The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has called on the federal government to beam its searchlight on British America Tobacco Nigeria (BATN) engagements with government agencies to determine if its interactions undermine the country in any way.
The British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN) office complex in Ikoyi, Lagos
The ERA/FoEN call comes in the wake of The Guardian of London report on August 18, 2017 titled “How British American Tobacco exploited war zones to sell cigarettes” which exposed how BAT exploited unstable and unregulated environments especially in war-ravaged African countries to market its products, among a host of other business activities.
BAT was accused of paying militias instead of taxes to governments, introducing illegally huge amounts of money into war-ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo for fraudulent transactions, collaborating with rebel groups to conduct business, and providing firearms to its employees, among others, while it still claims to adhere to the highest business and ethical standards.
Paul Hopkins, a whistleblower and former soldier in the Irish Army’s Special Forces unit, revealed in the report that he was required on several occasions to take millions of dollars in cash into the DRC, destined for the town of Auzi in the northeast, and unnamed on maps.
The report is coming on the heels of the alleged bribes paid by BAT officials in East Africa which elicited an ongoing official investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).
In a statement issued in Lagos, ERA/FoEN said that the weight of The Guardian report and the bribe scandal should compel the Nigerian government to critically examine what BAT is doing in Nigeria.
ERA/FoEN Deputy Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, said: “The flurry of reports on BAT corrupt practices confirms our belief that the company is involved in behind-the-scene activities that undermine governments and promote lethal products. The expose add to a plethora of infractions in the public domain, including spurious lawsuits and threats to African countries that have advanced on the path of life-saving laws. How much of these infractions from BAT can we take?”
Oluwafemi explained that the Nigerian government must now toe the path of reason by going beyond BAT Nigeria invitation to tell all it knows about the over N30 trillion missing revenue within the import and export value chain, to other possible infractions such as alleged undue benefits the company has secured over the years, and identifying agents it used to secure such unmerited privileges.
“In as much as we want the UK government to investigate the allegations of corruption against BAT across Africa, the fact that the company views the Nigerian market as one it must stranglehold is enough for the Nigerian government to look into its activities, and so-called Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) that have been used to hoodwink the public.
“That BATN has consistently sought government endorsement through awards like the Quality Management System certificate conferred on it by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) recently further convinces us that something is going on behind the scenes.”
The ERA/FoEN boss stressed that, starting with the earth-shaking BBC expose by Hopkins in 2015 which only had a list of few African countries, the list of countries on the continent where BAT has its corrupt tentacles deeply thrust has grown to include Sudan, Somalia and DRC.
He added: “We cannot rule out the possibility that Nigeria with a huge market potential for cigarettes will be an exception.”
Commending the federal government’s planned enforcement of nine provisions of the National Tobacco Control (NTC) Act that do not require regulations, Oluwafemi advocated the fast-tracking of the full implementation of the law as one of the sure ways of checking the excesses of tobacco entities operating in the country.
The Ogun State Government has taken steps to enforce compliance to environmental laws by embarking on inspection tour to industries towards ensuring they put in place necessary environment-friendly equipment including functional Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) to recycle waste water.
Ogun State Commissioner for Environment, Bolaji Oyeleye
Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Bolaji Oyeleye, who made this known recently through his media aide, Mrs. Nofisat Alapoti, while inspecting industries in Igbesa and Ota axis of the state, affirmed that government would not allow waste water from industries to continue to pose hazards to the health of its citizens.
The Commissioner, who was represented by the Team Head, Special Task Force on Environment, Alhaji Oyesiku Amosun, said the inspection was carried out to ascertain the level of compliance as well as to checkmate illegal operations, noted that ETP was necessary as it ensures waste water does not get to the public, warning that any industry without the plant risked government’s sanctions.
“We have the mandate to shut down any industry in the State that violate the environmental law, and now we have taken it upon ourselves to educate them to ensure compliance,” he said.
Meanwhile, the state government has sealed off a confectionery factory at Ota area of the state for not complying with the state environmental regulation before commencing production.
