United Kingdom

By Muhammadu Sabiu

The United Kingdom has warned its citizens in the United States (US) that terrorists are planning to perpetrate an attack on the US.

It also urged its residents there to remain cautious and stay away from public gatherings.

In a new travel warning to British people in the US on Friday, the UK stated that terrorists may target crowded areas, places where foreigners congregate, or transportation routes.

This may be related to the security warning issued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to Americans in New Jersey regarding terrorist attacks on synagogues.

Recall that a week ago the US and the UK issued security alerts warning that terrorists were preparing an attack on Abuja, the capital of Nigeria.

By Muhammad Aminu

The ECWA Eye Hospital (EEH) Kano and Christoffel Blinden Mission (CBM) Global will offer a comprehensive and inclusive eye health (CIEH) programme targeting residents of Kano and Jigawa States.

Thousands of individuals are billed to benefit from the programme that will run for four consecutive years in the selected states.

The Chief Medical Director, EEH, Dr Atima Mayor, who disclosed this at the launch of the project in Kano, said that the project was born out of efforts to tackle visual impairment and break the circle of poverty in the states.

According to Dr Mayor, the project, which is supported by CMB UK and Australia, has over 80000 other beneficiaries who will benefit from different tests and services within the timeframe for the project.

He further explained that issues of disability, especially visual impairment and poverty among persons with disabilities, have been affecting the quality of life.

“North West has the highest number of blindness. As population increases, it’s expected that the number of blindness will also shoot up hence the need to act,” he said.

He called on the two states to collaborate with ECWA to continue with the project even after this 4-year intervention project to ensure the efforts is sustained to tackle the challenge in the States.

The CMD further explained that Kaduna and Katsina States, which were initially part of the project, were temporarily put on hold until the security situation improves before the project can be expanded to the states.

In his address, EEH Administrator STEPHEN NUBOBGA who was represented by CMB Project Coordinator Phillip Ode noted that between September 1, 2022, to August 2026, the project targets over 90,000 beneficiaries in the project in the selected states.

“500 children will be operated on for cataracts, 1000 adults, 250 children with glaucoma and other major surgeries, 400 adults with glaucoma, 250 other children with minor surgeries and 50 retinoblastomas.

“2000 individuals for spectacles, 5000 for refraction, and  80, 000 others for free eye screening,” he disclosed.

In her earlier opening remark, CBM Global Country Director, Ms Ekaete Umoh, said that the historic project launched is aimed at targeting individuals in hard-to-reach areas in the selected states to help persons with visual challenges and break the cycle of poverty in their ranks.

She said that CMB Global is concerned with the rising cases of visual impairment in Nigeria, specifically North West Nigeria, where there is a high concentration of visually impaired persons.

“As the prevalence of blindness in Nigeria is 4.2%, it is estimated that 4.25 million adults aged 40 years and above have moderate to severe visual impairment or blindness.

” Available statistics show that 28.6% (14 million of all adults living in the North West Nigeria have a visual impairment. As a result, the majority are unable to work, are excluded from many community activities and require additional support, which impacts on their families and trapped them in the cycle of poverty,” he stressed.

According to Nububga, 100 persons living with disabilities (PWDs) will be empowered with means of livelihood as a component of the project.

Representatives of the Federal Ministry of Health, Kano and Jigawa States, as well as the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD), commended the donors and partners for working together to address the issue.

Also speaking, the royal father of the day, Alh Mohammed Bashir Mahe, commended the EEH and CMB for helping the needy in society, adding that traditional institutions are always ready to support such a noble cause.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Police in Wales in the United Kingdom have acquired tricycles to be used in combatting crimes.

BBC reported on Sunday that the Gwent police has bought four tricycles to be used against crime in Abergany and Newport areas

The report disclosed that they will be used as “safe spaces” where crimes can be reported, help sought and crime prevention advice given.

The Police Chief Inspector, Damian Sowrey, said explanations were given to residents on how the tricycles will be used and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

He said: “They were on show at our Behind the Badge day, giving local residents the opportunity to see them up close and to hear more about how they will be used.

The feedback was overwhelmingly positive with parents telling officers that they would feel safer knowing that there was support for young people out at night, and from women who could think of an occasion when the tuk-tuk would have been a welcome sight.”

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Nigeria’s Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, departs Abuja today and will be representing Nigeria at Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in London. 

The spokesperson to the Vice President, Laolu Akande, stated in a statement he released on Saturday, September 17, 2022. 

According to the spokesperson, the Vice President will be among the guests and dignitaries to be received by King Charles III at a reception in Buckingham Palace on Sunday and the state funeral on Monday.

He also stated that on the sideline of the funeral is a scheduled bilateral meeting with UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.

Part of the statement reads: “Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, will be representing Nigeria at a number of events tomorrow and on Monday, during the State funeral for the late Queen Elizabeth ll of the United Kingdom.

