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  • Living with pets during MCO

    Living with pets during MCO

    Living with pets during MCO 1

    KUALA LUMPUR: Working from home (WFH) is not as easy as many people think, especially when you have young children and pets.

    Yes, even pets. To others, it might seem easy having pets in the house. After all, don’t you just let them be and you do not have to give much attention to them?

    In reality however, looking after pets is just as much a responsibility as looking after young children. A look at the postings on Facebook and Twitter will show that many see the responsibility as similar, for to them, pets are as much a member of the family as children.

    Going into 24 days of the Movement Control Order (MCO) period, which means 24 days of WFH, the stories on the social media abound of the struggles that pet owners, especially those with cats, face juggling the responsibilities of work and looking after their pets.

    Interior decorate Intan Suhaiza Razak, 35, found that there were many secrets her cats kept from her which she only found out after she started to work from home from March 18.

    “It is only now that I am really getting to know my three cats. I did not spend much time with them before but now that I am with them all day, I am slowly learning their behaviour.

    “For instance, I was shocked to find out that they could turn the tap in the kitchen sink and would play with the water,” she told Bernama.

    Auditor Amirul Iqbal Razali, 30, has found that working from home can be quite challenging when you have cats.

    “I have three, and the minute I turn on the computer, they come around demanding my attention.

    “That would be the time they want to sit on my lap and play, and ask for food, even though I had prepared everything for them. And my work-station has become their bed,” he said.

    Media practitioner Muhamad Saufee Rosman thinks his cat Ethan loves the fact that he and his housemates now have to work from home during the MCO period.

    “He is extra demanding now, maybe because he enjoys the fact that we are home now, whereas previously, he was always left alone in the house. Now, he keeps snuggling up to us all the time,” he said.

    Muhamad Saufee and his housemates do not find Ethan’s demand for attention troublesome, and in fact, he is a stress-buster to them.

    “Life is less boring with him around. Sometimes, he does get in the way, but it would be lonely without him,” he said.

    To these animal-lovers, the Health Ministry’s announcement that pets do not carry the COVID-19 virus was good news.

    “In the beginning, it was a bit worrying, so it was a relief when the ministry said that pet-owners did not have to worry and do not have to take their pets for Covid-19 screenings.

    Nurana Mukhriz, 29, who works in information technology said she cannot imagine being separated from her two cats which she had bred since five years ago.

    “I live alone, so my cats ‘Adik’ and ‘Che Yam’ are my companions. Talking to them reduces my stress level and I don’t feel so lonely during the MCO period,” she said. – Bernama

    Living with pets during MCO
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  • Glossary of Youth: Its Education, Regimen, and Hygiene, by G. Stanley Hall

    Glossary of Youth: Its Education, Regimen, and Hygiene, by G. Stanley Hall

    GLOSSARY

    AGAMIC. Unmarried; unmarriageable, sometimes non-sexed.

    AGENIC. Lacking in reproductive power; sterile.

    AMPHIMIXIS. That form of reproduction which involves the mingling of substance from two individuals so as to effect a mixture of hereditary characteristics. It includes the phenomena of conjugation and fertilization among both unicellular and multicellular organisms.

    ANABOLISM. See METABOLISM.

    ANAMNESIC. Pertaining to or aiding recollection.

    ANEMIC. Deficient in blood; bloodless.

    ANTHROPOMORPHISM. The attributing of human characteristics to natural, supernatural, or divine beings.

    ANTHROPOMETRY. Science of measurement of the human body.

    ARTIFACT. Any artificial product.

    APHASIA. Impairment or lose of the ability to understand or use speech.

    ASSOCIATIONISM. The psychological theory which regards the laws of association as the fundamental laws of mental action and development.

    ATAVISTIC. Pertaining to reversion through the influence of heredity to remote ancestral characteristics.

    ATAXIC. Pertaining to inability to coördinate voluntary movements; irregular.

    CALAMO-PAPYRUS. Reed papyrus or pen-paper.

    CATABOLISM. See METABOLISM.

    CATHARSIS. Purgation or cleansing. Aristotle’s esthetic theory that little renders immune for much.

    CEREBRATION. Brain action, conscious or unconscious.

    CHOREA. St. Vitus’s dance; a nervous disease marked by irregular and involuntary movements of the limbs and face.

    CHRESTOMATHY. A collection of extracts and choice pieces.

    CHRISTENTHUM. The Christian belief; the spirit of Christianity.

    COMMANDO EXERCISES. Gymnastic exercises whose order is dependent upon the spoken command of the director.

    CORTEX. The gray matter of the brain, mostly on its surface.

    CORTICAL. Pertaining to the cortex.

    CRANIOMETRY. The measurement of skulls.

    CRYPTOGAMOUS. Having an obscure mode of fertilization; or, of plants that do not blossom.

    CULTUS. A system of religious belief and worship.

    DEUTSCHENTHUM. The spirit of the German people.

    DIATHESIS. A constitutional predisposition.

    EPHEBIC. Pertaining to the Greek system of instruction given to young men to fit them for citizenship; adolescent.

    EPIGONI. Successors; followers who only follow.

    EPISTEMOLOGY. The theory of knowledge; that branch of logic which undertakes to explain how knowledge is possible and to define its limitations, meaning, and worth.

    EUPEPTIC. Having good digestion.

