Comedian/artiste Mohammed Jammal popularly known as 'White Nigerian' & his wife Marciel have welcomed their first child together, a girl. They have named her Maya. Congrats to them.

Nigerian Teachers threaten to strike over new resumption date

The Nigerian Union of Teachers, NUT, have threatened to go on a nationwide strike if the Federal government does not shift the date of resumption as well as put in place measures that would protect their members from contracting the deadly Ebola virus while teaching in schools. 

Speaking in a telephone interview with Punch, the National President of the NUT, Michael Alogba, said the union had taken a decision not to allow any of its members go into any school to teach if the eradication of the deadly virus has not been scientifically and medically proven. Continue...

"In any sane society, decision such as this will not be taken until the government and all stakeholders have met and discussed the issue at stake and are sure that the nation is scientifically and medical free from the scourge. But this is not the case in our country. When they arrived at the early October 13 date, they wrote us and we agreed with their argument but when this new date was given, they did not because of the influence of some powerful school owners who put pressure on them (Federal Government) to announce the September 22 date. Anyway, we have written to tell them that if the   Federal Government does not shift the date and provide all necessary safety measures in schools before Monday next week, all NUT leaders will meet in Abuja by 9am on Tuesday to decide our fate by ourselves. Though I don’t want to preempt the outcome of the meeting but as teachers who have families and who should protect our future, I mean our students, we will shun the classes; we will call for strike. What kind of government is this, don’t they know that children can never be as hygienic as adults? Don’t they know that the immunity level of children is not as high as that of adults? Why do you want to open schools when you have not cleared out the virus; when you still have about 400 people under surveillance in Port Harcourt and Lagos? You are aware of what is happening at the Obafemi Awolowo University. How are we sure that there is no primary or secondary school pupil that has had   contact with an Ebola patient. It’s good that the   NMA (Nigerian Medical Association) has spoken and we have told them too that we would not cooperate with them. That   is why we are going to take a drastic action on Tuesday to protect ourselves and our children. I can tell you that we will shun schools; we won’t cooperate with them. In other words, we will embark on strike.” he said

He warned that if by next Monday, September 15th the Federal Government had not extended the new date, the executive council would meet by Tuesday 16th September where a drastic decision would be taken.

Meanwhile after the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja yesterday the Health Minister said there was no going back on the resumption date. According to him, there was no scientific basis for school resumption date to be postponed

"First unlike other countries, there is no community transmission of the disease in Nigeria; not one yet. But we have taken precautions, what we are doing, we may as well have said everybody should just be moving about, but we are taking precautions. There is no scientific basis for school resumption to be postponed. There is no community transmission of the disease in Nigeria. That is what separates Nigeria from other countries. It is what I call irrational fear; we don’t need to be irrational about this.” he said

The Nigerian Medical Association as well as the House of Representative Committee on Education have spoken against the new resumption date.

Oscar Pistorius arrives at court to learn his fate over girlfriend's death

After  a lengthy trial and 30 days of deliberation, Oscar Pistorius is about to find out if he's going to be locked up for a very long time for murder or be set free. Judge Thokozile Masipa is currently delivering her verdict at the High Court in Pretoria. You can tune in to DStv 199 to watch live or stay tuned here.

A concerned Nigerian Mom on Ebola and resumption of schools

Article below is written by a concerned Nigerian mum named Efe Farinre. It seems a lot of mums are against the resumption of primary and secondary schools on September 22nd despite the Minister of Health saying there's currently no single case of Ebola in Nigeria. Anyway read this mum's concern below and tell us what you think.

I just received a mail confirming that schools will re-open on Monday 22nd September, 2014. After reading it, I felt compelled to put on paper my thoughts since the announcement of same by the Federal Government. One thing that struck me is that I am yet to receive information about confirmed (not advised/suggested) nationwide measures that have been put in place to ensure the safety of our children from the Ebola virus upon resumption at school in two weeks." Continue...

The reason for moving the resumption date forward by three weeks was given as “containment of the Ebola virus in Nigeria”. How does that statement stand in view of the present situation in Port Harcourt?

