact, it is the most common cause of blindness and amputation.  Unfortunately, treating diabetes is becoming more challenging and expensive placing a burden on the family”.

    LIFESTYLE CHANGES

    The medical doctor advises people living with diabetes to have lifestyle changes starting with their diet. He said “the more your weight increases the more the challenge of your body using sugar, especially in type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes constitutes about 90% of diabetes cases all over the world”.

    DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TYPE 1 & TYPE 2

    In his analysis, Tuyi explained that “the difference between type 1 and type 2diabetes is in their etiological factors, that is how they originate. Type 1 diabetes is what we call childhood-onset, which depends on insulin. In this case, the pancreas, the organ responsible for making insulin is not producing sufficient insulin”.

    He further said that “In type 2 the usage of sugar at the cellular level is having challenge because the body is not taking in the sugar and as you know sugar is the biological fuel that the body uses to get energy.  So because most adults have loads of sugar in their system there could be a challenge for the body to take care of those sugars”.

    HOW DIABETES IMPACT ON THE FAMILY

    “It could be a big challenge to diagnose or quickly spot diabetes in children. One of the signs could be a mother having to change her baby’s diaper frequently, or a child not seeing properly. If there is a family history of diabetes then it is important to screen the children for diabetes” Tuyi said.

    WHY WOMEN ARE MORE PRONE TO DIABETES

    Tuyi also explained why women might be more prone to diabetes than men. He said “the disease has sex and age preference. For women, it could be because women are more likely to gain lots of weight or lifestyle peculiar to women. Also, when women pass through pregnancy, they pass through what is called gestational diabetes. So that puts a lot of load on the system to process sugar. There are about 400million people living with diabetes worldwide and about $1.2 trillion is being spent in terms of direct spending for treatment.

    The theme for World Diabetes Day and diabetes awareness month 2018 and 2019 is The Family and Diabetes. A two-year time frame has been chosen to best facilitate planning, development, promotion, and participation. Materials and actions that IDF will develop over the two years of the campaign will aim to raise awareness of the impact that diabetes has on the family and support network of those affected. Also to promote the role of the family in the management, care, prevention, and education of diabetes.

  • My Relationship With President Buhari Remains Strong – Amosun

    My Relationship With President Buhari Remains Strong – Amosun

    By Tobiloba Kolawole.

    The Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun has restated that his relationship with President Muhammadu Buhari remains strong and unimpeachable in spite of the desperation of the political opponents to orchestrate disaffection between them through mendacious propaganda.

    In a press statement personally signed by the governor and released on Tuesday, Amosun vehemently denied the allegations against Buhari, which were attributed to his person, describing them as lies from the pit of hell.

    According to Amosun, “The ultimate aim of the purveyors of these unconscionable falsehoods is to drive a wedge between me and the President and tarnish my hard-earned reputation. This hatchet job will not work as Mr. President is discerning enough to know the source(s) of the pack of concocted lies.”

    “The relationship between President Buhari and myself transcends partisan politics. I hold President Buhari in the highest esteem and nothing will change that”, Amosun emphasized.

    “The target of this grand campaign of calumny is actually our dear President Muhammadu Buhari”, Amosun said in the statement.

    For the avoidance of doubt, let me state categorically that the people trying to cause disaffection between those of us loyal and committed to Mr. President and the success of APC, are plotting to strip Mr. President bare so that their grand design to achieve unfettered domination of the party would be achieved,” the statement concluded.