Category: Encounter

  • Enyimba’s Chijioke Mbaoma Reveals Ambitions After Golden Boot Season Sparks Transfer Buzz

    Enyimba’s Chijioke Mbaoma Reveals Ambitions After Golden Boot Season Sparks Transfer Buzz

    NPFL goal king, Chijioke Mbaoma has outlined his ambitions for the upcoming football season, SportsBoom.com reports.

    Fresh off his sensational campaign for Enyimba in the topflight where he hit 17 goals to emerge the golden boot winner, Mbaoma says he’s drawn interests from abroad on the back of that but is waiting to see what the summer has in store.

    It is safe to say Chijioke Mbaoma is the hottest commodity in the Nigeria Professional Football League at the moment. From screamers, to headers, to solo efforts, the 21-year-old scores them all.

    It is not often you get to see a player so smooth and comfortable adjusting fluidly to the rough-and-tumble tempo of the division, but the Enyimba marksman is hoping to replicate yet another barnstorming season to show his goals last term was no fluke.

    Reflecting on a remarkable season

    Speaking exclusively to SportsBoom.com in his base, Chijioke credited his exploits to cheer hard work and determination while maintaining he wants to build on that.

    “Yes, that was a good season, and I thank God for giving me the strength and the determination to keep doing what I do best, and that is scoring goals”, Chijioke told SportsBoom.com.

    “Not just the goals; generally, I want to keep improving my game.”

    “I put myself through a lot of work to do this. Maybe people will ask, how has he done that?” But I have to say it requires discipline and hard work. Sometimes, you keep trying and trying something to perfect a side of your game. It’s not as easy as it might look maybe, you know. But I’m fine with that.”

    Transfer interests?

    Enyimba will be one of Nigeria’s flag bearers in the continent when the 2024/25 CAF Confederations Cup rolls around, but Chijioke is not ruling out his chances of jumping ship.

    “There has been interests from around Europe and within the continent, yes, and while the appeal of playing in the Confederations Cup is something I’m looking forward to, I can’t say 100% that I will be here at the start of a new season. We have to look at some things and make a decision. That’s all I can say for now.”

    Coming up short in the NPFL

    After what looked like the tussle for the NPFL title will go down to the wire during the course of last season, Enugu Rangers emerged eventual winners with a game to spare.

    Enyimba, Remo, and Shooting all appeared to be in it, but Chijioke feels things could have turned out differently for them but for their matchday 35 derby date with the champions at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, an encounter which saw the People’s Elephants docked points after instigating a walkout as not to concede a last-minute penalty.

    “You look back at it, [the Oriental Derby] and you feel maybe it could have being done differently. Maybe we could have done better. I don’t know, but that significantly impacted our season. But Rangers did well, and they have to enjoy their achievement.”

    Quizzed on if he’s ever thought about representing the Nigeria national teams, he added: “Of course, that will be a dream come true [representing the home-based Eagles or the Super Eagles] I actually have not had anyone reach out to me about that, but sometime in the future, who knows? All that matters to me at the moment, is to keep playing well for my club.”

  • Hajia Amina Yahaya Bello Brings Colour, Philanthropy, to 2023 FIDA Week in Kogi

    Hajia Amina Yahaya Bello Brings Colour, Philanthropy, to 2023 FIDA Week in Kogi

    By our correspondent

    Her Excellency, Hajia Amina Yahaya Bello, the wife of the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, participated in the Kogi State FIDA Week which kick started last Wednesday 13th September 2023.

    In addition to a speech during the opening ceremony to kickstart the week, she visited the FIDA Maternity Ward at the Specialist Hospital, Lokoja later in the afternoon on an assessment tour which ended in a flood of philanthropic interventions for patients.

    The amiable Hajia Bello emphasized in her opening remarks the importance of addressing violence against women and children, highlighting this year’s theme, ‘Combating Violence Against Women And Children (VAWC) – New Skills And Strategies.’ She conveyed the urgency of this issue, calling VAWC an ‘appalling crime (that) knows no boundaries, transcending geographical, cultural, and socio-economic divides.’

    She decried it as, ‘a global crisis that calls for global unity of action, as well as locally tailored solutions’.

    Mrs. Bello, who acknowledged the evolving nature of the problem also stressed the need for innovative approaches to tackle the persistent challenges faced by victims and demanded that human rights bodies develop new approaches.