World leaders, water experts, development professionals and CEOs will meet in Stockholm, Sweden from Sunday, August 27 to Friday, September 1, 2017 for the annual World Water Week, where they will discuss the world’s growing water challenges and how to meet them.
Stockholm, Sweden
The 2017 World Water Week will be held under the theme “Water and waste: reduce and reuse”, which resonates with an increasing number of people around the world.
A growing world population and more unpredictable weather patterns will increase uncertainty around the availability and quality of water. It has been felt, for example, through a prolonged drought in California, in unusually high temperatures and drought in southern Europe, and in a devastating and deadly lack of rain in the Horn of Africa. Participants at World Water Week will focus special attention on how to mitigate the growing water uncertainty in many parts of the world, discussing how we can develop and sustain both technologies and behaviour that helps us thrive in an increasingly water scarce future.
One key objective of World Water Week is to track water in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Each year at the Week, decision-makers will have the opportunity to take stock of water’s role in the implementation of the water-related SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement, with the aim of ensuring water is part of the solutions.
At the 2017 World Water Week, today’s complex water challenges will be addressed by some 3,000 participants from nearly than 130 countries, representing governments, the private sector, multilateral organisations, civil society and academia. Speakers at the opening session on Monday, August 28 include Peter Thomson, President of the United Nations General Assembly; Kevin Rudd, Former Prime Minister of Australia and Chair of Sanitation and Water for All; Karolina Skog, Minister of Environment, Sweden; Karin Wanngård, Mayor of Stockholm; Christer Fuglesang, Astronaut and Member of the Sweden’s Royal Academy of Science; and the 2017 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate, Stephen McCaffrey. The event will be livestreamed.
According to the organisers of the event, water is key to a range of issues that will shape the world in the decades to come. They will be discussed in-depth during World Water Week via the underlisted topics:
Water and climate
Climate change is to a large extent water change. Water disasters account for more than 90 per cent of the natural disasters in the world and climate-driven water hazards, water scarcity and variability pose significant risks to all economic activity, such as food and energy production, manufacturing and infrastructure development, as well as political stability. This is also true for high income countries. Resilience to climate change requires adaptive water management and robust water infrastructure
Sustainable Development Goals
Nearly all the sustainable development goals will require water to be achieved, and implementation will need to be integrated and coordinated. Water can help to facilitate this. For example, energy and food security, as well as economic growth and urbanisation (SDGs 2, 7, 8, and 11) are directly dependent on the availability of freshwater resources.
Water as connector between the SDGs and the Paris Agreement
In the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the water and sanitation SDG (Goal 6) links across all the other 16 Goals with a great number of water related targets in the overall Agenda; making water a key underlying factor and entry point for the successful implementation of the 2030 Agenda. For the Paris Agreement, most of the countries who submitted their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), prioritised water in their adaptation chapters, before agriculture and health. This positions water as a priority for national policy, programme implementation and funding.
Drinking water and sanitation
The global water and sanitation crisis is mainly rooted in poverty, power and inequality, not in physical water scarcity. It is, first and foremost, a crisis of governance. Poor resources management, corruption, lack of appropriate institutions, bureaucratic inertia, and insufficient capacity lie in many places behind the lack of sustainability of services, which also undermine the arrival of new investments. Better water governance is needed for enhancing sustainability of services and attracting more investments into the sector.
Water security
To manage the global rise in demand for water and to increase water productivity, incentives for using water more effectively are necessary. Water needs to be given its true value for production purposes in the energy, industry and agriculture sectors.
Water and food/nutrition
Although prevalence is declining, an estimated 800 million people are still undernourished. A worrying opposite trend is a rapid growth of overeating: well over two billion are now overweight, obese or are negatively affected by diets that are less healthy. This kind of New Normal and mal-development is a global phenomenon with the most rapid increase among young people, and notable also among the poor.
