Peace Corps of Nigeria condemns illegal recriutment

By Eunice Emmanuel-Bagi

  The Kogi State Commandant, Peace Corps of Nigeria, Mr. Caleb Ogaku has asked the general public to disregard the activities of unscrupulous individuals who are extorting money from unsuspecting job seekers claiming to represent the organization.

Mr Ogaku revealed this to The Graphic in an interview at the State headquarters located at the first 200 unit along Ibaji quarters in Lokoja.
He noted that the command has over the last week been awash with some disturbing reports of illegal recriutment by some individuals and organization using an unspecified office around Paparanda Square in Lokoja

He revealed that contrary to the reports making rounds that N70,000-N75,000 is being charged for recriutment into the corps, the actual amount for the purchase of the form is N1500 with no extra charges.
"Based on the magnitude of this criminal act, which is capable of bringing the hard earned reputation of the organization under disrepute, the general public is asked to disregard any of such information" He added.

The State Commandant advised members of the general public who ae interested in enlisting into the organization to visit its website www.peacecorpsofnigeria.org or its office in Lokoja.

CIHP commemorates World AIDS Day in Kogi State

By Eunice Emmanuel-Bagi

The Kogi State Program manager for the Center for Integrated Health Program (CIHP), Doctor Usman Zakari has called for more public awareness against HIV and the stigmatization of people living with HIV/AIDS in Kogi state.

Doctor Usman made the call during a road walk as part of activities to commemorate the World AIDS Day in Lokoja, Kogi State.
He noted that the theme for the year "Hands up for HIV prevention" was to call for attitudinal change toward the disease and to stop discrimination against people living with the disease.

He revealed that although Nigeria has the highest burden of HIV/AIDS in the world, the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in Kogi State  had dropped from 5.8% to 1.4% in the last few years. Adding that the global community is working dilligently to ensure that the world target to achieve a HIV/AIDS free generation by the year 2030 is realised.

Doctor Usman also revealed that since 2004, over 34 billion dollars had been injected into the world fight against HIV/AIDS through the United States Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

"As we commemorate the World AIDS Day, we stand in solidarity with 78million people who have been infected with HIV and remember the 35 million who have died from AIDS. I enjoin the Government of Kogi State and stakeholders to galvanise efforts towards ensuring that the disease is eradicated". He said.

Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson discover King Kong in new 'Kong: Skull Island' trailer

 An explosive battle follows with Kong laying waste to a collection of helicopters leaving Hiddleston and Larson stranded along with their star-studded team consisting of Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman and Corey Hawkins among others.

Also making an appearance is John C. Reilly in a comedic role as a Skull Island survivor who has been living along Kong and explains to the group that the real threat lies beneath.

"Kong is god on the island but the devils live below us," Reilly explains before referring to a group of prehistoric monsters as Skull Crawlers.

Now Hiddleston and his crew must seemingly team up with King Kong in order to survive.

Walt Disney Set To Create A Live-Action Version Of Beauty And The Beast.

  Yep!, this goes to all the movie fans, i remember back in the days of little beginnings when i always watch the 2D version of beauty and the beast, it was one of my favourite cartoon whey too back....But now Walt Disney is doing us all a favour here by creating a Real-Life Version of the film.....Just like Spider-man...Beauty and the Beast is based on the Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont fairy tale, which Disney previously adapted as a 1991 animated movie. The new film is directed by Chicago helmer Bill Condon.

"I was so excited to hear that Disney was thinking about doing a live-action version," the director said in a behind-the-scenes video in September. "When something is so perfect, why get near it? The answer is technology has caught up to the ideas that were introduced in that movie."

Beauty and the Beast opens in theaters March 17, 2017. Official Trailer is out...Watch and download from this link below:Beauty And The Beast Official Trailer

Kogi State Ministry of Environment impoes new control meaures

By Mary Amodu

Determined to ensure total compliance with the rules and regulations of forestry Kogi State commissioner of environment, Mrs Rosemary Osikoya said anyone caught in deforestation will pay a fine worth N750,000
The commissioner, disclosed this in an interview, she said surmounting all litigation the ministry has now embarked on community outreach sensitisation in the 21LGAs, to promote sustainable forest management
She placed more emphasis on the rate at which people destroy the heritage of the State by stealing the resources through deforestation, saying the government is set to restore internal control and promote eco-tourism
According to her, "The Government of Alhaji Yahaya Bello has promised in the new direction blueprint to restore internal control, so as to actualise 10% afforestation annually ".

The commissioner contended that the ministry will ensure that the right thing is done, stressing that Integrated approach such as medicinal plant and wild life should come from the forestry.
Hon Osikoya called on stakeholders, law enforcement agencies, timber contractors and other entities to comply, support and cooperate with the government to preserve the common heritage of Kogi State.

Interim Management of Kogi Savings and Loans Begins Recapitalization Drive

 

  The Interim Management Board of Kogi Savings and loans Ltd has began the ordous task of repositioning the institution. This was made known to the Graphic in an exclusive interview with the Secretary of the Board, Barrister Adejo Amego.

  Barrister Amego noted that one of the major lapses met on ground was that the sum of  N2,500,000,000 which was supposed to have been paid into the Central Bank of Nigeria to recapitalize Kogi Savings and Loans had not been done by the previous management. He added that due to this development, CBN had since January last year ceased any form of communication with Kogi Savings and loans.

The Secretary of the Board added that lack of proper human capacity was another challenge that bedeviled the institution. "We have assessed the six units within the bank and the major challenges in this units are lack of training, some units are understaffed, the I.T department is basically non-existent and the five branches of the institution are not online real time. At the end of the month the other branches come here to do their posting which is not what a banking system should be in the year 2016" He said.

Barrister Amego further explianed that in the 3 months it assumed office, the board had done some major work as regarding recaptilization. One of such plans in the works is the intention by the Board to sell one of its properties, the Lokoja International Market valued at  N6,000,000,000 as a viable tool for recapitalizing Kogi Savings and Loans Ltd.