    EUPHORIA. The sense of well-being; of fullness of life.

    EVIRATION. Emasculation; loss of manly characteristics.

    FERAL. Wild by nature; untamed; undomesticated.

    FORMICARY. An artificial ants’ nest.

    GEMÜTH. Disposition; the entire affective soul and its habitual state.

    HEBETUDE. Dullness; stupidity.

    HEDONISTIC. Relating to hedonism, that form of Greek philosophy which taught that pleasure is the chief end of existence.

    HETAERA. A Greek courtesan. This class was often highly trained in music and social art, and represented the highest grade of culture among Greek women.

    HETEROGENY. (1) The spontaneous generation of animals and vegetables, low in the scale of organization, from inorganic elements. (2) That kind of generation in which the parent, whether plant or animal, produces offspring differing in structure or habit from itself, but in which after one or more generations the original form reappears.

    HETERONOMOUS. Having a different name.

    HOROLOGY. The science of measuring time and of constructing instruments for that purpose.

    HYGEIA. The Greek goddess of health; health.

    HYPERMETHODIC. Methodic to excess; overmethodic.

    HYPERTROPHY. Excessive growth.

    INDISCERPTIBLE. Incapable of being destroyed by separation of parts.

    INHIBITION. Interference with the normal result of a nervous excitement by an opposing force.

    IRRADIATION. The diffusion of nervous stimuli out of the path of normal discharge which, as a result of the excitation of a peripheral end organ may excite other central organs than those directly connected with it.

    KINESOLOGICAL. Pertaining to the science of tests and measurements of bodily strength.

    KINESOMETER. An instrument for measuring muscular strength.

    MEDULLATION. The investment of nerve fibers with a protective covering or medullary sheath, consisting of white, fat-like matter.

    MERISTIC. Pertaining to the levels or spinal and cerebral segments of the body.

    METABOLISM. The act or process by which, on the one hand, dead food is built up into living matter—anabolism, and by which, on the other, the living matter is broken down into simpler products within a cell or organism—catabolism.

    METAMORPHOSIS. Change of form or structure; transformation.

    METEMPSYCHOSIS. The doctrine of the transmigration of the soul from one body to another.

    MONOPHRASTIC. Pertaining to or consisting of a single phrase.

    MONOTECHNIC. Pertaining to a single art or craft.

    MORPHOLOGY. The science of form and structure of plants and animals without regard to function.

    MYOLOGY. The scientific knowledge of the muscular system.

    MYTHOPOEIC. Producing or having a tendency to produce myths.

    NOETIC. Of, pertaining to, or conceived by, mind.

    NUANCE. Slight shade; difference; distinction; degree.

    ORTHOGENIC. Pertaining to right beginning and development.

    ORTHOPEDIC. Relating to the art of curing deformities.

    OSSUARY. A depository of dry bones.

    PALEOPSYCHIC. Pertaining to the antiquity of the soul.

    PANTHEISTIC. Relating to that doctrine which holds that the entire phenomenal universe, including man and nature, is the ever-changing manifestation of God, who rises to self-consciousness and personality only in man.

    PATRISTICS. That department of study occupied with the doctrines and writings of the fathers of the Christian Church.

    PHOBIA. Excessive or morbid fear of anything.

    PHYLETICALLY. In accordance with the phylum or race; racially.

    PHYLETIC. Pertaining to a race or clan.

    PHYLOGENY. The history of the evolution of a species or group; tribal history; ancestral development as opposed to ontogeny or the development of the individual.

    PHYLUM. A term introduced by Haeckel to designate the great branches of the animal and vegetable kingdoms. Each phylum may include several classes.

    PICKELHAUBE. The spiked helmet of the German army.

    PLANKTON. Sea animals and plants collectively; distinguished from coast or bottom forms and floating in a great mass.

    POLYGAMIC (LOVE). Pertaining to the habit of having more than one mate of the opposite sex.

    POLYPHRASTIC. Having many phrases; pertaining to rambling, incoherent speech.

    POST-SIMIAN. Pertaining to an age later than that in which simian or monkey-like forms prevailed.

    PRENUBILE. Pertaining to the age before sexual maturity or marriageability is reached.

    PRIE DIEU. A praying desk.

    PROPEDEUTIC. Preliminary; introductory.

    PROPHYLACTIC. Any medicine or measure efficacious in preventing disease.

    PSEUDOPHOBIAC. Pertaining to a morbid condition in which the subject is continually in fear of having said something not strictly true.

    PSYCHOGENESIS. The origin and development of soul.

    PSYCHONOMIC. Pertaining to the laws of mind.

    PSYCHOSIS. Mental constitution or condition; any change in consciousness, especially if abnormal.

    PUBERTY. The age of sexual maturity.

    PUBESCENT. Relating to the dawning of puberty.

    PYGMOID. Of pygmy size and form.

    RABULIST. A chronic wrangler; one who argues about everything.

    SCHEMA. A synopsis; a summary. In the Kantian sense, a general type.

    SCHEMATISM. An outline of any systematic arrangement; an outline.

    SUPERFOETATION. A second conception some time after a prior one, by which two foetuses of different age exist together in the same female. Often used figuratively.

    TEMIBILITY. (From Italian temibile, to be feared.) The principle of adjustment of penalty to crime in just that degree necessary to prevent a repetition of the criminal act.

