Category: EDITORIAL

All over the civilised world, cattle rearing as a form of agricultural practice, is carried out in ranches. Ranching provides jobs, meat, hides and skin including bones of the animals which are used in the leather and ceramic industries Meat from ranched animals are safer than those produced from open grazing because the animals are better treated when they are in a ranch. In most parts of the South-East and South-South of Nigeria, people traditionally keep or rear animals in small ranches also called ‘Ogba’ in Igbo Language. Whether one…

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Malaria which is caused by mosquitoe bites kills thousands of people in Nigeria and other sub-saharan African nations per annum. Experts say mosquitoes thrive more in tropical climates like Nigeria. Reports indicate that mosquito has killed many souls. A particular report titled, “World Mosquito Day:  Group Advocates Policies To Eliminate Malaria,” published in 2024 by National Record, noted that “300,000 people are dying everywhere because of mosquito.” Besides deaths caused by malaria resulting from mosquito bites, millions of naira have been spent on drugs by infected people annually. It has…

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The establishment of the South East Development Commission, SEDC, has been seen as a welcome development by the people of the geopolitical zone. There has been widely-held belief that the South East geopolitical region suffers infrastructure deficit, especially, critical infrastructure. To illustrate, the South East has no functional inland port facility despite its proximity to the sea. On the other hand,   the Onitsha inland port has remained moribund despite huge federal government investment there. Again, one may ask if the rail line in the South East is functional? How many…

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The 2024 rainy season is inching closer. Meanwhile it is trite that roads are easier and better to construct, reconstruct or rehabilitate during the dry season. Government often use the rainy season as an excuse for not fixing bad roads. Government’s usual excuse is that rains hinder contractors from carrying out their work. However, experience has shown that oftentimes when the dry season sets in around November through April or May of the following year, the same government may not swing into action promptly, in order to fix the bad…

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This year’s farming season is taking off as the rainy season gradually sets in. One serious challenge facing farmers in Imo State presently, as well as in other parts of the country, is the menace of killer herdsmen and kidnappers who hide in the forests to carry out their satanic activities. There have been reports of nefarious activities of herdsmen and kidnappers terrorising innocent Imolites especially, farmers. From Owerri West LGA to Ngor Okpala, Okigwe, Ohaji/Egbema, Oguta, Isiala Mbano, among others, activities of herdsmen and kidnappers are said to have…

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If you have not been to hospitals in recent times [especially, private hospitals], you may not appreciate the subject matter of this Editorial, that is, the urgency for governments to resuscitate or increase investments in the health sector. The high cost of healthcare presently, has partly been blamed for reported high mortality and morbidity rates in the country. It has also been partly blamed for the rising ‘medical pilgrimage’ abroad on the part of a privileged few Nigerians. The CBN through its governor, Olayemi Cardoso, recently disclosed that in the…

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Reports that Local Governments in Nigeria have begun the process of opening accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to enable them receive direct Federal allocations, is indeed cheery. Local governments across the  Nigeria  are believed to have  been ‘suffocating’ under the alleged chokehold of state governors who have been severally accused of meddling in LGs’ finances. The move to ensure that LGAs in Nigeria get their allocations directly from Abuja, follows the judgement of the Supreme Court on July 11, 2024, that affirmed the financial autonomy of Nigeria’s774…

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The importance of roads in the economic growth and overall development of a state cannot be over-emphasised. Many Imo roads especially, in the rural communities need serious attention. Even some roads within the suburbs also require serious attention. The dry season has provided ample opportunity for the state government to work on these roads. Many of these roads are bound to become even worse once the current dry season is over. For instance, the Orji Junction-Umuonyeali- Ogbosisi-Akwakuma Junction road, still begs for attention. Similarly, the Poly Junction-Nekede- Ihiagwa-FUTO road, Orodo-Ogwa…

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High cost of living evident in continuously rising prices of goods and services, still persists in the country. The barely two years of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration in the  Nigeria, has led to astronomical rise in prices of food and overall cost of living. Efforts so far made by the Federal Government by way of the so-called palliatives and other policies, do not seem to be addressing the concerns of hard-hit Nigerians. The palliatives obviously proved inadequate as it is widely believed that they did not reach many Nigerians…

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