The leadership for the Movement for the Survival of Izon Ethnic Nationality in Niger Delta (MOSIEND) has called on the Rivers State House of Assembly led by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Martins Amaewhule, to reconcile their differences with Governor Siminalayi Fubara in the interest of the State
MOSIEND also urged the lawmakers to honour the invite by the Governor to chart the way forward for peace and development of Rivers State following the Supreme Court ruling, saying the meeting by the Governor presents a unique opportunity for the Assembly members and the Executive Governor to put aside their differences and work towards the progress and development of the State.
This was contained in a statement signed by the National President, MOSIEND, Ambassador. Kennedy Tonjo West, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.
“We commend Governor Siminalayi Fubara for taking the bold step of inviting the Rivers State House of Assembly, led by Rt. Hon. Speaker, Martins Amaewhule, for a meeting to discuss the way forward following the Supreme Court judgment”, the statement said.
It urged both parties to bury their hatchet, make peace, and settle all areas of concern.
“We urge them to seize this moment to bury their hatchet, make peace, and settle all areas of concern.
“In a democratic setting, it’s essential that the arms of government work together harmoniously as the state has suffered significantly due to the ongoing wrangling. The meeting will demonstrate the Assembly members’ commitment to peace, unity, and progress.
“We believe that the Assembly members have legitimate concerns and should be given the opportunity to express themselves. It’s not about who’s right or wrong but about putting the interest of Rivers people first.
“The Governor and Assembly members should prioritize the state’s well-being as they swore to protect and preserve it.
“This meeting is the first step towards peace, and we encourage all parties to approach it with an open mind and a willingness to compromise. This is as the Bible says, ‘There is a time for everything under the sun: a time for war and a time for peace’.
“We urge the Speaker and the state lawmakers to attend this meeting and reconcile their differences with the Governor.
“The Peace of Rivers State depends on their collective efforts”, Amb. West said.

By: Chinedu Wosu

Following the launch of University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) Premium facility, the Chief Medical Director (CMD), UPTH, Professor Henry Ugboma, has said the newly launched UPTH Premium would drastically reduce capital flights and medical tourism in the region.
Ugboma, who spoke at the unveiling of the state-of-the-art facility located in UPTH complex, said the new hospital is of same standard with any hospital overseas.
He stated that the idea of UPTH Premium was birthed by a quest to face the challenges faced by people who want to seek specialized medicare abroad, who goe through so much and the huge financial implications.
“The problem associated with moving patients from here to outside state or country is a major issue. So, we took it upon ourselves and consulted with the board, and we agreed to map out projects that will benefit our people, things that are affordable, achievable and to reduce capital flight and medical tourism.
“This project was one of them and we are happy today that we have achieved it”, Ugboma said.
The CMD commended the hospital’s board and their partners for keying into their dream of birthing a world-class medical facility to attend to specialized healthcare needs of the people.
He disclosed that the facility would run on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis.
“I thank my board for making it possible, because without your support we won’t be able to achieve this. We thank the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that listened to us to put up this facility and the manager of the facility, Dr. Teinye Isokariari, who is also our product here, for envisioning into our dream and to have come out with this project.
“Public Private Partnership is the way to go and that’s why we brought in Patricare. We gave them this infrastructure and they gave the final torch”, he added.
The Chief Medical Dirrctor emphasized that the new hospital does not diminish the existing teaching hospital, but would rather serve as a feeder to the new facility, while also assuring that the hospital is cost effective with all expertise intact.
“We have two systems here: the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, and UPTH Premium. Their cost can’t be the same, but what we have here can accommodate everybody.
“What we have here is like what you have outside the country, but definitely this is cheaper when you consider your flight ticket and all that.
“You have all the expertise here even in the teaching hospital. UPTH would serve as a feeder to the new hospital.
“Patricare is also coming in with their team of doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers who will impact positively on service delivery as all departments are complete”, he said

Earlier, the Managing Director of Patricare and Chief Executive Officer of UPTH Premium, Dr. Teinye Isokariari, said the driving vision behind the project is the desire to give back to his alma nater and to boost healthcare delivery in the region.

He explained that the new hospital aims to create a support system for the already existing structure in the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital.

“I feel comfortable bringing this back home to my alma mater because UPTH has one of the greatest minds.

“What we are trying to do is to make sure that we bring our colleagues oversees back home and for UPTH, what we are doing is to enable the private sector pluck into the resources that UPTH already has. So, the drive is to make the hospital, state and region great.

“We have put together a facility that has about seventy beds, we have four theaters, an Intensive Care Unit, Special Care Units, laboratory and quite a good facility here.

“The idea is to provide care at the same level you can get anywhere around the world”, Isokariari explained.

He assured that the management would continue to partner with their consultants, the management of UPTH and others to ensure that the value the hospital provides is not just driven by financial gains, but patients satisfaction.

