Health experts are worried that number of deaths due to cardiovascular diseases, commonly referred to as hypertension, has increased across the world by 41 percent between 1990 and 2013, climbing from 12.3 million deaths to 17.3 million deaths.
According to an analysis of data from 188 countries, over the same period, death rates within specific age groups however, dropped by 39 percent.
These revelations came today as the world marks World Health Day, with a theme this year as: “Healthy Heart Choices For Everyone, Everywhere.”
This is coming against the World Health Organization (WHO)’s target of reducing premature mortality from cardiovascular disease and other non communicable diseases (NCDs) by 25 per cent beore 2025.
Speaking on this year’s theme, an Associate Professor of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Dr. Amam Mbakwem said that hypertension is one subject every Nigerian should be aware of, adding that more blacks have hypertension than whites basically because the way blacks handle salt is a bit different.
Dr. Mbakwem said that people tended to hold onto more salt because of the climate even as she said that diet is another reason for the high rate of hypertensive cases in black people hence the need for Nigerians to make healthy heart choices.
According to her, Nigerians stood more risk of hypertension because of their lifestyles, saying that in some recent studies involving trans fats, researchers found trans fat consumption was associated with a 34 percent increase in all-cause mortality, a 21 percent increase in the risk of coronary heart disease and a 28 percent increase in the risk of death from coronary heart disease.
“It is not just the numbers whether it is 120 or 140 but the damage that it causes because with blood pressure high in the system, it is heating the brains and it can damage the brains and when that happens, we talk about stroke.”
She advised every adult to know his or her blood pressure numbers by maintaining a good habit of regular monitoring and medical checks with home blood pressure checks.
In the views of Chairman, Board of Trustees, Nigerian Heart Foundation (NHF), Emeritus Professor Akinkugbe, healthy nutrition is an important part of a healthy life, hence, the need for food manufacturers to provide education on heart-healthy foods.
“Food labelling across the world develops community awareness on healthy foods and provideopportunity for healthy food choices and the NHF Heart Check Food Labelling Programme is a systematic endorsement of food items certifying them healthy for consumption and heart friendly with emphasis on low fats and cholesterol, low sodium and low glucose.”
He asked Nigerians to begin to make on-the-spot healthy food choices. [myad]
“I am on trial today because I am the president of the Nigerian Senate, against the wishes of some powerful individuals outside this Chambers.”
These were the remarks of the embattled Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki when he addressed his colleagues in his opening speech, at the resumption from a long recess.
Senator Saraki, who obviously whipped up a lot of sentiment that later encouraged 83 Senators to pass a vote of confidence on him, went on: “but what is clear to me also, is that the laws of Nigeria, and the rules of the National Assembly give consideration only to the wishes and desires of those of you who are here today as members of the Senate, to elect as you wish, one of your peers as President of the Senate. This, in your wisdom, is what you have done by electing me to be the first among all of you who are my equals.
“The laws of Nigeria do not give any consideration to any other forces outside the Senate in the election of its President. And to yield the ground on this note, is to be complicit in the subversion of democracy and its core principles of separation of powers as enshrined in our constitution. This is why we must once again, commend President Muhammadu Buhari, for refusing to interfere in the election of the National Assembly leadership even in the face of enormous pressures on him to do so. He has proven quite concretely that he is indeed a born-again democrat.”
Senator Saraki reminded his colleagues that too many people have fought and died for the democracy that we enjoy today, adding that the Senators should honour the memories of such people by not allowing the sad chapters of our history to continue to repeat themselves like a bad curse.
“As for me, I am prepared to do my duty in defence of our democracy and in safeguarding the independence of the National Assembly. My duty, as I see it, is to do justice and honour to the memory of those who have paid even higher prices to give us this democracy and this constitution. Primarily as a Senator of the Federal Republic and as Senate President I owe it to this Senate to stand strong in the face of relentless persecution. I invite all of you to stand with me to defend this Senate and preserve its sanctity.”
He also reminded that their legacies would not be defined by how long they stayed in the Senate and in whatever position, but by what they did with this great opportunity that their people have given them by the grace of Almighty God.
Read the full text of his speech:
WELCOME ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, DR. ABUBAKAR BUKOLA SARAKI (CON) TO SENATORS OF THE 8TH SENATE ON RESUMPTION FROM THE SENATE RECESS ON TUESDAY, 29TH SEPTEMBER, 2015.
Protocol:
Distinguished colleagues, I heartily welcome you back from our annual recess. I hope you had a very rewarding time with your families and your constituencies. I also hope that the period of recess has afforded you opportunities to reflect on the enormous task before this Senate in the months ahead.
