Enugu SME boss, Hon Arinze Chilo-Offiah has presented medical equipment, including health care professionals to the Gburus Care Initiative.
The team are made up of volunteers who offered render their professional services, in order to boost Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s vision of reaching out to the aged in our various localities through healthcare delivery.
Hon Chilo-Offiah who made the presentation at his Enugu SME office when the team visited him said, “Just like my boss Governor Ugwuanyi, I believe in reaching out to the needy in our various villages, putting a smile on their faces and giving Hope to them” and assured that ” I will always partner with progressive minds to help this administration to reach her desired goals”.
Chilo-Offiah maintained that he was moved to contribute to the cause due to the consistency in which they have displayed in reaching out to the aged in need of health services, especially in remote areas.
He also commended the impact of the GburusCare initiative so far.
“Love is His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (GburuGburu) represents and love is what GburusCare is all about”. He added.
The SPA to the Governor Ugwuanyi also received the team in his village, Umuavulu in Udi Local Government Area, on a medical outreach where he stated that “ensuring that our aged parents received free medical attention such as dental care, blood pressure test, drug prescription among others are ways of giving back to my community”.
He thanked the team led by Dr. Darlington Ugwuegbe for their efforts in providing healthcare for the old.
The Federal Government has announced Phase IV of the COVID-19 lockdown across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
This new directive is to take effect by midnight of Tuesday, a member of the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19, Dr. Mukhtar Mohammed, declared.
Mohammed, who is the Head of Technical Secretariat of the PSC, made the announcement while briefing reporters on Monday in Abuja.
With the lockdown imposed, mass gatherings in public spaces have been restricted to 50 people at any given time.
Access to government institutions would also be denied to anyone not wearing a face mask while government meetings and travels have been limited to the virtual platform.
According to Mohammed, the government has directed that bars and nightclubs should remain closed and the nationwide curfew will be in force until further notice.
He added that only essential international travels would be encouraged, and all existing protocols must be strictly adhered to.
The PSC member, however, stated that there was no limitation to intra-state travel.
The Edo State Health Insurance Commission has registered over 9,604 elderly, physically challenged, pregnant women and other vulnerable persons to benefit from the Equity Plan of the Edo State Health Insurance Scheme (EdoHIS).
Director General, Edo Health Insurance Commission, Dr. Amegor Rock, disclosed this while addressing journalists in Benin City.
He added that the government is sustaining reforms in the health sector so as to improve access to quality and affordable healthcare services to all residents in the state.
According to him, those targeted under the Equity Plan of the state’s health insurance scheme are “children under the age of 5, physically challenged, aged persons from 60 years and above, poor pregnant women and the poorest of the poor.”
“The BHCPF is targeting to register 25,000 residents across all the 18 local government areas in Edo State.
The Equity Plan provides health insurance cover for the vulnerable who do not have any source of livelihood,” Rock added.
He noted that the commission is collaborating with the Edo State Primary Health Care Development Agency (EDSPHCDA) and the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to ensure that enrollees of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) have access to quality health care.
The Director General disclosed that over 187 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) have been assessed for the program.
The state plans to capture no fewer than one million persons as beneficiaries of Edo-HIS by the end of the year 2021, while about 50 percent of residents in the state would have enrolled for the scheme by the year 2024.
Chief Patrick Eholor is always in the news, speaking about the welfare of the Nigerian citizen, irrespective of profession or background.
Eholor who is the President of One Love Foundation, spoke with our correspondent in this interview, raising alarm at the growing number of mentally deranged people on the streets.
In this interview, he advises the Muhammadu Buhari led federal government, as well as Edo State Government to look into the matter and ensure that these men and women are rehabilitated and given proper care.
He also advises them, regarding the physically challenged, as well as the aged.
Excerpts:
Eholor
What do you think about the alarming, growing number of mentally ill people on the streets of Edo State, especially in Benin City?
The problem is peculiar, and this is why you notice that this government, and even before the current government, we have been experiencing this rise.
However, no matter how you look at it, they are citizens. Some of them used to have electoral value. Some of them voted before. Whatever they seem to be going through before they lost it, government also is part of the problem. Some of them lost their jobs and are unemployed, some of them were sick and had no help from anyone, including the government. Some were suffering from depression, some were having family issues- a lot of thing can cause mental illness.
I am not a doctor, but I do know that a lot of factors can cause mental illness. The question you should ask is, what is the Federal Government doing about it? What is the Godwin Obaseki administration back home doing about it?
