Negative Impacts Of Child Wasting To Nigeria’s Economy

 By Carl Umegboro

The National Stadium, now Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja has a 60,000-sitting capacity. Whenever the facility is filled to full capacity by people, it is not only easily noticed but referred to or tagged ‘ocean of humanity’ which is just a one-off fill.

Now, imagine how it will look like where the filled stadium is reproduced to 50 in number to accommodate three million people. It means that a large expanse of land in Abuja will have to go, to adequately contain the number. This scenario, I believe will assist greatly to humanely feel the estimated three million children in Nigeria according to statistics facing acute wasting.

GCFR: Nigeria’s Highest National Honour Under A Threat

 By Carl Umegboro

The ‘Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic’ (GCFR) is the highest national honorary grant in the country exclusively conferred on presidents and former heads of state.

The last time I checked, only the names of former heads of state, former presidents and the incumbent namely: Shehu Shagari, Abdulsalami Abubakar, Ibrahim Babangida, Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan, Chief Moshood Abiola, Muhammadu Buhari, respectively are in the list of recipients of GCFR. All these figures by their positions as former heads of state or former presidents are all members of the Council of State with the incumbent president and vice president as the Council chairman and Deputy Chairman respectively.

Reversing Learning Crises In the North-East

 By Carl Umegboro

The synergy of the federal and state governments, humanitarian societies, international agencies and non-government organisations through the Global Partnership for Education Accelerated Funding projects in the North-East is worthwhile. The thoughtful interventions followed critical situations vis-à-vis education of children in public schools resulting firstly from destroyed schools by bandits in the region coupled with other uncommon challenges militating against good education outcomes in the North-East namely; Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states. Data shows that about 1.9 million boys, girls and youths affected by conflict are without access to basic quality education in the region. This is inclusive of 56 per cent of all displaced children who are out of school.

In an overview of education in Nigeria, Chief Education, UNICEF Nigeria, Dr. Saadhna Panday-Soobrayan underlined that Nigeria and especially the North-East are experiencing a severe learning crisis though access to education is improving, but remains inequitable, especially in the North-East. UNICEF submitted that poverty rate has dramatically increased in low-and lower middle-income countries from post-COVID accelerated results to 48 per cent while post-COVID simulation stands at 65 per cent, and agitatedly summed that three out of every four children in Nigeria cannot read with meaning or solve simple mathematics problems. This seriously calls for concern.

Appraising Nigeria’s Healthcare Delivery

By Carl Umegboro 

In a civilized climate, this wouldn’t stir interest but in Nigeria, where public officeholders largely work contrary to public interest, it should. Recently, the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, underwent a leg surgery in a hospital in home-country. It was a departure from the flawed status quo. Over the years, at any slight ailment, people in authority fly abroad with public funds, which chiefly accounts why healthcare centres are left in decay. Osinbajo literally displayed leadership acumen. 

The message is simple – a prudent leader can’t live foreign, abandoning the led to their fate in home facilities. The action is a template that must be sustained for a turnaround. Government is about the people. This accounts why Section 14 (2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, explicitly provides; “It is hereby, accordingly declared that (b) … the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.” 

Nigeria: INEC And Burden Of Neutrality

 By Carl Umegboro

Recently, the chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu reiterated his commitment to give the country a credible, free-and-fair elections in the forthcoming polls, and emphatically assured of neutrality to all the political parties. However, the pledge is not different from all the ones made during the previous elections that were marred by intimidations and bias.

INEC Chairman, Yakubu 

 

Most of the time, people talk the talk but renege to walk the talk. For instance, the crisis rocking the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) presently is traceable to infidelity, repudiating pledges and agreements. So, it is becoming a ‘model’ in the political terrain that words and pledges do not matter. To some politicians, integrity means nothing, and that has been the root-cause of the country’s problems.

