Nigeria’s Neglected Bronze Artifacts Given New Life

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May 17, 2023

These workers are carefully scraping rust and patina off thousands-of-years-old Nigerian Bronze artifacts.

But unlike the better-known Benin Bronzes, these cultural treasures are not scattered across Western museums and private collections.

This is the National Museum in Lagos and the artworks are Igbo-Ukwu Bronzes.

They are, says National Museum curator Omotayo Adeboye, “masterpieces of creativity and craftsmanship.”

‘’…indigenous craftmanship that is comparable to any craftmanship, technological craftsmanship all over the place.’’

The National Museum is carrying out restoration work on some of Nigeria’s oldest, but lesser-known, collections.

But it is doing so at a time when there is uncertainty over the return of thousands of Benin Bronzes.

Many are kept at the British Museum in London, which has resisted calls for repatriation.

In March, President Muhammadu Buhari decreed that all returned Benin Bronzes, looted by British soldiers from the ancient Kingdom of Benin in 1897, should be in the custody of the a royal ruler in modern day Benin city.

That led a British university to postpone the return of more than 100 artifacts.

Some institutions have also raised questions over whether Nigeria can safely keep artifacts returned from abroad.

But at the National Museum, a grant from the Bank of America is enabling the restoration works – says the head of the conservation unit Adenike Niyi-Dare.

‘’The Igbo-Ukwu objects, they are alloys of copper, brass and lead, and so they are very susceptible to corrosion.”

Niyi-Dare said the grant will provide modern equipment and training to boost conservation.

The Igbo-Ukwu artifacts date back to the 9th century, according to the museum.

They were discovered in 1939 in the southeastern Anambra state – part of the region inhabited by the Igbo people.

The 200-strong collection includes intricately designed bowls, pots, vases and shells – now being lovingly restored to their former glory.

Folarin Balogun switches Allegiance To USA

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Emenike Agu

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May 17, 2023

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Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun has chosen to represent the united states national team after rejecting a future with England and Nigeria.

FIFA confirmed on Tuesday it has approved a request by the us soccer federation to change Balogun’s national eligibility from England, the country he has represented at youth level.

Balogun, born in Brooklyn, new York to UK-based Nigerian parents who were holidaying in the united states at the time of his birth, has been in demand after a breakout season in France on loan to Reims from arsenal. He has so far scored 19 goals in the French Ligue 1.

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football – European Under-21 Championship Qualifiers – England v Andorra – Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth, Britain – March 25, 2022 England’s Folarin Balogun celebrates scoring their first goal Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs/File Photo

Balogun’s decision to represent the united states comes five weeks before england plays in the under-21 european championship being hosted by romania and georgia. The english football association also had to consent to the change of eligibility.

Fifa rules allow players to change national eligibility before playing in a competitive game at senior level.

The us courted Balogun on a visit to Florida in march and can select him for the CONCACAF gold cup which it hosts from June 24 to July 16.

ASUU: FG Offsets Salary Backlog of Medical Lecturers

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Cleopatra Okohai

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May 17, 2023

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The Federal Government has commenced the payment of salary arrears to lecturers in the departments of Basic Medical Sciences, Basic Clinical Sciences and Medicine across some federal universities.

The lecturers are under the Nigerian Association of Medical and Dental Academics, one of the two splinter groups licensed by the government to reduce the influence of the Academic Staff Union of Universities.

The government had in 2022, implemented a no-work-no-pay rule against lecturers for seven months due to the strike embarked upon by the ASUU.

Efforts to get the government to pay the lecturers the withheld salaries for the duration of the strike by ASUU proved abortive.

Meanwhile, the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria, a body which encompasses medical doctors in the academics and other consultant medical doctors explained to the government that medical schools were not shut down during the period of strike hence the salaries of their members should not be withheld.

Speaking with Newsmen in Abuja, a source from the Nnamdi Azikwe University, Awka, Anambra State, confirmed that medical lecturers have been paid their withheld salaries.

“This is currently causing confusion in the school. Medical lecturers have started receiving their salaries. Other lecturers have not but we have been told to stay calm.”

Another medical lecturer at the University of Maiduguri said, “It is true, medical lecturers who worked during the time of strike have started receiving theirs.”

