Author: Lawal AbdulSalam Olawale

The ruling emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah is dead.

Sheikh died on Saturday aged 86, the royal court said.

His death comes after three years in power marked by repeated political disputes.

great sadness and sorrow, we mourn… the death of Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Emir of the State of Kuwait,” said a statement aired on state television.

The channel had cut its regular programming and switched to a broadcast of a Koranic recital before the announcement.

In November, Sheikh Nawaf was hospitalised “due to an emergency health problem”, according to the official KUNA news agency. It did not provide details about his illness, but he was later declared to be in stable condition.

Given his age, concerns about his health were commonplace during his rule.

Sheikh Nawaf ascended to the role of crown prince in 2006, appointed by his half-brother Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. He assumed the position of emir upon Sheikh Sabah’s death in September 2020 at the age of 91.

In 2020, Sheikh Nawaf faced the challenge of navigating the economy through a crisis triggered by a fall in oil prices.

The current crown prince, Sheikh Mishal al-Ahmad al-Sabah, another half-brother, is 83years old.

Attention is now focused on whether the family will appoint a younger generation ruler.

Around 14 months after he was appointed emir, Sheikh Nawaf transferred key constitutional duties to Sheikh Mishal.

Sheikh Nawaf’s reign, though not the shortest in Kuwait’s history, was notable for issuing numerous amnesties, earning him the title “emir of pardons”, according to Bader al-Saif, an assistant professor of history at Kuwait University.

Last month, Kuwait’s Council of Ministers approved a draft royal decree calling for pardons for political prisoners convicted during the past decade. Similar pardons were also issued in 2021.

Sheikh Nawaf would also “be remembered for his unique personal attributes: soft spoken, devout, modest, low profile”, Saif said.

Kuwait, a conservative country where sovereign powers are concentrated in the hands of the ruling Al Sabah family, is home to the most active and powerful parliament in the Gulf.

But repeated standoffs between elected lawmakers and cabinet ministers installed by the ruling family have hindered development efforts and discouraged investors.

Following a succession of resigning governments and dissolved parliaments, Kuwait’s current cabinet is its fifth in a year.

Sheikh Nawaf’s rule also saw the Gulf country hold three parliamentary elections in as many years.

The political deadlock has delayed necessary reforms and blocked development projects, leaving infrastructure and education in disrepair and much of the population disgruntled.

Born in 1937, Sheikh Nawaf was the fifth son of Kuwait’s late ruler from 1921 to 1950 Sheikh Ahmad al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

He started his political career at the age of 25 as governor of Hawalli province, remaining in the position until 1978 when he began a decade-long tenure as interior minister.

Gov. Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has offered automatic employment to a corps member serving in the state for donating 101 wheelchairs to Persons With Disabilities (PWDs).

Mr Chikumega Nwanga, an indigene of Ebonyi State, was posted to the Ministry of Special Duties, Lafia for his primary assignment.

In a speech at the distribution of the wheelchairs on Friday in Lafia, the governor lauded the corps member for embarking on a project that would bring succour to the lives of PWDs.

He directed the Head of Service, Mrs Abigail Way, to present an appointment letter to the corps member to appreciate his kind gesture.

Sule also offered half a million naira to the corps member and directed all the ministries, departments and agencies to offer employment to PWDs, in line with the State Government’s policy.

“I want to thank you sincerely for the wonderful job that you are doing.

“When we did our youth service, we wanted to excel and do something special that we could be identified with.

“You have already paid your due and you have identified yourself as someone who has a lot of commitment, selflessness and initiative for this country.

“For you to leave Ebonyi State and come to another state and donate wheelchairs to PWDs is indeed a wonderful thing and we are really proud of you.

“I want to tell you that you have got automatic employment in Nasarawa State because you have accepted the state as your second home by this kind gesture,” Sule said.

The governor also advised the beneficiaries not to sell the wheelchairs, but use them to ease their movement problems.

In a remark, Margret Eleyo, the Commissioner for Special Duties, Humanitarian Affairs and Non-governmental Organisations, said the ministry would put machinery on ground to ensure that the items were used for the purpose they were meant.

Eleyo commended the corps member for the gesture and described his exceptional dedication to transform the lives of the vulnerable as uncommon.

The donation of the wheelchairs was co-sponsored by Beautiful Gate Handicap Centre, Jos.

In an address of welcome, the Nasarawa State NYSC Coordinator, Abdullahi Jikamshi, said the donation was part of the Community Development Service (CDS) carried out by the corps members.