Prof. Osinbajo departs Abuja today and will join members of the Royal Family, world leaders – including members of the Commonwealth, Heads of State, Governors-General, Prime Ministers, and foreign royal families – at the ceremonies, including the funeral service scheduled to hold at Westminster Abbey on Monday.”

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

As a mark of respect to the Queen, this weekend round Premier League has been postponed and fixtures during the period of mourning will be provided in due course, Premier League disclosed on their official website on Friday.

The full statement reads, “As our longest-serving monarch, she has been an inspiration and leaves behind an incredible legacy following a life of dedication.

“This is a tremendously sad time for not just the nation, but also for the millions of people around the world who admired her, and we join together with all those in mourning her passing.”

Further updates regarding Premier League fixtures during the period of mourning will be provided in due course.”

The Queen died on Thursday after a reign which spanned seven decades.

By Muhammadu Sabiu

According to reports, Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth II’s eldest son, succeeded his mother as the new King of England.

Recall that reports said the world’s most recognizable symbol, Queen Elizabeth, passed away on Thursday.

In a statement released by Buckingham on Thursday, it was stated that she passed away peacefully at the age of 96.

According to The Guardian, Charles, her eldest son, takes over as king immediately after the Queen. Charles is 73 years old.

By Hassan Ahmad Usman

Recently, I read a post on Facebook cautioning ASUU not to ignite the government into following the path of the former UK prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, in her famous face-off with unionists. Before then, I only knew of her being called the  “The Iron Lady”, and that’s all. It prompted me to find out more about her struggle with them. I got a book, Margaret Thatcher: A portrait of the Iron Lady by John Blundell. 

After winning the war of about eleven weeks against Argentina over the Falkland island, she made a famous statement in 1983: “We had to fight the enemy without in the Falklands, and now we have to fight the enemy within, which is much more difficult but just as dangerous. These few men are the wreckers in our midst.”

The miners, led by Arthur Scargill under the NUM, started a strike action after learning of the National Coal Board’s chairman’s plan to close uneconomical pits. The NUM held a special place in the political landscape.

They were somewhat invincible. In fact, the unionists brought down a government a decade earlier before Thatcher’s. But as the book’s author opined: “I think it possible that her defeat of General Galtieri (in the war)  emboldened her to take on the mineworkers with robustness she may otherwise not have shown”.

She welcomed the fight against the miners, defeated them and reformed the unions. 

Now, let us relate the defeat of the NUM and ASUU’s likely end if they thread the same path. One of the early actions that Thatcher’s government took when the strike heightened was to promise a big Christmas bonus to whoever resumed work. It yielded positive results, and a war started between the striking and non-striking workers. Imagine the federal government promising to pay the unpaid salaries for six months to only lecturers that resumed. What do you think? There is already a push for a rival union.

Nigerian government can actualize the new union, which would automatically birth the beginning and end of ASUU. ASUU chairman’s recent labelling of universities not on strike as quacks is a big blunder. Other state universities felt insulted too. If the union keep on this trend, its end looms. A divided house is a recipe for a fallen one. 

Another area is politicizing ASUU strikes. One mistake the union should not make is making the politicians understand that they can win elections with or without an ASUU strike. It’ll ultimately show that the public is not sympathetic to the union. Parents are already tired of seeing the unhappy faces of their wards. Like the NUM, their resolve would eventually wane after the election litmus test.

The NUM leader Scargill was embarrassed when the press revealed that President Gaddafi and Soviet President Gorbachev were sending large sums of money to the NUM. Indeed treason was in the air. In the case of Nigeria, it is nothing close to treason, but acting as an opposition party by the ASUU chairman while calling on Nigerians not to vote for the government that made their universities to be closed is an apparent derailment from the status quo. It gives the government reason to cling. 

I’ve long wondered if ASUU listens to its ordinary members’ cries. Do they even have a voice? Yes, solidarity and loyalty are good, but how long can they be sustained with a hungry stomach? They are passing through a lot, and words of the mouth alone cannot keep them going. Just like NUM members that couldn’t hold on for long without cheques, ASUU members, too, are humans and any given opportunity thrown at them to abandon their war gear, they’ll heed without hesitation.

Prime minister Thatcher weakened the old arrangements that made membership in the union mandatory by giving more power and rights to individual workers. She went to the British public and the ordinary members of the unions. She explained that strikes affected union members just as much as the rest of the public. And she used simple examples to show how the kind of economic thinking represented by the TUC would keep Britain on the road to ruin.

Thatcher’s strategy was to break down the closed shop and bring real democracy to these institutions so ordinary members could regain control. As a result, union membership dropped from 51% when she assumed power in 1979 to just 18% in 1997, seven years after leaving. 