    She pointed out the pivotal role of technology, education, and media advocacy in empowering communities and encouraging victims to come forward. According to her, a comprehensive approach would encompass legal reforms, collaboration with law enforcement and the activities of effective support networks like FIDA to ensure that justice is served swiftly.

    Her Excellency who paid tribute to her husband, Governor Yahaya Bello, for his remarkable commitment to gender equity and the welfare of children noted his administration’s achievements, including surpassing the 35% UN Affirmative Action threshold for women appointed into government and the passage of important legislation like the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Bill.

    She thanked the New Direction Administration in Kogi State led by Governor Yahaya Bello for showcasing dedication to the protection of women and children in very practical manners through support for the work of FIDA, as well as the establishment of the Kogi State Office of the Public Defender and Citizens Rights Advocate, an agency set up by her husband’s administration which has been active in protecting the target group of vulnerable citizens from domestic assault, child labour and other forms of violence.

    Hajia Bello visited the FIDA Maternity Ward later in the afternoon of the same Wednesday the 13th where she was received with great enthusiasm by the staff and patients.

    It would be recalled that some years back FIDA, Kogi State Branch endowed the ward with the support of the Kogi State Government through the good offices of Her Excellency. At the hospital, the kind-hearted Hajia Bello was touched by the plight of some of the patients and as is customary with her during such visits, she rendered assistance to them by clearing outstanding bills and paying for different medical procedures, particularly for expectant mothers and those with newborn babies.

    She also donated some equipment, including a new incubator, to the hospital. Sharing in the philosophy of Joél Leon who said: “If we are asking for the world to be kind, we must first ask what we are doing to add more kindness to the world. If we are asking for the world to be more loving, we must first ask what we are doing to add more love to the world. We are the vessels for the things we seek,”

    Mrs. Bello believes that every act of kindness you show can make a meaningful difference in the lives of others, and she finds great fulfillment and satisfaction in reaching out to those in need, especially women and children.

    She further appealed to individuals to embrace the principle of contributing to our country, state, community and family, rather than solely expecting what these entities can provide for us.

    Overjoyed staff and patients were full of praises for the wife of the Governor, commending her generosity and ready commitment to improving the lives of women and children in Kogi State.

    An executive of FIDA, Kogi State who was on the entourage told our correspondent that Hajia Bello’s philanthropy and her support for this year’s FIDA Week are a testament to her commitment to social justice and gender equality, saying that her actions are an inspiration to all

  • Davido Congratulates Wizkid And Burnaboy On Their Grammy Award Wins

    Davido Congratulates Wizkid And Burnaboy On Their Grammy Award Wins

     Davido has congratulated his colleagues in the music industry – Wizkid and Burnaboy for winning Grammy Awards in their respective categories.

    Shortly after Burna and Wizkid’s win was announced, Davido took to his page to tweet an adaptation of his popular slang, e choke. 

    He wrote: 

    https://twitter.com/davido/status/1371207540952993793?s=20

    Several hours later, he accompanied his initial post with a tweet saying that their wins were a big victory for Nigeria. He also made sure to congratulate them. 

    He wrote: 

    “Whichever way you look at it, this is a victory for Nigeria for the culture and for my people ! Congrats to our winners! Tule Naija! #Grammys #foreverchoke”

  • MEET THE 21ST CHIEF OF THE AIR STAFF, NIGERIAN AIR FORCE

    MEET THE 21ST CHIEF OF THE AIR STAFF, NIGERIAN AIR FORCE

    AIR VICE MARSHAL OLADAYO ISIAKA AMAO

    AIR VICE MARSHAL IO AMAO DFS GSS RBS GSM QFI psc fndu MSc MMSc

    Born in Enugu on 14 September 1965, Air Vice Marshal Oladayo Isiaka Amao, is an indigene of Oshogbo Local Government Area in the State of Osun, South West Nigeria. He joined the Armed Forces of Nigeria as a Cadet of the Nigerian Defence Academy Regular Course 35 in January 1984 and, upon completion of his training at the Academy, was commissioned a Pilot Officer in the Nigerian Air Force in December 1986. In an illustrious career spanning over three and a half decades, the distinguished senior officer has served in diverse roles cutting across Operational, Instructional, Command, Staff, Diplomatic, Policy and Strategic Leadership functions.

