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OUR MAJOR DEVELOPMENTAL CONSTRAINT IS SPACE..IF I HAVE MY WAY, I WILL BUILD MORE THEATRES – CMD, JUTH

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2 years ago

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OUR MAJOR DEVELOPMENTAL CONSTRAINT IS SPACE..IF I HAVE MY WAY, I WILL BUILD MORE THEATRES – CMD, JUTH

In this interview, the Chief Medical Director (CMD) Jos University Teaching Hospital, Professor Edmund Bupwatda reveals certain constraints that denies him the courage on developmental stride. He told NEWSng that, if he has the space, he will build more theatres. Bodunrin Kayode dents excerpt:

Q: What really happened that your staff was accused of discrediting a particular religious group in your hospital? 

A: It was a mix up between a nurse and a patient. But we asked her to explain why she said what she said. You see, a hospital staff should attend to a patient. She is a nurse that is covering there so at the end of the day, she is supposed to give health talks to patients in the general out patient department (GOPD.) Off course she offered her own reasons when we gave her a query. You know this is civil service and you don’t just take instant judgments because it’s a process.  Please explain why you said what you said and in the first place it’s not your duty and that does not represent the policy of a country, neither for a government and truly it does not even represent what she claims was in the system as true. When you put in a wrong input, the system shuts down, because its not true.  The system we use does not have any of those stereotype programming or profiling to say ok if you put so…so tribe it can only accept the tribe that is indigenous to a particular council area or the state, it doesn’t make sense exactly so all that she said was misinformation. At the end of the day, that misinformation is not the policy of the hospital and she is not representing the hospital. When somebody is not representing the hospital, of course its like the person is free to air his or herself whatever it is, but that is not professional. Now if you are the health record officers like you asked then it is a different thing. Now we have different cadre of health  officials and they are trained.  We don’t just take anybody who is not trained as a health records officer and they must have of course, registration with the health record registration board. However that does not again, take away attitude to work, personal sentiments, some people bring in their own personal sentiments. So now if you are talking about  on the job training and periodic talking of on the job training, of course the department organizes that to train them because they are the first point of call in any hospital. How they treat the patient matters, the courtesy  they extent to the patient gives an impression about the overall hospital. It does, because that is the first point of call to the patient, the new patient that is coming in, so the health record is very key and strategic.

However, the information forms have standard questions that are asked anywhere. And the essence of asking state of origin,  the state of residence etc is for statistical purposes. There is no crime, there is nothing wrong with it. It’s being done anywhere. I mean state of residence and all of those, is in the medical parlance. It’s for research and surveillance. For instance there are certain diseases peculiar to certain region. I will give you an example, this Jos Teaching Hospital is a Federal Tertiary Hospital and it is the major referral centre not just in the North central, we see people from Bauchi, we see patient from Taraba, Nasarawa State, from FCT, sometimes from Lagos outside of our region, down to Benue. Why because we have a lot of specialists in some of those places. So when there is an outbreak, for instance they tell you there is an outbreak of Cholera in Taraba State, I am just giving an example. And then a patient comes from Taraba state, the essence asking for state of origin of that patient, you know already there is news that there is an outbreak of Cholera in Taraba state, so you as a doctor when you see the folder of the patient . You read the bio data, you take the age, because there are certain diseases  that are peculiar to certain age group, so every information  is important, when you take the sex, of course there are certain diseases that are peculiar to women or to men you know, and all of that. When you ask the tribe, there are certain cultural practices that are peculiar to certain tribes for instance genital mutilation. Some tribes, some cultures practice it. like you know in certain tribes in the North when a woman gives  birth, they give her “kunon kanwa” which they put a lot of potash. it has effect on the heart. So that is why when you know the tribe of the person, you dig deep as a doctor to know how are they practicing these things. Because we know it is already documented that this is peculiar to a particular tribe in that area.

The documentation process is standard in all hospitals so you then look at it from that eye but not to discriminate on anybody. So that when somebody says there is an outbreak in Taraba of cholera and then a patient comes to say I am from Taraba state, then he is presenting with let say vomiting or frequent stooling, he has gone to the toilet maybe about 10 times in one day. Then you said where are you coming from, he says i am from Taraba, you conclude, no wonder there is an outbreak in that area. So It raises the index suspicions of a doctor to be able to work on that to say oh it is most likely coming from that region or that state, so you will be able to make a quick diagnosis to say we need to help this man and save his life. 

We use it sometimes in research that is what we call retrospective, you now look at your health records its just a bunch of kits, we say ok we want to know most diseases that is most prevalent that we see within let say January  to December 2021, you run the search, it gives you what you want. Lets say are we are talking about Kidney diseases, we can say ok can you run another test for  kidney diseases. You generate evidence you have to emit hypothesis, what you call it you generate hypothesis based on observation and as a researchers, as a scientist you look at things and you observe that something is happening. So it’s that data that gives you the focus yes (to create a correction) yes and the data is not giving you the number, its telling you the location, its telling you the tribes so it is purely for research. Then you dig deep, go to those communities interact with them so a steady result is got. 

Is there a particular food they are all eating that is causing damage to their kidneys like you said?, that is exposing many of them to come down that they don’t know themselves these are all part of the research. So in a medical institution like University teaching hospital we conduct such researches which aids our jobs and we rely on the health records people. 