Also in the area of human capacity development,Barrister Amego revealed that reorganization of all units in the organization through formal trainings thrice a week was presently ongoing. " The institution is making plans to revamp its ICT department by bringing top notch consultants to work in that department, as part of its primary responsibilty as a mortgage bank for lower bracket income earners there are plans by the institution to sell its 121 plots of land at Poly  Quarters to developers for a model housing estate tailored to meet needs of the lower bracket income earners in the state" He said.

Kogi Transport Company A.K.A Kogi Express Gets New Chairman

Chief Ademola Bello was recently appionted as Chairman of the Kogi State Transport Company, he happens to be an  astute Businessman whose wealth of experience has enabled him to thrive in the business of transportation for over a decade, in this interview with Eunice Emmanuel-Bagi he shares his plans to revamp the transport in Kogi State.

Background
I am Chief Ademola Bello, an Indigene of Ayetoro-Amuro in Mopa-Muro Local Government area of Kogi State. I am married and blessed with children. Prior to this appiontment I have served in the capacity of Special Adviser on Project Monitoring and Supervisor for works in Mopamuro Local Government Area. I am also the Managing Director of Destiny Globe Conglomerates, a company that specializes in road construction, transportation, Haulage and distribution.

What is your vision for Kogi Express?

My primary vision for the Kogi Transport Company is to alleviate poverty by increasing the standard of living through the creation of Jobs from the Transportation sector. Kogi State has the advantage of being in the most strategic part of the country, it is bordered by 10 states and also serves as the link between the North and South. I see the Transport sector becoming a vibrant economic hub and a major revenue earner for the state. Another priority of mine is ensuring that there is order in the transport system in the state, before now there has been no sanity with the way transportation has been handled, there has been so much lawlessness with the transport system all of that is going to change.

What is your Blueprint for Kogi Express?

In line with the new direction blueprint of his Excellency Alhaji Yahaya Bello, Kogi State transport company is going to be repositioned and revamped into a world class transportation network that will be one of the best in the country. I am glad that this government has the political will and is highly invested in  harnessing every potential revenue generating sector in the state to bring about development. First on my blueprint is ensuring that the right people with the right skills are given the right jobs to do, we are going to hire trained and experienced personnel to ensure that we give premium transport services to our clients. I am going to put a check to the activities of vehicle touts and illegal motor park operations in the state, the days of hoodlums who use parks as hideouts are over.
Also on my agenda is ensuring that the facilities at the Ultra Modern Park at Felele like the mechanic workshop offer premium and effective services,our restaurants, supermarkets and other services are going to run everyday for 24 hours. I also intend to introduce innovative technology solutions such as self help facilities to make booking and seat reservations easier and more convenient for our clients.

FG's Graduate Inernship Scheme Trains Graduates in Kogi State

By Eunice Emmanuel-Bagi

The Federal Ministry of Finance in collaboration with Peak View Facility Services Limited recently organized a three day career development and entrepreneurship program for graduates in Kogi State.

In her address Hajia Memunat Usman representing the Project Director, Graduate Internship Scheme, Mr. Dennis Chukwu said since its inception,  the scheme had demonstrated high prospects for job creation and social protection of youth. " GIS has entered into special partnerships with governmental and non-governmental organizations to have graduates trained, mentored and supported in areas such as non oil export trade, ICT, agriculture, community health, construction, financial inclusion amongst others" she said.

Hajia usman also noted that so far, 41,161 graduates had benefitted from the scheme with 68% males, 31% females and 1% vulnerable. Adding that over 35,000 have exited the scheme, with thousands of them having secured jobs, credit facilities and grants to expand businesses that they set up using GIS stipends.

In the course of the three day Career Development and Entrepreneurship program, interns received a series lectures on topics ranging from Basic Business Planning and Financial Management Tools for Entrepreneurial Development, Skills Required for the Workplace, Career Development Planning, Basic Concepts for Selling and Promoting Small and Medium Scale Businesses among others.
Principal Consultant of the Peak View facility services, Mr. Henry Osehimolen while speaking on purpose of the training program noted that its aim was to expand the mindset of interns to see their skills as a lifestyle, work independently to explore ways to build soft skills that will give them an edge in their job seeking endeavors.

The interns who had served out their one year said the program had Mr. Sunday Adaji one of the interns said he had been able to buy two motorcycles to start a transportation business from the money he saved from the GIS stipends.

Another intern Mrs Blessing Nwankwo said "at the course of the program I was posted to a school and I immensely enjoyed the teaching experience. With the one year teaching experience I had garnered I was able to get a teaching job with the Kogi State Teaching Service Commission and I also started a fresh juice and pop corn making business".
Mr. Adejo Gambo another intern said the program had changed his life forever. "In the course of this program I was able to save some money and start a sheep farming business, so far I have realized over N120, 000 from my farming business" He said.

Bloggers Diary: Just Do It

You know that voice in your head that is still and small, the one that tells youto do something that you have never done before, the one that tells you to do something beyond your comfort zone. Yes that voice! please listen to it by all means necessary, I refused to listen to that voice and I lost an opportunity I might never have again.

I let the voice of fear limit me, I doubted myself and my abilities and I am paying for it. My Fiance( God bless him) has tried to consol me by playing the there be other opportunities to come but I know that this one was an opportunity of a life time.

I have made mistake and oh yes have I learnt from it, I have learnt  that you must trust your gut, you must trust instincts no matter how daunting something might seem or look like because the choices and the risks we take today are the representations of the life that we will have tonorrow.

Oh boy did I mess up this time, I really screwed myself this time.

.....Next time I have the feeling in my gut to something I’m going to be like Nike, I'm going Just Do It!!!

25 Tourist Destinations in Kogi State

Bordered by 10 states including the Federal Capital Territory the 25 year old Kogi State was created out of Kwara and Benue states in 1991. Since this time Kogi state has grown in tremendous leaps and bounds. The State boasts of a rich cultural heritage in the uniqueness of its indeginous ethnic groups which are the Igala, Ebira, Okun Bassa-Nge, Bassa- Komo, Kakanda, Kupa, Ogori-Magongo, Nupe, Oworo and Gwari ethnic groups.