    Operationally, as a seasoned Fighter Instructor Pilot on the Alpha Jet, Air Vice Marshal Amao served as a Squadron Pilot at the 99 (now 407) Air Combat Training Group Kainji. He subsequently worked as an Instructor Pilot at both the 301 (now 401) Flying Training School Kaduna and the 303 (now 403) Flying Training School Kano, with over 1,500 Jet and Instructional Hours to his credit. Notable in his operational experiences are his participation in the draw-down of the Africa-led International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA), as well as the counter-insurgency Operations ZAMAN LAFIYA and LAFIA DOLE in the North East of Nigeria. His Command experiences cover the spectrum from the tactical, through the operational to the strategic levels, endowing him with a holistic appreciation of the complexities of leading a fighting force. Significantly in this regard, he commanded the 407 Air Combat Training Group Kainji and the 75 (now 103) Strike Group Yola. He went on to become Air Component Commander for both Operation ZAMAN LAFIYA and Operation LAFIYA DOLE, also serving as Deputy Theatre Commander for the latter. In these roles, he oversaw a synergistic employment of Air Power to effectively support land forces in sustaining stabilization operations across the North East Theatre. The Air Vice Marshal then rose to the position of Air Officer Commanding Tactical Air Command, the lead combat element (often referred to as the “teeth”) of the Nigerian Air Force. 

    In terms of Staff experience, Air Vice Marshal Amao was privileged to serve in critical capacities which enabled him to contribute significantly to development of the Service whilst acquiring unique perspectives and insights which have shaped his strategic thoughts. He was, at various times; Air Assistant to the Chief of the Air Staff, Assistant Director of Operations, Director of Policy, Director of Training as well as Director of Operations, all at Headquarters Nigerian Air Force. This rich bouquet of Strategic-level Staff experiences instilled in him a deep appreciation of developmental imperatives of the Service. 

    Moreover, Air Vice Marshal Oladayo Amao possesses a keen understanding of international relations as they affect defence matters, acquired through service as Deputy Defence Adviser and Acting Defence Adviser at the Nigerian High Commission in London, United Kingdom. In the area of Policy and Strategic Leadership, he has developed vital competencies in the course of his service as Chief of Training and Operations and subsequently Chief of Policy and Plans at Headquarters Nigerian Air Force. Most recently, until his appointment as the Twenty First Chief of the Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Amao was the Commandant of the Armed Forces Resettlement Centre, Oshodi, a key institution tasked with the responsibility of training and empowering military personnel for post-service re-integration into the civil society. 

    Air Vice Marshal Oladayo Amao is decorated, amongst others, with the Forces Service Star, Meritorious Service Star, Distinguished Service Star and General Service Star, in addition to the General Service Medal and the River Benue Star, which were awarded for his service in various military campaigns. He has also been privileged to benefit from strategic leadership development training in notable indigenous and international institutions; he is an alumnus of the prestigious Armed Forces Command and Staff College Jaji-Nigeria as well as the Defence Services Staff College Wellington, India. He is a Fellow of the National Defence University of China and holds a Master of Science in Defence and Strategic Studies from the University of Madras India as well as a Master of Military Science and Strategy from the National Defence University China. He is also a certified aircraft accident investigator trained in Karachi, Pakistan and at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology Zaria, Nigeria as well as being a Qualified Flying Instructing (QFI).

    Air Vice Marshal Oladayo Isiaka Amao is happily married to Mrs Elizabeth Olubunmi Amao, and the union is blessed with 3 sons. At his leisure, he enjoys reading, dancing and travelling as well as playing volleyball and golf. He also has a keen interest in fish farming.

  • American rapper, Nicki Minaj welcomes a baby with husband Kenneth Petty

    American rapper, Nicki Minaj welcomes a baby with husband Kenneth Petty

    American rapper, Nicki Minaj has welcomed her first child with 42-year-old husband Kenneth Petty.

    The singer gave birth on Wednesday in Los Angeles. However, the gender of the child and the name are not yet known.

    The 37-year-old performer has earlier announced in late July she was was ‘preggers’ and has since shared many photos of her baby bump on social media.

    Read more: Rapper Nicki Minaj shows off baby bump, reveals she’s expecting her first child

    To unveil her pregnancy to her fans in late July, the singer uploaded a snapshot of herself and Kenneth to her Instagram page on July 20.

    In the post, Nicki cradled her full baby belly while dolled up wearing a curly yellow wig, embellished bikini, and sparkling platform heels, writing: ”#Preggers [yellow heart emoji].’

