Tag: saharareporters

“President Buhari is an illiterate, he does not know what restructuring means, he is less concerned about the future of Nigeria, he is only bothered about his cows.”— Pa Ayo Adebanjo, Afenifere Chieftain and elder Nigerian statesman. Illiteracy is defined by the dictionary simply as the inability to read and write. Someone unable to read or write could express themselves orally but when it comes down to putting pen to paper or reading a book or newspaper, for instance, their disability is exposed to their shame. Nigeria boasts of millions…

Read More

In the March 29, 2020 national broadcast of President Muhammadu Buhari and the COVID-19 Quarantine Regulations issued thereafter to curtail the spread of Coronavirus pandemic, members of the armed forces were not authorised to enforce the regulations. But out of sheer impunity, the Defence Headquarters announced plans of the armed forces to implement the presidential order on the restriction of the movement of the Nigerian people. In my reaction to the illegal plan of the Defence Headquarters to involve armed troops in the enforcement of the regulations, I issued a…

Read More

When I left Abuja at short notice nine days ago, the city was already emptying out. The single biggest factory and business centre there – the National Assembly – was on the verge of closure.  Before the closure was announced, though, things were already slowing down but there was still just enough time left for the lawmakers to take delivery of their brand new SUVs to drive any virus out of town.  Lagos was by far more affected than was Abuja. The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) had reported…

Read More

It is no longer news that COVID-19 has brought untold disruption to classroom education in almost every part of the world. Going by statistics from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation as of March 28, 2020, over 1.7 billion students in 120 countries and 60.2 million teachers were out of school due to closure of educational institutions in response to the pandemic. This, the world body says, has impacted nearly 90 per cent of the world school population. This is bad news even in nations that have access…

Read More

Subterfuge. Propaganda. Lies. All have a date with truth. The truth is inexorable; it will always extinguish lies and propaganda. Nigeria’s ‘’successes’’ in the war against Boko Haram have been largely propaganda. Since 2015, when the Buhari administration declared the insurgents a conquered group, the combat campaign has been oxygenated by lies and half-truths. In March 2020, about 70 soldiers, including a major and three officers, were killed in an ambush by Boko Haram insurgents. The troops, on operation Ayiso Tamonuma, plodded into an ambush as they trudged into Goniri…

Read More

On March 29, 2020, the President directed the lockdown of Lagos, Ogun states and Abuja. Everything became paralyzed from March 30, 2020, as movements of persons were restricted, save those on essential services. The concomitant effect of this has been very catastrophic indeed, especially for daily wage earners. No doubt the President meant and acted well, though a bit late, but it is not in doubt that the action of the President was the best in the circumstances of our present realities, even though it had no legal backing. Having…

Read More

As the global pandemic continue to hold the world to ransom, nations all over the world continue to search for the ‘messiah vaccine’. Despite the fact that Covid-19 has successfully exposed even the supposed perfect and big countries in terms of inadequate health facilities, Cuba have come to the rescue. However, Nigeria remains wanted in the battle for cure as the President have never for once failed to disappoint Nigerians.  Meanwhile, Ogun State, in the South-West region, which is one of the hotspot of the virus, has failed woefully in…

Read More

The world is gripped in the Coronavirus reality and the immense panic and disruption it brings along with it. This virulent scourge has cut a path less trodden by viruses, as it infects and spreads with little regard for all the norms of red tape that has allowed the murder and official disappearance of many, including my six brothers. By the time it begins to execute those whose death sentences it has written and signed it is always 10 steps ahead on the paperwork. That is almost eight steps ahead…

Read More

A lot of legal issues are bound to arise as an aftermath of the outbreak of Coronavirus otherwise referred to as COVID-19.  There is therefore a need to shed light on some of the issues that may arise and how to navigate them. This article will x-ray the rights of patients, the rights of health workers and the basic minimum obligations of the government. The Code of Medical Ethics in Nigeria 2008 lists acts that constitute professional negligence. Rule 29.4 of the Code outlines some of these acts as follows:-…

Read More

Before this moment, Nigeria has been commended across the world for her readiness to combat and contain Coronavirus. Now that the virus is ravaging Nigeria and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, we must brainstorm the absences in how we are preparing to mitigate and alleviate the spread of the highly pandemic disease in the sub-region. As an effort in this direction, this article speaks to one of the reasons Coronavirus may be deadlier in Nigeria than elsewhere in the world and why place-based creative responses are necessary. My other goal…

Read More