Innovative financing and green bonds
A great deal of (sustainable and climate smart) finance will be needed for both supplying water and treating waste water, but these investments to increase resilience to climate change will be much cheaper than the emergency responses which a future changed climate will require in terms of food security and human health. An investment in climate-proof infrastructure today will be offset by a future reduced need for emergency response measures to counter floods and droughts.
Water cooperation
Development needs cooperation. Cooperation over transboundary waters would spur regional development, improve resilience to climate change, and decrease the risk of geopolitical hostility. The political aspects of transboundary cooperation cannot be neglected if real progress is to be made.
Water integrity
Corruption is one of the most serious challenges to sustainable management of water resources management and provision of water services. It reduces economic growth, discourages investment, increases the services delivery costs, increases health risks and robs poor people of their livelihoods and access to water.
On pricing of water and valuing water
Water needs to be better valued. Some parts of this value can easily be reflected in a price, others cannot. Therefore, water pricing needs to be complemented with other types of policy instruments (such as laws, public awareness raising, or standards). Especially, we need to make sure that basic water services are affordable also to the poorest people, as per the human right to water and sanitation, and that water continues to keep ecosystems healthy.
Water and migration
Increasingly, researchers and policymakers are seeking to explain migration and refugee flows in terms of water scarcity – often perpetuated by climate change. The interlinkages between water challenges and climate change manifested in the form of, for example, increased variability and uncertainty, are not the main causes of large-scale population migration. Rather, they should be considered as push factor multipliers. Social, economic, and political factors will also affect the vulnerability or resilience of communities.
Water and faith
Water has profound symbolic meaning in many religious and local traditions and water stress is particularly acute in many parts of the world in which faith is a central aspect of individual and community identity. Water governance and development are not only about policies and investments but rooted in behaviour change and cultural values. In that respect, the role of Faith Based Organisations (FBOs) becomes crucial given their presence and influence in local communities.
Pharmaceuticals and water
Active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are micro-pollutants, and are of growing concern around the globe. Manufactured to be stable enough to reach and interact with the relevant organ, many pharmaceuticals are not easily biodegradable and remain in the environment for considerable periods of time.
During World Water Week, Stockholm Water Prize will be awarded to Professor Stephen McCaffrey, who receives the 2017 Prize for his unparalleled contribution to the evolution and progressive realisation of international water law. The Prize ceremony will take place on Wednesday, August 30 at Stockholm’s City Hall, where Stephen McCaffrey will receive the Prize from H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf, patron of Stockholm Water Prize.
The winner or winners of Stockholm Junior Water Prize will be announced on Tuesday, August 29. The final welcomes 64 winners of the national competitions in 33 countries. The winner(s) will receive the prize from H.R.H Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden during a ceremony at Grand Hotel in Stockholm.
A water institute, the SIWI works to improve the way freshwater resources are governed. By combining its areas of expertise with its unique convening power, SIWI influences decision-makers, facilitates dialogue and builds knowledge in water issues, thereby contributing to a just, prosperous and sustainable future for all.
The plan to take total control of Nigeria’s food system is moving rapidly on the genetically modified organisms (GMO) highway, the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) has alleged. According to the organisation, the list of GMOs being pushed in Nigeria includes beans, maize and cotton.
Yellow GMO cassava
The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is said to have recently teamed up with ETHZ laboratories of Zurich Switzerland to apply to carry out confined field trial in Nigeria of cassava genetically modified to “obtain storage roots with lower post-harvest physiological degradation after harvest (thanks to pruning) without any loss of the nutritious starch.”
The HOMEF, along with 87 other civil society organisations (CSOs) said to be representing over five million Nigerians, has sent an objection to the application submitted to the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA).
IITA’s application is to conduct “confined” field trials of the cassava genetically modified using a new gene silencing technology that has never been tested before, says HOMEF, pointing out that the IITA has admitted that such an approval has not been given for this GMO cassava anywhere in any “jurisdiction” in the world.
