HEALTH : School reopening: Medical expert suggests best way to run classes amid COVID-19 new wave

 Dr Ifegbike Kalu of the Federal Medical Centre Makurdi, Benue State, on Monday said government should order schools to operate on shift basis, amid the surge in cases of COVID-19.

Recall that following Federal Government’s directive, schools resumed today in most states of the Federation despite the spike in cases of coronavirus.

The resumption had caused fears among Nigerians over the possibility of COVID-19 spread.

However, Dr Kalu in a chat with  said government should apply the same approach used for religious centres on schools.

According to Kalu: “I think it’s a two sword approach. If government says students should stay at home while other activities are going on, this same students will still go to church and markets. So it depends on what you want to achieve.

“But if you are looking at reducing community transmission, then pushing resumption date is in line to two or three months like the House of Representatives said.

“Government has not been serious with this whole thing. You see government asking people to go and register for NIN and that is worse than schools reopening.

“You see government functionaries involved in all kinds of ceremonies, considering this, you will note that students have stayed at home for too long so if schools are shut down while other events are going on, then it’s not fair.

“If government wants to be serious, then they should direct students to attend schools in batches so that the place is not crowded.

“I have not seen anything that they are doing, government is not working, they are just suggesting schools should resume while nothing is working fine.

“Schools can resume in bits same way churches were asked to start services.”

NEWS : Partial compliance to COVID-19 protocols as schools resume

 

With the resumption of schools in Ondo State on Monday for new academic session, the COVID-19 protocols was partially adhered to by students, parents and teachers.

During a visit to some schools within Akure metropolis, the state capital, it was observed that the use of face mask was fully complied with as students freely moved within the schools premises.

With some of the students and parents seen with face masks, they, however, hung it on their chin without covering both their mouths and noses.

At St Louis Grammar School, Akure, the students who resumed in their hundreds did not observe any form of physical distancing as they clustered in groups.

It was also the same situation at Oyemekun Grammar School as the buckets of water and soap provided at the school gate were not made use of.

For some of the students, after gaining entrance into the school, they removed their face masks.

Whlie expressing concern over the development, the Permanent Secretary, Ministy of Education, Akin Asaniyan, threatened that any school that failed to comply with the guideline will be closed down until the proper thing is done.

The Permanent Secretary also blamed parents for allowing their wards to leave home to school without nose mask.

“Today is the first day of resumption, we will still brainstorm on what to do on the issue of clustering among the students. There will be a way out, that I can assure you. We are not going to take any risk.”

ENTERTAINMENT : Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez to perform at Biden’s inauguration

 

Popular singers, Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez will perform at US President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony in Washington on January 20th.

The transition team said the event will also feature remarks from a black firefighter from Georgia, a former Youth Poet Laureate, a Catholic priest, and a pastor from Biden’s hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.

Lady Gaga will sing the national anthem, while Lopez will give a musical performance at the inauguration of the incoming 46th US president.

The transition team mentioned that Gaga and Lopez were chosen in order to “represent one clear picture of the grand diversity of our great nation.”

“They reflect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ “steadfast vision of a new chapter in our American story in which we are an America united in overcoming the deep divisions and challenges facing our people, unifying the country, and restoring the soul of our nation,” ithe statement read.

Biden’s team also cited Lady Gaga’s advocacy of LGBTQ rights and health issues, and Lopez’s work raising awareness about the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Latinos.

Other speakers for the inauguration are career firefighter Andrea Hall of Fulton County, Georgia, and Los Angeles native 2017 National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman, former Georgetown University President, Father Leo O’Donovan and Reverend Dr Silvester Beaman of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church.

BIAFRA : IPOB rejects Obiozor’s emergence as president of Ohanaeze Ndigbo

 

The leadership of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) said it will not recognize Prof. George Obiozor as the President-General of the Apex Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo.

The group, in a statement made available by its spokesman, Comrade Emma Powerful, yesterday stated that the pro-Biafra group, led by Nnamdi Kanu, cannot work with the Obiozor-led Ohanaeze Ndigbo.

IPOB said: “We, the global family of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), ably led by our great leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu,

 wish to state without any ambiguity that we cannot work together with the newly appointed President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief George Obiozor.

“This is because he was imposed on the Igbo socio-cultural body by the Fulani cabal running the failed state of Nigeria. The Chief of Staff to the President,

 Alhaji Ibrahim Gambari, and Miyetti Allah were instrumental to the emergence of Obiozor as Ohanaeze National President, according to our findings.

“IPOB closely monitored the jamboree in the name of election that produced Obiozor as the new Ohanaeze helmsman,

 critically analyzed the antecedents of those behind his emergence and came to the conclusion that we cannot in all honesty work with him because we are not ideologically compatible.