Q: But this HODs of records department do they give you details on a yearly basis?

A: They do. There is a statistical unit to generate the data. They give statistics of the number of expansion officers. So they give statistics but of course there is also a daily report that comes with the beds, how many patients? On a daily basis to us the managers. 

Q: How many of them do you have here? These medical records people?

A: Maybe a 100 and something, you know the facility is big but they don’t work 24 hours. But you know electronic medical records makes work easier. We have started that information that is controversial you have to fill the form before its inputted in the electronic medical records. 

Q: So even the billing system now is electronic?

A: Yes we have not gone fully automated on all sites but from the accounts records of the pharmacy department everything is automated. We are building it up. We want to apply it on everything, we want to scale it, that is what we are working on now. 

Q: What is the ratio of the estimate of internally generated revenue (IGR) you make now averagely ?

A: Well I don’t know the figure off hand so to tell you of course I am unprepared right now but we are doing our best.

Q: What are some of your challenges staring you in the face and are refusing to go? what are these basic challenges that you tell your self, God willing I will clear them away?

A: You know challenges evolve, you know if I say since I was a residence those challenges are still there. I don’t think so, That means JUTH is not growing. But believe me JUTH is growing and the growth in JUTH of course started when we moved from the old site to the new site. So there is progress and development. We moved here and it is a big complex which is making progress. Mark you it is not easy for government to invest into this, Ok so that means we are making progress. There were certain equipments that we didn’t have, but of course we do have them now.

Q: How much do you charge per patient to obtain an MRI? Because I know Federal Government should subsidize for the common man. 

A: MRI for now is expensive, I think what we charge is about N50,000, because even the CT and others are expensive too. MRI is above CT and is not a day to day investigation, so is not a regular investigation it has to be highly recommended by the experts before you do MRI unlike the CT scan you frequently do. 

OUR MAJOR DEVELOPMENTAL CONSTRAINT IS SPACE..IF I HAVE MY WAY, I WILL BUILD MORE THEATRES – CMD, JUTH

Q: Do you have Echocardiogram (ECO) scan which should be a step ahead of the ordinary electrocardiogram (ECG) test? 

A: Yes we have ECO and it’s functional. 

Q: What about endoscopy? 

A:Yes we do.

Q: I am taking my time to clear some of these areas because of the rumors making the mills that most of your equipments are broken down especially the MRI equipment and management has not bothered to handle these problems pronto? 

A: No..no we have. I mean it was down, ok I was the chair medical advisory committee (CIMAC), so I was part of the management, so you won’t say we never cared or were insensitive to it. It was down, but we needed to buy something to clear it, so it was not that my predecessor failed. Far from it. Because if he is bad, I am bad too, we were all part of the system.

Q: But we all know it is the CIMAC that is doing the real work with us the patients and we knew your records and limitations as the chair then. But why I asked for your challenges was because I wanted to hear about nephology too. We hear you are backwards in terms of dialysis machinery. Is it really a challenge? 

A: Challenges are there but you said some years back that was why I am responding accordingly. We have made progress and those that came before us have done their best. You know, to bring the hospital to where we are is not easy. And you know people have built on the past development, even the former CMD that you know, did not do badly but you the media can make or mar any one…….general laughter………… And you know this is true. 

Of course there are challenges that we face, like I want more dialysis machines, newer ones, because the once we have are old, they are two they have aged and we keep having those challenges. Now the space, theatre space is a major challenge in the hospital, because we have over a 100 specialist and surgeons but we have only six suites in the entire building. So this is a major challenge which we are hoping if we have the resources, we will correct. You know you space is a constraint, I mean for some clinics. Talking about the ENT for instance, they are supposed to have a whole department but they don’t, they are managing in one corridor  out there there, because when we moved here this was the first phase of the building. We are trying to see how we can develop some other places and all of that. So it is a major challenge.

Q: You don’t have a trauma centre yet, like the one in Maiduguri?

A: No, we don’t. You know those are capital intensive. So it has to be an intervention of government to be able to get you such centers and then you now of course talk about other things like the Dental and maxillo-facial, we are supposed to have five different departments there is the faculty, we supposed to have five different department there, but they are locked up somewhere in one place. We need to get more dental chairs which we don’t have and all of that. So those are of course constraints, then you have the Cardio-thoracic we already trained  at least two Cardio-thoracic surgeons, the third is coming on board by the grace of God, so we need an institutional complex for them, because instead of patient going to India or outside the country to access some of treatments, we will give them here. My deputy here a cardio-thoracic surgeon….. Pointing to his deputy. He can open the heart and operate any day. They started doing some here, all they need is encouragement, so these are challenges we must overcome someday. 

Q: Have you started residency for Cardo-thoracic specialists?

A: No, no we have not, we are building the critical number, two of them are on ground, the third person is on training very soon he will come back, so when they are three (3) It would not just be they, all the support staff around them would be coming. We need to get professional, nurses to be trained and everybody in the department will of course be lunched into that, so those are definitely things you look at. So day to day challenges are things that you know you need capital. 