I believe that we have all resumed today with greater vigour and higher commitment to serve our fatherland and serve the cause of democracy. In the face of the great challenges that our country faces on different fronts, which urgently demands our attention, we must be prepared to put in the long extra hours to make up for the precious time we have lost for sundry reasons. As we resume today, we must demonstrate clearly to Nigerians that we are prepared to fulfill our mandates and put Nigeria first in all that we do, no matter how we feel about anything else. To behave contrary will amount to a betrayal of the confidence repose on us by our constituencies and our country as a whole.
Let me seize this moment to register my deep sadness over the death of yet-to-be-determined number of pilgrims who lost their lives in the tragic events that happened in Saudi Arabia during this year’s Hajj pilgrimage. May the Almighty Allah grant them eternal salvation and comfort their families. Even though the incident in Mecca has global ramification, we must pursue a Nigerian angle to it.
By so doing, we would begin to demonstrate to Nigerians and to the world that Nigeria cares about its people and will take care of its people wherever they may be. Pursuant to this, the Senate shall seek to determine the exact number of Nigerian lives lost in the incidents and through the Federal Government of Nigeria, work with the Saudi authorities to determine the remote and immediate cause of the tragedy with the general aim of averting such occurrence in the future.
On the 17th of September, 2015, we woke to the shocking news of a military coup in Burkina Faso. This is a monster, which we thought has been wiped off the West African political landscape forever. I therefore, commend the prompt response of the leaders of ECOWAS, not only in unanimously condemning the coup, but in pushing hard to ensure that the constitutional order is restored in that country. A threat to democracy anywhere, is a threat to democracy everywhere. We must therefore remain vigilant and leave no one in doubt that only democratically elected government would be accepted on our Continent and our Sub-region.
During the recess, I attended with some of our colleagues, the Inter-Parliamentary Union Conference in New York, United States. The high point of that visit for me was the conversation on Boko Haram and mobilization of global support for Nigeria, especially in dealing with the serious challenges of Internally Displaced Persons and the overall development of the North East of our country. I argued that the significant military success that has been achieved under President Muhammadu Buhari must now be complemented by a robust economic strategy in form of a Global Infrastructure and Development Fund that can deliver the vital services needed by the IDPs today, and the key infrastructure they would need to live a more meaningful and more secured life in the future: homes, hospitals, schools and, of course, jobs.
Even though the evolution of Boko Haram has been regional and it is primarily a Nigerian problem; the consequences in human catastrophe implicates the whole of humanity and therefore demands a global scale solution, which can only happen with the support of our richest global partners and the biggest companies around the world. The call for a Global Infrastructure and Development Fund for the North East of Nigeria, is not only an appeal to our common humanity, but a call for a global platform that would demonstrate to Boko Haram and other terrorist groups everywhere that the whole world is united against them, and will ultimately defeat them.
The biggest challenge faced by our country today is the state of our economy. The dwindling oil revenue has brought enormous shock to our economy and greatly limited the capacity of government at various levels to meet even basic commitments. Our country has gone through periods of recession in the past. What we face today is however unprecedented in ramification and potential gravity.
We must think hard and work hard with the Executive to achieve greater clarity in policy direction and interventions. We shall therefore commence immediately, a review of the 2015 budget and begin now to lay down the fundamental principles that would determine the 2016 budget and the philosophy of our economy in times like this. Like I mentioned earlier, legislative agenda must take precedent over all other things in this Senate. I have no doubt that we are all capable of putting in the long hours, but those long hours must be invested primarily, in debating and making the laws that would move our country forward.
We are here to proffer policy solutions and minimize hardship amongst our people. Any other objective must be secondary. The externalized distractions we have had recently have been unhelpful but I am more than ever focused and resolute to the course of our people to provide them leadership that will ease their pain and realize their dreams. It is in view of this that we set for ourselves the legislative agenda committee to help us identify priorities that will have substantial impact on the lives of our people.
In the coming days we shall be considering the report of the committee. Adopt it and immediately begin the implementation of the priorities identified. There will be need to fast track issues- not with haste but with deliberate steps and diligence that would deliver results that can stand the test of time.
We promised Nigerians that our actions would positively impact on their lives. This I intend to keep. In that light I will urge you my distinguished colleagues that we make priority the passing of bills that would ultimately and substantially expand our peoples livelihood and opportunities.
