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The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has called on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in the education sector and raise funds to tackle the rot therein, just as it did to contain Coronavirus outbreak in the country.

The National President of ASUU, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, who stated this in a chat with newsmen , said the effect of poor funding of education became glaring when COVID-19 broke out in the country and most of the nation’s teaching hospitals did not have ventilators to help keep patients alive.

Ogunyemi noted that China, where the disease broke out, was able to quickly tackle the scourge by resorting to public tertiary teaching hospitals because they were well funded by the state.

“Look at how much money has been raised to fight COVID-19 pandemic. This is because it is seen as a health emergency. We can do same for the education sector. The poor funding of the sector has deep damaging effects on our national life. A poorly trained medical student would end up being a great danger to the health of the people.

“There are cash cows like the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and others that funds can be drawn from. Instead of doing so, our politicians are only interested in drawing funds from them to prosecute elections. Have you ever seen the budgets of the CBN or the NNPC?

“If we want to really catch up with the rest of the world, we must adequately fund the education sector. We plead with parents, guardians, students and Nigerians generally to understand our position and know that we cannot go on postponing the evil day. In fact, the evil day manifested in out lack of adequate response to the COVID-19 outbreak by our teaching hospitals,” he said.

On the complaints that trailed the payment of February and March 2020 salaries of lecturers through the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System, IPPIS, Ogunyemi said his union had been vindicated.

“As we speak, our members in some universities namely Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Akwa, University of Jos, University of Maiduguri, Abubakar Tarawa Balewa University, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture are yet to be paid their salaries. Ridiculously, some lecturers were paid 20 percent of their salaries. Those who got anything reasonable were paid 80 percent of their salaries.

“We have said it that IPPIS is too strait jacketed and not suitable for the university system. Even some sister unions that did not see what we had seen about IPPIS are now complaining. The only solution is for the government to do away with the toga of arrogance and embrace our Nigerian Universities Accountability and Transparency System.

“We are sounding a note of warning that we won’t tolerate further mutilation of our salaries. Our members have been on the same salary structure since 2009. The government has been provocative and lackadaisical in its approach. How do you keep shifting the goal post when a goal is about to be scored,” he stressed.

The ASUU boss added that it seemed some people in government were interested in punishing university lecturers for no just cause.

Recall that ASUU has been on strike since early March this year over IPPIS, implementation of a Memorandum of Action signed with the government, better funding of education generally among other issues.

Going by the position of the union, even if schools shut down due to COVID-19 outbreak are asked to reopen now, the university system may still experience Industrial disharmony.

Vanguard

Following criticisms from people that President Donald Trump, did not do enough to cushion the spread of coronavirus, that has killed about 100,000 US citizens, the President in a riposte said he acted very well as against his opposition’s hypothetical submission.

Disclosing this via his twitter handle, the outspoken President penned down all he did to stem the spread of the disease.

According to him, “For all of the political hacks out there, if I hadn’t done my job well, & early, we would have lost 1 1/2 to 2 Million People, as opposed to the 100,000 plus that looks like will be the number. That’s 15 to 20 times more than we will lose. I shut down entry from China very early!

“One person lost to this invisible virus is too much, it should have been stopped at its source, China, but I acted very quickly, and made the right decisions. Many of the current political complainers thought, at the time, that I was moving far too fast, like Crazy Nancy!”

Vanguard

Thousands of children in face masks flocked back to school in Ivory Coast after the country became one of the first in West Africa to restart lessons after a two-month coronavirus shutdown.

With a total of 2,376 cases and dozens of new infections each day, Ivory Coast has yet to contain the virus. But authorities are confident pupils can study together in safety after the introduction of extra hygiene measures.

In Abidjan’s Adjame neighbourhood, children in backpacks queued to wash their hands under a teacher’s watchful eye before entering their school, where they sat just one to a desk with bottles of sanitising gel within reach.

“At first we were a little scared. When we saw that the protective measures were being respected, the fear went away,” said 14-year-old Samira Cisse.

