DAILY NEWS UPDATE

Ringim in U.S for talks, lecture

Courtesy: Daily Trust Tuesday, 28 June 2011

Inspector-General of Police Hafiz Ringim is in Washington for talks with U.S officials on the current security situation in Nigeria, officials sources said yesterday.

Ringim arrived in Washington on Sunday night on a five-day working visit to the U.S.

“Ringim will meet with FBI officials on Monday and will also hold meetings with State Department officials on issues bothering on security concerns,” said an unnamed official at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington.

Another official said U.S assistance and cooperation was vital to the battle against terrorism in Nigeria.

The visiting Nigeria police chief will also on Thursday in Washington deliver a keynote address on “The Challenge of Police Reform in Africa” at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

According to the organisers of the event, Ringim will “discuss his efforts to turn the continent’s largest police organization into an accountable, professional, publicly-oriented service”.

During a panel discussion, policing experts will assess current U.S efforts to support the development of capable police in Africa, and look at what the U.S. can do to bring more attention and resources to the issue. (NAN)

DAILY NEWS UPDATE

Buhari: Thieving elite as bad as militants

Written by Ibrahim Chonoko, London Wednesday, 29 June 2011

Former head of state and CPC presidential candidate in the last elections Gen. Muhammadu Buhari has said that Nigerian elite who steal public money are as bad as militants who have been destabilizing the country. In an interview with Daily Trust in London, Gen. Buhari grouped light-fingered elite in the same class with Boko Haram dissidents and Niger-Delta militants, saying that they are all destabilizing forces in the country.

“I am concerned about insecurity and destabilizing forces in our country. Anybody who steals public money in all the tiers of government – federal, state and local governments – is destabilizing the country and is as bad as the militants.”

Gen. Buhari blamed the authorities for providing a breeding ground for militants and dissidents by not dealing with issues within the ambit of the law, but expects the populace to be law-abiding.

“The government must do things within the framework of the law and be fair. If it does not, then people will try and look after themselves and this is what is happening now”.

Gen. Buhari said the government should dialogue with the Boko Haram dissidents as it did with the Niger-Delta militants, and rhetorically asked: “who committed more atrocities against the Nigerian state between Boko Haram and the militants?”

He, however, said government had adopted the right approach by asking the police to get to the bottom of the Boko Haram issue, stressing that it was the duty a of the police to tackle such issues within the ambit of the law.

Gen. Buhari and his running mate, Pastor Tunde Bakare spoke at Chatham House, London on the April general elections in Nigeria which the international community has upheld as generally free and fair.

Earlier in the lecture delivered on Monday, Buhari said he will continue to boycott Council of State meeting pending the determination of the petition filed by his party challenging the election of President Goodluck Jonathan. The Council of State meeting is presided over by a sitting president, and attended by all former Heads of State.

Buhari refused to attend the meeting when he challenged the results of the 2003 Presidential Election won by then President Olusegun Obasanjo.

He also expressed hope that the CPC will not have any cause to pursue its petition up to the Supreme Court as he did in the past.

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DAILY NEWS UPDATE

Senate summons security chiefs over Boko Haram

Written by Abdul-Rahman Abubakar Wednesday, 29 June 2011

The Senate yesterday summoned all heads of the security agencies in the country to provide explanation on the recent spate of bomb blasts and killings believed to be perpetrated by members of the Boko Haram sect. Senate resolution followed a motion on the state of insecurity in the country moved by Senator Ita Enang (PDP, Akwa Ibom).

Moving the motion, Enang expressed concern on the deteriorating security situation in the country and the need for government to take urgent steps to address the matter.

After debate on the matter, Senate resolved to instead of setting up an investigative panel on the matter, invite the Inspector General of Police Hafiz Ringim, the Director General of SSS, Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshall Oluseyi Petirin and other service chiefs.

Speaking during the debate, Senate President David Mark said “setting up a committee in my opinion cannot settle this issue. We should invite security chiefs to brief us in closed door. They (Boko Haram) are a small group for now but if the environment is ripe they can cause a lot of inconveniences. “If we don’t nip it in the bud now, it is going to be very expensive and we need to tackle it as quickly as possible.”

In his contribution, Senator Datti Baba Ahmed (CPC, Kaduna North) opposed the motion while insisting that the prayers cannot serve as solution to the problem. He said the Senate lacks adequate information on security to be able to set up a committee that will come up with recommendations that can quell the crisis.