The State which has a rich colonial history and breath takingly beautiful land marks also boasts of amazing tourist destinations, sights, an amazing pre colonial and post colonial history. Lokoja the State's capital was  the first administrative centre of Nigeria, It served as the first capital of the old Northern protectorate and even after the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorate in 1914. For Nigerians and International tourists alike who are looking for the perfect globetrotting and excursionist experience here are 25 top tourist destinations in Kogi State.

1, The Palace of the Ohinoyi of Ebira Land in Okene
Reputed to be the most beautiful palace in West Africa. The grand palace edifice which was built in 1927 was constructed with the combination of ancient and mordern architecture. The palace serves as a political, historic, traditional and religious power house for the Ebira Kingdom.

2, The Statue of Inikpi in Idah
Situated at Ega in the heart of Idah Ancient market the statue of princess Inikpi serves as a reminder of the bravery of Princess Inikpi the beautiful daughter of Ayegbu Omo Idoko, the Atta of Igala who gave her life to forestall the destruction of the Igala people by the Jukuns. It is said that when the Jukun army advanced to destroy the Igala kingdom they saw the whole kingdom in flames and retreated feeling that there was no need taking war to a place that was already on fire. The supposed fire the Jukuns saw is said to be the blood of Inikpi.

3, The Awo Tunnel in Idah
The tunnel which is about one Kilometer long was dug during the reign of Onaja Obani in the 18th century and it served as a hiding place for the royal family during the wars in Idah.

4, The 400 year old Odogo Tower in Idah
The Aadouge (Odogo) tower is a historical edifice used by the then Attah of Igala Oma'Idoko as a watch tower for survelliance on the activities of enemies of the Igala Kingdom (The Junkuns and the Benin people) the 400 year old Odogo tower made of local materials has survived the elements  and still stands to this day.

5, The Koton- Karfe Cave
The Koton-Karfe cave has three openings on the elevated side of a hill directly over looking Koton-Karfe. The cave is said to be able to accomodate up to 500 persons.

6, Eganja warm spring in Bassa
The natural warm spring is said to be found in Eganja in the Bassa Local Government area of Kogi State.

7, The Ofejiji Fall in Okura
Located in Okura-Olafia the Ofejiji water fall is a major  tourist destination in Kogi State.


8, Okoro-Agbo Mountain
Besides the popular Mount Patti, the Okoro-Agbo mount is yet another spectacular hill formation located in Ogidi in the Ijumu Local Government area of the State.

9, The National Museum, Lokoja
The National Museum was established in 1989. Located in Lokoja the state capital of Kogi State the museum collections focus on Nigeria's colonial history and ethnography. The museum also houses relics and momentos of Lord Frederick Lugard including his properties and records of his administration.


10, The Aafin-Kabba
The Aafin-Kabba is the old Obaro’s palace located in the Kabba LGA. It is built of mud and believed to be about two centuries old.
11,  The Confleunce of River Niger and Benue
Rivers Niger and Benue are the two largest rivers in West Africa and the two rivers meet at Lokoja forming a Y shaped structure and draining southwards into the ocean. River Niger remained a marvel to the Europeans until John and Richard Landers passed through the confleunce in 1830 completing the journey that Mungo Park had earlier started.  The confleunce of this two great rivers can be clearly seen from the top of Mount Patti. Both rivers have distinct colours, River Benue is light green in colour and River Niger is brown in colour. Ferry and Boat cruise services are available with in view of the confleunce. Due to the presence of the rivers there is an abundance of fish in the Kogi State.


12, Mount Patti in Lokoja
Mount Patti which gets its name from the Nupe word for Hill stands at 452 meters above sea level over the city of Lokoja. Nigeria's Premier Governor General, Lord Frederick Lugard who ruled between 1914 and 1919 discovered the beauty and strategic position of this massive hill which once provided refuge to the Nupe natives who were its earliest inhabitants. In the year 1900, Lord Frederick Lugard built a rest house a top the hill so he could enjoy the panaromic view of the scenary around Lokoja.The hill also offers a good view of the confleunce of the Benue and Niger Rivers. The serene ambience and cool weather on Mount Patti is a  clear contrast to the prevailing hot weather in Lokoja, despite it's lush vegetation there are no traces of mosquitoes anywhere on the hill.

13,  The Egah Ane Bridge
   The Egah Ane bridge deserves to be one of the seven wonders of the world. This natural bridge serves as a boundary between the Ofu and Olamaboro Local Government areas of Kogi state. The bridge located along Ejule-Otukpa branch is said to have been in existence for over a century is so durable that even heavy duty vehicles like trucks and lorries can move over this natural brigde without a hitch.


14, The Inacholo River in Idah
The Inacholo river which served as a boundary between the Jukuns and Igala people was cursed by then Attah of Igala as a measure of preventing Jukuns from entering Igala land through the river. Due to this curse it said that no fish from this river is to be eaten. The popular believe is that when a fish caught from the Inacholo river is caught for cooking it will never get cooked no matter how long it stays on fire.

15, The Ogegen-Osi in Magongo
Located at the eastern part of Magongo in a range of mountains that flows from the Agheva axis down to Edo state. It consists of a huge cave that can house between 300-500 persons. Legend has it that whenever there was a war the cave served as shelter for the whole community. During the Ajinomo war by the Nupe's who tried to invade the region to capture slaves for the white man it is said that the people of Magongo ran to the top of the Ogengen-Osi and when they saw their enemies approaching they rolled stones from atop the Ogengen-Osi on their enemies. During Owiya-Osese festival(festival of chastity) thousands of people flock to the Ogengen-Osi on the Friday before the festival to see the wonderful works of mother nature on the Ogengen-Osi. Some its features include stones that interlock with each other to form seats, crevices that are so big they could almost pass as rooms. From atop the Ogengen-Osi there is a panoramic view of the entire village down to Edo State. The water in Ogengen-Osi is said to never run dry and has healing properties.