Nearby countries are likely to follow closely whether the Ivory Coast’s decision to reopen schools causes a spike in infection. With millions of children still at home, aid agency Save the Children says many could face serious setbacks due to limited options for distance learning in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Ivorian education ministry told Reuters it appreciated the seriousness of its decision.

“We also have an imperative duty to ensure that the children entrusted to us can complete their education,” said ministry official Assoumou Kabran.

Reopening classrooms also means thousands of pupils and their teachers must be ferried back to boarding schools outside Abidjan, the epicentre of the epidemic.

French teacher Patrick Yobouet, 38, waited with hundreds of others in a sun-baked stadium to board buses out of the city.

“We’re a bit worried as we leave because we don’t know if we have the coronavirus or not or if the children are contaminated or not,” he said.

AfricaNews

As controversy trails, the non-availability of laboratory testing for COVID-19 in Kogi State, suspected cases of the disease are being seen in hospitals in the state even as doctors have lamented the inability to conduct tests.

The Chairman of the Kogi state branch of the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, Dr. Kabir Zubair, told newsmen in an interview that the state NMA was not happy about the challenge over testing created by the state government.

Zubair said despite the increasing numbers of suspected cases, his colleagues cannot confirm any of the cases because laboratory tests are not ongoing.

“People are presenting with the symptoms of COVID-19, even though it may not be all the symptoms of the disease but the doctors are suspicious of COVID -19. And because we are not able to carry out tests we could not confirm all the suspicions. Everything ends at that level of suspicion.

“We have been on their neck to see how they will resume the tests but they are not collaborating in any way with NMA. What the state government has done is that they have been able to procure their own antigen test kits approved by the US Food & Drug Administration, FDA. That is the one they said that will be used to test any COVID-19 suspected case now even though the World Health Organisation, WHO, did not recommend the use of test kits of an antigen or antibody but for now, that is what we have and we will make do with it.”

Zubair said members of the Association of Resident Doctors, ARD, which is an affiliate of the NMA, and have become agitated and apprehensive in the last few months, due to community spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria.

He said suspected cases are being seen specifically at the Federal Medical Centre, FMC Lokoja which is also the only functional tertiary health institution in the State.

“As a clinician, standard practice demands that the moment you have a clinical suspicion of infectious diseases, the ideal thing is to carry out laboratory confirmation.

“COVID-19 is a highly contagious infectious disease, responsible for the ongoing global pandemic. In Nigeria, new cases are reported daily and community spread is accelerating. This is the reason why members of ARD are agitated as testing for COVID-19 has remained a challenge in the state,” he added.

On the level of involvement of the state NMA in the COVID 19 response in the state, he explained that the state government, its health personnel, and the state epidemiologists are the ones handling the tests.

Zubair who frowned at the level of preparedness against the disease in the state said: “We are not happy that the state is not testing but for the past two to three weeks, we have done the much we think we can do.

“We have reached out to some interest groups to see how the situation can be changed. We have done several publications online on the situation in Kogi, different health groups like the state Association of Resident Doctors, ARD has done a lot of publications about the situation in the state. We have also liaised with our national body to see how they can come to our aids.”

He said it was only last night that the state government was able to put up isolation and diagnostic centres with few beds and equipment inside.

“The government is just putting up small arrangements in place. Last week, the opened isolation and diagnostic centre that has few beds and equipment inside. They have also procured Personal Protective Equipment, PPEs. Most of the centres in the state also have PPEs and that is what they are using anytime they see suspected cases in the hospitals.

“We have been talking to the state Commissioner for Health, state epidemiologists and other government officials on the need to commence testing and that is the only the way the medical personal can put their minds at rest. We are hoping that they will listen to us and do the needful.”

He further debunked reports that more people are dying in the state. “There is no sudden increase in deaths so far so good. The mortuaries and burial grounds are running normal, no sudden increase in any way.”

According to the state by state breakdown of COVID-19 cases Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, daily situation report for COVID-19 released on May 17, 2020, Kogi state had carried out only one confirmatory test.