We have a place, a psychiatrist hospital at Uselu in Edo State, which is being managed by government. I would suggest that they should constitute a committee- just as they have committees to do contracts, to steal money, to do all sorts of things that are anti people, they can also have a committee whose work will be to mop up these people from the streets and take them to the psychiatric hospital for treatments. They can get buses and use the buses for this purpose.
They will then try and rehabilitate them back to the society if they can, but if they cannot, they should at least have some decency before they go to the great beyond.
I am very worried about it. Every street you go to now in Benin, you see lunatics. If Godwin Obaseki is not helping the normal people, at least let him help the abnormal people in our society. Besides that, one will wonder the kind of plan this administration or even the Federal Government have for people who have disability. People with disabilities are supposed to be given preferential treatment anywhere, whether they are in the bus, hospital, market place, in aeroplanes, preference should be given to them.
Disability can come in any form. Then there is the issue of the aged and the elderly. These are people who have worked and retired.
Yes, in other climes when somebody gets to a certain age, the person begins to get special care from the sate, local or federal governments. But here, it seems to be taken for granted that when one begins to get old, the family should take care of him or her. So, a lot of them end up never getting the kind of care he or she deserves. So you see and old man or woman working on the streets selling pure water, hand gloves,and trying to make ends meet. Don’t you think our government should emulate other governments outside Nigeria where our leaders usually travel to?
Our governments unfortunately don’t copy what’s good. They manufacture what is bad. Our federal and state governments are all merchants of misery. Ordinarily when you cross the 60 year threshold, you become someone within the retirement age. You become a first class citizen, government takes care of you. Whether you are poor, whether you are rich, whether you have worked before, they have plans for you.
But the reason why it’s impossible for government here to do something about them is due to their taxation system. Abroad, when you start working from the age of 18, you start paying into pensions plan. It is what you saw that you are going to go into retirement with. For example if I was earning N100,000 every month and is now contributing ten thousand from it every month, I would have saved for 42years. At 60, they will see what I have saved, and they will add to it and use it to take care of me, because I have contributed to the economy. They also have for the unemployed, the unemployment benefits where the government also takes care of those who are unemployed.
That’s why it baffles me when people say that Godwin Obaseki is a technocrat. I have not seen anything of a technocrat in him. One would have assumed that because he has been able to manage some people’s funds, some of them he lost, some he may have succeeded, in some the market bled, one would have thought that with his exposure, the things I am mentioning to you now, he would have been able to do it, so that when people are earning their salaries, they start contributing to the pensions scheme. When people are also not working, they should also have what gets to the unemployed, in case you lost your job, whether in the private or the public sector. You would have contributed money to that scheme, and so, should be getting money from them before you get another job.
Even if you are going to school, you will also be getting something. But unfortunately, those who are charge in this country are merchants of misery. They don’t care about their citizens. They think that citizens don’t have rights. They think that citizens don’t deserve anything good. Look at recently, when a guy who claimed he was a deputy speaker of the house, someone raised a point about those who are in the diaspora.
This man, ignorant as he is said that the people are not in Nigeria, so their votes don’t count. He is not aware that these same people bring in 20 to 25 billion to this country every year. It is the second largest source of fund after the oil that is there.
It is the quality of leaders that we have that’s the problem. The other decent ones say politics is dirty and don’t want to play it. But if you don’t play politics, what you do is that you allow thugs to rule over you, and that’s why we suffer. The ones that are handpicked want a continuation of what they are doing because they have no idea and are completely without clue what it means to contribute to leadership. This is country where 95 percent of the senators condemned the Service chiefs for terrible service, but also went ahead to vote for them to be ambassadors. Is that not preposterous?
So people deserve the government they get, whether they are rigging, or stealing, we deserve it. Because if they had rigged and we fought them, or if they had stolen as we fought, if they have bloated salaries as it is now and we condemn it, then it would have been different.
There is a massive army of youths that will rise up again, same thing that happened when end SARS happened. I foresee it happening again. This is a country with a president that never addresses its citizens. This is a country where we have speculations that we might have one Jibrin, we don’t know. In the last two years,how many people have seen our president in a podium, talking to Nigerians?
In the last few years, how many people have seen Gov Obaseki call the press in Edo State, so that there will be an interactive session? How many times has the president of this country called for a town hall meeting? How many times have any of the governors in this country called for a town hall meeting? Or the senators or the House of Reps members?
How many times have the commissioners or House of Assembly members gone to ask what does my people need? How many times have local government chairmen called for a town hall meeting? All of them have failed abysmally, and no apology.
In this issue of rehabilitating the mentally deranged, don’t you think it is necessary for people like you to take up the task?
