As We Embrace Altercation-free Imo

AS WE EMBRACE ALTERCATION-FREE IMO

    

It’s only a sadist that would have wished to continue observing Imo acts not unlike a confused state. It’s no longer news that barely few weeks ago, Imo State – the Eastern Heartland, which is invariably reckoned as a peaceful arena, attracted the attention of not only Nigerians but the global community owing to a misunderstanding that transpired between the government of the state and the labour union.

    

The last time I checked, the dusts had settled. Of course, it’s apparent that currently the state in question is altercation-free. The long awaited moment was occasioned by the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that was duly signed by the state government through its Solicitor General, the organized labour, and the traders’ union (TUC) penultimate week, specifically on Wednesday February 10, 2016.

    

In the MOU, which disclosed that the disengaged workers had been reinstated and that the concession policy had been put on hold, government stated categorically that it would source for funds to pay workers which would be verified by the joint committee of government and the labour union. It further stated that, government would fund its operations with not more than thirty percent (30%) of the verified revenue for the affected month whilst the working committee would apply the balance of seventy percent (70%) in the settlement of salaries of public servants as well as pensioners in the state.

      

Now that Imo is altercation-free, every rational entity or individual would want to realize what the future holds for the great state. In other words, every concerned body is presently no doubt interested in the way forward since it’s obvious that ‘after rain come shine’.

     

It’s in this regard that I considered it wise and ideal to come up with this piece. Suffice it to say that this critique was informed by the need to inform as well as advise Imolites and all the concerned parties on what is actually expected of them, either collectively or individually, at this moment of sober reflection that requires pensive moods. Thank God it’s happening at the apt time – the Lent period.

    

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the person of Chief John Oyegun who was in Imo State on the day of the protest staged by the NLC that led to the signing of the MOU had appealed to workers in the state to face the reality and have a round table with the government with a view to proffering possible solutions that would continue to unite them. Thus, I urge the concerned groups not to do otherwise if the interest of Imo is paramount to them.

    

Similarly, in his words the governor Chief Owelle Rochas Okorocha made it known that he never sacked any worker nor owed any, but only suspended them due to their indolence. In view of this claim, there’s no need asking the members of the said workforce to reexamine their consciences especially at this period of Lent. This is a period of penance, abstinence and of course total repentance; so we are expected to embrace it in its totality. 

     

It was the famous philosopher, Socrates of the blessed memory that said, ‘an unexamined life is not worth living’, and I assent to the aphorism. Every sane and sincere being in Nigeria is aware of the obvious fact that truancy, apathy, self-centredness, and what have you, are peculiar to the country’s public service sector. To this end, I would personally like to be of help to the government towards ensuring that the bad eggs amid the workers are fished out without much ado. Enough is enough!

     

Such practices as falsification of age, forging of promotion letter (Genre 35), lateness to duty, stealing of government properties, filling of the payroll with ghost workers, lousiness while at work, and deceit, among other forms of sabotage, theft and cruelty have unarguably in recent times become a tradition to most public servants, particularly those at the top. Every Nigerian invariably laments over the ongoing crises occasioned by unemployment, but it’s pertinent to acknowledge that in the real sense most current serving civil servants are in their seventies (70s). How would you reconcile these assertions?

    

Another worrisome issue we are required to note is that, according to Gov Okorocha, Imo in spite of being an oil producing state, receives one of the least allocations from the federal government. For the past ten months, Imo has been receiving between #1.9 billion and #2.3 billion on a monthly basis with a wage bill of over #4 billion. Though the governor needs to address this lingering anomaly with the sitting President – Mohammadu Buhari, but it’s imperative to acknowledge that diversification of the sources of the state’s IGR remains an inevitable measure.

    

This is undoubtedly the era of total turnaround. Any element of deceit emanating from any angle must be swallowed or thrown to the waste bin headlong. Anyone who truly loves Imo State ought to do everything humanly possible to avoid further emergence of acrimony in the state.

