The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 has arrived Kano State to unravel the mystery behind the mystery deaths in the state.
When the delegation visited Governor Abdullahi Ganduje at Government House yesterday, leader of the team, Dr. Nasiru Gwarzo, declared that they were in the state with full commitment to unravel the cause of the mass deaths.
About 60 people reportedly died in the state in one day, in what has been seen as mystery deaths.
Gwarzo, who is also the permanent secretary, Federal Ministry of Industries, Commerce and Investment, told Ganduje that the PTF received marching orders to evaluate the worrying situation in Kano and finding lasting solution.
With array of experienced epidemiologists and other technical personnel, Gwarzo said the team was ready to support the state to review cases of COVID-19 and determine whether or not the mysterious deaths had connection with it.
However, the governor has raised fresh alarm of looming spread of COVID-19 in the state.
He told the delegation that Kano was witnessing community transmission of the deadly virus.
Ganduje explained that despite measures entrenched to curb the spread of the disease in the state, his government was still battling with cultural and traditional perceptions of the virus.
While applauding President Muhammadu Buhari’s total lockdown of Kano, he said it should have cut across the federation for maximum results.
Meanwhile, the Kano caucus in the House of Representatives has cried out to the authorities to help in curtailing the spate of deaths linked to COVID-19 in the state.
House Majority Leader, Mr. Ado Doguwa, who briefed reporters at the National Assembly complex in Abuja, enjoined the state and federal governments to do more in terms of funding for the facilities and provide more test centres to check the spread of the virus.
The lawmakers maintained that the situation in Kano deserved attention of the authorities in view of the state’s cosmopolitan nature.
“We have all engaged our constituents in every ramification. We have engaged them in terms of sensitisation, enlightened them on the need to comply with the social distancing order.
“That is why we have decided to come back to engage relevant agencies of government, especially Mr. President, for them to see why Kano should be given a special treatment,” Doguwa said.
The caucus summoned the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire; Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), who chairs the PTF, Mr. Boss Mustapha; and the Director General of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, to appear before the lawmakers next week Tuesday.
The decision followed the adoption of a motion under matters of national importance moved by Doguwa at an emergency plenary presided by Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila.
But the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) caucus in the House has accused the PTF of not doing enough to stem the mysterious deaths in Kano.
Led by Kingsley Chinda, the caucus also blamed the Kano government and NCDC in the unfortunate incidence.
The caucus said the development was more worrisome, coming in the wake of COVID-19.
Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel has explained that the negative reports about the state on the social media are the handiwork of mischief-makers, who want to disparage the state’s achievements in the fight against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Addressing newsmen, Monday night, on the efforts of his government in containing the spread of COVID-19 in the state, he said bulk of what was seen or heard through the social media were aimed at bringing the government into disrepute.
The governor, who attended the briefing with members of the State Executive Council (SEC), stated: “Normally, on a day like this, I would not have loved to bring out the entire executive; but I want to show the whole world and try to let people know that the bulk of what they read and hear are pure blackmail and has nothing to do with COVID-19. When I talk, people may think we are trying to be defensive.
“In the past days, I have been receiving calls that my exco members – some say nine some say 11 – have tested positive and probably in their houses being treated of COVID-19. I am here with all the exco members, and none of them is with any symptom, but hale and hearty.”
According to the governor, the state has tried to provide quality health services to the citizens, even before the coming of
COVID-19, noting that such has given the state the head start in tackling the pandemic.
His words, “We have only three active cases; our recovery rate has been marvelous and we have to thank God for that. COVID-19 has never happened before; so everyone is learning to manage it.
“Despite, COVID-19 met us prepared as if we knew. One hundred per cent of the equipment at Ibom Specialist Hospital, including the 13 ventilators, were bought before COVID-19. We have set up additional isolation centre in Ibom Specialist hospital, with oxygen and everything, and bought additional 1500KVA generating set for the hospital.
“We have a modern digital, functional situation room for every single test analysis, and close to 50 medical experts are manning these.”
Emmanuel said everyone in Akwa Ibom, who met the criteria of case management in accordance with Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) guidelines, had been tested. He challenged anyone experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and had been denied screening to “come out and say so.”
The isolation centres, he added, were built according to international standard, and some of the machines to be used there were delayed due to the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
He disclosed that the state government had spent close to N1 billion in the fight against the pandemic.
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike yesterday arrested five persons who were not on essential duty for violating the state government’s lockdown directives in parts of Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor council areas.
