Lassa fever outbreak kills 21 in Nigeria

Lassa fever has claimed a total of 21 lives in its latest outbreak in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, said Director General of the Nigeria Center for Disease Control Chikwe Ihekweazu.

A total of 77 confirmed cases have so far been recorded since the disease, which affected 10 health workers, broke out, the official said Tuesday in Abuja.

He described the situation as sober, adding that it had resulted in serious emotional trauma, fear, anxiety and sometimes anger among stakeholders.

Ihekweazu said it was high time stakeholders came together and addressed the challenges of hemorrhagic fevers, including Lassa fever.

The national coordinator said NCDC has distributed more Ribavirin drugs used in the treatment of the disease to the affected states than it had ever done in the past.

Lassa fever is a viral infection caused by the Lassa fever virus and the disease occurs all year round but more cases are recorded during the dry season.

It is spread through direct contact with urine, faeces, saliva or blood of infected rats, eating food or drinking contaminated water.

The disease can be prevented through enhanced personal hygiene, avoidance of all contact with rats (dead or alive) and keeping the house and surrounding clean.

Xinhua

Video - Analysts recognize Buhari's efforts to fight graft in Nigeria

Nigeria's President, Muhammadu Buhari, has lived up to his election promise, the fight against corruption. Several former senior government officials, former military chiefs and serving judges are standing trial for alleged corruption.

French journalist asks acclaimed Nigerian author Adichie 'are there bookshops in Nigeria?'

When Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was supposed to be answering questions pertaining to feminism and the #MeToo movement, the world gravitated towards her interviewer’s “retrograde” questions.

On January 25 at “La Nuit des Idees” (The Night of Ideas) in Paris, French journalist Caroline Broue asked the author of several award-winning books, including Half of a Yellow Sun, Purple Hibiscus and Americanah, whether her books were read in her home country of Nigeria, and if there were bookshops.


“I think it reflects very poorly on French people that you have to ask me that question … You’ll be shocked to know that they are, yes ... They are read and studied, not just in Nigeria but across the continent of Africa,” Adichie responded.

The author was then asked to speak about her country, as Broue admitted that the French know very little about Nigeria, “certainly not enough”, and when the French do speak about Nigeria “it’s about Boko Haram and the problems of violence and security”.

“I do not expect a French person to know almost everything about Nigeria. I don’t know almost everything about France. But to be asked to ‘tell French people that you have bookshops in Nigeria because they don’t know’ is to cater to a wilfully retrograde idea – that Africa is so apart, so pathologically ‘different,’ that a non-African cannot make reasonable assumptions about life there,” Adichie responded

Adichie said that she was taken aback when her “Intelligent, thoughtful and well prepared” interviewer asked a question that was “far below the intellectual register of her previous questions.”

“I know now that she was trying to be ironic ... it was a genuine, if flat, attempt at irony and I wish she would not be publicly pilloried,” Adichie said.

Mail & Guardian

Herdsmen, farmers continue fight over farmland in Nigeria

Tensions between farmers and herdsmen in Nigeria is heightening, at the center of the conflict is the shrinking grazing and farming land available. Climate change and threats of Boko Haram attacks have led to herdsmen encroaching on farming land.

Nigeria defeat Angola to advance to CHAN semis

Nigeria needed an injury-time goal and another in extra-time as they came from behind to beat Angola in the quarter-finals of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) on Sunday in Morocco.

Angola took the lead in Tangiers with a fortuitous ricochet off the chest of their forward Va as Timothy Danladi tried to clear.

In the 92nd minute Anthony Okpotu stabbed home the equaliser to make amends for the earlier chances he missed and then Okechukwu Gabriel scored the winner in the 109th minute of the match.

Nigeria now play Sudan in Wednesday's second semi-final in Marrakech at the tournament only for players in domestic leagues on the continent.

The Nigerians dominated the opening exchanges while the Angolans were happy to rely on counter-attacks and set pieces.

Indeed, their efforts almost paid dividends in the first half as Nigeria keeper and captain Ikechukwu Ezenwa had to make the more difficult saves, firstly tipping over a fierce shot from Mano and then a double stop from the same player at closer range.

Okpotu's first missed chance came on the stroke of half-time as he had an effort headed off the line by Angola's Nary after goalkeeper Landu failed to catch a cross from Ikouwem Utin.

His next chance came just after the break, when he took advantage of hesitation between Landu and a defender on the edge of the area, but his shot went wide of a gaping goal.

Angola broke the deadlock 10 minutes after half-time when Danladi's attempted clearance hit the chest of Va and looped over Ezenwa into the goal.

Nigeria must have thought luck was against them in the 76th minute but Gabriel headed against the post from Dayo Ojo's cross.

With the seconds ticking away, Nigeria sent a free kick from inside their own half into the Angolan penalty box and Rabiu Ali's flicked header fell to Okpotu who this time put away the equaliser and sent his team-mates into wild celebrations.

Just after the break in extra-time, Gabriel drove across the area, finding himself some space, and managed to cut his shot back across goal and in, to seal the win for Nigeria.

The only downside for Nigeria were three players having to leave the pitch with injuries and coach Salisu Yusuf will be hoping that Emeka Ogbugh and Kalu Orji Okugbue can all recover in time to face Sudan in the last four, while Sunday Felaye is now a doubt for the rest of the tournament with an arm injury.

BBC