Lastly, it is my utmost prayer to see ASUU get what they want from the government for the betterment of our education, for I believe they are doing it with good intentions and for the interest of all.   

Hassan Ahmad Usman writes from Lafia and can be reached via basree177@gmail.com.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has honoured Ukraine’s President, Volodymr Zelnesky, with the Winston Churchill Leadership Award.

This was disclosed in the UK Prime Minister’s verified Facebook page on Tuesday, July 26, 2022.

“Today Prime Minister Boris Johnson presented President Zelenskyy with the Winston Churchill Leadership Award for incredible courage, defiance and dignity in the face of Putin’s barbaric invasion. ” The post reads.

The Prime Minister also said the UK would always stand with Ukraine.

On February 24, the world woke up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has thrown the two countries into war.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

British long-distance runner Sir Mo Farah disclosed that he was not who the world knew him to be.  

Sir Mo Farah revealed that he was a victim of child trafficking and was brought into the UK illegally under the name of another child at the age of 9. He disclosed that his real name is Hussein Abdi Kahin

“The truth is I’m not who you think I am,” Sir Farah said.

“Most people know me as Mo Farah, but it’s not my name, or it’s not the reality.”

According to him, the woman who flew with him to the UK told him he was being taken to live with relatives and to say his name was Mohamed as she had fake travel documents that showed his photo next to the name “Mohamed Farah”.

Sir Farah, the first British track and field athlete to win four Olympic golds, said his children motivated him to tell the truth about his past.

“I’ve been keeping it for so long; it’s been difficult because you don’t want to face it, and often my kids ask questions, ‘Dad, how come this?’ And you’ve always got an answer for everything, but you haven’t got an answer for that,” he said

Farah’s recent revelation is in sharp contrast with previous interviews he granted, in which he claimed otherwise.

By Dahiru Mamman 

Undoubtedly, one cannot overemphasize the importance of health. Doctors ensure that we stay healthy and when we are knocked down by diseases, no matter how severe, they perform their magic to lift us. According to Mahatma Gandhi, “the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” This is what doctors across the globe do: service to humanity.

Although we get graduates annually, doctors are still insufficient not only in Nigeria but across the globe. These numbers are supposed to increase with the number of universities that offer medicine and other related courses, colleges of health and schools of nursing and midwifery. Still, unfortunately, it is not the case as our health sector is threatened by a ‘mortal exodus’ of health workers, which is termed “brain drain” in the health sector. 

Recent reports from different media outlets show that no less than 727 Nigerian-trained medical doctors have relocated to the United Kingdom between December 2021 and May 2022. Between March 2021 and March 2022, at least 7,256 Nigerian nurses have left for the United Kingdom. This statistics is only on the migration to the United Kingdom. What about those that moved to other parts of the world? Most doctors were reported to have moved during the period the federal government failed to pay their hazard allowance.

With a winsome smile, I was pleased that we have home-trained medical personnel that are fit to work abroad, especially in places as advanced as the United kingdom. But on the flip side, my winsome face turns gloomy because our beloved nation is losing the scarce service of the medical personnel to countries that are supposedly ahead of us. So who should we hold responsible for the ongoing migration, the leaders or doctors? 

The question is, should the physicians and other medics move in search of greener pasture because they are not paid hazard allowance or because the health sector is crumbling? One could answer in the affirmative because scholars like Adams Smith, when propounding price (for goods and services) theory, said the higher the risk involved in a job, the greater the rewards or pay if you wish.

So, doctors are exposed to severe danger because they fight a battle against soldiers they can’t see: microorganisms (viruses, bacteria, fungi etc.). Hence, they deserve a decent salary. But should the pay be the criteria for doctors to work? What about the oath they swore during their various inductions to “….treat human beings because it affects family members and economic stability….” 

Should those in charge of the doctors’ welfare (government and other stakeholders) relent because their job is supposed to make them selfless? In negation, as they work round the clock to ensure that citizens are healthy for self and economic development, somebody has to look after their welfare since they also have a family to cater for. Aside from catering for their welfare, who should be responsible for providing infrastructure, medical equipment and instruments for treating the sick? We can say those that swore the oath to protect the lives of citizens are. 

My call to the doctors is that they wear the white coat and scrubs with dignity and pride and strive to make the profession worth practising in the country. Even though the practice still saves lives away from home, they should know that they owe the service more to the country.

To those in charge, efforts should be made to do well by the medics to avoid further migration. Leaders, they say, make choices that keep them awake at night, and if they sleep well, it means they are not getting the job done. Hence, the situation should be tackled in a way that favours the masses.

If the issue remains unchecked, the wealthy will continue to relish in the comfort of seeking medical attention abroad while the masses or less privileged live in despair.

Mamman, a corps member, writes from Abuja and can be reached via dahirulawal90@gmail.com.