In compliance with government’s directive, some almajiris were profiled among 150 persons to be returned to some states in the North, Niger Republic, as well as Ebonyi and Akwa Ibom states.
Governor Wike effected the arrest of five defaulters who violated the state government’s directive, while monitoring compliance in Port Harcourt.
In a statewide broadcast on Monday, he had declared a 24-hour lockdown on Elekahia, Rumukalagbor-Elekahia link road; Rumuomasi, Stadium Road and Rumuobiokani in Port Harcourt and Obio-Akpor council areas.
While driving through Rumuobiokani, Governor Wike arrested two women on leisure drive and handed them over to security personnel and also arrested a man on a motorcycle at Rumuomasi roundabout.
But, while monitoring compliance at Elekahia, the governor stopped a woman and after she identified herself as someone on essential duty, he allowed her to continue to her destination.
At both Elekahia and Rumuomasi, he observed full compliance of the lockdown even as security personnel manned strategic points on the roads.
Wike, however, admonished Rivers people to cooperate with the state government in ensuring that coronavirus was effectively contained, saying, “The stringent measures are for the good of the people.
“We urge all residents to comply with the directives and protocols on the lockdown, social distancing to save our state from the COVID-19 scourge.”
However, Commissioner for Social Welfare, Mrs. Inime Aguma, led other officials of the ministry to profile all the vagrants before they were evacuated to their states and local government areas of origin.
She said the evacuation exercise was a non-discriminatory programme aimed at protecting Rivers people, adding that the exercise was not targeted at any ethnic group, but was aimed at removing wanderers who may circulate coronavirus from the streets.
The Guardian recalled that Governor Wike had on Monday directed Aguma to arrest and deport all vagrants including the almajiris to their states of origin to protect Rivers people from the threat of transmitting coronavirus.
Aguma said necessary arrangements have been put in place to ensure that the migrants were transported to their respective states of origin.
Among the major economic activities disrupted by the insurgency in Lake Chad are commercial fishing and farming of red pepper. These were major trading products upon which the local economy of a vast array of communities in the Lake Chad Basin, particularly Borno state in Nigeria, was dependent.
But in 2015 the insurgents took strategic steps to control and re-order trade in both products. They encouraged local fishing among the communities by the banks of the lake and created a new regime of levies and secure routes for fish traders to reach designated markets.
According to the World Food Programme, before the Boko Haram crisis, the combined fish and red pepper trades contributed 28 billion CFA Francs ($48 million) to the Nigerien economy, with most of this coming from exports to Nigeria. The red pepper or red gold farming and trade is estimated to employ over 300,000 people.
The leadership of the break-away Boko Haram, which metamorphosed into the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), seemingly more adept at economic planning, saw this and went ahead to design an elaborate scheme to control the sectors.
Because the structures of both the production and trade had collapsed, the ISWAPleadership sent emissaries to various camps of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Borno State requesting them to return to their farms, fishing and trading under their watch, HumAngle was told.
HumAngle gathered that several hundreds of households in the (IDPs) camps heeded the call, returning to resume farming and fishing activities in the islands. For many households among the IDPs, the desperate and inhuman conditions in the camps made their decision to follow the ISWAP offers easy.
In the years following the insurgency and cessation of fishing and farming, aquatic resources in Lake Chad had improved considerably.
Human activity
HumAngle investigations showed that the new deposit of aquatic resources made the islands very attractive for several farmers and fishermen scattered across IDPs camps in Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria to return.
The new conditions of the lake served ISWAP in two ways: cobbling together an economy under its control and creating a strong basis for recruiting new fighters into its fold. They described the renewed aquatic life in the lake as a strong pointer that Allah had been pleased with the war they had been waging and was rewarding them on the instant with this symbolic manna from heaven.
But experts have attributed the blossoming of aquatic resources in the lake to the reduction of human activity in the region. These included reduced or cessation of irrigation farming for some years and reduced population around the lake.
The individuals and households in IDPs camps who heeded the call of ISWAP seem not taken in by any of the views. “It was difficult to choose between hunger where there is safety such as in an IDPs camp and the abundance of food, where life can end any minute,” said Adamu Baga, who just fled the Island in April to Diffa in Niger Republic.
Mr Baga, who spoke with HumAngle, confirmed that he paid taxes for the past three years for every carton of smoked fish and every bag of pepper.