        16,  The Colonial Water works in Agbaja
The Agbaja community rests atop a plateau, the plateau which is 335 meters above sea level is 14 kilometers from Lokoja. the colonial water works was built in 1950 to meet the water needs of the Oworo people. The contraption which powered water from below the valley to the the top of the valley for the entire community can still be seen in Agbaja till this day.

17,  Colonial Rest House in Agbaja
The colonial rest houses were built by the colonial administrators as a resting place after a long days work. The Houses which were built years before the Nigerian Independence still stand atop the plateau and have since become a popular tourist attractions.

18, Oluwo Hole in Agbaja
The Oworo festival is done in commeration of the Oluwo hole. The Oluwo hole is a large hole located in a rock. It is said that during wars people ran into the hole to seek refuge, anytime the hole is worshipped by the Oworo people it is said to bring rain. During the Oworo festival, there are competitions of all sorts including the Masquerade competition were contestants go as far as tying the legs of opponents to prevent their masquerades from dancing well.

19, The Iron of Liberty in Lokoja
The Iron of Liberty refers to the spot were slaves were freed in 1860 by anti slavery British crusaders. The Iron of Liberty is one of the most significant leftovers of slavery in Kogi State. It is said that any slave who touched the Iron Liberty instantly regained their freedom. The Iron Liberty is situated on a landed property owned by the Holy Trinity Church in Lokoja. The land also holds the final resting place of Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther.

20, Holy Trinity Primary School in Lokoja
The first primary school in northern Nigeria was founded by Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther in 1860. The Holy Trinity Primary School to a very large extent pioneered the spread of education in northern Nigeria. Students came from far and wide to acquire western education in the school. The school stil remains in Lokoja till this day.

21, Lord Lugards Residence and Office in Lokoja
The building which used to be the seat of administrative power in Nigeria was constructed in  1901. The prefabricated structure was said to have been brought to Lokoja from England in 1900. It is said that no single nail was used in its construction.

22, World War Cenotaph in Lokoja
 The cenotaph was built in memory of soldiers who lost their lives during the Second World War. This is a massive concrete block on top of which is mounted an old artillery. Beside it are light cannons and machine guns mounted on small pavements and the names of the soldiers who distinguished themselves during the wars were written on tables mounted on the side of the cenotaph.

23, Osome Falls in Okene
Located in Ukpogo, Okene local Government area of  Kogi state.the Osome falls begins as a stream that winds its way through vast igneous rocks of varying heights and sharply descends into a valley about 50m below the towering rocks, producing thunderous sounds which could be heard about one hundred metres away.

24, The European Cemetry in Lokoja
The biggest European cementary in Nigeria with remains of european soldiers of the West African Frontier Force (WAFF) in Lokoja until 1926 and those of European missionaries. Some of the tomb stones in the cementaries date as far back as 1867.

25, 100 year old Boabab tree on Mount Patti
On pount Patti rests a boabab tree believed to be over a 100 years old. The tree stands adjacent to Lord's Lugard guest house. Tourists on ascending Mount Patti are known to inscribe their names or initials on the tree. This they believe will serve as evidence that they have been to Mount Patti. The tree is believed to also contain healing attributes and is used by by herbalists and spiritualists for ritual purposes. A lot of charms can be seen hanging on the the tree.

Report by Eunice Emmanuel-Bagi for shinkafa.blogspot.com

CIHP has counseled and tested 500,000 persons for HIV/AIDs since inception in Kogi State

Dr. Zakari Usman is the Program Manager for the Center for Integrated Health Project (CIHP), Kogi State. In an exclusive interview with Eunice Emmanuel-Bagi he gives an in-depth analysis of CIHP projects, its support programs, achievements and challenges.

Background My name is Zakari Usman, I am the state Program Manager for CIHP, kogi. I'm responsible for all the CIHP operations in Kogi State. This includes technical intervention of facilities, financial management, Human resources, managing relationship with Government and stakeholders as well as other partners in the state. In summary, I am responsible for all of CIHP's operations and feasibility in Kogi State.

ABOUT CIHP
CIHP is an acronym for Center for Integrated Health Programs, it is an acronym for the Center for Integrated Health Programs, it is a leading indigenous Non-Governmental Organization established to promote better health for Nigerians and basically what we do is create strong and sustainable health systems through partnership using HIV as an entry point to health systems strengthening. Partnership is one word that we use repeatedly because most of the things we do are done through partnership. We evolved from an international NGO the Colombian International Center for AIDs Program (ICAP).
ICAP has been in Kogi State since 2007/2008 as an international NGO but in 2011 at the instance of our funders which is the United States Government through the Center for Disease Control (CDC) we transited and became completely indigenous in 2011. We are a hundred percent indigenous, non-governmental, non-religious, non-political organization. We have continued to support family centered highly focused high quality Comprehensive HIV/AIDs care and treatment. We are a Center for disease control (CDC) implementing partner funded through Presidents’ Emergency Plan for AIDs Relief (PEPFAR) for the BRIDGES PROJECT.

We are the Lead implementing PEPFAR/GF Partner in all the states that work with CIHP. CIHP has its headquarters in Abuja, we work in four states namely; Kogi, Kaduna, Gombe and Benue states.The PEPFAR Fund is a US government public health intervention for HIV/AIDS, it began in 2004 to mitigate the impact of HIV in resource poor and high burden countries,Nigeria is one of the benefitting countries. We have supported most health facilities in the state beginning with one facility then expanding to four facilities later seven facilities until we scaled up and were in almost all the local governments in the state. This was until the concept of rationalization was introduced by our funders. Rationalization meant that the US Government wanted just one implementing partner and one agency in each state for reasons of accountability.

