Obasanjo Takes On African Leaders, Ghanaian Doctors

Former Prez Obasanjo

The Former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria H.E Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has blamed the continuous underdevelopment of the African Continent on the current generation of political leaderships who have chosen to live lavishly at the expense of the ordinary people.

He said political leaders of the continent spared no time at all in keeping their people disunited and also used that opportunity to misappropriate the little resources entrusted in their care whiles the citizens suffered.

The continent’s people, he said, had over the years seemed to have benefitted only from poverty and monumental debts from their leaders in spite of the abundance of natural resources at their disposal which they could effectively harness or use as palliative measures to advance development.

According to Chief Obasanjo, low standards of education, poor health services, rising inflation and insecurity among others, were some of the general characteristics of underdevelopment of the continent.

Delivering a speech at the maiden edition of the African Leadership Lecture Series and a special graduation ceremony of medical and postgraduate students of the University for Development Studies [UDS] in Tamale where he was Guest Speaker, he acknowledged that Africa had large deposits of gold, diamonds, manganese as well as significant amounts of forest reserves and fertile lands for agricultural purposes, yet majority of its people still went to bed hungry.

Chief Obasanjo who was also conferred with an Honorary Doctorate of Letters [Honorari Causa] by the authorities of the UDS, stressed that resources of the continent if well managed could turn the lives of the people around, noting that, it was however on record that a lot of leaders stole state money and lodged them in overseas accounts.

The 86 year old Diplomat also used the occasion to reprimand Ghanaian medical doctors for embarking on industrial action, describing their posture as completely irresponsible. Adding, he said the doctors had no moral justification for shirking their responsibilities towards their patients because it was morally unethical.

As much as the doctors might be right, he urged them to return to their work because there was judgment day ahead of everyone.

About 48 medical students trained by the UDS School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) were inducted into the Ghana Medical and Dental Council, as they began their two years housemanship program at the Tamale Teaching Hospital and some district hospitals in the Northern Region. Also, 15 graduands were awarded with postgraduate certificates in Mphl, MA and Msc in various academic programmes.

They took the Hippocratic Oath and National Pledge which were respectively administered by the Chairman of the Medical and Dental Council Dr. Eric Asamoa and the President of the Republic of Ghana H.E John Dramani Mahama. 

President Mahama challenged the young doctors to accept to work in rural areas and also urged them to adhere to their professional ethics.

Moreover, he seized the opportunity to thank founding fathers of the UDS particularly former President Jerry John Rawlings for personally making monetary contribution towards the establishment of the university. “I have also been duly informed that plans are underway to honour the former president in this regard”, he disclosed.

Meanwhile, established in 1996, the UDS medical school like other medical schools in the country had been using traditional curriculum to train her students. But there had been a change over to the Problem Based Learning (PBL) methodology since September 2007. 

The rationale for this change over to PBL lies in the mission statement of the University, "A School of Medicine and Health Sciences Situated in Northern Ghana with a unique mandate to prepare health professional and scientists, with the right beliefs and attitudes to work in deprived rural communities, using the Problem Based Learning and the Community-Based Extension Service approaches. A crop, who can, and are apt to adapt to, initiate change and collaborate within interdisciplinary teams to contribute significantly to humane and cost effective healthcare."

The PBL allows for some interactive teaching and moulds a holistic medical student beginning from year one. The programme involves the use of several district hospitals and their consultants/specialists and exposes students as well as takes medical care to the rural communities. 

Thus, the 48 graduands were awarded degrees in Human Biology, Medicine and Surgery (M.B., ch. B). They are expected to get their license to practice as full medical doctors after their two year housemanship.

  

Trail of Corruption in UDS: A Mere Perception or Reality?

UDS Logo

Few weeks ago, I tried contributing my quota to the building of a good reputation for the University for Development Studies (UDS) by making a seemingly rare attempt to expose a canker which symptoms include tribalism, nepotism and ineptitude, and help nip it in the bud.

Every right thinking individual including me fear this canker can destroy any great institution such as the UDS, especially when its administration is manned by a leadership that is over complacent, pessimistic, timid, happy-go-lucky and worse of all, lack wisdom. 

Obviously, some few people who do not want to be tagged as being tribalistic, nepotistic and inept were somehow displeased with the way and manner I played my watchdog role in an article that triggered a lot of responses from an array of current and former students as well as former employees of the university. 