The CT scan is a major challenge, because what we have is 4 slide CT, when the world has moved to 128 slide, 132 and all that, so those are obsolete, even the MRI that is working is good but is 0.5 Tesla, when the world have move to 1.5 Tesla, you know so those are things that if you say you are giving me One Trillion, no it is durable to bring the place to a state of the art hospital where everybody can be proud of and all that. But another major challenge of course you know is power.

Yes of course because we have a surge, a power surge that affected the power plant at the moment which is going to cost over N500 million to be able to replace those things, so it’s a big challenge, and you know, coupled with the rise in cost of diesel once the national grid goes off you definitely have to run the hospital, this is a hospital and some people are on ventilator, some babies are on incubators. Some are doing dialysis they are dependent on that, and without power you won’t be able to get any where and that you know is a challenge. Of course other areas that we are having challenges sometimes is the human resources as we are growing as you are expanding, people are retiring. Of course the process to get them replaced is a very cumbersome one you know so those are things we need to work out as a team and sort out.

Q: On personnel do you conserve valued senior consultants on a contract basis?

A: No, no but if you put them on contract, what about the younger ones coming up? 

Q: What do you do with them? 

A: Someone like a consultant radiologist who is very good, I would not want him to go without training the younger ones. 

 You see it’s not as if there are others that cannot come in who have the qualification. You know government always looks for certain conditions before you give a contract staff a job. And that is when there is nobody that has that background or qualification before you do that. But in our case here, there are so many who have it and they are waiting to come. So why will you, deliberately keep them? This is because if you did not retire others won’t come in. For everybody, there is time for everything, one day all of us will retire and will leave this place. Nothing is permanent, so when you are leading, always remember that even this office is transient and temporary so you come in do your best leave a legacy. You know that is our desire as management to leave a landmark, you know that people, I mean posterity will remember and people will remember the impact you created on humanity. 

READ ALSO: https://dailypost.ng/2022/11/02/demand-accountability-improved-healthcare-from-your-leaders-group-tells-borno-community/

At the end of the day, we are hoping that a Radiotherapy centre would be built. By the Grace of God the Federal Government has graciously given us that budget line, we are hoping it will go to Federal Executives Council (FEC) and it will be approved by the Fed government. 

I am talking about the bunker and all that. So we are hoping to get all that by the grace of God as intervention from the Federal Government, and the Federal Government has done so much of course you don’t expect are..you know there is scarce resources the demand, you know the resource cannot be enough, you know as the population is growing you know the resources are becoming more scarce, so and that means more demands on the Federal Government.

Q: You don’t seem to have much done here by the private sector or don’t you have billionaires on the Plateau making contributions here?

A: I am not aware if we have billionaires on the Plateau, but you know, I know public spirited individuals can help anybody. It doesn’t matter whether you are from the state or not. Once there is a need, people can reach out.

Indeed in the last 40 years nobody has build structures the way Prof Ahijo is building structures at Umth. He’s,  just building structures every where because people where locked up together when he took over. I don’t know whether it was Corona thing that increased his consciousness for space. So now doctors have more spaces to operate. They now have more offices and many  latest. One of his latest building now is a “child institute” initially was meant to be an Adolescent center. You know, teenagers are strange, you cannot regard them as children, you cannot regard them as adults so there is one massive building where they will be studying teenagers and their mentality, studying everything. The concept now encompasses the pediatricians and all of them will be moved inside when the structure is ready. So their Former offices will be used by other people pressed for space. Also because of the lingering insurgency the Red Cross came and expanded the orthopedic department by building a prosthetic center. They are the ones spending money on prosthetic now to both military and civilians. This is because this soldiers are always loosing their limbs to IED’S. The trauma center even has a helipads on top to fly in emergencies and you know plateau of recent has become endangered. I want you guys to have the best in here.

We will by the grace of GOD. It all boils down to the resources. 

Q: What is the strongest point of this facility Prof? 

A: We are masters of most things you can think of in the medical sector. Because if you are talking about specialists it is the number of experts we have that are well grounded and experienced that gives us the edge. 

Q: How many consultants do you have? And how tough is your orthopaedic dept? 

A: Over 200. You know that is why I am telling you of experts so if you are talking about neurosurgeons operating on the head, what we have is very strong, its just that space constraint affects them we are unable to give them like I told you a befitting place to operate from. 

Q: Compared to other places like Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) or Bayero University Teaching Hospital Kano?

A: We have Prof. Ochi, and they are doing very well, they do heap replacement here too. We do it here, it is just that we don’t blow our trumpet, we also do knee replacement in JUTH here…..his deputy cuts in……… the Kano you are talking about, go and ask any of their professors they train here each one of them pick any specialty, they train here, so we still have that edge… their former CMD Aminu trained here, they all trained here, if you go to Bauchi ask they trained here, if you move to Benue they trained here, just go and enquire in Abuja, they trained here, the man that does kidney transplant in Abuja they trained here.

Q: So you should have more than 10 nephrologists for instance?

