Dominican Angels of Maternal/Infant Health

By Nwachukwu Egbunike

In the cluttered conversation about Nigeria, bad news sells. However, there are many who silently work for a change and hardly make a noise about their work. It is easy to criticize, a critique hardly provides solutions; but to walk a talk, valour is imperative. And for unostentatiously being a pillar to women and children, cutting the cold hands of death from snatching this vulnerable subset of our society for the past ten years; the St Dominic Catholic Hospital, Ogunbade Village, Ibadan deserve our praise.

Although Ibadan, hosts the foremost health institution in the country, that alone cannot (and should not) cater for a city with an estimated population of about two million people. Considering also that most of the inhabitants of Ibadan live within the fringes of the city, then one appreciates the context of my praise for these nuns and their hospital. And as such, the burden of primary health care falls on non-for-profit and religious institutions that are propelled by social justice.

Now the grim statistics: Nigeria ranks as second in the global maternal and infant mortality deaths. In 2010, it was estimated that 608 deaths per 100,000 deliveries in Nigeria. According to UNICEF, Nigeria loses about 2,300 under-five year olds and 145 women of childbearing age daily. This makes the country the second largest contributor to the under–five and maternal mortality rate in the world.

Yet in “The Changing face of Global Child Demographic”, the authors, Danzhen You et al (The Lancet, Volume 381, Issue 9868, Pages 701-703, March 2, 2013) insist that this ugly trend is gradually being changed. They note that:

By the middle of this century, almost one in every three births and nearly one in every three children younger than 18 years will be in sub-Saharan Africa… Several factors will contribute to realisation of this scenario, such as improving child survival and continuing high fertility rates in sub-Saharan Africa, which contrasts with sharply falling rates in the rest of the world.

But there are many things that the number crunching above did not and cannot capture. It is the voices behind these numbers; the anguish of the mothers crying for their dead children, the shattered hopes of families who lose both mother and/or child, and silent toil of their care-givers. The unsung heroes who have provided affordable and qualitative primary health care to rural and semi-rural Nigerian women are hardly recognised. And within these ranks, one can easily situate the courage of the Dominican Sisters of Nigeria. These nuns have championed primary health care through the St Dominic Catholic Hospital, Ogungbade Village, Ibadan since 2003.

The Dominican Sisters of Nigeria are part of the global Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Sienna. The charisim of the Sisters of St Dominic is spreading the compassion of Christ to others through educational and medical apostolic work. St Dominic Hospital in Ogungbade Village is a materialisation of the missionary spirit of the Sisters. And in this case, the essence is captured in health – reaching all through the compassion of Christ especially in children under five years and pregnant women.

St Dominic Hospital had an interesting history. The Sisters of St Dominic had established their convent in Ogungbade Village, off Ife Road, in Ibadan. Soon the community, who apparently had no other source of medical intervention, started bringing their sick ones to the nuns. As the traffic of patients continued to increase, the sisters began a clinic in a small boy’s quarters with the community. They had barely up to ten members of staff and most of their patients were treated as out-patients with few admissions. Obviously they did not do surgeries and had to refer difficult labour cases to other hospitals. This growing demand prompted the need for a more formal structure. Thus in 2007, the sod was turned and within three years, (2010) the present St Dominic Hospital was commissioned.

The hospital has 64 beds with an array of medical professionals: doctors, nurses, laboratory scientists, paramedical and administrative staff. They run a 24 hour service and have consultants in various specialities involved, such areas are obstetrics and gynaecology, orthopaedics, general surgery, urology, neurosurgery plastic surgery, cardiology and paediatrics. They have free malaria tests for children and free malaria treatment for our pregnant women. St Dominic hospital also offers medical outreaches to many of the villages around us, giving health talks and treatments. This includes collaborative effort with NGOs involved in HIV prevention, especially mother to child transmission. They are also engage foreign capacity aid, for instance, they are expecting a team of US orthopaedic surgeons to perform leg deformity corrective surgery before the end of the year.

However, it has not been a stress free walk for St Dominic Hospital. While it took courage to walk their talk (better still to walk the path laid out by the needs of others), there are still many hurdles to skip. And in the words of the Medical Director, Dr Taiwo Obisesan:

We are anxiously looking forward to see a well equipped and well staffed hospital serving the community, involving in various research works, collaborating with similar organisations here or abroad. Above all we hope in the nearest future to be able to train House Officers, Nurses, and Medical Laboratory Scientists and run Residency Programme in Family Medicine and other areas.

