U.S DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DONATES PPEs WORTH $144,000 TO SUPPORT COVID-19 PREVENTION IN NIGERIA MILITARY

06/11/20

[post-marguee]

Publisher: DANIELS G.O

PRESS RELEASE

Handover of AFRICOM-Supported COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment

(Abuja, Nigeria) The United States Department of Defense (DoD), through the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) has provided personal protective equipment (PPE) worth $144,000 to support COVID-19 prevention in military and civilian medical facilities in Lagos, Kano, Akwa-Ibom, and Cross River States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The ceremonial PPE handover to the Nigerian military took place at the 063 Nigerian Air Force Hospital (NAFH) in Abuja.

The Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Alhaji Babangida Hussaini, and the U.S. Charge d’Affaires, Kathleen FitzGibbon, presided over the event.
The ceremonial PPE handover to the Nigerian military took place at the 063 Nigerian Air Force Hospital (NAFH) in Abuja.

The Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Alhaji Babangida Hussaini, and the U.S. Charge d’Affaires, Kathleen FitzGibbon, presided over the event.

The Honorable Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ohanire, inaugurated the 063 NAFH as a COVID-19 treatment center in June 2020. It is the primary military COVID-19 isolation and treatment center in Abuja and actively contributes to the national response by admitting, treating, and releasing COVID-19 patients. It has long served as a medical treatment facility for infectious and non-infectious diseases and is part of the network of military sites offering comprehensive HIV care and treatment to both military and civilians.

The Nigerian Ministry of Defence (NMOD) Health Implementation Programme (MODHIP) serves as the implementation arm of the NMOD COVID-19 response and has worked with the Armed Forces COVID-19 Committee, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, the National TB and Leprosy Control Programme, and multiple U.S. government agencies to support pandemic mitigation in Nigeria. NMOD, with support from the U.S. DoD, has contributed to the national response by establishing 18 treatment sites and four COVID-19 sample collection sites, and training over 150 health personnel on COVID-19 case management and infection prevention and control. The Defence Reference Laboratory (DRL) in Abuja, co-staffed by NMOD and DoD, has also been actively involved in the COVID-19 efforts and is a key contributor to the national testing network. As of November 1, DRL has tested more than 7,500 COVID-19 samples, mostly from the FCT (NNPC) and Nasarawa, Enugu, and Imo States, though its coverage is open to all labs across Nigeria.

The U.S. DoD contribution is emblematic of the longstanding partnership between the U.S. and Nigerian militaries and is another component of the more than $57 million in support provided by the U.S. Government to the COVID-19 response in Nigeria. Highlighting this support during the pandemic and the more than 60 years of diplomatic relations between the United States and Nigeria, the U.S. Charge d’Affaires in her remarks stated, “It is deeply satisfying for me to look back on the many ways we have worked together to improve the health, safety, and security of the Nigerian people. Maintaining the health and security of Nigerian citizens is of utmost importance, and the health of the military members is critical to maintaining the security of the country.”

LAGOS STATE GOVERNMENT CALLS FOR PRECAUTIONS AGAINST SECOND WAVE OF COVID-19

03/11/20

[post-marguee]