A: CMD cuts in…… we have four, but you know its not that you train and keep them, of course like he said we train to give. We send them out. when you finish training and keep everybody here, then you are not impacting Nigeria, like he said, we train they go to Kano. JUTH trained a lot of the consultants in Kano, it was from internal medicine, surgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology (O and G,) pediatrics all train here in Juth. But why JUTH has this number of experts, it is as a result of the unfortunate ethno-religious crisis of ABU Zaria that became our gain., Zaria used to be the most famous University Teaching hospital in the north. However at some point, many of them that couldn’t stand in there came to Jos and they were welcome in Jos, so that is how Jos became a very strong base for training.

Q: How many residents do you have?

A: We have over 400 of them. They are all working. You see without the resident doctors it is not possible for the consultants to hold this complex full time. And that is why when the resident  doctors go on strike, services goes on, but not as to the full scale as when they are helping out. 

Q: How did you settle their recent demands for school fees to be paid by the Minister?

A: No, its not school fees, what the Federal Government is paying is resident training allowances. 

OUR MAJOR DEVELOPMENTAL CONSTRAINT IS SPACE..IF I HAVE MY WAY, I WILL BUILD MORE THEATRES – CMD, JUTH

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Interviews

Interview:  NHRC paid over N480 million to 120 people for rights infringements after the SARS investigative panel saga, – Hilary Ogbonna.

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5 months ago

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July 22, 2024

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Interview:  NHRC paid over N480 million to 120 people for rights infringements after the SARS investigative panel saga, – Hilary Ogbonna.

In this interview, Hilary Ogbonna, a senior human rights adviser to the executive secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, speaks after a recent stakeholders consultative forum on the tripartite partnership to support national human rights institutions, Bodunrin Kayode sent an excerpt:

Q: Who are the three parties in the tripartite agreement you mentioned earlier during the stakeholder forum, and how long will it last?

A: It’s a partnership to support human rights institutions. It is also a partnership started by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Global Alliance for National Human Rights Institutions. And this is supported by the Norwegians, who are big supporters of the partnership. The three of them came together with their respective mandates. Undp is the front-runner organization for the UN in terms of development, cooperation, rule of law, and governance. The office of the high commissioner for human rights is the gatekeeper for global human rights, and the global alliance for national human rights institutions is the coalition and secretariat of all national human rights commissions across the world, over a hundred of them. So the three of them came together to decide to support the national human rights institutions to be able to achieve their mandates of promoting and protecting human rights and ensuring that they work with stakeholders in civil societies across the world. They pick and choose which national human rights commission they will support at any given time, and this is Nigeria. So they decided to support us from January 2024 to December 2024. By January 2025, they will decide whether to continue and how. So what are they supporting? The main support they provide is the capacity of national human rights institutions to enable them to achieve their mandates for human rights monitoring and reporting, sourcing data for human rights, and supporting national organizations to establish frameworks for business and human rights. Training and capacity building for human rights commissions and for their subnational-level offices. Since we have an office in Borno, the reason we are here is to use this week to build the capacity of our staff so that they are able to support the people of this state. So under the TPP, we are also doing a lot around promoting women’s rights, gender equality, and human rights education. So for all of this, we are going to support the Borno State Office of the NHRC, and it will be done throughout the year. The overall goal is to ensure that human rights commissions are effective in implementing their mandates, which is why we came here. 

Q: Speak on the final document you intend to propound as a roadmap for a business and human rights framework to hand over to the Federal Government, the planned pillars inside, etc. How would you put it? 

I can tell you that we have already set up that standard. We have all the necessary documents. The only person without the document as I speak to you is the Borno State Government. At the federal level, we have these two documents, one of which is the national action plan on the protection of human rights. That is a human rights obligation of Nigeria under the Vienna Declaration. President Buhari approved this in April 2023. So instead of presenting another action plan on business and human rights to them, we included it as a chapter under this national action plan. So in passing this, they have passed the two of them. The implementation of this one is ongoing by all the ministries. It’s a national document for everyone, not just the Human Rights Commission. As the ministry of environment or information, there is a role for you to play here. But this one is a specific national human rights mechanism for business and human rights. It is under this one that we have established the national working group on business and human rights. This is the one we want to establish in Borno State. So for us, we have outlined this road map, and under it, we will first develop a consent note that we will hand over to the government on what they need to know and do. And when the government understudies that note, we will also include these processes. They will do stakeholder mapping to know who is who and who is doing what. After that, they will convene a state consultative forum on business and human rights, which will mandate the state government to go ahead and develop a state action plan on business and human rights. This action plan will take into consideration everything that is contextual to this state as it concerns the human rights of the people of the state. They will copy a lot from the national action plan, but they will also make their own specific Borno plans. And then the action plan will say who will belong to the state working group, and they will inaugurate the state working group. Then they will begin the process of implementation, where they will stipulate what they will do, such as the capacity building that must be done to ensure that businesses conform to the national human rights principles and standards. Across Nigeria, with the social challenges we are having, any company that decides to have social responsibility will go and bring bags of rice, ask people to queue up, and there will be a stampede. People will even die due to the struggles for palliatives, which are human rights violations. So we need to have a standard for what to do, and we are already developing one, especially when it comes to business compliance on the issues of social care. You don’t kill people while trying to help them.

Q: Cuts in… like what happened during the customs palliative saga? 

