Monday 27 October 2014

LAGOS HONOURS REGISTERED RESIDENTS

The Lagos State Government, through the State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA), has honoured five registered residents with significant numbers as part of efforts to encourage more residents to come forward and register in the on-going state wide registration exercise.

Presenting the awards, the General Manager of the Agency, Ms. Yinka Fashola, stated that the residents were chosen because of their significance numbers, stressing that all the five were the 600,000th, 700,000th, 800,000th, 900,000th, and 1, 000,000,000th respectively to be registered by the Agency.

She implored them to be the Agency’s Ambassador by encouraging their family members, friends, relatives and other community members to register as well.

It would be recalled that resident registration was launched on the 19th September, 2013 by Governor Fashola with the primary objective of assisting the State Government to formulate and implement policies, projects and programmes for the residents of the State.

The lucky residents are Mr. Kazeem Idowu Surakat, Mr. Ayodele Abiodun Ayanleye, Mr. Lucky Emeka Oha, Mr. Michael Ogbabor Agi and Mr. Tunde Sunday Akano. They had earlier been recognized by Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, during the 2700 Days event held recently.

Friday 24 October 2014

FIFA Celebrates Nwankwo Kanu


Thursday marked the 15th year to the day when Kanu Nwankwo’s exquisite touch brought a bit of magic to the atmosphere at Stamford Bridge. It was the day the Nigerian Olympic gold medalist rescued Arsenal from the brink of defeat to a 3-2 victory. In the following story, world football governing body, FIFA, celebrates one of the moments that has come to stay in the memory of club football watchers.

Throughout his career, Nwankwo Kanu has made his living off the back of having an exquisite touch few men of his size possess, and an instinctive finishing ability that saw him shine on the game’s biggest stages.

While a veteran of three FIFA World Cup, were you only given 15 minutes of his career to see, you could do far worse than the climax to Arsenal’s 3-2 victory over Chelsea. Played 15 years ago today (yesterday), the 6ft 6in Nigerian struck a memorable hat-trick that provided a perfect collage of the finer points of his game.

Two down to Gianluca Vialli’s side, who had not conceded at Stamford Bridge all season – largely thanks to World Cup-winning duo Marcel Desailly and Frank Leboeuf in the centre of defence, things looked bleak for the Gunners.

However, the former Ajax and Inter Milan striker inspired an unlikely turnaround, with his winning goal becoming the stuff of North London legend.

“I have very good memories of that game,” the Olympic gold medal winner told FIFA.com. “It felt great to score against such a formidable team as Chelsea and it just shows the game is not over until it is over.

“I was not particularly out to get the better of Marcel, Frank or [goalkeeper Ed] de Goey that day, I just wanted to play my game and bring out the best of the tricks in my bag to outwit my opponent and score for my team.”

After a pair of headers from Tore Andre Flo and Dan Petrescu had put the hosts ahead either side of half-time, and cruising with 75 minutes on the clock, Kanu took the sting out of Marc Overmars’ mis-hit shot to expertly toe-poke Arsenal back into the game.

Seven minutes later they were level, with the same duo combining. Overmars skipped into space beyond Leboeuf, before firing low across the box. He found his West African team-mate, where Kanu opened his body to cushion the ball into space, thumping the ball emphatically beyond the Dutch stopper. The momentum had violently swung, but it took until stoppage time for the Arsenal frontman to complete his treble, but it was worth the wait.

Having charged down Albert Ferrer’s clearance on the left flank, Kanu was presented with the unexpected and imposing frame of De Goey, charging along the byline and out of his area. To his credit, the former Super Eagles star was coolness personified. “I worked the goalkeeper into a position where I could sell a dummy to him, which of course he bought,” he recalled. “I lifted up my head and picked out the far top corner of the net, which I quickly curled the ball into pretty much from where I stood.”

The former African Player of the Year does himself something of a disservice, as the goal was extraordinary. Standing no more than two yards from the touchline and just inside the penalty area, placing the ball high over Desailly and Leboeuf who were stationed on the goal-line, it was an exceptional finish to cap an exceptional 15 minutes from him.

“I expected him to cross,” Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, admitted after the game. “If he hadn’t scored it could have upset you because he really should have passed. However, great players can prove you wrong. It is one of the best goals I’ve seen.”

It was a stark change in fortunes for Kanu, who had missed a penalty against Fiorentina in the UEFA Champions League in midweek, but starting in place of Dennis Bergkamp – a man Kanu fondly called “‘the eye’, because of his fantastic foresight” – he repaid the fans in perfect style.

Kanu now spends his time helping run the Kanu Heart Foundation, which has helped carry out open heart surgery on 485 children from Nigeria and around Africa to date.

“Winning the double with Arsenal and being part of ‘the Invincibles’ [who went a season unbeatenin 2003/04] are good memories but starting the foundation tops them all,” he said with earnest. “But with 300 kids still on the waiting list, we have to do all we can to save the lives of these children.”

http://dailytimes.com.ng/article/fifa-celebrates-nwankwo-kanu#.VEpBg5eovVs.facebook

Celebrating Yakubu Gowon at 80, By Kayode Fayemi



I am pleased to share my thoughts on the legacy of a foremost statesman and hero of One Nigeria, His Excellency Gen. Yakubu Gowon, in tribute to him as he turns 80 this month.

As a historian, I appreciate the place of documenting the roles of key national figures in our history and making same available to as many people, particularly of the younger generation, as possible. This is particularly so in view of the dearth of heroes and role models for our younger generation, predominantly within the Public Service space in our country.

We often think of public servants as omnipotent figures that can make and remake history according to their whims and caprices. In reality leaders are shaped by their times as much, if not more, than they shape it. Assessing the records of political leaders therefore necessarily calls for understanding the temporal context in which they exercised power.

The mantle of national leadership fell on Yakubu Cinwa Gowon in very trying circumstances. The First Republic had fallen after politicians’ antagonisms had escalated into deadly rivalries. Serial mutinies heavily tinged by ethno-regional antipathies had undermined the solidarity of the armed forces and the nation at large. This coupled with the mass killings of easterners in Northern Nigeria had pushed the country to the brink of destruction.

Under these onerous circumstances, Gowon came to power as the unintended beneficiary of the chaos and immediately faced the task of preventing the giant of Africa from disintegrating. Events at the time made civil war somewhat inevitable and the challenge became that of prosecuting a war of national unity in such a way as to prevent lasting hatred from taking root. At the young age of 34, Gowon had to bear the burden of shepherding a young country through the severest test of its nationhood to date. As the legacy of inter-generational strife across Africa makes clear, this is a burden that has broken so many African leaders and their nations.

The material and human cost of the war was undeniably immense. By most accounts, it could have been far worse had Gowon not prosecuted it with remarkable magnanimity and generosity of spirit. Federal forces were issued a code of conduct that was unprecedented in the annals of warfare on the continent. There were, of course, notable and grievous violations of the code, but these were scandalous precisely because of the tone that Gowon had set for the prosecution of the war.

No Nigerian soldier was awarded a medal for valour because it was deemed unseemly to celebrate valour in a quarrel between brothers. From the onset and throughout the duration of the war Gowon maintained that the objective was not the military humiliation of the secessionists or their annihilation but reconciliation and a restoration of the union.

True to his word, the surrender of the secessionists was not followed by the genocidal slaughter predicted by many or by merciless occupation, but by a programme of reconciliation, rehabilitation and reconstruction.

It is no exaggeration to say that Gowon is to Nigeria what Abraham Lincoln is to the United States, a political leader charged with the terrible duty of prosecuting a war in order to forge national peace and unity. Just as Lincoln’s emancipation proclamation ended slavery and strengthened the American union, Gowon’s famous declaration that there would be no victor, no vanquished ensured that there would be no bloody recriminatory aftermath to the civil war. It set the tone for post civil war relations and aided reintegration and rehabilitation. To say that our union has its challenges is to state the obvious. But it should not stop us from acknowledging those statesmen whose exemplary labours have pushed us a little further on our quest for a national cohesion.

Of all of Nigeria’s military heads of state, none has exemplified the model of the officer and a gentleman as much as Gowon. When he was removed in a 1975 putsch, he turned his interests to further study, obtaining degrees in political science from Warwick University in the UK. His rather austere finances after his overthrow burnished his reputation for personal integrity and honesty, a reputation that would elude many of his successors in office. His remarkable humility and unfailing courtesy also set him apart from those who have walked the rarefied heights of power. Very much in keeping with his character, Gowon’s relationship even with those who effected his removal is characterized by a lack of bile and bitterness.

In retirement, Gowon has continued to be a voice of peace and reconciliation. He provides sagely counsel to current political leaders. He founded ‘Nigeria Prays’, a faith-based organization dedicated to peace building by mobilizing religious leaders and faith communities. I am immensely proud to have hosted him and benefited from his wise counsel during one of the organisation’s campaigns that brought him to the land of honour, Ekiti State, Nigeria. He has remained a messenger of moderation and tolerance in a country where the polity is charged with petty histrionics and polarizing acrimonies. Consequently, it is not surprising that he possesses a genuine national stature which transcends sectarian divides and yet commands the respect of Nigerians across the lines of faith and ethnicity.

