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Turkey’s Erdogan Cancels Public Appearances

Shakirat Sadiq
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan largely cancelled two days of campaigning as crucial elections loom after he fell ill during a live televised interview.

Tuesday’s interview with the president – who is facing a battle to retain power in next month’s vote – was cut during the middle of a question, with Erdogan later returning and saying he had a “serious stomach flu.”

As a result, Erdogan scrapped public events so he could rest, although he is due to virtually attend the opening of a nuclear power plant on Thursday.

Turkey’s government rejected “baseless claims” about his health amid a flurry of speculation.

“No amount of disinformation can dispute the fact that the Turkish people stand with their leader and @RTErdogan and his AK Party are set to win the May 14 elections,” the presidency’s Communications Director Fahrettin Altun said on Twitter.

His tweet included social media images, of which some suggested that Erdogan was critically ill in hospital having suffered a myocardial infarction.

Perhaps the most important election in Turkey’s modern history, the vote comes just months after a deadly earthquake rocked the country’s southeast on February 6, killing more than 50,000 people there and in neighbouring Syria. It also falls amid soaring inflation and a currency crisis that last year saw nearly 30% slash off the lira’s value against the dollar.

Erdogan, 69, is hoping to extend his power well into a third decade, but it is far from a political certainty.

In a key setback to the Turkish president and leader of the Justice and Development Party, AK Party, the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party, HDP, last month announced that it would not put forward its own presidential candidate, a move analysts say allows its supporters to vote for Erdogan’s main rival, head of the Republican People’s Party, CHP, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

Kilicdaroglu, who represents the six-party Nation Alliance opposition bloc, is the strongest contender to run against Erdogan in years. And while the HDP hasn’t yet announced whether it will put its weight behind him, analysts say it is the kingmaker in the elections.

Kurds are the biggest minority in Turkey, making up between 15% and 20% of the population, according to Minority Rights Group

 

 

 

CNN/Shakirat Sadiq

Lagos State partners with UNICEF to reduce out-of-school children

Dominica Ijeoma Nwabufo
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The Lagos State Government has expressed its readiness to leverage the digital platforms provided by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to reduce the challenge of Out-of-school children in rural communities.

 

Dr Adejare Afolabi, Director, Policy/Planning/Research and Statistics, Ministry of Education, said this during a two-day stakeholders’ dialogue workshop in Lagos.

 

The workshop with the theme ”Digital Learning Platforms” was organised by National Orientation Agency (NOA), in collaboration with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

 

Afolabi said that it would bring to bear the existing Nigeria Learning Passport (NLP) method with which UNICEF had trained more than 3,000 facilitators and provided tablets for the purpose.

 

He explained that the initiative was imperative as it would help the children improve their learning with the audio-visual system provided, and reduce abstract learning.

 

“We are leveraging on the existing NLP, an online/offline platform designed to complement the existing system of imparting knowledge and learning.

 

“It an initiative of federal and state governments in partnership with UNICEF.

 

“We have a number of out-of-school children and some who are slow in assimilating.

 

“So, this platform will help them listen, watch, learn and understand better what they are being taught in the classroom.

 

“It is a complementary platform used to boost the normal traditional learning system which we are using to reduce and address such issues”.

 

The director noted that the idea was to bridge the gap between the fast and slow learners, adding that every child could learn at his/her own pace, and also revise topics that they could understand and assimilate.

 

“Even teachers are incorporated in the system, as they have the opportunity of the platform to teach students by projecting the contents because children of these days learn faster with audio-visual materials”, he said.

 

Speaking on the overview of Youth Employment, Skilling, and upskilling in Nigeria, the Head of Communications, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), Mrs Taiye Tunkarimu, said that the body also engaged in digital grassroots programme to create wealth, especially for the youths.

 

According to her, the fund developed a digital grassroots programme with UNICEF and was able to train market people on how digital to use the platform to promote their business, make gain and expand their customer base.

 

“We enable job and wealth creation in Lagos State through access to finance, access to infrastructure/vocational skills training, access to market as well as business support.

 

“UNICEF is our partner and we have done a couple of training and engagements with them, including the digital literacy programme to train people at the grassroots.