“Obiozor may not be entirely evil but those behind him are unrepentant enemies of Biafra. Naturally, he can only do the bidding of his sponsors, thus sacrificing Igbo Biafra interest at the altar of few self-centered political desperados.

“We have not forgotten that before the shambolic election of Ohanaeze president, 

sometime last year, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Associations of Nigeria (MACBAN) wrote a compelling letter to Aso Rock seeking Gambari’s support to install one of their stooges in Ohanaeze Ndigbo as its leader. 

We raised the alarm then but nobody listened to us, so IPOB cannot work with a man we know will be remote-controlled by a Fulani terrorist group in the shape of Miyetti Allah and by extension the Federal Government of Nigeria,

” the group said, adding, “We also wish to clarify that we cannot work with the current bunch of Igbo Efulefus clamouring for a Nigerian President of Igbo extraction in 2023 because we know their real motives. 

None of the traitors on parade have Igbo Biafra interest at heart. They are only after their personal gains going by their antecedents.”

He added “Our concern is Biafra and nothing more. Any saboteur talking about Nigeria President of Igbo extraction is on his own.”

BIAFRA : 2023, Why We Won’t Support Nigerian President Of Igbo Extraction —IPOB

 Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has said it won’t support a Nigerian President of Igbo extraction.

IPOB, in a statement by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, alleged that all the people being prepared for the position are stooges that will be used against the interest of Ndigbo, Biafrans and the group.

Powerful added that the people at the forefront of the agitation were people who openly worked against the late Dr Alex Ekwueme at the Jos Peoples Democratic Party convention for the candidature of the President of Nigeria under the PDP in 1999.

He said what such people did to the late Ekwueme was similarly done by their likes to Peter Obi, in 2019 when he contested with Alhaji Abubakar Atiku as his running mate, alleging that they conspired and did not support or campaign for Obi despite being in the same political party, PDP, with him.

The statement read, “We cannot support any person that will kill us; that will mean the end of Biafra emancipation as we know. It is still fresh in our minds what transpired at Jos PDP convention when the the late Dr Alex Ekwueme contested for the candidature of the President of Nigeria under the PDP in 1999.

“Then the likes of Jim Nwobodo, Orji Uzo Kalu and virtually every other Igbo delegate at that convention voted against him. These Igbo men sabotaged Igbo presidency then, what has changed since 1999 that will make them come out now to shamefully clamour for the same Igbo presidency they publicly rejected in 1999?

“Similarly, when Mr Peter Obi in 2019 was contesting as running mate to Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, Governor Dave Umahi and his co-travellers in conspiratory business did not support or campaign for him despite being in the same political party - PDP.

“We are surprised that these people shouting President of Igbo extraction today but sabotaged their own people yesterday think we have forgotten; they also think others will support them when it is their turn.

“Besides, if these myopic and self-centred fellows think producing the President of Nigeria will solve the problem of Ndigbo: when Goodluck Jonathan, an Ijaw man from South-South was Nigeria’s President for six years, what did he do for the East in general and Ijaw people in particular?

“The same northern oligarchy that did not allow him to operate freely will still not allow any stooge they may eventually appoint from Igboland to succeed. So, it makes no sense clamouring for what won’t proffer any solution to our problems.

“The few major roads built in South-East and South-South were done, not by an Igbo man, yet none of these traitors masquerading as Igbo leaders today has been able to compel their slave masters to rehabilitate them. Most of these self-acclaimed Igbo and Old Eastern region leaders are caliphate bred traitors and we cannot trust them.”

BIAFRA : Northerners Have Held Power More, Yet We’re The Poorest, Most Unlucky In Nigeria – Yakasai

A founding member of the Arewa Consultative Forum and elder statesman, Hajji Tanko Yakasai, has said other regions in the country are fond of blaming northerners for their problems when the North has the highest number of poor people.

Yakasai said though the North had produced more leaders compared to the South, it had numerous issues it is dealing with.

Speaking on Thursday at an online conference monitored by The PUNCH, themed, ‘The 2nd Never Again Conference: 51 years after the Nigerian-Biafran civil war’, hosted by Nzuko Umunna, an Igbo Think Tank, in partnership with Ovation International and Njenje Media, he said the fractional tendencies in the country must be addressed.

Some southerners have accused the North of ploys to dominate leadership positions and treat other regions of the country as second-class citizens. They have also alleged that the North was against the proposed restructuring of the country because it benefits from the current system, which they believe is unfair and unproductive.