Also speaking, Senator Abdullahi Adamu (PDP, Nasarawa West) said, “what is happening today is not a failure of the police, but a failure of the fabric of governance.” Senate condemned the bomb blasts and all other acts of terrorism in the country and also commiserated with families of victims of the blasts and wished those in the hospitals speedy recovery.

While briefing newsmen on the issue, Senate Majority Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN) said the Senate is yet to fix a date for the security chiefs to appear before the committee of whole Senate.

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STORY OF THE BLIND GIRL

There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind.  She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She told her boyfriend, 'If I could only see the world, I will marry you.'

One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the bandages came off, she was able to see everything, including her boyfriend. He asked her,' Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?' The girl looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was blind. The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her. She hadn't expected that. The thought of looking at them the rest of her life led her to refuse to marry him. Her boyfriend left her in tears and days later wrote a note to her saying: 'Take good care of your eyes, my dear, for before they were yours, they were mine.'

This is how the human brain often works when our status changes. Only a very few remember what life was like before, and who was always by their side in the most painful situations.

Today before you say an unkind word - Think of someone who can't speak.

Before you complain about the taste of your food - Think of someone who has nothing to eat.

Before you complain about your husband or wife - Think of someone who's crying out to GOD for a companion.

Today before you complain about life - Think of someone who went too early to heaven.
Before you complain about your children - Think of someone who desires children but they're barren.

Before you argue about your dirty house someone didn't clean or sweep - Think of the people who are living in the streets.

Before whining about the distance you drive - Think of someone who walks the same distance with their feet.

And when you are tired and complain about your job - Think of the unemployed, the disabled, and those who wish they had your job.

But before you think of pointing the finger or condemning another - Remember that not one of us is without sin and we all answer to one MAKER.

And when depressing thoughts seem to get you down - Put a smile on your face and thank GOD you're alive and still around.

And before you think of signing out, please think of sharing this message with at least ten people.

God Bless you all and have a pleasant day.

Courtesy: Maryam Abdullahi Ako

HEALTH MATTERS

Lemon Kills Cancer Cells

Lemon (Citrus) is a miraculous product that kills cancer cells. It is 10,000 times stronger than chemotherapy.

Why do we not know about that? Because there are laboratories interested in making a synthetic version that will bring them huge profits. You can now help a friend in need by letting him/her know that lemon juice is beneficial in preventing the disease. Its taste is pleasant and it does not produce the horrific effects of chemotherapy. How many people will die while this closely guarded secret is kept, so as not to jeopardize the beneficial multimillionaires large corporations? As you know, the lemon tree is known for its varieties of lemons and limes. You can eat the fruit in different ways: you can eat the pulp, juice press, prepare drinks, sorbets, pastries, etc... It is credited with many virtues, but the most interesting is the effect it produces on cysts and tumors. This plant is a proven remedy against cancers of all types. Some say it is very useful in all variants of cancer. It is considered also as an anti microbial spectrum against bacterial infections and fungi, effective against internal parasites and worms, it regulates blood pressure which is too high and an antidepressant, combats stress and nervous disorders.

The source of this information is fascinating: it comes from one of the largest drug manufacturers in the world, it says that after more than 20 laboratory tests since 1970, the extracts revealed that: It destroys the malignant cells in 12 cancers, including colon, breast, prostate, lung and pancreas ... The compounds of this tree showed 10,000 times better than the product Adriamycin, a drug normally used chemotherapeutic in the world, slowing the growth of cancer cells. And what is even more astonishing: this type of therapy with lemon extract only destroys malignant cancer cells and it does not affect healthy cells.

Poor drainages caused Kano flooding – NEMA

Written by Abdulkadir Badsha Mukhtar Tuesday, 28 June 2011

The recent flooding within and beyond Fagge Local Government area council of Kano State, which claimed six lives, was caused by poor drainages, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has said.

North West Zonal coordinator of NEMA, Mustafa Suleiman, who made this known to Daily Trust yesterday, said the agency is in Kano to offer relief items to the affected persons.

“Just last week we advertised in some radio stations in seven states including Kano for both government and people to start cleaning up drainages,” he said, adding that, “We formally wrote to state governments, including Kano state to prepare for the expected flooding this year.

“I cannot say they ignored our warning or not, but some people used to take things for granted.”

Mustafa said based on their record, seven areas were affected during the flooding which includes “Layin Dabinai, layin Shehu Azare, Layin Kampala, Layin Rasha, Layin Amis and Layin Kabu-Kabu.”

