Governor's Wife Calls For Routine Population Based Clinical Breast Examination

Governor's Wife Calls For Routine Population Based Clinical Breast Examination 

By Temitope Musowo

The wife of Ondo State Governor, Mrs. Betty Anyanwu Akeredolu has advocated for the adoption of a population based screening of breast cancer using the Clinical Breast Examination at primary health care facilities nationwide.

Speaking at the 7th Distinguished Guest Lecture of the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo, Mrs. Akeredolu emphasized the need to adopt a holistic approach from cancer detection to treatment saying addressing an aspect of the continuum in isolation will yield little positive result.

Mrs. Akeredolu while using the Ondo State example said if CBE ( clinical breast examination) services are offered at all primary health centres, there is a high chance of reaching 80perecent of the target population since 85 percent of pregnant women receive ante natal care at health facilities and up to 74 percent have institutional delivery which indicates a high patronage of health facilities by women of reproductive age.

Going by WHO statistics, Mrs. Akeredolu noted that the burden of breast cancer is highest in Nigeria ( going by the African context), as everyday, 75 women residing in Nigeria are diagnosed with breast cancer most of which occur at the late stage, while 36 will die from the disease that same day.

Mrs. Akeredolu who also expressed worry at the trend of women presenting late at the hospital observed that cancer has over the years threatened family's happiness.

While charging both health providers and the civil society to continue to conscientiously engage government at all levels to implement cancer care and control at their respective levels, Mrs. Akeredolu advocated for better funding in state budgets for cancer control saying BRECAN has been able to attain positive results in this regard as the State House of Assembly voted over $3million in the 2018 and 2019 budget to fund cancer control.

The event also featured the presentation of award to Mrs. Akeredolu as well as 'Alari', a native Ondo attire to Her Excellency, Mrs. Akeredolu.

Earlier in his address, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Friday Okonofua described Mrs. Akeredolu as an icon in the field of philanthropy and social advocacy, a trail blazer, a social entrepreneur and a leading light saying the university is honoured to have her as its guest lecturer.

He also lauded her tenacity, determinism and passion for founding BRECAN long before becoming the First Lady of Ondo State.

SEE MATERNAL MORTALITY AS NATIONAL EMERGENCY, COWLSO URGES FG …As Women Conference Ends

SEE MATERNAL MORTALITY AS NATIONAL EMERGENCY, COWLSO URGES FG

…As Women Conference Ends

By Temitope Musowo

The Committee of Wives of Lagos State Officials (COWLSO) on Thursday urged the Federal Government and governments across the states to prioritise issue of maternal mortality, which it described as “national emergency”.

The Committee said the high maternal mortality would not augur well for the nation, urging all stakeholders, especially the Government to initiate actions that would address the problem, with the aim to stem the growth.

The Committee, in a communique issued at the end of its 19th National Women Conference held at Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, called on government at all levels to empower women, saying there was strong need for women to maximise their capacity.

The communique reads: “Maternal mortality is abysmally high in Nigeria and we regard the death of a woman in preventable circumstances as unacceptable. The issue of maternal mortality has been taken for granted in Nigeria when it is supposed to be seen as a national emergency.

“An empowered and educated woman would raise responsible children. As a nation we need to invest effectively in maximizing the capacity of women.

“All stakeholders - families, schools, religious bodies, communities and government, must unite to address this scourge. Women need to be protected against artificial conditions that can shorten their lives. They need to be empowered to be able to nurture children to be upright, hardworking, result oriented, focused, organised and Godly.”

The Committee urged women to take advantage of opportunities in entrepreneurship to improve their lives, while also urging them to join hands with the Lagos State Government in the effort to engender value re-orientation in combating disobedience to road regulations and traffic laws.

The communique reads further: “Government at all levels must continue to partner with the private sector to develop and implement strategies that will showcase the nation’s potential in entertainment and tourism to the world.

“Every society must seek to evolve its own legal instrument through the culture of voluntary compliance to the laws of waste and traffic management.

“Also, well-being is a satisfactory condition of existence and Wellness is more than being free from illness but a dynamic process of change and growth,” the Committee said, while equally urging women to strive to be a total woman, adding: “A total woman is a profitable daughter, an extra ordinary woman, a celebrated mother and award-winning woman.”