It’s not only Nigerian customs that make such mistakes; even churches do it. Churches say they are coming to help with food. You will not ask how many people will come; you did not issue tickets; nor did you ask for a central exit or entrance so that when the place is full, you will close the door. And then, you don’t have emergency medical response units in case anything happens. It’s a general Nigerian thing, even where we are now. If someone collapses in this hotel now, God forbid, I am sure they do not have a system to evacuate them. And if they are evacuating you, do they have ambulances or amenities to use? So it’s just a whole gamut of unsolved problems.

Q: Finally, if there is a violation of the UN guiding principles on human rights between now and December 2024, what is the guarantee that everything will be ready? 

A:…..cuts in. Everything depends on the state government. If they ask us to jump, we will ask how high you want to jump. So it’s up to them, but if they don’t have this state action plan, our own action plan will cover them. Because human rights are a federal thing, they cannot do state action plans for the protection of human rights because the Vienna Declaration is very clear about it. But they can do a state action plan on business and human rights because even the state government taxes and also regulates businesses.

Q: Alternative justices—speak on it—and judicial remedies—will they be embedded in this package of the action plan?

A: Alternative justices will be embedded in the state-based package on non-judicial remedies. There are state-based judicial mechanisms and non-judicial mechanisms. The state-based non-judicial mechanisms include the Human Rights Commission. The ulamas are non-state-based judicial mechanisms, and they can equally perform some functions with limited quasi-judicial roles. The good thing is that each of them can actually perform judiciary roles and award compensation. Like the HRC will award compensation based on its laws, if it’s the DSS or police that infringed on your rights, we will ask them to insert the same in their budget, and it will be paid to you. And I tell you, we have been successful in all this. But whether we speak about it enough or not, I can tell you we don’t. But like the special anti-robbery squad (SAS) panel, I can tell you that we paid over N480 million to 120 people for all the infringements that were incurred by their personnel in that incident. 

Interview:  NHRC paid over N480 million to 120 people for rights infringements after the SARS investigative panel saga, – Hilary Ogbonna.

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Kashim Shettima is focused, trying to bridge gaps across people, culture, and religion in Nigeria. – Dr. Bwala

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7 months ago

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May 20, 2024

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Kashim Shettima is focused, trying to bridge gaps across people, culture, and religion in Nigeria. – Dr. Bwala

Dr. James Bwala, PhD, is a media practitioner, consultant, and author. He is one of the closest media men to Nigeria’s Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima. Ahead of the May 29 celebration of democracy day in Nigeria, he spoke to newsmen about his long-time relationship with the VP and why he writes in his own style to promote and defend Nigeria’s Vice President on many fronts and other sundry issues. NEWSng was there and sent an excerpt:

Q: Thank you for having us. It was indeed very important that we meet you. Can you please tell us about yourself?

A: I guess I am not in a hot seat. I really did not expect this question. It reminded me of some interview questions I was asked while I was seeking job opportunities with the NGO some time ago. But since this is not a job interview, I figured that I would relax and try not to be nervous. My name is James Bwala, as you all know. I am a journalist and have practiced in the media space for over two decades now. I studied mass communication for my first and second degree programs and earned my PhD in management with a specialty in disaster management. Currently, I run a media organization as the managing editor as well as managing public relations on behalf of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH). I am also into politics, trying to follow in the footsteps of my principal, Nigeria’s Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, who has graciously been a very good teacher and mentor. And I hope that my learning will bring positive fruits and add value to Nigeria’s politics at any given opportunity to make a mark and to sell the Nigerian dream in the renewed hope initiative of Mr. President.

Q: You are a prolific writer, and we are happy to say that you are doing well and encouraging young media professionals with your style. We have read a lot of writings from you defending and promoting the Vice President before, during, and even after the general elections. Do you have any political appointments in this government?

A: I just told you that the VP is my principal, whether or not I have an appointment in the government or not. My loyalty to the VP has been there for decades. He calls me brother, and I think he is an older brother I have who also stood with me in my darkest moments. He has demonstrated the brotherly love that I have heard preachers preach, and he never leaves me as would some older brothers do. I am happy that you noted that I have written several pieces on him. Some were promotional, while others were trying to defend both his public and private lives. Yes. I have been given a political appointment in this government, but that is not about me and Kashim Shettima. It was the reward system in a political circle when you played your part in the game and when your loyalty was tested and you gave results. For that also, I will remain grateful to the VP for choosing to consider me for such a political position. And like I said, he never leaves me. I will look up to him as that older brother and respect him. I will also always defend him in the media, where necessary.

Q: How long have you known the VP? 

A: About three decades, actually. I was raised in Kaduna, but I grew up in Borno State, which is my state. I am a bona fide citizen of Borno State, and I am proud of that. While growing up in Bullumkuttu, Abuja, in the city of Maiduguri, I happened to leave around the VP’s wife’s family residents. I became friends with some of Her Excellency’s brothers and sisters, and we attended the same Bullumkuttu Primary School in the 1980s. I knew Kashim Shettima around 1988, to be precise, but we became very close when he became commissioner under the Modu Sheriff administration and I was writing for the newspapers as a journalist. I think we became very close because we share the same attitude and vision. Our culture, books, and views of life are the same. So, I would say we think alike.

Q: How would you describe the VP’s activities in the last year of this administration, and do you see distractions?