He said all the dead victims were between the age of 2 and 11 years.

He said the NEMA would do everything possible to supplement Kano state government in assisting the victims.

Excerpts from Daily Trust Online

Edited by Kabeer M. Adamu

LET THE TRUTH BE HEARD

ALMAJIRI OR YOUTH CORPERS: WHO SERVED NIGERIA BETTER? - Deadly truth Speaks

by Emeka Enechi on Wednesday, 27 April 2011 at 11:17
Gadafi called them ‘miscreants’. The U.N. called them Libyan rebels. President Jonathan called the Nigerian version ‘miscreants’. I called them Rebels without a cause. Everybody else calls them Almajiri. If your ballots are stolen, and the Police and Courts do nothing, it is legitimate to go violent - like in Libya. NATO is supporting the Libyan miscreants bombing shit out of those that stole their wealth. In Nigeria, we vote for our thieves, our heroes.

Democracies are not won by words but by the blood of martyrs and innocents, because autocrats NEVER give up power easily - the English Civil Wars, French Revolution, American War of Independence – blood, blood, blood – and autocrats always call rebels “miscreants”. In Africa blood still flows. In Kenya 1000 died when Mwai Kibaki tried to cheat Raila Odinga. South Africa, Mozambique, Angola - their paths to democracy all soaked in blood.

Few countries got independence like Nigeria on a platter of Gold. But soon the Gold tarnished and the blood began –Operation Wetie in wild west, Coups, Igbo genocide in the North and Biafra, all because 1964 elections were rigged. In our present Democracy hundreds have died - Ekiti, Ondo, Uyo, Ebonyi? In Jos, they rigged a local Government Election on 28th November 2008. The Almajiri began burning and killing. They fought the police with machetes. The police shot over 400 of them. A cold kind of heroism.

With the Presidential elections the North exploded. The miscreant Almajiri were killing again. They were cursed for “irrational” violence but no one asked why the youth corpers were targeted? I want to change that debate, by asking – the Almajiri and the Youth Corpers, whose actions served Nigerian democracy best?

The Almajiri, uneducated in Western education but schooled in Islamic educationdid something no army of internet warriors could dare. There is an internet group dreaming digital dreams of revolution. The Almajiri did not dream. They acted – with their own electoral revolution. They were the only people, it seems, that understood that defending their vote was a do or die battle and that those who impoverish the people by stealing their wealth deserve to die.

I decided to ask some Almajiris why the Youth Corpers were attacked. The answer revealed a political sophistication many Southerners lack. The youth corpers were easily bought. In a Nigeria were criminality is normal, youth idealism is dead. Corpers were caught thumb printing ballots. In the North, it seemed Southern Corpers clearly showed a preference they were willing to rig against Buhari, because of their Southern support Jonathan.

There is an even more dangerous dimension. Southern Youth Corpers are sent to the North without any orientation to explain the history and values of the place. They come with poor images of Northerners as primitive, dirty, cattle rearers, smelly bunch of megads, etc. The condescension is terrible and the Northerners know it. I have always wondered about the corper whose facebook post is now popular. “This CPC people .. “ it said. In that statement the contempt was clear. SOUTHERN YOUTH CORPERS WERE SERIOUSLY ANTI-CPC. And they did not hide it. 

Southern Youth Corpers can be very visible and disliked in the Muslim Far North for their disregard of and misconceptions of Islam. Southern women youth corpers gallivant about, feeling superior, totally ignorant they are causing offence in manners and clothing and seen as easy whores. They openly show disgust at “smelly” Almajiri children. Just reading the posts of Southerners in Facebook reveal this. The ignorance about Islam; about the fact the Almajiri religious training system is teaching young people respect and kindness to the poor through a rigorous experience of begging, but they also learn Islamic political consciousness. The Southerners also lack a knowledge of the history of the North. The North had City States and empires in the Sahel and trade routes with the Arabs as far back as the 14th Century, long before Portuguese Sailors met Southern primitives at the Atlantic Coast. 

It is these pent up anger against what many Muslim Far Northerners see as contemptuous youth corpers, the resistance to CPC whilst supporting PDP rigging, the rumours that many accepted quick money, made the Youth Corpers partisan in the territory of the “enemy” but they looked down on the "enemy" and thought he could do nothing being so primitive, uneducated, stupid, moo moo, etc. Yes the Corpers were not all exactly "innocent". Stories spread of the money that some took to betray democracy. It was said that in one State, the Governor gave each N30k to thumbprint – and such incidents soiled the names of the innocent Youth Corpers.