Until recently we were supporting 34 comprehensive health facilities and about 239 primary health care facilities and four CBO's but the numbers have reduced to 12 comprehensive facilities and 34 primary health facilities that are sustained using the recent PEPFAR/CDC guideline.

 BREAK THROUGHS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

Since inception 500,000 persons have been counseled and tested for HIV/AIDS in kogi State, equally too over 126,000 women who attend antenatal clinics during pregnancy have also been screened for HIV and availed Prevention of Mother to Child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) Services, Over 2600 women have been provided with Anti-retroviral drugs that will prevent infection of HIV from mothers who are HIV positive to their children.

We currently have over 14,000 persons across all the health facilities that we support taking Anti-Retroviral Drugs for their health. We have equally intervened in the areas of health system strengthening intervening in all the six building blocks; that is service delivery, health care finance, health management information system, drug vaccines and technology and leadership and governance.

We met facilities in dilapidated states which we have upgraded (tiling, roofing, restructuring) etc. We have supplied almost all of the facilities we support with power generating plants, some boreholes and also resusciteurs to some facilities; we have also supplied laboratory equipment worth millions that are used for Hematology and chemistry, including CD4 machines for people who are HIV positive.

CIHP has continually provided trainings and mentorship for the health workforce in the facilities and the ministries and Hospital management board. We train them on HIV/AIDs prevention, treatment and care, TB/HIV activities, Pharmaceutical care and logistics management, Laboratory services for use of the supplied machines to trouble shooting and quality assurances, clinical systems mentorship, integrated supportive supervision as well as leadership and management not forgetting of course monitoring and evaluation. As I speak with you we still provide support for them for continuing medical education such that they are continually abreast with cutting edge findings.

In the past, we employed Doctors, Pharmacists, Nurses and Laboratory Scientists and other cadres of staff that were providing services across government facilities.  For leadership and governance, we have trained management of the State Ministry of Health, Kogi State Agency for the Control of AIDs (KOSACA), Hospital Management Board and State Health Primary Health Care Development Agencies (KSPHCDA). We embark on scheduled joint mentoring and supportive supervisory visits with select members from the Ministry of Health, Hospital management board and KOSACA so that that they see what we do. We do this to transfer skills to them and let them see firsthand the things we do and how we do them.

In the area of orphans and vulnerable children there is a lot of support for them, in times past we used to pay school fees buy school uniforms, school bags and enroll orphans and vulnerable children in schools. Now we have moved from that to block granting, by block granting we identify a school where there are orphans and vulnerable children and have an agreement, we have a committee for it. We discuss the dire needs of the school, toilets, leaking roofs, furniture, and broken windows. We look for a capital project instead of paying cash we now decide on what to do for the school and the advantage of this is that when you pay school fees, buy uniforms and all that the child can go to school for that term for which you have paid the fees, next term you pay again. What happens when there is a problem with funding? Or if the project priority changes based on the funders dictate or you come to the end of the programs life span and these children have not graduated from school. What we do now is block granting where we have an agreement with the school to carry out the structural repairs or equip library or even buy instructional material so that a number of children will be enrolled and go through the six years of primary education without paying school fees.  And for children who are heads of households, because we can’t send this demographic to school, we develop their skills by training them on marketable skills like ICT, hair dressing, fashion design among others. For the caregivers of the people living with HIV/AIDs we have the village savings and loans scheme where we organize them in such a way that they become a formidable group that can access funds, some groups have farms etc.

 INSIGHT INTO BRIDGES PLUS AND SCOPE PROJECTS

BRIDGES is our CDC treatment and care program. BRIDGES is an acronym for Bridging the Gap and Ensuring Sustainability. It is a grant from CDC to provide treatment and care, almost all the treatment and care I mentioned earlier is from this grant. The SCOPE is another CDC grant; SCOPE is an acronym for Strengthening Skills and Competencies of Care Providers for Enhanced Service delivery. What we do by SCOPE is work with health training institutions in Kogi State, we have three of them namely, School of Nursing Obangede, School of Health Technology Idah, School of Midwifery at Grimard Hospital Anyigba. The essence is to provide the students with pre-services training and competencies that will enable them provide care and support to People Living with HIV (PLHIV) after graduation from these institutions.

 Digressing a bit from Kogi State we are also working with the Federal Ministry of Health to develop a health work force information system. We have an electronic registry of the entire Health workforce in the country working with regulatory bodies, nursing and midwifery council, Nigerian Medical and Dental council, Medical Laboratory council, Pharmaceutical council to have a bank of the entire health workforce. A large number of them have already been captured in the Federal ministry of health data base so that we can have a basis and statistics that can help us make appropriate policies backed with evidence. We have also worked with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria to reduce the stress of registering for their licenses. Before now, registration was done manually at the State Ministries of Health or in Abuja at the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria office, now you can do the registration online conveniently at the comfort of your offices. All this was because of the intervention of CIHP through the SCOPE project.

 FUTURE PROSPECTS FOR CIHP PROJECTS IN KOGI STATE

We are implementing partners and as implementing partners we work with grants but we also work with other corporate funders like the MTN Foundation in some states. The MTN Yellow Doctor provides basic medical care; there is a van with life support machines and clinical services items that moves from community to community providing basic medical services. MTN supports CIHP with counterpart from state, we are just about to close the SCOPE program with all these gigantic achievements I mentioned earlier. We are still on with the BRIDGES PLUS project till 2017 and hope to be around for as long as there are newer projects under which Kogi is covered.