According to Nnimmo Bassey, the HOMEF Director, “The IITA has been a respected institution in Nigeria and Africa on whom farmers depend for good quality and safe crops. Now they have decided to drive on the GMO road, Nigerian and African agriculture face a mortal danger. If NBMA approves this application, we can as well say good bye to food safety in Nigeria.”
Bassey adds, “Even if the IITA presents the Frankenstein cassava as a crop for the production of biofuel and not food, there is no way to stop our farmers from planting the GMO cassava for food. We call on the NBMA to do the needful and reject this application outright. We don’t need GMO cassava. We don’t need GMOs.”
Reacting to the multi-front attack of GMO promoters in Africa, AFSA, the pan-African civil society platform championing food sovereignty in Africa, “calls for an immediate ban on the importation into South Africa of Monsanto’s high-risk second-generation gene-silencing genetically modified (GM) maize destined for human consumption. AFSA rejects and condemns US corporation Monsanto’s plan to exploit millions of Africans as unwitting human guinea pigs for their latest genetic engineering experiment. AFSA also condemns the IITA field trial application in Nigeria using this same risky technology to produce GM cassava for the agro-fuels industry.”
AFSA adds, “These GM applications target staple foods of maize and cassava, eaten by many millions of Africans every day. Scientists have reported that the untested gene-silencing effect is able to cross over into mammals and humans, and affect their genetic makeup with unknown potential negative consequences, and have called for long-term animal testing and stronger regulation before this goes ahead.”
Bassey notes: “IITA has a long romance with cassava. In 2006, the institution issued a statement stating that from their research, for the Nigerian Government to achieve 10 percent ethanol for fuel the country would need to produce about 7 billion kilograms of cassava annually. How would that quantity of cassava be produced without taking farmers off the food production line to start producing food for machines? How would this sort of egregious non-food production be carried out without land grabbing and displacement of poor farmers?
“HOMEF and all the organisations objecting to the application for confined trials of the novel cassava GMO agree with AFSA and demand that the National Biosafety Management Agency should throw out the application and advise them to carry out the test in Switzerland where it was developed.”
“If IITA is tired of serving the needs of Nigeria and Africans as they have done in the past, they may as well take their business elsewhere. How can we ever trust them any longer with this extremely dangerous path they are taking?” asks Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, Convener of Nigerians against GMOs.
The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC) Joint Venture has announced commencement of production at Gbaran-Ubie Phase 2, a key project in the Niger Delta that the organisation says will help to boost gas supply to the domestic market and maintain supply to the export market.
Osagie Okunbor, Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC) and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria
Gbaran-Ubie Phase 2 follows the success of the first phase of the Gbaran-Ubie integrated oil and gas development, which was commissioned in June 2010. Peak production at Gbaran-Ubie Phase 2 is expected in 2019 with approximately 175,000 barrels of oil equivalent (kboe) per day. A breakdown of this peak period production is approximately 864 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (MMscf/d) and 26,000 barrels of condensate per day.
“The latest development at Gbaran-Ubie is a powerful statement on the continuing commitment of SPDC and our Joint Venture partners to harness Nigeria’s oil and gas resources for the benefit of the country and stakeholders,” said Osagie Okunbor, SPDC Managing Director and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria. “The project was delivered safely through an integrated team with a significant engagement and empowerment of community service providers and Nigerian companies.”
Eighteen wells have been drilled and a new pipeline constructed between Kolo Creek and Soku, which connects the existing Gbaran-Ubie Central Processing Facility (CPF) to the Soku Non-Associated Gas (NAG) plant. First gas flowed from the wells in March 2016 with the facilities coming on stream in July 2017.
Peter Costello, VP Nigeria and Gabon, said: “This is exciting news for Nigeria as it signals Shell’s continued strategy of deploying investment and expertise in our areas of strength. Our aim is to continue to explore areas of partnership in Nigeria where the right conditions exist and where we can add best value.”
