THIS week has been particularly mind-boggling for Nigerian economy with grim facts about the state of the economy coming from the highest authorities, the finance ministry, Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS. Naturally too, the various financial markets have reacted adversely to the information – the foreign exchange market, the stock market and the money market, all headed to adverse numbers.

With more than 40 million Nigerians as healthy carriers of sickle cell gene (Hb AS) and over 150,000 babies born each year in Nigeria with sickle cell anaemia (Hb SS), the country is believed to have the largest burden of the disorder in the world. Due to ignorance, lack of access to correct diagnosis/proper care and funding for research, most of these children will die in childhood.

A trip to Igbologun community, located on Snake Island, Lagos, can be scary.

It was in Auchi, sometime around 1986, when in company of a few friends, we visited our mutual friend Clem Agba, who was in town on holiday from Bendel State University Ekpoma where he was a student of Economics. Two things struck me on that particular occasion. The excitement in Clem’s voice when he introduced the young lady we met at his home as Orobosa his heartthrob and the warm reception she accorded us throughout the time we spent with them that day.

WE will be watching out for buyers and sellers; all we need is just a scapegoat. Don’t buy plantain chips or any other items in traffic from July 1, buyers beware. The issue is we need to enforce our laws because we already have a law in respect of that and then there is a clause in it which says the buyer and the seller are both liable and that we are going to fine them either N90, 000 or a six-month jail term. ”