 CHALLENGES FACED SINCE CIHP IMPLEMENTATION IN KOGI STATE

Like every other development work we have had a number of setbacks, chief amongst them is the lack of political will. Over the years there have been a lot of issues with the funding for health as a development partner we are supposed to help bridge the gap while the government takes the driving seat, but as it is we have been at the fore front in almost all the interventions. For example apart from PEPFAR, Global Fund and support from World Bank the states’ contribution to HIV/AIDs response has been embarrassingly low. That goes to say that we are constrained because there is a limit to what we can do but if we have the Government doing its own part in terms of policy implementation, financing the budget for health, we may not have most of the challenges that we have and more funds will be free for service provision. The second challenge is the attitude of health care workers; most of the health care workers see the HIV/AIDs program, the Tuberculosis program and malaria program as not being part of the integral core of the hospital deliverables. When you come to mentor them and give them support, they see it as your problem.
There is also gross human resource inadequacy, some facilities are understaffed, some are redundant, in some facilities you have 8 Admin staff and 2 nurses, and there is lopsidedness in the distribution of health care workers.  Heath workers are poorly motivated, in a situation where somebody works for six months and is not paid it is very demotivating, some of them begin to absent themselves from work and you can’t blame them. This also leads to incessant strike actions, the strike actions leads to the loss of patients who are lost to follow up.

FUNDING AND PARTNERSHIPS

CIHP partners with the Federal Government, the State Government otherwise we will not be able to be here. There is nothing that we do here that the state government is not aware of. We also partner with other organizations; we have four community based organizations that we partner with because we cannot implement all of our programs our self. The Orphans and Vulnerable Children program is one of the programs that we sub granted to the CBOs. We also partner with health facilities and other development partners to ensure that there is synergy with the people we serve. Our partnership cuts across the Federal Government, State Government, other development partners, and community based organizations, religious bodies and private organizations. On fund generation we as implementing partners get our funds from CDC based on the response for Request for Application (RFA), and we also get funding from Global Fund. The funding processes are open and competitive for all implementing partners.

Uhmmm!....Something happened on this day, right?

Francisco "Pancho" Villa surrendered to Mexican authorities and drowned his sorrows in a bottle of cognac. in 1920

Our Social Media Generation

         
      I do not know if it still applies to the present day secondary school system but back then after the Junior Common Entrance Examinations you were given an extra long vacation. Mine was in 2005 and I remember spending it reading. I read every single book in our personal library at home from my fathers big Medical books that had words in them like "thromboxanes" and "vasoconstrictors" to books by african authors like Ama Ata Aidoo, Mongo Beti, Florence Nwapa and others. I became a regular face at the Stella Obasanjo Library and my parents encouraged my voracious reading habit by buying me books on whatever new topic had caught my fancy from black slavery to my obsession with amassing encyclopedia's.

       I remember the year I read 173 books, I had been in a competition with my younger brother to see how many books we got to read that year sadly he won that contest. Well that was then, now I feed myself off the unintellectual content that is the make up of most of the blogs out there. A habit that is just as unhealthy as eating junk food, you know that it's consequence is damaging but you still indulge in it.

        Our generation in 2016 would rather watch"keeping up with the kardashians" as opposed to watching a documentary on the evolving trends in technology or the new discoveries in stem cell research. We read "linda Ikeji" as opposed to Peter. H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler's "Abundance".
         When we have the occasional guilt trip about not reading enough, we read books with obsqure titles like "How to become rich like Dangote overnight". We are a generation highly invested in consumerism, selfie obsessed and grossly superficial.We have become a generation whose parameters for success and excellence are all centered around  materialism.

         I wonder what values and legacies our generation will be giving to our posterity if we are a generation that do not know who Bennet Omalu and Olaudiah Equiano were or what they stood for and if we do not know that while we were chatting  on Facebook  a Nigerian had invented one of the first chip multi processors in the world with support for Thread Level Speculation(TLS).

         We are the generation that would rather use an emoticon, a meme or gif to pass an important message across or better yet we would rather abbreviate words when writing because it's more convenient. So that we may get on with the busy schedules in our lives, schedules like becoming an Instagram celebrity.

The Six Genotypes

   When we took Biology  back then in secondary school, we were taught not so extensively about the human genotype and we were told that there were three types of genotpes the AA, AS and SS. This however is an erroneous information that needs to be corrected as there are actually six major genotypes in humans. They are the AA, AS, AC, SS, CC, and SC.
The genotype is the genetic makeup of an indiviual in reference to a trait or multiple traits. they are the collection of genes passed from parents to the children. To understand the human genotype it is relevant to understand what haemoglobin(Hb) genotype is. Blood is a liquid tissue made up of a fliud called plasma, the plasma contains several blood cells suspended in it mainly the red blood cells, white blood cells and the platelets.The haemoglobin(Hb) is contained within the red blood cell and its what gives the blood its red colour and the capacity to carry oxygen.
The genes dictate the total make up of human beings, it dictates eye colour, skin colour, haemoglobin type and other human characteristics. The haemoglobin genotype dictates the type of haemoglobin our blood cells contain. In essence the type of haemoglobin genotype we bear depends on what we inherit from our parents.
The AA genotype(Hb AA) is the healthy genotype, the AA person has two normal genes. however it out of all six genotypes is the most prone to malaria. According to an assesment carried out at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, results showed that children with genotype AA(92%) were more susceptible to the malaria parasite than AS(5.1%) and SS(2.6%)
Previously conducted research has shown that malaria parasites have a high rate of oxygen consumption and ingest large amounts of haemoglobin during the peripheral blood stage of replication this makes the AA blood more conducive and malaria parasite thrives better in it.
The AS genotype(Hb AS) has one normal and one abnormal gene thus they are considered sickle cell trait or carriers. The AS(Hb AS) genotype are usually strong and can survive mosquitoe attack generally.
The AC(Hb AC) genotype is found at the highest frequencies in West Africa. People with the AC genotype have red blood cells that have haemoglobin A, the normal gene and haemoglobin C an abnormal gene. People with this genotype rarely have malaria as the genotype has been associated with protection against malaria. People with this genotype do not have the sickle cell or haemoglobin C disease but can pass off the trait to their offsprings.
People with the SC genotype(Hb SC) are susceptible to health complications that come from the haemoglobin C disease.This health complications include mild to moderate enlargement of the spleen, Anemia, occasional jaundice may occur and some persons with this disease may develop gall stones that require treatment.Sickle cell crisis in people with SC is usually not as severe as those wit SS.
The individual with the SS genotype(Hb SS) is said to have the sickle cell disease and is usually referred to as a sickler. A sickler is anyone that has the Hb S, C or any other abnormal genotype from both parents. Such a person usually falls sick every now and then and this sickness is called a crisis. The crisis are a range of health complications including swelling of hands and feet in children, fever, aches and pain, nausea, vomiting, jaundice, insomia, delayed menstration, necrosis of any area that is impaired amongst others.
The CC genotype(Hb CC) is a very rare genotype. the Individual with this genotype is a carrier of the haemoglobin C from both parents. Most people with the Hb CC genotype do not have outward symptoms but when they do occur, the symptoms are Chlolelitithasis(gall stones that require treatment), Splenomegaly(big spleen), Angliod streaks(poor vision), Aplastic crisis( episodes of severe anemia).Folic acid supplements are required to help the body with red blood cell production and improve symptoms of anemia. Unlike the Hb SS genotype, people with Hb CC have a normal life expectancy.
It is important that an individual knows his/her genotype as early possible, this way the quality of life can be improved and well managed. Avoid going to quack laboratories for genotype tests, definitely the lab technicians will assume AA, AS, or SS since the symptoms of the other three geneotypes are similar to these popular genotypes. Note that only people with the AA genotype can marry people with the AC, AS, SC , SS, or CC genotypes without medical complications arising with their offsprings.