      

At this juncture, I must sincerely appreciate the governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha for the urgent and humane step taken to address the altercation; he has indeed proven beyond any reasonable doubt that he’s a listening governor. Notwithstanding, his Excellency must take into cognizance that though Imo is in the hands of God but he’s the god the Imolites are seeing, hence must be extremely cautious of all his actions as he works vehemently towards rescuing Imo people in their entirety. Think about it!

 

Comr Fred Doc Nwaozor

Follow: @mediambassador  

 

Imo @40: Whither Ndi Imo?

IMO @ 40: WHITHER, NDI IMO?

     

The news is everywhere that Imo State popularly known as the ‘Eastern Heartland’ alongside other six states across the federation including Anambra, Bauchi, Benue, Niger, Ogun and Ondo had clocked 40. Imo currently comprising 27 local government areas is among the seven states created in Nigeria forty years ago during the country’s military regime.

    

The state was created specifically on Tuesday February 3, 1976 out of the old East Central State by the then regime of Gen Murtala Mohammed. It has Owerri as its capital and largest city. Thereafter, Abia State was carved out of the state during the state creation exercise of 1991. Its major districts/towns include Orlu, Okigwe, Awo-Omamma, Oguta, Mbaise, Ngor-Okpala, Ohaji, Egbema, Ideato, Mgbidi, and Ogbaku, among others.

 Imo State, which is situated in the South Eastern region of Nigeria, covers a land mass of about 5, 530 Square Kilometres. It shares common boundaries with Enugu and Ebonyi states to the North, Abia, Cross River and Akwa Ibom states to the East, Rivers State to the South, as well as Anambra State to the West. The official languages of the state’s inhabitants, whom are predominantly Christians, are Igbo and English.

    

The name ‘Imo’ was derived from Imo River, which takes its course from the Okigwe cum Awka upland. It lies within latitudes 4*45`N and 7*15`N, and longitudes 6*50`E and 7*25`E. Other major rivers in the ancient state are Orashi, Otamiri, Nwaorie, and Njaba. Its main lakes are Oguta and Abadaba situated in Oguta and Obowu LGAs respectively.

    

The state no doubt is richly blessed with abundant natural resources including crude oil, zinc, white clay, lead, limestone, natural gas and fine sand in commercial quantities. Agricultural produce such as cocoa, palm products, rubber, yam, cassava, maize and cocoyam are as well found in the state.

     

Human resources are not left out in the state. Learned professionals, seasoned artists, renowned entrepreneurs, world-class teachers, and notable politicians abound the state. Works of art peculiar to the state remain walking sticks of different designs, sculptures, carved doors, gongs, wooden mortars and pestles, talking drums and flutes; metal works coupled with numerous kinds of fabrications are also produced in Imo State.

    

Ancient art and cultural centres in the state are, but not limited to, Eke Nguru in Aboh Mbaise, Mbari Cultural Centre at Owerri, and Igwekala Shrine in Umunoha. Economic trees to include the Mahogany, Obeche, Iroko, Bamboo, Gmelina, oil palm and rubber palm are invariably in abundance in the state. There are various traditional festivals or dances observed in Imo State including the Ahiajoku Festival which is observed in all the communities that practise farming, Iwakwa festival, Iwa-Oji, the Owu cultural dance, Ekpe dance, the Okorosha and Mmanwu masquerades, Abi-igbo dance, as well as Ikoro and Okonko dances.

    

Some of the major ancient industries in the state, which are currently moribund, are Fuason Industries at Owerri which produces galvanized iron sheets, Afrik Pharmaceutical Company in Awo-Omamma, Card Packaged Industry in Orlu, Resin Paints Limited in Aboh Mbaise, Aluminium Extrusion Industry in Inyisi, Sab Spare Parts and Allied Accessories both in Okigwe – which make motor spare parts, Nichben Pharmaceutical Company in Awo-Omamma, Magil Industries in Atta – which manufactures paper, steel, sponge, bread and polythene.