It is fair to say that he has set the standard for a productive post-presidential life. Even in retirement, he continues to serve the country in both official and unofficial capacities, often as a special envoy sent to mediate in conflict areas by bringing his conciliatory spirit to bear upon the adversaries.

Few leaders can lay claim to the consistency of temperament and ethical conduct over such a long period spanning their time in office and in retirement. Gowon can do so and stands out as one of the great statesmen in our pantheon of national heroes. Some argue that the term ‘statesman’ has been bastardized on our shores through its frequent and reckless application to undeserving figures. This is true. However, when we contemplate the life and service of Yakubu Gowon, we are in the presence of a rare Nigerian political figure who is fully deserving of that accolade.

As he turns 80, I join all believers in a great Nigeria to wish General Yakubu Gowon (Rtd.) many more years in good health.

Dr. Kayode Fayemi, expert in military studies and civil society activist, was Governor of Ekiti State 2010-2014. He wrote from Ado Ekiti.

Nigerian CEOs Of International Companies



Aliko Dangote

What better way to start this list than with Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the quintessential businessman who has seen it all in the world of business. The Kano-born businessman is sparing nothing to expand his empire, going by how he continues to venture into new areas of business. Over the years, Dangote has become a force to be reckoned with in the industrial, manufacturing and production sectors. Name any sector of business, Alhaji Aliko Dangote is there, swimming with the big fish in the waters of commerce.

His success is not limited to his business concerns in Nigeria alone, but extends far and wide to other African and to European countries. Expectedly, the success of Dangote’s companies has translated to great wealth for the unassuming business mogul, as it is on record that he is the first Nigerian to make it on to the Forbes list of billionaires and to also be adjudged the richest man in Africa long before any business magnate in Nigeria ever dreamt of making the list.

Jelani Aliyu

Jelani Aliyu is from Sokoto State and is General Motors lead exterior designer and the designer of the Chevy Volt. General Motors is the world’s largest automobile maker. The car has been described as an American Revolution and one of the hottest concepts in the design line.

Aliyu was born in 1966 in Kaduna, the fifth of seven children. He had tremendous encouragement and mentoring from his family and friends and his creative art developed. He drew a lot, designed his own cars and even built scale models of them, complete with exteriors and interiors. He got admission into the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria to study Architecture, but soon discovered the curriculum did not support his future vision and plans. He wanted an institution that would give him the best foundation required to study Automobile Design abroad, so he went to Birnin Kebbi Polytechnic. He was there from 1986 to 1988 and earned an associate degree in Architecture, with an award as Best All-round Student. In 1990, Aliyu moved to Detroit, Michigan to enrol at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit on a Sokoto Scholarship Board sponsorship.

With his brilliant work on the design of the Chevrolet Volt, which was unveiled in 2007, Jelani Aliyu is considered by many to be the superstar of the General Motors renaissance.

Kase Lukman Lawal

Born June 30 1954, Kase Lukman Lawal is a Nigerian-born businessman who lives and works in the United States. Lawal was born in Ibadan. He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Texas Southern University in 1976 and an MBA from Prairie View A&M University, Texas in 1978. He is the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of CAMAC International Corporation, chairman and CEO of CAMAC Energy Inc and chairman of Allied Energy Corporation in Houston, Texas. He is also the chairman/CEO, CAMAC Holdings and vice chairman, Port of Houston Authority Commission. He serves as a member of the board of directors and is a significant shareholder in Unity National Bank, the only federally insured and licensed African-American-owned bank in Texas. Lawal was a member of the National Republican Congressional Committee’s Business Advisory Council and in 1994, he was a finalist for the United States Business Entrepreneur of the Year award. Lawal is a member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.

Jason Njoku

When Forbes published a list of 10 young African millionaires to watch, Nigeria’s very own Jason Njoku of Iroko TV made the cut. According to Forbes, there’s no money like young money.

There are a handful of young Africans in their 20s and 30s who have built businesses and amassed enviable million-dollar fortunes. Call them million-dollar babies if you like. While some are corporate animals, others are empire builders, like maverick Nigerian Internet entrepreneur Jason Njoku, the 33-year-old founder and CEO of Iroko TV, the world’s largest digital distributor of African movies.

Ladi Delano

Ladi Delano, aged 32, is the founder and CEO of Bakrie Delano Africa. The jet-setting Nigerian serial entrepreneur made his first millions as a liquor entrepreneur while living in China. He also made Forbes list of 10 African young millionaires to look out for. In 2004, at age 22, he founded Solidarnosc Asia, a Chinese alcoholic beverage company that made Solid XS, a premium brand of vodka. Solid XS went on to achieve over 50% market share in China and was distributed across over 30 cities in China and pulled in $20million in annual revenue. Delano subsequently sold the company to a rival liquor company for over $15million and ploughed his funds into his next venture – the Delano Reid Group, a real estate investment holding company focused on mainland China.

Today, Delano is the co-founder and CEO of Bakrie Delano Africa (BDA), a $1billion joint venture with the $15billion (market cap) Bakrie Group of Indonesia.

Antonio Oladeinde Fernandez

When it comes to impressive and exuberant displays of the splendour of wealth, Fernandez dusts them all by miles. The name ‘Fernandez’ is Portuguese in origin and shows that he is of the popular Fernandez family of Lagos. Historical accounts show that the Fernandez family were originally descendants of freed slaves from Brazil, where Portuguese is the official language. Some of the first modern-styled buildings in Lagos were built by the family and these buildings are known for their spectacular Brazilian architecture.

Antonio Oladeinde Fernandez is the perfect combination of a diplomat and a businessman. Even though he is Nigerian, he was appointed the permanent representative of Central African Republic (CAR) at the United Nations in 1997. Fernandez is said to have interests in CAR’s oil industry. At a time, he was the deputy minister of foreign affairs of the Central African Republic.

http://leadership.ng/news/388037/nigerian-ceos-international-companies

Thursday 23 October 2014

Nigerians are dynamic and inspiring entrepreneurial people – CIMA MD



Andrew Harding, Managing Director of CIMA, the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants has described Nigeria as a vibrant country, and Nigerians as intelligent, dynamic and truly inspiring entrepreneurial people that must have cutting edge management accounting expertise to enhance its position as Africa’s leading economy.

Mr Harding who said this at the inaugural members’ dinner for CIMA members resident in Nigeria at the weekend in Lagos noted that the dinner is a milestone in the history of the world’s largest professional body of management accountants. He said the dinner is in line with CIMA’s tradition of celebrating the great skills and dedication of CIMA members in the 177 countries where the global management accounting body has an active presence.

“Tonight is another milestone in CIMA’s history.We are not only celebrating the great skills and dedication of CIMA members in this country for the first time but also the recent launch of CIMA Nigeria’s new office in this vibrant city. Now that CIMA has a base in Nigeria, the institute is looking forward to developing the country’s talent base and further enhancing its position as a leading African economy,” he said.

Harding said the institute will establish a CIMA Centre of Excellence in Nigeria to develop the field of management accountancy in Nigeria, with the expectation that the centre will make it easier for academics in Nigeria to conduct research into management accounting and help CIMA membersstay at the cutting edge of business evolution. “Such expertise is essential if Nigeria is to achieve its goal of becoming one of the top 20 economic nations by 2020.”

The CIMA MD explained that being a CIMA member means being a good corporate citizen and thinking about the long term as well as putting professionalism at the heart of every activity. “I am very proud of the institute’s emphasis on ethics and sustainability,” he said.

This emphasis, he said, is the value offered by Chartered Global Management Accountants (CGMAs) and a growing number of organisations are beginning to understand that employing CIMA members to build ethics and sustainability into their strategy makes good business sense. “With Nigeria’s economy in the ascendance and a wealth of young talent eager to be developed, management accounting has a key role to play in ensuring that this dynamic nation not only survives future economic turbulence but thrives from public and private sector organisations that are both successful and sustainable.”

According to him, the world gives Nigeria a lot of bad press which is at variance with his experience. He disclosed that his trip to Nigeria has been an unexpectedly wonderful experience of meeting with dynamic, intelligent and truly inspiring entrepreneurial people.

On their part, CIMA fellows at the dinner led by Chief Kola Jamodu, Chairman, Nigeria Breweries Plc; Folusho Phillips, Executive Chairman, Phillips Consulting Group; and Peter Crabb, Senior Consultant, Associated Consultants and Investment Limited, urged CIMA to make its sought-after professional development programmes readily accessible across Nigeria to empower young professionals and Nigerian businesses to build great opportunities in management.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20141017181055-10201746-nigerians-are-dynamic-and-inspiring-entrepreneurial-people-cima-md

Tuesday 21 October 2014

Open Letter To Nigerians 8 Months After My Son Was Murdered In Dubai


By Aisha Falode

It is with a heavy heart that I read about the death of the son of Chief Alameiyeseigha on the streets of Dubai; an incident that immediately jolted me back in time thanks to the bizarre similarities to that of my son as regards “cause of death”.