A: Well, they are too numerous to mention his activities generally. For distractions, there are also numbers. However, the VP is focused. Remember he said in one of his many sayings during the campaign that you should stop throwing stones at every dog that barks at you or you may not reach your destination on time? So, I want to tell you that this is his posture toward distraction. And you can see that he remained focused, building on the renewed hope initiative of the government by trying to bridge gaps across people, culture, and religion. He has also been in and out of the country, connecting and networking to build relationships for security, the economy, and others. For every achievement, there is a working person, and the VP is one of those working to achieve the dreams of Mr. President and give Nigeria hope.

Q: Your writings speak volumes about the VP; do you also consult with him before you write?

A: No. I know him too well to read his lips, and I can also study his moods, especially his reactions to what I wrote. Like I said, he is my teacher and mentor, so I guess there is this chemistry of understanding what to do and what not to do between us, which came naturally. Secondly, I am a professional in my field with good experience in political writing. It is therefore easy for me to look at situations and determine with precision what I need to do as a professional. For someone like the VP, all I need to know are the vital signs, which are obligations to me because of the closeness. I watched his back media wise, and he does mine brotherly.

Q: Recently, you wrote defending the VP on the issue of 2027. Why do you think some people want him replaced? Did he offend those calling for his replacement?

A: You know, this is actually laughable. 

VP Kashim Shettima did not offend anybody, but the gang was politically motivated. For me, it is normal in politics to have those who want you there and those who are pushing for you to be out of place. But let me tell you something. Recently, the President appointed the Zenith Bank Chairman to lead the loan team. Jim Ovia was VP Shettima’s boss when he was still working in the bank. What does that tell you? Does it look like there is friction between the VP and his principal? The closeness between VP Kashim Shettima and the Zenith Bank Chairman is well known to Mr. President. As those people claim in their dreams that there is friction, I do not think we have been seeing this development coming. Mr. President is well educated and knows very well those he can work with. He has a history of gathering intellectuals around him. That is also the reason for choosing VP Kashim Shettima as his running mate and partner in the governance of Nigeria. Together, they have been doing tremendously well, and as I said in my writing, there will be no replacement as suggested by those doomsayers.

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Q: You sounded very confident about the political future and the likely play for Tinubu and Kashim Shettima in 2027. What is giving you such confidence, as in some of your writings?

A: I don’t know, actually. But I keep having my dreams, and I believe in them. It has happened in the past and has come to be true. It is happening again, and I keep my belief. So many people fighting over 2027 think they are gods. This administration has only been around for about a year now. If they think they have all it takes to govern better than what the current occupants of the seat of power are doing, I hope that as Nigerians they should be kind to render support through their vision to help Nigeria develop well. The president and his vice president are calling on those who have vision for the development of Nigeria to come forward with suggestions. They must not be in position before they can bring out their good road map to make Nigeria better. If they are waiting to come to a position before they give suggestions or bring their ideas to the table, then I would suggest that those are not thinking of making Nigeria great but are working towards their selfish desires to occupy seats for the betterment of their families and not Nigeria.

Q: Can you at least mention those you think are already fighting over 2027? And those calling for the replacement of the VP?

A: My friends, we know the writing on the walls. You go and read some of the writing floating in the newspaper spaces. We have over one hundred live newspapers in the country, and they have been reporting issues recently. Engaged in some of these newspapers, you can come up with names likely to be those you are looking for. I do not know any of them other than those I have read through on the pages of the newspapers, and I believe you can do the same.

Q:. On May 29, this administration will be celebrating one year. Do you think there are things to celebrate?

A: Well, if I may ask you, do you think there are no things to celebrate? You see, sometimes we ask questions for which we already know the answers. Of course, there are thousands of things to celebrate about Nigeria. I hope you have been following the various achievements made by our military, the police, and other security agencies in the areas of insecurity in the country. I hope you have written about the successes in the economic sector. There are several achievements in health, agriculture, the road, and what have you. I may not have time to mention others, but we have days counting to May 29, and you can do us the favor of going around to hunt on the successes and achievements of the Tinubu and Kashim Shettima administrations since their coming to power on May 29, 2023. Nigerians are eager to hear from you because they can count on you, and I urge you to be fair in your reports.

Q: On a final note, what do you think this government should do based on the assessments of people on what they did or did not do for Nigerians and how to improve on their promises?

A: First of all, let me make it clear that you are asking the wrong question here because I am not a member of the economic team of this administration. Secondly, what I hear people saying may be different from what you hear that people are saying, so do not expect me to give an answer to what is going on about what you hear. However, I can speak for what I hear, and that is a positive note on the many challenges that this administration was able to sum up. Two key issues have been on the board since this administration came on board on May 29, 2023. That is the issue of insecurity and Nigeria’s economy. I think that you would agree with me that the Tinubu-Shettima partnership has done creditably well in tackling these menaces in the areas of security and economy. If you do agree with me, then I can tell you that the government by measurements has done well and should be given the passing mark for demonstrating rear leadership.