The Implications Of Buhari’s Absence

By Carl Umegboro

President Muhammadu Buhari officially embarked, at first instance, on a ten-day official leave and on its expiration, sought an extension on medical grounds. According to information from the Presidency, Buhari sought for an extension to enable him complete series of tests and medications as prescribed by his United Kingdom-based physicians. Since then, all manner of ugly insinuations and assumptions have trailed the development with a good number of people calling for Buhari to address the nation to rebut sundry allegations. Even in the United Kingdom, a group of Nigerians besieged the Nigerian High Commission seeking to know the health status of the President.

*Buhari 

Even after the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, tried to douse tension by assuring the nation of the president’s good health, it sounded as if water was poured on a stone. The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), who stands to personally benefit more if the President is permanently incapacitated as alleged, as provided for in Section 146 of 1999 Constitution, Federal Republic of Nigeria, confidently testified that Buhari was hale and hearty. His explanations were    regarded by some people as the recitation of Hollywood scripts.

Some claimed that as the President of the country, and by implication, a public officer, his whereabouts and health status must always be public knowledge. Incidentally, the President formally took some days from his statutory annual vacation as stipulated by the laws of the country. To start with, official leave implies a temporary disengagement from official duties and position. It, therefore, connotes that President Buhari is at the moment officially not the head of government by virtue of his letter to the National Assembly for temporary disengagement from duty as the President. 

Rivers Rerun And Do-Or-Die Politics

By Carl Umegboro
The treasure base of the nation, Rivers will on December 10 host the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in respect of rerun elections into the State and National Assemblies  which were earlier quashed by the court. Major contenders are the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP).   As the election day approaches, tension, threats of brimstone; of bury alive, of slay and dry, of cultists’ annihilations and others have continued to gather momentum.

Rotimi Amaechi and Nyesom Wike 

Luckily, Ondo State governorship election held on Saturday,  November 26 has set a positive precedent that elections can actually be conducted in a civilized manner instead of opting up for the bizarre. The electorate, candidates and the electoral officials proved to the world that Nigeria is no longer a nascent democracy. The upcoming election in Rivers must not witness further bloodshed or grotesquely odd remarks. Violence, forcefulness or belligerence is never a characteristic of democracy as peddled by some folks in some quarters. Succinctly, it is intellectual pursuit of power, and definably, the act of selecting the representatives of the people in a free and fair manner purposely for good governance.

Today, the two arrowheads: Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi and the State Governor, Nyesom Wike are believably akin to then Iraq and Iran, and the grassroots parochially fight for them crossing boundaries and cutting down barriers, but unknown to them, by the indisputable feature of our politics, may be disappointed to witness the two leaders of their respective political parties eventually in one party dining together in the nearest future. All it may take is just a closed-door meeting in a five star hotel in the United Kingdom or United States of America with a few other bigwigs. At that point, those that grossly bullied opponents, beheaded fellow indigenes, killed political opponents, kidnapped or committed other atrocities of intimidation will be left alone. The deeds by then had been done and cannot be reversed. Or, do you assume Amaechi and Wike will remain in opposing political parties for life? Absolutely not. Rivers people should emulate the people of Ondo State and maintain amity and decorum. Whoever wins is a victory for democracy and for the state. Enough of political extremism, mediocrity, terrorization, hedonism and debauchery!

At the moment, the state is administratively under Gov. Wike’s control, and therefore, should as the political leader proactively douse all the political tensions in the state. Politics is not a do-or-die affair and political statements must reflect maturity, decency and administrative know-hows. What is vital is to conduct a free and fair election. No political party ever emerged both a winner and loser at the same time and any democracy must be characterized by victory and defeat.

The finest priority any selfless leader could set in motion is to ensure that the will of the people takes superiority in sync with Section 14 (2) (b) of the 1999 Nigeria’s Constitution which provides that “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government”. Hence, any government that creates unwarranted scenes that are inconsistent is anti-people, anti-democracy and an agent of destruction.