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Hospital with State-of-the-art Facilities Commissioned in Awka
A world class hospital, Life International, with the state-of-the-art facilities, has been commissioned and dedicated to God in Awka by the Anambra state governor, Chief Willie Obiano and the Presiding Bishop of Grace of God Mission, Bishop Paul Nwachukwu respectively.
The hospital built by Mr. Joseph Ifeanyichukwu Ikechebelu, a Professor of Obstetrician and Gynecology at the faculty of Medicine, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, will employ the use of modern scientific technology, known as endoEYE view in the diagnosis and treatment of women related issues and as well, boost quality healthcare delivery of citizens.
The commissioning and dedication was preceded by the 41st inaugural lecture of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, entitled ‘EndoEYE View of the Woman’ delivered by Prof. Ikechebelu at the University’s auditorium.
He explained that the hospital which is international standard, will handle facility issues and other ailments in the area, thereby saving patients the burden of accessing medicare at Nnewi, Lagos, Abuja or even abroad.
Gov. Obiano represented by his Deputy, Dr. Nkem Okeke while commissioning the edifice expressed shock that an individual could thought of putting in place such structure and modern technologies in diagnosis and treatment for the citizens and urged others to emulate him.
“This kind of think home philosophy is what the governor has been praying and working for. I am impressed that the hospital also has a separate quarter for patient’s relatives so that they won’t be stranded while taking care of the patients. This is a pure touch of class and excellence and a gesture we all need to emulate.
“Government has done its own part of creating enabling environment for business to thrive; we want industrialists, investors and professionals to queue into that by creating jobs for our youths. With this, people don’t need to travel to India, Canada, America and other places to access Medicare. The only thing we ask Prof. Ikechebelu is to ensure that there is professional treatment of patients here,” he urged.
He said the state government’s security breakthrough and Think Home for investment Philosophy pledged that the present administration will continue to create an enabling environment for more businesses to emerge and thrive.
In an interview, the Deputy Governor, Dr Nkem Okeke, who commended the initiator of the project, said he was impressed at the touch of class and excellence, evident in the facility.
According to the Deputy Governor, it is the major role of government to provide a conducive atmosphere for its citizens, which is what it has been doing since inception, saying that as a result, many private businesses have emerged.
He stressed that present administration understands the strategic importance public private partnership as a catalyst for advanced development, calling on more people to heed the Aku Luo Uno call of the Governor by bringing a part of their businesses, as the next four years in the life span of Governor Obiano’s administration will witness unprecedented ingenuity in all sectors of the State economy.
Dr Okeke who said that about seventy five percent of the healing process is attributed to the human relation in the hospital, urged the staff of the establishment to be dedicated to their duty by being courteous among other good human virtues, and tasked the citizenry on playing their individual roles in the process of development of the state.
Earlier at the inaugural lecture at UNIZIK auditorium, Prof. Ikechebelu described women as a special breed and a carrier of godly environment such as the vagina, uterus, fallopian tubes and pelvis but regretted that some factors like the sexually transmitted disease, uterine fibroid, tubal damage and peritoneal factors that distort the general environment in a woman could adversely result to infertility.
He further explained that EndoEYE system, available at Life hospital, is a high tech system used to examine the woman’s abdomen (laproscopy) and uterus (hysteroscopy) that transmits light and has a small video camera that sends images and video to a monitor or screen.
According to him, EndoEYE view can be used for improved diagnosis and surgery, easy procedure recording, assessment and treatment of conditions relating to the reproductive environment in a woman, adding that with the technological innovation in assessing woman’s environment, reproductive issues like tubal pathologies, tubal blockage, peri-tubal adhesions and Salpingistis with or without hydosalpinx can be identified and treated with ease.
The Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof Joseph Eberendu Ahaneku, however commended Prof. Ikechebelu for making the university proud through skills and research, pointing out that he has demonstrated strength in academics, science, entrepreneurship and willing to share his wealth of experience with others.
Dedicating the edifice unto God, the Presiding Bishop of Grace of God Mission, Dr. Paul Nwachukwu, stressed that the project was brought to fruition by God, through man’s instrumentality, saying that just like the name of the hospital implies, when one is giving life, one is doing the work of God.
Bishop Nwachukwu added that such project is the beginning of good things to come in the state.
In a comment, the traditional ruler of Umunya, who is the Chairman of Oyi Traditional Rulers Council, Igwe Kris Onyekwuluje, said that Governor Obiano’s solid foundation of security has attracted many developments into the state, calling on more people to come back home and invest, as return for their investments is guaranteed in the state.
The Convener and CEO of the Hospital, Dr Joe Ikechebelu, promised service delivery to patients in the hospital, even as he said that the Governor’s posture on development informed his investing in health care.
Others present at the inaugural lecture and commissioning of the hospital included the traditional ruler of Abagana, Igwe Mbamalu Okeke; his Umunya counterpart, Igwe Onyekwuluje; CMD NAUTH Nnewi, Prof. Anthony Igwegbe; the Sales Representative of OM Surgical New Delhi, India, Rajesh Patil; Anambra State Commissioner for Health, Dr Joe Akabuike; professional bodies; management and senior staff of NAUTH, among others. (News Express).
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France Urged to Address Colonial Legacy as Senegalese Activists Call for Reparations in Dakar Roundtable
Reporter: Sandra Ani
France’s colonial legacy came under renewed scrutiny as journalists, historians, and pan-African activists gathered at African Memorial Square in Dakar for a powerful roundtable advocating reparations and economic justice.
