Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Nigeria make historic hire of Sékou Chelle to manage Super Eagles

 


In a historic move, Nigeria have named former Mali coach Éric Sékou Chelle as the new manager of the men's senior national team, the Super Eagles announced on Monday.

Sékou Chelle, from Mali, will make history as the first non-Nigerian African to coach the Super Eagles. The 47-year-old came to the attention of Nigerian football fans last year when he led Mali to their first victory over the Super Eagles in 50 years of contests between the sides.

His Mali side defeated Finidi George's Eagles 2-0 in a friendly in March 2024.

A statement from Nigeria Football Federation communications director Ademola Olajire said: "The Executive Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation has endorsed the recommendation of its Technical and Development Sub-Committee for the appointment of Mr. Éric Sékou Chelle as head coach of Nigeria's senior men national football team, Super Eagles.

"His appointment is with immediate effect, and he has the responsibility of guiding the Super Eagles to earn a ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals, with the next round of matches [Matchdays 5 and 6] taking place in March."

Born in Ivory Coast to a French father and a Malian mother, Sékou Chelle holds three nationalities -- Mali, Ivory Coast and France -- and played the majority of his career in France, where he featured for FC Martigues, Valenciennes, Lens, Istres and Chamois Niortais.

He represented Mali at international level, making five appearances for the national team.

His coaching career included spells at GS Consolat, FC Martigues, Boulogne and MC Oran. He was appointed Mali head coach in 2022, and he took them within a minute of a place in the semifinals at the Africa Cup of Nations.

His wards led hosts and eventual winners Ivory Coast for most of the game before conceding an equaliser in the last minute of regulation time, and eventually losing 2-1 after extra-time -- with Chelle's reaction turning into a viral meme.

Sékou Chelle was fired by Mali in June 2024, days after they were held to a goalless draw by 10-man Madagascar in a Group I World Cup qualifier in Johannesburg.

By Colin Udoh, ESPN

A mother's mission to help Nigerians with cerebral palsy

Although Babatunde Fashola, affectionately known as Baba, is 22 years old, he is less than 70cm (2ft 4in) tall.

He has cerebral palsy and requires lifelong care. He can neither speak nor walk and is fed via a tube attached to his stomach.

As a baby, he was abandoned by his parents but 10 years ago, he found a home at the Cerebral Palsy Centre in the Nigerian city of Lagos.

"Baba weighs about 12kg [26lb]. He is doing well," the facility's founder, Nonye Nweke, tells me when I visit.

Ms Nweke and her staff work around the clock to support him and other youngsters living with permanent brain damage.

Although there is a lack of official data, cerebral palsy is believed to be one of the most common neurological disorders in Nigeria. In 2017, a medical professor from the University of Lagos said 700,000 people had the condition.

For many of those living with cerebral palsy in the country, their condition was caused by a common phenomenon among newborns - neonatal jaundice.

This is caused by a build-up of bilirubin, a yellow substance, in the blood, meaning the babies' skins have a yellow tinge.

Professor Chinyere Ezeaka, a paediatrician at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, tells the BBC that more than 60% of all babies suffer from jaundice.

Most babies recover within days. More severe cases need further medical intervention - and even then the condition is easily treatable.

Children are basically exposed to ultra-violet light to dissolve the excess bilirubin in their red blood cells. The treatment lasts a few days depending on the severity.

However, in Nigeria this treatment is often not immediately available, which is why the country is among the five with the most neurological disorders caused by untreated jaundice in the world, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO).

Any treatment for neonatal jaundice "must occur within the first 10 days of life, else [the condition] could cause permanent brain damage and severe cerebral palsy", says Prof Ezeaka.

To make matters worse, the West African country lacks facilities to care for those with neurological disorders. There are just three cerebral palsy centres, all privately run, in Nigeria, which has a population of more than 200 million.

Ms Nweke - a single mother - set up the Cerebral Palsy Centre after struggling to find support for her own daughter, Zimuzo.

"When I took her to a day-care [centre], they asked me to take her back because other mothers would withdraw their children. As a mum, I must say it was quite devastating," Ms Nweke tells the BBC.

Zimuzo is now 17, and Ms Nweke's Cerebral Palsy Centre provides full-time support for others with similar experiences.

On the day I visit, colourful playtime mats and toys are neatly arranged on the floor. Mickey Mouse and his friends converse on a wide-screen television in the lounge.

Twelve youngsters, some as young as five, gaze at the TV, their bright environment ignored for a moment. They are all immobile and non-speaking.

At lunchtime, caregivers help the youngsters eat. Some take in liquified food through tubes attached to their stomachs.

Carefully and slowly, the carers support their heads with pillows and push the contents of their syringes into the tubes.

The youngsters are fed every two hours and require regular muscular massages to prevent stiffness.

But they are the lucky 12 receiving free care from the Cerebral Palsy Centre, which is funded exclusively by donors.

