Uba: Zulum approves rehabilitation of general hospital, 8 schools, township roads

… Directs employment of 4 medical doctors

By: Bodunrin Kayode

Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, has approved the rehabilitation of Uba General Hospital and the township road networks.

The governor also approved the rehabilitation of 8 primary schools in Uba town, including Uba Central Primary School, Mufa A Primary School, Kuma Primary School, Masil Primary School, Uba Marghi Primary School, Low-Cost Primary School, Kwarghi Primary School and Mufa B Primary School.

Zulum announced the approval on Saturday at the Palace of the Emir of Uba, Alhaji Ali ibn Ismaila Mamza. In a similar vein, the governor announced the construction of a new palace complex to fit the status of the emir.

The governor said, “You have to undertake a complete rehabilitation, provide furniture and also ensure adequate teachers are deployed.”

Zulum was in the Southern part of Borno to asses the ongoing projects, coordinate policy implementations and approve the citing of additional works.

The governor visited Central Primary School, a newly constructed high Islamic school, the General Hospital in Uba and Government Day Secondary School, Uvu, where he assessed both the ongoing work and the level of the interventions required for rehabilitation to be carried out.

Zulum also directed the construction of a deep aquifer borehole for the High Islamic College, Uba.

Zulum was also at Uvu village in Askira-Uba Local Government, where he gave a directive for the construction of a new secondary school and the rehabilitation of the central primary school.

The Governor concluded his Saturday’s activities with a homage to the Emir of Askira, Alhaji Dr Albdullahi Mohammed Askirama II and spent the night in Askira town.

… Directs employment of 4 medical doctors

Meanwhile, Governor Babagana Umara Zulum also directed the employment of 4 medical doctors for the General Hospital, Uba, to boost the workforce.

Zulum stated, “Liaise with the CMD to see how we can deploy up to 4 medical doctors while we decide whether to rehabilitate this one or construct a new general hospital.”

“Uba is a city. Doctors can come and stay, and we will give them goremunerationion. We must ensure enough medicine and consumables in this hospital,” Zulum said.

Uba: Zulum approves rehabilitation of general hospital, 8 schools, township roads

48 doctors displaced by the recent flood in maiduguri

By: Bodunrin Kayode

48 doctors were badly affected by the last flood which took over the city of Maiduguri and some parts of Jere council areas of Borno state.

These practicing members of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) were completely displaced with their families from their homes by the raging waters from the Alau dam such that some of them had to seek for solace in 36 camps recreated for internally displaced people (IDPs) from flood.

Chairman of the NMA Dr Bukar Baki gave this revelation recently while having an exclusive interview with this reporter on the celebration of the world physician day at the NMA Secretariat in Maiduguri.

Dr Baki said that the executive did their best in ensuring that they visited the affected doctors who fled their homes from the flood waters and empathized with all of them individually.

“As a matter of fact, we gave them all the support they needed to make them fall in line with our standard of provision of welfare of our members.

” incidentally most of them who found themselves in IDP camps were involved in the provision of services to the entire populace which was affected by the sudden surge of water from Alau dam.

“This meant we had to activate our humanity support system for other flood affected residents to be involved in an instant outreach services to hundreds of residents in various camps that needed instant medical care.

“We even made sure that hot meals were cooked for the idps for the first one week of the flood. And that went a long way to help people out of despair.” Said the chairman.

The Chairman noted that the annual physician week is set aside by the United Nations to celebrate doctors and understand their contemporary challenges even as they proffer solutions to some of them.

Speaking on the peculiar challenges affecting his members, the Chairman regretted that brain drain is one glaring problem which occurs as a result of the lingering disparity between practitioners in the country and others outside who work in much more conducive environments.

“Brain drain is our major problem in this part of the country. We have just about 800 doctors providing services to people in the entire state and you know what that means. It puts a stress on individual doctors who do the jobs of many.

” This is what results into burn out which in most circumstances is a very strong factor responsible for the state government loosing many doctors to other states with more personnel and remunerations.

“Health care should be paid across board because health is not on the exclusive list in terms of remuneration. So in response to your question, we would be glad if the federal government can take over the payments of remuneration doctors as they have done in the judiciary to ensure sanity and stability.

” The state govt loosing lots of medical doctors yearly and this is worrisome to us because one doctor is left to hundreds of patients in a day and you know what that means to the mental state of that practitioner. That is the only way to mitigate the problem.” He stressed.

On arrears for his colleagues, Baki said that the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) salary structure was revised and implemented from January this year but they are yet to see the corresponding response to this on their pay slips.

No doctor however lost his life to the flood which came about as a result of the sudden collapse of the Alau dam 25km away which collapsed and emptied itself into the city centre destroying the homes of over 200,000 people.

48 doctors displaced by the recent flood in maiduguri

EMAN: Zulum bags 5th fellowship award, wins best environmentally friendly governor

By: Our Reporter

Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, has been nominated for the prestigious Honourary Fellow Award by the Environmental Management Association of Nigeria (EMAN), recognizing him as one of the best environmentally friendly governors in the country.

Zulum has received fellowships from the Nigerian Society of Engineers and the Nigerian Institution of Agricultural Engineers. He has also received honorary fellowships from the Nigerian Institute of Architects and the National Postgraduate Medical College.

EMAN, the apex professional body for environmental managers in Nigeria, announced the nomination in a statement issued by its National Secretary, Dr. Ubong Harrison.

The award will be presented to Governor Zulum at the association’s 2024 Annual Conference, scheduled for Wednesday, November 13, 2024, in Abuja.

The conference, themed “Building Resilience Against Land Degradation and Climate Change in Nigeria,” will bring together stakeholders from across the environmental sector.

The Honourary Fellow Award is in recognition of Governor Zulum’s significant contributions to environmental management and sustainable development in Borno State.

Among the key achievements highlighted by EMAN are the timely and effective management of the recent flood disaster that affected parts of the state, as well as the outstanding performance of the Borno State Environmental Protection Agency (BOSEPA).

Additionally, the governor’s leadership in establishing the Great Green Wall Agency, which has spearheaded the planting of millions of trees to combat desertification and climate change, has been lauded by the association.

In its statement, EMAN noted, “In recognition of your numerous contributions to ensuring proper environmental management and sustainable development, we most respectfully invite you to receive the prestigious Honourary Fellow Award.”

The association also commended Borno State’s full participation in the Agro-Climate Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) program, further underscoring the state’s commitment to addressing climate-related challenges.

Governor Zulum’s efforts in environmental stewardship have also been recently recognized by the Nigerian Environmental Society, which awarded him the Environmental Excellence Award.

EMAN: Zulum bags 5th fellowship award, wins best environmentally friendly governor