Soyinka to Buhari: Make your health status public

Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, on Friday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to make his health status public to Nigerians, saying the President is a public property.

Speaking at a programme in Lagos, Soyinka said “why is the President hiding his state of health? He’s supposed to understand he’s public property. Me, I’m still a private property, that’s why I’m not in Aso Rock.

“Once you are in Aso Rock, or you occupy a similar position, you have a responsibility to come out frankly to your citizens. Guarding your state of health like Donald Trump is guarding his tax returns is not what we expect from a Nigerian President. Let him address the nation and stop all these speculations which create unnecessary political manipulations among other things.”

I do not have $1.2bn in any account – Lai Mohammed

 The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed says the report that he has 1.2 billion dollars (about N400 billion) in his imaginary bank account is “fake and vicious’’.

The minister stated this on Thursday in Ilorin at the Annual National Conference and General Meeting of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) with the theme; “Communicating Values for Development and Sustainability’’.

The minister said that the report was invented by opposition and naysayers to malign him and the government, adding that the alleged fund is about the budget of his ministry for 25 years.

“How else can you explain that people will believe and circulate a fake report that the Minister of Information and Culture that is yours truly has 1.2 billion dollars in his imaginary bank account?

“Let’s examine this for a moment. 1.2 billion dollars is about N400 billion.

“The entire yearly budget of the Ministry of Information and Culture, where I preside, is under 15 billion Naira and these include salaries, overhead and capital projects.

“Assuming, without conceding that the Minister somehow manages to transfer the entire budget into his personal account, it will take 25 years for him to amass N400 billion.

“Yet, this disinformation was lapped up by the public, he said.

The minister said that similar imaginary huge sums of money had been credited to other ministers.

He condemned the ugly trend by opposition, who were inventing the fake and malicious stories using bloggers and some online media to malign government officials.

According to him, the intention of the perpetrators and carriers of the reports are to distract the government to lose focus, but it will not fall to their antics.

The minister said that Public Relations gave him the first break in life being the profession he practiced after his graduation for over 40 years.

Mohammed, a Fellow of the Institute said that the theme of the conference was apt and called on NIPR members to be proactive in the discharge of their duties.

“You must neither be intimidated, cowed nor be overwhelmed by the cynics, you must set your own agenda and daily review such with a view to improving on them.

“You must never lose touch with your traditional constituents. You must understand the tactics of the opposition, which is ambush and irrational,’’ he said.

The minister specifically tasked

government information managers to equip themselves with qualities such as integrity, courage, abnormal capacity for hard work, ingenuity resourcefulness and ability to think out of the box.

The President and Chairman Governing Council of NIPR, Dr Rotimi Oladele said the conference was to deliberate on how the profession could be used to promote communication values for development.

He underscored the need for practitioners to showcase national values and present them to global market.

Oladele commended the minister for the support given to the Institute and for creating time to attend the event.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the minister also inaugurated a new Governing Council for the Institute to run for two years under the leadership of Oladele.

Some of the members of the Council are, former Defence Spokesperson, retired Gen. Chris Olukolade, former Director of Press and Protocol in the Ministry of Information and Culture, Mr Peter Dama and his successor, Mr Timothy Oyedeji.

Others are Mr Wale Adeniyi of Nigeria Customs Service, Alhaji Sule Yau a former Chief Press Secretary to Kano State Government and Alhaja Bola Osifeso.

NAN also reports that 10 members of NIPR were inducted to Fellowship of the Institute.

Police disperse Anti-Zakzaky protesters in Kaduna

 The Police in Kaduna on Thursday, dispersed hundreds on anti-Zakzaky protesters at the Government House Kaduna, leading to several sustaining minor injuries while scampering for safety.

The youth who filed out carrying banners and placards, were mistaken for Shi’ites, loyal to Sheikh Zakzaky and his proscribed group, Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN).

Few minutes after they had converged outside the Government House gate, waiting for an address from the representatives of the Kaduna State Government, anti-riot policemen from the state’s security outfit, Operation Yaki stormed the venue in trucks, firing tear gas, and armed with sticks.

Their presence took the protesters by surprise, because they informed that they had already informed the Police of the planned protest before embarking on it.

After they were identified as anti-Zakzaky, they were allowed to converge few metres from the Government House Gate, displaying their banners and posters.

Addressing the protesters, Comrade Richard Augustine who spoke on behalf of the group, Justice and Peace Development, condemned the calls by the IMN for the release of Zakzaky.

