CBN Presents N253.4 Million To Beneficiaries Of Health Research Intervention Scheme
Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has presented N253.54 million to 68 successful beneficiaries of the Health Sector Research and Development Intervention Scheme.
Emefiele, who presented the grants today, March 9, in Abuja, insisted that a vibrant and innovative healthcare system is vital for the country’s national security,hence the need to encourage research and innovation in the treatment of health conditions for the Nigerian citizens.
He explained that 68 proposals out of the 286 submissions received by the Body of Experts, had been reviewed and evaluated with five proposals with significant merits valued at N253.54 million recommended by the experts for financing. He added that the recommended proposals also have the potential to enable the development of the Nigerian vaccine for COVID-19.
The apex bank Governor said that the grant award is a testimony to the significant role research and development in healthcare could play in supporting economic growth, particularly as growth is highly dependent on a strong and healthy workforce.
Emefiele said that the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, which had an unprecedented effect on world economy,underscored the fact that a healthy and safe workforce remained critical for a continued economic growth as well as the stability of the financial system.
He emphasized that the need to move from a consumer-based economy to a more productive economy necessitated the CBN’s development of intervention programmes and schemes across various sectors including the health sector.
The CBN Governor said that the Bank introduced the Healthcare Sector Research and Development Intervention Scheme (HSRDIS), as part of measures to support the growth of the Nigerian healthcare sector.
According to him, the facility aimed at strengthening the sector’s capacity to meet the increasing demand for healthcare products and services, particularly pharmaceutical companies and other healthcare value chain players intending to build or expand capacity.
The CBN Governor said that 82 projects, valued at N85.89-billion, comprising 26 pharmaceutical and 56 medical projects across the country had been financed through the HSRDIS.
He congratulated the recipients of the grant award and advised them to judiciously utilize the opportunity offered to them by the CBN and strive to achieve the purpose of their research by ensuring that their projects meet the set targets.
He expressed optimism that the CBN HSRDIS grant will offer an average Nigerian access to the much-needed vaccines and drugs for not just COVID-19, but other communicable or non-communicable diseases.
In his remarks, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha commended the CBN for what he described as the modest efforts of the Bank at helping future generations to combat any outbreak of health pandemic.
He gave assurance of President Muhammadu Buhari’s support to HSRDIS as the President had supported similar responses to curb the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Boss Mustapha said that the coronavirus pandemic had exposed the fragilities of different sectors of the economy and governance but called for a collective resolve to overcome the challenges posed by the pandemic.
The SGF who disclosed that the COVID-19 vaccines were safe and efficacious, and therefore urged members of the public to avail themselves the opportunity when the time arose to be vaccinated.
Also speaking, the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Sen.Adeleke Olorunnimbe Mamora and Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Christiana Adeyeye, both commended the CBN for the initiative and reiterated that the HSRDIS was a step in the right direction in ensuring the vibrant and functional healthcare system as well as the socio-economic well-being of Nigerians.
Recipients of the CBN HSRDIS grant award were Prof. Olufemi Emmanuel Dokun-Babalola, Prof. Okoli Ikechukwu, Dr. John Ogedengbe, Dr. Garba Uba and Dr. O’tega Ejofodomi.
Governor Nasiru El-Rufai of Kaduna State has banned Almajiri schools in the state, advising them to relocate to other states.
The government of Zamfara State has accused faceless politicians and other elements of sabotaging the efforts of the government at defeating bandits that have been tormenting the state for sometimes now.
Investors on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) today, March 9, lost N317 billion in a trading session amid sell pressure on bellwethers. Specifically, the market capitalisation which opened at N20.612 trillion shed N371 billion or 1.80 per cent to close at N20.241 trillion.
To Media Wakili Is Fulani Warlord, Igboho An Activist, By Fredrick Nwabufo
I must say, the power of the media is also its burden. The ‘’omnipotence’’ of this public institution straps on it great responsibility. After all, ‘’with great power comes great responsibility’’. The media exists to serve public interest. And there should be no higher interest other than that which promotes peace, justice, unity and security.
It is my view that the Nigerian media is a patriotic institution, but I will be papering over a lie if I do not admit that there is a tinge of ethnic prejudice in some media reports. The osmotic ethnic and religious poisons somehow find their way into the newsroom. But this does not obviate the commitment of the media to the country’s unity. That Nigeria still stands as an entity is largely because of the media which rises to the occasion when need be, deploying its omnipotence to redeem the country from collapse.
But I think now is another occasion for the media to rise and pull our nose-diving country from a plunge to certain death. With great power comes great responsibility.
The insecurity assailing the country has afflicted the national psyche. Brothers are suspicious of brothers, and neighbours are wary of neighbours. Tempers are rising and emotions are running wild. Fingers are pointed at mutual directions. But we cannot discount the truth that this perilous ecosystem was created as a result of leadership failure.
Owing to the cumulus of fear and uncertainty, there is a tendency for the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon – when you believe something that is not actually the case. The mass hysteria and ethnic targeting underpin this phenomenon.
On Saturday, I watched the video clip of a sickly old man, Iskilu Wakili, who has been infamously described as a Fulani warlord. He is accused of leading attacks on communities in Ibarapa area of Oyo state. He is also alleged to be behind many murders and kidnappings in the state.
But the man I saw in the video could barely walk. He looks incredibly frail, and has been said to be partially blind. He was also reported to have been captured because he could not run. I have cogitated on the possibility of an ailing old man leading armed groups on onslaughts against citizens in Oyo, and could only stew in doubts.
Some media reports have described Wakili as ‘’Fulani warlord’’. But on what is this framing grounded? Has he been held culpable for leading armed attacks? Is there any evidence to prove he is a warlord? Has it been confirmed – in any way — he is behind the attacks in parts of Oyo? And how many ‘’wars’’ has he led?
Wakili has detailed his own side of the story. The Fulani leader said he is a victim of kidnapping, and denied leading attacks on Oyo communities.
His own words: “Sometime last year, two of my children were kidnapped and I paid millions of naira as ransom before they were released. I am not a kidnapper. Two days after my return from hospital (in Cotonou, Republic of Benin), I was lying down because I was ill and suddenly some women came and started shouting that armed OPC men had come looking for me.
“I asked them to flee but I could not run because I was sick. Two men later came and picked me from where I was lying down, they threw me in their vehicle naked. I fainted many times before they drove me to the police station in Igbo Ora. From there we were taken to SCID, Ibadan. I am not a criminal, my children are not criminals. I don’t know anything about kidnapping or any crime. I have many cows and I know they stray into farms at times but I don’t have criminal records anywhere and this can be investigated. After they took me away from my home, a woman, Tande, was killed.”
The court will decide.
But why are some of us in the media swift in tagging him as ‘’Fulani warlord’’. If there is any evidence to substantiate this label, I will apologise for being presumptuous.
Really, I wonder why the same lexical sculpturing was not applied in the case of Sunday Igboho who was famously described as an ‘’activist and youth leader’’ in the media – even after he broke the law by asking the Fulani to leave Ibarapa?
Again, the media holds a principal place in Nigeria. In fact, the survival of this country rests on us as much as it rests on the leadership. If the media by any design lends itself to accenting ethnic prejudices, then we should just say Nunc Dimittis.
May we not write Nigeria into oblivion.
Fredrick Nwabufo is a writer and journalist.
Twitter @FredrickNwabufo