Kashim Shettima is focused, trying to bridge gaps across people, culture, and religion in Nigeria. – Dr. Bwala

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The challenges with IEDs at the “Hadin Kai” theater will soon be history – Former TC General Ali

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1 year ago

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August 9, 2023

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The challenges with IEDs at the “Hadin Kai” theater will soon be history – Former TC General Ali

Before becoming the 10th Commander of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in Chad, General Ibrahim Ali was the last theater commander (TC) of Operation Hadin Kai in North-East Nigeria. He succeeded in getting three Chibok girls and their children out of the Sambisa and vowed to get Lear Sharibu anywhere credible intelligence could locate her. He spoke with Bodunrin Kayode just before proceeding to his present command in N’djamena. Excerpt:

Q: General, before I proceed to matters of this war theater, I would like you to compare and contrast your last command with “Hadin Kai,” which you are about to leave after only 6 months.

The level of threat in the Jos. 3 Division area is quite different from the one in the North East Theatre Command. We know that the threats in the theater Command are more. This is because in the 3 division area, the threats are more like intercommunal clashes—you know, farmers and herders crises, kidnapping, cattle rustling, and things like that—but here in the Northeast, it is insurgency and terrorism. Which is higher in terms of mortality than those ones. So it was not easy, but I came with the experience I had from Jos, and before getting to Jos, I had been to the Northeast five times, and this will be my sixth time coming here. So I came with all those experiences I had earlier, and it really helped me. I had a fair knowledge of the modus operandi of the insurgents and the terrorists, and I was able to counter them. And this time around, we had better equipment to confront the insurgents than we used to have when I came earlier in the five times I mentioned. So, with the additional and improved equipment level and other platforms, we were able to degrade them to a very appreciable level.

Q: Is it true that the rule of engagement in the 3D theater was that soldiers were not allowed to take out anybody, even if the bandit was the aggressor messing around with ancestral lands and you were seeing him live?

A: No! No! That is not true. Because I remember the former President, commander in Chief, shortly after I went to Jos, especially the early period of my stay there. There was a directive from the Presidency in which the President said that “any person seen with an AK-47 rifle should be taken out. I remember that vividly, and it trickled down the Chain of Command and came to us. Which was equally sent to all my troops. Any person carrying an AK-47 rifle and attacking another community will be taken out. This is because he is an aggressor. And I can tell you, if you check the record, that there were a couple of militants that we took out, in Plateau and in Sabon Kaduna. I lost, during my stay as a junior officer in 3 divisions, about 3 to 4 soldiers, if I remember well. So, we cannot sit down and see them eliminating our troops, and we say that we are not supposed to fire because of the rule of engagement. It’s not true; any person carrying a weapon, at least an AK-47 rifle, is an aggressor, and he should be taken down. And that is what I was doing. The only peculiarity of the Jos area, of course, was when you talked about the inter-communal crisis. Communities or tribes fighting themselves, we had to come in between. And in that situation, as long as they are not carrying arms, we cannot start shooting them. Unless, of course, any of the other groups are carrying arms, then you definitely have the go-ahead to take them down.

Q: But is it true that mostly in the night beyond Mangu, Riyom, Ganawuri, etc.,troops were non-operational just pinned down, which is why the senator representing Plateau South, a retired general, was saying recently that he wants the defense chief to re-enact the rule of engagement to make them operational during the night too, to counter the bandits who operate mostly in the night or the wee hours of the morning?

No, we carried out patrols when I was the GOC. You know, I left there almost six months ago. When I was a GOC, we carried out patrols in the daytime and at night. We did carry out our night patrols. So, I am not aware of the fact that troops just stay confined to their locations. We carried out our patrol both day and night when I was there.

Q: Do we have night patrols or operations here in Operation Hadin Kai?

A: ….. Cuts in. Off course we do.

Q: Except that certain areas are shut down as early as 4 p.m., like the Maiduguri-Damaturu road, because of the aggression of the insurgents.

A: Yes, those are supply routes, main supply roads. We shut them down for security reasons, and that has been going on for a long time. You know. It’s for the security of the civil populace that plys the route that we can control the movement. And we make sure that people are not exposed to attacks.

Q: So, looking at the Northeast theater that you managed for about 6 months before shipping out, What, in your own perception, are achievements?

A: I will just mention a few; there are quite a lot of achievements, several achievements in the 6 months I have stayed. First of all, I, my staff, and my officers and men conducted Operation Desert Sanity 2 and Lake Sanity 2. We conducted Operation Mountain Sanity as well. So, these operations have to a large extent degraded the terrorist. 

Q: Cuts in. Mountain sanity is the Mandara stretch in Gwoza.

That is right, Mandara Mountains; we made a lot of recoveries. In Ukoba, Sambisa, we made a lot of recoveries. We were able to get very sound intelligence on where they have stashed their arms, ammunition, and weapons. The records are there, the photos are there, and I am very happy to say that I was able to rescue three out of the many Chibok girls that were abducted several years ago. I was able to rescue three of them from the operations we conducted. And there were two non-governmental organizations (NGO) staff that we rescued. Three others have not been seen, and we heard that they were killed by the terrorist. So, I am happy that we were able to rescue those two as well. I am talking about those that were picked up in Gamboru Ngala. Also, we were able to at least reduce the frequency of attacks on people. You can attest to the fact that the attacks that we used to experience in the past have been reduced by the terrorist attacks. We don’t have such attacks as we are used to any more. So, what they are trying to do now is attack farmers. Now that they have been degraded to an appreciable level, they are trying to get soft targets like the farmers. And we are taking adequate measures to counter that. You will know the terrorists once you are able to degrade them. They will look for other exit routes to cause damage. We are happy that we are able to degrade them, even though they will always change tactics. So now the tactics that were adopted were that they were trying to kill farmers to stop them from farming this year. And they intensified the use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and bombs along our routes of movement. So we are contending with that as well.

