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The Lagos State Government has set up food banks across the state to cater for 200,000 households in 377 wards in the state to cater for the most vulnerable during the mandated lockdown to curb the spread of Coronavirus.
Residents, who cannot afford meals during the lockdown will receive food provided by the state.
A statement by the Lagos State Government on Friday reads, “Few days after LASG issued a stay-at-home directive to residents, in order to curtail the spread of the Coronavirus, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has unveiled economic stimulus package for the indigent and the most vulnerable in the society.
I am happy to announce an economic stimulus package to help our residents cushion the effects of our #StayAtHome directive to stop the spread of #COVID19.
This first stage is targeting 200,000 households at an estimation of 6 people per household. We hope to ramp it up quickly. pic.twitter.com/QiqeaM9eSJ
— Babajide Sanwo-Olu (@jidesanwoolu) March 27, 2020
“The stimulus, which comes in food packs to be distributed to every local government in the state, is aimed at cushioning the effect of the 14-day stay-at-home directive.
“The food packs, which were put together by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives will reach the most vulnerable communities and households across Lagos.”
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Does Nigeria possess the relevant forensic expertise to deduce the size of the explosive that devastated Abule Ado? I am referring here not to the trigger which could jolly well be a match stick, box of matches, a cigarette, a 12.5 or even a 50kg cylinder of LPG. If could also be a 2-ton industrial LPG storage.
Let’s leave the trigger alone for now.
Even as a layman viewing the field of devastation, I have deduced that the explosion proper cannot be less than 5kilotons TNT equivalent. No, I have no proof. At this point, I request professional backups or refutation? Please!
What exactly was this explosive? The statement by the NNPC boss at the scene that “it was gas” was unscientific, in view of the fact that the NNPC swears that none of its pipelines was involved.
Whether it was gas or not, it has been two weeks and the NNPC is yet to identify the ownership of the pipeline spewing those highly inflammable fluids (liquids or gas, we’ve not been told), burning over the next several days? How deep was that particular pipe buried? Is that standard? This is most doubtful. If the pipeline was carrying Natural Gas which the NNPC does NOT transfer from the Atlas Cove to Ejigbo and then to Mosimi and Ibadan, then it seems likely that the suspect pipeline must have been a natural gas line belonging to Gaslink Ltd, a subsidiary of Oando Plc flowing north to south toward the Dangote and other industrial operations on the shorelines by the lagoons. Was it a conspiracy that the ownership of this poorly installed gas delivery pipeline has been kept under wraps. I hope that Oando Plc, which is the ONLY gas distributor South of Ikorodu and the newer Igbesa cement plants in Ogun State, will come out with a statement. Was it one of their gas pipelines?
Other questions begging for answers:
– What part did the DPR play in the poor installation practices, now revealed?
– Since we have been made to understand that a truck was involved, was the sparking incident at a pipeline road crossing?
– Was there a provision in the design for a steel casing of the correct size and thickness in that location?
– Was it installed?
– At the Spec Standard depth?
– Was the Casing breached?
– Was there an Earthing Requirement for any/or all of the components?
– Was the Earthing implemented?
– Was there prior damage and dislocation there due to Soil Erosion and/or Wilful Trespass by property developers?
– Can we locate the last Right Of Way Inspection Report where this problem was indicated?
– When was that?
– What Remedial Action if any was recommended?
– Was it implemented?
– If not, why not?
My colleagues in the Nigerian Society of Engineers would have their hands full with this Case Study.
The leadership at the topmost echelons of the NNPC must recognise that what the people of Abule Ado, Lagos and indeed Nigeria need and want is JUSTICE not sympathy. That’s where the Attorney General of Lagos State needs to step in.
When the Dupont plant in Bhopal blew up more than three decades ago, the Indian government spearheaded by the Engineering Safety community rallied to find answers. Unlike here, every professional did not insist on being involved in the humanitarian relief effort, joining the CBN Governor to mobilize funds. Note that a good part of what we lost at Abule Ado cannot be redeemed by money. Ultimately at Bhopal heads rolled. The plant, manufacturing methyl isocyanate, was closed down permanently. Dupont paid billions in damages and I believe is still paying to this day.