Nonetheless, it is disheartening that treacherous craters litter the path to this hospital. As matter of public interest, the Oyo State Government should urgently extend its current road construction drive to Ogunbade Village. For the erosion on the road that leads St Dominic Hospital might easily induce a pre-term labour in a gravid woman. A bit of asphalt on that road will certainly do the sisters, the hospital’s patients/staff and the entire community some good.

The future of Nigeria’s health care system revolves around primary health care. The life of many women and children lies precariously and only a systemic intervention can reset this rot. Nonetheless, this sustained and deliberate change has to be propelled by a collective effort from public and private concerns. That is why St Dominic Hospital deserve praise because despite all odds, they have faithfully carried this burden for the public good.

First published in the Nigerian Guardian (Friday, May 17, 2013)

The Voiceless Victims of the Vicious Violence of Boko Haram

By Nwachukwu Egbunike

About 10,000 souls have been grinded in Boko haram (BH) blender since 2001. These innocents did not stand in the way of the vampires who have declared a hate war on the Nigerian state. They had each woken that morning with the ambitions filled with hope, to strive to lay food on the table, to seek for a better future but sometime during the day, they had been sent on – with a first class ticket – an early encounter in the void unknown. With time, the detonation of bombs became a daily icing that the living began referring to the dead as numbers. This was the situation before the declaration of state of emergency by the government on the hotspots where Boko haram had almost established sovereignty and wishes to continue their blood bath.

Unfortunately, this aspect has been missing in the national conversation since the president called the bluff of the terrorists and declared full military action. It is unfortunate that the lead on the discussion has been on the constitutionality or otherwise of the state of emergency. Others are making a needless hairsplitting on the efficacy of this move because Goodluck Jonathan did not sack the governors of the affected state (as though he was the one who elected them)! However, what I find rather inhuman is the politicization of these events. The opposition (ACN) certainly gives no alternative: so much for their original thinking!

Although this action is belated, nonetheless it better late than never. We cannot keep on playing ludo with the lives of Nigerians.

Who will seek justice for the people who have died, whose spirits cry to heaven for retribution? I shrouded as a tweep reeled out in Twitter the timeline of BH’s blood spree in the past years.

• December 24, 2003: Christmas Eve attacks in Kannama and Geidam in Yobe State
• September 21, 2004: Attack on Panshekara Police station, Kano
• September 21, 2004: Attack on Bama and Gwarzo Police Stations
• December 31, 2007: Attack on Presidential Hotel Port/Harcourt
• July 26-30, 2009: Launch of mass uprising with attack on a police station in Bauchi that spread to Kano, Yobe and Borno states
• September 7, 2010: Attack on a prison in Bauchi and freeing numerous prisoners including BH members.
• October 6, 2010: Assassination of ANPP leader, Awena Ngala in Maiduguri
• December 24, 2010: Christmas period bombing in Jos killed 38
• October 9, 2010: Assassination of Muslim cleric Bashir Kashara and one of his students in Maiduguri
• December 31, 2011: Mogadishu Assassination of ANPP gubernatorial candidate Modu Fannami Gubio and 8 others in Maiduguri
• June 6, 2011: Assassination of Muslim cleric, Ibrahim Birkutu in Maiduguri
• June 16, 2011: Bombing of Police Force Headquarters in Abuja
• August 26, 2011: UN Building Bombing in Abuja
• September 22, 2011: Attack on Maiduguri jail to free hundreds of prisoners
• December 20, 2011: Dozens killed in Maiduguri shootings
• December 25, 2011: Series of bomb attacks on Christmas day in Niger and Plateau States killed dozens
• January 22, 2012: Multiple bomb explosions and attacks in Kano on Police facilities and security agency offices: death toll 215
• April 9, 2012: Easter Sunday explosion in Kaduna. Death toll 38

What commonalities stand out in the above list? It is brutal and blood cuddling death. Boko haram did not discriminate: they served death to Christians and Moslems; Nigerians and foreigners; adults and children; the governed and the governed; armed personnel and civilians…

There can be no true peace without reconciliation. And reconciliation does not begin in a void but is rooted in justice – which means giving each one his/her due. Boko haram insurgents need to be brought to book. And it makes no gain to over simplify this as merely revenge. Hell no! As much as it human to err and divine to forgive however, we need not forget that to persist in evil is diabolical. While justice has to be tempered with mercy but on no account should mercy replace justice. It is about time someone grants justice to the victims of BH’s violation and protect others from falling into their grinder.

I support the state of emergency, for never had any Nigerian president captured the inner essence of many in this country. It is worthwhile repeating the words of Jonathan Ebele Goodluck:

I want to reassure you all that those who are directly or indirectly encouraging any form of rebellion against the Nigerian state, and their collaborators; those insurgents and terrorists… whoever they may be, wherever they may go, we will hunt them down, we will fish them out, and we will bring them to justice. No matter what it takes, we will win this war against terror.