 

“The training was on WhatsApp business, after which they were empowered with phones to promote their business and enhance their customer relations, all of this we did with UNICEF support.”

 

Also the Programme Specialist of UNICEF,  Joannes Yimbesalu, spoke at the ‘Youth Agency Market Place YOMA. He described YOMA as a digital platform created by young people that allows them to build and transform their futures.

 

Yimbesalu said that 87 percent of Yoma users globally were Nigerian youth.

 

He said this gave them the opportunity to participate in learning, skilling, and social impact task.

 

“As they engage with these opportunities, they earn tokens which they can use to redeem on the Yoma marketplace for data and airtime and access to premium courses”, he said.

 

Yimbesalu said that UNICEF was partnering with the government and private sector to give young people the capacity to build and transform their futures and be productive citizens

 

“We are passionate about young people and giving them the platform across Africa to be employable and the key thing is promoting opportunities for these people.

 

“We need to create this awareness more to promote the opportunity including in the rural communities, to enable them to be aware and access the opportunities for employment.

 

“One of the key things is about targeting the most marginalised, and the focus is working with key stakeholders and the media to ensure that no child is left behind,” he added.

 

Earlier, UNICEF Communication Officer, Blessing Ejiofor, stated that the programme was organised to spur the media to support advocacy on digital learning solutions for children and young people with a focus on bridging the digital divide, especially for girls and those in hard-to-reach communities.

 

NAN/Dominica Nwabufo

JAMB Commended as 364 Blind Candidates Sit for 2023 UTME 

Dominica Ijeoma Nwabufo
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A total of three hundred and sixty-four blind candidates are to sit the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination in eleven centres across the nation.

 

The special examination being conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for visually impaired candidates is being held between 27 and 29 April 2023 under the supervision of the JAMB Equal Opportunity Group (JEOG).

 

The Chairman, JAMB Equal Opportunity Group (JEOG), Professor Peter Okebukola, who made this known while providing the highlight of the 2023 examination on Thursday in Abuja, commended the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, for the special arrangement for this category of Nigerians, saying the goal of the Oloyede-led JAMB is to ensure that no Nigerian who is eligible, is prevented from taking the UTME regardless of disability.

 

He disclosed that from 2017, JEOG had processed about 2,600 candidates for the UTME with over a third admitted to courses of their choice in higher education institutions in Nigeria, mainly universities, saying that this JAMB initiative has been cited in the last four years in several countries, as a good model for Africa.

 

The former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), explained that the mode of examination administration is blended- the use of Personal Computers (PCs) and the use of the traditional Braille slate and stylus/typewriters in writing answers to questions that are read out by a subject expert, stressing that the blind candidates take the same test items as those who are not blind.

 

Prof Okebukola who is also the Chairman Governing Board of the National Open University of Nigeria NOUN revealed that JAMB has approved that from 2024; there would be a gradual migration to the full CBT mode customised for blind candidates.

 

He noted that a pilot run is to be conducted later in the year to test the mode and also give options to candidates who elect for fully Braille, fully CBT and full read-aloud modes.

 

 

 “There are exciting times ahead for blind candidates and others with disabilities in realisation of the dream of Professor Is-haq Oloyede for equal opportunity. So far, a good number of blind candidates processed through JEOG have secured admission to federal, state and private universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.

 

“In 2019, of the 390 candidates, a total of 175 (44.8%) were given admission. This was unprecedented in the history of admission of such a category of students into the Nigerian higher education system, another of Professor Oloyede’s golden legacies. 

 

“In 2020, 89 of the 351 blind candidates (25%) that sat for the UTME. In 2021, a total of 110 blind candidates were given admission, out of the 332 that sat for the UTME. This 33% admission of blind candidates to higher education in an annual cohort is unprecedented in the African higher education system. 

 

“In 2022, 139 candidates out of the 364 candidates that took the UTME (38%) were admitted to the higher education institution of their choice. 

 

“Five of the blind candidates scored above 270 in the 2022 UTME. Ninety-two scored above 200. When compared proportionally with the non-blind candidates, the blind candidates are doing as well, if not better than the visually unimpaired candidates. 