“I can’t say exactly how much money I have paid in three years but I am sure I and my three children have paid not less than N400,000 to N500,000 and we are not amongst the big farmers,” he said.
Paying for protection
There are hundreds of people that produce more than Mr Baga across the lake’s fishing and farming communities. Apart from the revenue that ISWAP makes from the levies paid by the likes of Mr Baga, it further makes a fortune from providing security to the farmers and on every product sold in the market.
The insurgents, as a group, are also directly involved in the businesses, HumAngle gathered.
An official of the Borno State government, who does not want to be quoted, said, “fish and other agricultural products from Baga were among the biggest sources of revenue in the state before the insurgency crippled the region.
“Now, most of the revenue from fish is shared between the military that confiscates the goods and the terrorists that charge levies for these items.”
A fish merchant who spoke to HumAngle said his “fishermen pay N15,000 each, every two weeks for fishing rights and for every six cartons of smoked fish, the local dealers on the ground give one cartoon to the landlords.
The landlords are ISWAP officials. “Buyers pay N1,000 to ISWAP officials for every one cartoon of smoked fish they purchase,” our source revealed.
The levies constitute a steady stream of revenue fueling the activities of insurgents in the Northeast of Nigeria. Sources who are familiar with the trade and the collecting points along the supply chain estimate that the insurgents make millions in naira every day during the peak season of business.
“The insurgents also collect taxes from livestock farmers and herders that are based in the lake basin,” said our source. “It is called Hadaya, which is due every six months, and it is paid in the form of one large cow for every 30 cows in the herd.”
In return for the levies and taxes the community dwellers pay, the insurgents provide a framework for arbitration through its Hisbah, as well as access to basic medical services and security. The provision of security is principally for traders travelling from the islands to Kusiri Market in northern Cameroon and the Kinchandi Market in Niger Republic.
HumAngle reliably learned that fish from Kinchandi Market regularly end up in Hadeija, a commercial town in Jigawa state, as well as Kano, in Kano state while those from Kusiri Market in northern Cameroon end up in Mubi, Adamawa state, from where they are moved to different markets across Nigeria.
A Boko Haram defector, confirming the extent of fish trade and how important it is for the insurgents in the region, told HumAngle that most of the holes covered with rods and zinc as seen in photos from the recent Chadian operations were dug to process fish and package them for distribution to the market.
Every effort to get the exact figure that the Boko Haram factions make in Lake Chad was futile as the group does not declare revenue generated openly. “It is only in the Shura meeting that issues should be raised,” said a mid-level Boko Haram fighter, who added that apart from revenue from ransom, nothing could match the revenues from trade and taxes.
HumAngle, however, estimates that the revenues from these trades accruing to both ISWAP and the sub-faction of Boko Haram in Lake Chad run into several millions of naira every month, especially in the peak seasons for fish and red pepper.
Rather than disrupt the entire production and supply chain, the Nigerian military only focuses on tokenism by seizing consignments from traders on their way to the local markets. A fish merchant whose truckload of fish was seized by the army early in 2019 in Borno state, said traders continued to be in dilemma.
“I didn’t have any option but to pay the levy imposed on me for safe passage. It is the same thing if armed robbers stop you on the way, you either pay or be killed,” said the merchant.
He said up to date, the military had not given any explanation for destroying his truck and stock and that he did not know the whereabouts of his driver who was detained in Maiduguri.
Several accounts revealed that nutritionally, the fish from Lake Chad provide the bulk of the protein requirements of the rural communities in the territory. Additionally, fish supply from the region is known to account for over 70 per cent of fish products traded in large urban markets of southern Nigeria, namely Onitsha, Enugu, Lagos, Ilorin and Ibadan.
This carefully woven economic network created by ISWAP may have collapsed temporarily or permanently, considering that recent military onslaught on the insurgents by Chadian forces may have disrupted the very foundations of that economy.
HumAngle learned that the March 23 assault under which the Chadian forces routed the positions of the insurgents in the Lake Chad communities may have put paid to the economic lifelines of the terror groups.
In addition, sources said that a clinical and silent campaign of identifying and eliminating suspected insurgents by members of the public was gaining popularity across major Chadian towns and cities.
Speaking concerning the implications of the sudden hostilities by Chadians against the insurgents, a source who is familiar with the cover that ISWAP and Boko Haram members had received in Chad, told HumAngle that “it will limit the group’s access to essential goods that are smuggled daily to the fighters.”