Q: So, what about Lear Shaibu? Did you get close to her?

Lear Sharibu; we are not sure where she is. We have been getting conflicting information about where exactly she is. But we have not lost hope yet; we think she is alive, and if we get good intelligence, we will definitely try to rescue her.

Q: So, what were some of the operational challenges that clogged the progress of troops in sectors 2 and 1?

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The challenges I experienced were, first of all, the issue of equipment. Another challenge is the high attrition rate of the equipment. So, it’s not that the equipment is not available. What I am saying is that the equipment is available, but before you know it, it is damaged. How? Because of the bombs encountered and the IEDs on the way, ok. A lot of Emeralds were bombed. Before you know it, when we go out for any major operation and come back with the troops, those vehicles will have gone over mines, which will damage most parts of the vehicle. We have the time to repair it, so we can deal with the subsequent operations. However, some of them are not going to be repairable at all. So, we need replacements, and this thing takes time. So, these are some of the challenges that we faced.

Q: IEDs have been a major challenge since your predecessor was here. Now you are facing them as a major challenge too. Is there any long-term plan to deal with these IEDs once and for all because the insurgents will still do them anyway?

A: Of course, that is the most preferred weapon for terrorists and insurgents. Especially now that they don’t have vehicles, they lack arms and ammunition. They have resorted to the widespread use of IEDs. We have just identified counter-IED equipment, which the Nigerian Army has purchased and will very soon deploy in the theater.

Q: Sector 3 is very peculiar. Lots of meshes: the Tunbus, the Timbuktu triangle. So how did you handle those challenges in Sector 3? Are they still IEDs, or are there other natural issues other than IEDs and flooding?

A: Of course, one of the major issues in Sector 3 is flooding. So now that we have had some experience in some areas, we have worked out ways to counter it the next time so that it doesn’t happen. By creating dykes, water floods areas to channel the water when it comes back. So, these are some of the things we have done. And we are clearing the waterways of the hyacinths and the giant grasses. So, this thing will also allow us to freely go through the channel linking the Lake Chad Basin area.

Q: And were you satisfied with the cooperation from your colleagues in the air?

A: Yes, absolutely yes.

Q: Cuts in. At times we see them bombing and producing their own reports outside the theater, or are those bombing under your command?

A: Yes, we plan everything with joint operations; you know, we plan together. You know, we mostly get the intelligence, and we pass it on to them to carry out the air rides. Yes,  they do conform to our directives here.

Q: What about the Navy guys in Baga and your amphibious troops? What’s next for them? What is their plan to end all of this?

A: The Navy, like I said, is involved in actively clearing the waterways that have been overtaken by the water hyacinths and going forward. They are going to be carrying out more serious amphibious operations in the Lake Chad Basin area.

Q: I believe that when you get over there in Chad, there will be a correlation between that side and this side, so that they will be able to weed out the criminals. This is because I learned that even on Tumbus Island, there are so many that nobody actually knows the number of them for effective planning. But I believe you people will take each day as it comes. Is that correct, General?

A: Yes, that is it.

Q: What then is your message to the people of this whole theater as you are leaving, especially concerning the defected insurgents surrendering daily? We have heard so many reports about them, you know, especially now that you are going to the other side of Lake Chad to do the same job in conjunction with foreign troops.

A: What I will tell them is that they should not look backwards. Of course, they shouldn’t lose hope either; they should continue to give support in times of information and intelligence. They should continue to talk to their brothers who are out fighting and tell them to lay down their arms and come out. I think the Governor has a good heart and wants the best for them. They should give him a chance and listen to him. They should come out of the bushes and lay down their arms. Now we have over 100,000 who have surrendered. Over 100,000. I think that is a sign that we are getting to the end of the tunnel. The crisis is coming to an end. Of course, there will be some die-hards. But of course, such die-hards will find themselves to blame at the end of the day. That is my message to them.

Q: My mind is on the wounded soldiers at the 7th Division hospital. Are you satisfied with the facility, having spent just six months managing the troops? In case you were here for another 6 months. What would you have done differently with the functional medical facility in the barracks?

A: Of course, it is to improve the hospital by buying more equipment. We can increase and buy more. Even though what we have is adequate and there is a system whereby we move some of them to 44 in Kaduna, you know, And even in Damaturu now, we have a few hospitals there. So, we have the capability to take care of the strength of the troops here.

Q: And we believe the new Chief will take care of the tertiary one being built here to ease the pressure on the UMTH and 44?

A: Of course.

Q: Thank you very much, General Ali. I wish you the best.

A: Thank you.

The challenges with IEDs at the “Hadin Kai” theater will soon be history – Former TC General Ali

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