 

“The 2023 exercise is taking place in 11 centres nationwide. This is in the interest of bringing the venue of the examination closer to the candidates, especially with the security situation in the country. 

“The centres are coordinated by seasoned academics and university administrators. The total number of candidates is 364”. Prof Okebukola said.

 

He said that JEOG was already implementing a strategic plan of gradually increasing the ICT component of the administration of the UTME to match the improvement in ICT usage for the education of the blind in the universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.

 

“The Group is excited about candidates, though few, who offer science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects since this is an important slant to equal opportunity. A study has been underway since 2018 to explore ways of encouraging many blind candidates to study STEM subjects recognising the inclement conditions for the study of science by blind candidates at the secondary and post-secondary levels.

 

“Through the kindness of Professor Is-haq Oloyede, JAMB takes full responsibility for hotel accommodation and feeding of the candidates in the 11 centres and pays generous transport supplementation while providing them with a conducive environment to write the examination. 

 

“Additionally, each blind candidate receives the very precious tools of slate and stylus from JAMB that will be used during the course of study, when admitted to a tertiary institution.

 

“JEOG is hoping to propose to JAMB, the institution of awards for the top three tertiary institutions with the highest number of candidates with disabilities that are admitted in a given year. 

 

“We are happy to report that JAMB has approved, within the framework of Agenda 2063 and SDG 4, to host biennial (every two years) Africa Regional Conference on Equal Opportunities in Higher Education starting from 2024 to be chaired by Professor Is-haq Oloyede and with all 55 African countries participating. 

 

“A national conference on the same theme has also been approved by Professor Oloyede and the JAMB Management to hold in September”, he added. 2023.

 

Dominica Nwabufo

Brazil Optimistic In Ancelotti Chase

Emmanuel Ukoh
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President of Brazil Football Federation Eduardo Rodrigues is optimistic that current Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti will become the next Selecao coach.

The Football Federation are looking for a new head coach after Tite left the post following the team’s quarter-final exit at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

A number of coaches have been linked to the Brazil job, including Roma’s Jose Mourinho, but Ancelotti has emerged as the clear favourite, something that has been made clear by Rodrigues on a number of occasions.

Rodrigues and the Brazilian Football Federation are confident that Ancelotti will take on the job, even if he has stated that he won’t leave Real Madrid until his contract expires in 2024.

Speaking to local press, Rodrigues said:

“The situation is advancing. We are trying to have a clearer position before May 25, the date set for the next national team call-ups.”

The deadline could be complicated for Ancelotti, however, as his Real Madrid will still have to play two La Liga games as well as possibly the Champions League final.

 

 

Complete sports/Emmanuel Ukoh

Element Of Discretion’ Over Who Gets Help In Sudan .

Jide Ibitoye
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The eligibility of who can be evacuated from Sudan has not changed, but those working to evacuate British nationals have some “element of discretion” over who they assist, Downing Street has said.

British passport holders and their immediate family with existing UK entry clearance are the only people being told they are eligible.

When PM Rishi Sunak’s spokesman was asked what exactly “discretion” means in this context, he said the government has been clear that people “should not go to the airport unless you are a British passport holder or their dependent”, but added that they also want to “empower people on the ground to make decisions” in extremely difficult circumstances.

The spokesman also told reporters there are no current plans to create a specific resettlement scheme for anyone fleeing Sudan, but the government is still reviewing the situation.

BBC/Jide Johnson.

Delta Partners Media, Others Create Awareness on TB

Oyenike Oyeniyi
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The Delta government has urged partnership with the media and all stakeholders to deepen  awareness on the danger of Tuberculosis (TB) in the state.

The call was made in Asaba at a one-day training workshop for journalists and media workers by the State Ministry of Health in collaboration with its technical partners, KNCV and Breakthrough Action Nigeria with support from the USAID.

Director Department of Public Health in the State Ministry of Health Dr Christian Tetsola,  in a welcome address, said the prevalence of TB was alarming and taking a  high dimension in the state.

He noted that there was an urgent need to mobilize committed efforts of all stakeholders to spread awareness and educate the people of the state on the danger of the airborne disease.