    TIC. A nervous affection of the muscles; a twitching.

    TRANSCENDENTAL. In the Kantian system having an a priori character, transcending experience, presupposed in and necessary to experience.

    TRAUMATA. Wounds.

    TRAUMATISM. A wound; any morbid condition produced by wounds or other external violence.

    VERBIGERATION. The continual utterance of certain words or phrases at short intervals, without reference to their meaning, as seen in insane Gedankenflucht or rapid flight of thought.

    Extract from Youth: Its Education, Regimen, and Hygiene, by G. Stanley Hall

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  • With Humans In Hiding, Animals Take Back The World

    With Humans In Hiding, Animals Take Back The World

    Gulf states have tightened lockdown measures in large cities, and with Dubai’s shops closed and almost no people on the streets, peacocks that normally live in nearby gardens ventured out to explore other areas of the Middle Eastern city.
    Gulf states have tightened lockdown measures in large cities, and with Dubai’s shops closed and almost no people on the streets, peacocks that normally live in nearby gardens ventured out to explore other areas of the Middle Eastern city.

    A flock of geese searched for food inside a temple in Nagaon, in India’s state of Assam, on April 3. Many temples and shrines across the country have closed during the nationwide lockdown.
    A flock of geese searched for food inside a temple in Nagaon, in India’s state of Assam, on April 3. Many temples and shrines across the country have closed during the nationwide lockdown.

    On April 5, two cows strolled on a Corsican beach usually popular with tourists. It was the 20th day of a strict shutdown in France.
    On April 5, two cows strolled on a Corsican beach usually popular with tourists. It was the 20th day of a strict shutdown in France.

    A young puma walked the streets of Santiago on March 24 after the government ordered confinement measures in some areas of the Chilean capital.
    A young puma walked the streets of Santiago on March 24 after the government ordered confinement measures in some areas of the Chilean capital.

    Mountain goats roamed the streets of Llandudno, in Wales, on March 31, one week after U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued a stay-at-home order.
    Mountain goats roamed the streets of Llandudno, in Wales, on March 31, one week after U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued a stay-at-home order.

    Sika deer wandered over to a sushi restaurant in Nara, Japan, on March 12. When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a state of emergency for Tokyo and its surrounding regions, the number of visitors to the city of Nara dropped significantly
    Sika deer wandered over to a sushi restaurant in Nara, Japan, on March 12. When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a state of emergency for Tokyo and its surrounding regions, the number of visitors to the city of Nara dropped significantly

    Macaques searched for food around the closed stalls of the Johari Bazar in Jaipur, India, on March 26. After Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared a nationwide lockdown, the marketplace was deserted.
    Macaques searched for food around the closed stalls of the Johari Bazar in Jaipur, India, on March 26. After Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared a nationwide lockdown, the marketplace was deserted.

    Since Italy’s countrywide lockdown was imposed, the water in Venice’s canals have cleared, and residents have noticed more birds appearing.
    Since Italy’s countrywide lockdown was imposed, the water in Venice’s canals have cleared, and residents have noticed more birds appearing.

    On March 30, ducks ventured across the street in the heart of Paris, which is typically bustling with traffic.
    On March 30, ducks ventured across the street in the heart of Paris, which is typically bustling with traffic.

    Goats sauntered on abandoned streets in Jaipur on March 24
    Goats sauntered on abandoned streets in Jaipur on March 24

    A baby rabbit crossed a main road in Christchurch on April 1. New Zealand entered its strictest state of lockdown on March 25.
    A baby rabbit crossed a main road in Christchurch on April 1. New Zealand entered its strictest state of lockdown on March 25.

    A wild fox roamed the empty streets of London on the night of March 28.
    A wild fox roamed the empty streets of London on the night of March 28.

    On April 1, cattle looked for food in Palu, Central Sulawesi, in Indonesia, where the government is recommending that people avoid public spaces.
    On April 1, cattle looked for food in Palu, Central Sulawesi, in Indonesia, where the government is recommending that people avoid public spaces.

    A coyote stood outside Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on April 3, weeks after Major League Baseball suspended all play.
    A coyote stood outside Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on April 3, weeks after Major League Baseball suspended all play.

    The movie theater was closed in Westbury, N.Y., on March 20, leaving the parking lot empty for Canadian geese to roam.
    The movie theater was closed in Westbury, N.Y., on March 20, leaving the parking lot empty for Canadian geese to roam.

    With Humans In Hiding, Animals Take Back The World 2Gulf states have tightened lockdown measures in large cities, and with Dubai’s shops closed and almost no people on the streets, peacocks that normally live in nearby gardens ventured out to explore other areas of the Middle Eastern city.

    Karim Sahib/AFP via Getty Images


     

    It took just a few days of lockdown for baby rabbits to dare to cross once-bustling roads in Christchurch, New Zealand, and less than a week for a puma to descend from the Andes Mountains into Santiago, one of South America’s busiest capitals. In Barcelona, wild boar, a familiar sight for citizens on the city’s outskirts, have made their way into Diagonal Avenue, an eight-lane thoroughfare. 

    It’s surprising and strange, yes, but also meaningful. Research suggests that ecosystems can rebound with speed once human intervention subsides. A review published last week determined that damaged ecosystems and wildlife can be rebuilt if the right conditions are achieved. Marine ecosystems in particular can substantially recover by 2050, according to the study, led by Carlos Duarte at the Red Sea Research Center in Saudi Arabia.