DANIELS G.O

PRESS RELEASE
LAGOS CALLS FOR PRECAUTIONS AGAINST SECOND WAVE OF COVID-19
…Stresses need for Strict Adherence to Safety Protocols
The Lagos State Government has once again stressed the need for residents to strictly adhere to precautionary measures against COVID-19 infection transmission to prevent a recurrence of the situation that led to the lock down of the economy. A resurgence of cases in Lagos may lead to the reversal of the strategically calculated measures put in place by the Government to open up the economy.
Speaking on effort being made by the State Government to sustain the gains that have been made to control the global pandemic in Lagos State, Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi explained that many countries and cities are experiencing a second and third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic with a resultant spike in the number of cases and fatalities.
He noted that many of the affected countries around the world have found it necessary to impose a second lockdown and restriction of movements, which have significant socioeconomic and security consequences.
“The first wave of Coronavirus started in December 2019 and swept through an unprepared world. The first case of COVID-19 in Nigeria was recorded in Lagos on the 27th of February 2020. Lagos has since become the epicentre of the outbreak in Nigeria with a record of 21,107 confirmed cases and 212 deaths from the virus till date.
“The containment measures put in place at the time included COVID-19 testing, siolation and treatment, surveillance, total shutdown of the State for about 12 weeks and partial shutdown of social, economic and academic activities for over four months”, Abayomi recalled.
The Commissioner however warned that the continuous flagrant disregard of safety guidelines by citizens heralds’ danger and may lead to a second wave of new infections in Lagos. He advised citizens against unnecessary movement and social gatherings, unless it is absolutely necessary stressing that travelling into and outside the Country should be discouraged except when absolutely necessary.
Worried that the COVID-19 induced culture of face mask use, social distancing and hand hygiene is gradually waning amongst citizens, Abayomi calls for the reinforcement of the adoption and adherence of various preventive measures put in place by the State government to tackle the disease.
“The erroneous belief that COVID-19 has been conquered and is no more in Nigeria should be discarded. Based on our data, this assumption is invalid. It creates a false sense of security amongst the citizens causing many to abandon the use of face masks and other safety measures and protocols put in place by the Government”, the Commissioner said.
He added: “Though we have reached our peak as predicted and are now experiencing a decline in the number of positive cases, this is not a reason to conclude that all is over. COVID-19 is still very much with us as evidenced in the number of cases being recorded in the community daily and occasional deaths from severe complications.
“The reason for the decline in COVID-19 cases in Lagos is attributable to a number of factors, including public adherence to safety regulations of physical and social distancing, hand hygiene, use of face mask in public places, expanded testing strategy and contact tracing, among others, and this is the more reason why citizens should not relent in this regard if we don’t want to experience a second wave of the disease”.
While noting that the widespread increasing COVID-19 testing capacity of the State has been very impactful in reducing community transmission, Abayomi urges citizens who fall within the case definition of COVID-19 infection to visit any of the dedicated COVID-19 sample collection sites in their local government or our public laboratories to get a test done free of charge.
He noted that early diagnosis allows for prompt and adequate management and care, resulting in the prevention of transmission to other citizens; particularly, vulnerable and elderly members of society who may have underlying predispositions.
The Commissioner emphasized that COVID-19 testing for other purposes, such as traveling or as a requirement for professional reasons which are not part of the public health response, can be done at any of the 10 Government accredited private laboratories.
“It is important to put in place the right understanding for the reasons to request and where to source a COVID-19 test. If you are displaying symptoms within the case definition of COVID-19, you can get a free test at any of the four designated COVID-19 public health laboratories or get a sample taken at any of our LCDA sample collection centers; however, if you require testing for any other reason such as occupational related requirements or simple curiosity, then you may visit any of the 10 accredited private laboratories or book a test online on the portal covid19.lagosstatebiobank.com or the National portal specific for travelers on nitp.ncdc.gov.ng”, he said.
Abayomi explained that Lagos State has a quality assurance process for every test that is done within its boundaries noting that the importance of overseeing the process cannot be overemphasized because COVID-19 is a public health care emergency.
“Therefore, it is important that we continually oversee this process because COVID-19 is a public health threat and the process of ensuring that people get tested as at when they need it and how it is being done is strictly controlled”, he said.
“You would recall that we recently suspended COVID-19 testing in one of the 10 accredited private laboratories due to some concerns around quality assurance. The laboratory has gone through a revalidation process and has now been allowed to recommence testing. This is part of the supportive oversight functions of the Government through the Lagos State Biobank”, Abayomi added.
The Commissioner explained that the State is also providing free of charge all social amenities, such as the EKOTELEMED service, the delivery of COVID-19 Care packs, sample collection logistics as well as monitoring and validation of all laboratories and isolation centers. “We are doing everything required to maintain a high quality of testing and care within the boundaries of Lagos State”, Abayomi stated.
Abayomi further added that the Lagos State Governor and Incident Commander, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, is very committed to protecting the lives and livelihood of its residents as the State continue to permit gradual return to socioeconomic activities. He noted that government would continue to ensure that testing and isolation, if required, continue to be accessible and free to citizens as required.
“This is not the time to relax our guards, if you have any reason to believe you fit the case definition for COVID-19 or you have any questions, please call the EKOTELEMED toll free line on 08000356633 to speak with any of our medical personnel 24 hours a day, 7 days a week”, the Commissioner said.
Signed
Tunbosun Ogunbanwo
Director, Public Affairs
3rd November, 2020