Confirming the development, the chairperson of ASUU, FUTMinna when asked, said that even though not all the medical lecturers have been paid, he can confirm the payment of salaries to medical lecturers at the Nnamdi Azikwe University.

Italian Open: Djokovic Advances to Quarterfinal

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Emenike Agu

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May 17, 2023

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Novak Djokovic eased into the Italian open quarter-finals on Tuesday after breezing past Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-4, although there was tension with the Briton after the top seed was hit by a smash.

The Serb has reached the last eight in each of his previous 16 appearances in the Italian capital and he did again on Tuesday, getting past Norrie on center court to set up a clash with Holger rune.

It will be a rematch of last year’s Paris masters final when the young Dane won his first masters 1000 title by beating Djokovic in a thrilling match.

Djokovic is gunning for a seventh title on clay in rome and his chances have been made a little bit easier by the shock elimination of carlos alcaraz on monday.

Alcaraz, who won two consecutive tournaments at Barcelona and Madrid, will take world number one spot from Djokovic on may 22 but it is the 22-time grand slam champion who could go into Roland Garros with yet another title under his belt.

Lagos Seeks More Attention on Boy Child Well-Being

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Cleopatra Okohai

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May 17, 2023

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The Lagos State Government, through its Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, has advocated for more attention to be focused on the boy child.

The Executive Secretary, DSVA, Mrs. Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, made the call during programmes held to commemorate the ”International Day of the Boy Child” in some schools in the state.

The events, which were facilitated through the agency’s Kings Club Initiative, were held variously at Agidingbi Grammar School (Junior and Senior); Ojodu Junior High School and Babs Fafunwa Memorial Senior Secondary School.

Other schools include Ikeja Junior College, Bolade Junior Grammar School, Unity Junior High School, Immaculate Senior High School, and Mende Junior/Senior High School.

The representatives of the agency were at the schools to speak with the students about mental health issues.

Vivour-Adeniyi, who was represented by the Head of Community Engagement, Mr. Damilare Adewusi, said that there was a need to create awareness to draw more attention to the boy child.

According to her, there is a need to focus on their well-being, and their need to feel happy, healthy, and valued within the family and the community.

This year’s May 16 ”International Day of the Boy Child” has the theme: ”Boys Cry Too”

Vivour-Adeniyi said Boy Child Day was founded in 2018 by Dr. Jerome Teelucksingh, a university lecturer from the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

”In a letter to government leaders and NGOs, Teelucksingh said that in the media, there are regular incidents in which young, misguided boys and teenagers are involved in crime and violence.

”If a boy child is neglected or fed a diet of hate and violence, it is obvious he will develop into a teenager who is misguided and confused.

“There is an urgent need to focus on the home and school to save the boy child,” she said.

Vivour-Adeniyi said it was important that parents, guardians and teachers in various communities and schools equipped the boy child accordingly, as this would have a greater impact on them in the nearest future.

Prince Harry Seeks To Challenge Denial Of Request To Pay For Own UK Police Protection

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Koko Lawrence

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May 17, 2023

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A lawyer for Prince Harry argued in a London court Tuesday that he should be allowed to challenge a government decision that denied him the right to pay for police protection when he visits the U.K.

The case is one of six the Duke of Sussex has pending in court that center around two issues: his security and claims that British tabloids hacked his phone and unlawfully obtained other information about him.

His high-profile phone hacking trial against the publisher of the Daily Mirror is underway before a different High Court judge.

The hearing in the security case centered around Harry’s claim that he doesn’t feel safe bringing his young children, Archie, 4, and Lilibet, nearly 2, from the U.S. to visit his home country without a police security detail.

A spokesperson for the prince has said his U.S. security team doesn’t have jurisdiction abroad or access to intelligence in the U.K.

The British government stopped providing security for Harry after he and his wife, Meghan, quit their royal duties and moved to California in 2020. Harry has a separate legal case challenging the decision to deny providing him security in the U.K.

Harry’s lawyer asked a judge to allow the duke to bring a legal case against the Home Office and the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures for denying him the right to personally pay for his security.

Attorney Shaheed Fatima argued the committee, which includes members from London’s Metropolitan Police department, the Home Office and Buckingham Palace, exceeded its authority and its denial was inconsistent with legislation that allows a police chief to provide special police services for payment.

“Parliament has clearly decided that in principle, payment for policing is not inconsistent with the public interest,” Fatima wrote.