It’s difficult because mental patients cannot be predicted. That’s why they have a special people who have been trained to look after them, and to know how to care for the, without chaining them or beating them like animals. There are also mentally deranged people in the western world, but they are approached cautiously. They are given medications to reduce that tension on them that makes them abnormal. So I do not recommend anyone who is doing what I am doing or any human rights activist to make it a role to rescue lunatics because they will be putting their lives at risk.
But if you train someone to do it, like you train a soldier, or police officer, as a professional, they should be professional enough to do it. Government should invest money on it so that they can take it very seriously.
Because some of these people can get well again and contribute meaningfully to the development of our country.
Sagging breast is one of the major concerns of the average girl. From adolescence to adulthood; no lady wants to lose her sense of youth. In an interview with Vanguard, Doctor Peter Atangwho (@firstdoctorr) gives expert opinion on why young girls have saggy breasts.
Excerpt
Why do young girls have saggy breasts?
The fact remains that falling or sagging breasts is due to a combination of factors that tend to increase as the woman ages.
Some ligaments in the breast called Cooper’s ligaments hold the breast tissue together. With time, they can get stretched out, causing the breast to sag.
Another contributing factor is the loss of skin elasticity which makes a young woman’s boobs appear deflated.
For example, people that are bursty tend to experience sagging faster due to the dragging effect of their huge breast mass on the Cooper’s ligament as a result of gravity
Speaking of ‘number of pregnancies’, can abortion be a causative factor?
During pregnancy, there’s interplay of hormones like estrogen and progesterone which have massive effects on breast size in preparation for breastfeeding.
If an abortion occurs, however, those effects could still be seen on the breast tissue. So strictly speaking, abortion can contribute.
So, having numerous abortions or miscarriages is a contributing factor?
The number of pregnancies is what matters most. In other words, the more children you have, the more stretched out your breasts could become.
Can sucking of the breast by sexual partner during foreplay contribute to the sagging of the breast?
I am not aware of any research that supports the popular belief that sucking of the breasts by a woman’s sexual partner makes them sag.
Like I said, the main cause is loss of skin elasticity and overstretching of the Cooper’s ligaments.
Is there any expert opinion on how to prevent the breast from sagging?
Yes, sure. Maybe the right word is “delay” breast sagging because as the woman continues to age and approach menopause, sagging becomes almost inevitable.
Back to the question, one can delay sagging by using their appropriate bra size, drinking lots of water to keep the skin hydrated, avoid smoking, maintain a healthy weight, and always sit straight up to support their breasts and avoid them hanging downwards or dangling.
Visits never left them screaming in fear. Instead, they leave with the similitude of a yellow face with small, open eyes and a large, round mouth slack with surprise or shock. And this is no sign of sorrow.
First, it was a former Liberian Vice President, Hon. Joseph Boakai. Then followed a former Vice President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Dr Edward Singhartey. Even Dr Johnnetta Cole,President National Council of Negro Women and former Director of Smithsonia National Museum of Africa Art came all the way from the USA to the same effect. But what did they see that gave them such feelings of awe and disbelief in a relatively unknown village?
Former Senate presidents Anyim Pius Anyim and Ken Nnamani must have thought so too after their visits, without prior “warning,” culminated in positivity.
Former Abia State Governors with their Deputies, and the current executive at the helm are no strangers too. They know Amaokwe Achara, Uturu in Isukwuato Local Government Area. So, it was not surprising they visited too.
Yes it is true that between 2103 and 2020 the serene town of Amaokwe Achara Uturu was blessed with the visit of such distinguished personalities as Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, Sen. Theodore A. Orji, Sen. Orji Kalu, Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe, Sir Emeka Amanamba and Rt. Hon Udo Okochukwu. What is however puzzling is that their journeys all ended with the puzzling wow expression.
I guess it is the search for answers to this puzzle that prompted newsmen to corner one of the prominent Abia statesmen, Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kalu( may his soul rest in peace),who also visited Amaokwe Achara Uturu while he was still alive. And he had this to say:
“After touring the facilities inGregory University Uturu and taking stock of the achievements of the founder and Proprietor, I can say that Prof Gregory Ibe stands shoulder above his contemporaries. I do not doubt that the future is bright. There is no better exclamation to describe the transformation I saw than wow!”
If Ndubuisi Kanu’s observation was a bang, then Goodluck Jonathan’s assertion was a banger. The multiple-award-winning former Nigerian leader came calling last Wednesday and lifted the lid off the mystifying wow.
He also gave insight into the virtues and achievements of Prof Gregory Ibe that the late Ndubuisi Kanu described as distinctive.