As part of our agenda, we shall also be starting the journey to deliver the E-parliament blueprint. This we believe is a vital precursor to building a strong technology infrastructure that will engender greater public participation in law-making and enable real-time interface between committees in both houses, and between both houses and civil society organizations.
I took opportunity of the recess to undertake tour of the facilities, staff offices, agencies and institutions attached to the National assembly with a view to understanding their various peculiarities and state of readiness to implement and drive the adoption of the E-parliament agenda.
This will see us leapfrog into the ranks of efficient law-making entities able to solve 21st century problems. I believe that this will leapfrog our productivity and make lawmaking in this chamber much more efficient.
As we await the list of ministerial nominees this week, I believe the presence of ministers will create the space for greater policy engagement with the Executive Arm of government and enable us to begin to respond in a more systematic manner to the various economic and social challenges before us, especially through our various Committees that will also be constituted soon. On this note, I want to urge you all my colleagues to ensure that what is uppermost in our minds as we begin the constitutional task of screening of ministerial nominees is the overall interest of our country, informed by the enormity and the urgency of the challenges before us. Once the list is submitted, let us ensure that we treat it with dispatch. We must not be held down by unnecessary politicking. The enormity of our national challenges at this time does not give room for pettiness or politics of vendetta.
Distinguished Senators, I believe you have all followed with keen interest, my trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal. I shall avoid discussing the details of that case here for obvious reasons. But let me say it again, that I am ready and will submit myself to the entire judicial process as provided by law. Meanwhile, I wish to reiterate my remarks before the Tribunal, that I have no iota of doubt that I am on trial today because I am the president of the Nigerian Senate, against the wishes of some powerful individuals outside this Chambers.
But what is clear to me also, is that the laws of Nigeria, and the rules of the National Assembly give consideration only to the wishes and desires of those of you who are here today as members of the Senate, to elect as you wish, one of your peers as President of the Senate. This, in your wisdom, is what you have done by electing me to be the first among all of you who are my equals. The laws of Nigeria do not give any consideration to any other forces outside the Senate in the election of its President.
And to yield the ground on this note, is to be complicit in the subversion of democracy and its core principles of separation of powers as enshrined in our constitution. This is why we must once again, commend President Muhammadu Buhari, for refusing to interfere in the election of the National Assembly leadership even in the face of enormous pressures on him to do so. He has proven quite concretely that he is indeed a born-again democrat.
Too many people have fought and died for the democracy that we enjoy today. We would not be honouring them and their memories if we allow the sad chapters of our history to continue to repeat themselves like a bad curse. As for me, I am prepared to do my duty in defence of our democracy and in safeguarding the independence of the National Assembly.
My duty, as I see it, is to do justice and honour to the memory of those who have paid even higher prices to give us this democracy and this constitution. Primarily as a Senator of the Federal Republic and as Senate President I owe it to this Senate to stand strong in the face of relentless persecution. I invite all of you to stand with me to defend this Senate and preserve its sanctity. Ultimately, our legacies would not be defined by how long we stay here and in whatever position; but by what we did with this great opportunity that our people have given us by the grace of Almighty God.
In the next couple of days, we would be celebrating our 55th Independence Anniversary as country. This is an auspicious moment for us to rededicate ourselves to all that which will advance our nation, move us closer to the dreams of our founding fathers and our attain our destiny as the greatest nation of the black race on the planet. All that we seek for our country is achievable in our life time if we all play our part and forsake our old ways. But the least we must do is to ensure that while we are here, we are able to lay the necessary foundation for our children and their children to live a more prosperous life.
Distinguished Senators, once again, I welcome all of you and thank you for your abiding support and confidence in my leadership. Ladies and Gentlemen, Let’s start our work!
Senator (Dr.) Abubakar Bukola Saraki, CON PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE. [myad]
Russian President, Vladimir Putin on Monday admonished those who supported democratic revolutions in the Middle East, saying that democracy has led to the rise of a globally ambitious Islamic State.
“Instead of the triumph of democracy and progress, we got violence, poverty and social disaster — and nobody cares a bit about human rights, including the right to life.”
Putin who spoke through a translator at the United Nations General Assembly today said: “I cannot help asking those who have forced that situation: Do you realize what you have done?”
The Russian President added that the power vacuum following these revolutions led to the rise of terrorist groups in the region — including the Islamic State group.
He told the General Assembly that it would be an “enormous mistake” not to cooperate with the Syrian government to combat the extremist group.
“No one but President (Bashar) Assad’s armed forces and Kurdish militia are truly fighting the Islamic State and other terrorist organizations in Syria,” he said.