According to him, “our march today is therefore, to demand that El Zakzaky and other IMN extremists arrested for terrorism related cases must be prosecuted. IMN’s foreign sponsors must stop taking Nigeria for granted as we must not join the league of countries whose security agencies know terrorists and still leave them to carry out attacks before executing them to show they are working,” he said.

Speaking further, he condemned what he termed the denigrating of the office of  the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo by IMN. He said “Osinbajo merely stated the fact when he said El Zakzaky remains in detention because there is an appeal against his court ordered release. Those calling for the release of Zakzaky have failed,” he added.

Comrade Augustine said by their protest on Thursday, they have made a strong statement that those pursuing the release of Zakzaky will be faced pound for pound by even bigger anti-Zakzaky protests.

“But unlike them, we would not be asking for the release of extremists, we are rather demanding that all extremists and terrorists should be tried under the stiffest of our laws to serve as deterrence,” he submitted

Buhari to Jonathan: I allow the law to take its course

 The Presidency yesterday denied that President Muhammadu Buhari was harassing members of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s family.

Buhari spoke through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina. He was reacting to the story,  “Buhari’s govt harassing my family, says Jonathan” published in yesterday’s edition of The Nation.

Dr. Jonathan made the allegation in a new book, “Against The Run of Play”, written by the Chairman of ThisDay Editorial Board, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi.

Jonathan was also reported to have criticised the Buhari administration’s style of fighting corruption.

Adesina’s statement reads: “We make bold to state unequivocally that President Buhari harasses nobody; he merely allows the law to take its course.

“For the umpteenth time, we say that anybody without skeleton in his or her cupboard has nothing to fear about the bared fangs of the anti-corruption initiative. Fear belongs only to those who have abused trust while in office.

“Anybody who feels aggrieved is free to approach the courts to seek redress or justice. President Buhari believes in the rule of law and that is why his campaign against corruption is anchored on that plank.

“With regard to President Buhari’s anti-graft style, which the former president deprecates, given the scale of revelations and recoveries so far by the anti-corruption agencies, it is obvious that corruption had an uninhibited course during our recent past.

“In any case, time will give the verdict on whose style of fighting corruption ultimately yielded the most dividends. For now, President Buhari is resolute and single-minded in the fact that his crusade against graft is not targeted at any individual or group.”

Buhari, the statement said, firmly believes that national interest must always be placed above personal interest, no matter who is involved.

To fight malaria, invest in African scientists.

  I lost my best friend to malaria at nine years old. Growing up in Nigeria, it was not uncommon to see loved ones fall ill with the disease, go to their doctor for treatment and continue on with their lives. But for my best friend, the drugs didn’t work.

Her death was a puzzle that motivated me to focus my career on malaria research. Through my studies and work, I’ve learned about one potential cause of my friend’s death, a remaining challenge in the malaria fight today: drug resistance.

Drug resistance occurs when the malaria parasite learns to outsmart our best treatments. We’ve seen its damaging effects before – notably, with chloroquine, the malaria treatment of choice in the 1950s.

Chloroquine use

After heavy chloroquine use across the globe, resistance developed in Southeast Asia, and then spread to nearly all malaria-endemic areas, leading to dramatic increases in malaria deaths.

Now, we again have evidence of drug resistance in Southeast Asia – this time, to artemisinin, our most effective malaria drug. Artemisinin-based treatments – along with mosquito control, new diagnostics and other tools – have transformed the fight against malaria and helped drive a 60 percent reduction in malaria deaths since 2000.

Yet resistance threatens the power of these treatments to save lives in the future. If these parasites move from Asia to Africa, where 90 per cent of malaria deaths occur, we will lose the great gains that have been made in preventing infections and deaths from this disease.

This doesn’t have to happen. As a master’s student at Oxford University and later as a Ph.D student focused on identifying and tracking drug resistance in the laboratory, I have seen the power of scientific research to solve problems.

Through research, we can prepare to monitor, contain and treat artemisinin-resistant malaria.

Cutting-edge surveillance techniques can keep us one step ahead of the parasite. Targeted control programmes using timely data can ensure that effective interventions reach those who need them. Drug discoveries can produce the next class of lifesaving treatments.

Scientists around the world are creating tools to fight malaria on the African continent, but my vision is that these discoveries will be developed in Africa, by Africans.

For example, Nigerian scientists know the problems their country faces and are best positioned to craft solutions. We can lead the fight against drug-resistant malaria where malaria matters most.