“Prof Ibe has shown that with the little God blessed us with, we can change society positively,” Jonathan said after he commissioned and energised a 5MVA 33 KVA electric substation Prof. Ibe procured and installed for his community.
In the words of the former president,”The provision of electricity to an entire community is not a joke. Ibe has shown that he has the heart of gold.”
Of course, it is a known fact that power illuminates life and society and triggers development. But could it be the only reason a relatively unknown village has been playing host to several high profile dignitaries? Certainly not!
There is a changed narrative. The meteoric rise to fame of Amaokwe Achara isn’t by a providential stroke of serendipity. The catalyst is the vision Prof. Ibe has been nurturing since 2012.
According to the Deputy Registrar,Media of Gregory University Uturu, Sleek Ogwo, “the vision that Prof. Ibe has is what triggered the development and gave rise to the kind of infrastructure we have on the ground.”
Perhaps, what provoked the wow exclamation is how a vision that started on a low key metamorphosed into a massive project that is moulding tomorrow’s leaders for Nigeria in all facets and also shaping the future of Nigeria and the African continent in health care in less than 10 years.
“We started with three colleges — Social and Management Sciences, Humanities and Natural and Applied Sciences — in 2012 and subsequently began to acquire so many other programmes and each programme has a specific requirement in terms of infrastructure,” Mr Ogwo said.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Augustin Uwakwe, added, “We have moved from three to 10 colleges. We even have a post-graduate school. We have colleges of pharmacy, engineering, environmental sciences, law, agriculture, education and medicine.”
He said although the Federal Ministry of Health released the FMC, Umuahia, to them for use as part of their teaching hospital, Prof. Ibe did not rest on his oars.
“Just like every visionary leader, Prof. Ibe built an ultramodern pathology block, the best in Nigeria. It is properly equipped to cater to every area of clinical medicine. He did not stop there. He started building our own university teaching hospital in Ezinnachi” he said.
He added, “we have spent over N3 billion to build the best university teaching hospital in Nigeria.”
I know you are tempted to shout wow too. Jonathan did. His forecasts that the teaching hospital will revolutionise health care in the African continent is proof.
“I have confidence in the Chancellor of Gregory University, Professor Greg Ibe when it comes to the provision of quality health care to the people.This 1000 bed teaching hospital is a very ambitious project that will change the face of health care not just in Nigeria but Africa,” he said.
There is no doubt that as Prof Ibe continues to perfect the structural masterpiece known as Gregory University Uturu, all in a calculated bid to transform the institution into the emerging hub of entrepreneurial education, visitors to the host town of Amaokwe Achara Uturu will continue departing the academic city with the signature expression of wow!
Frontline activist, Comrade Patrick Eholor has dragged the Management of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital(UBTH) the chairman of presidential task force on Covid-19 Mr Boss Mustapha, who also double as Secretary General of the Federation, the Federal Minister of Health and Polaris Bank Plc, to the Federal High Court, Abuja, over alleged extortion and outright corruptive practices as regards Covid-19 testing procedure.
Comrade Patrick Eholor
Patriot Eholor who is also the Founder of One Love Foundation, in the writ of summons filed before abuse, Federal High Court, narrated his ordeal at the hands of management of UBTH, and avered that he was compelled to cough out thirty thousand Naira for the test and another illegal three hundred and seventy five Naira for what he said the hospital referred to as administrative costs.
Barr Samuel Ihensekhien
Further in what he filed before the Abuja Federal High Court, he narrated that in strict compliance with acquisition of Covid-19 certification before travelling abroad last year, he went to UBTH to undertake the compulsory test only to be asked to pay thirty thousand Naira as covid-19 test cost.
SGF Boss Mustapha
On getting to the cash registry of UBTH, he was told that there is a service charge for additional three hundred and seventy five Naira, and that in the circumstances above, he had no option than to instruct accordingly and vide the legal team of his foundation, One Love Foundation, to approach the Abuja Federal High Court to determine the legality for the outrageous payment for Covid-19 test and illegal extra excessive charges for same, which ought to be free in line with National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) guidelines in this regard.
Minister of Health Dr Osagie Ehanire
Speaking to newsmen last night, Head of Legal Team, Samuel Ihensekhien, (an activist and fiery human rights lawyer) stated that the case and all evidence attached to the writ of summons is water tight and this case will expose the fraud as regards illegal charges for Covid-19 testing all over Nigeria.
As at press time on 3rd March 2021, the case has yet to be assigned to any Federal High Court Judge in this regard.