CHECK OUT LATEST DEVELOPMENT ON LAGOS CURFEW

30/10/20

[post-marguee]

Publisher DANIELS G.O

PRESS RELEASE

The Lagos State Government has announced a further relaxation of the curfew imposed after the breakdown of law and order, following the hijack of the peaceful #EndSARS protests.

The curfew will now be from 10pm till 6am.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu praises Lagosians for observing the curfew, which is expected to restore normalcy in our communities.

He urges all Lagosians to go about their businesses in peace, even as they shun ‘actions that can threaten our unity’.
The Governor advises purveyors of fake news to stop causing disaffection among Lagosians, who are well known for being peace-loving and friendly.

Gbenga Omotoso
HC, Information & Strategy

THE ROLE OF HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE NIGERIA OF OUR DREAM

30/10/20

[post-marguee]

Written By Momoh Omokhigho

Publisher: DANIELS G. O

Philippines is well known as a hub for some of the best artisans in the world, this was not achieved by accident.

Their government set up special training schools to meet specific international standards, this way their graduates become a pipeline for supplying skilled labour to developed countries where they can fetch over far higher wages than they would have earned in Phillipines.

While Nigerian’s biggest foreign exchange earner is Oil, a very close second is remittances from Nigerians living and working in other countries.

President Muhammadu Buhari while speaking on 2019 remittances, said “$25 billion annual remittance by Nigerians in the Diaspora was more than 80 percent of the country’s annual budget and formed about 6 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)”.

In contrast Philippines earned $30 billion in the same period. Phillipines has a population that is about half of that of Nigeria and a landmass of 300,000sqm (less than half of Nigeria).

Phillipines has nursing schools that are exactly modeled to meet United States of American standards, so immediately they graduate they are ready to work in the health sector in America, while a Nigerian nursing graduate must retrain at a cost that is usually so exorbitant and often takes years of working 3 jobs to qualify.

Just imagine if with our very talented people we can train them to world class standards here and export them to countries where they can fetch better wages, Nigeria will triple our current remittances.

This has also been replicated by Phillipines in the Oil and gas industry worldwide.

India, Pakistan, Mexico and China have also done very well in foreign remittances. So, what is keeping us from systematically developing and harnessing this potentially high revenue earner?

The foremost advantage of having a skilled and educated population is to drive development of the country.

The state of any nation is the direct reflection of the capacity of her population. Various classes of skilled manpower are relevant from the highly skilled professionals, artisans and technical or semi-skilled manpower are critical to the development of any nation. Sadly, there is a massive deficit in all sectors.

The construction industry has had to reach out to neighbouring countries for artisans (tilers, plumbers, and POP installers), the skilled segment is dominated by Lebanese and Pakistani. The information technology sector is dominated by the Indians. In every challenge lies opportunities. A skilled manpower is the single largest determinant of any country’s quest for industrialization.

Government and the private sector must work to develop our specialized institutions, upgrade them to world class standards, ensure the most talented are admitted and nurtured.