But Southerners just saw the death of Youth Corpers. Nobody saw the death of Almajiris - their mothers, somewhere, are crying too. They were defending our democratic rights. Through the night in Bauchi, they battled with machetes against police with guns. Many died fighting for their hero - “Sai Gaskiya” – the man of truth. They struck at those they believed were the agents of the Ruling PDP who had given them no education, no health, no future. They attacked their Emirs, whom they heard were bribed; the Emirs that oppressed them with false interpretations of Islam. They attacked the PDP stalwarts, their agents and the Youth Corpers that sold out. Then the real Miscreants took over to kill and loot. 

I thought about the Almajiri and the Southerners that condemned them. I thought of the day I travelled with a Southerner into a Muslim area and left the car and doors wide open with my computer in the back. The Southerner was shocked. Lock the car she shouted. Look at all those boys, they will steal the computer bag. I smiled and tried to explain to her Southern mind, full of armed robbers and kidnappers, that my computer was as safe as houses. Those dirty boys will protect my bag with their lives.

It seems that Southerners do not really understand Northern concepts of honour and honesty. The Northern Muslim, can kill, yes kill, when his sense of honesty and honour is breached. Arabs have the same sense of blood honour. But what fascinated me most in the choices of the Southerners and the Almajiri, was that given a party of known thieves and two honest men, the Southerners chose the party of thieves whilst the Almajiri were willing to fight and die for two honest men - profound.

It would seem that the Almajiri are no fools. They targeted everything that represented their oppression. They knew that Jonathan was part of that Ruling PDP unlike Southerners who somehow think they voted for Jonathan (a good man) but not PDP (an evil party). What delusion. The Almajiri are far more politically astute. They know we need honesty and truth at the top to save our country – and were prepared to die for it.

As I watched the efforts made during this Governorship polls to be transparent, it occurred to me that the sanity was because of the action of Almajiri rebels. In the tally of the bloody cost of democracy, that was a small price to pay to clean up our democracy.

Nobody planned the Almajiri revolt. They are educated in Islam and know how to use mobile phones. Buhari had no idea. His vehicles were smashed in the mayhem because his convoy did not know of the uprising. Yet our PDP Ruling Oligarchy chose to behave like all autocrats. It was their rigging and bribery that caused the violence, yet they are using the highly compromised media to put the blame on Buhari. But who are to blame? Those that put the Youth Corpers in harm’s way and those who rigged.

I agree that a statue should be erected for Youth Corpers who honestly served democracy? But I also think of the hundreds of Almajiri who died in Jos, Bauchi, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano. And inside me I formed a second statue, in memory of the Almajiri dead, of an Almajiri with a machete held high. And at the base an epitaph:

“I am President Jonathan’s Miscreant
No deadlier than his rascals that rant
My blood has flowered our course
For I am no rebel without a cause”

I could be a Northerner. I could be a Southerner. The Truth has no tribe or religion. The Truth is Neutral. The Truth is Deadly. But the Truth shall set us free.

COMMENTS WILL BE MOST WELCOMED MORE ON SOLUTIONS THAN ON PROBLEMS.

Posted to N.Y.N.A. Facebook Page by ABU GREMA

HEALTH MATTERS

DETOXIFYING THE BODY

What is detoxification?

Detoxification is the body’s natural on-going process of eliminating toxins from the body.

What are toxins?

Toxins are anything that can potentially harm body tissue, including waste products that result from normal cell activity.

What are toxins made of?

Toxins are made up of chemicals that we ingest daily into our system through the food we eat and the water we drink.  They include pesticides, antibiotics and hormones in food additives, heavy metals, pollution and drugs.

What does toxin do to the body?

Excessive toxicity in the body creates serious illnesses like heart disease and diabetes.

How do you detoxify your body?