I returned to Lagos from a week’s trip to Abuja on Friday 5th September, 2014. The first issue I had,which I mentioned to an airport official was that just before boarding the planes (in Lagos and Abuja), passengers (adults and children) are given a rub-down. The officials checking our bodies were wearing gloves. However, the same gloves were worn while touching a good number of people.
The officials were protected, but how about the passengers being touched with the gloves that had been used to touch many others? On arrival at the Abuja airport, the temperature of every passenger was taken before entry was granted into the Federal Capital Territory. Of concern is that on departure from Abuja, this was not the case. Worse still, Lagos State that had the index case of Ebola welcomed us without any precautionary measures of any kind. We simply picked up our bags and walked into the city. With instances where infected people have traveled from one state to another, we should be worried.

It is understandable that we want our children educated, but we need to be reminded that we can only educate the healthy and living. Ebola virus in Nigeria is an unprecedented occurrence that has to be handled as such. “Better safe than sorry” should be the motto here. So far, we have been blessed in the manner that no child has contacted the disease. Children play indiscriminately with one another.
A child of what age can be guaranteed to identify the symptoms of the Ebola and keep away from it? How many times do we have to remind our children not to put their hands in their mouths and cover their mouths when they yawn, cough or sneeze? How do we tell them not to play with their friends as they are used to or not to show concern if one of them gets hurt and is bleeding? How can we really be sure that our 3 to 16 year olds would be safe from Ebola in a place where we cannot control who they come in contact with; a place where they share toilets, eat and play with others. How about our babies at crèche who we can’t even attempt to explain this to and who cannot verbalize their day at “school”?

I am the typical “Nigerian Mum”….ensuring my kids are on top of their school work, home work and leisure activities. At this time, I must pause and realize that prevention is the only option here as there is no cure! If the children have to stay home a little longer while this epidemic is eradicated or contained NATIONWIDE then so be it. If this implies a shorter Christmas break this year or just four weeks of Summer break next year to make up for the lost education time, so be it.
One thing I am sure no parent wants to deal with is the anxiety if a child comes home with a fever. We all know that at school, children love to share all things with one another from the water in their bottles to the flu. Then again, which parents want to have to take their child to the hospital these days?

If the doctor in Port Harcourt could go to work for some days after being infected with Ebola then we should be more concerned. This was an educated person, in fact someone who knew the consequences of his actions more than most, but he still put others at risk. Worst of all, these were colleagues and patients who could not tell from his demeanor that he was sick. They trusted him and could never have imagined that he would expose them to a deadly virus.

To our leaders, I ask what control measures against Ebola have been put in place in ALL schools, particularly the government and state schools? I visited a private school in Abuja and before we could go in, our temperatures where taken. We should remember that even if private schools are well catered for, the children of our drivers, domestic helps and “junior staff” attend public schools.

How many infrared thermometers have been distributed across these schools in Nigeria? Who would be responsible for taking the temperature of EVERYONE going into ALL schools? Since a symptom of Ebola is sudden fever, how often would the temperatures of students need to be taken in the course of the day? What Ebola emergency responses have been set up by location of ALL schools in Nigeria? What awareness has been carried out in the villages and remote areas of the country, where we have schools too? How will adherence to control measures (if and when they are in place) against Ebola in Nigerian schools be monitored, by whom and how frequently? What steep penalties have been put in place for schools that default?

As a parent I want to see action and not hear words! In a country where a nurse can flee quarantine and a primary contact with the index case can evade detection, with both of them traveling across state lines, I demand action from government before our children are asked to return to school. It’s not enough to ask “Ministries of Education in the 36 states of Nigeria to appoint desk officers on Ebola before resumption or that they should ensure that at least two staff in each school (public and private) are trained by appropriate health workers on how to handle any suspected case of Ebola, should in case there’s one or workers should embark on immediate sensitization of teaching and non-teaching staff in schools on preventive measures”, ALL STATE MINISTRIES OF EDUCATION and SCHOOLS (PUBLIC & PRIVATE) MUST be MANDATED and SUFFICENTLY EQUIPPED with ALL RESOURCES to ensure Ebola virus does not hit our children.