     

In the political arena, upon the creation of the state, Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu, who assumed duty in March 1976, emerged the first military Governor of the old Imo state. Thereafter, Admiral Adekunle Lawal, Col Sunday Adenihun, Dr Samuel Mbakwe, Chief Ike Nwachukwu, Rear Admiral Allison Maduke, Commodore Amadi Ikwechegh, and Navy Commodore Anthony Oguguo became the governors of the old Imo State respectively. Subsequently, Chief Evan Enwerem, Navy Captain James Aneke and Col Tanko Zubairu respectively assumed duty as governors of the state prior to the emergence of the fourth Republic which saw Chief Achike Udenwa as the twelfth governor of the state; after the expiration of his second tenure, he was succeeded by Chief Ikedi Ohakim. Presently, the state is being governed by Chief Rochas Okorocha.

     

Surely, Imo has gone a long way, and perhaps thank God we are not fool at 40. The rightful and most rational question needed to be asked at this juncture is, where specifically are we headed for? To which place, Imolites do we wish to arrive at? In view of the history of the state as categorically stated above, it implies that we are enormously endowed with both human and natural resources, thus it’s time for us to harness those that have been sidelined, reactivate those presently moribund as well as reengineer or overhaul those that are seemingly in use.

    

To this end, it’s high time we swung into action towards revamping the tourism sector. Obviously, the state has all it takes to make the said sector booms effectively and efficiently. We need to revive most of our cultural resources/heritage that are socio-economically viable. Similarly, we are required to conscientize our citizenry, particularly our teeming young ones, to go back to their farms rather than relying or hoping on white-collar jobs that are apparently not forthcoming. It’s time for green-collar jobs.

    

What about our solid minerals, which we possess in mass quantities, as mentioned above? Now that we are bothered with diversification of sources of our economy, since the value of the petroleum products mainly the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) commonly known as fuel is currently not favourable, isn’t it time we started discussing how to harness other resources the state has in abundance? Thus, let’s attract the attention of the federal government to this effect. 

      

Inter alia, we need to reawaken most of the aforementioned state-owned industries located across the lengths and breadths of the state especially at this time the current administration ably led by Owelle Rochas Okorocha is determined to industrialize the state. It is worth noting that most of these moribund industries were established by the past governors such as Dr Sam Mbakwe whom are mostly of the blessed memory; hence, rather than making their spirits restless by maltreating the firms in question, let’s endeavour to make them rest in peace.

 

Truly, if we do the needful, Imo would be far better and greater; and it’s worthy to acknowledge that the time to act is now. Think about it!

 

Comr Fred Doc Nwaozor
Follow: @mediambassador  

                 

How not to Tackle Lassa Fever

HOW NOT TO TACKLE LASSA FEVER

     Though first described in the 1950s, the virus causing Lassa disease was not identified until 1969 when it was fully discovered in Nigeria, specifically in a village called ‘Lassa’ in Borno State; suffice to say that the virus was named after the said village.

      

Lassa fever is an infectious disease caused by a virus known as ‘Lassa virus’, which is a single-stranded Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) virus belonging to the virus family Arenaviridae. Lassa fever is a zoonotic disease meaning that humans become infected from contact with infected animals. The animal reservoir or host of Lassa virus is a rodent of the genus Mastomys commonly referred to as the ‘multimammate rat’. Mastomys rats infected with Lassa virus do not become ill, but they can shed the virus in their urine and faeces.

      

Thus, Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic illness of 1-4 weeks duration that occurs typically in West Africa. The Lassa virus is transmitted to humans via contact with food or household items contaminated with urine or faeces of infected rodents such as flying squirrels, rats, rabbits, among others. Person-to-person infections and laboratory transmission are equally possible, particularly in hospitals lacking adequate infection prevention and control measures.

     

Currently, Lassa fever is known to be endemic in Benin Republic where it was diagnosed for the first time in November 2014, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and parts of Nigeria, and probably exists in other West African countries as well. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the overall case-fatality rate is 1%; observed case-fatality rate among patients hospitalized with severe incidents of the virus is 15%.

    

About 80% of people who become infected with Lassa virus have no symptoms. Because the clinical course of the disease is so variable, its detection in infected patients has been very difficult. It is worth noting that one in five infections result in severe disease, where the virus affects several essential organs to include the liver, spleen and kidneys. It has been proven that when presence of the disease is confirmed in a certain community, prompt isolation of affected or suspected persons, good infection protection and control practices, as well as rigorous contact tracing can stop the outbreak.