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President, Centre for Change, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin, has called on the Nigerian Government to steer clear of its plan to rearrest human rights activist and journalist, Omoyele Sowore, saying such move would be counter productive.
Sowore had raised the alarm over moves by the Nigerian Army to secretly secure an order from the Federal High Court, Abuja, to rearrest him over SaharaReporters publication revealing that President Muhammadu Buhari’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, had been infected with Coronavirus.
Odumakin said such attempts by the government was tantamount to taking Nigeria back to the dark age and total into abyss.
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She said the President should concentrate on finding solutions and remedy to the problems created by his failure and negligence in tackling Covid-19.
In a statement on Friday, Odumakin said, “Our attention has been drawn to the alarm raised by Publisher of SaharaReporters, Mr Omoyele Sowore, that the Federal Government was planning an onslaught on him for reporting that Mr Abba Kyari was Coronavirus positive.
“Does it mean that our government would have concealed Kyari’s status and allowed Coronavirus unchecked among the top echelon of Nigerian society?
“If the status of UK Prime Minister can be made public, who is Kyari that his status must not be known?” she queried.
Okei-Odumakin said SaharaReporters had done a great service to the country by making the information public.
She advised government to begin to remedy its failure by doing whatever it can to provide services for citizens.
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KUALA LUMPUR: Five men were sentenced to three months’ jail each by the magistrates’ court here today for criminal violence against a policeman who was conducting his duty to prevent the spread of Covid-19, following the Movement Control Order (MCO), effective March 18.
Magistrate M. Saravanan sentenced D. Candran, 38, K. Kandasamy, 50, D. Thavachilan, 34, D. Gunalan, 39, and D. Ravintran, 36, after they pleaded guilty to the charges which were read to them.
The court ordered all the accused to serve their jail terms starting today.
They had used criminal violence by throwing cans of liquor and arguing with Lance Corporal Mohd Adnin Che Ani, a police personnel in the course of performing his duties as a civil servant.
They were all charged with the offense at the Food Truck Site, Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad 2, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, here, at 5pm, March 25, under Section 353 of the Penal Code which provides for a maximum jail term of two years or with fines or both, if found guilty.
According to the facts of the case, on the day of the incident the victim was with his partner patrolling the area and advised a group of men, who were drinking alcohol, to avoid gathering in the open.
The victim ordered all of the accused to present their identity cards, however, two of the accused threw cans of liquor at him while another recorded the situation using his cellphone.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Abdul Khaliq Nazeri called for an appropriate punishment in the form of a deterrent sentence for their offenses during the MCO and to show the public that the court would not compromise especially during the current state of affairs in the country.
The five accused, represented by a lawyer from the National Legal Aid Foundation Erni Ahmad, appealed for light sentences as they were each supporting a wife and family.
Another man, B. Pavitrn, 23, was fined RM1,000 or two months in jail after pleading guilty to moving from a residential area in Danau Murni to a supermarket, a place in the area of infection without the intention of doing anything provided under Section 7(1) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures within the Infected Local Areas) Regulations 2020, at 3.20 am today (March 27).
The accused was charged under Section 7 (1) of the same regulation, which provides for a maximum fine of RM1,000 or imprisonment not exceeding six months or both, upon conviction. — Bernama
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The latest coronavirus news updated every day including coronavirus cases, the latest news, features and interviews from New Scientist and essential information about the covid-19 pandemic
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America is fast embracing multiculturalism, and the changing dynamics have produced new dilemmas for the various marketers who are required to reach the people whose language, customs, and tastes aren’t the same as the ?general market?. It will become more critical to have marketing plans that are culturally relevant as the diversity in the population increases and ethnic minorities such as the U.S. Hispanics gain more prominence. The present-day market trend makes it imperative for the marketers to analyze and adopt novel strategies in the same manner that they’ve allocated the corporate marketing resources through time, in order to use marketing to Hispanics to their advantage…
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Omoyele Sowore
Omoyele Sowore
Rights activist and journalist, Omoyele Sowore, has raised the alarm over a plot by the Nigerian Government to detain him over revelations by his news outlet, SaharaReporters, that Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Abba Kyari, tested positive for Coronavirus.