My son was said by the Dubai authorities to have jumped down from a balcony, dismissing it as "suicide", same with Chief Alameiyeseigha’s son.

I am saddened that this has happened despite my nationwide campaign to stop this happening AGAIN by putting all relevant government agencies on notice, in vain.

For record emphasis, my son was thrown from the balcony of a 17th floor apartment in Manchester Tower in Dubai. A Saudi resident in Dubai confessed to the murder; he had my son’s blood on his t-shirt, he had my son’s blood on his knuckles and boasted about serving time for 25 years in prison if it comes to the worst.

His murderer has a name—Faisal Aldakmary Al-Nasser.

There were witnesses to this murder, they have written statements verbally and orally corroborating what the murderer said. I have put all this together to make this easy for the Nigerian government to help me get justice for my son in Dubai.

I warned the Nigerian government that Nigerian youths were being killed in Dubai on a daily basis as confirmed by our embassy in Dubai. I also warned parents about the danger of Dubai.

I also stated repeatedly, that if justice was not gotten for my son that another murder will happen. Indeed there have been many more after my son although not mentioned because they do not have a voice. But now, there is one so close to government that has been struck.

I did not have to be a soothsayer to know this. Many more will happen until we get Justice for Toba Falode, and all those who have been murdered in cold blood in Dubai.

We cannot stand by and watch our youths lives being down played over and above “collaboration and partnership” with a country that hates us with so much passion, that they are cutting down the lives of our young ones in cold blood crudely and viciously and yet we seek “partnership and collaboration” in investment with this same country.

Our ambassador in the UAE, Ambassador Ibrahim Auwalu, must be called back to Nigeria to answer to every young soul that has been lost to Dubai unaccounted for due to his lack of responsibility in office.

The Foreign Ministry also, must be asked questions on what they have done about Toba Falode’s case 8 months after. It took Israel less than 48 hours to act on the loss of their 3 youths.

8 months after Toba Falode’s murder, we are still waiting on the Nigerian government to give us any kind of reaction on the loss of a young life-Toba Falode in Dubai.

Even after submitting every evidence, our protest, police reports corroborating the fact that my son was murdered, we still have gotten no response at all from the Nigerian government.

Take a queue from Israel.

And the Nigerian Government for once should start acting like a big country with so much might and power that it is in the continent and indeed in the world and go after Dubai for justice for every young soul and every Nigerian life that has been cut short in Dubai.

We send our sympathy and condolences to DSP Alamieyeseigha.

The family and friends of their son, we empathise with them because we have been through and are still going through it and it is nothing we wish for any parent which was our concern from the start.

This is one death too many. May it not happen again.


Monday 20 October 2014

Nigeria is Ebola-Free: Here’s What They Did Right


By Alexandra Sifferlin (Time Magazine)

Nigeria and the World Health Organization were poised to declare the country free of Ebola on Monday, a containment victory in an outbreak that has stymied other countries’ response efforts.

The milestone was set for 9 a.m. local time or 4 a.m., E.T., 42 days since the last new case. The outbreak has killed more than 4,500 in West Africa is remains unchecked in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, so Nigeria is by no means immune to another outbreak.

“It’s possible to control Ebola. It’s possible to defeat Ebola. We’ve seen it here in Nigeria,” Nigerian Minister of Health Onyebuchi Chukwu told TIME. “If any cases emerge in the future, it will be considered—by international standards—a separate outbreak. If that happens, Nigeria will be ready and able to confront it exactly as we have done with this outbreak.”

For the WHO to declare Nigeria’s Ebola-free, the country had to make it 42 days with no new cases (double the incubation period), verify that it actively sought out all possible contacts, and show negative test results for any suspected cases.

Nigeria had 20 cases of Ebola after a Liberian-American man named Patrick Sawyer flew into Lagos collapsed at the airport. Health care workers treating Sawyer were infected, and as it spread it ultimately killed eight people, a low number next to the thousands of cases and deaths in other countries. Nigeria’s health system is considered more robust, but there was significant concern from experts that a case would pop up in one of the country’s dense-populated slums and catch fire.

So what did Nigeria do right? Chukwu and Dr. Faisal Shuaib of the country’s Ebola Emergency Operation Center, broke it down for TIME.

Preparing early. Nigeria knew it was possible a case of Ebola would make it into the country, so officials got to work early by training health care workers on how to manage the disease, and disseminating information so the country knew what to expect.

Declaring an emergency—right away. When Nigeria had its first confirmed case of Ebola, the government declared a national public health emergency immediately. This allowed the Ministry of Health to form its Ebola Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The EOC is an assembly of public health experts within Nigeria as well as the WHO, Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and groups like Doctors Without Borders. “[We] used a war-room approach to coordinate the outbreak response,” Shuaib said. “So you have a situation whereby government and staff of international development agencies are co-located in a designated facility where they are able to agree on strategies, develop one plan and implement this plan together.”

The EOC was in charge of contact tracing (the process of identifying and monitoring people who may have had direct or indirect contact with Ebola patients), implementing strict procedures for handling and treating patients, screening all individuals arriving or departing the country by land, air and sea, and communicating with the community. Some workers went door-to-door to offer Ebola-related education, and others involved religious and professional leaders. Social media was a central part of the education response.

Training local doctors. Nigerian doctors were trained by Doctors Without Borders and WHO, and treated patients in shifts with their oversight.

Managing fear. “Expectedly, people were scared of contracting the disease,” Shuaib said. “In the beginning, there was also some misinformation about available cures, so fear and inaccurate rumors had to be actively managed.” Nigeria used social media to to ramp up awareness efforts, and publicized patients who were successfully treated and discharged. “People began to realize that contracting Ebola was not necessarily a death sentence,” Shuai said. “Emphasizing that reporting early to the hospital boosts survival gave comfort that [a person] has some level of control over the disease prognosis.”

Keeping borders open. Nigeria has not closed its borders to travelers from Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, saying the move would be counterproductive. “Closing borders tends to reinforce panic and the notion of helplessness,” Shuaib said. “When you close the legal points of entry, then you potentially drive people to use illegal passages, thus compounding the problem.” Shuaib said that if public health strategies are implemented, outbreaks can be controlled, and that closing borders would only stifle commercial activities in the countries whose economies are already struggling due to Ebola.

Remaining prepared for more patients. Even though this outbreak was contained, Nigeria is not slowing down its training and preparations for the possibility of more cases. “Outbreak response preparedness is a continuous process that requires constant review of the level of the response mechanisms in place to ensure that the health system is ready to jump into action at all levels,” Shuaib said. “There is no alternative to preparedness.”

Advocating for more international response. “The global community needs to consistently come together, act as one in any public health emergency, whether it is Ebola or a natural disaster.” Shuaib said. “While a lot has been done, it still falls short of what is necessary to get ahead of the curve. We must act now, not tomorrow, not next week.”

http://time.com/3522984/ebola-nigeria-who/

Sunday 19 October 2014

How Did Nigeria Quash Its Ebola Outbreak So Quickly?


What we can learn from the boot leather, organization and quick response times that stopped Ebola from spreading in this African nation

By Scientific America
On July 20 a man who was ill flew on commercial planes from the heart of the Ebola epidemic in Liberia to Lagos, Nigeria's largest city. That man became Nigeria's first Ebola case—the index patient. In a matter of weeks some 19 people across two states were diagnosed with the disease (with one additional person presumed to have contracted it before dying).

But rather than descending into epidemic, there has not been a new case of the virus since September 5. And since September 24 the country's Ebola isolation and treatment wards have sat empty. If by Monday, October 20 there are still no new cases, Nigeria, unlike the U.S., will be declared Ebola free by the World Health Organization (WHO).

What can we learn from this African country's success quashing an Ebola outbreak?

Authors of a paper published October 9 in Eurosurveillance attribute Nigeria's success in "avoiding a far worse scenario" to its "quick and forceful" response. The authors point to three key elements in the country's attack:
Fast and thorough tracing of all potential contacts
Ongoing monitoring of all of these contacts
Rapid isolation of potentially infectious contacts

The swift battle was won not only with vigilant disinfecting, port-of-entry screening and rapid isolation but also with boot leather and lots and lots of in-person follow-up visits, completing 18,500 of them to find any new cases of Ebola among a total of 989 identified contacts.

Such ground-level work may sound extreme, and the usually measured WHO declared the feat "a piece of world-class epidemiological detective work." But as William Schaffner, chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine and an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University, says, "Actually what Nigeria did is routine, regular—but vigorous and rigorous—public health practice. They identified cases early—fortunately they had a limited number—and they got a list of all of the contacts, and they put those people under rigorous surveillance so that if they were to become sick, they wouldn't transmit the infection to others," he says.

Art Reingold, head of epidemiology at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health agrees. The steps are basic: "isolation, quarantine of contacts, etcetera," but governments must "get in quickly and do it really well." It was Nigeria's vigorous and rapid public health response that really stopped the spread. Because when Ebola lands one August afternoon in a city of 21 million, things could go very, very differently.