And so be it!

Growing Up [Artmosphere May, 2013 Edition]

Press Release

The fifth edition of ARTMOSPHERE, your favourite Music, Literature and Arts parley opens with a deliberate attempt to discuss African identity and realistic approach to progress in Africa. There will also be a detailed predisposition, and juxtapositions to personal and continental experiences of growing up.

WriteHouse Collective will be using this edition of Artmosphere to question evolving and modern African values with consideration to ethics, technological use and education. The foregrounded and fundamental question will be “What are the values and ideals that define our cosmos and what do we do with them in a fast multicultural and constantly changing cross-idealistic world?

Award-winning poet and literary scholar, Peter Akinlabi and novelist Omotunde Omole will read from their latest works and also deliver insightful perspectives and experiences relevant to the central theme. Peter Akinlabi was the very first winner of the Sentinel Literary Quarterly Poetry Competition (October, 2009). This will be followed by panel discussions as well as presentations from traditionally unpublished and emerging voices in Nigerian literature like Yeku James, Biodun Bello and Opeyemi Adeola. There will be music performances to spice the rhythm and jibes of poetry, stories and experiences.

Artmosphere is organized by WriteHouse Collective, a creative enterprise, culture and arts firm and supported by Ibridge Hub, a place for people with great ideas to meet, learn and work. This edition is also supported by literary friends across the country.

The May edition of Artmosphere – “Growing Up”

Time: 3pm-6pm on Saturday, May 18, 2013.

Venue: NuStreams Conference Centre, KM 110 Abeokuta Road, off Alalubosa G.R.A., Ibadan.

Peter Akinlabi

Peter Akinlabi lives and works in Ilorin. He obtained a Bachelor degree in English from University of Ibadan, Ibadan and Masters in English and Literary studies from University of Ilorin. His poems have recently appeared or are forthcoming in Maple Tree Literary Supplement, Sentinel Quarterly, Lit.Mag. of Nigerianstalk.org and Sentinel Nigeria. He was short-listed for first African Poetry Prize of University of Brunel, UK, and is the winner of Sentinel Quarterly Poetry Competition in 2009.

Biodun Bello

Biodun Bello was born in Lagos, Nigeria. He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from the University of Ibadan and later a Master’s degree in Performance Studies at the Institute of African Studies of the same University. He has had diverse work exposures and experiences, having had stints with a private media and sports marketing firm in Lagos as an operations assistant, and later as a liaison officer to a youth and family NGO in Ibadan, and later as instructor at a British school in his country’s Federal Capital where he taught History, Science and later English, subsequently rising to the position of Head of the School’s Literacy Department and then Coordinator of the School’s Literacy Development Programme. A poet and songwriter, Biodun emerged the overall winner of the annual Okigbo Poetry Competition in 2005 at the University of Ibadan, and winning prizes as runner-up at different other times.

Yeku James holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature and a Master of Arts degree in Performance Studies from the University of Ibadan. He is the curator of the online group, MUSE ON FIRE, where he coordinates, critiques and publishes literary discourses. He served as Literacy Instructor in the Literacy Unit of Tender Years School (British), Abuja, where he was also Coordinator for the Reading Club, as well as a Curriculum Developer. His poetry has been widely published in different media. Yeku is the author of Comprehensive Grammar (in press). He is currently a Doctoral Candidate at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan.

Omole Omotunde

Omole Omotunde has an unwavering love for literature and all the good it can bring. An unpublished author of full length novels and several short stories, he believes literature can serve as a vehicle for ameliorating societal ills and raising the people’s consciousness towards the preservation of our time-tested values and morality.

Alabi Adegoke is a medical student of the University of Ibadan. He is an ardent fan of literature as well as visual arts. He appreciates ‘outside the box’ ideas and welcomes creativity. His hobbies include playing chess and singing among others. He is the president of QUILLS, a house of literature based at the University College Hospital, Ibadan.

Opeyemi Adeola is a final year student of English Language at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. She is a lover of the Arts and a worshipper of books. Writing comes to her when painting fails to tell the numerous stories in her head.  She was recently assigned the role of a relationship manager at WriteHouse Collective.

Her passion for ‘women’s rights’ inspires most of her works; her writings have appeared on various online platforms.