On Monday night, SaharaReporters had exclusively reported that Kyari was ill and had contracted the deadly virus.
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BREAKING: Buhari’s Chief Of Staff, Abba Kyari, Reportedly Sick, Suspected Of Contracting Coronavirus
The online news medium went ahead on Tuesday to break the story of three of Kyari’s staff contracting the virus from him.
Till this moment, the Presidency has been unable to deny any of the reports, instead plotting to turn their anger on Sowore and SaharaReporters.
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In a message to his followers on Facebook on Thursday, Sowore said his lawyers had informed him of a high-powered delegation sent to the Federal High Court in Abuja to obtain a detention order.
Sowore said, “Folks, it is important to inform you that we are facing some unusual circumstances and the days ahead might be very tensed and difficult, but we will conquer.
“Following the revelation by SaharaReporters that the Chief of Staff to Buhari, Abba Kyari, contracted Coronavirus and subsequent revelations about the criminal conducts/negligence that has brought Nigeria to the nadir of this global pandemic, the Buhari regime today sent some high powered delegation to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court of Nigeria to help procure a detention order against me.
“The courts are reportedly on break due to COVID-19 pandemic. This was leaked to our lawyers a few minutes ago. They plan this time is to use the Nigerian Army for the sinister plot.
“The plan is to obtain a court order and then send soldiers to shoot up my residence in Abuja by claiming that I resisted arrest with armed colleagues.
“If I am arrested alive, they would take me to a military barracks in Abuja to be tortured and or infected with COVID-19.
“I am not raising the alarm to scare anyone, it is to inform our compatriots that we should brace for difficult days ahead.
“However, rest assured that we are in high spirits and are totally convinced that we may be turning a historic corner in the face of brutal repression.
“I am urging all to stand firm, unbowed and unbroken.”
Recall that Sowore was first arrested in the early hours of August 3, 2019 by operatives of the Department of State Services for calling on Nigerians to take to the streets in peaceful demonstrations on August 5 to demand a better country from the administration of President Buhari.
He was kept in unlawful detention from that period until December 5, 2019 when he was finally released on bail despite two court orders earlier sanctioning his freedom.
In a twist of event, DSS operatives invaded the Federal High Court in Abuja on December 6, 2019 to rearrest him without any court order.
He remained in unlawful detention until 18 days later when he was released by the secret police for the second time.
At the resumption of his trial in a case brought against him by the Nigerian Government, the prosecution failed to prove accusations against him and even went ahead to dropping seven of the charges earlier preferred against him.
Groups and high-raking individuals from around the world have described the charges against Sowore as baseless and a waste of time.
The journalist remains confined to Abuja as one of his bail conditions forbids him from leaving the city or speaking with journalists until the end of his trial.
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Olabisi Deji-Folutile
Olabisi Deji-Folutile
The world is facing its most trying and unprecedented times as the last few weeks have been most challenging for almost everybody. What started in Wuhan, China, as an epidemic, has put the entire world in disarray. Major streets across the globes have become empty. Both the rich and the poor are being ravaged by the plague of COVID-19, which the World Health Organisation has rightly described as a pandemic. Work places have been shut; religious and social gatherings banned and many countries are on total lockdown, in a bid to curb the spread of this viral disease. Expectedly, schools are also affected across board. Every day people are being told to embrace social distancing and suddenly things like human contacts, hitherto considered as free gifts of life, are becoming very expensive.
No one knows when this whole chaos will end, so people are making different kinds of adjustments to cope with the situation while it lasts. Many companies have shifted their operations online. Likewise, many schools have opted for e-learning, making use of available technology for teaching and learning.
Universities around the world are making use of communication technology to ease the effects of the global pandemic on their academic calendars. In China, universities are going for online teaching instead of in-class teaching; the ones in Australia have moved their classes online just as UK universities have suspended face-to-face teaching. Turkey started its remote university classes on March 23. In Kenya, universities have activated communication between lecturers and students via social media platforms and emails while classes have gone totally online in the Philippines and Kyrgyzstan. Teachers in France have been working with their students on Zoom.