Jikamshi said that the commission had impacted immensely in various sectors, ranging from education to sanitation and health, amongst others.

He expressed gratitude to the governor for being present to personally witness the event.

He said that the governor demonstrated the commitment of his administration towards inclusivity and community development by being part of the ceremony.

He also thanked the Centre for supporting NYSC and appealed to other organisations and public-spirited individuals to support the scheme in its effort to add value to the country. (NAN)

Four healthcare workers have been jailed after they were caught on camera physically and emotionally abusing an elderly patient, reports The BBC on Thursday.

While Ame Tunkara and Morountaro Adefila were found guilty of ill-treatment and wilful neglect and sentenced on December 8 to four months in prison, Danny Ohen and Bridget Aideyan were also found guilty of the same offences and sentenced to six months and four months, respectively, on November 14.

The police revealed that the workers were caught on camera manhandling the 89-year-old woman who had vascular dementia and could not speak

In February 2020, the woman’s family had secretly installed a camera and recorded footage over four days after noticing bruising on her arm.

It showed the woman being handled roughly, hit with a pillow, and treated with a lack of dignity and respect.

The woman meanwhile sadly passed away in October with a police official saying “she should not have spent any of her remaining years suffering such ill-treatment.”

Lecturers in Nigerian tertiary institutions have complained that they are rotting away due to neglect and abandonment by the federal authorities as well as the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, for participating in the eight months strike.

In an interview, a lecturer who has taught for 27 years, Prof. Ilami Kramah, of the Rivers State University of Science, said hunger and mounting debts have taken a toll as some of them have died.

Lecturers in most Nigerian universities, under the umbrella body, ASUU, in February 2022 downed tools for eight months over several unmet demands by the Federal Government.

During the period, public universities were shut across the country.

The National Industrial Court affirmed the validity of no-work-no-pay policy in a judgement on a suit filed by the Federal government against ASUU.

Kramah said since the strike was called off none of the lecturers has received any salary for the period the strike lasted.

The very painful aspects are that neither the leadership of ASUU nor the Federal Government is picking our calls anymore, or making any moves towards the outstanding salaries.

“Many of us are now living from hand to mouth. Many lecturers have since died out of hunger, frustration, depression and debts. Many are rotting away. Some of us are with families and no more younger to also flee the country,” he said.

The media team of Senate President Godswill Akpabio has debunked reports that he collapsed on Thursday at the colloquium to mark his 61st birthday in Abuja.

Reports had claimed that the former Akwa Ibom governor collapsed during the event and had to be rushed to the National Hospital

But the media team, in a statement signed by Eseme Eyiboh, debunked the reports, describing the claims as “fictionalised extensions of the Senate President’s assertion of being tired at the end of the programme”.

The rumours have been fanned by some social media news channels with notoriety for the dissemination of phony news flashes.

“It is disconcerting that the conjectures on the wellbeing of the Senate President came after he was celebrated by the crème-de-crème of the nation’s leadership at the colloquium that was focused on defining a legislative agenda for Nigeria.

“Akpabio spoke on his feet for more than 30 minutes. As the programme ended and President Bola Tinubu left the venue, his expression to some of those around him that he was tired was escalated to a fainting spell or collapse.

“Some adventurous purveyors of lies, in their thrilling escapade of fiction, even claimed that he is currently in a critical condition at the National Hospital, Abuja.

“This is wholly untrue and I declare firmly that besides saying he was exhausted to the hearing of those around him, he was certainly not rushed in a stretcher to the national hospital or indisposed.”

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The Supreme Court, on Friday, nullified the judgment of Court of Appeal that ordered the Federal Government to release the embattled leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, from detention.

Though the apex court, in a unanimous decision by a five-member panel of Justices, acknowledged that FG acted “irresponsibly” when it forcefully brought Kanu back to the country from Kenya, against all known laws, however, it held that it was not enough to divest the trial court of its jurisdiction to continue with the case.

It held that there is no legislation in the country that stripped the trial court of the jurisdiction to go ahead with Kanu’s case, despite the illegal action that FG took against him.

In the judgement that was prepared by Justice Garba Mohammed but read by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the apex court held that the remedy open for Kanu was for him to institute a civil action against the government.

The court however slammed FG, saying it must be conscious of its image, both locally and internationally, even as it knocked the trial court for revoking Kanu’s bail after he escaped to save his life following the invasion of his home by security agents.

The IPOB leader, who was first arrested by security agents in Lagos on October 14, 2015, has been in detention since June 29, 2021