Also Speaking, Commissioner for Health, Rivers State, Dr. Adaeze Oreh, said the State Government would partner UPTH Premium to ensure that it delivers on its objectives.

Represented by the Head, Rivers State Emergency Medical Services and Ambulance Systems (RSEMSAS), Dr. Sylvanus Ojums, Oreh said the State would partner the hospital because the services to be rendered there are for the benefit of Rivers people.

The Commissioner also assured that the emergency ambulance service system would be available to carry patients to the hospital at no cost.

By: Chinedu Wosu

A renowned scholar of Environmental Literature, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education (IAUE), Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, Professor Anthony Adele Orlu, has called on Rivers State citizens to collectively fight the unhealthy politics of upland and riverine dichotomy.
Speaking while delivering the 63rd inaugural lecture of IAUE last Thursday at the university auditorium, main campus, titled, “Literature, Environmental, Violation and Leadership Crisis in the Niger Delta”, Professor Orlu stated that the element of disunity has dampened the economic fortunes of the region and further exacerbated the sense of deprivation in the citizens.
While advocating for the provision of a leadership that indulges all ethnic groups in the region, he stated that those from the upland also have water body and are not totaling isolated from rivers.
He also enlightened the audience that those from the riverine do not live inside the river but on land, adding that since there is also land everywhere in the region, the ploy or attempt to divide the people along these lines should be resisted at all cost.
The inaugural Lecturer emphasized that divisions based on ethnic lines of Ijaw, Ikwerre, Etche and so on should be discarded and inclusivity practiced.
The Rumuwoji Oroabali Rebisi-born Professor reiterated that militancy in all forms should be thrown into the garbage heap of history as these militants have become extremely rich and powerful to the detriment of the people.
He further stated that their contributions to economic or physical redemption of the region is not felt in anyway, especially as some of them have become self-acclaimed warlords, maintain their own non-state actors and have continually terrorized the region at will.
Corruption and ethnicity, he explained, are the major cankerworms that have destroyed the sense of unity to n the State.
He encouraged all to “resist the common enemy and to fight for the unity of Rivers State people”.
Professor Orlu proposed a new strand of the ecological theory to be known as ec-hygiene.
This eco-hygiene strand, which, he explained, examines issues concerning personal hygiene and its impact on the environment, has not been mentioned by other theorists.
He stated that issues bothering on public defecation, open urination along street corners and major highways, lack of cleanliness at home, office, car, kitchen, noise pollution in the church, on the street and so on, are the concerns of the eco-hygiene strand of the ecological theory.

He, therefore, advocated the inclusion of the eco-hygiene strand to the whole gamut of ecological literary analyses.

As far as the Professor of Environmental Literature is concerned, eco-hygiene as a strand of the ecological theory “will ensure that the searchlight of analyses will shift slightly away from the activities of Shell Petroleum Development Company and other oil prospecting companies to the examination of the activities of the individual in his personal environment”.

The 63rd Inaugural Lecturer also exposed the importance of environment to the study of literature, especially as the cherished environment of the Niger Delta region is facing extinction with the discovery of the “black gold”, which has led to the destruction of farmlands, caused environmental pollution and the violation of the biosphere through spillages, flooding, gas flaring with its inhuman effects on the entire flora and fauna.

Orlu reaffirmed that the importance of the lecture “is not only about the examination of the degree of environmental deprivation caused by the prospecting of crude petroleum, but also the activities of man and his sense of hygiene with regards to the preservation of the environment”.

He, therefore, hinted that it is on this understanding that the issue of environmental personal hygiene becomes the fulcrum of the lecture for which a new strand of the eco-theory , to be known as eco-hygiene is proposed.

In concluding, Professor Orlu highlighted the importance of the environment to the study of literature, particularly in the Niger Delta region, where the cherished environment is facing extinction due to oil prospecting activities.

Speaking at the event, the Dean, Faculty of Humanities, Professor Kingdom Eke Orji, who represented the Acting Vice Chancellor of IAUE, commended the Inaugural Lecturer and emphasized the need for citizens to stop apportioning blame to oil companies and focus on individual actions that constitute nuisance.

Professor Orji, who declared that “the fault is on ourselves and not in our stars”, urged all to not allow individual differences to prevent achievement of common goal, but to promote peaceful coexistence, unity and inclusivity, and to adopt eco-hygiene practices to mitigate environmental degradation.

The Registrar of IAUE, Dr. Chinonye Abraham Ajie, also commended Professor Orlu for his position on the subject matter and expressed the hope that all would abide by his proposed eco-hygiene.

In a vote of thanks, the former University Librarian, Orator, now the Head, Department of Library and Information Science, Professor Boma Beatrice Obi, lauded the 63rd Inaugural Lecturer for the epoch making lecture and enjoined all to “take responsibility for our collective actions as well as our impact on the environment”.

She appreciated everyone who turned out to support the Inaugural Lecturer and made the event a success.

By: Sogbeba Dokubo