    

The incubation period of Lassa fever ranges from 6–21 days. The onset of the disease when it is symptomatic is usually gradual starting with fever, general body weakness, and malaise. After a few days, headache, sore-throat, muscle pain, chest pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cough, and abdominal pain may follow suit. In severe cases, facial swelling, fluid in the lung cavity, bleeding from the mouth, nose, vagina or gastrointestinal tract, and low blood pressure may develop. Protein may be noted in the urine in some cases. More so, shock, seizures, tremor, disorientation, and coma might be observed in the later stages.    

      

Deafness occurs in 25% of patients who survive the disease; in half of these cases, hearing returns partially after 1-3 months. Transient hair loss and gait disturbance might set in during recovery stage. Death often takes place within 14 days of onset in fatal incidents. The disease is mostly severe in pregnancy, with maternal mortality and/or foetal loss occurring in greater than 80% of incidents during the third trimester.

     

Lassa virus can also be spread between humans through direct contact with the blood, urine, faeces, or other bodily secretions of a person infected with the virus. We must note that there’s no epidemiological evidence supporting airborne transmission between humans; but the virus can be spread via sharing of medical equipment such as needles as well as through sexual acts.

      

Since Lassa fever can be hardly distinguished from other haemorrhagic fevers like Ebola virus disease and many other diseases that cause fever including malaria, typhoid, yellow fever, shigellosis, its infections can only be diagnosed definitively in the laboratory using the following tests: antibody Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), virus isolation by cell culture, Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) assay, and/or antigen detection tests.

    

The antiviral drug, Ribavirin seems to be an effective treatment for Lassa fever if given early in the course of clinical illness. There is no proof to support the role of ribavirin as post-exposure prophy lactic treatment for Lassa fever. Currently, there’s no vaccine that protects the body against Lassa fever.

    

In a critical situation like this, we cannot ignore the obvious fact that prevention is far better than cure. Since Lassa fever is yet to boast of a vaccine, the most reliable preventive measure remains total abstinence or optimum utilization of avoidance approach. The general public, particularly our young ones, rather than posting comic commentaries on various social media as regards the epidemic ought to be meant to acknowledge this fact headlong without much ado. It’s baffling to realize that most people are making fun of an epidemic that have claimed several lives, thus all hands are expected to be on deck towards orientating the populace.

    

In view of the above assertion, it’s worthy to note that measures such as sustenance of community hygiene to discourage rodents from entering living places, storing grain and other foodstuffs in rodent-proof containers, disposing of garbage far from homes, maintaining clean households and keeping cats away from our consumables, are mostly required. Similarly, family members should always be careful to avoid contact with blood and other bodily fluids while caring for sick relatives.

     

People must also desist from consuming raw foods, or intake of foods and waters that are not properly boiled or cooked as the case may be. In the same spirit, any fruit or vegetable gotten from the gardens that have already been pierced or bitten by animals, probably squirrels, should be thoroughly washed with salt and water, and thereafter ought to be well heated before they would be consumed.

    

On their part, health workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed Lassa fever should apply extra infection control measures to prevent contact with the carrier’s blood and other bodily fluids as well as contaminated surfaces or materials such as clothing and bedding. When in close contact with Lassa fever patients, health care attendants should endeavour to wear face mask cum goggles, a clean long-sleeved gown, and gloves. Laboratory technicians are also advised to properly handle samples taken from humans or animals for investigation of Lassa virus infection and ought to be processed in suitably equipped laboratories.

     

More so, travellers coming from other countries especially West African nations should be quarantined on arrival at the airports and therein adequately tested for Lassa fever as well as other related infections. Among all, we shouldn’t be cautious of only rats regarding the primary source/host of the virus as it is presently witnessed; rather we must endeavour to secure our edibles from other forms of rodent especially the ones within our reach to include squirrels and mice as well as cats which are invariably kept as pets by several families. To before warned is to before armed. Think about it!

 

Comr Fred Doc Nwaozor
Follow: @mediambassador