A new strain of coronavirus first detected in Nigeria has made its way into the UK, with 32 cases reported so far. A prominent expert has warned the variant may prove resistant to the vaccines.
Coronavirus has undergone yet another mutation and this one has made its way on to UK soil from Nigeria.
There are growing fears that the variant will evade vaccine antibodies after it was revealed it contains the 484K mutation to the spike protein. This mutation has been found in the South Africa and Brazil variants – and is believed to help the disease evade the antibodies which attempt to stop it.
Dr Simon Clarke, an associate professor of cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, sounded the alarm bell about the new strain’s potential resistance to current vaccines.
He told The Guardian: “We don’t yet know how well this [new] variant will spread, but if it is successful it can be presumed that immunity from any vaccine or previous infection will be blunted.
“I think that until we know more about these variants, any variants which carry E484K should be subject to surge testing as it seems to confer resistance to immunity, however that is generated.”
So far, University of Edinburgh researchers have reportedly found 32 cases of the B1525 variant in Britain.
More than 100 cases of the B1525 variant have been found around the world, according to the University of Edinburgh team.
Following the second wave of coronavirus infection across the country, the Abia State government has placed a five thousand naira(5,000) fine on any resident of the state without a face mask.
The State Government also disclosed that it has banned cultural festivals till further notice and warned that it would hold responsible the Traditional Ruler of any community that contravenes the government’s directive in preventing the COVID-19 infections.
The Government in a press release signed by the Secretary to the Abia State Government and Chairman Inter Ministerial Committee on COVID-19, Barrister Chris Ezem and made available to newsmen, on Saturday, in Umuahia, directed that all hotels and hospitality places paste a “No face mask No entry” banner at their entrances and maintain all COVID-19 protocols.
It added that any contravention will attract N100,000.00 fine including sealing off of the premises.
The Government’s statement said, “All churches are now to operate on a 50-person basis per stream and must conclude all religious activities by 2pm on Sundays and Saturdays whichever is applicable. All weekly activities must be limited to 2 activities only. Whilst night vigil and crusades are totally banned. All religious places of worship must paste at its entrances “No face mask No entry”.
“All eateries are now to operate on a take away basis and must maintain all covid-19 protocols at their premises. They must place at their entrance “No face mask No entry” sign. They must ensure the availability of running water and sanitizers at their premises. Any contravention will attract a fine of N100,000.00 and the premises will be sealed off.
“All COVID-19 market Committees are to be revived and must ensure total compliance with all COVID-19 protocols at all markets failing which the Government will not hesitate to shut down such a market and proscribe its Union.
“All burials and weddings must be limited to 50 persons only and maintain all COVID-19 protocols. Traditional rulers of communities must liaise with the Local Government Chairman of the relevant Local Government and set up an enforcement Committee made up of people of integrity to ensure compliance. The enforcement Committee is at liberty to stop any burial or wedding in contravention.
“All public places, ministries and parastatals must paste at their entrances “No face mask No entry” sign.
All schools, private and public, must observe all COVID-19 protocols.
“Community testing and sample collection is ongoing in all the 17 LGA’s. The State medical protocol team are in place and our molecular lab is 24 hours in operation to run samples”.
The State Government, however, urged all Abians to continue to observe and comply with all COVID-19 protocols and take these directives seriously.
The Federal Government on Friday said it is contemplating a targeted lockdown in Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna and major cities in Nigeria as the number of COVID-19 cases soars in the West African nation.
Although recoveries from the disease in the country have crossed 100,000, the Nigerian government is worried that with more than 127,000 infections, many citizens are not adhering to the safety protocols.
“Certainly, even if we are going to have a lockdown, it is not going to be a total lockdown. A couple of weeks back, we analysed the data and we identified the hotspot local government areas,” the National Incident Manager of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Dr Mukhtar Muhammad, said.
“Mostly, the areas affected are the urban local governments in Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna, Plateau. Even in most other states, it is the urban areas that are involved. So, if we are going to have any restrictions, it will be in these areas.
“The urban areas are the most affected and that is why we have these superspreaders and that is where we are going to target. We have analysed that and we are advising the states based on the data that these are the focused areas where these transmissions are more than the others.”
41 Million More Doses
The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire on Thursday noted that the country has secured additional 41 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines as the fight to tame the disease gathers steam.
However, the date of the vaccine’s delivery into the country remains unknown as vaccine manufacturers struggle to meet global demand in time.
“We do not have an exact date,” Dr Ehanire said on Channels Television’s Politics Today. “The date it comes out depends on when the manufacturers are able to deliver, and that is not something that any country can enforce at this time.”