FULL TEXT OF PRESIDENT JONATHAN’S NATIONAL BROADCAST MAY 14, 2013

ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT GOODLUCK EBELE JONATHAN (GCFR) ON THE DECLARATION OF A STATE OF EMERGENCY IN BORNO, YOBE AND ADAMAWA STATES IN ORDER TO RESTORE PUBLIC ORDER, PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY IN THE AFFECTED STATES OF THE FEDERATION [MAY 14, 2013]

 

“…whoever they may be, wherever they may go, we will hunt them down, we will fish them out, and we will bring them to justice. No matter what it takes, we will win this war against terror.”

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan

Dear compatriots,

1.    It has become necessary for me to address you on the recent spate of terrorist activities and protracted security challenges in some parts of the country, particularly in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe, Bauchi, Kano, Plateau and most recently Bayelsa, Taraba, Benue and Nasarawa states.  These unfortunate events have led to needless loss of lives and property of many innocent Nigerians including members of our security forces.

2.   The recent killing of security operatives by a cult group in Nasarawa state is particularly condemnable. I have directed that no effort or expense be spared in identifying and bringing to justice all those who had a hand in the killing of the operatives.

3.   The activities of insurgents and terrorists have been reprehensible, causing fear among our citizens and a near-breakdown of law and order in parts of the country, especially the North. We have taken robust steps to unravel and address the root causes of these crises, but it would appear that there is a systematic effort by insurgents and terrorists to destabilize the Nigerian state and test our collective resolve.

4.  Since I returned to the country after cutting short my visit to South Africa and aborting a planned state visit to Namibia, I have received detailed briefings from our security agencies. These briefings indicate that what we are facing is not just militancy or criminality, but a rebellion and insurgency by terrorist groups which pose a very serious threat to national unity and territorial integrity. Already, some northern parts of Borno state have been taken over by groups whose allegiance is to different flags and ideologies.

5.   These terrorists and insurgents seem determined to establish control and authority over parts of our beloved nation and to progressively overwhelm the rest of the country. In many places, they have destroyed the Nigerian flag and other symbols of state authority and in their place, hoisted strange flags suggesting the exercise of alternative sovereignty.

6.  They have attacked government buildings and facilities. They have murdered innocent citizens and state officials. They have set houses ablaze, and taken women and children as hostages. These actions amount to a declaration of war and a deliberate attempt to undermine the authority of the Nigerian state and threaten her territorial integrity. As a responsible government, we will not tolerate this.

7.  Previously, we adopted a multi-track approach to the resolution of this problem through actions which included persuasion, dialogue and widespread consultation with the political, religious and community leaders in the affected states.

8.  We exercised restraint to allow for all efforts by both State Governors and well-meaning Nigerians to stop the repeated cases of mindless violence.

9.  Yet, the insurgents and terrorists seek to prevent government from fulfilling its constitutional obligations to the people as they pursue their fanatical agenda of mayhem, mass murder, division and separatism.

10.  While the efforts at persuasion and dialogue will continue, let me reiterate that we have a sacred duty to ensure the security and well-being of all our people and protect the sovereign integrity of our country. Therefore, we shall, on no account, shy away from doing whatever becomes necessary to provide the fullest possible security for the citizens of this country in any part of the country they choose to reside.

11.  We have a duty to stand firm against those who threaten the sovereign integrity of the Nigerian state. Our will is strong, because our faith lies in the indivisibility of Nigeria.

12.  Following recent developments in the affected states, it has become necessary for Government to take extraordinary measures to restore normalcy. After wide consultations, and in exercise of the powers conferred on me by the provisions of Section 305, sub-section 1 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, I hereby declare a State of Emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.

13.  Accordingly, the Chief of Defence Staff has been directed to immediately deploy more troops to these states for more effective internal security operations. The troops and other security agencies involved in these operations have orders to take all necessary action, within the ambit of their rules of engagement, to put an end to the impunity of insurgents and terrorists.

14.    This will include the authority to arrest and detain suspects, the taking of possession and control of any building or structure used for terrorist purposes, the lock-down of any area of terrorist operation, the conduct of searches, and the apprehension of persons in illegal possession of weapons.

15.  The details of this Proclamation will be transmitted to the National Assembly in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. But in the meantime, let me make it clear that within the purview of this Proclamation, the Governors and other political office holders in the affected states will continue to discharge their constitutional responsibilities.

16.  I urge the political leadership in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states to co-operate maximally with the Armed Forces and the Police to ensure that the exercise succeeds. We call on the citizenry to co-operate with our security agencies to ensure a return to normalcy within the shortest possible time.

17. I am again approaching our neighbouring countries, through diplomatic channels, as done in the recent past, for their co-operation in apprehending any terrorist elements that may escape across the border.