Baby Photo shoots; Expectation versus Reality

Baby photo shoots are certainly the it thing right now, the breath taking pictures of cherubic looking children would melt your heart and make you want to have one yourself. So when you do have one you can not wait to have a photo shoot of your baby and as it turns out, expectations are never like the reality.

And here's proof!

Goat Yoga......So Cool, Check Out This Instuctor Doing Just That.

 An Oregon farmer announced upcoming "Goat Yoga" classes with a video of a yoga instructor performing poses with a baby goat on her back.
The video, posted to YouTube by Lainey Morse, shows a professional yoga instructor attempting to perform poses outside while a baby goat balances on her back.

The woman's yoga routine is complicated by the fact that the goat appears more interested in nibbling on the instructor's yoga pants than participating in the fitness regimen.
"The person in the video is the yoga professional that is giving Yoga classes at my farm and we're calling it Goat Yoga," the uploader wrote online. "I had her out to practice and I put the goat on her back. It was the first take so it was a little awkward for her but super adorable."

Russian Scientist Now Pose as SuperHeroes and Super-Villians By Using Chemical Elements

Russian scientists think they are superheroes. And maybe they're right. They light themselves on fire, and douse themselves with liquid nitrogen. Why? In order to inspire the younger generation and to make them feel passionate about science. "Superhero From Chemistry" is a photography project in which scientists vividly depict nature's elements without resorting to Photoshop.
The 19 photographs of each participating scientist represent a chemical element, a substance or a natural phenomenon and are accompanied by informative or humorous slogans. They remind viewers that ice is lighter than water, Argentina was named after silver, carbon is the basis of all organic matter, and rubber stretches like days from paycheck to paycheck.

Photos and the video in ArtNauka's "Superhero From Chemistry: A Social Experiment on Russian Scientists" project were placed in the public domain and have spread around the Internet. Participants come from different disciplines and include Russian physicists, engineers, a mathematician and a molecular biologist. The team also has actors and business innovation experts.
ArtNauka began in Russia five years ago when it held a small show in a Moscow shopping center. Now, the team frequently appears on national TV, at science festivals, corporate parties and team-building events. Their customers include Gazprom, Volkswagen and Audi, and they also toured China and Italy.
"Crash tests of detergents and winter shoes, a life hack for Easter eggs, cryogenic shows, molecular gastronomy – this combination of science and special effects has turned out to be extremely popular," said Nikolai Novosyolov, head of ArtNauka. "There is no other show like this in Russia or anywhere."
According to Novosyolov, "Superhero From Chemistry" is designed for millennials – fans of Marvel Comics, Deadpool and X-Men.
"Today, marketers have a much greater impact on people than real scientists," Novosyolov said. "And it's no surprise that society is afraid of, for example, artificial intelligence. We decided that we would become – through superheroes – the personification of chemistry and chemical elements for teenagers around the world. So already at a young age they will see that science is interesting and not something to be afraid of."
In "Fire From Palms."' a prop was used for the "oil" image; and for the photo of "Liquid Nitrogen" 10 liters of liquid nitrogen was poured on the model.
ArtNauka's creators rely entirely on their own genius and the talent of the photographer and make-up artists. To select the latter was very difficult; only four out of the 20 leading makeup artists in Moscow had a strong understanding of chemistry and knew how to depict it.

Meet the human hulk

   Sajad Gharibi is a 24 year old weight lifter from Iran who has become te rave of the internet and lookbat his big burly mien its not hars tobsee why.

     The human big  hulk weighs a whooping 345 pounds of mostly muscle. The Instagram celebrity is popularly called "The Persian Hercules" or "Iranian Hulk" loves to workout(obviously) and has represented his country in powerlifting and body building competitions.

Yikes! He certainly looks like he can kill a grizzly with those hands

Iceland expected to elect 'ordinary guy' historian as next president

The presidential election in Iceland was expected to see the lowest voter turnout in decades, while historian Gudni Johannesson was expected to win easily based on the commanding lead in the polls.

 

A historian and sports fan with no experience in politics is likely to be elected president of Iceland Saturday, with experts suggesting voter turnout will be even lower than expected because of the Euro Cup in France.

Gudni Johannsson had a 49-point lead over his nearest competitor as Icelandic voters hit the polls Saturday, replacing President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, who is stepping down from the post after five straight terms.

 

Johannsson, a 47-year-old historian and political commentator, declared his candidacy after the release of the Panama Papers leak indicated several high ranking members of the country's government were involved in offshore accounts. Included on the list was former Prime Minister Sigmundur Davio Gunnlaugsson, who resigned from the post as a result of his and wife's accounts being revealed.