In an earlier speech at the U.N, President Barack Obama said it would be a mistake to think that Syria could be stable under Assad.
Acknowledging some of the criticism lobbed at Russia’s proposal, Putin said his country is only proposing to help save the world from terrorism.
“I must note that such an honest and frank approach from Russia has been recently used as a pretext to accuse it of its growing ambitions — as if those who say it has no ambitions at all. However, it’s not about Russia’s ambitions, dear colleagues, but about the recognition of the fact that we can no longer tolerate the current state of affairs in the world,” he said.
He proposed a “generally broad international coalition against terrorism,” likening the suggestion to the anti-Hitler coalition that brought together disparate interests to battle fascism in Europe.
Putin warned that international policy toward the region has led to an Islamic State with plans that “go further” than simply dominating the Middle East. And citing recent data about failures in successfully recruiting “moderate” Syrian opposition, Putin said countries opposed to Assad are simply worsening the situation.
“We believe that any attempts to play games with terrorists, let alone to arm them, are not just short-sighted, but hazardous. This may result in the global terrorist threat increasing dramatically and engulfing new regions,” the Russian leader said.
On the subject of the ongoing civil war in Ukraine, Putin warned that NATO expansion could lead to other similar crises. He called for all sides in the conflict — which he said was sparked by a “military coup” orchestrated “by the outside” — to respect the Minsk agreements, or else risk more violence. [myad]
Former spokesperson to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Dr. Reuben Abati has charged journalists to hold political office holders accountable to the people of Nigeria even as he asked them to always make sure that such leaders implement viable economic policies for national development.
Dr. Abati, who was a guest lecturer at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Correspondents’ Chapel 2015 Press Week at Iwe-Iroyin, Oke-Ilewo, Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, said that most economic policies of the previous governments failed due to lack of dedication and sustenance on the part of public office holders.NUJ
He spoke on the topic, “Media and Economic Renaissance: Media as a tool for economic diversification”.
The former presidential spokesperson asked journalists to always, through their reports, make public office holders to be accountable to the people since they are holding office in trust for the people.
Abati said that the lack of continuity of viable economic policies has not helped Nigeria, and that the nation began to decline economically when it hinged its fiscal budget on oil market price, at the expense of agriculture. [myad]
Youths from the four Akure-speaking local government areas of Ondo State, today, trooped to major roads in the state capital to protest the activities of herdsmen, who they accused of terrorizing people of Akureland and the state on their farmlands.
The youths under the aegis of Akure Youth Coalition (AYC), also protested the recent abduction of the former Secretary to the Government (SGF), Chief Olu Falae by suspected Fulani herdsmen.
The protesting youths from Akure South, Akure North, Ifedore and Idanre Local Government areas, carried placards of various inscription.
The youths, who converged on the town hall in the heart of the town and marched to the Deji’s palace and Ondo State House of Assembly with placards, which protested their grievances. [myad]
Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State has ordered that 16 top government functionaries in the state should forfeit their September and October salaries and overheads for coming late to a state event.
The officials were said to have arrived late to a debate competition organized by the government as part of activities to mark the nation’s 55th anniversary and 19th year of the state’s creation.
The functionaries included commissioners, special advisers, assistants, members of boards, local government areas caretaker committee chairmen, among others.
Others included the Principal Secretary to the Governor, Commissioner for Environment, and Commissioner for Economic Empowerment and Poverty Alleviation among others.
Umahi, who expressed dismay over the lateness of the officials, noted that the government intended to restore sanity to governance in the state.
He commended the organizers and participants at the debate with the theme, ‘Anti-Corruption and Internally Generated Revenue Drive: the only Panacea for Economic Development in Ebonyi’.
“It is pertinent to state that not all public office holders are corrupt; the malaise is a matter of the individual’s conscience.
“The government will recover all funds paid by the people to Enugu Electricity Distribution Company for pre-paid metres as the company always offers excuses for non-provision of the facilities,” he said.
Senior Special Adviser on Religious Affairs and Welfare to the Governor, Rev. Father Abraham Nwali, said the masses suffered most from the effects of corruption. [myad]
A trader, Mrs. Yemi Adebayo, has narrated to an Akure Customary Court how her husband, Adesola once fought with her whereby he pulled her hair after dragging her on the floor and that she was able to rescue herself by hitting him in the head with a phone.
Mrs. Adebayo who sought for the dissolution of her eight year-old marriage with Adesola over threat to her life, said that he had often quarreled with her resulting most times in her sustaining injuries, even as she produced photo evidences to buttress her point.