He said that TB if detected early was treatable but for ignorance and lack of awareness, many suffer and die from the disease.

“Tuberculosis is one of the oldest contagious disease that many people don’t know it is very common around us.

“Here in Delta, many people don’t know that TB is real and that the disease is treatable and preventable if diagnosed early.

‘This is why this training workshop for journalists is very important because the media is a critical stakeholder in our crusade to spread information about public health.

“However, we must all take action because tuberculosis is here with us. It is so bad that we are seeing the high rate of TB in the state,” he said.

Tetsola added, “the campaign against TB must be intensified if we must achieve positive results and that is why we need the media in this respect.”

He expressed the state government’s displeasure over the poor attitude of the people in utilizing the public health facilities in the state.

According to him, most people shy away from undergoing test and treatment that would help early detection and check the spread of the disease.

The director used the medium to appealed to health workers in the state to exhibit good attitude at work places towards patients who visit health facilities to seek counsel or treatment.

In his presentation at the workshop, the Senior Programme Officer for KNCV Nigeria Dr Emmanuel Ajumuka, said that resistance from patients was a major challenge in the campaign against the disease.

He said, “one of the problem we are having in Delta state is that most diagnosed TB patients always refuses to continue with their treatment and drugs.

“Most people who go to health facilities for treatment, don’t want to submit their sputum for test that would help facilitate early treatment.

“Also, many parents who take their children for treatment always refuse to bring stool samples.

“They will say that they do not want someone to use their children stool for ritual purpose, you can imagine their belief.”

Ajumuka said that available records showed that four out 20 persons tested TB positive and mostly children were impacted.

He, however, urged parents to allow their children undergo diagnosis and treatment.

 The training workshop was attended by selected media workers and public health information officers in the state.

 

 

 

NAN/Oyenike Oyeniyi

 

US Plans Nuclear Missile Submarine Visit In Message To North Korea

Shakirat Sadiq
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For the first time since the 1980s, a U.S. Navy nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine, SSBN, will visit South Korea to help demonstrate Washington’s resolve to protect the country from a North Korean attack.

The visit was announced in a joint declaration during a summit between South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington on Wednesday.

Because U.S. SSBNs rely on secrecy and stealth to ensure their survival and preserve their ability to launch nuclear missiles during a war. They rarely make public stops in foreign ports.

“That could be a huge pressure on North Korea because usually they don’t share where those submarines are,” said Moon Keun-sik, a retired South Korean submarine captain and squadron leader.

The United States has pledged to deploy more so-called “strategic assets” such as aircraft carriers, submarines, and long-range bombers to South Korea to deter North Korea, which has developed increasingly powerful missiles that can hit targets from South Korea to the mainland United States.

The submarine visit is also seen as a way to reassure South Korea and quell talk in Seoul of developing homegrown nuclear.

“If a U.S. SSBN visits and docks in South Korea, that is very unusual and symbolic … the U.S. wants to show it is going for stronger deterrence in a visible way and to calm South Koreans’ concerns,” Choi Il, another retired South Korean submarine captain, told Reuters.

Pyongyang has condemned the recent deployment of the U.S. aircraft carriers and joint South Korea-U.S. military drills as proof of the allies’ hostile intent.

The U.S. Navy fields 14 SSBNs, often referred to as “boomers.” Each of the Ohio-class submarines carries 20 Trident II D5 missiles, each of which can deliver up to eight nuclear warheads to target as far as 12,000 kilometres (7,500 miles) away.

There were regular SSBN visits to South Korea in the 1970s, during another period when South Korea was debating the strength of the U.S. commitments and the need for its own nuclear arsenal, according to a report by the Federation of American Scientists.

“For a few years, the boomers arrived at a steady rate, almost every month, sometimes 2-3 visits per month,” wrote the report’s author, Hans Kristensen. “Then, in 1981, the visits stopped, and the boomers haven’t been back since.”

No further details were provided about the South Korea visit, but the declaration said it would be evidence of the United States’ commitment to “furthermore enhance the regular visibility of strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula.”

A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters that the visit would be part of more frequent trips to the peninsula by strategic assets, but that there is “no vision for any regular stationing or basing of those assets and certainly not nuclear weapons” in South Korea.