Race to prevent spread
Nigeria's index patient had been caring for a family member in Liberia who died from Ebola on July 8. Despite having been hospitalized in the Liberian capital Monrovia with fever and Ebola symptoms on July 17, he left medical care (against advice) and three days later took a commercial flight to Nigeria via Togo. After landing he collapsed at the Lagos airport and was taken to the hospital.

There it took three days before an Ebola diagnosis was made. The patient said he had no known exposure to Ebola, so he was first thought to have malaria, which is common and can have similar symptoms including fever, vomiting and headache. After malaria treatment failed to improve the patient's symptoms, however, medical staff began to consider Ebola, especially given his recent travel history. He was moved to isolation while test results confirmed the virus.

From this single individual, who died from the disease July 25, infectious disease experts generated a list of 898 contacts. Why so many? In addition to having become ill in a public place, the patient also infected an individual who then flew to and back from another Nigerian city, Port Harcourt, in late July while sick. That individual passed the infection to three other people, including a health care worker who died on August 22—but not before generating 526 more contacts. The index patient's primary and secondary contacts had only added up to 351.

The fact that two individuals were able to generate so many contacts shows just how vigilant authorities must be in tracking every last potential exposure. But the vigilance paid off. No new cases have been diagnosed in more than a month, and October 1 marked the date at which all of Nigeria’s 898 contacts passed the 21-day incubation period during which Ebola symptoms can present themselves.

The epidemic that wasn't
The arrival location of the index patient was a prime place to cause a widespread outbreak. Lagos is Africa's largest city, with a population of 21 million. It is a major hub for travel and business. "A dense population and overburdened infrastructure create an environment where diseases can be easily transmitted and transmission sustained," wrote the authors of a paper for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). As such, "A rapid response using all available public health assets was the highest priority."

But, says Folorunso Oludayo Fasina, a senior lecturer at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, co-author of the Eurosurveillance paper and a native Nigerian, it was actually lucky that the index patient in Nigeria fell ill at the airport. "Had the index case gotten the opportunity to contact persons in Lagos or Calabar—[another Nigerian city] where he was to deliver a lecture—it may have been a complete disaster."

Although it took three days to diagnose Ebola (a period during which nine health care workers were infected with the disease), once the diagnosis was confirmed health authorities swung into action. The Federal Ministry of Health worked with the CDC’s Nigerian office to declare an Ebola emergency. On July 23—the very same day the patient was diagnosed—they created an Incident Management Center (which morphed into the Emergency Operations Center) and kicked into action an Incident Management System to coordinate responses. Such a centralized and coordinated system "is largely credited with helping contain the Nigerian outbreak early," theMMWR authors wrote.

It wasn't the Emergency Operations Center's first time tackling a highly infectious disease. Two years ago, after a global call from WHO, Nigeria redoubled its efforts to eradicate polio, another infectious virus, within its borders. The center has played a large role in working toward that goal, improving response times and preparedness along the way, the authors of the MMWR paper wrote. Many of those leading the Ebola response were chosen for their success working on polio eradication.

The government's first priority was to locate all potential contacts. A team of more than 150 designated "contact tracers" tracked down each of the individuals. Such tracing is the most challenging part of this sort of work, Fasina says, especially in Nigeria, where "houses cannot always be traced by street numbers." With all of those potentially exposed to the virus pinpointed, workers conducted an astounding 18,500 face-to-face visits to check for fever and other Ebola-related symptoms in each of these contacts, according to data in the MMWR paper. The check-ups took a little cajoling, Fasina notes. To get folks to meet with tracers also requires a good deal of effort to remove social stigma around the disease.

Any individual showing symptoms was quickly moved to an isolation ward for further testing, which could be completed locally at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital for rapid diagnosis. Once an Ebola case was confirmed, patients were transferred to a special Ebola virus treatment center. Even those contacts that tested negative but showed Ebola-like symptoms were held—separately from Ebola patients—until all symptoms resolved. As cases were confirmed the Emergency Operations Center tracked down additional contacts and decontaminated potentially infectious areas.

In addition to contact tracing and rapid isolation, teams of "social mobilizers" canvassed areas around the homes of Ebola contacts, reaching around an additional 26,000 households with health information. Communicating that information effectively to the broader public is another challenge. Ensuring that people have confidence in the government—and understanding of what it is trying to do—is absolutely key, Vanderbilt’s Schaffner notes. Part of that is controlling what he calls "the outbreak of anxiety."

Lessons for the U.S.
The U.S. outbreak so far has many similarities to the one in Nigeria but "countries such as the U.S. have some lessons to learn," Fasina says. "Infectious disease is the same everywhere but the management may differ," leading to vastly different outcomes.

Schaffner agrees that the U.S. response has not been perfect. "There isn't any doubt that we've stumbled both on the clinical side, with misdiagnoses and insufficient training and supervision in the hospital, and on the public health side," allowing and infected nurse to fly commercially while she was under surveillance, he says. "Now that we've stumbled we shouldn't do it again."

U.S. government agencies seem to be learning. The CDC has beefed up its safety protocols for health care workers dealing with infectious patients and contact monitoring is exercised more strenuously. WHO, for example, recommends that even health care workers and cleaning staff who have used personal protective equipment and followed all the safety rules when dealing with an Ebola patient be considered "close contacts" and monitored for 21 days. This stands in contrast to the untrained health care workers in Dallas who treated the U.S. index patient (in what likely turned out to be less-than-optimal protective equipment) and were initially asked simply to self-monitor.

The key takeaways are: coordinate, track and monitor. "The Nigerian experience offers a critically important lesson to countries in the region not yet affected by the [Ebola] epidemic as well as to countries in other regions of the world," the Eurosurveillanceauthors noted. "No country is immune to the risk…[but] rapid case identification and forceful interventions can stop transmission."

Global battle
Public health experts agree that the best way to reduce risk of an outbreak in other countries is to stop the epidemic in west Africa. According to the latest statistics from WHO, as of October 17 some 9,216 people have contracted the illness and at least 4,555 have died. The bulk of the cases have occurred in Guinea, where the epidemic originated, Liberia and Sierra Leone. What was so different in Nigeria compared with neighboring countries farther west?

As the authors of the Eurosurveillance note, the rapid action after Nigeria's index patient was diagnosed helped keep the outbreak from spreading more widely. "In contrast the initial outbreak in Guinea remained undetected for several weeks," they wrote. "This detection delay facilitated the transnational spread of the virus to Sierra Leone and Liberia while difficulties and at times inability to track and contain infectious individuals compounded the situation and resulted in an as yet uncontrolled epidemic in these countries."

Now there are just too many people who are ill—or have had contact with the virus—to track in those nations, Schaffner says. And Sierra Leone's announcement on October 10 that it would provide rudimentary kits for people to care for sick family members at home makes the situation that much more dire. To be sure, it will keep sick people from traveling to health centers that are at overcapacity only to get turned away, possibly infecting others along the way. But, Schaffner notes, the "core public health reason for taking that individual out of that family is that you interrupt transmission." Until additional care facilities are prepared to take in the surge of patients the outbreak will continue to spread untracked and untraced.

The difference between a stemmed outbreak and a full epidemic often also comes down to a question of resources and how quickly they can be made available. "In the three badly affected countries," Reingold says, "dreadful preexisting infrastructure and inadequate resources and capabilities" due in part to poverty, civil war and corruption have made executing standard public health practices for outbreak control nearly impossible. And time is of the essence: "To deal with the out-of-control outbreak there will take immense infrastructure building, staffing, resources and money," Reingold says. "The longer it takes for them to arrive—or to be put in place—the more difficult the job."

In Nigeria the response team was able to corral enough funding, staff and tools from state partners, international groups and nongovernmental organizations to successfully launch its attack on the outbreak right away. "National preparedness efforts should consider how resources can be quickly accessible to fund the early stage of the response," the authors of the MMWR paper wrote.

"Every country needs to evaluate its preparedness and must be ready to respond to [an] emergency immediately," Fasina says. "Nigeria was not completely ready," but they identified the index case early and then hit the streets

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-did-nigeria-quash-its-ebola-outbreak-so-quickly/

Femi Fani-Kayode @ 54


By Emmanuel Ajibulu
On October 16, 2014, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, a former Minister of Aviation and PDP chieftain, celebrated his 54th birthday, coincidentally, with the inauguration of the governor of Ekiti State, Chief Ayodele Peter Fayose. For the love a friend like Fani-Kayode has for Fayose, he preferred to be in Ado Ekiti to felicitate with the new governor and defied the usual merry making, thanksgiving and prayers with friends, political associates and family members at his Abuja residence.

Fani-Kayode, just like his late father is a quintessential, dogged, irrepressible and indefatigable individual who has distanced himself from the erroneous notion that Nigerian politicians cannot say the truth to the constituted authorities. The story of Fani-Kayode is the story of courage and resilience. His father, Chief Remilekun Fani-Kayode (of blessed memory), hailed from a prominent and well educated Yoruba family who are of Ife stock from south-western Nigeria. In July 1958 he courageously and successfully moved the motion for Nigeria’s independence in the Federal House of Representatives.