The petitioner told the court that the respondent was hell-bent on killing her and their two children, adding that apart from subjectibg her to cruel beating, the husband is also into promiscuity which had resulted in five children outside wedlock and unknown to her.
She also said that her husband had never paid her bride price and had bluntly refused to pay it each time she brought the matter up, saying that they came together as husband and wife after confronting him with extramarital affairs.
According to her, the respondent has not been paying the school fees of their two children.
She therefore prayed the court to put an end to the union which according to her had collapsed a long time ago, pleading that the children should be in her custody. [myad]
President Muhammadu Buhari may have turned his back on former President Goodluck Jonathan conceived Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Programme, SURE-P as the beneficiaries and trainees of the 2014 Technical Vocational Education Training, TVET have not been paid their take off grants after attending a three week empowerment programme nine months ago.
The trainees numbering about 85 and selected across the 36 states of the federation and trained in Water well drilling, borehole rehabilitation and maintenance said that they were yet to be empowered with either equipment or funds to start up their businesses.
The team leader of the group, Aminu Haruna Maipampo, who spoke to newsmen in Kaduna yesterday said they were told at the commencement of the training that on completion of the three weeks programme, they would be given take-off grants to empower them and enable them to start up a business, but to their surprise, nine months after, they were yet to be paid a dime.
Maipampo appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to as a matter of urgency, intervene in the matter and ensure justice is done, adding: the SURE-P was introduced to reduce unemployment and poverty in Nigeria through the development of skills, building institutional capacity and investing in Technical and Vocational training infrastructure.
“Out of a large number of Nigerians who applied, 85 of us were selected across the country to undertake intensive training exercise in Borehole drilling, rehabilitation and maintenance for three weeks with the aim of turning us into self reliance individuals after completion of the training by empowering us with either equipments or funds to start up our own borehole drilling/maintenance businesses just the way it is obtainable in all other SURE-P empowerment programmes.
“Initially, privilege information we got, we were told each person will be given 600,000 naira on completion of the training. Later, we were told 400,000 naira but before the end of the three weeks training, we got another privilege information that we will be paid N250,000 and that electronic payment will require us giving them our bank detail, which we did. But we are yet to be paid a penny for the past 9 months.
“About nine months now after the training, we have made so much effort to see that the equipment or funds are been released to us, but to our disappointment, a reliable source in the SURE-P headquarters, Abuja, revealed to us that the funds meant for us have been diverted by some top officials in the SURE-P headquarters into their own coffers. Several attempts made to reach the officials in question have proved abortive.
“It is on this note that we call on President Muhammadu Buhari to in his anti-corruption crusade intervene in this matter.” [myad]
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has fixed tomorrow, Tuesday for the conduct of a fresh governorship primary in Bayelsa state after the one held last week Monday failed to meet the party’s standard of free and fair election.
The APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, who spoke to new men at the end of its National Working Committee (NWC) meeting in Abuja today, said: “The main issue that occupied us today at the NWC meeting has to do with the Bayelsa governorship primary. We want to make it very clear that as a party, the APC guides very jealously its record of free and fair primary.
Flanked by the Deputy Chairman, North and South, Senator Lawal Shuaibu, Engr. Segun Oni, National Vice Chairman, South -South, Prince Hillaard Etta, the National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and National Women Leader, Hajia Ramatu Tijanni Ali, the APC chairman added: “the NWC sees it as a duty to provide a level playing ground for all those who aspire to offices in this party. Unfortunately, in Bayelsa State, we had serious security challenges and so, the process could not meet the standard which this party has set for itself.
“So, we have no alternative than to stop the process by ensuring that the chairman of the panel was effectively moved out of the venue with the help of security agencies. We decided thereafter that there should be a proper fresh primary.
“So today, the party decided and we have written to INEC appropriately that the party has decided to conduct fresh primary for the Bayelsa governorship election beginning on Tuesday. So, the process for fresh primary will begin on Tuesday.
“We are getting in touch with the Inspector General of Police and other security agencies to please assist us by ensuring effective security.” [myad]
The Federal Government on Monday declared Thursday, October 1 as public holiday to mark Nigeria’s 55th Independence celebration.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Abubakar Magaji, announce this on behalf of the Federal Government in a statement signed by the ministry’s Director of Press, Yusuf Isiaka.
Magaji, who congratulated Nigerians both at home and abroad, also thanked them for their supports to President Muhammadu Buhari in his efforts towards building a peaceful, united and virile nation.
He further urged Nigerians to use the occasion to pray for peace and unity across the country.
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