The appeal by Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, to President Muhammadu Buhari to act fast in putting a check to the activities of herdsmen to avert another civil war in Nigeria dominates the headlines of Nigerian newspapers on Monday.
The Vanguard reports that Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to act fast in putting a check to the activities of herdsmen to avert another civil war.
He also said the President’s silence on what he described as the illegal activities of herders across the country showed he was complicit.
Soyinka, who made the call in an interview on BBC Pidgin, said he wondered why the President had failed to address the nation, especially as the buck stops at his desk.
He said the current situation across the country, particularly in the Southwest, might develop into a civil war. “What do they expect of us now that the war is on our doorstep?
Of course, there will be mobilisation and if we keep waiting for this to be centrally handled, we are all going to become, if not already slaves in our land. That to me is personally intolerable. It is not an acceptable condition.
“Whatever it takes, I stand ready to contribute in any way and I have made my governor understand this, that we are here not just to live in but to live in dignity. Right now, our dignity is being rubbished. My forest is being taken over, it’s been shrinking, my normal hunting ground is shrinking. My family tells me that if I go in depth again, they will have me institutionalised.”
The Guardian says that Nigerians yesterday decried the high cost of COVID-19 vaccines and asked for interventions to tame prices. Two doses of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine could cost as much as $28, while AstraZeneca goes for $8.
Medical experts, who spoke to The Guardian, at the weekend, said immunising more than 200 million Nigerians could gulp over N2 trillion, as the Federal Government might require N921.2 billion to vaccinate 140 million people in one year.
Leading the call for downward review of vaccine cost is former Governor of Anambra State and Vice Presidential candidate in the 2019 national election, Mr. Peter Obi, who described the cost of the vaccines as “too high and should be brought down.”
Responding to enquiries, President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, however, argued that, at $8, “this vaccine is not expensive,” especially when “compared to the cost of so many vaccines of equal relevance.” Ohuabunwa anchored his argument on economies of scale. “Remember that the least percentage any country can vaccinate to achieve herd immunity against the coronavirus is 70 per cent. That is huge.
“So it reasonably underwrites the investment in research and development of the vaccine. Moreover, most of the companies behind the vaccines have pledged to serve humanity with this success than concentrating on profit.”
The pharmacist said so much goes into vaccine production, research and development as well as in first, second, and third clinical trials.
ThisDay reports that Nigeria has recorded 20 deaths resulting from COVID-19 disease, with 506 new confirmed cases.
A daily statistical report on the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria posted by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on its website showed that on Sunday, February 7, 506 new confirmed cases and 20 deaths were recorded.
The report showed that till date, 139,748 cases have been confirmed, while 113,525 cases have been discharged and 1,667 deaths recorded in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The 506 new cases are reported from 20 states — Ondo (90), Kwara (89), Rivers (53), Borno (45), Gombe (32), FCT (28), Imo (26), Ogun (25), Lagos (22), Kaduna (14), Kano (14), Edo (13), Osun (11), Cross River (10), Yobe (9), Ekiti (7), Kebbi (6), Nasarawa (6), Oyo (5), and Jigawa (1).
The Sun says that the United States has expressed support for the candidacy of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the next director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
In a statement from the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the U.S. said it had taken note of the decision by the Republic of Korea’s Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee to withdraw her candidacy for DG of the WTO.
“The Biden-Harris administration is pleased to express its strong support for the candidacy of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the next director-general of the WTO,” the statement read.
The U.S. noted that Okonjo-Iweala brings a wealth of knowledge in economics and international diplomacy from her 25 years with the World Bank and two terms as Nigeria’s finance minister.
According to the statement, Okonjo-Iweala is widely respected for her effective leadership and proven experience managing a large international organization with diverse membership.
“The Biden-Harris administration also congratulates Minister Yoo Myung-hee on her strong campaign for this position. She is a trailblazer as the Republic of Korea’s first female trade minister and the first candidate from Korea to advance this far in the DG selection process.
The Punch reports that the Central Bank of Nigeria has said cryptocurrencies promote illegal activities and raise risks, among other reasons.
It said this on Sunday in a statement regarding various comments and reactions following its recent reminder to Deposit Money Banks to desist from transacting in/and with entities dealing in cryptocurrencies.
The CBN stated, “The recent regulatory directive became necessary to protect the financial system and the generality of Nigerians (including the youth population) from the risks inherent in crypto assets transactions, which have escalated in recent times, with dire consequences for the integrity of the financial system and financial stability.
“Due to the fact that cryptocurrencies are largely speculative, anonymous and untraceable they are increasingly being used for money laundering, terrorism financing and other criminal activities.
“Small retail and unsophisticated investors also face high probability of loss due to the high volatility of the investments in recent times.”
The Nation says that Nigerian pension fund assets rose by more than a quarter to close 2020 at N12.29 trillion. Data released by the National Pension Commission (Pencom) showed that pension fund assets increased by N2.48 trillion or 25.28 percent in 2020 from the year’s opening figure of N9.81 trillion to N12.29 trillion by December 31, 2020.
The report showed that the number of Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holders by the end of 2020 stood at 9.22 million.
A breakdown of the pension funds investment distribution showed continued concentration in Nigeria’s sovereign issues.
Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) invested N8.13 trillion in Federal Government’s securities, representing about 66.2 per cent of total pension fund assets.
Other asset classes included domestic ordinary shares, N858.46 billion; foreign ordinary shares, N92.92 billion; state government securities, N136.59 billion; corporate debt securities, N836.34 billion; local money market securities, N1.69 trillion; foreign money market, N18.69 billion; infrastructure funds, N66.43 billion; bank placements, N1.53 trillion; commercial papers, N156.69 billion and cash and other assets accounted for N122.79 billion.
GIK/APA