He argued that independence should take place on 2 April 1960. Although in 1959 there was a further motion that was moved in the Nigerian Parliament asking for a slight amendment to the Fani-Kayode motion of July 1958. This new motion, which was moved by Sir Tafawa Balewa, asked that the 2 April 1960 date for independence which had already been accepted and approved by Parliament and which had been acquiesced to by the British colonial authorities, should be shifted from 2 April of the same year to 1st October, 1960 instead. Extolling the virtues of a respected leader like this is simply worthwhile.

In Fani-Kayode’s view, seeing Nigeria move to greatness in all fronts is a responsibility that must be fulfilled by all, irrespective of political leanings. His highly publicized articles and essays on visionary leadership, social justice, and fight against administrative indiscretion, accountability, probity and war against human right abuses among others, cannot be lost to all true patriots in our country. He had on many instances demonstrated his love for Nigeria above pecuniary interest and taught others to embrace same.

Impressively, Femi Fani-Kayode is a British trained lawyer, after the successful completion of his programme in law school in 1985; he worked in the law firm of Chief Rotimi Williams in Lagos after which he moved to his father’s law firm, “Fani- Kayode and Sowemimo”. There he worked under the direct tutelage of his father and his uncle, the late and highly respected Chief Sobo Sowemimo, S.A.N (whose older brother, the late Justice George Sodeinde Sowemimo, was the Chief Justice of Nigeria from 1983 to 1985). Other notable personalities trained in this great law firm include Chief Robert Clarke, S.A.N, Alhaji Femi Okunnu, S.A.N, Seyi Sowemimo, S.A.N, Justice Moni Fafiade, Justice Niyi Ademola, Chief Kunle Alex-Duduyemi (the wealthy businessman from Ile-Ife, who Chief Remilekun Fani-Kayode mentored and trained), the Oxford-trained and brilliant Gbolahun Alastishe, the Cambridge-trained Abba Kyari (who later became the managing director of one of Nigeria’s largest banks), the Cambridge-trained Funke Aboyade, the Durham-trained Femi Lijadu and many other senior members of both the Nigerian Bar and bench. After working there for three years Femi Fani-Kayode was promoted to the position of a senior partner in 1989.

He went into self-exile and pitched his tent with the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) Abroad, together with the likes of the Oxford-trained lawyer, Chief Tunde Edu. Apart from these rare virtues, he still finds time to commune with God. He is an evangelical Christian, essayist and a poet. He was the Special Assistant (Public Affairs) to President Olusegun Obasanjo from July 2003 to June 2006. He was re-deployed and appointed as the Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from June to Nov 2006 and subsequently as Minister of Aviation from Nov 2006 to May 2007.

Looking back over the past 54 years, I am sure that you, your family and indeed your larger family of associates and admirers do have cause to be grateful to Almighty God for having granted you a life of great accomplishment and abiding fulfillment. Congratulations to you sir at 54. I wish you best of luck in political endeavors and may all your efforts work in your favour and that of your party.

Source: Vanguard

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/10/femi-fani-kayode-54/

Saturday 18 October 2014

1PLIFY – THE FIRST CENTRAL UNIVERSITY ADMISSIONS PORTAL FOR NIGERIANS



That you have to first sit the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) to qualify for admission into a higher institution of learning in Nigeria is a given. However, you still have to apply to each of the higher institutions you are considering. Separately.

The admission process in Nigeria is very fragmented and siloed, with each institution doing their own thing. This is unlike other countries where there are central and technology-driven platforms that enable intending students search for courses and institutions in one place and apply directly.

Three young men decided that such a central platform needs to exist in Nigeria. A few days ago, Oluwatobi Soyombo, Adetola Ibrahim and Aderounmu Babafemi pushed the first public version of 1Plify.com.

1Plify’s purpose is to make it easier for Nigerian students to apply for and process their admissions in much the same way that the UK’s Universities and Colleges Admissions Service does. A central online platform which if successful could become the one-stop center for intending students to make direct applications to tertiary institutions

“With 1Plify, we are using technology to efficiently drive the university admission process for Nigerians, just like it obtains in the UK and China”, Oluwatobi says. “With just one profile, intending students can make multiple admission applications to local and international institutions directly via 1Plify. This eliminates the stress of filing multiple application forms for different universities. Also, for Institutions that charge for applications, students can make online payment directly on 1Plify”.

The 1Plify platform’s ambitions are not restricted to Nigeria however. Right out of the gate, the startup caters to students who want to study abroad. International applications via 1Plify are possible via agreements with higher institutions in France, UK, Cyprus and India. The founders say discussions are ongoing with various international schools, and that their sights are set on other countries like Malaysia, Dubai, Spain, Netherlands and the USA as well.

Here’s 1Plify’s current feature list –

Accept Student applications (institutions)
Generate admission letter (institutions)
Print admission letter (student)
Full access to student data (institutions)
Accept online payment of admission form fee (institutions)
Online payment of acceptance fee (students)
Track application status (students)
Receive and Respond to student enquiries (for institutions)
Generate PDF Download of student data (for institutions)
Automated cloud backup (both student and institutions)
Full report and stats (e.g. Revenue from applications, views, etc.) (institution)

Using the platform is free for both applicants and the institutions. However, 1Plify will receive a commission from the institution for each student who enroll. 1Plify also gets a percentage of application fees from the institutions that require them.


http://techcabal.com/2014/10/16/1plify-unified-university-admissions-platform-nigerians-schooling-home-abroad/

Friday 17 October 2014

Super Falcons In For Semi Final


Nigeria's sensational female squad- 'The Super Falcons' is yet again looking good to clinch a record seventh time African Women Championship Title.

The Super Falcons has so far maintained an unbeaten run at the ongoing African Women’s Championship with a 2-0 win over the hosts, Namibia,on Friday.

The girls made the needed nine points from three matches and are still in good shape.

The Falcons thus far has scored 12 goals in their three group matches and conceded two goals, which was in their first match against Cote d’Ivoire.

THE PROMISE KEPT - Valedictory Address By Dr Kayode Fayemi


Valedictory Address by

His Excellency

Dr. Kayode FAYEMI

Governor, Ekiti State, Nigeria

On the conclusion of his term of office as

Governor of Ekiti State, Nigeria

Wednesday, October 15, 2014


My dear people of Ekiti State, by the grace of God, in the next 24 hours we would come to the end of a glorious tenure of an administration I have had the privilege to lead as Governor of the land of honour, Ekiti State, Nigeria.

The Scriptures instruct us that “there is a time for everything and a season for every purpose under heaven”. If wise, we draw from this a keen sense that all earthly things are temporary and finite. All things born or made of man are transient and without permanence. The wind blows east in the morning then west at night. A person is young then old. Nothing lasts forever. Whatsoever has a beginning also must have an end. A public servant enters office and then he leaves it. An individual and his life come and go but life itself continues, children follow their parents, generation follows generation. With the limited time to which we are all appointed, our sacred obligation becomes visible. We must leave the path clearer than we found it. We must leave the world, our nation and our state better than we found it. The promises spoken in this regard are the promises one should keep. As I step away from office, I can say the promises we gave are the promises we kept. We have made Ekiti a much better place than we found it.

Governance is a continuum. Administrations come and go. Our electoral laws do not allow holding office in perpetuity, in order to accommodate a dynamic of constant renewal of creativity and democratic participation. Both those who govern and the governed require the opportunity to take stock, to reflect, to reassess their path, refine their vision and to evolve. Implicit in this dynamic is the understanding that no leader, however gifted or endowed, is indispensable or infallible. Government belongs to the people; thus, no one person may claim any office as his/her exclusive right. The promise of democracy is the promise of justice and peaceful change through the rule of law.

Reclaiming the Trust

Upon coming to office, we discovered that a profound distrust of leadership had grown where cooperation and understanding should have been sown. This distrust was understandable. Serially deceived and maltreated by those entrusted to lead them, our people had grown weary and cynical about politicians who made promises to get into office only to renege on them in order to remain in office by improperly amassing wealth and power in obscene proportion. People had ceased to believe what their political leaders said and came to believe that politicians simply entered office to enrich themselves.

It was immediately clear that our first task in Ekiti was to practically and symbolically rebuild trust in governance. Without resurrecting that platform of trust, we would be barred from delivering the service we sought to give the people. Thus, we resolved to talk less and do more, to let our deeds speak for us as we led by example. This meant performing at a level of devotion and commitment to an ideal of public service worthy of the people’s trust.

This has not been easy in a climate where people had become accustomed to boisterous leaders, official non-performance and dysfunctional institutions. However, we made considerable progress. We eschewed the vulgar arrogance associated with power and opted instead for simplicity and sensitivity to the demands and needs of the people of Ekiti. We restored the work ethic by separating the sport of politics from the reality of governance and public service. We held forth the objective of transforming governance into an honorable vocation in the eyes of the next generation who must soon take the baton from us and who must progress far beyond where we have left off. By seriously instilling the ethos of integrity, competence, reliability and openness, we made considerable progress towards regaining the trust of our people.