18.   Nigerians are peace-loving people; these sad events perpetrated by those who do not wish our nation well have not changed the essential character of our people.

19.  I want to reassure you all that those who are directly or indirectly encouraging any form of rebellion against the Nigerian state, and their collaborators; those insurgents and terrorists who take delight in killing our security operatives, whoever they may be, wherever they may go, we will hunt them down, we will fish them out, and we will bring them to justice. No matter what it takes, we will win this war against terror.

20. I am convinced that with your support and prayers, we shall overcome these challenges and together, we will restore every part of our country to the path of peace, growth and development.

Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Bursting Some Myths of An Open Internet by Ellery Roberts Biddle and Hisham Almiraat

Global Voices Advocacy Editor (Ellery Roberts Biddle) and Director (Hisham Almiraat) spoke at the re:publica 2013.

Together they systemically broke the oft-recycled myths about the so-called open internet. Thus providing a nuanced appreciation of a network we many times think we fully understand.

Their presentation made loads of sense and I think it’s worth sharing:

Ije Enu

By Nwachukwu Egbunike

 

Does music lead to poetry or poetry to music?

I don’t intend to answer that query. 

All I know is that Celestine Okwu’s “Ije Enu” precipitated this poem.

Enjoy his music, enjoy also my poem! 

 

 

Ije Enu!

Despised within

Despoiled without

Defeated on high

Devoured down under

Ije enu!

 

Accused by gaul

Accursed of gang

Affront to head

Afraid of end

Ndi na-akwa na-akwa!

 

Within the spirit rebels

Wrenched of space

Wrongs to spite

Wraths in spate

Ndi na-awuli na-awuli!

 

Drips of bile

Sores spreads

All cast in gloom

Grim comes to glow

Ije uwa!

 

All around

None is well

Hit all

With nails

Onye na-akwa nu uwa

 

This pile

That pierces

To pieces

Takes its pale

Ya lote na-uwa na-eruyari

 

Tendrils can’t hike

Toes are stiff

The heart in shreds

The void of silence

Oburo onye odili mma tata

 

Its night

All is dark

There’s no moon

No flicker in this doom

Ka oga-adili mma echi!

 

 

Ibadan, May 11, 2013

Bring Back the Book: Peers of an Expired Empire

By Nwachukwu Egbunike 

In Nigeria, you must capture the essence of your being by the number of titles you been able to acquire over the years. “Former special assistant, formerly choir master, etc” expresses the clout of the bearer. And such is the current ruforufo fight between two former public servants of the Federal Republic. To think that they are throwing arrows at each other just because of an ordinary book, haba!

These two super intelligent warriors of a stale empire have taken to the streets and their disciples have since joined their fight. Wahala started with an autobiographical fiction that the twitter king’s pen wrote. In his accidental hagiography, he revealed the backsides of his former peers. And not only that, his book attacked the retired emperor, the former deputy emperor and all those who were in the inner kitchen. The only innocent one was the author.

The master consolidator could not bear it. Being as canny as the twitter king, he wrote a powerful essay in which he accused the accidental author of being an intellectual fraud. Although some parts of the consolidator’s article read like a self-incensing compressed CV. But that is a story for another day. However, the consolidator hit the twit king by questioning the source of his copious quotations. It is either the accidental author, had a tape recorder or employed a ghost stenographer during the conversations he quoted in his book.

The certified ruffler of feathers/author responded that his quotations came from journals/diaries he kept while in office. Obviously from the day he was appointed, he knew he will one day make a book and thus religiously wrote down all his conversations. And since he has a first class degree, who dares challenge his photographic memory? Never mind that his editors made a mess of the book, inserting factual errors to the narrative. These dump editors sef!

The master consolidator (who also has a first class degree) has promised to also write his own book. In that we will get the full picture of his epic consolidation solution that spared Nigeria the agony of the global financial meltdown. In that book – which I anticipate will be like the fiction written by his colleague, the tweet king – the solution master will lay to sunlight his magic. How banking in Nigeria sailed off to the cliff, hitting the benchmark of impressive paper-only consolidation. Don’t believe what that Prince of Kano did – it was only a vendetta in rehearsal and beef – since his intellect can never match that of our itinerary professor.

By the way, I write and make books for a living… So just in case, any other member of the expired, reigning or future empire decides to tell his or her story, I hereby volunteer my services. I offer very flexible editing that indemnifies political authors from factual errors that fly into their manuscript after publication. Don’t worry; it will be part of the publishing agreement and will be duly covered by a reasonable fee. That will be my “little” contribution in bringing back the book! Ndi ala!