Meanwhile, despite having ruled the country longer than the South, the North is said to have higher number of out-of-school children, higher poverty and illiteracy rates, especially with the Almajiri system.

In his response to comments by Afenifere leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, and leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, both of whom accused the North of shying away from the compelling need to restructure the country, Yakasai said, “I’m a northerner but we are the most unlucky people in this country.

“Most people blame us for their problems but we are the poorest in the country. I was reading recently the number of billionaires in Nigeria and out of 10, eight were from the South and only two were from the North; Aliko Dangote and Abdul Samad Rabiu of BUA Group.

“We have been in power more than any other ethnic group. The fact is that we held power more than anybody yet we became the poorest.”

He said even though people could disagree during discourse about national issues, people should always create time to attend such events and contribute “because it is our collective contribution that would make the aggregate of the ideas that we want to sell to the country.”

Yakasai added that though the Nigerian Civil War ended over 50 years ago, the mistrust among major sub-regional groups remained a threat to the democratic process.

He said, “We need to learn from the Civil War of 51 years ago and address squarely the fractional tendencies in the country today. Unity, peace, trust, justice, democracy and development must be made to work for Nigeria to keep it stronger.”

In her remarks, a stalwart of the ruling All progressives Congress and wife of a former deputy governor of Kaduna State, Mrs Charity Shekari, said every region, including the North, had issues they were dealing with and that it was wrong to attribute the country’s problems to the North.

She added, “Each of us has issues we are talking about. Must people always refer to the North? Let us reassess how we will sit together properly and stop this victim mentality. I am from the Middle Belt and I have issues too.”

Meanwhile, a retired Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Godknows Igali, said it was important for Nigeria to examine why some countries went through war, like Nigeria’s Civil War, and they became stable afterwards.

“Every country has a level of heterogeneity and diversity; so, diversity is not an excuse for people’s inability to build states,” Igali added.

“In a federation and a diverse country like Nigeria, we must listen to one another. We must continue to build a constitution that accommodates everybody. A situation where some people feel superior to others or where some don’t feel protected by the Constitution creates a problem. All parts of the country must have a sense of belonging.”

He said one way to avoid another civil war was to build a society where people feel protected and cared for.

He added, “In the Scandinavian countries where I was once an ambassador, the society takes care of the people and over there, n0 body is poor and nobody is too rich. But here, people are hungry and there are no jobs. The elite must be able to create an environment where people are able to live like others.” 

BIAFRA : Biafra principle

 

if you didn't just bump into someone unexpectedly - the horror. That you don't ask afterwards: "Just a cup of coffee?" There have been far fewer conversations with far fewer people. Suddenly I notice that I get stuck with newspaper interviews; a bit 'hanging' like in the old days on the street. Sheila Sitalsing is a columnist for de Volkskrant , I like to read her, and now she was interviewed by her own newspaper. She tells about her Surinamese husband, who went through the curfew in that country after the December murders. Coincidence: I am married to a Surinamese man, who also experienced that curfew in Suriname. Apparently they went to the same secondary school, although that is less coincidental in Paramaribo (there were three pre-university schools.)

Through the experiences of her husband, Sitalsing tries to put the lockdowns and measures in the Netherlands into perspective. She also finds the major change after corona unbelievable. "The rest of the world is constantly haunted by disasters, and people really don't live by it any differently."

I also know the stories of my husband: that in Suriname you simply joined a long queue, even if you did not know what that queue was waiting for. Bread? Rice? Just you wait.

My husband also likes to hold up a mirror to the Dutch, because parties and parties, is that your greatest loss?

It can always get worse, it is true. A whole generation of Dutch have been brought up with the Biafra argument; there, one million people died from war and famine between 1967 and 1970. "Think of the children in Biafra." It was only as an adult that I learned where Biafra lay; that it was a rebellious part of Nigeria.

The Biafra argument never really hit the mark, because as is known, people tend to compare themselves to their neighbors. If necessary with their neighboring countries. Belgium. A bit with Suriname, because of old relations. But with the former Biafra? Congo?

Those countries have never been a guideline to the world, as the Scandinavian countries were, and one day, remember, the US ...

There is that other argument: that "those people there" are used to famine, apartheid and massacre. Old-right liked to use it. Extremely untrue and ineffective for that matter.

In the Netherlands, a cabinet resigns and nothing changes in daily life. If that's a privilege at all, it's one you want to share with as many countries as possible.

The US is holding its breath for the inauguration. I was sure not in my lifetime. But precisely because Americans are still amazed by presidents who are already being shot during their inauguration, they may live 'very differently': guerrilla style.

Stephan Sanders writes a column at this place every Monday.