Trust is the bedrock of governance. Without public confidence in a leader’s intentions and ability to realize them, there is little that can be accomplished. A leader’s performance is determined as much by the trust people deposit in him as by his/her own exertions. That we came as far as we have is a testament to your faith in us; more than that, it is a testament to your faith in yourselves. After the many years of the locust, after so much breakage, violence and waste, we needed to start believing in ourselves again. We had to persuade ourselves that the sun could rise again over the land of honour and that we deserved a better way.

We regained the conviction that we have the power within us to solve our collective problems by ushering in a period of economic development and democratic good governance that would assure a better life for all who wanted and were willing to contribute their good efforts to it. This has been the mainstay of the past four years: rebuilding the trust between the people and those elected to serve them, and more importantly rekindling self-belief, confidence and the can-do spirit for which our people are legendary. What we have been able to achieve are not my achievements; they are yours. In these past four years, what we have seen are the first fruits of what can happen when we join hands and work together toward our greater civic purpose. By the grace of God, I pray nothing and no one will keep Ekiti from continuing our ascent towards greatness.

A time comes in the life of a society when it must look beyond personalities and begin to identify and honour those principles by which we will mould the future. A wise and progressive society must always move beyond the temporary burst of campaign drama to weigh-in on the clash of competing values that lies at the heart of the political contest.

Modeling Good Governance

Our time in office was defined by the belief that Ekiti could be the test case for what we call an empathetic society – a society defined by a social contract between government and the governed, the state and civil society and between fellow citizens. We believe in a society in which we are all partners in progress; a society in which the state is committed to empowering all citizens – not just a few – to live to the fullest of their potential. We believe that our call to leadership was a call to fulfill a noble if not sacred duty unto the people and unto God in whom we trust. We were mindful that the present reflects both the past and the future. As such, our assumption of governance was a covenant between us and our forebears whose sacrifices ensured the creation of Ekiti State and also between us and future generations for whom we hold the state in trust. We embarked on a progressive agenda intended to spread just and broadly shared

development across the land so that all of our citizens could drink from the wellspring of progress no matter what part of the state they live. All would benefit but each according to his/her need.

In making our policies, we constantly asked ourselves what sort of society we want to construct for ourselves and our children. We confronted the stark choice between a society in which only a few can survive and more and more people wind up worse off than their parents; and one in which everyone has a fair chance of success and a better life is our collective inheritance. Long after the trumpets of transition have fallen silent and carnival-like campaigns for power have dispersed, we will still have to face a choice between a society that tells you that you are on your own and one in which my prosperity is your prosperity because we share the burden of development and the joy of achievement together. I believe that this conflict goes beyond Ekiti State and is the significant political struggle of our generation. Indeed it is a battle for the soul of our nation.

From the outset, the welfarist orientation of our administration was informed by the principles of service, synergy, solidarity and communality. We pioneered a Social Security Programme for the elderly. No less than 25,000 senior citizens now benefit from this programme. This plan represented an appreciation of the years of service our senior citizens dedicated to this land as well as reflected our commitment to assuring that the aged may live their golden days in dignity and grace.

Few experiences in my public career have been as rewarding as encountering the appreciative beneficiaries of this programme. It is humbling that one can make a positive difference in human lives. There is no greater reward for a policy maker. It is noteworthy that since the commencement of this initiative, at least 4 other states in the federation have adopted the model. This development affirms that we have done something right such that we have contributed in our little way to the betterment of Nigerian lives even beyond the boundaries of Ekiti State. Our own party’s manifesto now highlights this as part of our Social Safety Net initiatives.

Our compassion for the elderly was joined by our commitment to providing a living wage and equitable working conditions for our workers and decent retirement conditions for our pensioners. Crucially, we met these obligations to our people not by adding new taxes but by enhancing the efficiency in the tax collection and management system.

Making Poverty History

In Ekiti State, as in the rest of the country, an important component in our socio-economic engine is the informal sector. This is where many entrepreneurial men and women work to make an honest living and by providing needed goods and services for the community. Notwithstanding the lack of formal business support mechanisms, many of these people flourish and all of them enrich our society in their important way. From the women who send their children to school and manage their homes from the proceeds of petty trade to the artisans who are building, creating, engineering and constructing things – these heroes of our society showcase our genius for creativity, resilience and adaptation. With some government help and support, they could do even better. Thus, we formally reached out to the informal sector. Our administration established support structures like microcredit schemes and enterprise fund targeting the informal sector in order to boost its capacity and enhance its already impressive economic output.

Our aim was to integrate this sector into the mainstream of economic productivity by creating much needed commercial infrastructure. This not only increased economic activity and growth but also enlarged the tax base of the state, thus enhancing our capacity to undertake the transformative projects we had on the planning board.

Ekiti State is often described as a civil service state. This is a Nigerian euphemism for a state that is entirely dependent on monthly statutory allocations from the federal government. It has long been apparent to us that we should move away from the paralyzing over-reliance on these allocations. In line with this resolve, our administration raised our internally-generated revenue by plugging loopholes, blocking leakages and more effective collection. The fact that the federal government has on more than one occasion failed to meet its statutory obligations to states only highlights the urgent necessity of reducing our dependence on federal subventions. Beyond enhanced revenue generation, our goal as a people must be to unleash our creative potential and leverage the God-given gifts of the land of honour. All the signs suggest that Ekiti is quite capable of attracting our own fair share of investment and has enough talent within our borders to develop home grown enterprises. Even this has recently been confirmed by no less a body than the World Bank in their latest ‘Ease of Doing Business’ report 2014.

Putting Our Knowledge to Work

Ekiti is properly renowned as the “State of Professors” – a label that captures the intellectual heritage produced by accomplished sons and daughters of the state. Our objective was to transform this knowledge base into a magnet for investment boosting the economic profile of our land. Given its impressive endowments in this area, Ekiti has the potential to be a research and development hub servicing an industrial renaissance in the greater South-West region of the nation. Human capital will be the currency of national transformation in the 21st century and this state has able people in all walks of human endeavor to compete favourably. We subscribe to the dictum of the great statesman Obafemi Awolowo who once said, “The education of every citizen, to the limit of his ability, is a fundamental right. To deny it or to treat it as a privilege is deprivation, and an assault on human dignity.”

Accordingly, we prioritized the education of our children as the best means of securing our future. Every child now has access to free and compulsory primary and secondary education. We renovated dilapidated school buildings and upgraded our educational infrastructure. We distributed over 33,000 laptops to students and 18,000 to teachers. An educated citizenry is the driving force of a healthy democracy; it is also the engine of long-term prosperity.

Upholding Equity and Justice

Economic growth is good but insufficient by itself. Society must be just and treat all its members equally, protecting them from violence, depravation and prejudice. We led the way in human rights protection at the state level. Our administration was the first in Nigeria to sign into law the Gender-based Violence (Prohibition) Law in 2011. We were also the first state to domesticate the National Gender Policy. These initiatives were designed to secure the dignity of our mothers, wives, sisters and daughters, and to shield them from harm. They were also part of our broader pursuit of gender equality and women’s empowerment so as to maximize the contributions of women to our socio-economic advancement. True democracy is fiction and economic development elusive as long as women who represent half of our population are not allowed to achieve the dreams and use the abilities that God has granted them. Their voices are to be equally heard and respected if our future is to take the shape we want.

These policies were driven by the conviction that no member of our society should be left behind through no fault of their own, regardless of gender, circumstances of their birth or physical impairment. Our administration sought to create a climate in which all our people could maximize their potential and live full and creative lives. We pursued an inclusive society in every respect because we believe that nobody succeeds alone. We either succeed together or fail together. And when we share the burden of a common future and the risk of failure, then our potential for collective prosperity is magnified. Ekiti is ours to build together and as we tend to it now so will it tend to us and generations to come. As Marcus Garvey once said, “The ends you serve that are selfish will take you no further than yourself; but the ends you serve that are for all, in common, will take you even into eternity.”

In a fledgling democracy still haunted by the vestiges of totalitarian politics, individual leaders must be willing to give way so that institutions may strengthen and flourish. Leaders must learn that they serve at the pleasure of the people. Indeed, we are elected servants not a self-appointed aristocracy that uses elections as modern day ritual of coronation. It is often said Africa needs strong institutions rather than strong men. This evokes the necessity of depersonalizing governance and politics. We need to shift from the personality orientation of our politics to a politics of strong institutions and of enlightened policy as intended by the constitution. I would also add that we need servant – leader motivated by the zeal to help the people – instead of leaders who deceive themselves and endanger our democracy by believing that they were elected so the people may serve them.

