Public Affairs Analyst

Nigeria’s health workers are at it again! The Joint Health Sector Union started another round of strike action last Wednesday, April 17. JOHESU, which draws its membership from the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives, Medical and Health Workers Union, Senior Staff Association of University Teaching Hospitals, Research Institutes and Associated Institutions, Nigeria Union of Allied Health Professionals and Non-academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutes embarked on the industrial action after government failed to honour the agreement reached with the union on September 30, 2017. JOHESU president, Mr. Josiah Biobelemoye, attributed the strike action to what he described as the “insensitivity and lackadaisical attitude of drivers of the health sector’’. He listed their demands to include upward adjustment of CONHESS Salary Scale, arrears of skipping of CONHESS 10 and employment of additional health professionals. Other demands are implementation of c...

“We campaigned on three major issues – to secure the country, revive the economy and fight corruption. We have elections next year, politicians are already pre-occupied with the polls, but I am bothered more about security and the economy.” –President Muhammadu Buhari during his meeting with Britain’s Prime Minister, Theresa May, on April 16, 2018. As we count down to the next general election scheduled for February and March 2019, apprehension has gripped Nigerians.   Many compatriots are worried about how governance is often sacrificed on the altar of politicking. As many aspirants declare their ambition to contest positions in the forthcoming elections, the norm is that governance will take the back seat as those currently occupying elective offices jostle with those seeking to wrest their positions from them. It is a known fact that election in many countries of the world, especially in Nigeria, is a war. I quite appreciate the above statesmanlike quote from President Buh...

  “Health is a human right. No one should get sick and die just because they are poor, or because they cannot access the health services they need”   –Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General Health is wealth, so says the golden adage. A healthy nation is said to be a wealthy nation. The World Health Day is celebrated every year on April 7, under the sponsorship of the World Health Organisation. Last Saturday marked the 70th anniversary of the World Health Day. The theme of this year’s World Health Day is “Universal health coverage: Everyone, everywhere”, and the slogan for the 2018 campaign is “Health for All”. Incidentally, every December 12 is celebrated as the Universal Health Coverage Day under the auspices of the WHO. According to the WHO, data shows that despite some progress, too many people are still missing out on health coverage. According to the international organisation,   “At least, half of the world’s people are currently unable to obtai...

  “The first lesson I learnt in my military training is to never reinforce failure. What we have now is failure. It will be foolhardy for Nigerians to reinforce failure by re-electing an ineffective and incompetent government in 2019”   –Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday, April 2, 2018 Nigerian politicians are at it again! They have started to heat up the polity ahead of the 2019 general elections scheduled for the first quarter of next year. On Monday, March 26, 2018, the Peoples Democratic Party apologised to Nigerians for mistakes the party made while in power. The National Chairman of the party, Uche Secondus, pleaded for forgiveness at a public national discourse on “Contemporary Governance in Nigeria.” Secondus apologised to Nigerians for “impunity, the imposition of candidates and other mistakes made in the past.” He assured Nigerians that under his watch, there would be no imposition of candidates or any form of impunity in the party’s activities. The Al...