Opportunity: This opportunity is personal for me: as a scientist, I would like to return home to Nigeria for work, but for now – unfortunately – the best opportunities for me are in the United Kingdom and this shouldn’t be the case.

To achieve this vision, we must empower scientists across the continent to solve pressing challenges with homegrown, sustainable solutions. This will require key investments and actions from international donors and domestic governments.

First, we need people – more trained researchers to tackle the toughest problems in their own countries. I know the benefits of investing in future scientists because I have experienced them myself.

Scholarship: My scholarship to Oxford University, supported by the ExxonMobil Foundation, allowed me to advance my research skills and knowledge of malaria, leading me on the path to my Ph.D.  Such programmes offer a model for encouraging young Africans to pursue careers in science and equipping them with skills to lead in their countries.

Second, our scientists need tools. Researchers must have the proper equipment – including scientific instruments, laboratory space, and electricity access – to conduct their work.

Donors should prioritize these needs in the grant making process, following the example of investments made in the Kenya Medical Research Institute, home to accredited, state-of-the-art laboratories.

Other countries must also address their gaps in scientific infrastructure, with financial assistance from international groups.

Finally, for these investments to have an impact, countries need to consistently adhere to science-based policies for malaria control.

For drug-resistant malaria, this means national projects to monitor, contain and manage the threat, saving millions of lives from potential treatment failure. African countries can take inspiration from Cambodia’s Village Malaria Workers Programme, which deploys community health workers to provide directly observed screening and treatment for malaria in containment zones, as a government-coordinated strategy to prevent the spread of drug resistance.

My best friend’s death remains a puzzle to me, but this World Malaria Day, I am more confident than ever that African scientists, working in their home countries, can tackle artemisinin resistance. If we make the needed investments, we can ensure that no young child loses their best friend to drug-resistant malaria in the future.

Ify Aniebo is a molecular geneticist, focusing on malaria drug resistance,  at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Corruption: Umar is frustrated — Presidency

ABUJA—The Presidency, last night, rebuffed allegations of selectiveness in the war against corruption made against Muhammadu Buhari’s administration by the erstwhile military governor of Kaduna State, Col. Abubakar Umar, describing him as a frustrated man.

It also said it had become accustomed to a fight back by the elite class.

The Presidency in a statement by a Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media and Publicity), Mallam Garba Shehu, also said none of the elite class fighting back had shown evidence of the selectiveness of the fight against corruption.

He further said President Buhari had not at any time interfered with the prosecution of corruption suspects, even as he said several of those fighting back had at one time or the other benefited from security votes from the office of the National Security Adviser. Mallam Garba was, however, quick to exclude Col. Umar from such beneficiaries.

Col. Umar (retd) had in a statement issued, weekend, flayed the Presidency for directing its anti-corruption war at only the opposition, saying the decision to ignore court orders to release erstwhile NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd(, is inexcusable.

He further said the Buhari administration had in its actions sought to humiliate former President Goodluck Jonathan who he, Umar, praised for his excellent democracy credentials.

Responding, yesterday, Shehu said:  “By now, President Buhari’s administration is quite familiar with the barrage of verbal attacks that have accompanied the administration’s determined war against corruption.

“A number of Nigeria’s elite, uncomfortable with the disruption of business as usual, have fought viciously, usually via the media. However, this comment, coming from Colonel Umar, is highly disappointing, because he is not in a position to label accusations. He should, instead, allow others to do this.

“Curiously, despite the various accusations and media attacks, no one has so far come forth with any evidence of President Buhari’s selectiveness in the war against corruption.

“All the agencies involved are allowed freedom to carry out their responsibilities, without any interference whatsoever from the Presidency.

“If Colonel Umar or anyone else feels that they have any evidence to the contrary, they are encouraged to make this public.

“A number of Nigerian elite have over the years, benefitted from various forms of corruption, including monthly payouts from the office of previous National Security Advisers.

“Let me clarify that this is not in reference to Colonel Umar in particular.

“The Buhari’s administration has offended so many of our greedy elite by putting a stop to this, plugging many of the holes through which our country’s resources, belonging to each and every one of us, were looted by a few.

“Naturally, these elite are frustrated. But we shall not allow them to frustrate the war against corruption.

“The war against corruption is here to stay. As long as President Buhari is in power, Nigerians can be rest assured of that. It will not succumb to media attacks. It will not be deterred by false accusations. It will not be quenched by disgruntled elements.”