Making Progress Together

Our administration strove to uphold the principle of public service at all times. We believed a major of aspect of service is listening attentively to our masters – the sovereign electorate. To this end, we established channels of participatory governance involving communities in the annual budgetary process. For the first time in the state, government seriously sought the opinions and input of those at the grassroots in making budgets, giving the average citizen unprecedented ability to determine projects for their communities. In effect, we tailored governance to reflect the developmental priorities of the people as against the practice of treating them as voiceless recipients of policies initiated from above. We claimed no greater wisdom than what the people had for determining what they needed. I believe that we were at the forefront in participatory governance and participatory budgeting and that this approach to solving developmental problems has already been vindicated by the historic progress registered in such a brief time.

In the past few months, I have had cause to reflect on the journey we have shared during the last four years. The end of my reflection always brought me back to the place I began: Leadership itself is merely the opportunity to serve and political power is a God-given tool to be used to change lives for the better. Power is held by man but is owned by no one. We are all custodians and trustees of the greater good.

I entered politics because I believe committed leadership can provide people the tools that empower and give them control over their own destinies. Public office is too serious to be left to the venal and mean. When people of conscience committed to social justice and the common good abstain from politics, opportunists and mercenaries take power and misuse it. But their abuse is not limited to enriching themselves. In overfeeding themselves, they starve the society, leaving breakage, poverty and suffering in their wake. The argument for progressive political engagement is perhaps best summed up in the famous words of Edmund Burke: “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing.”

All that stands between Nigeria and its terminal decadence is good men and women who, energized by a higher sense of duty and purpose, venture into the public square to raise the standard of the common good and to effect the renewal of our nation. This sacred responsibility we cannot evade.

These ideals led me into politics. I presented them to you when I sought your permission to serve you as governor. They are the values I pledged to uphold in office. You gave us the privilege of serving you because you recognized the values we espoused were those that would lead to a better Ekiti in our lifetime. Today, I stand before you to declare that I have kept faith with our values and to my promises to you.

The 8-Point Agenda – We Delivered

Our 8 point agenda was not a campaign gimmick. It served as our compass. We kept faith to the direction in which it pointed.

In governance, we professionalized the Civil service, including the elimination of costly ghost workers. We embraced public participation in the budgetary system and in allocation of community projects. We enhanced IGR without raising the tax rate.

These were the promises made and these are the promises we kept.

Regarding infrastructure, we pledged road construction and rural electrification. We vowed an Urban Renewal Initiative, including affordable housing. Ninety percent of Ekiti roads are now motorable.

These were the promises made and these are the promises we kept.

In agricultural development, we inaugurated programs like the agri-business summit and youth commercial agricultural development programme among other initiatives. We also promised cottage industries in the Agro-allied sector and skills development in Agriculture.

These were the promises made and these are the promises we kept.

In education, we brought free primary and secondary education and teacher merit reform. We enhanced the instruction and infrastructure of our universities.

These were the promises made and these are the promises we kept.

In Health Care, we improved community-based health services and established free medical services for the vulnerable and elderly.

These were the promises made and these are the promises we kept.

Regarding industrial development, we established a state holding company to make wise decisions and manage the state’s investment portfolio. We founded the Ekiti Knowledge Zone to use the vast knowledge and skills of our people to catalyze economic development.

These were the promises made and these are the promises we kept.

In tourism, we turned Ikogosi Warm Springs Resort into a known tourist and meeting site. Also, the number of hotels in the state has multiplied during our term, meaning we attracted more and more visitors to Ekiti.

These are the promises made and these are the promises we kept.

Regarding Gender Equality and Empowerment

In addition to the Gender violence prohibition law, we passed an Equal Opportunities Law forbidding gender discrimination in matters of employment, housing and education. We also strengthened social programs for women and children, including the establishment of the Soup Kitchen and Food Bank.

These were the promises made and these are the promises we kept.

The Road Ahead

According to the wise words of the ancients, “A righteous man lays up an inheritance for his children.” In all our moral traditions, the ideal of rectitude and righteousness is entwined with a perspective mindful of the future. Our ancestors understood that planting a tree in their time was an investment in the nourishment of their children who would reap its fruits. As progressives, we did not just promise the practical betterment of society today; we recognize that prosperity and posterity are bound together. True prosperity occurs when we look beyond the next election and the horizon of self-interest and begin to address the fate of the next generation.

As I end my term, my gaze is thus cast to the future. I pray for a bright and good one for our people. Yet, I would be remiss if I do not voice my trepidation at the way recent events have unfolded. Let’s be frank, there are agents of retrogression who want to dismantle our advances in social justice and public welfare because what profits the general public does not profit them. It is our duty to confront these forces and protect the gains of the past few years from those who seek to spread a new darkness over the land.

Our region has already suffered firsthand the terrible toll the culture of political violence can wrought. Just a few years ago, Ekiti State endured instability and anomie such that our people forgot what it meant to have peace of mind and basic security. Our administration pierced the darkness of those days to end the delinquent politics that threatened to dehumanize us. The people of Ekiti learned to live without fear.

Recent events tragically remind us that democracy and good governance are delicate things that must be nurtured and protected. The good that took years to build can be wasted in an instant by the depravities of the few who are intent on plundering the state and upending the common good.

While we have made some progress towards democratization, the risk of radical reversal is considerable. As a people, we should resolve never to return to this dreadful malpractice. It is possible for us to engage in competitive, partisan politics and even have intense political disagreements yet refrain from being violent and destructive. We can be faithful to our political causes yet accord even our opponents due dignity and respect as human beings.

If your true purpose is to provide able governance to all the people of the state, then affording respect and dignity to your opponents is no great obstacle. After all, we are sons and daughters of the same state. It is only when your objective is other than decency in governance that treating one’s political opponents with respect becomes burdensome. It is only when despotism and suppression are your goals that you rain injustice on your opponents. But that is just the opening salvo in an attack on the body politic. After attending to his opponents, such a leader will cast his terrible hand next against the people.

We have spent four years working hard to bring the light of hope and civil purpose to our people. They are now better than they were when we came into office because Ekiti kete deserve no less than to be treated with honour and dignity.

Legacy of Honour and Service

Our culture esteems respect, courtesy, and good breeding and these are traits we must preserve. As a people, we have sacred lines of behavior and public decorum that must never be crossed. There are bounds of propriety that we should never transgress, no matter how intense the political disputes. The sanctity of human life must be held inviolate. No pursuit of political office is worth a human life. Indeed, any political agenda that mortgages our humanity, whether for financial or material benefit, must be rejected. Any agenda which turns our children into warring combatants over the crumbs of their rightful civic inheritance has to be resisted. We have to ensure that we do not foist a legacy of perpetual strife upon our children. Ekiti, the land of honour must not become a wasteland.

Dear people of Ekiti, it has been the greatest honour and privilege of my life to have served at your pleasure these past few years. The road ahead of us is long. The climb is still steep. We still have far to go on our journey to democratic prosperity. The good thing is that it is a journey, not a destination. There is an ever present danger that threatens to overwhelm us. It is dark and foul because it abhors our progress and good condition. We have lit a lamp of progress in our land. This light may flicker for a season; I am convinced its flame will never be extinguished for it is the flame of human decency, justice and compassion. This light exists in the hearts and minds of legions of citizens who share a vision of a land awake with peace and prosperity. Let us therefore keep the faith with the noble direction on which we have embarked, knowing that we shall prevail because our path is right and just.

In the spirit of transition and in the light of the relative peace that has endured in the capital, I hereby announce the lifting of the curfew hitherto imposed on the capital based on the advice of the security agencies. I urge all citizens/residents to conduct themselves peacefully and in accordance with the rule of law.

I thank all my family members, party members and leaders, political colleagues, friends and associates who have stood by and with me during the course of my administration. I thank the good people of Ekiti. This mission will continue and this light will endure.

May God bless Ekiti State.

May God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Dr. Kayode Fayemi

Governor, Ekiti State

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

OBJ: Gritty Maverick Takes Centre Stage Again!


By Garba Deen Muhammad

As a habit, the only virtue former President Olusegun Obasajo’s critics will grudgingly concede to him is his matchless love for his country, his obsessive patriotism that set him apart from all his peers, in war and in peace. Once while serving as Chief of Staff Supreme Headquarters, the military equivalent of Vice President to General Murtala Muhammed, Obasanjo was about to enter a crucial State meeting when he received a message that his two-year old son Dayo, had just died. Obasanjo went into the meeting and participated actively. Afterwards he informed his colleagues that he had lost his son just before the meeting. Appalled, his colleagues wondered why he didn’t rush home in the light of something so serious. His response was perhaps the best definition of his robust, vigorous, sometimes turbulent but always passionate relationship with his country. He said, as narrated by one of his biographers Adinoyi Ojo Onukaba: “My son is dead, I cannot bring him back. This country is waiting and I cannot keep her waiting”. Even in that period of nationalistic fervor, it is hard to imagine any act that could beat that. Later in life he was to reaffirm this passionate love for country in different guises, including when he was called upon to be the head of state after the assassination of General Murtala Muhammed. Obasanjo refused, declaring that he was through with the army and everything associated with government since the nation is so unappreciative. He refused to budge despite pleas from powerful colleagues.