The Petroleum Training Institute, our Marine Schools and select technical schools can become the hub to develop talents.

It can be in form of investment if they are unable to pay the fees required to sustain the high quality required for such an institution to truly thrive. For those unable to pay the fees they could sign a bond and payback when they become successful.

Interestingly, funding of these specialized schools can also be gotten from the Petroleum Technology Development Fund, PTDF. An agency that is already spending millions in sending our citizens on scholarship to other countries. A portion of their revenue should be used to heavily invest in our local schools.

Do you know Nigeria currently has about 15 million children out of school? According to UNICEF, ‘1 in every 5 of the world’s out-of-school children is in Nigeria’. This is the highest in the world.

This shows that our biggest asset as a nation is not being given the needed attention. With the right education and investment in infrastructure, Nigeria can quickly move people out of poverty, grow our economy and be one of the world’s biggest production hub.

While the role of government is primarily the welfare and security of its citizens, not much can be done if we spend over 70% of our earnings on salaries and overheads. While some think restructuring is a silver bullet to resolve this serious impediment to our development, I believe investing in education and infrastructure will lead to an increase in our production capacity and make us more efficient and competitive. This way the economy opens, taxes are increased and getting into government employment will become unattractive.

We must find a way to make government lean and invest in quality education.

At this critical point in our nation’s history with so much agitation for human capital development, especially among the younger generation, there is no better time to rethink our educational system by moving it from theory to providing solutions to everyday challenges. If this is done, I have no doubt that the ticking time bomb which our unemployed youths represents will not only be defused, but unleashed into productive use in building the Nigeria of our dream.

The best time to start was probably thirty years ago, the next best time is now!

Momoh Omokhigho writes from Kaduna

End SARS Protesters Attack On TVC,Media Owners Urge FG To Fish Those Behind It

28/10/20

[post-marguee]

DANIELS G O

Members Of the Nigerian Press Organization which comprises the Nigerian Union of Journalist, Nigerian Guild Of Editors And Newspaper Proprietors Association Of Nigeria has described the Attack on TVC and the Nations Newspaper as an attempt to kill Press Freedom And Democracy.

Speaking during a visit to the Media Houses , they urged the Federal Government to fish the Perpetrators of the heinous crime.

Please watch the video on the link below

SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCES…NIOLA FAMILY

26/10/20

[post-marguee]

DANIELS GO

PRESS RELEASE

Following the recent events in Lagos and other States of the Federation, we hope you are safe and well.

The state of security in the past few days has been challenging and many of us are still struggling to come to terms with the horror that befell our beloved country. The projection in the coming days is one fraught with a level of uncertainty with regards to Government’s proclamations indicating heightened security measures and Nigerians reactions to the proclamations. Consequently, we have cancelled our Annual event – IJOYA earlier scheduled for Saturday October 31st 2020.

This decision is necessary at this point in time as we put the safety and security of our members, Lagosians and Nigerians before all other considerations.

As we go through this together, we urge you to keep your minds at peace and follow all necessary security and safety protocols while remaining vigilant.

We will be reaching out to you subsequently with our list of programmes and events targeted at tackling the menace of Colorectal Cancer in Nigeria and awareness on healthy living and lifestyle.

Thank you for your understanding and please stay safe.

Olatunji Olakunle Ola-Davies
Head Programs & Projects
Niola Cancer Care Foundation
http://www.niolacancercarefoundation.com

END SARS CRISIS: NIGERIAN DENTAL ASSOCIATION DECRY DESTRUCTION OF LIVES AND PROPERTY

24/10/20

[post-msrguee]

Publisher: DANIELS G.O

President Of The Nigerian Dental Association Doctor Evelyn Eshikena has called for an end to killing of Peaceful Protesters And Destruction Of Property.

The President Who was speaking in reaction to Reports of attack on Some Dental Facilities Around Lekki in Lagos And other Public infrastructure also called on relevant Authorities to compensate People Affected in the crisis.