Nonetheless, many were those who expressed gratitude for my daring and unbiased attempt to FURTHER expose something that has, in their own words, existed for over a decade now and continues to exist. Whilst few people personally called me to say “thank you for your good work”, others made similar expressions on other social networks particularly on http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/artikel.php?ID=268542, where the article was given some prominence. 

Before I tell anyone reading this piece about the perception or reality surrounding the trail of corrupt practices in the UDS, kindly allow me to share with you some of the comments made on Ghanaweb when the previous article captioned:“Tribalism, nepotism and Ineptitude Destroying UDS” was published. Some of the few comments I’ve paraphrased read: letters sent to the UDS by people including job seekers mysteriously get missing when their owners make follow-ups later; graduate programmes have began to proliferate but the qualified people to handle such courses leave much to be desired. The students are being sacrificed for the university’s management; and Ask Professor Dittoh when he was Pro-Vice Chancellor, it was as if UDS was in the pocket of Frafras. 

Also, a student who called from the Wa campus of UDS complained bitterly that three different lecturers who currently handle culture and management; management accounting; and economics are inept and ought to be replaced by the authorities. “They don’t know their left from their right anytime they come to class and when they leave, my mates and I become even more confuse”. These and many more were some of the comments I received from readers of my previous article. 

Indeed, a message that appeared to speak in volumes regarding the tribal cards that are being played by some self-centered people in the UDS was one I received during a chat with a student on one of the social media websites. She said: “…..the Ewes want to be heads….the Dagombas think it’s their home and demand unnecessary respect, the Kwahu boys feel they have the money, and the Dagaabas put up the better than thou attitude.”

Fellow countrymen and women, the problem at the UDS is indeed hydra-headed and it will take a leader with patience, openness, tactfulness and above all good sense of judgment to be able to deal with this problem without stepping on toes. I thought the issue of tribalism, nepotism and ineptitude was just within the circles of the three descendants of Naa Gbewa of the ancient Mole-Dagbani Kingdom who I prefer to call X, Y and Z. So as it stands now, I can’t help but to admit that there’s something more to the UDS problem than meets the eye. 

UDS Central Administration

The Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines CORRUPTION as “illegal, bad or dishonest behaviour, especially by people in positions of power”. From the dictionary of my mental faculties, I also define CORRUPTION as “The absence of transparency and accountability in both the private and public lives of every human, especially persons in positions of power”. 

Following the publication of my previous article about the UDS, some of those who called me to make comments after reading it, encouraged me to write about certain incongruous happenings in the administration of MY and of course OUR university, which they were not enthuse with.  

For instance, like in most tertiary and even second cycle institutions, it is an established and legally accepted norm by authorities of the UDS to conduct medical fitness tests on every fresh student who gains admission into the university as part of admission requirements. 

The reason for such medical tests I understand, is to enable authorities and medical facilities or doctors to know about the medical history of each student in their custody obviously to avoid complications in the event of sickness. 

Perhaps, [my conjecture] another reason why university officials would conduct medical tests on students, is to enable them use data collated for research purposes in future, since they believe in research as an elixir to the health problems confronting the people in the area the university operates and Ghana as a whole.

Fortunately or unfortunately, authorities of the UDS sources claimed, refuse to disclose tests results to students who submit to the various tests conducted on them by a team of ‘independent medical examiners’ who move from campus to campus every year to conduct the tests. Patrick [not his real name] and a third year student of the Wa campus of the university in a chat with me via phone disclosed that, all members of his batch in 2010 were asked to bring samples of their faeces and urine for the tests to be conducted. Even though he is not sure of the kind of tests that were conducted using their faeces and urine, he suspects the test could include establishing whether there is any presence of deadly viruses, renal/liver conditions, parasites, cancer, urinary tract infections, as well as other communicable diseases in their systems. Bottom-line; to establish whether each individual student is medically fit to go through the four/seven-year academic programme. 

I learned that few years ago, authorities of the UDS gave students the free will to choose a recognized medical facility of their choice to have them examined. It was not until 2010, when authorities reportedly decided to take full charge of the medical examination by awarding it on contract to “independent medical examiners” who in collaboration with the university, charged and continue to charge students exorbitant fees for the tests, which they complain about. I’m told students pay not less than GH¢50.00 for the medical test and that, it was most likely to increase to GH¢100.00 for shortlisted applicants of the 2013/2014 academic year. 