Again according to Onukaba, it was only after an inspired General Abisoye had pointedly suggested that if Obasanjo would not accept, then they might as well invite leader of the failed coup that claimed Muhammed’s life, Col. Dimka to take over, that Obasanjo felt sufficiently moved to accept the challenge. Not many people would also give Baba the credit he rightly deserved over what he did when he took over. He lived up to his promises, following in Muhammed’s footsteps to the letter: from the pan-African thrust of their foreign policy which weakened Apartheid and helped to liberate some Southern African countries, to the courageous nationalists policies which revived national pride among Nigerians; to the all-important midwifing of the first ever successful transition from military to civilian rule in 1979. And yet despite all the many sacrifices that Baba had done for his country, his critics still prefer to judge him from their jaundiced perspective.

But that is changing, ipso facto. Nowadays former President Obasanjo’s critics are either relapsing into silence, or sheepishly shifting ground, reluctantly, grudgingly admitting that they had been wrong about him all along. When Baba’s son Lt. Col. Adeboye was shot in combat while fighting insurgents in Adamawa, one of his ardent critics, Col. Dangiwa Umar called me to admit that if Baba could allow his own son to be in the line of fire even though he could shield him with a single phone call, he (Umar) sends his best salute; admitting, finally that Baba is genuine. Not that it ever matters to Baba who is applauding.

Then there was the funny issue of a so called Third Term. Baba is possibly the only one of the 170 million Nigerians that is being judged, convicted and sentenced for an offense he never committed! Some people have shockingly and stubbornly insisted that Baba was the sponsor of the advocacy for a tenure elongation campaign which sought to grant him a third term in office. On his part he had consistently insisted that he had nothing to do with it, and had challenged anybody with clear evidence to the contrary to come forward. Nobody has so far been able to provide such evidence (former FCT minister Nasir el-Rufai’s attempt in his book was no more than an unsubstantiated claim). And, in spite of himself, el-Rufai was indeed among the earliest callers to the Abeokuta residence of Baba to seek his countenance in his (el-Rufai’s) political adventures. That in itself is enough to counteract whatever allegations are contained in the former minister’s book of disputed recollections.

Even those who ask the logical question of why Baba did not stop the advocates of tenure elongation are merely being mischievous. The former president has maintained that he did not stop them because he was convinced the best way to kill the project once and for all was to allow it to exhaust itself; reasoning, correctly, that if those who pushed for it tried and failed, then no one would ever try it again.

Which was exactly what happened.

The infamous project ran its course, got burnt out and died at the cradle of all democracies–the Legislature; and our democracy was the richer for it. And that is why, thank God, Baba now has the moral authority to tell Mr. Jonathan, who is himself toying with a similar idea, “Don’t do it”.

After 2007, Baba had kept a respectable distance from Aso Rock. Untill the need arose when then President Yar’Adua’s terminal illness presented a political crisis that required a commanding voice to intervene. Again Baba stepped forward and advised Yar’Adua to “take the part of hounour” by relinquishing power since he was apparently too sick to carry on. That remark set in motion the series of events that enabled Mr. Jonathan to assume power as Acting President. This stabilized the polity and prevented what could have been a protracted political stalemate. After helping to install Mr. Jonathan as elected President in 2011, Baba again retreated to his farm, playing the international statesman, gradually supplanting the ailing Nelson Mandela as Africa’s pre-eminent political compas.

If all the major players in the Nigerian project had abided by their covenants, the stage was set for an orderly, progressive transition in 2015 when a general election would usher in a new government that was to consolidate the nation’s democracy and move it to the next level.

But by the end of 2012 dangerous flaws had began to emerge in the way Mr. Jonathan was running his government. It appeared he was president in name only, and that a provincial coterie of ethnic sycophants were inexorably determined to manipulate Mr.Jonathan’s soft demeanor to achieve personal objectives that are often in direct conflict with national interest.

Again, Baba, fearless, ageless and selfless stepped forward. After three discreet letters to the President which were not even acknowledged, Baba, in December 2013 released what turned out to be the most dispassionate and candid advice to his erstwhile mentee, in the form of an open letter entitled “Before it is too Late”

Although the letter was nuanced, candid, dignified and stately, it provoked the anger of the regime; and after a week, the government response was to ignore the issues that the letter highlighted concerning the fledgeling war on corruption, the deteriorating state of the economy, the decimation of the middle class which Baba had helped to revive, and worst of all the raging insurgency that was threatening the very foundation of the country, and instead lamely and depressingly concentrated on insisting that Baba lacked the moral right to say the obvious. Now, nearly one year after that letter, all the fears and concerns that Baba had raised in the letter were coming to pass. Unfortunately.

But characteristically, Baba remained undaunted. By August, when it emerged that Baba’s son had been injured in action while leading troops in the very dangerous battleground of the North East, the whole world, Nigerians in particular, put aside their prejudices and purged themselves of all sentiments and admitted that indeed the former President Olusegun Obasanjo towers head and shoulders above all his peers in his love, commitment and service to his country.

Thereafter the pilgrimage to Abeokuta started: The opposition All Progressives Congress leadership, the PDP leadership, the National Assembly leadership and dozens of other political significant others all started queuing up to get a chance to pay homage, declare loyalty, or simply flow with the tide as they jostle to be in the good books of this tireless soldier who is always one step ahead of everybody.

This is where we are: Once again former President Olusegun Obasanjo is poised to play a decisive role in the course of Nigeria’s checkered history. There is no prize though for guessing what he would do: He would put the nation first , second, and last. The puzzle is to guess how he would react to the avalanche of courtship that are pouring in.

So far Baba hasn’t responded, nor has he asked anyone to respond on his behalf. But we can speculate, especially since the stakes are so high that no one can possibly be immune to the consequences of whatever the present tragi-comedy situation eventual throws up.

Those who know former President Olusegun Obasanjo closely often smile benignly when an enthralled public expresses perplexity over what they perceive as Mr. Obasanjo’s increasingly intriguing behavioral swings. One moment he is cradling and nursing; the next he is ruthless and unrelenting. He is enigma itself.

Back in 2007 when Baba left office after successfully nurturing the first civilian to civilian transition, national public opinion about him was mixed. Those who never wavered in their criticism of him regardless of how many angels are swearing he is right, maintained their position and accused him of influencing the presidential election in favour of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). They gave the former president no credit for anything he might have done right leading to the swearing in of Umaru Yar’Adua as his successor. Those with moderate views took a more nuanced position and reluctantly admitted that warts and all, Obasanjo had once again steered the country though to another milestone.

But outside the country, it was praises from east to west, from China to America to Europe. His friends in Africa, notably Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki, John Kufour and the younger crop of African leaders who see him as a father figure were effusive in their appreciation of his stewardship of Nigeria. The world felt, and indicated by its actions in the way it feted him, that there was hope yet for the Word’s largest, richest and most influential black nation. And in the estimation of the outside world it was all thanks to the man who had ruled the country twice, 20 years apart; first as a military head of state (1976-1979) and later as a democratically elected civilian president (1999-2007) for a cummulative period of 11 years.

As the nation waits and Nigerians speculate on what Baba would do next, here is wishing the Grand Patron of the Republic God’s continous guidance so that, as he had done many times in the past, he would be the catalyst to the solution of what is seen by many as our country’s most dangerous challenge ever. Equally important is also the hope and prayer that President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, would reflect deeply on his self confessed humble beginnings, the blessings that God has showered on him through no effort of his; consider his present circumstances and honestly search his soul; take an honest look at the dangerous egg shells that dot his future; and muster the courage to emulate his mentor by putting the country above any other considerations.

It is not yet too late. But time is running out.

Muhammad is an honorary media adviser to former President Obasanjo. deengarba@yahoo.com.

Wednesday 15 October 2014

No Ebola in Ogun State, Soyinka





Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr Olaokun Soyinka has debunked rumours making the rounds about Ebola Virus in the State.

In a statement made available to Journalists, Dr Soyinka described the rumour as false in its entirety, calling it "total misinformation."

He said " I want to correct and set the records straight concerning some misinformation regarding a case that was reported to the Ogun State Ministry of Health early on Tuesday October 14 concerning a male patient admitted to an Ijebu Ode Hospital.

"On receipt of the information, our rapid response team was dispatched to investigate and the patient was rapidly given the all clear. He is a known peptic ulcer patient who had some bleeding and also tested positive for malaria. He has been treated and his symptoms are resolving."

Dr Soyinka who commended the private hospital concerned, said they acted responsibly in reporting to the authorities.

" We investigate such cases on a regular basis, and most often once assessment is completed, the all clear is given without raising fears and causing unnecessary public concern."

He stressed that in line with best practices, and as ably demonstrated by Lagos State recently, full disclosure remains the best protection against spread of the virus, adding that information needs to be made public and will be done so immediately and fully.

"In this case there is absolutely no cause for alarm," He added.

The Commissioner also assured citizens of Ogun State that the Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun CON,FCA has facilitated all necessary precautions and has ensured that the State health authorities are able to remain on full alert, even as the epidemic continues in West Africa.

Signed
Dr Olaokun Soyinka,
Commissioner for Health,
Ogun State