 

 

Reuters/Shakirat Sadiq

USAID Grants $2.5m to Scale Up Cholera Response in Malawi

Christopher Ojilere
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The Government of the United States of America, through the US Agency for International Development, USAID has provided $ 2.1 million and committed an additional $ 400,000 to the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF to scale up the ongoing cholera outbreak response in Malawi.

Report says the grant will enable UNICEF to carry out interventions in heavily impacted districts in Malawi and help prevent cholera transmission in districts affected by flooding from Tropical Cyclone Freddy.

UNICEF will work in collaboration with the Ministries of Health and Water and Sanitation to reach at least 300,000 people, including approximately 127,000 children, by providing lifesaving water, sanitation, and hygiene, WASH services in schools and in surrounding communities.

“In most affected communities, cholera originates from unsafe water and inadequate sanitation.

“Consequently, improving access to better and climate-resilient water supply systems in communities and healthcare facilities is crucial to saving lives, enhancing people’s well-being, and reducing the burden of WASH-related diseases on Malawi’s health system,” the press release said.

Meanwhile, USAID Acting Mission Director, Anna Toness, said the new funding comes in response to President Lazarus Chakwera’s disaster declaration and the Tithetse Cholera campaign.

“The new US$ 2.5 million builds on USAID’s long-standing support to Malawi.

“We are proud to partner with UNICEF and the Government of Malawi to accelerate our joint efforts to end cholera,” Toness said.

Dr. Gianfranco Rotigliano, UNICEF Malawi Representative, commended USAID for their timely support in enhancing access to safe water and promoting good hygiene and sanitation practices.

“Malawi has been grappling with a devastating cholera outbreak for over a year, resulting in the tragic loss of more than 1,700 lives.

“With over 14,000 children affected and 230 young lives lost, the outbreak presents a significant threat to the health and survival of children across Malawi.

“While we work with our partners to address their immediate needs, we must prioritize investing in and strengthening access to quality healthcare and clean water and sanitation facilities in vulnerable communities,” Rotigliano said.

 

ALLAFRICA/Christopher Ojilere

Inter through to Coppa Italia final in win over Juventus

Emmanuel Ukoh
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Inter Milan are through to the Coppa Italia final after a narrow win over Juventus at the San Siro.

With the semi-final level at 1-1 after the first leg, Federico Dimarco scored the decisive goal for holders Inter after 15 minutes.

The left wing-back stabbed home after being picked out by Nicolo Barella’s pinpoint through ball.

Simone Inzaghi’s Inter will now play Fiorentina or Cremonese in the final on 24 May.

Following a fiery and highly controversial first leg in Turin, Inzaghi chose to leave Romelu Lukaku on the bench.

The Chelsea loanee was sent off for celebrating in front of the Juve fans after scoring a 95th-minute penalty in the first leg, a response to being racially abused by the home supporters.

However, Lukaku had his ban overturned by the Italian Football Federation as a measure to fight racism.

The Belgium striker was brought on in the 68th minute as Inter comfortably held on against a Juventus side offering very little attacking threat.

Fiorentina lead 2-0 on aggregate going into the second leg of the other semi-final on Thursday.

 

 

BBC

Totalenergies To Resume Gas Project In Mozambique

Christopher Ojilere
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The Mozambican president, Filipe Nyusi, has assured that the conditions are met to allow TotalEnergies to resume its huge natural gas exploitation project in the country.

Report says the project was suspended in 2021 following a major jihadist attack, a few kilometers away.

“The cooperation and coordination with Total is very good. The working environment is conducive for the company to resume operations at any time,” said Filipe Nyusi, speaking at a mining and energy conference in the Mozambican capital Maputo.

Meanwhile, TotalEnergies has been cautious for several months about the possibility of restarting its operations in Mozambique.

Its CEO, Patrick Pouyanné, visited the country in February and held talks with the Mozambican president.

Last month, the French giant’s Italian subcontractor, SAIPEM, announced preparations to resume work, saying it had been informed that “safety has improved.”

 

AFRICANEWS/Christopher Ojilere

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