There are two (2) ways of detoxifying the body; by doing some things that flush out the toxins and; by avoiding things that produce excess toxicity in the body. You flush out the toxins through waste like sweat, faeces and urine,

Detoxification Plan

ü  Do’s

Ø  Walk for at least 15 – 30 minutes every day; twice a or on weekends to burn the excess fats in your body;

Ø  Drink at least two (2) litres of water a day to flush out toxins; drink only purified, filtered or bottled water that is free from chemicals (avoid sachet water popularly  called “pure water”);

Ø  Drink herbal tea especially, green tea (at least 4 cups a day);

Ø  Drink pure natural fruit juice preferably with grated ginger blended together at least once a day;

Ø  Eat food that are rich in nutrients like rice, beans, yams fish, etc. in moderation;

Ø  Eat fruits in abundance, citrus fruits, pawpaw, mangoes, water melon and vegetables like cabbage, carrots, cucumber, spinach, pumpkin and tomatoes several times a week.

ü  Don’t’s

Ø  Avoid overeating; spread your meals to five (5) times a day if you must eat plenty in a day;

Ø  Avoid overeating all wheat, all meat and dairy products (including eggs);

Ø  Avoid eating a lot of salt and any food containing too much salt; like meat pie or fish pie;

Ø  Avoid eating hydrogenated fats, artificial sweeteners, food additives, sugar, spices and dried fruits;

Ø  Avoid going to bed immediately after eating; remain seated for at least an hour or take a short walk to allow the food to digest properly;

Ø  Avoid eating heavy food after 7.00 p.m.; always eat light supper;

Ø  Avoid starving yourself of sleep.  Doze off even if it is for a few minutes whenever you feel sleepy, it will refresh your body.

Extracted from Sunday Trust and edited by:

Kabeer M. Adamu for NYNA BLOG

FOCUS ON AREWA PAST LEADERS AND HEROES

BIOGRAPHY OF ALHAJI SIR AHMADU BELLO, KBE, CON

Alhaji Sir Ahmadu Bello  lived for over 55 years between June 12, 1910 to January 15, 1966. He was a politician, and the first Premier of the Northern Nigeria Region from 1954-1966. He was one of the prominent leaders in Northern Nigeria alongside Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, both of whom where prominent in negotiations about the Region's place in an independent Nigeria. As leader of the Northern People’s Congress (NPC), the party was able to win the 1959 parliamentary elections. However, he was assassinated on January 15, 1966.

Early Life

He was born in Rabah, Sokoto State. He was son of a District Head and heir to the Sokoto Emirate. His great-grandfather was Sultan Bello, the founder of Sokoto and son of the revered Usman Dan Fodio. Alhaji Sir Ahmadu Bello received his education first at the Sokoto Provincial School, the only modern school at the time in the Sokoto Province. He then proceeded to the Katsina Teacher's Training College. After spending five years at Katsina, he was appointed by the Sultan to become a teacher at the Sokoto Middle School, his former school which had undergone rapid transformation. In 1934, he was made the District Head of Rabah, four years later he was promoted and sent to Gusau to become a Divisional Head. In 1938, he made an unsuccessful bid to become the new Sultan of Sokoto. The successful Sultan immediately conferred upon Alhaji Sir Ahmadu Bello the traditional, now honorary, title of Sardauna, and elevated him to the Sokoto Native Authority Council. In 1948, he was offered a scholarship to study local government administration in England. Alhaji Sir Ahmadu Bello took the scholarship sensing he needed to shore up his knowledge about the process of governance.

Politics

After returning from England, he was nominated to represent the province of Sokoto in the regional House of Assembly. As a Member of the Assembly, he was a notable voice for Northern interest and embraced a style of consultation and consensus with the major representatives of the Northern Emirates: Kano, Bornu and Sokoto. In the first elections held in Northern Nigeria in 1952, Alhaji Sir Ahmadu Bello won a seat in the Northern House of Assembly, and became a Member of the Regional Executive Council as Minister of works. Alhaji Sir Ahmadu Bello was successively Minister of Works, Local Government, and of Community Development in the Northern Region of Nigeria.

In 1954, Alhaji Sir Ahmadu Bello became the first Premier of Northern Nigeria. In the 1959 independence elections, he led the NPC to win a plurality of the parliamentary seats. His NPC forged an alliance with Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe’s National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) to form Nigeria's first indigenous Federal Government which led to independence from Britain. In forming the 1960 independence Federal Government of the Nigeria, Alhaji Sir Ahmadu Bello as president of the NPC, chose to remain Premier of Northern Nigeria and devolved the position of Prime Minister of the Federation to the Deputy President of the NPC, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.

Alhaji Sir Ahmadu Bello’s greatest legacy was the modernization and unification of the diverse people of Northern Nigeria. He was assassinated during a 15 January 1966 military coup which toppled Nigeria's post-independence government. He was still serving as Premier of Northern Nigeria at the time.