COWLSO convener and First Lady of Lagos State, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu said she was gratified that the conference made positive impacts on the attendees, urging the participants to make good use of the lessons learnt.

“It has been three days of mind shifting trainings and brainstorming on how to equip women and position them to key into the emerging opportunities in our dear State. Several papers have been presented on the main theme which centers on unlearning, learning and relearning, as well as other topics.

“I can confidently say that we have all benefited tremendously from the facilitators who have mounted this stage to address us. For me, the target is that we must all go back to our respective offices, homes and business areas to put what we have learned into practice,” she said.

Closing the session, Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu commended the COWLSO members for the event, admonishing women to be the ambassadors of his administration.

The Governor was represented at the closing ceremony by the Secretary to the State Government, Mrs Folashade Jaji.

On his part, the Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule congratulated COWLSO for the success of the conference, urging women to ensure that the knowledge and skills acquired at the conference are put to good use.

Various prizes including two houses, cars, return tickets to London, Dubai and Ghana, cash rewards, deep freezers, cooking gas, television, washing machines, exquisite beds, among others, were won by some of the participants at the conference, while A-list artist including Tope Alabi, Teni the Entertainer and others, performed at the Gala Night of the Conference.

Awards were also presented to deserving women including Senior Pastor of Daystar Christian Centre, Pastor Nike Adeyemi; Wife of Deputy General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor (Mrs) Siju Iluyomade; and President of Elishama Ideh Ministry and former Presidential aspirant, Elishama Ideh, among others.

Youth Empowerment: Ifako-Ijaye LG Chair' Trains Youth on Digital Marketing

Youth Empowerment: Ifako-Ijaye LG Chair' Trains Youth on Digital Marketing

Temitope Musowo, Lagos 

Chairman of Ifako-Ijaye Local Government Area of Lagos,  Apostle Oloruntoba Oke has trained over 50 youths of the LG on digital marketing to reduce youth unemployment.

The training programme which was part of the council chairman's  many  programmes in recent time, was designed to teach the youth on Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Branding,Video Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Google Advert.among others.

Apostle Toba in his opening remark during the training which took place in his Local Government on Thursday said, the government was doing the training to depopulate the labour market which is already overpopulated. 

"This is part of our efforts at reducing youth unemployment, we want to make sure the youths are self-employed, because the white collar jobs are no longer there.

We had one training just two weeks ago and we are going to be having another one in four weeks time. After the training, we would empower the youths with necessary tools to work with.

The next one will be training on phone repair, then, we will equip them with necessary kits. We will ensure our people will not need to go to Computer Village at Ikeja anymore for phone repair and this will increase our IGR", the chairman siad.

He admonished the beneficiaries to take advantage of the training programme by utilising the knowledge gained to become self reliant. 

The Chairman  advised other council bosses across the remaining 56 LGAs and LCDAs of the state  to engage the youth in similar manner so as to mop them off the streets thereby reducing social vices.

Some of the beneficiaries of the training programme who spoke with journalists lauded the initiative of Apostle Oke, while promising to make him proud by making use of the knowledge gained  from the training to make money and improve their livelihoods. 

"I am very happy for this opportunity given to us by Apostle Toba, it shows he is a man of his words, I remember vividly during his campaign, he said he was going to tackle youth unemployment in Ifako-Ijaye,  this is a fulfilment of his campaign promise", Mr. Hunponu Adekunle Sanayon  said.

Another beneficiary, Akinlade Jidel Raphael also  said, you cannot believe I was about paying N50,000 for this training elsewhere, because I really need it, there was a job I could have got if only I was proficient with the use of this digital tools. This is the training the Chairman is giving us for free, God will bless Apostle Oloruntoba Oke for us",he said.

LEKKI SEAPORT: CHINESE INVESTOR INJECTS $629 MILLION TO COMPLETE PROJECT

LEKKI SEAPORT: CHINESE INVESTOR INJECTS $629 MILLION TO COMPLETE PROJECT

Temitope Musowo,Lagos

In 30 months, Nigeria’s first deep seaport will be delivered in Lekki - a coastal community in the nation’s commercial nerve-centre - Lagos State.

On Wednesday, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu witnessed the signing of four agreements with China Development Bank (CDB), including $629 million financing facility, to accelerate the completion of the Lekki Deep Seaport project, which started in 2011.