Gbaran-Ubie Phase 2 will help to process the condensate from Kolo Creek, Gbaran, Koroama and Epu fields, thereby assisting in reducing the volume of flaring from SPDC operations. The project has contributed to economic development in the Niger Delta and assisted the local community and Nigerian companies.
During construction, members of the community and local sub-contractors provided goods and services in line with the provisions of a Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU). Training was also provided to the community in pipeline maintenance, scaffolding, welding and piping fabrication.
SPDC is the operator of a joint venture (the SPDC JV) involving the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC,) SPDC, Total E&P Nigeria Ltd and ENI subsidiary Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited.
In move towards attaining self-sufficiency in sugar production through the government’s backward integration policy, the Dangote Group, on Wednesday, August 23, 2017 in Minna, Niger State, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the state government for the establishment of a $450 million state-of–art and fully integrated sugar complex.
L-R: Ag. Group Managing Director, Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, Engr. Abdullahi Sule; Chairman, Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, Aliko Dangote; Niger State Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello; and Niger State Deputy Governor, Ahmed Muhammad Kesto, at the MoU signing ceremony between Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc and Niger State Government on Sugar Project in Niger State, at Government House, Minna, on Wednesday, August 23 , 2017
On completion, the project will, according to the President of the Group, Aliko Dangote, generate over 15,000 jobs in the state and bring about a complete economic turn-around for the state.
The $450 million pact, which was signed in the Government House, will see the company producing raw sugarcane on 16,000 hectares of land at Lavun Local Government through an out-grower scheme.
The company, which is currently operating out-grower scheme in rice production in a number of states, is said to have Africa’s largest sugar refinery in Lagos and a sugar cane plantation in Numan, Adamawa State.
Mr. Dangote said his investment was informed by his company’s firm belief in the potentials of the Nigerian economy, adding that the new outlay would add value and create jobs for Nigerians.
He commended the state governor, Alh. Abubakar Sani Bello, for his foresight and efforts to woo investors to Niger State, saying: “The Dangote’s Integrated Sugar Project in Niger State will also include the establishment of integrated sugar mills, generate power, produce molasses, ethanol fuel, biomass and produce animal feeds.”
In his remarks, Governor Bello said the deal would revolutionise agriculture in his state and Nigeria. Expressing joy that the MoU was signed during his own administration, he described Dangote as the liberator of the Nigerian economy and a dependable partner.
The Governor then urged Dangote Group to explore other investment opportunities available in the state, just as he announced that the state was opened for multi-sectoral investments.
A representative of the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Alhaji Aminu Bisala, described Dangote as the biggest private sector supporter of the Nigerian economy, and Federal Government policies.
He said the Federal Government was comfortable with the numerous investments efforts of the Dangote Group.
Also speaking, Chairman of the Niger State Traditional Council Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Abubakar Yahyah, said he was elated about the huge investment coming to the state, while praying God to bless the Dangote Group more.
Last week, the conglomerate sponsored an investment summit in the state, which was attended by former Presidents Abdulsalami Abubakar, Olusegun Obasanjo and the then Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, who described the private sector as key to the country’s economic development.
Group Managing Director of Dangote Sugar Plc, Abdullahi Sule, stated that the MoU would be a game changer for Niger State economy and Nigeria as a whole.
He said the integrated sugar mills would have the capacity to produce 160,000MT of raw sugar, pointing out that has been in the fore front of support for government industrialisation programmes through backward integration policy in agriculture.
According to him, the Dangote Sugar Refinery is developing a sugar backward integration plan through the production of 1.5MT/PA in ten years in: Nasarawa, Adamawa, Kogi, Kwara, Taraba and Niger states respectively.
The Group’s Executive Director Stakeholders’ Management and Corporate Communication, Ahmed Mansur, had also announced that the Group was investing over $1 billion in the agricultural sector in the country, specifically in rice, sugar, tomato and dairy productions.
Niger State Commissioner for Investment, Commerce and Industry, Rahmatu Muhammad Yar’Adua, said that the deal with Dangote Group would help grow the agricultural sector and create direct and indirect jobs in the state.