  • Government College Bida, Niger State

    Government College Bida, Niger State

    Government College Bida, Niger State was established in 1912 and has an enviable history of producing eminent Nigerians in various fields of endeavor.

    But the 1957-1962 set of the school did the unimaginable . It produced 7 Generals and a Colonel. Two of the Generals later became Heads of State, while four became Governors and the other two became minsters.

    No 21 General Gado Nasko,

    No 23 General Sani Sami

    No 9 General Ibrahim Babangida

    No 10 General Garba Duba

    No 13 Colonel Sani Bello

    No 16 General Abdulsalam Abubakar

    No 3 General Mohammed Magoro

    No 6 Late General Mamman Vatsa

    General Ibrahim Babangida and General Abdulsalam Abubakar turn out to be Heads of State of The Federal Republic of Nigeria . While Major General Gado Nasko went on to become the Governor of Sokoto State , Lieutenant General Garba Duba became the Governor of Bauchi State as well as Administrator of Sokoto State and Colonel Sani Bello became the Governor of the Kano State .Brigadier Mohammed Sani Sami who is the present Emir of Zuru was the Governor of Bauchi State from January 1984 to August 1985 during the military regime of Major General Muhammadu Buhari .

    Major General Mohammed Magoro became the Minister for Internal Affairs under Major General Muhammadu Buhari military regime while General Mamman Vatsa was an ex FCT Minister. He was later executed on 5 March 1986 by the government of his class mate, General Ibrahim Babangida following a military tribunal conviction for treason associated with an abortive coup.

    Government College, Bida which was formerly known as Provincial Secondary School Bida has a long history of turning out eminent personalities. In the judiciary, the college has produced former Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi, Justice Jibrin Ndajiwo and Justice Abdullahi Mustapha. In diplomatic circles, it produced late Ambassador James Tsado Kolo, Ambassador Buba Ahmed, Ambassador, Ambassador Yunusa Paiko and Ambassador Abdulraham Gara.

    In politics, the college has people like Professor Jerry Gana, Senator Awaisu Kuta , Ibrahim Tanko and Isa Mohammed Waziri. In the academics, there are Professors Musa Abdullahi; Mohammed Dakota; A.I Kolo and M.T. A Suleiman In the royalty, it has produced the Emir of Suleja, Malam Auwal Ibrahim; Emir of Kontagora Alhaji Saidu Namaska; the Etsu Lapai, the Emir of Zuru.

  • Nasarawa has Spent N470 Million in Training of Doctors to the finish–Dr. Ikrama.

    Nasarawa has Spent N470 Million in Training of Doctors to the finish–Dr. Ikrama.

    Dr. Ikrama Hassan is the Chief Medical Director, Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital, Lafia. In this interview with our correspondent, Abel Leonard , he discloses that the Nasarawa State government has spent over N470 million on salaries, and allowances in training doctors at DASH. Excerpts;

    What measures are on ground in the training of doctors in Dalhatu Arab Specialist Hospital (DASH), Lafia?

    Residency training is a very important component of a hospital, especially like ours which is designed as a teaching hospital. There are different components to what we do here; sick people come and they get treated.

    But apart from services, we also do training. Nursing students before they become nurses do part of their training here. People in the laboratory and pharmacist also do part of their training here. We also have for doctors which is elaborate and comprehensive. The essence of this training is to provide critical mass of health manpower for us and other hospitals in the state; doctors, nurses, laboratory scientists. Apart from providing service, the training process itself strengthens health care delivery.

    One of the major problems we have been having is turnover of staff in the hospital. Doctors will come and spend one or two years and they leave; reason being that there is no upward mobility for them. When you come as a fresh doctor with just MBBS, you will want to become a consultant naturally. So you want to work in a center where there is a training program so that as you are working, you are progressing to become a consultant. But if you are working in a center where there is no training, you don’t go anywhere. So when they come here, despite the fact that our salary is attractive, but after some time, you are not making any progress and they leave after a year or two.

    So these are the reasons why we felt that we should begin to train. Now when we began to train, we did not have accreditation, we did not have the requisite requirement to train, so when we employ people, we send them out to other centers to be trained. Now we are being short changed in that these people will go there and be offering their services to those places while we pay their training fees and salaries. Like in the last five years, we have sent quite a number of people out for trainings in the various departments and the state government have spent over N270 million in terms of salaries and other allowances in training them and for those people to finish their training, we are going to spend again about N200 million which made it a total of 470 million.