Vanguard

Chinese Foreign Minister , Wang Yi , has said China will work with other G20 members to implement the debt service suspension initiative to ease the debt burden of Nigeria and other African countries .

In a statement by China ’ s Consul General in Lagos , Chu Maoming, the minister said this while responding to a question asked by an African journalist at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual Chinese national legislative session on Sunday .

Yi , who is concurrently a state councillor (equivalent of deputy prime minister ) of China ’ s cabinet , stated that China and Africa were good brothers .

“ China is also considering further bilateral support for African countries under the greatest strain to help African brothers and sisters through this difficult time , ” he stated .

He also said , “ Our people, having fought shoulder to shoulder for national liberation , are partners for common development . A few years back , we were together fighting Ebola . ”

The minister said he agreed with the African Union Commission that “ Africa and China are friends and , more importantly , comrades in arm. Nothing can change or damage this friendship . ”

He stated that in the battle against COVID- 19 , China and Africa had again stood by each other .

Over 50 African leaders had expressed solidarity and support in phone calls or public statements , he noted .

Yi said China had subsequently sent medical expert teams to Africa ’ s five sub – regions and surrounding countries .

The minister said , “ Resident Chinese medical teams based in 45 African countries have acted swiftly to assist in the local response . They have held nearly 400 training sessions for tens of thousands of African medical workers .

“ China also looks after the African community in China just like it takes care of its own families. ”

Yi disclosed that all of the over 3 , 000 African students in Hubei Province, including the city of Wuhan had been safe and sound , except for just one who got infected but was soon cured .

The minister stated that 2020 marked the 20 th anniversary of the Forum on China – Africa Cooperation.

Punch

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control says it will continue hydroxychloroquine clinical trials in Nigeria despite the suspension of the same by the World Health Organisation for the treatment of COVID- 19 .

NAFDAC Director – General , Prof Mojisola Adeyeye , made this known during a programme on
Television Continental .

Adeyeye said there are proven records that hydroxychloroquine had been effective in the treatment of COVID- 19 patients, especially those at the “ mild stage” of the virus .

“ There is data to prove that hydroxychloroquine worked for many COVID- 19 patients. Therefore, we would continue our own clinical trials in Nigeria . Hydroxychloroquine has been proved to work at a mild stage. So the potency depends on the severity of the disease in the patient ’ s body , ” she said .

The NAFDAC DG, who said Lagos State had already begun hydroxychloroquine clinical trials, noted that depending on the speed of work, the clinical trials should conclude in three to four months.

“ If medical doctors , research scientists, pharmacists , herbal experts work together , we should conclude the clinical trial in 3 – 4 months. The narrative might change afterwards but for now , we believe in hydroxychloroquine . ”

It said the decision followed a study that using the drug on COVID- 19 patients could increase their likelihood of dying.

“ The Executive Group has implemented a temporary pause of the hydroxychloroquine arm within the Solidarity Trial while the safety data is reviewed by the Data Safety Monitoring Board , ” WHO Chief, Tedros Ghebreyesus said .

He stressed on Monday that hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine “ are accepted as generally safe for use in patients with autoimmune diseases or malaria ” , noting that the suspension was a temporary measure .

Punch

Non-essential retailers are to be allowed to reopen in England in June, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced .

Shops selling clothes, furniture, electronics or books, as well as auction houses and tailors are to be allowed to offer their services again from June 15. Outdoor markets can reopen as of June 1.

Retail premises must be made “COVID-secure,” Johnson said. On March 23, Johnson closed all stores that did not serve primary needs as part of efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic. Supermarkets and pharmacies remained open.

The prime minister had already announced on Sunday that schools in England would be opened again for certain classes from June.
Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are going their own way in the fight against the coronavirus.

Britain is the country with the most COVID-19 victims in Europe. So far, 36,914 deaths have been recorded, Johnson said on Monday evening. It is believed there is also a high number of unreported cases.