The government’s lawyer, Robert Palmer, said reimbursing police for security at special events such as a marathon, soccer matches and celebrity weddings was not the same as using “police officers as private bodyguards for the wealthy.”

Palmer said the denial was within the authority of the committee and set a policy position.

The judge is expected to rule later.

UCH Receives Over 250,000 Patients Annually – Osinbajo

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Cleopatra Okohai

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May 17, 2023

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The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo has revealed that the University College Hospital UCH, Ibadan, Oyo State, receives an average of over 250,000 new patients annually in the various outpatient clinics.

He disclosed this during the commissioning of the Sustainable Development Goals project executed at the apex facility.

Osinbajo explained that for over seven decades, the college had shown that it is special in every way by playing a crucial role in the training of medical personnel and other health care across the West African region.

The vice president said the institution had witnessed tremendous growth in academic expansion with over 65 departments, among which is the Department of Nuclear Medicine in Nigeria, which was commissioned sometime in 2006.

He said, “I am also reliably informed that the UCH receives over 250,000 new patients in the various out-patient clinics on an annual basis. This is a testament to the hospital’s reputation over the years. It has created a wonderful system where they engage in community-based outreach activities offering primary and secondary health care across the state. This is also highly commendable considering the gaps in our health care delivery system.”

Earlier, the Chief Medical Director, Professor Jesse Otegbayo, said the project was an escalation of the Federal Government’s deliberate policy to sustain the development of healthcare and to support the delivery of improved medical services for the sustainability of the hospital and for the benefits of Nigeria.

He noted that the ceremony represented a significant contribution made by the government towards the provision of an enabling and conducive environment for the health institutions to render services of international standards.

Prof. Otegbayo, while calling on the government to provide more infrastructural rehabilitation and medical equipment, said the intention of management is to move the institution from the current tertiary to quaternary hospital with a view to competing more favourably among hospitals of contemporary status in the world.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDG, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, said with the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty by the year 2030, the agency is inspired and committed to prioritising key interventions with multiplier effects on multidimensional poverty, such as basic healthcare service provisioning.

She noted that with the COVID-19 pandemic challenging the healthcare system, strategic interventions, such as the comprehensive rehabilitation of UCH and the construction and equipping of a 100-Bed Mother and Child hospital have become imperative.

“Indeed, the primary and secondary effects of COVID-19 and similar pandemics could reverse decades of human development gains and undermine the achievement of the SDGs unless immediate action is taken and sustained. This is what we are doing right here in Ibadan.” She added.

Among the dignitaries present at the event was the state Governor, Seyi Makinde, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Olubanwo Adeosun and a host of others.

Five Men Sentenced For Heist Of Royal Jewels

By

Koko Lawrence

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May 17, 2023

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Five members of a criminal gang have been sentenced to six years in prison for the notorious theft of a trove of 18th-century jewelry from Dresden’s Royal Palace.

The group, which had previously committed a string of high-profile heists, broke into the palace’s Grünes Gewölbe, or Green Vault, in an audacious nighttime heist in November 2019. They were sentenced on charges of armed robbery, aggravated arson, and grievous bodily harm, according to the Dresden prosecutor’s office.

Two of the defendants, who were minors during the heist, were handed juvenile sentences of five years, and four years and four months. Around 40 suspected accomplices to the crime are still wanted by authorities.

The convicted men belong to the “Remmo clan,” an extended family based in Berlin and wanted for numerous ties to organized crime. This past January, defendant Rabieh Remmo told police how the men entered Jewel Room, one of 10 rooms in the vault, through damaged bars on a window. The room held a collection of 3,000 artifacts assembled by August the Strong, an 18th-century prince-elector of the German state of Saxony, as well as a monarch of Poland and Lithuania.

The thieves smashed the glass in the display cases using an axe, pocketed 21 pieces of jewelry, and fled within five minutes. The looted Saxon royal artifacts contain more than 4,300 diamonds and is collectively valued at €114 million (about $124 million).

“I don’t have to tell you how shocked we are by the brutality of this break-in,” Marion Ackermann, general director of the consortium of cultural institutions known as the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, said in a public address shortly after the theft was uncovered. “As you know, the historical and cultural value of this is immeasurable.”