    Of course, a deadly pandemic that brings about a sudden economic collapse is no way to sustainably restore threatened ecosystems. Yet it’s a clear reminder of how quickly the wild world responds when humans take a step back.

    Scientists have tracked this pattern for decades. The number of humpback whales migrating from Antarctica to eastern Australia has been increasing each year, from a few hundred animals in 1968, when commercial whaling was banned, to more than 40,000 today. In 1880 only 20 breeding northern elephant seals had survived decades of hunting, and today there are more than 200,000.

    Hunting bans, habitat restoration, and the reduction of water pollution are all linked to the recovery of marine species. The continuation of these practices—and, most of all, working to mitigate the effects of climate change—would contribute to oceans recovering significantly by 2050, the researchers said.

    It’s more difficult for land ecosystems to bounce back because both the scale of extinction and the scale of human presence are so large there, said Duarte, a marine science professor. But these differences don’t mean the return of wildlife to deserted city streets isn’t significant, he said: “I believe our own confinement, and the release of wildlife from confinement, should bring some empathy between humans and wildlife moving forward.”

    With Humans In Hiding, Animals Take Back The World 3A flock of geese searched for food inside a temple in Nagaon, in India’s state of Assam, on April 3. Many temples and shrines across the country have closed during the nationwide lockdown.

    Anuwar Ali Hazarika/Barcroft Media via Getty Images


    With Humans In Hiding, Animals Take Back The World 4On April 5, two cows strolled on a Corsican beach usually popular with tourists. It was the 20th day of a strict shutdown in France.

    Pascal Pochard-Casabianca/AFP via Getty Images


    With Humans In Hiding, Animals Take Back The World 5A young puma walked the streets of Santiago on March 24 after the government ordered confinement measures in some areas of the Chilean capital.

    Andrews Pina/Aton Chile/AFP via Getty Images


    With Humans In Hiding, Animals Take Back The World 6Mountain goats roamed the streets of Llandudno, in Wales, on March 31, one week after U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued a stay-at-home order.

    Christopher Furlong/Getty Images


    With Humans In Hiding, Animals Take Back The World 7Sika deer wandered over to a sushi restaurant in Nara, Japan, on March 12. When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a state of emergency for Tokyo and its surrounding regions, the number of visitors to the city of Nara dropped significantly

    Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images


    With Humans In Hiding, Animals Take Back The World 8Macaques searched for food around the closed stalls of the Johari Bazar in Jaipur, India, on March 26. After Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared a nationwide lockdown, the marketplace was deserted.

    Vishal Bhatnagar/NurPhoto via Getty Images


    With Humans In Hiding, Animals Take Back The World 9Since Italy’s countrywide lockdown was imposed, the water in Venice’s canals have cleared, and residents have noticed more birds appearing.

    Andrea Pattaro/AFP via Getty Images


    With Humans In Hiding, Animals Take Back The World 10On March 30, ducks ventured across the street in the heart of Paris, which is typically bustling with traffic.

    Mehdi Taamallah/NurPhoto via Getty Images


    With Humans In Hiding, Animals Take Back The World 11Goats sauntered on abandoned streets in Jaipur on March 24

    Vishal Bhatnagar/NurPhoto via Getty Images


    With Humans In Hiding, Animals Take Back The World 12A baby rabbit crossed a main road in Christchurch on April 1. New Zealand entered its strictest state of lockdown on March 25.

    Sanka Vidanagama/NurPhoto via Getty Images


    With Humans In Hiding, Animals Take Back The World 13A wild fox roamed the empty streets of London on the night of March 28.

    Sanka Vidanagama/NurPhoto via Getty Images


    With Humans In Hiding, Animals Take Back The World 14On April 1, cattle looked for food in Palu, Central Sulawesi, in Indonesia, where the government is recommending that people avoid public spaces.

    Basri Marzuki/NurPhoto via Getty Images


    With Humans In Hiding, Animals Take Back The World 15A coyote stood outside Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on April 3, weeks after Major League Baseball suspended all play.

    Keith Birmingham/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images


    With Humans In Hiding, Animals Take Back The World 16The movie theater was closed in Westbury, N.Y., on March 20, leaving the parking lot empty for Canadian geese to roam.

    Bruce Bennett/Getty Images


     

    Credits: Bloomberg

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  • Hear Urgent Cases Via Skype, Zoom, Falana Tells Nigerian Judges

    Hear Urgent Cases Via Skype, Zoom, Falana Tells Nigerian Judges

    Hear Urgent Cases Via Skype, Zoom, Falana Tells Nigerian Judges 17

    Hear Urgent Cases Via Skype, Zoom, Falana Tells Nigerian Judges 18


    Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has urged the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Ibrahim Muhammad, to prevail on judges in the country to “hear urgent applications via Skype or Zoom during the lockdown”.

    Following the outbreak of Coronavirus in Nigeria, courts were directed to shut down until the pandemic was brought under control by government.