The loan was secured from the Chinese bank after China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), which owns majority shares in the project, signed a 45-year concessionary agreement with Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise Limited (LPLTZ) to complete the Phase 1 of the deep seaport project.

After completion, the deep seaport would have two container berths of 680-metre long and 16.5-metre water depth. It will also have the capacity to be berthed by fifth generation container ships, which has a capacity of 18,000 TEU ship.

Governor Sanwo-Olu described the development as “another milestone” for the State in infrastructural development and commerce, saying the signing of the agreements ended period of uncertainty that had trailed the delivery of the project. He noted that the completion of the project would invigorate the Lagos economy and push it up in the index of largest economy in the world.

He said: “This is a new beginning for us in Lagos. We have achieved another milestone in our efforts to transform the State and accomplish the 21st century economy ambition. As a Government, we are fully in support of the project. We will do all we can to ensure the terms of the agreements signed today are delivered within 30 months as agreed and we expect the outcome would catalyse Lagos’ fifth largest economy and take it up more in the index of largest economies in years to come.”

In the coming weeks, the Governor said more trade agreements would be signed with foreign investors, adding that his administration would continue to explore investments and partnerships that would accelerate growth and benefit residents of the State.

Chairman of Lekki Port Board of Director, Mr. Biodun Dabiri, noted that the development of the seaport was strategic for the growth of Lekki Free Trade Zone, pointing out that it would make “immense impact” on the nation’s economy by creating more than 200,000 jobs and generating about $350 billion in revenue for the State over the period of the concession.

He said: “The loan facility represents a significant milestone, which when combined with foreign direct investment of $230 million through equity injection by CHEC, will ensure a successful delivery of the seaport and reposition Nigeria as the transshipment hub in sub-Saharan Africa upon the conclusion of the second phase.

“The project is strategic for the economic growth of Lekki Free Zone, as it would support the massive industrial and petrochemical complex being embarked on in the Northern and Southern quadrant of the zone with investment over the next three years peaking at over $20 billion.

With Lekki Airport in view, there will be an emergence of a Harbour City which would be internationally connected by air and also with world-class integrated transport network of roads, rail and bridges.”

Dabiri said the concessionary agreements had the support of both the Federal and the Lagos governments, observing that the investors agreed with the terms and conditions laid down by the Nigeria Port Authority (NPA) and Lekki Worldwide Investment.

CHEC Chairman, Mr. Lin Yichong, said the Chinese engineering firm took interest to invest in the deep seaport to enable Nigeria strengthen its maritime infrastructure and business by building the first deep seaport that would ease of pressure at Tin Can Island and Apapa ports.

The Phase 1 of the project, Yichong said, will be built with annual handling capacity of 1.2 million TEU, adding that the capacity would be increased to 2.5 million TEU upon the completion of the second phase.

He said: “After the completion of the Lekki port, it would become the first deep seaport in Nigeria and the container transportation hub in Africa. It would also release big pressure off Apapa and Tin Can Island ports. In the course of the construction of the project, it is expected that a huge number of employment opportunities would be generated for residents of Lagos.”

CDB Deputy General Manager, Mr. Zhang Aijun, said the bank approved the loan facility, given the strategic importance of the project to Lagos’ economic growth. He said the bank considered the investment as basis for expanding its business in Nigerian and contributing to the development of the nation.

Managing Director of Tolaram Group in Africa, Mr Haresh Aswani, hailed Lagos Government for supporting the project since the beginning, adding that the completion of the deep seaport would change narrative of foreign partnerships with the government of Nigeria.

The highpoint was the signing of the four agreements, which was witnessed by the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, Consul General of Chinese Embassy in Lagos, Mr. Chu Maoming, and representatives of key stakeholders in the project.

Other agreements signed by the CDB, CHEC and LPLEL include Completion Agreement, Sponsor Support Agreement and Tripartite Keep Well Agreement.

ELEVATING WOMEN VITAL TO THE GROWTH OF THE SOCIETY – LAGOS GOVERNOR

ELEVATING WOMEN VITAL TO THE GROWTH OF THE SOCIETY – SANWO-OLU

…3,000 Women Converge On Lagos As COWLSO Conference Begins

The need to fortify women with knowledge and skills that will make them relevant in modern economy tops the agenda of the Committee of Wives of Lagos State Officials (COWLSO) - a non-governmental organisation (NGO).

