26012020 - How bad an example was set in Zamfara

PAGE 4—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JANUARY 26, 2020
*FASHINA’S BURIAL: From left :Barr. Adetunji Fashina, Dr. Oladipo Fashina, Mrs.
Adejoke Fagbohun (nee Fashina), Mrs. Aderounke Elegbede (nee Fashina), Mrs. Yetunde
Arebi (nee Fashina), Deputy Women Editor Vanguard Newspapers, during the Order of
Funeral Service for Mr Emmanuel Adewunmi Adeyinka Ayinla Fashina, held at Cathedral
Church of St. Jude Ebute-Metta, Lagos.
NIGER: Bandits on the rampage; kidnap, rape,
kill – Senator Musa
By Henry Umoru
FOLLOWING alleged
fresh attacks on his constituents
yesterday by armed
bandits, Chairman, Senate
Services Committee,
Senator Mohammed Sani
Musa, All Progressives Congress,
APC, Niger East, has
appealed to President Muhammadu
Buhari, the state
governor and Service Chiefs
to, as a matter of urgency,
come to the aid of his people.
In a statement, Musa said
armed bandits launched
what he described as a successful
mayhem in five
different communities of Shiroro
local government on
Friday night and into the early
hours of yesterday, saying
that there was however no
security presence in the area.
According to him, innocent
families in Kudodo, Galapai,
Dnakpa; Makera and
Dnalagwa were attacked,
raped, kidnapped, displaced,
killed and community
members straddled in a
state of despair.
The lawmaker said,
“Armed bandits successfully
attacked in five different
communities of Galapai,
Dnakpa; Makera and
Dnalagwa in Shiroro local
government this morning
and no security was there for
rescue.
“Innocent families have
been displaced, killed, raped,
kidnapped and community
members straddled in a state
of despair. As the attacks continued,
more villagers in my
constituency are awaiting
their fate as no sign of succour
comes their way.
“ It is confirmed that the
bandits are attacking all
through the night to this afternoon
and most communities
are in grave danger, as
bandits have plagued most
local governments of Niger
East for over four months
now.
“Please: I want to again
wish to appeal to Mr President,
the Commander-in-
Chief of the armed forces,
President Muhammadu Buhari,
to come to the aid of my
people. This is not the first
time I am making this kind
of passionate appeal but not
much has been done to address
the situation. I pray that
his Excellency would hear my
appeal this time and use his
power in this regard.
“The havoc wreaked by
bandits on my people in the
past few months is immeasurable
and the pains indescribable.
“It is truly a sad situation
that has continued to pull
tears to my eyes seeing my
people being put through
such a torturous and inhumane
treatment in the hand
of a godless people supposed
to give all concerned cause
to worry.
“For this unwarranted situation
I had to cut short my
trip and return this morning
after I received the report of
fresh attacks on five communities
in Shiroro local government
area, which include
Zongoro, Kwaki, Magami,
Masuku and Maguga as well
as other communities in
Munya local government
area. The village Head of
Masuku was killed and his
More debt accumulated under Buhari
than in 40 years before 2015 – Prof. Anya
P
By Olayinka Ajayi
ioneer Chairman of the
Nigeria Economic
Summit Group, Prof. Anya O.
Anya, yesterday, said that the
Federal Government has accumulated
debt of N14 trillion
in four years than in the
40 years before 2015.
Speaking at a programme
tagged: ‘The Nigerian Economic
Outlook, NECO 2020:
Nigeria’s Fragile Economy;
Developing Strategies for
Exponential Growth,’ organized
by the Men Ministries
of the Assembly of God
Church, Surulere, Lagos,
Anya said: “The national debt
was approximately N12 trillion
in 2015. By the end of
2019, the debt crept up to approximately
N26 trillion. In
other words, in four years, an
additional N14 trillion had
been added to the debt stock.
Kaduna confirms case of Lassa fever
By Ben Agande, Kaduna
Kaduna State govern
ment has confirmed a
case of Lassa fever in Chukun
local government area of the
state.
In a statement, the state
Commissioner for Health, Dr
Amina Mohammed Baloni,
said the patient was being
treated at the designated Infectious
Disease Control Centre.
This came at a time the
Nigerian Army Reference
Hospital Kaduna was on
high alert and restricted access
to civilian patients except
family members of service
“What is disturbing in this
scenario is the fact that much
of the loan was not for capital
projects that can earn returns
but recurrent expenditure
such as paying salaries.
What is more disturbing is the
fact that some experts have
drawn attention that we may
be spending up to 60 percent
of our revenue to service debts,
that is, to pay interest not to
pay down the loan! When and
from what resources do we expect
to repay the loan/”
On unemployment, Anya
said: “The level of unemployment
is said to be a little over
23 percent, by the Nigerian
Bureau of Statistics. Some
experts estimate the unemployment
level to be over 30
percent and if you factor in
the high level of underemployment,
it rate can be as
high as 50 percent. This obviously
hides the contours of a
•FASHINA’S BURIAL: From left: Ms. Dolapo Majekodunmi, Mrs. Charity Eziegbo, Mrs.
Sekinat Ajani, Mrs. Yetunde Arebi, Mrs. Funmi Ajumobi and Dr. Omolola Omoteso, also
during Mr Fashina’s burial.
son abducted in the attacks
which has lasted since 14th
of January. I have also gathered
that not less than 30 people
have so far been abducted
by the bandits.”
hidden time bomb which
could detonate in youthful
rebellion with consequent violence
and potential upheaval
verging on anarchy overtaking
the nation in the nearest
future.