Vanguard

As the controversy surrounding the issue of Almajiri compulsory education in Kaduna state rages on, the Northern Elders Forum, NEF, has said that every Nigerian child including the Almajirai, deserve protection from government.

The Kaduna State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, however, said Almajirai are human beings with great potential and the politics used to discourage them to go to modern school should be completely removed.

According to spokesperson of the Northern Elders Forum, NEF, Dr Hakeem Baba Ahmed, “every child deserves the support and protection of the state. The Nigerian child is entitled to free and compulsory education and no parent can violate the laws related to these and defend such violation under any guise.”

According him, the nature and contexts of the kind of education Governor El-Rufa’i was proposing for the Almajirai, were at stake.

“There is ample scope for integrating Islamic education with western- type of education which the state prefers. For the initiative of the government of Kaduna State to succeed, it must be applied across all states, and should involve genuine and inclusive engagement with powerful religious groups that defend this practice,” he said.

He explained that El-Rufai’s proposal could be feasible.” It can, and should work, but it should be undertaken with sensitivity and the willingness to look at many strategies that should make it work,” he said.

However, Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN,in Kaduna state,Rev John Joseph Hayab said El-Rufai’s compulsory primary education for the Almajirai ,was a fantastic development.

“This is a fantastic development. Our Northern leaders suppose to enroll them before now. The past Nigeria leaders, Goodluck Jonathan built modern schools for Almajirai all over Northern Nigeria which many are yet to be put to use.”

“Almajirai are human beings with great potential in them. The politics that was used to hinder or discourage them to go to modern school should be completely removed and get all of them to school.

Educating these young Nigeria children who love calling them Almajiri will change the future of our region and our country at large,” he said.

Rev Hayab said “we need to harness the potential in them and depopulate those terrorists are recruiting.”

“We need to harness the potential in these groups and give birth to a new breed of future leaders who see and appreciate our nation for changing their lives and become patriotic nation builders.”

“Another area we must warn is our political leaders should stop playing politics with issue of Almajiri. Don’t say what you will not do because it further hardens their mind from trusting us and believing what we say. Our leaders have made several promises and pronouncements but no sincere action,” Hayab said

Governor El-Rufa’i had said his government would make it compulsory for the Almajirai who are COVID-19 free to acquire formal education.

He also threatened that parent who allows their children become Almajiri in the state, would be jailed.

According to him, parents who enrol their children into the Almajiri education system stand the risk of prosecution and up to two years jail.

Speaking in Kaduna when he visited 200 Almajirai that were repatriated from Nasarawa State and undergoing rehabilitation and optical screening at Government College, Kurmin Mashi, Kaduna,the governor said any Islamic cleric who enrolls any child into the Almajiri system would also be prosecuted and jailed as well as fined N100,000 or N200,000 per child.

According to him, all the Almajiri pupils repatriated from other states of the country were indigenes of the state.

“Government will give them all the opportunity they deserve to grow and develop,” he said.

He expressed satisfaction with the ongoing transformation of the Almajiri pupils from hopelessness to hope and confidence, saying the state has a responsibility to do whatever it can to give them hope and a better future.

“We will, therefore, continue to take delivery of every Almajiri pupil indigenous to Kaduna state for rehabilitation, treatment and enrolment into formal school nearest to where their parents live.

“We will continue to do this until we clear Kaduna state of the menace of Almajiri system, which is not education but the abuse of the privilege and future of a child.”

“Our ultimate goal is for them to acquire formal education without depriving them of the opportunity to acquire Quranic education. They will continue their Quranic education but under the care of their parents and not under someone who does not know them or paid to look after them,” he said.

“The Ministry of Human Services and Social Development (MHSSD), along with UNICEF would closely monitor them and ensure that no child would leave his locality until he finished primary and junior secondary school.”

“Every child in Kaduna state must get 12-year free and compulsory primary and secondary school education. Those that cannot proceed to senior secondary school will have the opportunity to go to vocational school, also free.”

“As such, no parent has any excuse for his child not to go to school,” he said.