At the opening ceremony of its ongoing 19th National Women Conference at the Eko Convention Centre in Victoria Island, the Convener and First Lady of Lagos, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, said the Committee would be investing its energy and resources on implementing projects that specifically aim at strengthening the capacity of women and helping them to build resistance against disabilities that may limit their economic potential.

The event with the theme: “Unlearn, Learn and Re-learn: 21st Century Women’s T.H.E.M.E.S Perspectives/Approach”, hosted more than 3,000 women and was graced by the Wife of the President, Dr. Aishat Buhari, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, ex-Lagos First Lady, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, Governors of Kwara sand Ogun states, Mr. Abdulrahaman Abdulrazaq and Mr. Dapo Abiodun.

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said the theme of the conference was aimed at imparting knowledge that would engender value re-orientation and equip women with skills that would make them relevant in the State.

The Governor observed that continuous learning and capacity building remained a potent tool to drive social change, stressing that knowledge or mind-set that stood against the growth of the society must be discarded.

He said: “The goal of this conference is to impart knowledge on all the participants and equip them with relevant skills. The knowledge that will enable them contribute effectively to the collective goal of building and delivering the Lagos we all deserve.

“Imparting knowledge is not only about adding new knowledge, which is the learning. It is also about reminding ourselves of old and unchanging truths, which is the re-learning. It is important that we discard ways of thinking that are no longer compatible with current realities. If impracticable knowledge is left unchallenged, it can stand in the way of our ability to imbibe and practise new knowledge. This is the un-learning.”

Sanwo-Olu said his administration had redefined gender balance in the State with the appointment of 13 women into key decision-making positions in the cabinet. Empowering women with right skills and given them opportunity to be part of the decision makers, the Governor said, would set the State on the course of irreversible growth, economically and socially.

He added that implementation of his government’s six pillars of development, known as Project T.H.E.M.E.S, would not be effective without the support of women, citing waste management as one of the key areas where women would be playing key roles.

In her opening remarks, Lagos First Lady, Dr. Sanwo-Olu, said the theme of the conference was strategically chosen to empower women to continue to play important part as pillars of growth and development economically, politically, socially and in all other areas that matter.

She said: “As women, we must strategically position ourselves to take full benefit of the programmes of government. To unlearn means to do away with habits that are outdated and as well jettison practices that are against public good and public safety.

“In this 21st Century, women must also embrace new ideas and new innovations to be relevant. Women must learn to think outside the box and even go a step further to think without the box, to fit into the modern society.”

She urged women to key into programmes of the State Government in strategic sectors such as Health, Environment, Agriculture, Education, and investment opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Mrs Aisha Buhari urged wives of political office holders to work towards impacting the lives of the less privileged and vulnerable persons in the society.

Represented by wife of the Vice President, Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo, the Nigeria’s First Lady said wives of key government functionaries must create people-centred programmes to catalyse social change.

She said: “One of the key tenets of COWLSO is the issue of restoration of values. I wish to call on more members to use the opportunity of this event to share ideas about ensuring that our children grow up morally upright, patriotic and with a sense of responsibility. We have a duty to raise better Nigerians.”

Gbajabiamila noted that women possessed natural ability to influence the society positively, adding that education was vital towards empowering the women

He said House of Representatives would continue to leverage legislative process to champion action that would challenge laws that limit women.

Declaring the three-day event open, Governor Abdulrazaq congratulated members of the Committee for taking “bold steps” towards empowering women and making sacrifice for the development of Lagos.

In his goodwill message, Gov. Abiodun said COWLSO had been instrumental to the development of Lagos since its establishment, noting that the theme of the conference was one of the ways to change negative narrative against women.

He said: “The theme of the COWLSO conference has offered a template for strategic thinking towards changing negative narratives against women in our country. A 21st century woman must learn and re-learn. To hold a woman back is to hold a society back. Democratic values don’t support the relegation of women.”

The event also featured panels of discussion centred on building entrepreneurial skills of women. Also, some women whose works and activities empowered the less privileged were honoured at the event. They include founder of Real Women Foundation, Pastor Nike Adeyemi, who received the Inspirational Woman Award for her dedicated service to the empowerment of women. Other honorees are Pastor Siju Iluyomade and Pastor Rosemary Ideh.