Honestly, I think this whole exercise being undertaken by the authorities of the UDS is good. But the few concerns that beg for answers and/or explanations from authorities of the university are (i) Are the authorities hiding behind the medical tests to rob poor students and their parents of their few coins? (ii) Am not a medical practitioner but with the little knowledge I have as a human rights journalist, I think it’s against the fundamental human rights of students of the UDS to be denied knowledge of their medical condition by the authorities after subjecting them to medical laboratory tests. They deserve to know whether they are sick or not, otherwise I dare say that, the students are being used as “guinea pigs” by the university officials to conduct some lucrative research.      

Another serious concern that is worth mentioning even though it is a rumour, is that some IT officials of the university have been clandestinely inserting their own list of names of applicants into the final list of applicants prepared by the Registrar’s office for admission in every academic year. From the scuttlebutt, this issue was seriously discussed at a recent meeting of university authorities and plans were fashioned out to expel any staff of the IT Department that would be found culpable. 

Frankly, I treated the aforementioned allegation with contempt when I first heard it. Why am I saying this? Every year, the list of all qualified applicants is published on www.uds.edu.gh with unique code or numbers generated for each shortlisted applicant. Besides, admission letters are sent later to each qualified applicant who gains admission into the university and so it stands to reason that even if any IT official inserts any name into the list of the Registrar, it would be impossible for that IT official to forge the signature of the Registrar on admission letters of any so called unqualified applicants list. 

But like I always say, there is an iota of truth in every rumour and like everyone else, I think university authorities should come clean on this. There should be no attempt to cover-up for anybody who is found guilty of any misdeed if what I’m hearing is anything to go by. They that have ears let them hear, and if they that heed are wise, let them act.

  

     

Zoomlion Lauds SADA/Asongtaba Guinea Fowl Project

Alhaji Abdulai Abdallah

The Northern Regional Manager of Zoomlionlion Ghana Limited, Alhaji Abdulai Abdallah, has also lauded the initiative by the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority [SADA] and Asongtaba Cottage Industries, to boost the guinea fowl poultry industry in the Northern Ecological Zone of the country because it would lead to poverty alleviation and economic empowerment of the people. 

However, he observed that, such a huge investment being made towards the guinea fowl project, could yield more dividends amongst the people in the short and long terms, if local industries such as Zoomlion Ghana Limited that had the capacity to produce the right variety of poultry feed was also engaged in this venture.

Speaking exclusively to this blogger in an interview on an array of issues bothering on sanitation in the Tamale Metropolis and his view of the prospects of the guinea fowl project embarked upon by SADA and Asongtaba, Alhaji Abdallah stated that, the rearing of guinea fowls was part and parcel of the culture and traditions of the Northern people, and cited that, in almost every northern home one visited the person would definitely find guinea fowls in small or large colonies being reared with passion, because of the enormous economic gains that individuals and their families made from the rearing of such birds.

He also said that, even meat products from guinea fowls could never be compared to the meat of ordinary poultry such as hens/cocks, ducks, peacocks, turkey among others in terms of deliciousness, hence the high demand for guinea fowls on the Ghanaian market most especially during festive occasions.

    

Thus, he observed that, since this was the first major step ever to be taken by any group of investors to breed guinea fowls in such a large scale for local consumption and export, it would require the right amount of feed and other supplements to feed the birds because of the nature of their vulnerability.

Alhaji Abdallah indicated that Zoomlion Ghana Limited had what it takes to support the two investors in their initiative and encouraged them to come into partnership with the company in order to achieve more and better results that would inure to their benefits and the people of the North as a whole.

For instance, he noted that Zoomlion Ghana Limited had the capacity to produce any variety of poultry feed that would be required to feed the birds and that in his estimation, would further go a long way to enhance the financial muscle of many local agro industries as well as create more jobs for people given that the company, would also procure a lot of the raw materials needed to make the feed from farmers in the SADA operational zone if it was engaged to do that.

SADA and Asongtaba Cottage Industries, a private investor went into partnership through the former’s initiative to boost the guinea fowl industry in the North. But many doubting people thought this partnership would not yield any positive results because they thought it was a fruitless venture.

Besides, a lot of allegations had been leveled against management of SADA and the government for conspiring to loot the state, because the money the former claimed it invested into the guinea fowl project was diverted to the latter for other purposes. However, SADA refuted the allegation saying there was no iota of truth in it.

Turning his attention to the issue of sanitation and waste management, Alhaji Abdallah told this blogger that Zoomlion Ghana Limited was up to the task and mandate given to it by the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly to rid the city of filth.