The Ahmadu Bello University is named after him. His portrait adorns Nigeria's 200 Naira note, and he is survived by three daughters, one of which passed away in 2008.

Extract from Wikipedia, and edited by;

Kabeer M. Adamu for NYNA Arewa

Condemnation of Plateau State crisis and undue killings

Fellow great youths of Arewa under the umbrella of NYNA Arewa (Muryar Talakawa) while I say to you compliments of the season, you may also have been aware of the unrest subsisting in Plateau state, Jos and the environs, which was rekindled by dual bomb explosions experienced a day preceding Christmas which also has continued to create restlessness to the our Muslim and Christian brothers and sisters.

On behalf of the National Executive of NYNA Arewa Muryar Talakawa and its entire members, we condemn in strong terms and in its entirety these Bomb explosions, the consequent killings and the wastage of lives and properties of innocent inhabitants of the affected areas.

While NYNA Arewa Muryar Talakawa condoles the families, victims and all and sundry over these calamities, we also wish to call on the immediate intervention of the Federal Government of Nigeria as a way of finding everlasting solutions to this recurring problems.

Fellow youths of Arewa, it is pertinent to note that we are one entity, irrespective of our religious beliefs, tribal or social differences, ethnic or sects differences, we are one and indeed this is the dream of our founding fathers, and it shall be realized, let us always remember that TOLERANCE AND PATIENCE have always been the watch words with which our founding fathers lived with.

We pray Almighty Allah to afford us all the ability to tolerate one another, the ability to understand one another and above all the strength to love one another.

ALLAH YA HADAKANMU AREWA MUSO JUNA!!

Barr. Abdulqadir Alhaji Sani, Nat'l Sec. Gen.

For: NYNA Arewa [U.S./Nigeria]" Muryar Talakawa"

WE ARE ADDRESSING HND/DEGREE DICHOTOMY – NBTE EXEC. SEC.

Weekly Trust - Saturday, 18 June 2011

Weekly Trust: One of the challenges in education generally is the dearth of latest books; this challenge is even more pronounced when it comes to technical education. As a rector how did you cope and now as the Executive Secretary of the NBTE, how are you bracing up to that challenge?

Dr. Masa’ud Adamu Kazaure : As rector, we contained this through e-learning through accessing the best library in the world when you have internet connectivity. I established the e-library. It is a massive structure. We did a lot, even last week; I was called to attend a send-off during which the library was named after me. At the NBTE, through collaboration with the UNESCO, the NBTE has written many books, which had been distributed not only here in Nigeria, but are being utilized in West Africa. In fact, those books had been interpreted into French for both Anglophone and Francophone countries. Over 250 books had been written by the NBTE through the collaboration and they have been adjudged to be of high quality. These books are in CDs and have been distributed to institutions all over the country and uploaded onto our website. We are working very seriously to address the dearth of these books.

How much contribution did our local lectures make to the production of these books?

Most of the books were produced by most of the lecturers in our polytechnics, especially those in Kaduna Polytechnic and Yaba College of Technology.  We call them and they work in collaboration with the consultants from the UNESCO. We have guidelines of writing these e-books. If you go to the internet, you will see them.

Nigeria expected industrial boom some three decades ago where polytechnic graduates were supposed to be in the driver’s seat, but as you can see now, instead we have industrial doom. Can the NBTE be of any use under the current circumstances?

One thing that is killing the polytechnics is the Bsc-HND dichotomy. The way the society values the holders of Degree is different from that of HND. Most parents do not want their children to do HND programmes because of the kind of career in place. Luckily, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has lifted the barrier. What is left now is the review of scheme of service so that we get HND holders t o aspire to the highest level of their careers. That is the main problem we are facing. Graduates of the polytechnics are supposed to drive Nigeria’s technological advancement, because they are the ones who do the handwork. The non-availability of latest equipment is another challenge in the institutions. We are very lucky the recent presidential initiative has led to the move to buy the equipment for about 51 federal and state polytechnics. This was as a result of the review of the curriculum we have done, which we have sent to the institutions. In the process of implementation of the curriculum, we realized that the equipment we have in these institutions would not match the new curriculum. That was why the president approved the procurement of the equipment that would match the new curriculum. We travelled with some rector to Israel to inspect some of these equipment and they have started arriving.

With the dichotomy now removed, what is the NBTE doing to ensure polytechnic graduates meet up?

