Lexy Blog

Oil spill at Ogoniland In recent times, the media has been awash with report of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) which showed the level of despoliation of Ogoniland by oil explorers, doing business in the oil-rich region of the country. Alexander Chiejina examines the scenario and calls for necessary legal framework to end this impasse In April 2010, the entire world watched in awe how 4.9 million barrels of oil spew into the Gulf of Mexico after an explosion on BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. For anyone who followed the frenzy the spill generated, one would think the world is going through its first oil spill. Businesses were endangered and the environment compromised as the gush from the oil spill led to loss of aquatic life. The seriousness of the issue was underlined with the numerous visits of the United States President Barack Obama to the spill sites. In less than two months after the spill, the American government was able...

Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, Minister of health, Nigeria …As FG targets N4trn for health secto Up until late 1980’s, remarkable progress had been made in the development of Primary Health  Care (PHC) at the Local Government Areas (LGAs) largely responsible for healthcare at this level, with support from the state ministries of health and within the overall national health policy. This move was born out of the fact that people, especially in the rural areas, needed to access affordable medicare in a system that delivers quality, integrated services with the participation of all stakeholders in the health sector. The result of this placed Nigeria in the front row of countries across the globe advanced the process of equitably improving the health and quality of life of their people through primary health care. In order to capitalise on these achievements, the National Primary Health care Development Agency (NPHCDA) was established follow...

  …As national policy on eHealth remains non-existent The country is currently faced with the issue of delivering quality healthcare to majority of its populace. This is evident in the state of medical infrastructure in the three tiers of some of the nation’s healthcare institutions. With successive governments having to carry out one form of refurbishment or the other at these health institutions, some existing health services are either not affordable or inaccessible to the vulnerable group, especially the indigent and people living in rural and underdeveloped areas. Even as effect of this is reflected in the nation’s health indices which places the nation as one of the worst maternal, newborn and child mortality statistics across the globe, experts have tasked the Federal Government on the enactment of a national policy on electronic health (eHealth), and strategies that will ensure integration of e-health into the national healthcare syst...

As torrents of rain, showered by the 'open heavens' continue unabated, transporters nod that they are truly in for grueling times on the nation's collapsed roads, necessitating the call on government to urgently expedite action on road repair works in the interest of the economy, writes ALEXANDER CHIEJINA There is no gain-saying that provision of good roads is fundamentally important to the economic development of Nigeria, as well as the well-being of its inhabitants. According to a recent analysis, road transportation in Nigeria controls over 95 percent of all surface transportation spread across the geopolitical zones of the country. However, the network of Federal roads in Nigeria is not only limited, but the few available ones are in deplorable state. During the oil boom, the Yakubu Gowon-led administration increased the number of Federal roads by transferring roads that were state-owned. Some of these roads were gazetted as Federal roads....

Although climate change has always been viewed as portending danger for the earth’s environment, economists and scientists nonetheless insist it holds numerous opportunities for Nigeria’s business environment, writes ALEXANDER CHIEJINA The story of climate change is gradually shifting from that of perennial gloom to investment boom. Unlike in the past when the term "climate change" only reminds people of adversities such as global warming, desertification, erosion, flooding, and sea-level rise, the term now brings to mind mouth-watering investment opportunities. This is partly because the theme of climate change has crept into the business terrain, thereby expanding climate change issues beyond the environmental bunker, which is largely characterized by discourses about environmental degradation and the negative impacts of climate change on livelihoods and the environment. Rather than perpetually viewing climate change as an overpowering dracula that is ...

While revelations on the rot that crept into the banking industry continue to unfold, depositors point the way forward and advocate good corporate governance as a means of correcting the anomalies in the sector, writes ALEXANDER CHIEJINA Nigerians were bewildered with the sudden sack of the Chief Executive Officers of five banks in the country last Friday. This came as a surprise to a lot of Nigerians within and outside the country. However, the shake up in the banking sector was not expected so soon bearing in mind the recent consolidation that was said to have strengthened the banks. Far reaching as it was, analysts believe that the move by the Central Bank of Nigeria to painstakingly sanitize the sector however shouldn't be the last if Nigeria is on the brink for transformative economic and political advancement. It could be recalled five years ago in June 2004, when Charles Chukwuma Soludo upon assuming office as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor...

Against the backdrop of the clamour for the re-engineering of the education system, ALEXANDER CHIEJINA who toured some campuses of the Lagos State University (LASU) writes that there is a need to improve the learning environment in the nation's higher institutions The state of education is one of the crucial indicators of the seriousness of a society in its quest for national development. This is because the quality of education in a society determines the quality of its leaders as well as its pace of social development. Universities (higher institutions) in advanced and well-organised societies are centres of social activities and they provide conducive ambience for research, teaching and learning. However, many believe that the culture of deceit has prevented the country from providing qualitative education to its youth in order to prepare them for the economic and social challenges of the 21st century. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Nigeria's foremost President, in hi...

 There is no gain saying that the nation’s healthcare sector since independence has been plagued with the challenge of achieving the delivery of quality healthcare to the majority of its populace. These are evident in the state of inadequate infrastructure and lack of basic amenities some healthcare institutions in the country are confronted with. Though several governments in the past and present have carried out one form of refurbishment of facilities at these health institutions, some existing health services are either not affordable or inaccessible to the vulnerable group especially the poor and people living in rural and underdeveloped area. This can be reflected in the nation’s health induces which shows that Nigeria has one of the worst maternal, newborn and child mortality statistics in the world with an estimated 52,900 Nigerian women and 250,000 newborn dying annually from causes that are largely preventable if appropriate interventions are made ava...

Enrico Liggeri, country manager, Pfizer Specialties, Nigeria and East Africa Region (NEAR)  Enrico Liggeri, country manager, Pfizer Specialties, Nigeria and East Africa Region (NEAR), in this interview with Alexander Chiejina speaks on the devastating effects of pneumococcal disease remains a major challenge affecting Nigerian children and what Pfizer Specialties is doing to  reduce child mortality and pneumonia in the country What is your assessment of nation’s healthcare system? The Nigerian healthcare system is a daunting task confronting everyone. Certainly, I do respect the people who are trying to cope with such task. I am particularly referring to the fact that Nigeria is the most populous country in West Africa; about 150 to 160 million people. And this population is said to be growing because Nigeria has one of the highest fertility rates in the planet. Recently, I ran into some World Bank estimates that by the year 2020 ...

…as IHMS unveils Mega Health Insurance Plan L-R; Jide Rotimi-Fadipe, Principal Manager, Finance and Admin; Chidi Ukandu, Chief Operating Officer and Wole Olomojobi, Chief Marketing Officer, all of International Health Management Services (IHMS), during the launch of the IHMS Mega Health Insurance Plan, at Lagos recently. Over the years, the healthcare needs of Nigerians have been on a steady rise, leading to a situation whereby government-financed health services depend largely on out-of-pocket payment by patients. For some Nigerians who could not afford out-of-pocket payment at hospitals are left with an option of patronizing quacks and roadside drug vendors for medicare.    Even in states where healthcare is free for the elderly, pregnant women and children under-five, many complain not having enough money for transport and other logistics. To address this, the Federal Government set up the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) under Act 35 with the sole aim of ameli...