Category: Editorial

Nigeria and the rush for football restart

Correspondents

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is getting anxious to join the ‘craze’ of football restart all over the world. Webinar has been organized by the sports ministry and some other stakeholders in the industry on the possible ways to restart. It is a fact that the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) has no title sponsor and it is not on television, so we wonder why people are eager to have it back simply because European clubs are coming back. The authorities must get assurances from health officials to provide enough…

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Take Home Ration and its attendant flaws

Correspondents

The crises of transparency, corruption and poor implementation have often been associated with policies or programmes direction at every level of governance in this country. T his is usually so because such tasks are characteristically imbued with glitches of integrity, openness and lack of political will on the part of those charged with the implementation. Therefore, the overwhelming storm of criticisms dotting the nation’s space in the last few days over the controversial distribution of the ‘Take Home Ration (THR)’ to primary school pupils in their homes during this COVID-19…

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COVID-19, Nigeria and quality health facilities

Correspondents

    W ithin a space of less than two months, Nigeria has had more medical facilities put in place than at any other comparative period in its history. Bed spaces, ventilators, and other health equipment had been conjured up almost from nothing.     COVID-19 has ensured that Nigeria quickly put certain basic health facilities in place to combat the pandemic that has ravaged and continues to ravage the world. This response has demonstrated that Nigeria has the ability to build medical infrastructure that can compete with the world.…

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Police and enforcement of restriction orders on COVID-19

Correspondents

    A common unpleasant thread which has characterized the enforcement of curfew, ban on inter-state movements and other stringent measures designed to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic is the counter-productive activities and crass display of ignorance by security agencies. To say the least they have failed the government and people of Nigeria in this onerous task.     By their action, inaction, reaction and tactless display of over-zealousness they have advertently or inadvertently sabotaged government’s efforts to control the spread of COVID-19, save more lives and jobs, reduce…

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Isolating COVID-19 from Nigerian politics

Correspondents

    G overnors of the 19 Northern states of the Federation last Wednesday rose from a meeting with a submission that the North now accounted for 54 per cent of COVID-19 cases in the country. The governors, who met via a teleconference on the COVID-19 response, also said that the North had 70 per cent of the new coronavirus infections in Nigeria.     Plateau State Governor, Solomon Lalong, who is the Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum, in a statement expressed disappointment that despite all the measures…

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Nigeria’s worsening poverty index

Correspondents

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) last week released its 2019 Poverty and Inequality Index Report. In the report, NBS ranked Lagos as the state with the least rate of poverty among the 36 states in Nigeria and Federal Capital Territory. It said that Lagos, which is the commercial capital of Nigeria, has only 4.5% of its population below the poverty line. On the other hand, Sokoto was ranked as state with the highest poverty rate in Nigeria, as 87.73% of its population are poor. Nigeria has an estimated population…

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Yekini in the eyes of the world

Correspondents

It is very rare to see a Nigerian footballer getting global attention in the senior cadre. Most of the goodies recorded by the country were in the youth level. We recall the country’s U-17 team holds the best record in the FIFA World Cup with five wins, Nigeria has won silver twice at FIFA U-20 World Cup while the country has also won gold, silver and bronze at the U-23 Olympic Games level. We are however aware of the few exceptions. Austin Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu and late Stephen Keshi were…

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Need to protect frontline health workers, caregivers

Correspondents

In April, doctors treating COVID-19 patients at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, said the Federal Government owed them allowances of about N30 million, as of then. In the same month, it was reported that 40 health workers tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Also in April, doctors at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Asaba, Delta State, embarked on strike over the harassment of health workers by security agents. As if that was not enough pointer to the ugly plight of health workers, some nurses in Lagos, on…

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COVID-19 and the virtual courts’ proceedings’ bill

Correspondents

    A mid the on-going effort to curb the ravaging coronavirus in Nigeria, the National Assembly is considering an alteration bill to give legal teeth to virtual courts’ proceedings in the country. The bill, entitled: “1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) Bill, 2020 (SB. 418), being sponsored by Senator Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, has scaled first reading at the Senate.     Its sole aim, if it becomes law, is to ensure the much needed corresponding amendment of relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution as amended, in…

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Finding local remedies to COVID-19

Correspondents

    T he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) last week indicated that it might grant some long term facilities to researchers, research institutes and bio-technology firms as a way of tackling diseases like COVID-19. The beneficiaries to receive such grants would be expected to work on developing vaccines for infectious diseases such as the Coronavirus that is currently ravaging the world. According to the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, Nigeria could not afford to wait for other countries to develop vaccines before taking action. He was of the view…

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