Just a few days ago, Ghana’s President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, directed the ministry of education to collaborate with the ministry of communications in rolling out open learning programmes in response to the closure of all educational institutions in the country. In the same vein, Mount Kenya University’s Vice-Chancellor Peter Wanderi, has announced the extension of online teaching platforms for regular students to facilitate the learning process. And to take care of the over six million students that have experienced disruption to their studies, ten North African and 12 Arab countries have begun work on an e-learning initiative to facilitate open and online education.
These are some of the steps being taken across the globe to bridge the gap created by school closure in the wake of COVID-19. Unfortunately, while all these activities are going on in other parts of the world, Nigerian government has not said anything about steps being taken to take care of its students’ community. Rather, the only message from the Federal Government was a total closure of all tertiary institutions and FG-owned unity schools till further notice. A statement issued by the National Universities Commission simply said universities would remain shut for one month while the Education Minister, Adamu Adamu, said tertiary institutions would remain shut indefinitely.
Assuming government has been overwhelmed by the burden of controlling the spread of COVID- 19, hence its silence on options for learning for its teeming student population, one would have expected the higher institutions themselves to at least say something, but as it is, they too are not helping matters. The silence in our universities has been deafening. To worsen the situation, the Academic Staff Union of Universities, decided to choose this time, of all times, to embark on an indefinite strike. One wonders how the academic body manages to feel comfortable being on a strike at a time when researchers across the globe are busy looking for solution to a pandemic that is ravaging the entire world. This kind of action makes one query the essence of having Research and Development as a core component of tertiary education in Nigeria when researchers can be nowhere to be found at a critical time of societal needs.
By now, our researchers should be adding their voices to the various efforts being made towards developing a vaccine or cure for COVID-19. After all, universities are expected to proffer solutions to societal problems. This is a wrong time for ASUU to embark on an indefinite strike. This should be a time of strategising and proffering solutions. This is really the time for everyone to get involved. Besides, I think Nigerian universities should also be more forthcoming on their responses to the challenges posed to their students by COVID-19.
As it is, religious organisations are doing far better in terms of their responses to the effects of this pandemic on their primary constituencies. Many of them have devised other means of getting the attention of their members following several government directives prohibiting either gatherings or limiting the number of people allowed to congregate at a time. Almost all the churches have switched to online platforms for their services. How come religious organisations are working hard to keep their flocks and both government and higher institutions in Nigeria are just moving on as if all is well? No word on how to keep the students busy or keep them engaged using available online technology! Should teaching and learning be restricted to the classrooms alone in this 21st century?
Nigeria has always been described as a religious society. Corona Virus has further exposed the smartness of our religious bodies and the dullness of those in charge of our public educational institutions. This is not an attempt to blame any religious organisation for having the foresight to deploy technology in reaching their audiences. Instead, it is a wakeup call to managers of our educational institutions to adopt and use available technology to help their students at a time like this.
Apart from the National Open University of Nigeria, which basically runs online, I doubt if there is any other public university in the country that has capacity for online teaching. This is in spite of the launch of the Nigerian Communication Satellite known as NIGCOMSAT by the Nigerian Government first in 2007 and then NIGCOMSAT-IR in December 2011, to provide critical ICT backbone infrastructure to support e-learning, among others in the country.
What is the essence of investing so much money in a communication satellite if it cannot be deployed at a time of need? Those in charge of NIGCOMSAT, the commercial arm of Nigeria’s space centre, have consistently claimed that the technology has the capacity to cover the entire Africa. If that is the case, why is the country still struggling to deploy internet connectivity facilities to its schools to aide e-learning? If we are truly a serious country, by now, all the schools in urban and rural areas should have been connected to the e-learning services.
No doubt, COVID-19 has exposed Nigeria’s unpreparedness for e-learning. But, we can’t afford to remain where we are. That is why it is important for every institution to start thinking of how to deploy available technology in the world for the good of their students at this critical period. Universities should as a matter of urgency migrate online. This shouldn’t be another season of waiting and probably wasting for the Nigerian student. There is no reason why any higher institution worth its name should suspend all academic activities until the end of Corona Virus with all the available resources and technology in the world today. The minimum expected of them is to upload teaching resources online for students to have access to them. At least this will give the students the opportunity to learn on their own.