The whole thing is based on competence, whether you are a HND or degree holder. What matters is competence. That is what we are supposed to be looking at. The running about I have been doing around the country is to get industries into the recent NBTE initiative of national qualification framework. Competence is the crux of the matter. How you contribute to the society, and not the certificate.  In Nigeria, people are certificate crazy.

What role are lecturers playing in providing instructional materials?

Many of our staff and lecturers have attended seminars and workshops not only in Nigeria, but also in other parts of the continent in an effort to do instructional materials.

So many polytechnics are running the same programmes; don’t you think this is counter-productive given that higher institutions are supposed to be relevant to their host communities?

This is one of the main things that are disturbing the NBTE. In collaboration with the Education Trust Fund (ETF), and the World Bank, we are trying to establish centres of excellence. Instead of every institution doing the same programmes across the board, why can’t we identify specialty in one particular institution. For instance, if the Kaduna Polytechnic excels in some programmes, you should identify them and make them centres of excellence and become point of reference. The ETF is doing special intervention what is called high impact intervention in the sense that considerable amount of fund is injected into a particular institution per zone. Just recently, the Kaduna Polytechnic was given 1,000,000,000 naira. It is for them to identify their deficiencies and capabilities so that they can upgrade what they have with the aim of becoming centres of excellence.

Kaduna Polytechnic is an institution that set the pace and standard in polytechnic education In Nigeria; how comfortable are you now that it has been converted into a university?

We have not lost Kaduna Polytechnic.  It has not been converted yet, there is a panel, which the government has set, and it has submitted its report. Even if it is going to be converted into university, we are trying to tailor it to be awarding degrees that are peculiar to our polytechnic set up. We do not want it to lose focus of mandates of the polytechnics. We are more practically oriented than university education.

In essence, you want the NBTE to keep hold of the Kaduna Polytechnic should it become a university?

The law does not allow us when it has become a university to go and accredit it, but what we want is a kind of dual role to the delivery of education whereby the entry qualification would be national diploma - a student with diploma from other polytechnics can come and enrol for B. Ed Technical Education. That is what we are proposing. National diploma is the purview of the NBTE, so if it is converted into a university, it would go out of that purview.

As the regulatory body, why did the crisis in Kaduna Polytechnic drag on for a record time of six months before it partially re-opened last week?

Since the day the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics declared industrial dispute, we tried to solve the problem. We met in my office severally and tried to convince them. We had to meet the minister who set up a visitation panel. Members of the panel came, did a lot of investigations, and wrote their report with over 130 recommendations. A white paper committee has been set up by the former Minister of Education; the white paper is before the Federal Executive Council. It is what we are waiting for now. The government is trying to resolve the problem and we are trying to convince the union to call off the strike. Only last week, the Governing Council decided to open the institution. Students have started registration. The lecturers should realise that the way the students are roaming the streets for six months now is not good. Really, the lecturers have a case however they should give the government a chance so that justice can be done. The recommendations made are favourable to the union.

The NBTE is to liaise with industries to source for and disburse funds, with many industries closed, what is the situation like currently?

That is disturbing to us. When I met with some industrialists in Lagos last week, the essence is to have a kind of industry-institution relationship so that whenever we are producing a curriculum for any programme, it would include industry-based needs. It is pointless to produce graduates that industries do not want. They would help and participate in the writing of the curriculum. The NBTE is right now spear-heading the National Vocational Qualification Programme. It is a framework looking at competences and skills instead of paper qualifications. For instance, the informal sector, they have the artisans on the streets; they are people who did not go to school. The roadside mechanic would repair your car and you would take it away without any fear that it would break down, that is knowledge. How do you quantify that contribution to the economy? We want to bring out a structure where such people would fit in. we want to qualify such people and put them in scheme of things so that everybody would be well graded. It is a global practice.

How are you encouraging inventions between polytechnics and industries?

We do not have the industries, because many of them had closed shop. In Kano, it is a very sorry state. However, I was impressed in Port Harcourt, because we got good contributions there. If you don’t have them in place, there is no way you can get collaboration. We are encouraging existing companies to be talking to institutions so that they can believe in what we are doing.  We have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Board for Technology Incubation; this is with the view of grabbing the inventions and incubating them so that we can grow entrepreneurs from institutions.

What about linkages with foreign institutions?

This is institution based. Most of the institutions gave collaboration with institutions outside the country for staff development and academic linkages and exchanges involving staff and students.