It will be recalled that the Group’s foray into sugar business began in 1981. It has reportedly injected over $104million into the Savannah Sugar Company Limited it acquired from government in 2003. Savannah Sugar has so far this year produced 20,000MT of raw sugar from its plantation.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) is implementing the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Global Environment Facility (GEF) Least Developed Countries Development Funds (LCDF) project titled “Enhancing Resilience of Vulnerable Coastal Areas and Communities to Climate Change in the Republic of The Gambia”. The objective of the project is to reduce Gambia’s vulnerability to sea-level rise and associated impacts of climate change by improving coastal defenses and enhancing adaptive capacities of coastal communities.
Hatab Camara in second year mangrove plantation
The effect and impact of salt intrusion as a result of climate change is serious and continue to affect livelihood support systems of shoreline communities, making them vulnerable to poverty, hunger and food insecurity. In some of these communities, mangroves and other forest species are dying at an alarming rate making access to fuel wood and aquatic species such as fishes and crabs become very difficult to get.
It is rooted in the belief that environmental problems can only be addressed adequately if local communities affected are involved in solving or minimising the trend, by undertaking activities which can make a difference in their livelihoods and the environment.
The alternative livelihood component of this project is striving to ease climate stress in affected local coastal communities whose farmlands and rice fields are affected by the phenomenon of climate change. It is from this back drop that the project embarked on a massive mangrove planting in West Coast, Lower River and North Bank regions in an effort to regenerate the lost coastline mangrove and vegetation cover within these localities.
Marking the annual planting exercise recently in the Kiang West District village of Kantong-Kunda, in Lower River Region, natives of the surrounding local communities from women to men, girls to boys and even the old joined the project and NEA staffers in what has been described by many as the successful massive tree regeneration ever staged this year.
Some members of the local community
According to the project’s mangrove restoration expert, Hatab Camara, mangroves are environmental indicators and serve as a carbon sink, and therefore play a pivotal role in harnessing and conserving aquatic life cycles and protecting the environment from depletion. This makes it more a reason why the project is projecting to plant over four million propagules this year throughout the mangrove regeneration project sites in the said three regions, he disclosed out.
He therefore called on the local communities to take ownership of the restoration programme and jealously protect and guard the new plants against intrusion from animal and man, particularly fishermen. Happily pointing at the already grown mangroves that were planted two and three years ago respectively, Camara reiterated the fact that “No Tree-No life” warning that the destiny of our tomorrow`s environment lies in our hands today.
After a thorough survey of all the affected areas within the project spheres in the three regions, Camara unveiled that an area of over 400 hectares has been identified for restoration and over four million propagules were collected for the 2017 planting season.
According to some of the villagers who spoke to this reporter including Bakebba Ceesay and Molifa Ceesay, the project through its mangrove restoration programme has come to give life to not only the populace of the local community, but has assured the environmental future of their generations not yet born. As a token of appreciation, the village elders thanked the UNDP, GEF NEA implemented four-year project for foresight in restoring their shoreline mangrove vegetation, and further described the project as a success story.
I am always a fighter for the weak and a voice for the voiceless. I want you all to join me. Cancer may have hit someone that you know, your dad, your mum, friend, sister or brother, who knows the next person.
A radiotherapy machine
Recently, I went to the National Hospital in Abuja for an LOC meeting and, after the meeting, I went straight to the oncology ward to see a senior friend, who is an oncologist. After the meeting with the senior friend, on my way out, Kelechi Glory Obioma, a student nurse, called me to greet a cervical cancer patient.
As a psychologist, I quickly engaged her; I tried everything possible to get this amazing woman to receive a dose of psychotherapy (psychological support, trying to make her smile). It didn’t work. She was in pain! She has been bleeding for months. She has been taking chemotherapy! She has been off and on the oncology ward.
She needs radiotherapy.
