Posts

Nigeria records first Coronavirus incidence

As the novel 2019 Coronavirus (Covid-19) continues to increase and spread globally, forcing the World Health Organization (WHO) into acknowledging it as a health pandemic, it's been confirmed that the dreaded respiratory disease has touched down in Nigeria. According to the country's federal minister of Health, Dr Ehanire, the Nigerian case involves an Italian citizen, who has been working in the country but had to travel to Milan, from where he returned on the 25th of February, carrying the virus. Italy, especially its northern region, has been hard hit with the virus. The incidence was confirmed at the Virology Laboratory, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), which serves as one of the designated centres by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control as Laboratory Networks for the examination of suspected cases of the disease. The Italian is currently receiving treatment at the Infectious Disease Centre located at Yaba, Lagos state. He's stable clinically, showing n...

Functus officio: Between Lyon and Ihedioha

Today, the Justices of the Supreme Court led by Sylvester Ngwuta looked at the review sought by dismissed Bayelsa APC governorship candidate and his deputy. The court reaffirmed its earlier decision and chided the appellants for daring to seek for such. The final stamping by the Supreme Court of the gubernatorial tussle in Bayelsa state by the rejection of the appeal for review of the 13th February judgement of the apex court that disqualified Lyon and his deputy, what indication does it gives of future reviews? I'm forced to look beyond it, and ask. That the decision of the Supreme Court is functus officio, does it suggest that the Supreme Court cannot in whatever guise review and if possibly reverse itself? The Supreme Court should be final to the extent that it gives an unbiased and a clear judgement, which is basic in giving finality and certainty to legal litigation.  This is the rightful place of the Supreme Court: that its judgement settles every litigation with such...

Human Diversity: Curse or Blessing

The world we live in is a weft with myriads of threads, as it concerns human differences. People think differently, people act differently, just so much as they appreciate life differently. The uniqueness of the human race vividly is highlighted in their streaming differences. And so differently, we have people standing out in character, creed and colour, of passion, taste and purpose. The diversity is such that one wonders how it possible that the world still relates in a considerable harmony. The basis of our existential harmony and which is the pulling effect of our streaming diversity into a conscious understanding is in our appreciation of the need to take each individual for the person he is. This vital factor that has become central in guarding our world from the perceived disharmony it should be has had lasting effect where it's been seen as well as a negating effect where it's lacking. Tolerance, the very vital fibre in the sustained human coexistence is key towar...

What makes Valentine's Lover's day

Yesterday, 14th February, 2020 was Valentine's day, a day celebrated in many cities of the world, and I thought so much on what to write. For me, it was a quiet moment, so it afforded me the soberness needed to think and ponder. I thought about the day and why it could be called lovers day. Was it the necessary appellation to have given the day? Why was it so, was the personality whose name became the day a personification of love? Is lovely celebration just a thing so momentary? Even as much as I thought over these, I was struck to realize, and which is something that I admit: that beyond any connections to the day's reflection with the personality so name after, the commitment he offered spoke volume of what was love as to have the day reflectively connected to him. There are many stories associated with Valentine's. Whether it is the story of him encouraging the legitimate bonding of love for soldiers who had been so denied by the Roman Emperor or it's about t...

Of the Orjis and Of Grisly Greed

"Heart-raking, mind boggling", some would say, but personally, it's something totally despicable and highly disgusting; of the revelation of the gargantuan sleaze by the Orjis of Abia state. The recent revelation broached by Nigeria's antigraft agency of a whooping N521 billion traced to both Theodore Orji and his son, Chinedu just opened a can of wily condemnation and quietly too of a deep correlation of the state of massive dilapidation in the state and the extent of the robust systematic pilfering. And to say that this is coming just shortly after another ex-governor of the state was convicted for similar offences that bothered on the massive financial rape makes the matter quite pathetic. The current man in the picture,  Senator Theodore Orji was the immediate successor of the convicted Orji Kalu, where both individually held sway as governor for eight years. The economic state of Abia has become a sorry sight that has made the state a significant byword for ...

Maiduguri: The curfew and the killing

Nigeria, as we have it today, is a country rattled with the spikes of insecurity, and so we cannot say just enough about it's insecurity. The situation is incessant, almost throwing into an immediate stupor every right thinking citizen. Every day, we get inundated with news of one security hitch or the other. If not the noise about banditry and of marauding killer herdsmen, it is about the blowing tantrum of terrorism, insurgency-related abductions and kidnap for ransom. We do not rest. Nigerians as it's appeared have become a people denied of sleep, even when they rightly should. The terror inflicted by terrorists has seemed to stand out, for there's no day that passes by without a sneeze of their horror. It's either they have kidnapped some people- traveling and residents in their homes and villages, or they have descended with such diabolism upon their captives to behead and maim or they're heard to have attacked a people and/or community to blast, kill and ...

AAG Killing: Mental stability check for armed men

Each day, the need to properly check the mental state of our armed security officers is further amplified. The events involving the rift between soldiers and police men and the ones among police men against themselves continue to focus on this need. What more could be my purpose of revisiting this issue, if not another of the not so appealing tell-tale; this time around the never heard incident of a military officer using an anti-aircraft gun to kill a police man. The unnamed soldier killed Sergeant Rowland Tafida, who was part of the Mobile Police (MOPOL) Special Forces Team assigned to Gwoza, one of the insurgency hit areas in town in Borno state. Rowland became an unfortunate victim of a circumstance he was not part of and maybe never had the slightest knowledge. According to report, he was just stepping into the vicinity of the camp, where they were resident in the course of their duty to committing to the antiterrorism warfare in Borno state innocently and without any negativ...