Vanguard

The National Identity Management Commission says it has enrolled and issued 41 million Nigerians with National Identity Number as of today .

The Director – General at the NIMC , Aliyu Aziz , in an interview with journalists , said enrolment was ongoing for Nigerians in the Diaspora in 15 other countries .

According to him , the NIN has been approved by the Federal Government as the only valid means of identification for government services by law and is a requirement for the application for a new and renewal of an expired Nigerian passport, among others.

Highlighting challenges slowing down the rate of enrolment , he said inadequate electricity , Information Technology infrastructure, inadequate enrolment centres and devices and insufficient sensitisation and awareness of the public , among others, still persisted.

According to him , the challenges are being addressed in collaboration with all the relevant stakeholders, government and with the help of the media .

“ As of today , we have reached record 41 million by sheer determination and hard work. I owe all of this to the great staff of the NIMC who pushed themselves beyond their limits to see this happen, ” he said .

“ Diaspora enrolment was greatly received by the Nigerians in other countries and it has been going well since the launch . Enrolment is happening in over 15 countries across the world , with more countries to come on board in the near future . ”

He said the plans to implement the strategic road map for accelerating digital identity in the country in June 2020 had been affected by the COVID- 19 pandemic .

According to him , the project will either begin in September or December this year .

Aziz said the $ 433 m it secured from the World Bank, Agence Francaise de Development and the European Union would be used for the expansion of enrolment centres to 4 , 000 .

“ The funding covers digital ID enrolment, issuance and usage ; strengthening of the enabling law , security , privacy , data protection and cybersecurity mechanisms; as well as strengthening the IT and other backend infrastructure , ” the NIMC boss stated .

He added , “There is still a need for funding on the card aspect of the programme as well as on the other regulatory functions of the commission . We are consulting with the Federal Government on these aspects . ”

Aziz explained that the commission was working on strategies to scale up card production and issuance in partnership with the private sector .

Brent , the oil against which Nigeria ’ s crude is priced, has hovered around $ 35 per barrel for about one week, raising concerns of a possible hike in petrol price in Nigeria any time soon .

An analysis of global oil trading rates on Monday showed that Brent crude traded at $ 35 . 61 per barrel as of 9 . 32 am Central Standard Time.

Further findings showed that the commodity appreciated by $ 0 . 48 when compared to the previous day ’ s rate, although crude oil in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries basket maintained a flat rate of $ 28 . 43 per barrel on Monday .

However , global oil figures showed that Brent Weighted Average in the past four days was higher than the commodity ’ s rate on Monday , as the BWA was put at $ 36 . 32 per barrel .

This represented a 2 . 34 per cent rise in price, indicating a positive movement in the commodity ’ s cost as more countries begin a gradual relaxing of the COVID- 19 lockdown across the globe.

Operators in Nigeria ’ s downstream sector told our correspondent in Abuja that the increase in oil price was good for the country in terms of foreign exchange earnings.

They were, however , quick to state that this would cause an upward movement in petrol price at fillings stations.

The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency had crashed the pump price of petrol from N145 per litre to N125 per litre on March 19 , 2020 , as it declared the commencement of a market – based pricing regime .

PPPRA further reduced the price to N123 . 5 per litre in April 2020 due to the crash of crude oil price, as the commodity had traded below $ 30 per barrel for several weeks .

“ But considering the recent rise in crude oil price, it is highly possible to see an upward movement in the price of petrol soon , ” an impeccable source with the products pricing agency stated .

The official , who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity , noted that the agency ’ s boss had earlier explained that henceforth , the cost of petrol would be determined by the international market price of crude .

“ Price will naturally be adjusted to reflect a true picture of market fundamentals at any particular period , high or low , ” the PPPRA’ s Executive Secretary , Abdulkadir Saidu , had stated while answering questions on the new petrol price regime in Nigeria .

On April 28 , 2020 , The PUNCH reported Saidu as saying that Nigerians should be ready to pay higher or lower prices for petrol following the liberalisation scheme currently in place.

Punch