(Up Track Report)

Nigeria’s Dairy Industry,A Viable Foreign Exchange Earner…Momoh

24/10/20

[post-marguee]

Written By Omokhegho Momoh.

Publisher,DANIELS G.O

Do you know that to kill a great idea, legislation or government initiative in Nigeria you just need to clothe it in politics, ethnicity, religion and regionalism?

Do you know that Niger State has a land mass of 76,363 km² while Nederland is 41,543 km²?

This means Niger State is about 1.8 times larger than the country, Netherlands (Holland).

Lagos state with an estimated population of about 20 million is more populated than Netherlands, a country with a population of 17 million.

Niger State in Nigeria has the most arable land in the country, located in the north central, it has no single desert. One begins to wonder why Nigeria is still struggling to meet her basic food and especially her diary needs.

Here are some facts about Netherland’s dairy industry (from Dairy Facts):

• The Netherlands exports 78% of its milk production, which accounts for 14% of the EU dairy exports.

• The Dutch company, Friesland Campina (Peak Milk) is the world’s sixth largest dairy company.

• Global average milk yield is 2,200 litres per cow, it is 4 times higher in the Netherlands, that is 8,800 litres. In Nigeria the daily yield of a cow is about 2 litres per day, meaning per year it is 730 litres.

• The Netherlands is the world’s leading exporter of milking machines, with 30% of the world’s market.

• The company Alta genetics, of the Dutch Koepon Holding, is the world’s second biggest in cattle genetics

• The Netherlands is the world’s top exporter of animal feed, with a total value of almost €3 billion annually.

According to the former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, a cow averagely produces 50 litres of milk daily in Netherlands while the cows in United states of America consume up to 100 litres of water daily, in contrast the Nigerian cow produces about 1 to 2 litres of milk daily and may not even have up to 2 litres of water a week, simply put, our cows are malnourished.

On one of my trips from London to Manchester a couple of years ago using a train, I saw kilometres of massive lands dedicated to ranches for the breeding of livestock.

So why are we playing politics with Rural Grazing Area (RUGA) or is it the National Livestock Transformation Plan?

In January 2018 the Governor of Kogi state, Yahaya Bello pledged land as his vision was to make Kogi the Holland of Nigeria in terms of dairy production.

The governor of Niger State also pledged land in Kantagora. The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osibanjo also inaugurated the Live Stock Transformation Plan pilot scheme in Mayo-Belwa Local Government Area of Adamawa.

This is 2 to 3 years since the conversation began about turning our dairy potentials into a massive industry, this is the time to take stock and review progress if any. Unless just like most laudable ideas, it has all become drowned in politics, religion, ethnicity and regionalism.

Why is Niger State alone not producing the milk that will cater for the demands of the whole of Nigeria?

The answer is that we have been unable to transform the State’s arable land mass, available water resources to build ranches or hubs with latest technology and pilot these cardinal combinations with international best practice.

These is the dire move we need to make now to actualise our dairy potentials.

It is time for new thinking, let us forget the grazing routes and reserves and begin to see this as big business with lots of opportunities.

The Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) is about to be debated by the National Assembly, this is a bill that has spent over 16 years without passage, due to the afore mentioned reasons.

There is also the ongoing debate about the National Water Bill, my admonition is for us to take a step back and for once put development and the common good of all before politics and self-interest.

No country develops where politics, high cost of governance and overheads is placed before development.

The revolution we need at this point is for government to roll up her sleeves and become the enabler that will transform our dairy industry.

It has not just health benefits for our growing children but the move would also engage our youths in gainful employment and earn us the badly needed foreign exchange.

It is estimated that we spend about $1.3billion on dairy product importation yearly. If such funds were put to other use within our shores, what do you think will be our lot in the next four to five years? Your unbiased imagination is as good as mine. For now, I rest my case.

Momoh Omokhigho

Write from Kaduna