The event highlighted growing demands for France to take full responsibility for its historical role in Senegal and across West Africa.
Organized by advocacy groups including the Association of Descendants of Senegalese Soldiers, the Front for the Withdrawal of French Military Bases (GASSI), and JIF’AFRIK, the roundtable brought together influential voices pushing for reparatory justice and structural transformation.
Among the key speakers were Babacar Dioh of the Thiaroye 44 Movement—a coalition of descendants of Senegalese tirailleurs—and Souleymane Jules Diallo, leader of JIF’AFRIK. Discussions centered on two central demands: official reparations for colonial-era injustices and the urgent renegotiation of trade and military agreements that activists say perpetuate economic dependence.
“The time for symbolic gestures is over,” said Dioh. “We are now filing an official reparations claim and taking concrete steps to hold France accountable.”
Speakers called for the dismantling of existing neocolonial frameworks, stressing the ecological, financial, and social harm that has endured beyond the colonial period. The roundtable marks a turning point in Dakar’s positioning as a hub for coordinated African-led advocacy aimed at restoring historical justice.
This event adds momentum to a growing continental movement seeking tangible reparative action from former colonial powers and reinforces the call for equity, autonomy, and acknowledgment of historical truths.
The Enugu State government has inaugurated a steering committee to eliminate Gender-Based Violence, GBV, in the state, declaring zero tolerance for the social malaise.
The inauguration took place at the Government House Enugu.
The panel, which is chaired by the Commissioner for Children, Gender Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Ngozi Enih, draws its membership from the Nigeria Police Force, Ministry of Agriculture and Agro Industrialisation, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ministry of Human Development and Poverty Reduction, Ministry of Trade, Investment and Industry, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education as well as the Civil Society.
Inaugurating the panel known as the Steering Committee for Strengthening Institutional and Community Responses to End Gender-Based Violence/Domestication of Enugu State Gender Policy using the Oputa Panel approach, Governor Peter Mbah restated his administration’s commitment to not bringing perpetrators of GBV to book, but also putting in place proactive measures – activities, infrastructure, and systems in place to prevent them.
Mbah, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, said, “We take gender-based violence seriously. We have zero tolerance for it, and in Enugu State, we are ready to go the extra mile to deal with it.
“If you notice, the government has selected people that are very committed to this goal. This is not an activity where we just want to check-off the list. We will track this. We will monitor this, and we will have quarterly engagements on the successes that this particular committee has achieved in terms of reference that we are going to send.
“We will tighten those terms of reference indicators, so that we monitor what we are doing both in terms of cost input and the value added. It’s very important to us. Many people will be involved – civil society, the police and various ministries.”
He however, said that the effort was to protect everyone, men and women alike, as GBV was not restricted to any gender.
“The whole idea is to hold people responsible that are involved in matters relating to gender violence and deter people that by culture or by association get involved in that, protect women, protect our children, and in the case of violence against men, protect our men because most times we misconstrue gender violence to mean women, but it can also be men too.
“We encourage our men to speak out and to make sure they understand that the policy that Enugu State is soon going to domesticate is for everyone, and not only for the female gender,” he stated.
In her remark, Mrs. Enih, explained that the Oputa Panel approach was inspired by the need to cover all local peculiarities in domesticating the policy on GBV, restarting government’s confidence in the members of the panel.
“The approach we are going to use is the Oputa Panel approach, and in the Oputa Panel approach, we are going to tour the 17 Local Government Areas to get firsthand information about what our people are going through because policy is meant for the people, and a policy should suit the people.
“Again, every community has its peculiar problems, so that’s why the government decided that if we have to domesticate the gender policy, we have to hear from the people who own the policy and know the changes that they desire to see. That is the reason we are using this approach.
“The committee members are to also serve as judges. As we gather this information from our people, we will come back to tailor it in a way to suit the people of Enugu State, and then our policy is ready.
“We want the people to know that there is a gender policy for them. I can assure you that when the people are aware that there is such a policy, they will seek for the enforcement of that policy. So, this is not going to be one of those policies that will just lie on the shelf,” she said.
Digital solutions provider, Globacom, has congratulated Christians in Nigeria on this year’s Easter celebration, and urged them to emulate the noble qualities of Jesus Christ.
The company, in a goodwill message to the Christian faithful in the country, lauded their perseverance through the Lenten period which preceded Easter. It enjoined them to always promote the ideals of selflessness, love and peace among all as a way of demonstrating the virtues of the exemplary life of Jesus Christ.
“Peace, love and sacrifice are the central message of Easter. Christ offered himself in atonement for the sins of the world and he lived a life which made Him an eternal symbol of peace and goodwill for mankind”, Globacom added.
The company enjoined all Nigerians to share in the lessons of promoting selflessness, a necessary ingredient in the growth and development of every society. It also enjoined all Nigerians to join hands to make Nigeria a better place for all.
Easter is celebrated yearly at the end of the Lenten season of fasting and prayer considered as a ritual of purification for the Christian faithful. It also precedes the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ on Good Friday and His eventual resurrection on Easter Sunday.
The company assured its customers of seamless voice, data and Short Messaging Service (SMS) during and after the Easter celebrations, while urging them to avail themselves of the various data and voice offerings on the network.
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