The facility has a long waiting list - Ms Nweke has received more than 100 applications.

But taking on more youngsters would require extra financial support. The cost of caring for someone at the centre is at least $1,000 (£790) a month - a huge amount in a country where the national minimum wage is about $540 a year.

"As a mum, I must say it's quite overwhelming. You have moments of depression, it gives you heartaches and it is quite expensive - in fact it's the most expensive congenital disorder to manage," Ms Nweke says.

"And then of course, it keeps you away from people because you don't discuss the same things. They are talking of their babies, walking, enjoying those baby moments. You are not doing that. You are sad," she adds.

Ms Nweke explains that she adopted Zimuzo from an orphanage.

A few months after taking her new daughter home, Ms Nweke realised Zimuzo was not developing in the same way as the children around her were. She was assessed at a hospital and diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

Ms Nweke was told she could take Zimuzo, who was then just a few months old, back to the orphanage and adopt another baby instead, but she refused.

"I decided to keep her and I began researching what the disorder was about, the treatment and type of care my child would need - she's my life.

"I was also told by the doctors she won't live beyond two years. Well here we are - 17 years later," says a smiling Ms Nweke.

A lack of awareness and adequate medical support hinders the diagnosis and treatment of neonatal jaundice in Nigeria.

Ms Nweke also says the common local belief that children with congenital disorders are spiritually damaged or bewitched leads to stigmatisation.

Some children with neurological disorders - mostly in Nigeria's rural areas - are labelled witches. In some cases, they are abandoned in prayer houses or cast out of their families.

Ms Nweke is not alone in her mission to dispel myths and improve care.

The Oscar Project - a charity aimed at improving the diagnosis and treatment of neonatal jaundice - recently began operating in Lagos.

The project is named after Vietnamese-born British disability advocate, Oscar Anderson, whose untreated jaundice caused his cerebral palsy.

"We're equipping health facilities at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels with the equipment to treat jaundice, primarily light boxes, but also detection and screening equipment," Toyin Saraki, who oversaw the launch, tells the BBC.

Project Oscar, backed by consumer health firm Reckitt, is training 300 health workers in Lagos. The hope over the first year is to reach 10,000 mothers, screen 9,000 children and introduce new protocols to try and prevent babies with jaundice from developing cerebral palsy.

In a country where the public health system is overstretched, the government has little to say about the disorder, although it lauded the Oscar project's goals.

Treatment for neonatal jaundice is significantly cheaper than the cost of lifelong care, doctors say.

First launched in Vietnam in 2019, Project Oscar has helped about 150,000 children in the Asian country.

Mr Anderson, 22, says he wants to prevent other children experiencing what he has been through.

"People with disabilities are not to be underestimated," he tells the BBC.

He is working to ensure screening for every newborn infant for neonatal jaundice, and, with the support and courage of mums, midwives and medical professionals, ensure there is better understanding and quicker treatment.

However, achieving this is a hugely ambitious goal in Africa's most-populous country, where thousands of babies are born each year with neonatal jaundice.

Regardless, Mr Anderson is determined to defy the odds.

"The work doesn't stop until every baby is protected against neonatal jaundice," he says.

By Nkechi Ogbonna, BBC

Tuesday, January 7, 2025

Nigerian humanist freed after imprisonment for ‘blasphemy’

The National Secular Society has welcomed news that Nigerian atheist Mubarak Bala has been freed from prison, after spending four years behind bars for 'blasphemy'.

In 2022, Bala was sentenced to 24 years in prison, after Kano State High Court convicted him of 18 counts of causing a public disturbance.

He was arrested in 2020 after a petition from a group of lawyers alleging he had called the Islamic prophet Muhammad "all sorts of denigrating names" was sent to police.

Bala's legal team said they believe Bala is still in danger. Bala told the BBC that that whilst he is now free, there remains "an underlying threat", and "the concern about my safety is always there".

When asked why he pled guilty to the charges in court, which was not part of the agreed legal strategy, Bala said he believed this would save "not only my life, but people in the state, and especially those that were attached to my case".

Humanists International said it is likely he was subjected to intimidation, and there have been unconfirmed reports of threats against his family members.

During his ordeal, Bala was held without charge for 462 days and was denied access to a legal team for over five months. Bala was also denied access to medical care. In December 2020, a judge at the High Court in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, ruled that Bala should be immediately released, but Kano State authorities failed to comply.

Bala said that: "In Kano [prison], I never thought I would get out alive."

The NSS contributed to Humanists International's campaign to release Bala, and in 202 urged authorities in Nigeria to release him after he had spent a year in detention.

Blasphemy laws exist in at least 95 countries, including Northern Ireland. In 12 countries, including Nigeria, blasphemy or apostasy are punishable by death.

NSS: Abolition of blasphemy should follow Bala's freedom

NSS spokesperson Jack Rivington said: "We are delighted that Mubarak Bala has been freed, but he should never have faced imprisonment in the first place.