He was however worried that most residents threw solid waste inside gutters when communal containers were just few meters away from them. He added that, although the NAMCOP (Nationwide Mosquito Control Program) was into desilting of minor drains, major drains in the city could be desilted but through communal labour in collaboration with Zoomlion Ghana Limited.

Mr. Abdallah also insisted that it was the responsibility of every community in the city to clean its environs and desilt choked gutters as their contribution towards ensuring a clean Tamale. He passionately appealed to residents of the region to stop pouring fire into Zoomlion communal containers since the habit reduces the lifespan of the containers.

Meanwhile, currently Tamale generates 250 tonnes of waste on daily basis and it cost the Assembly GH¢2.5million every year on sanitation and management, according to official records.

About 60 percent of the entire city does not have drainage systems or gutters and as a result, anytime the slightest rain occurred, residential areas located around serious waterlogged areas experience flooding.

Besides, even residential areas where there were gutters, most of them were heavily choked as a result of residents’ wanton disregard for good environmental practices and often resort to throwing solid waste into these gutters instead of disposing them off at public waste collection sites.

These choked gutters do not only produce a horrible smell, but they also serve as fertile breeding grounds for mosquitoes and other flies, which sometimes lead to severe cholera outbreak.

Once the cleanest city in Ghana, Tamale is gradually becoming a slum and this is due to the poor waste management attitude of the Assembly officials coupled with the absence of the spirit of communal labour amongst residents, thus painting a dire picture for the entire metropolis.

Consistently, litterbins along most principal streets within the metropolis are being stolen by some unscrupulous individuals and turned into domestic waste containers in their homes whereas some use them to fetch water.

Regard Teaching In Rural Areas As Finding Solutions To Problems

Dir. Bibir, Joseph C. Osei

The Director of Bibir Ghana Joseph Charles Osei, has urged teachers who are posted to rural areas to work, to regard it as a challenge by government, for them to help find solutions to real problems confronting education in those places.

He maintained that, government’s decision to post teachers to rural communities to work should under no circumstance be misconstrued to mean punishment for those category of teachers, but rather, such a decision must be seen as a special opportunity given to teachers to go and prove their worth, by letting the communities and for that matter the whole nation, know that they did not spend three years in the college for nothing but to come out and solve difficult problems with the knowledge and skill acquired.

Mr. Osei made these statements when he opened a three-day in-service training workshop on literacy and numeracy organized by Bibir Ghana in Savelugu, for teachers of ten selected basic schools in the Savelugu-Nanton Municipality of the Northern Region.

He commended teachers who were currently teaching in village schools in the Savelugu-Nanton Municipality and most parts of the region, for their willingness to teach in such schools and encouraged them to try to make a difference in the lives of their pupils in order to distinguish themselves. 

The workshop which was part of the implementation of a project by the NGO dubbed: ““Supporting Basic Education in The Communities of Northern Ghana” was aimed at addressing the challenges teachers faced when they had to teach Mathematics and English, that were considered very essential subjects in basic education in the country.

It was also aimed at enhancing the capacities of teachers on the principles of teaching techniques/general pedagogy; code of professional conduct/ethics; how to prepare lesson plans in numeracy/literacy and use of TLMs among others, so that they could deliver efficiently and effectively in the classroom after going through the training.  

A village type of school

Funded by Intervida, a Spanish donor organization, the project which began this year has already built the capacities of Parent Teacher Associations, School Management Committees and Teachers of the ten schools whose performance had been dwindling over the years, and hoped to donate some teaching and learning materials to the various beneficiary schools. 

A Deputy Director of Education in charge of Human Resource Management at the Savelugu-Nanton Education Directorate Chief Mahama Abubakari, also reminded the over forty participants that the reward of teachers was still in heaven and not on earth, saying “no amount of reward given to teachers on earth can ever satisfy us and so let’s work assiduously towards achieving what is waiting for us in heaven”.

He said there were a lot of advantages in such trainings given to teachers by stakeholders in the educational sector and encouraged participants to always show seriousness during such training programmes since that was one of the ways they could improve upon their skills in teaching.

Participants having group work

Chief Mahama also empasised that as teachers, they should find joy in whatever they were doing in their schools rather than always lamenting over challenges and difficulties, which were the very reasons why they were posted to solve in such places.

Meanwhile, Bibir Ghana is a non-governmental organization operating in less endowed communities in the Northern Region. It provides opportunities to children and their mothers as well as young girls to enable them realize their potentials through education, income generating activities and skills training.