For example, HumAngle learned that some of the taxes or proceeds from trade were not paid in cash. They come in the form of trade by batter for essential commodities such as prescription drugs, spices, petrol, cooking stoves, phones, recharge cards, among others, sources said.
While the Chadians are making efforts to put a stop to this dark window, at least in their territories, it is business as usual in the Niger and Nigerian territories around the Lake Chad basin, sources said.
The Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi has approved the release of 5 basic life support ambulances together with teams of medical personnel of the Corps and 30 active Close User Group lines, to the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 as part of its commitment towards facilitating prompt evacuation of Coronavirus victims from point of identification to isolation centres.
In a statement by Bisi Kazeem, the Corps Public Education Officer, the approval came shortly after the request was presented to the Corps by the Country Director, United Nations Decade of Action on Road Safety and Traffic Injury Prevention in Nigeria and the Coordinator, Ambulance and Emergency Response Unit of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Dr Sydney Ibeanusi on Friday at the National headquarters of the Commission.
According to Kazeem, Dr Sydney who presented the request on behalf of the PTF noted among others that FRSC has always been at the fore front of national commitment and at this moment of global emergency, the PTF seeks to further the existing collaboration with the Corps in the area of emergency response services in a bid to enhance established collective efforts geared towards combating the dreaded virus.
Dr Sydney also stated that the need to activate the ambulance service system has become grossly consequential at this time that records have shown a consistent rise in the number of infected persons in the country which is already less than two dozens away from a thousand cases.
He noted that irrespective of the fact that other agencies have also donated a number of ambulances for the said programme, the need for more cannot be over emphasised. He assured the Corps that the personnel detailed on this assignment will be fully catered for with adequate personal protective equipments, and accommodation.
The detailed FRSC health workers will be first subjected to intense training on personal protection, handline of victims and decontamination of the vehicle among others. They are to work for 2 weeks, after which they will be subjected to 2weeks isolation by the PTF in designated centres and certified negative before they can be allowed to reunite with their families and report back to duty.
The Corps Marshal while reiterating the commitment of the Corps to the fight against COVID-19 in the country said that the Corps will always be readily available to offer the services of both personnel and its operational tools to support the Presidential Task Force in conquering the dreaded unseen enemy.
US President, Donald Trump has called President Muhammadu Buhari over the recent Coronavirus Pandemic ravaging the country. Trump had a telephone conversation with Buhari on Tuesday, expressing solidarity with the country amidst the challenge.
This was revealed by Lai Mohammed, minister of information, at a media briefing of the presidential task force on COVID-19. President Trump promised to send across ventilators to Nigeria.
More to come….
The post BREAKING: Trump calls Buhari over Coronavirus, to send Ventilators to Nigeria appeared first on Politics Nigeria.
The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, has dispatched 110 trucks of palliatives foodstuff from the Federal Government to the Kano State Government for distribution to the needy, vulnerable and people of concern in the state.
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, said that the Ministry delivered ten trailer-loads of parboiled rice to the state government about two weeks ago, and in addition to that directed the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to deliver 100 trucks of grains to five locations in Kano State for distribution to poor and vulnerable households on the instruction of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The grains in 100 trailers now on their way to Kano, comprise millet, sorghum and maize, which were released from silos holding the country’s strategic food reserve located across the country.
It could be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to release 70,000 metric tons of food for distribution to less-privileged Nigerians to cushion the effect of the lockdown aimed at checking the spread of the killer-disease triggered by COVID-19 in Nigeria.
The Minister emphasised that “One of the humanitarian interventions provided by the Federal Government is the delivery of food items as palliatives to the poor and vulnerable in all states affected by the Covid-19 pandemic to ease the lockdown situation”.
Sadiya Farouq assured the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency, Engineer Mustapha Maihaja that: “The Ministry will continue to work closely with all the agencies under its purview, including the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), in discharging its mandates, including providing effective coordination of humanitarian interventions both nationally and internationally for the benefit of the citizens of this country, especially during this Covid-19 Pandemic.”
She highlighted the need for the Agency to work closely with the Ministry and its sister agencies in all the states in monitoring the effective distribution of the palliatives to ensure that the food items reach the intended beneficiaries, especially in states under lockdown.
In his remark, the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Engr. Mustapha Maihaja assured the Minster that the Agency will work closely with State Governments to ensure the effective monitoring and accountability in distributing the palliatives, and thanked the Minister for the visit and her support to NEMA in discharging its duties for the benefit of Nigerians.