“Up until the immediate
past civil war years, the poverty
level in Nigeria was below
30 percent. Presently it is
reckoned to be above 70 percent
level. Apart from the insurrection
of the North East,
which expectedly has devastated
vast areas of that region,
the North West, the political
advantaged area of the
Northern Nigeria posts the
highest level of poverty. It is
not surprising that it is being
ravaged by banditry and
armed robbers in the midst
of an illegal mining syndicate
that pursues a thriving and
profitable mining of gold in
the midst of the emerging
chaos”.
Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun, flanked by the Commissioner for Finance
and Chief Economic Adviser, Mr. Dapo Okubadejo; Commissioner of Commerce
and Industry, Mrs. Kikelomo Longe; SSA on Commerce, Ms. Sola Arobieke; Consultant on
Media, Mr. Lanre Alfred; Pradeep Pursnani, CEO of Konexa; Simon Meier, Senior Vice
President, Partnerships and Impact of Konexa at an investment meeting in UK.
personnel.
According to the Commissioner,
tests confirmed
that the patient is a 36-yearold
male.
She assured that the State
Ministry of Health had supplied
the “Infectious Diseases
Control Centre with necessary
commodities and our
health personnel are ready to
manage any case that may
arise.”
‘’The Epidemiology Unit is
monitoring the situation
closely, and all health facilities
are on alert for prompt
referral of suspected cases,”
Mohammed-Baloni said.
The Commissioner reiterated
the ministry’s appeal
to the public “to maintain the
highest standard of individual
hygiene and to report any
suspected cases promptly to
the nearest health facility.
“Suspected cases should be
reported to the State Epidemiology
Unit on
08036045755 or
08027396344 or contact the
nearest Local Government
Health Authority official.”
The statement further stated
that all government
health facilities were on alert
to look out for cases of the
disease.
1,292 students gets Speaker’s N8.2m
scholarship in Katsina
By Bashir Bello
ot fewer than 1,292 stu
Ndents have benefited
from N8.2 million scholarship
disbursed by the Speaker
of Katsina State House of
Assembly, Tasi’u Musa
Maigari.
Maigari, who distributed
the scholarships to the students
in his Zango Constituency,
said the gesture was
borne out of desire to support
the students to attain their
educational pursuits.
He urged the students to
rededicate themselves to their
studies in order to excel.
The Speaker further assured
of his continuous support
to his constituents for the
development and advancement
of the area and the state
in general.
FG acquires six training
airplanes for NCAT
By Dirisu Yakubu
As part of its commit
ment to implement the
national aviation roadmap,
the President Muhammadu
Buhari-led government has
acquired six new state-of- theart
aircraft for the Nigerian
College of Aviation Technology,
NCAT, Zaria.
Speaking while inspecting
the aircraft in Austria, Aviation
Minister, Hadi Sirika,
Governor Aminu Bello
Masari said the gesture was
a welcome development.
Masari commended the
Speaker’s effort and called
on others to emulate the gesture.
He said government had
made education its priority
and, for years, had gotten
huge shares in the state budget
saying this manifested in
the excellent performance of
final year students’ in the
state.
Breakdown of the scholarship
shows that 13 master’s
degree students were supported
with N15,000 each, 317
undergraduates got N10,000
each, 2 HND received
N7,000 each, 792 NCE, 13
ND and 113 OND as well as
42 health-related courses students
got N5,000 each.
said the new training airplanes
were to be delivered
within 3 weeks.
“In our effort to catch up
with technology in line with
our approved roadmap, we
have acquired six new aircraft
for training at NCAT Zaria”,
he said.
“Our efforts has earned
Zaria the status of ICAO regional
training center of excellence.”
Lagos to reward 20 best teachers with
vehicles
By Adesina Wahab and
Glory Olojo
wenty outstanding teach
Ters in public schools in
Lagos State will be acknowledged
and rewarded with
brand new vehicle each as
part of efforts to motivate
teachers in the state.
The State Governor, Mr
Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said
this on Saturday during the
formal launch and graduation
ceremony of EKOEX-
CEL teachers professional
development and training
programme in Ikeja, Lagos.
The governor, who promised
that the selection process
would be transparent, said
there was nothing too big to
motivate teachers with and
that their reward should not
be left to be got in heaven only.
He said :”The teacher’s reward
will not be when they
retire alone, we want you to
be examples of such reward.
I am going to identify the best
teachers in all the 20 LG’As
after going through a transparent
process of selection.
Then we are going to provide
vehicles for each of those
teachers who excel to motivate
them.”
While reiterating the commitment
of his administration
to the revamp and promotion
of education in the
state, Sanwo-Olu opined that
EKOEXCEL was designed to
drive excellence in learning
and redefine education to
meet up with best global practices,
and noted that his administration
was poised to
improve education, review
school curriculum and upgrade
infrastructure in the
state.
Prof Aderinto to chair UI’s inaugural
lecture
The Faculty of Social
Sciences, Department
of Sociology, University
of Ibadan will on Thursday
January 30, host the
482nd Faculty of the Social
Sciences Inaugural Lecture,
to be delivered by one of the
institution’s research guru,
Professor Adeyinka Abideen
Aderinto.
The lecture titled; “On the
Fringe of Society” is based
on research work by Professor
Aderinto whose main
area of teaching and research
are Deviance, Social problems
and Criminology at the
University of Ibadan and in
this inaugural lecture he will
discussing the disadvantaged
position of those vulnerable
population in our society.
Professor Aderinto who is
currently the Head, Department
of Sociology, University
of Ibadan is an active researcher
and has been part of
many collaborative research
programmes. He was coordinator
adolescent sexuality
study, social sciences and reproductive
health research
network, funded by the Ford
foundation, Coordinator, strategic
leadership in HIV/
AIDS prevention and control.