    But encouraging judges to embrace technological tools to attend to cases during this lockdown period, Falana in a letter to the CJN said, “Since the Federal Government has relaxed the lockdown by allowing markets, shops and stalls selling food and groceries to open to customers between the hours of 10:00am and 2:00pm daily, the National Judicial Council ought to review the suspension of court sittings to enable them attend to urgent matters to ensure that thousands of people who are either awaiting trial or under investigation are not subjected to unlawful detention.

    “The review has become necessary in view of the fact that motions for the bail of many criminal suspects and applications to secure the enforcement of the fundamental right to personal liberty of other detainees are pending in several courts in all the states of the federation and in the federal capital territory.

    “In addition, the return dates in respect of several ex parte orders made by magistrates for the remand of a number of criminal suspects which have since expired are due to be quashed or renewed to extend time for further investigation.

    “More so that the heads of the various courts are vested with the power to designate judges and magistrates to attend to urgent matters in accordance with the laws establishing such courts.

    “However, in order to observe the social distancing directive, we suggest that arrangements be made for judges to hear urgent applications via Skype or Zoom.”

    Already, that strategy had been adopted in Kenya where 4,800 prisoners had been released by judges after hearing their cases through Skype and Zoom, a report by CNN said.

    “We prioritised getting a lot of people out of prison, especially petty offenders. Those who are in prison for a short term and those who have been there for a long time but have just about six months and below to go,” Anne Amadi, Chief Registrar of the judiciary in Kenya, told CNN.

    “As of Friday last week, we managed to decongest the prison by about 4800 inmates from different parts of the country. 

    “All our 39 high court stations have released people. Most of them, a good number, through Skype or Zoom,” she added.

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  • Five Nigerians In China Test Positive For Coronavirus

    Five Nigerians In China Test Positive For Coronavirus

    Five Nigerians In China Test Positive For Coronavirus 19

    Five Nigerians In China Test Positive For Coronavirus 20


    Five Nigerians based in China have tested positive for Coronavirus, Daily Mail UK reports. 

    Out of the bunch, four had recently visited the same eatery, ‘Emma Food’, multiple times, the Guangzhou Health Commission announced on Tuesday.

    The restaurant owner, alongside her daughter and another child, later tested positive for the pandemic.

    Wuhan, the former epicentre, on Wednesday saw all travel restrictions lifted after 76 days.

    Seven people, who tested positive for Coronavirus, have been linked to the same restaurant in China, sparking fears.

    The Nigerian citizens with the infections were detected between March 28 and March 30, after screening 3,779 travellers from high-risk countries living in the city.

    The Coronavirus epidemic erupted in China after dozens of people suffering ‘mysterious viral pneumonia’ were linked to the same seafood market in Wuhan.

    Guangzhou is situated 1,028 kilometres (638 miles) South of the former epicentre.

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  • COVID-19 And Nigeria’s Pathetic Leadership Deficit By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

    COVID-19 And Nigeria’s Pathetic Leadership Deficit By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

    COVID-19 And Nigeria’s Pathetic Leadership Deficit By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye 21

    COVID-19 And Nigeria’s Pathetic Leadership Deficit By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye 22


    There is no better warning about the growing confusion that seems to be gradually beclouding the federal government’s response to the coronavirus challenge than the belief it betrayed last week that, perhaps, all it needs to calm the fears and apprehensions of Nigerians about its ability to halt the spread of the virus is to reel out a catalogue of activities President Buhari was said to have undertaken so far concerning the pestilence, whether the people felt their impact or not. 

    Now, if your family is starving badly, do you solve the rumbling signs of biting hunger in their stomach with some wild tales of the efforts deployed by you so far to feed them, or just keep quiet, give them food, and they will see and feel for themselves that you have played your role responsively and effectively?  Or if you must talk, tell them something you have done whose benefits they can readily verify and identify with. 

    Indeed, some Nigerians are beginning to achieve the conviction that there must be something about being in government in this country that seems to diminish the reasoning ability of people once they get in there and deprives them of the capacity to realize when they have stopped making sense or even become downright annoying. This is very pathetic. 

    And so, last week, presidential spokesperson, Mr. Femi Adesina, issued a document entitled: “COVID-19: What President Buhari Has Done And Is Doing.” And, I suppose that with the release of that handout, the virus immediately received a deadly blow and vanished from the country! Aren’t we so blessed? Why then are Nigerians not on the streets celebrating the unprecedented feat? 

    A prominent item on Mr. Adesina’s list is the president’s March 29 broadcast. And what exactly did the broadcast achieve? The two things I can readily remember now is that Gen Buhari had announced the continuation of the school feeding programme for pupils who are all at home now due to the closure of schools as part of the efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Probably, nobody remembered to inform him and his speech writers that school children were on compulsory holidays, or are they going to send the food to them in their homes? Or, perhaps, somebody is trying to find a justification for the billions of naira we will be informed later was spent on the exercise?  

    Also, the president proclaimed the lockdown of Lagos and Ogun states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).  And when he was through, he returned to his hideout – where only a few privileged eyes and ears see and hear from him, and then come out to tell us what they think he has said or done.

    Now, what exactly was the lockdown meant to achieve?  Okay, as social interactions are reduced, the chances of spreading the virus decrease.  Yes, but what else?  Has anyone seen any evidence that there were any plans to use the stay-at-home period to access the people and step up medical tests to determine how many people have become infected with the virus and how they could be attended to? 