    It is those centers that are benefiting from it. But if we can train here, that money will be spent here within the hospital for the benefit of the people. So these are the reasons why we are doing the training ourselves; it will improve the quality of service and will ensure retention of healthcare manpower in the hospital to serve the state.

    Again, accreditation is not at hospital level, it is at departmental level, this is the fifth accreditation team we have invited so far. We started with family medicine. We did pediatrics, we have done obstetrics and gynecology, we have done surgery and the fifth one is internal medicine that we are going to have. We are positive to get all of them and once we get accreditation in all these departments, we will start training our doctors here.

    Is there any plan soon to start conducting in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), as well as Kidney transplant and dialysis?

    Presently, we are already doing dialysis. We have started it for a very long time. It is one of the oldest units here in this hospital but of course, the machines are old and breaking down every day, but the state government has made provisions and we are waiting for delivery to replace the old ones. We also have a consultant here that deals with kidney problem and we are trying to equip him to utilise him maximally, and we offer services for all sort of kidney problems.

    At the movement, we don’t do IVF but we have a proposal to start doing it sometime in the future, because it is a specialised area. We want to start training our staff on it. It is not just about getting the machines; you need to train your own staff about it. Already one of our consultants will soon go for the training and while she is there, we will now make arrangement to establish an IVF center. But it is capital intensive.

    The general perception is that DASH is full of cases that should be treated at the Primary Healthcare Centers. How true is this anomaly?

    Yes, that is very true. Majority of the cases we treat here are actually for Primary Healthcare Centres. It is historical, there was a time there was a complete breakdown of our healthcare system especially at the primary level, and to some extent at the secondary level, so people had lost confidence in the healthcare at that level and everybody wants to come to tertiary hospital. It is either they go to private hospitals or they come to DASH.

    So you find a situation where somebody will wake up and feel slight headache and he comes straight to DASH. But now, our PHCs have been revived. The government has done a lot in reviving primary health centers and they have improved significantly. So the issue now is restoring the confidence of the people back; people should know that PHCs can handle headache, malaria, ulcer and the likes.

    We encourage people to go there; it is only when PHCs cannot handle their case that they should be brought here. What we have now is that everybody wakes and want to come here, simple antenatal care that can be done at PHCs are brought here. So these specialists spend most of their time attending to headache and malaria rather than technical treatments like dialysis, IVF, heart disease. So that is why we are working with hospital management board and the government to create awareness by telling people to first access healthcare at PHCs.

    Do you have facilities in the hospital to effectively take care of persons living with HIV/AIDS, diabetes and malnutrition?

    For HIV/AIDS, this hospital is one of the prominent centers for treatment. From the beginning of the HIV/AIDS management in Nigeria, we started managing it here. It has been a very important center. We also provide mentorship to healthcare providers around when it comes to HIV/AIDS. Globally, people don’t die of HIV/AIDS again except you don’t come for your drugs. With drugs you can live a normal life for a very long time.

    We also have a consultant for diabetes here who handles it very well. For malnutrition, which is mostly with children, we have four consultants and several young doctors. Normally malnutrition cases are handled by PHCs and from there to general hospitals. The cases we handle here are the ones that are very bad and we treat them very well here too.

    There are insinuations that DASH morgue lacks personnel and equipment to effectively treat corpses under its custody. How true?

    It is not true. We have enough personnel. When we say preservation of dead bodies, the misunderstanding is that people have it in mind that the only way to preserve them is to put them in fridges. You can preserve with chemicals.

    If you put corpses in fridge, you have to guarantee 24 hours power supply, if not; it will get spoilt. Running on generators to preserve them will attract a lot of cost.

    So, what we do in DASH, and in almost all hospitals across Nigeria is that we use chemicals to preserve corpses which is as good as that preservation in fridges.

    Is the hospital in partnership with any foreign hospital in healthcare provision?

    We are not yet in partnership with any foreign hospital; we have a number of partnerships with some nongovernmental organisations, especially with regards HIV, tuberculosis and some aspect of nutrition, also management of hypertension. We have those kinds of collaboration around and in a lot of research areas and all arms towards improving healthcare delivery system.

    So we have collaboration in these selective areas. We are also in talks with other organisations and some foreign hospitals on how they can come to help DASH