Sunday 09 December 2018
C002D5556
BDSUNDAY 5
News
Mixed reactions trail Ekere’s manifesto CNN African Voices profiles 3 naturalists this weekend of new vision for Akwa Ibom
T
ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo
M
ixed reactions have continued to trail NsimaEkere’s manifesto of new vision for Akwa Ibom State which he launched in Uyo, to kick start his campaign as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in next year’s election. The new vision, which is anchored on five pillars of change include economic prosperity, infrastructure and rural development, education, health and social protection, as well as security, governance and institutional reforms. Ekere, who is also the managing director of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), promised that he would launch a N20 million fund to raise a “critical mass of transformative entrepreneurs who will use creativity and innovation to grow the private sector and create wealth.” Other promises include launching a graduate farmers’ scheme and promoting the participation of 500 youths from each of the 31 local government areas or 15,500 per annum in farming and as extension agents as well as establishing the state
Nsima Ekere
health insurance scheme to cater for health needs of the people. The gubernatorial candidate also said he would design a social protection policy to cover the most vulnerable among the people including people living with disability, the aged, poor, widows and orphans. The APC governorship candidate who promised to declare a state of emergency in the education sector said if elected he would increase the support for students in tertiary institutions by raising student bursary from N5, 000 to N25, 000 per session while an annual award for the overall best performing secondary school in the state in public examinations would
be instituted. “We are totally committed to a dramatic increase in funding education from the current 1.6 percent of the state budget to a progressive increment towards meeting the UNESCO target of 25 percent by 2023,” he said. Specifically, Ekere promised that he would restore financial autonomy to local governments in the state. But reacting to the promises, analysts and observers described the manifesto as lacking in strategy on how the issues would be addressed while wondering why promises made should be taken seriously particularly the issue of financial autonomy to local governments as he promised.
he Globacomsponsored CNN Af r i c a n Vo i c e s , a magazine programme of the Cable News Network, this week profiles three Africans naturalists, who are believers in or adherents of naturalism, especially in the arts. The trio include Samson Ogbole, a Nigerian whose penchant to get something out of farm lands is both legendary and revolutionary; Junior Gabela, a South African ornithologist, who has an uncanny knowledge of flying creatures and guides birds for a living and Angus Paul, a Kenyan who has uncommon love for fishery and has turned fishing into a spectacular art. The swivel of Ogbole’s research revolves round his belief that the future of health can only be secured if it is built on agricultural practices that are healthy for the farmer, healthy for the consumer and healthy for the environment. His vision is to ensure that humans “eat right, live longer” as well as “ensure food is the drug we eat to live healthier and longer”. Ogbole’s firm “PS Nutrac” now grows crops without using soil. This feat
isachieved by deploying several technologies, including hydroponics (plants in water), aquaponics (using waste produce of fishes to feed plants) and aeroponics (plants growing in air) to ensure that crops are grown all year round and no longer seasonally. His intervention may just be the right step for agricultural development in Nigeria as he says that “plants grown without soil have higher phytochemicals and antioxidants compared to those grown in soil”. He says the crops are also healthier as there is reduced use of inorganic fertilizer, pesticides, fungicides or other agrochemicals on the crops. There are already aeroponics farms in Ibadan, Abuja, Umudike in Abia State and Araromi Ake in Ogun State. The second naturalist, Gabela, is a site guide for Amatikulu Nature Reserve, Nkandla Forest, Dlinza Forest, Eshowe, Mthunzini, Richards Bay, Ongoye Forest, and Umlalazi Nature Reserve in South Africa . He has a unique passion for birding and an uncanny knack of locating even the most hard to find species. He
has been a Birdlife South Africa accredited guide since 2005 and has been guiding since 2000, and at the same time working with the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) where he undertakes researches and participates in school outreach programmes. The third guest on the programme, Angus Paul, specialises in deep-sea fishing. He says that his aim in life had been to be a fisherman since his childhood on the North coast of Kenya where he was fortunate to have world-class bill fish fishing right on his doorstep. “It also helped that my family ran one of the few charter companies in the region at the time. There were no favours offered, and I did my training through the ranks like everyone else and became a skipper more than 30 years ago’’, he adds. Paul is known for catching the most Sailfish yearon-year and his sound reputation for getting his clients ‘on the fish’. He at present runs the family business bringing up his eldest son up through the ranks so that he could step into the father’s shoes in the art of fishing and sports-fishing.
Delta ‘unsung heroes’ honoured for impacting on rural communities Mercy Enoch, Asaba
M
ost Nigerians render services that impact positively on their rural communities but such persons are hardly recognised and celebrated because they are not popular in the society. This is the fate of Ernest Ogbedo, a medical doctor and seven other Deltans who the Delta State Economic Summit Group (DESG), described as “unsung heroes”. Ogbedo has embarked on the huge task of fighting blindness by moving into rural communities rather than staying in township like his medical colleagues. The result is that this year 2018 alone, he has carried out free eye treatment on over 24,000 people, gave out glasses to over 17,000 people and carried out surgeries on over 2,500 persons in Delta, Anambra, Edo, Enugu, and Imo States through Restore Sight Africa Initiative, a non-governmental organisation founded by him. DESG, through its machinery was able to recognise him and seven other Deltans for their services to humanity.
Ernest Ogbedo, one of the unsung heroes now an award winner.
The DESG during its recent“UnsungHeroesAward” held in Asaba, Delta State capital, said it was celebrating their socio-economic contributions to the society as well as reward them for their services. Among the eight persons nominated for the award, four emerged winner, including Ogbedo. The award categories included Young Achievers – dedicated to youth impacting youth, Community Development – making a difference through developmental projects, Enterprise Development – impacting the community through development enterprise, Education – building capacity, building lives, Public Service – true heart of service.
The four winners were Ediri Obada (development category), Fedelia Oyemike and Ernest Ogbedo (community development), and Regina Ofigho (public service category). All the nominees were given certificate while the winners were presented with award plague and a token of money each from DESG as the group declared that the era in which individuals that contribute significantly to their local communities but go unnoticed, has gone In his speech, the Director-
General of DESG, Chukwuka Monye, said they came out with the award to recognise and celebrate those who contribute significantly to the society but are not popular. “Those that actually affect lives are most of the times not the popular people. So, we said, today, we are going to start from the nominees to the awardees to ensure that that grandmother in the village that is not recognized is recognized”. Speaking also, Kingsley Emu, the state’s Commissioner of Economic Planning,
said, “This is one innovation I have seen the private sector come up with, without any atom of support from the state government”. He observed that the issue of reward and motivation had remained a key issue but regretted that those who are appreciated in the society today are millionaires. He however urged Deltans not to relent in their services to develop their local areas as he assured them, “If no one sees you, just rest assured that DESG will find you”.
Kingsley Emu, Delta State Commissioner of Economic Planning (center), flanked by the “Unsung Heroes” awardees.
Shimite Bello, the Executive Secretary of the Delta State Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises DevelopmentAgency(DEMSMA),in her congratulatory message, commended the DESG for coming up with the award while encouraging both the nominees and the winners of the award to do more for the society. All the nominees and the awardees were given opportunity to speak at the occasion. They were all elated at the gesture done them and promised to do more. Ogbedo as one of the winners told BDSUNDAY that he was just doing his work and never knew that somebody somewhere was watching. Just like other awardees, he said the award has spurred him to get more committed to the prevention of blindness through the medical missions to the poor rural and urban communities. DESG is a non-profit, non partisan private sector led think-tank and advocacy group organised to contribute to the socio-economic development of the state. More unpopular Deltans are expected to qualify for this award in the coming year following the group’s commitment to this task.