    The government that was boasting that it was “adequately prepared” to tackle the virus was later to prove when the virus eventually arrived that it was only making empty claims as usual.  A country of 200 million people has yet to demonstrate any capacity to test even a reasonable fraction of one percent of her population. And somebody is publishing a document to tell us what the president was supposed to have done or is doing. As if such boring tales will remove the cloud of gloom hovering over Nigeria? 

    Again, in a country where electric power is just an unaffordable luxury for many, how can a leader just lock down some states and return to his hideout to continue his “vacation” that was rudely interrupted by the loud, persistent and widespread demands that he should address his country even though some other presidents were doing daily briefings and leading the war against the virus from the front?  As the markets closed and movements became restricted, how are those who could afford to buy and stock food items at home preserve them without electric power?  

    What of the greater population which depend on daily earnings for their survival?  What is the government’s plan for them? Okay, we are hearing of palliatives that have been extended to this category of people and the billions of naira that have already been transferred to their accounts?  Now, who has encountered the happy recipients of the twenty thousand naira (N20, 000) said to have been given to each of them?  Are there really existing data showing the social and economic status of every Nigerian which is in the possession of the authorities?  So, all the “poor and vulnerable” Nigerians now have bank accounts whose details are known to the government?  So, why then are too many Nigerians very suspicious of these claims as shown in their social media comments? And why is such a rare display of kindness by this government not being celebrated? Or have the funds (if indeed any were shared) ended up in the hands of the same people who have more than enough to need them while those who are genuinely deprived remain terribly famished? 

    Already, the biting hunger out there is forcing a growing number of people to defy the no-movement decree and soon, the whole effort might be defeated, and the country will return to square one.  Information Minister, Mr. Lai Mohammed, is threatening that the lockdown may be extended if Nigerians fail to behave themselves. But what he should rather have done is to hasten to school himself to realize that there is always a price to pay when leaders leave the country they claim to be governing in great disarray only to suddenly wake up when there is an emergency to grope for fix-quick solutions. 

    A few days after the president’s broadcast (that is, Tuesday, March 31), Daily Independent carried a front page lead story about 26 Americans who came into the country through the Murtala Mohammed International Airport and headed to Calabar without being screened.  Now, who cleared their trip to the country and why were there no health officials available to screen them and ensure they were quarantined for 14 days before being allowed to fly to Calabar?  Is it because they are Americans or clients of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) or both?  Does that automatically exempt any of them from being a carrier of the virus which is presently ravaging their own country?  What kind of government claims to be fighting a virus with one hand and using the other hand to be undermining the efforts being deployed to contain it? 

    Okay, the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, has just announced that an 18-man Chinese team of medical “experts” will soon arrive the country to “assist” Nigeria in the fight against the coronavirus.  Now, is it the federal government that asked China for help or was it China that volunteered their assistance?  Indeed many Nigerians are vehemently opposed to this gesture at this time.  Our own local medical experts have not shown any signs of being overburdened by the work, so what difference are these 18 Chinese doctors and nurses going to make?  Will they, like the 26 privileged Americans, also be given express entry into the country or will they be isolated for 14 days as should be the case, before they would be allowed to start rendering their “assistance”?  

    Do we really need this Chinese gift now or is it that the government lacks the liver to politely decline their offer of help, despite the widespread apprehension among the citizenry about their involvement (since many Nigerians, habour strong fears that the gesture might turn out a Greek gift)? Even the umbrella body of Nigerian doctors, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), has come out to strongly oppose the coming of the Chinese medical team.  Is it that our government is too intimidated to say NO to China’s offer probably because it has yoked itself so much with crushing debts due to its excessive borrowings from them – debts, whose positive effects on Nigerian lives many are yet to see? 

    I raise these points because, although, Nigeria has recorded one of the lowest deaths from coronavirus, it was the stubborn refusal of the government to close our borders when it became very necessary and urgent (and despite calls from well-meaning Nigerians) that led to the explosion in the number of confirmed cases that the country has recorded today.  In saner climes, the government should have profusely apologized for that terrible miscalculation that is costing the nation so much now. 

    But it now has another opportunity now to gratify the yearning of Nigerians and reject the Chinese offer even if it is well-meaning and the fears about it are misplaced. 

    Now, what lessons is the government taking away from the scourge of coronavirus? Will they see the need to equip our hospitals this time and upgrade at least few of them to world standard now that they have realized the folly of always waiting to use public funds to send themselves and their families abroad to treat even minor ailments?  For the first time in Nigeria, the naïve and largely misguided Nigerian leaders have found out that it is not always safe to seek solutions for health challenges outside the country and that there is afterall no place like home. This is hoping that the lesson will endure and be redemptive. 

    *Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye, is a Nigerian journalist and writer. (scruples2006@yahoo.com) 

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  • Assuaging Plight Of The Poor In This Perilous Time By Okechukwu Nwanguma

    Assuaging Plight Of The Poor In This Perilous Time By Okechukwu Nwanguma

    Assuaging Plight Of The Poor In This Perilous Time By Okechukwu Nwanguma 23

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    Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre has been monitoring and receiving information on public compliance with the Federal Government ordered lockdown in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states, which contain measures to contain the ravaging Covid-19 pandemic.

    Our monitoring of the compliance with the lockdown and stay-at-home orders in Lagos, Abuja and few other states indicate that most people are finding it difficult to effectively comply for various reasons. 