She was booked for radiotherapy at the National Hospital Abuja; she was on the machine when the radiotherapy machine broke down. She later travelled to the Ahmadu Bello Teaching Hospital, Zaria for radiotherapy. On arrival, the machine broke down. They told her that they would call her when the machine is back.
Few weeks later, the machine was fixed. Off course, she planned to travel back to Zaria, unfortunately, she needed to wait for another extra 12 weeks before it gets to her turn. Why? Several cancer patients were already waiting for the same machine. Some of the cancer patients came from Port Harcourt, Maiduguri, Talata Mafara in Zamfara State, Oba in Anambra State, Kwara and others.
As at August, 18, 2017, there is only one/two or no single radiotherapy machine that is owned by the Nigerian government that is working. The only machine that is working is privately owned in Lagos. The very old EKO Hospital. Well, thanks to EKO Hospital. I have seen so many cancer patients with their millions of naira to receive care, but the cancer treatment machines are down. Oh God. What have cancer patients done wrong?
Nigerians who present cancer of any form are clearly on their own. Why? Our government does not care. They are not interested in you. They can afford the care abroad. This is the rational for over 70% of Nigerians living with cancer die in less than five years (in my estimation). Currently, I work with over 28 breast cancer patients and survivors. In the last one month, I have lost one. Calculate this.
It is a shame that we cannot fix a core oncology care. Any top politician who gets some headache, he or she get on a British Airways to London or get on Lufthansa to United States. They don’t go to India; India is for the boys and girls. There is an urgent need to fix medical infrastructures in Nigeria if we desire to save lives and our economy. Investing in healthcare is the greatest business. Only healthy people can work in other sectors.
For instance, in 2013 alone, India granted medical visas to 40,000 patients and medical dependents in Nigeria. As a nation, Nigeria is losing millions of dollars and national reputation to medical tourism. Nigerians are now traveling to Ghana for radiotherapy treatment. Do you know that the radiotherapy machine in Ghana and many other African countries were set-up by Nigerian radiation oncologists? Well, Ghana is now the new India; Ghana is now the destination for medical tourism.
Few months ago, it took three to seven days to get a medical visa to India. Today, it takes three to four weeks and, sometimes, a rejection. Where is the hope?
We live in a country where millions of dollars is stolen and sometimes recovered. Can we use the recovered money to fix cancer treatment machine? Fix Nigeria’s medical infrastructures. It is only healthy people that can build a better economy, it is only healthy people that can secure Nigeria and otherwise. WHO IARC recommended one radiotherapy machine for 1,000,000 people, invariably; we need 200 machines for a population of over 180 million. Currently, we have only seven7 centres. The entire seven centres are not working properly. 1 to 2 centres work a week on and months off.
Every year Nigerian doctors are leaving Nigeria, because of the frustration in the healthcare sector. We cannot grow any sector, if we don’t grow the healthcare sector. A farmer cannot farm if he is ill, an engineer cannot fix power if he is ill and there is not doctor or machine to treat him or her. Almost all the cancer survivors that I know received their treatment abroad.
My message is simple!
The federal and state governments of Nigeria should make cancer control a national health priority. For a country of over 160 million to be having just one/two (or no) single radiotherapy machine is the worst form of health injustice and inhuman act. If truly health is a human right, then let’s give cancer patients the right to survive.
By Runcie C. W. Chidebe (Cancer Control Advocate; @runciecwc)
President/CEO of Worldstage Group, Mr. Segun Adeleye, convener of the World Stage Economic Summitc2017, has charged Nigerians and business owners within the country to embrace innovation in order to achieve economic development.
L-R: Ogundeji R K., Deputy Director, FIIRO; Segun Adeleye, President, World Stage Limited; Barrister Sunday Oduntan, ED Research and Advocacy, ANED; Dr Abimbola Adegboye, Deputy Director, NAFDAC; Mr Soji Adeleye, CEO, Alfe City Institution; and Dr Ayodele Shittu, University of Lagos, at the World Stage Economic Summit 2017 held at the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Wednesday, August, 23, 2017
According to him, diversification into non-oil sectors may not be enough to sustain the nation’s economic development without adapting new ways of doing things. In his words, “Nigeria is projected to be the third most populous country behind India and China by 2050, any diversification now without innovation by businesses and government may be tantamount to running on the same spot.”