By Amina Alhassan from Kaduna

ADAMAWA HOSPITALS ARE SICK

Weekly Trust - Saturday, 18 June 2011 

It is an inarguable fact that besides ill-health situation, nothing can be more worrisome than lack of medical facilities. Ask those who have suffered ill health and have no choice than to go to government public hospitals and feel what their response would sound like.

In Adamawa, some hospitals are seriously sick like visitors-patients. There you can see the crumbling health facilities, the pathetic situation, endemic problems faced by patients and hospital staff alike. The various complaints may likely force one to ask whether those in the helm of affairs are aware of the situation on the ground.

In some hospitals visited which include Numan General Hospital, one of the oldest hospitals in the state, the facilities fit a pre-mortuary standard if such exist, custom-made for those awaiting their inevitable death.

However, not only is there dearth of personnel, in these hospitals but essentials drugs and other surgical gloves are lacking in virtually all the hospitals when Weekly Trust visited. Not to talk of inadequate beds plus the mattresses that are old.

For instance, in Numan General Hospital, relatives nursing their sick ones have to stay with them to fan them and attend to their menial needs as well.

One of the relations spoken to lamented that the wards remain without power or water supply, ‘’ It’s an unfortunate situation that we have to contend with. As relations, we have to hang around with our sick ones to fan them because no power and even the electric fan are grossly inadequate,’’ said the relative.

Weekly Trust also gathered in the hospital that sometimes, one nurse attends to over 30 patients without the support of a single ward attendant or cleaner.

‘’You see I can confidently tell you that shifts and day-offs do not necessarily apply in this hospital because the staff strength is grossly inadequate,’’ one of the medical staff has revealed.

The sources further explained that for numerous out-patients seek medical attention, especially from villages, there are only four doctors to attend to them.

Already, the problem of insufficient water has since created a miasma of malodorous pungency that fumed the nose whenever one approaches the wards.

If you are not satisfied with the pathetic situation, just enter the maternity ward and see wonders. In this maternity ward, new born babies are exposed to contagious diseases borne by grown-ups. The toilets are even worse to see; no water nor disinfectants and very few attendants to man them.

However, investigations by Weekly Trust have revealed that  the contract for the renovation of this dilapidated hospital was awarded to a son of the soil, Lawrence Ngballe in 2004.

‘’The contract went bad, only recently we are trying to review the contract from the initial sum of N275m, because it will require some architectural changes. In addition to that, early this year we have assessed what the hospital will need structurally. The government is going to improve the buildings; we have awarded the contract to Lawrence Ngballe. I can assure you that the next few months if you go back to Numan you will see changes in the hospital,’’ a top government official had said.

The story seems to be the same in most of the hospital. It is common scene to see the nurses gisting or knitting under the shed of trees in most of them.

As in Numan, the Mubi General Hospital also lacks  power and adequate water supply. They depend on water hawkers who are everywhere in the hospital.

Weekly Trust gathered that the Pharmaceutical department operates at the mercy of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO).

Like in other local government areas, in front of the hospitals are private Chemists, Pharmacy or medicine stores that do brisk business since patients have no choice but to buy most of the drugs from these shops.

In the home town of the state governor, Mayo-Balwa, though a new hospital is being built, the cottage hospital is seriously sick as the absence of wire-gauzes on the windows to at least limit the number of insects flying into this mosquito infested area is another problem of concern.

The hospital is blessed with surplus broken glasses and window-panes; patients lie unprotected from the dusty winds and rain splashes.

When contacted, the state commissioner for Health, Dr Lawan Hamidu confirmed to newsmen that there was general shortage of nurses and doctors in the state health facilities but was quick to say that the problem is not only limited to Adamawa state.

“It is a situation that affects the whole health system in the federation. For us here in Adamawa state, we are doing our best really to improve. People should appreciate the efforts being made by this administration to improve health care services.’’

“All of us know what the health services were and what is available today. This government embarked on the construction of a brand new diagnostic centre which is obtained in everywhere you go in this part of the world. We are also building new  General Hospitals in Mayo Balwa, one being renovated at Borrong and the other in Michika, while the cottage hospital in Hong has been upgraded to a General hospital,’’ he said.

While the health commissioner kept assuring that all will be well, people of Jada and its environs hope that serious attention will be given to their only hospital yet to be completed for nearly ten years.

By Ibrahim Abdul’Aziz from Yola