"Criticising religion should never be a crime. Blasphemy laws of any kind have no place anywhere. They are an affront to the fundamental human rights of freedom of expression and freedom of religion or belief.

"We call again for the abolition of all blasphemy laws, everywhere."



Imam Sentenced to Death Over Blasphemy in Nigeria

Nigerian duo found guilty of defrauding Albuquerque resident of $560K

Two Nigerian nationals were found guilty of defrauding $560,000 from an Albuquerque resident, the Department of Justice announced on Monday.

According to court documents and evidence presented at the four-day trial, Olutayo Sunday Ogunlaja, 39, and Abel Adeyi Daramola, 37, used a fake profile on the dating website eHarmony.com to start a romantic relationship with the victim. The duo then requested money from the victim, claiming the money would be used to complete a construction project in Malaysia and allow them to return safely to the United States.

The DOJ said the victim sent approximately $560,000 to various accounts in the United States, Canada, and Malaysia between January 2016 and April 2017.

Ogunlaja and Daramola will remain on conditions of release pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled. At sentencing, they each face up to 20 years in prison.

By Fallon Fischer, KRQE

Nigeria makes strides in cancer control, views decentralization of services to expand access

Nigeria has advanced its national cancer control programme in the last decade and is making steady progress towards expanding care for millions of people, an international assessment has found. Nigeria is strengthening institutional response, increasing resource allocation and building its oncology workforce and services to tackle its cancer burden, according to the review.

The imPACT review, carried out by the IAEA, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) upon request from the Nigerian Government, evaluated current health system readiness for cancer care and progress since a previous assessment in 2011.

With 220 million people, Nigeria has the largest population in Africa, densely spread across a country with a land mass of 900 000 square kilometres. However, the distribution of health services is uneven, concentrated around larger cities and not easily accessible for many Nigerians outside main urban centres. Noncommunicable diseases, including cancer, are a significant health problem; according to 2022 IARC figures, the number of new cancer cases in Nigeria is estimated at nearly 128 000 per year.

The most frequent types of cancer among Nigerian men are prostate, colorectal and liver cancers. Breast cancer, with over 32 200 new cases and more than 16 300 deaths per year, is the most common cause of death from cancer among Nigerian women. Cervical cancer also poses a major challenge, accounting for the second largest number of female cancer deaths in Nigeria.

In October 2024, an imPACT review team comprising IAEA, WHO and 12 independent experts from Algeria, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Morocco, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, the United States of America, Zambia and Zimbabwe visited key sites relevant to cancer control in Nigeria, including university hospitals and primary health care centres. The review team not only brought together a wide pool of expertise, but also fostered regional and south-south collaboration to support capacity building following the review.

The team, on the ground in Nigeria from 14 to 24 October 2024, interviewed local health authorities and held extensive consultations with cancer stakeholders, including patient advocacy groups. They also met with partners that could potentially support the country in scaling up access to cancer services, including the Islamic Development Bank, the African Development Bank and the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, among others.

The review found that Nigeria has taken positive steps to strengthen cancer care since the last imPACT mission to the country in 2011, including through the establishment in 2023 of the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment (NICRAT). The institute has since launched the National Strategic Cancer Control Plan 2023-2027 and is working with several partners to implement its activities in cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, hospice and palliative care, as well as data management and advocacy.

“As part of our ongoing efforts to enhance access to cancer diagnosis and treatment across the country, we are working closely with the Federal Ministry Of Health and Social Welfare to establish comprehensive cancer treatment centres and diagnostic facilities across all the six geopolitical zones,” said NICRAT Director General Usman Aliyu. “We are also partnering with stakeholders towards strengthening cancer control programs at both the federal and state levels to address the rising burden of cancer in Nigeria.”

The imPACT review sought to create a baseline analysis of the current cancer care situation to support Nigeria in building strategic partnerships to expand care, including under broader global cancer efforts such as the IAEA’s Rays of Hope, WHO’s breast and cervical cancer initiatives, and IARC’s cancer registry initiative. The assessment also helped determine national capacity building needs in oncology, pathology and palliative care, among others.

“We are working closely with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and other partners under the sector-wide approach framework to promote synergies and enhance coordination for cancer control across at all levels, including the integration of cancer prevention and early diagnosis interventions within the primary health care setting,” said Walter Kazadi Mulombo, WHO Country Representative in Nigeria.

In May 2024, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi visited Nigeria and pledged increased cancer care support through the IAEA’s Rays of Hope initiative. Nigeria expressed interest to expand radiotherapy services – including brachytherapy to treat for example cervical and prostate cancers – in all its 36 states.

“The imPACT Review was well-timed, considering the country’s plans to expand cancer care access within the framework of the IAEA’s Rays of Hope and technical cooperation programme,” said Mickel Edwerd, Section Head in the IAEA Department of Technical Cooperation and member of the review team. “The findings provide a key starting point to increase cancer care access for millions of Nigerians.”