This is also an opportunity for telecommunications companies like Glo, MTN and the rest of them to make a difference in Nigeria’s educational institutions. They can as part of their corporate social responsibility decide to boost internet facilities in universities and other educational institutions; or provide data at cheaper rates to help poor students have access to the internet for online learning.
I know there are obvious stumbling blocks to digital learning in Nigeria. Many students don’t even have access to devices while the cost of buying data is still high. These challenges and others have provided telecommunications companies a huge opportunity of making a difference in Nigerian higher institutions by providing e-learning solutions and broadband connectivity to universities and other higher institutions.
They can as part of their corporate social responsibility decide to boost internet facilities in universities and other higher institutions; or help poor students who have limited or poor internet access to enhance online learning.
Olabisi Deji-Folutile is the Editor-in-Chief of Franktalknow.com and member of the Nigerian Guild of Editors. Email: bisideji@yahoo.co.uk
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Mudashiru Obasa
Mudashiru Obasa
At the resumption of plenary on Thursday at the Lagos State House of Assembly, Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, announced the reinstatement of two suspended lawmakers, Moshood Oshun and Raheem Kazeem.
The two lawmakers were suspended alongside Deputy Majority Leader, Olumuyiwa Jimoh; and Chief Whip, Rotimi Abiru, who were demoted on grounds of misconduct, insubordination and action that could destabilise the Assembly on March 9.
However, two days after the meeting of the Governor’s Advisory Council, the suspended lawmakers were reinstated to the House.
SaharaReporters had exclusively reported that at the meeting, a former governor of Lagos State, who also doubles as Chairman of Lagos State Governor’s Advisory Committee, Bola Tinubu, supported the Speaker as he asked him to use his discretion to direct the affairs of the House.
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EXCLUSIVE: Tinubu, GAC Back Lagos Assembly Speaker, Obasa, Over Suspension Of Lawmakers, Corruption
However, Obasa tracked back on the decision of the GAC and reinstated the lawmakers following intervention by some bigwigs of the All Progressives Congress including Rauf Aregbesola, Minister of Interior; and Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos.
Sources privy to the happenings within the party confirmed to SaharaReporters that the Speaker was directed to reinstate the lawmakers after having a separate meeting with them.
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BREAKING: Lagos Assembly Recalls Suspended Lawmakers After SaharaReporters Story
“Some members of the GAC, dissatisfied with the treatment of the oppressed members of the Assembly, including the governor of the state, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, made a counter move between Tuesday and Thursday by securing a special appointment with Tinubu for the affected members of the Assembly to present their cases.
“An appointment was fixed for Wednesday morning with Tinubu where the affected Assembly members presented their cases to the former governor.
“Among those who intervened was the immediate-past governor of Osun State and current Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, who had a long telephone conversation with Asiwaju (Tinubu) and succeeded in convincing his boss on the need for an immediate reversal of Obasa’s autocratic decision against his colleagues.
“The Speaker was subsequently directed by Tinubu to reverse his decision and return to original status,” sources disclosed to SaharaReporters.
Meanwhile, Obasa, according to insider sources, is likely sitting on a time-bomb as moves are ongoing by some members of the APC to remove him as Speaker of the Lagos Assembly.
Some strong members of the political dynasty, beyond the reach or influence of Obasa, seem to be amalgamating forces against him.
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Obasa, who is not unaware of the ploy, is suspecting Governor Sanwo-Olu of secretly leading the lawmakers to impeach him.
“The Speaker once nursed strong animosity against the governor, accusing him of sponsoring members for his impeachment.
“This also stems the suspicion against the suspended principal officers,” sources in the Assembly said.
A former member of the Assembly and ‘kingmaker’, who is now a member of the Senate, is also making a separate move to report latest action of the Speaker to Asiwaju.
As at the time of filing this report, the senator is still in the process of securing an appointment with Tinubu.
The senator used to be the sponsor and major backer of Obasa but they fell apart when Obasa decided to be his own boss and also reduce the influence of the kingmaker.
The aim was to reduce the returns shared between them which is part of hundreds of millions allocated to the Assembly as monthly running cost.
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