Presenting his introductory address at the summit, Mr. Adeleye explained that the theme “Transforming Business and Economy through Innovation” was inspired through a new thinking.
He said: “The reality today is that we have an economy where the majority is disenfranchised and trapped in irrelevance. Yet we are at a time in history of information explosion when nothing is hidden about where countries are and where they want to be in the future.
“While we are still lamenting the lost opportunity to have developed with our oil wealth in the past, we can see the future unfolding before us, just as how the internal combustion engine is projected to die and the oil business, the mainstay of our economy is to become obsolete in the very near future.”
He added: “If we all know the shape the future is taking, we as a nation cannot afford to be stranded with costly obsolete technology or waste valuable time before changing direction, unless we want to remain the dump site of the future.
“With the calls for Nigeria to diversify its economy from oil after several missed opportunities in six decades, the new question begging for answer, is how fast and far can diversification solve economic problems in the short, medium and long terms?
“We should not make the mistake to think that because the people in government are educated and well-travelled, they will be conversant with the shape of things to come and pursue the right policies in infrastructure development, education, smart grid, clean energy among others. Sometimes, we have to question our sensitivity, sanity and care for fellow human beings and our country.”
Mr. Adeleye noted that so much has been read about the support for SMEs or MSMEs by the government from the federal to the local government level, yet in reality they don’t exist.
“I will pulse for you to sear your mind for few seconds; where are the so-much-talked-about SMEs that are supposed to be creating millions of job? I personally believe that policies to support entrepreneurs should be such that anyone that has made an attempt at doing anything at all rather than roaming the street looking for unexciting jobs must get one form of support from the government or the established businesses in the private sector, ” he stated, adding:
“The private sector here is as culpable as the government. You know our big corporate businesses have insatiable appetite for foreign products and services and if they must patronize the small local ones at all, they will offer to pay ridiculous prices that they cannot get anywhere in the world. Beggars have no choice. It’s either they take it or die. With this corporate terrorism, it’s not surprising that we have hardly seen any small enterprise that survived and grow in our country like the inspiring cases of Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Tweeter and recently Uber in the United States.
He said: “We hold it as a duty in this forum and any similar ones to scream until those concerned will hear us. We don’t have any other choice anyway, because it’s about our wellbeing as a people, it’s about our survival, and it’s about the future of our children.”
Media personality, Funmi Iyanda, will be on stage at Kachette 347 Old St, London EC1V 9LP on Sunday, August 27, 2017 for Oya Chronicles: In Conversation With My Mother.
Funmi Iyanda
The enchanting one night event of spoken word, dance, art and music will run from 6pm to 10pm.
In Conversation With My Mother is the physical embodiment of the literary piece of the same title written by Iyanda.
The haunting piece of literature promotes dialogue as a form of healing, bridging the space between the writer and her mother.
Oya Chronicles cleverly incorporates dance and voice acting to recreate this conversation, transporting it from page to stage, universalising its importance in the process.
What begins as a dialogue between mother and daughter emerges as a timeless, ageless, and genderless conversation between two humans, each longingly searching for each other, extending their hands through eternity, reaching for love and healing, but mostly, for each other.
Kachette in London will witness a dance performance, the auction of a painting for charity, a live vinyl mixer, and a concluding spoken word poetry performance.
Iyanda is a Nigerian media entrepreneur with a long-standing record of connecting great people and ideas to diverse audiences.
She is recognised by the World Economic Forum (WEF) as a young global leader and by the BBC as one of the Women to Watch in its 100 Women.
Oya Chronicles is a rare opportunity to take part in the auction of the painting titled And Freud Said He Didn’t Know and the unique experience of witnessing Iyanda talk on stage.