    First, there are those, who still don’t believe that Covid-19 is a real life-threatening pandemic and that precautionary measures such as social distancing, personal hygiene and other outlined measures can prevent its infection and spread. 

    In fact some have been made to believe that the lockdown is a deception by government to achieve other ulterior motives. Those, who promote this narrative are mainly the apocalyptic Pentecostal ‘Men of God’, who push arguments linking Covid-19 to 5G mobile technology, which they argue is a part of the biblically ordained designs of the Anti-Christ.

    Second, some Nigerians are simply lawless or lack discipline, just like when passengers are asked to switch off their phones prior to flight take off and you still find some people, seemingly ladies and gentlemen, fiddling with their phones.

    To illustrate, a relative of mine called me yesterday to complain that he was arrested by the police somewhere in Lagos when he drove out to buy pap for his baby. I asked him whether he knew about the lockdown order and whether there was nowhere around his neighbourhood he could walk down to buy the pap. He said ‘but other vehicles are on the road’. I told him that he had broken the law as much as those other people. Everybody may not be arrested at once.

    He wanted me to talk to the police officers, who arrested him and ordered him to drive to their station. I asked him what he wanted me to tell them.

    Third, and most significantly, there are yet others, who are forced out of their homes by want and hunger. They can’t stand the site of their tender children crying for hunger.

    As I said elsewhere, majority of the population fall within the poor and vulnerable category. Usually, many feed themselves and their dependents on their daily earnings. They live from hand to mouth.

    Under the prevailing difficult and uncertain situation, many families and individuals are already suffering and starving, just one week into the lockdown, with one more week left to go, with the probability of an extension.

    The Federal Government’s Social Intervention Policy, the so-called conditional cash transfer is not yet addressing mass poverty, deprivation and hunger. The billions, which government announced that it has released and made available for conditional cash transfer to the poor and vulnerable in communities are not reaching the targets. There are still cries of woe and anguish in most communities.

    We have seen videos of caricature of the ‘social intervention’, of food items shared to some communities. In one video, we saw a street in Lagos of over 30 families, who said they were given two loaves of bread and few cups of rice and garri and few condiments (tomato paste sachets) to share. And we see members of the community lamenting and asking how a whole street of over 30 families could be given such quantity of food items not enough to serve one family for two days to share!

    Corruption has become our national culture. A seemingly intractable challenge to our progress and development. Most of our politicians and public office holders are unscrupulously avaricious.

    Given our past experiences where public funds meant for and released to assuage the sufferings of poor and vulnerable communities were  either unconscionably used to ‘cut grasses’ or inexplicably got ‘swallowed by snakes’, we call for transparent and community-based approaches to the management and disbursement of social intervention funds.

    Considering complaints by many local communities about not benefiting from the released billions of naira announced and meant to alleviate poverty and hardship, especially during this difficult and uncertain period, we call for a transparent and effective investigation of the management of the funds so far allocated. Efforts must be put in place to ensure that the funds are not diverted as usual.

    Independent community committees must receive these funds and be charged with identifying those in their midst, who qualify to benefit.

    The management of the funds should be monitored by a multi-stakeholder committee including government and community representatives as well as credible media and civil society representatives.

    Government must put effective measures in place to check corrupt public officials, who want to steal or divert funds meant to relieve the sufferings of the poor and vulnerable people in this perilous times.

    This is the only way to help the people comply with the law and stay at home for now!

    Finally, since government has been announcing huge numbers of beneficiaries of cash transfer program running into millions and claiming to have paid billions, can the government make the system transparent by publishing the names and addresses of the beneficiaries on an electronic portal so that Nigerians can do the verification?

    Okechukwu Nwanguma is the Executive Director of Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre

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  • Visa Foundation Donates $210m As Support For Small And Micro Enterprises

    Visa Foundation Donates $210m As Support For Small And Micro Enterprises

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    Visa Foundation has announced a donation of $210m to support small and micro businesses, aligning with the foundation’s long-term focus on women’s economic advancement and inclusive economic development.

    The first program of $10m is designated for immediate emergency relief to support charitable organisations on the frontlines responding to the COVID-19 pandemic such as public health and food relief in each of the five geographic regions in which Visa operates.

    “As COVID-19 continues to unfold, communities are feeling the effects and need our immediate support,” said Al Kelly, CEO and Chairman of Visa.

    “As a global company that operates a very local business, we recognise this need.

    We’re also committed to the long-term recovery and will continue to explore ways we can accelerate economic activity in line with our mission to help individuals, businesses and economies thrive,” Kelly added.

    The second program is a five-year, strategic $200m commitment to support small and micro-businesses around the world, with a focus on fostering women’s economic advancement.

    The funds from Visa Foundation will provide capital to non-government organisations and investment partners supporting small and micro-businesses.

     

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  • Veggies can be transported out of Kundasang: Junz

    Veggies can be transported out of Kundasang: Junz

    Veggies can be transported out of Kundasang: Junz 27

    KOTA KINABALU: The Government has allowed an exemption for the transportation of vegetables from Kundasang to other parts of Sabah like Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan and Tawau since the first and second week of the Movement Control Order (MCO).

    To date, a total of 148 permissions involving 184 vehicles have been registered with special movement stickers.