Grimsson announced in January he would not seek re-election this year to the largely ceremonial post and Johannsson said friends started encouraging him to run, though he did not seriously consider it until April when the Panama Papers scandal hit.

Johannsson said he was unsure about running, but based on the "total loss of trust" he thinks most people have had in public and political institutions after the 2008 financial crash, and especially after leaders in Iceland were shown to be covering up financial impropriety, it was time to run.

"I was on TV explaining what went on from day to day, and this trickle of encouragement for me to run (for president) turned into a flood," Johannsson told The Sydney Morning Herald. "I'm not feeling it was the right moment -- talk to me in 12 years. I have a great job and my career has been going fine. It was a matter of choosing between the security of what you know and the challenge of seeking this big position in the land. I'm a sports person and I decided just to go for it."

Johannsson was expected to deliver on the large lead in the polls with an at least 10 percent of Iceland's population in France for Euro Cup 2016 and many more paying full attention to the soccer tournament.

About 65 percent voter turnout was expected for the election, which would represent a record low turnout in Iceland and continue a slide that saw about 66 percent of voters participate in the last legislative election in 2014.

Between excitement over the soccer tournament and growing dissatisfaction with leaders in the country, Johannsson has led continuously since the start of the election cycle and is expected to pull out the win.

"I am just an ordinary guy," Johannsson said. "I am a historian, an academic, a person who I hope people see like 'he's a likeable guy, I could chat with this guy over a beer or I could go camping with him and his family and it would be fun’. “This is what the Icelanders are looking for."

 

1.6 million Brits signed a petition for another E.U. referendum. They shouldn’t hold their breath.

 Yes. It's actually happening. People in Britain are talking seriously about the possibility of another referendum.

A petition set up on Friday calling for another referendum on whether Britain should stay in the European Union has already received more than 1.6 million signatures — a level that means it must now be debated by British politicians. It was apparently so popular that the British Parliament's website, where the petition was hosted, briefly crashed.

The drive for a new referendum is coming from those who had hoped to "remain" in the E.U. Thursday's referendum was fairly close — the "leave" vote won with just 51.9 percent. And so the petition for a new referendum suggests there should be a rule that in referendums with less than 75 percent turnout (Thursday's vote was 72.2 percent), there should be another referendum unless a decision is reached by more than 60 percent of those voting.

Could this plan actually work? Might Britain actually vote again and decide to stay in the E.U.? Well, it's certainly possible. But that doesn't mean it’s not completely daft.

Why it is (kind of) possible

It would be an odd move to have a referendum immediately after a previous referendum on the same subject provided a clear outcome. But, frankly, this entire situation is odd.

Britain has only ever had three nationwide referendums. Generally, major policy decisions are decided by the country's elected officials. As many have noted, this referendum was only called in a bid by Prime Minister David Cameron to calm tensions over the E.U. within his own Conservative Party ahead of a general election. Cameron thought he could win. Obviously he was completely mistaken.

Thursday's referendum wasn't actually legally binding — Cameron could have set it up to be so (a nationwide 2011 referendum was set up to be), but he apparently decided better of it. This means that, in theory at least, the British government could completely ignore the results and do whatever it thinks is best.

Of course, doing that would anger the majority of the country who voted to leave the E.U. But a new referendum could provide some democratic justification to the decision.

 

The close result does help the argument somewhat. Britain's 1975 referendum on membership of the European Economic Community was decided by a 67.2 percent vote to stay in. In the 2011 vote (on whether to use the Alternative Vote electoral system) was decided by 67.9 percent of the vote. Nigel Farage, a key Brexit supporter, unwittingly provided support for this argument by saying that if "remain" won by a "52 to 48" margin, there would be "unfinished business" and an argument for another vote.

Another additional factor is the various reports of those who voted "leave" but now say they are dismayed at what has happened. Many of these accounts seem to suggest that the "leave" voter in question thought their vote would serve as a protest vote. "I didn’t think my vote was going to matter too much because I thought we were just going to 'remain,'" one man told the BBC on Friday, adding that he was "quite worried" about the effect.

Why it's completely daft

Okay. There are a few things to unpick here, so we'll go through them step by step.

• Ignoring the clear result of a referendum is unfair. Sure, the results of Thursday's vote were close, but they were pretty conclusive. 51.9 percent is a better mandate than most governments win for a general election, for example. It would also be political suicide for Britain's government to effectively say "your vote didn't count" to half the country. And 1.6 million may want a new referendum, but 17 million already voted in one to leave.
• You can't retroactively legislate like this. The proposal outlined in the petition would require setting up laws and then retroactively applying them to Thursday's vote. To put it simply, that's not how laws work.
• Petitions don't mean much. Now that the petition has over 100,000 votes it will be debated by Parliament, but British members of Parliament have no imperative to act on it. Petitions get lots of signatures all the time and nothing happens: Remember the debate on whether to ban Donald Trump from Britain earlier this year?
• "Remain" might still lose anyway. For those who supported "remain," the idea that "leave" voters are regretful voters who didn't know what they were doing is heartening. However, we only have anecdotal evidence of a few regretful pro-Brexit voters who have talked to media outlets. Until there is a vigorously conducted poll that shows otherwise, it’s fair to conclude that "leave" would win a second referendum anyway.

What could possibly happen?

That said, there is a lot of uncertainty in the air. Cameron has already said he would step down, which will trigger a leadership contest for the Conservatives. There are signs that Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, may also be forced to step down. Some wonder whether there could be another general election before the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Britain has not yet triggered Article 50 — the procedure for actually leaving the E.U. — and there are signs it may try to delay doing so as long as possible. If there is a general election, how and when to leave the E.U. would probably become a major issue.

Even when Article 50 is invoked, negotiations may take up to two years. Any new deal with the E.U. will have to pass Parliament. Some in Westminster are saying that it should probably be put to referendum again. If that happens, it may well be the last chance for "remain" to have their voice heard.