Opinion
Opinion

One Year Anniversary: As Governor Inuwa Yahaya Walks the Talk

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By Ismaila Uba Misilli “We are not unmindful of our promises to the good people of Gombe State. This administration is determined to confront head-on all the issues bedevilling our state. We shall take advantage of all available opportunities in order to achieve the goals as outlined in our manifesto.” These were the candid words of Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State at inauguration, with avowed commitment to renewal and hope for a new …

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Opinion

Between Gambari and Saro-Wiwa

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By Bisi Olawunmi Since the announcement of the appointment of Prof. Ibrahim Agboola Gambari as the new Chief of Staff to the president and his assumption of office on Wednesday, May 13, the media space has been awash with reactions. There were accolades, there were knocks. They portray Prof. Gambari as a multi-dimensional man who attracts strong emotions, either for or against.  But one consensus that runs through them all is the acknowledgement that he …

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Opinion

Buhari and His Chief of Staff

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Whilst the euphoria arising from the appointment of a personal member of staff of the President may typically not warrant the leading comment of this newspaper, the fantastic narratives, albeit mythical and sometimes preposterous, concerning the role of the president’s Chief of Staff (CoS) in recent times, call for some reflection. This call for reflection is further heightened by the appointment of Nigeria’s former Permanent Representative at the United Nations, Professor Ibrahim Agboola Gambari. Prof. …

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Opinion

The Bequest of the Catholic Church and Other Covid19 Stories

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THE PUBLIC SPHERE with Chido Nwakanma The Nigerian arm of the world’s biggest charitable organisation rose for the count recently when the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria donated 425 hospitals and clinics to the Presidential Task Force on Covid19 for use as isolation and treatment centres. The bequest of the Catholic Church in Nigeria aligns with a history of two millennia of charitable acts by the Church. It is one of the positive narratives of …

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Opinion

Enter the President’s New Chief of Staff

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By Femi Fani-Kayode Two hundred years ago the Aare Kakanfo of the ancient Oyo Empire and the self-proclaimed Oba of Ilorin, Aare Afonja, rebelled against the Alaafin of Oyo and entered into a military alliance with a Fulani advisor, sorcerer and mercenary by the name of Alimi.  Predictably Alimi betrayed him and he ended up being tortured, dethroned and murdered. Not only did Alimi and his Fulani warriors kill him but they also murdered all …

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Opinion

COVID-19 & KWADON ‘PROTEST’: Lest We Lose Sight of Task at Hand

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By Ismaila Uba Misilli In the ongoing fight against the dreaded novel coronavirus disease, code-named COVID-19, different states in Nigeria, including Gombe State, adopted various measures, albeit in line with the accepted established protocols by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). Even before Gombe State recorded its first COVID-19 index case, Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya had swung into action, mandating the establishment of several COVID-19 isolation centres complete …

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Opinion

Technology Now Wants Our Dinner and Will Change Our Diet

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THE PUBLIC SPHERE with Chido Nwakanma Technological determinism has converged with disease and economic meltdown to pose an existential threat to jobs in Nigerian banking. It would be short-sighted, however, to focus only on the financial services sector as the employment issues in the banking arena plays out. The consequences of this convergence will hit every industry. It is the technology effect. I wrote about it last year. Technology has had our breakfast and lunch, …

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Opinion

By Their Rice We Shall Know Them

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By Dare Babarinsa It is not too surprising that the Oyo State government is in tango with the Federal Government over rice. Last week the Federal Government donated 1800 bags of rice to the Oyo State government as part of palliatives to the people over the lockdown occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Oyo State government did not solicit for the gift. Similar gifts were also given to the governments of Ekiti, Ondo, Ogun and …

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Opinion

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PROTEST BY GOMBE COVID-19 PATIENTS

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By Mohammed Kwami The Gombe State Taskforce on COVID-19 notes with dismay and disappointment the purported protest by some COVID-19 asymptomatic carriers housed at the Kwadon isolation centre in Yamaltu Deba Local Government Area of the state. The Taskforce, under the leadership of Prof Idris Mohammed, wishes to put the records straight with regards to the incident that took place on Tuesday, May 5, 2020. First, the Taskforce wishes to inform the general public that …

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Opinion

Interrogating the Draft Infectious Diseases Act

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By Chido Nwakanma Portions of a new Infectious Diseases Act authorising the Director General of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control to compel vaccinations is raising significant concern in the light of underground allegations of a cynical plot. The provision appears in Section 48, subsection 1 of the new draft Infectious Diseases Act discussion of which ran into a storm at the House of Representatives on Thursday 29 April 2020. Section 48 (1) speaks of …

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Opinion

What is Coming is Not a Vaccine. What is Coming is Genetic Malpractice

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By Arinze Ekwem A vaccine is a weakened or inactivated whole germ or a part of the germ. The principle is that on introduction into your body, mobile white blood cells will eat up and destroy the weak or inactive germ and then present the fragments to stationary white blood cells that will study it as a foreign particle and then produce antibodies against it. Those antibodies will circulate in the blood and bind to …

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Opinion

As Women Leaders Provide Best COVID-19 Responses Globally

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By Nnedinso Ogaziechi NO incident since the 20th Century has spoken more to the capacity of women in global politics and leadership than the present fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. From Germany to Denmark, New Zealand to Iceland, Taiwan to Finland, they seem to be saying, ‘Oh men, you guys have perfected the idea of instigating conflicts and wars that take lives but we women only know how to save and nurture lives’. They all …

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Opinion

Our Middling Approach to Coronavirus

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THE PUBLIC SPHERE with Chido Nwakanma Compromise is one of those words that have double meanings. One definition paints it as positive and the other clothes it in negativity. “An agreement or settlement of a dispute that is reached by each side making concessions” is one take. The other side defines it as, “The expedient acceptance of standards that are lower than is desirable”. Compromise is the middle path. PMB chose this route Monday, 27 …

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Opinion

Disparagers of Abba Kyari

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By Simon Abah SIR: Watch the trajectory of comments against late Abba Kyari, President Muhammadu Buhari’s Chief of Staff and you will see that those who rain curses more on Kyari are either Christians and southerners and a handful of northerners who dislike him and those who support Kyari in death are mostly northerners and Muslims. Imagine a man from the south near me say that Kyari was an illiterate. That is the sad augury …

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Opinion

Kano City is Now The Killing Fields of COVID-19 Pandemic in Africa

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By Prof. Usman Yusuf 25th April 2020 I raised alarm in an article I wrote which was published in the Daily Trust Newspaper (page 6) on April 22nd, 2020 on how COVID-19 was ravaging Kano city. I opined that if urgent action was not taken by the Federal Government, the city could become the epicenter of the virus on the African continent. Recognizing the disastrous consequences of such a scenario, I offered recommendations that could …

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