    This was revealed by Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry, Datuk Junz Wong here yesterday following the press release by Jailin Nazrin, the Kampung Lipasu Unit head for the Kinabalu Area Farmers’Association (PPK) recently.

    Jailin was recently reported as saying, “The problem is getting worse, as vegetable wholesalers from outside Kundasang are not allowed in. Vegetables are important for the people, and their production and sales must continue.”

    Junz said the agency involved in enforcing the MCO are the Royal Malaysian Police, but the transportation of vegetables from Kundasang to Brunei, Sarawak or even Semananjung was exempted.

    Junz explained that at the Ranau/Kundasang district level, all agencies involved were working together to ensure farmers and transporters are assisted.

    “My ministry, the district office, the police, the Health Ministry, Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA) and all involved are working closely with the relevant stakeholders like farmers and transporters to ensure the process is smooth.”

    “The MCO has affected everyone, especially farmers in Kundasang. This is unavoidable as we need to bend the curve. But we are working closely to reduce the impact on essential activities.”

    Veggies can be transported out of Kundasang – Junz

    POSTED ON APRIL 8, 2020, WEDNESDAY AT 5:59 AMSABAH

    Junz Wong

    KOTA KINABALU: The Government has allowed an exemption for the transportation of vegetables from Kundasang to other parts of Sabah like Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan and Tawau since the first and second week of the Movement Control Order (MCO).

    To date, a total of 148 permissions involving 184 vehicles have been registered with special movement stickers.

    This was revealed by Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry, Datuk Junz Wong here yesterday following the press release by Jailin Nazrin, the Kampung Lipasu Unit head for the Kinabalu Area Farmers’Association (PPK) recently.

    Jailin was recently reported as saying, “The problem is getting worse, as vegetable wholesalers from outside Kundasang are not allowed in. Vegetables are important for the people, and their production and sales must continue.”

    Junz said the agency involved in enforcing the MCO are the Royal Malaysian Police, but the transportation of vegetables from Kundasang to Brunei, Sarawak or even Semananjung was exempted.

    Junz explained that at the Ranau/Kundasang district level, all agencies involved were working together to ensure farmers and transporters are assisted.

    “My ministry, the district office, the police, the Health Ministry, Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA) and all involved are working closely with the relevant stakeholders like farmers and transporters to ensure the process is smooth.”

    “The MCO has affected everyone, especially farmers in Kundasang. This is unavoidable as we need to bend the curve. But we are working closely to reduce the impact on essential activities.”

    Junz said he was informed that Sabah FAMA was monitoring the situation to ensure vegetables planted in Kundasang reach Tawau, Lahad Datu, Semporna, Sandakan, Kudat and Kota Kinabalu.

    “Vegetables from Kundasang have even reached Sarawak through Sindumin. In fact, Sabah FAMA has also facilitated 45 metric tonnes of produce to places like Selayang in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. There was no issue.”

    Meanwhile, Junz praised farmer and activist Azizul Julirin and his friends for assisting the transportation of produce to Kota Kinabalu.

    “I have met and been in touch with Azizul who is a youth activist and farmer in Kundasang himself. He and his friends have been transporting vegetables from Kundasang to Kota Kinabalu.”

    “But who is Jailin who made the baseless claim? Is he from Kundasang and a farmer in Kundasang? We have never seen him around and the locals don’t know him.”

    “My ministry through the Agriculture Department will continue allowing and monitoring the situation. We have been doing this since the first and second week of the MCO and we will continue doing so,” Junz concluded. – Borneo Post

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  • Govt urged to help all companies, not just SMEs

    Govt urged to help all companies, not just SMEs

    Govt urged to help all companies, not just SMEs 28

    PETALING JAYA: The government has been urged to look at the survival of all companies and not just Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

    SMEs have a strict definition by SME Corp Malaysia, and many companies fall out of this scope, Knight Frank Malaysia Managing Director Sarkunan Subramaniam said today.

    Knight Frank LLP is a leading independent global property consultancy.

    In welcoming the third stimulus package worth RM10 billion rolled out to mitigate the severe social and economic impacts arising from the Covid-19 pandemic and the on-going movement control order (MCO), he said SMEs contribute 40% to the national economy.

    “The initiatives should be extended to all businesses that are badly affected during this economic slump and additional measures should be extended to the businesses involved in the hospitality, food and beverage, tourism and aviation sectors,” he said in a statement.

    “With the exception of those categorised as ‘essential services’, all other business activities have literally slowed or grind to a halt during this month-long MCO, which may be further extended should the number of infected cases continue to rise daily.”

    Sarkunan said SMEs operating at premises owned by government-linked companies (GLCs) could enjoy rent exemption or discounts, although the quantum of discounts or rental exemption for these SMEs are unclear at this moment.

    He applauded the government’s direction of encouraging private property owners to provide at least 30% rental discounts to SMEs during the MCO and three months after it ends by granting these landlords equivalent tax deductions.

    However, he pointed out that this creates an issue for landlords having to verify if their tenants are SMEs or not. It is better for this relief be extended to all businesses since the balance 60% contribution to the national economy is other than SMEs.

    “We regret that this initiative is purely for SME tenants only and urged the government to extend it to all tenants as they also facing challenges in sustaining their businesses amid this unprecedented event. All companies, small or big, are important for the country’s economy, no one should be left out,” Sarkunan added.

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