In Nigeria, it’s just schools that are closed. In some other African countries, communities are closed-in.

Now is the time to speak up, so that never happens to us. In my opinion, there are still too many unanswered questions and too many checks to be put in place before schools can resume. Parents, let’s preserve our lineage. Government, let’s preserve the future of Nigeria. Together, let’s preserve the lives of ALL Nigerian children.

Bill Gates Donates $50m To Fight Ebola In Africa

As the whole world continue to wage war against the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa, American business magnate, Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda Gates, have joined hands in the fight against the dreaded disease.
Acting in response to the devastating Ebola outbreak in four West Africa nations, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced on Wednesday, 10 September, 2014 that it has pledged $50 million to help combat the epidemic.

Bill Gates in Africa

According to a news release by the foundation, founded by Bill and Melinda in 2000 to enhance healthcare and reduce extreme poverty, the money will be made available to United Nations agencies and international organizations involved in effort to fight Ebola in West Africa and the continent as a whole.
The grant is meant to enable such agencies and national governments to purchase “needed supplies and scale up emergency operations in affected countries,” the foundation said.
It was also gathered that the grant will also be used to develop therapies, vaccines and diagnostic tests to treat patients and prevent further transmission of the often-fatal disease.

“We are working urgently with our partners to identify the most effective ways to help them save lives now and stop transmission of this deadly disease,” said Sue Desmond-Hellmann, CEO of the Gates Foundation. “We also want to accelerate the development of treatments, vaccines and diagnostics that can help end this epidemic and prevent future outbreaks.”

Ebola Outbreak in Africa

It would be recalled that theU.S. and officials of the World Health Organization, WHO, have warned that the Ebola virus is spreading faster than health workers in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone can work to contain it.
According to WHO estimates released Tuesday, it put the West Africa toll from Ebola at more than 2,200 deaths and 4,200 infections, primarily due to a surge of new cases in Liberia.
WHO officials estimate that another 20,000 people could become infected with the virus, which has a mortality rate that can approach 90 percent.
Meanwhile, an American medical missionary being treated at a Nebraska medical center for Ebola infection is showing signs of improvement, according to the hospital.
The patient, Dr. Rick Sacra, 51, of Massachusetts — the third of four U.S. health-care workers infected by the deadly virus in West Africa — arrived Friday at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. He is undergoing treatment in the hospital’s 10-bed isolation unit.
According to Dr. Phil Smith, director of the Nebraska Biocontainment Patient Care Unit, the doctors at the hospital are pleased with Sacra’s progress.
“The physicians “continue to be encouraged by what we’re seeing up to this point,” Smith said.
Also, the fourth American health-care worker who became infected with Ebola in West Africa continued his second day of treatment Wednesday at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. The patient, who was airlifted in on Tuesday, has yet to be identified for privacy reasons.
The Atlanta hospital last month successfully treated two other U.S. medical aid workers who had contracted Ebola in Liberia. Dr. Kent Brantly, 33, and Nancy Writebol, 59, were flown in from Liberia in August for aggressive treatment at Emory. Both recovered and are no longer contagious.

Adamawa Youths, Vigilantes Kill 80 Boko Haram Members

 
In a fight to take over their towns back from Boko Haram, reports coming in from Adamawa state is that about 8o members of the sect have been killed by youths and vigilantes in Muchika  and Madagali local government of the state on Tuesday night, September 9.

According to Punch the dreaded Boko Haram armed with sophiscated weapons who have been wreakingg continuous havoc in the Northern states most especially Adamawa and Borno fled into the rush after running out of arms and ammunitions.

Igbinedion's granddaughter writes about him as he turns 80 today

Sir Gabriel Igbinedion's granddaughter, Osasu, wrote this sentimental message to her grandfather on her Instagram as he turns 80 years old today September 11th. Happy 80th to him.