Dresden police have since recovered a “considerable portion” of the historic pieces amid “exploratory talks” with the defendants about a potential plea deal. Some artifacts were found damaged, while others remain missing. In a statement, the presiding judge Andreas Ziegel bemoaned the theft of “one of the oldest and richest treasure collections in the world.”

ICYMI: FG Discards Bill to Halt Doctors’ Migration

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Cleopatra Okohai

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May 17, 2023

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The Federal Government has described as “unworkable”, a bill currently being considered by the National Assembly seeking to restrict the migration of Nigerian doctors to climes perceived to be greener pastures.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, revealed this while fielding questions from journalists after the extraordinary Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the State House, Abuja.

Responding to a threat by resident doctors to embark on a five-day warning strike over perceived attempts to ground medical and dental graduates nationwide for five years before being granted a practising licence, Ngige said the bill negates extant Labour laws.

LN247 reports that the sponsor of the Bill, a member of the House of Representatives from Lagos State, Ganiyu Johnson, had explained that the move will check the mass exodus of medical practitioners from the country.

The legislation is titled, “A Bill for an Act to amend the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act, Cap. M379, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 to mandate any Nigeria-trained medical or dental practitioner to practise in Nigeria for a minimum of five years before being granted a full licence by the Council to make quality health services available to Nigeria; and for related matters.”

Reacting to the development, the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors announced plans to embark on a five-day warning strike, vowing to resist any guise to “enslave” Nigerian medical doctors.

They also demanded an immediate increment in the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure to the tune of 200 per cent of the current gross salaries of doctors, the immediate implementation of CONMESS, domestication of the Medical Residency Training Act, and review of hazard allowance by all the state governments as well as private tertiary health institutions where any form of residency training is done; among others.

“On the demand for a 200 per cent salary increase, the NMA is the father of all doctors in Nigeria and they have about four or five affiliates of which the resident doctors are an association.

“So, NMA is discussing with the Federal Ministry of Health, salaries income and wages commission and the Ministry of Labour, and we know that NMA has accepted a salary increase of between 25 and 30 per cent across the board for their members.

“So, I don’t know the logic by which people who are members of NMA are now coming up to say pay us 200 per cent increase.

“I don’t understand it. I have called the NMA President to contact them because, on the issue of remuneration negotiation, it’s NMA that the government deals with. So, I have told the President of NMA to contact them and we will engage them. They should not go on any strike, it’s not necessary,” he said.

Ngige also revealed that the Council approved the Universal Implementation of the Employee Compensation Act 2010 following a memorandum presented by his ministry.

He explained that the law is operated by the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, noting that it will replace the old Employee Compensation Act also known as Workmen Compensation.

Ngige said the Council approved the ECA for universal implementation, “meaning that, apart from the private sector that is already implementing, the public sector, which is government; federal, state and local governments, have now to adopt this for the protection of their workers.

“The Act provides that the worker who is injured or had an accident or contracted a disease or disabled or dead in the course of work should be compensated, remunerated and even the family; pay something when the man is no longer there.

“It didn’t make provision for some of the children to be schooled or educated, up to the age of 21.

“So today is a good day for Nigerian workers because the decent work agenda that is contained in Convention 102 of the ILO has a major branch on what they call workers’ protection in the course of work.”

Gustav Klimt Leads Sotheby’s $427 M. Two-Part Evening Sales

By

Koko Lawrence

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May 17, 2023

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On Thursday night, Sotheby’s staged a set of evening auctions dedicated to works from the estate of music executive Mo Ostin and another to modern art. Together, the back-to-back sales, held during the marquee sale week in New York, brought in a collective $427 million with buyer’s fees.

Fifteen works from the Ostin collection were offered, including works by blue-chip figures like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Joan Mitchell. 14 of those works sold, generating a sum of $123 million, outpacing the $103 million designated to the sale by specialists. Four lots in the Ostin sale, among them works by Mark Tansey, Joan Mitchell and Pablo Picasso, were backed with third-party guarantees or irrevocable bids. In the second portion of the night, works by artists active during the 20th century like Gustav Klimt and Pablo Picasso were among the 40 lots solds. By the night’s end, that sale raked in $303 million with fees after a total of five lots were withdrawn.

The total hammer price for both sales (before fees were added) came to $362 million, which was below the pre-sale estimate of $375.4 million-$534 million.

Sotheby’s UK-based auctioneer Oliver Barker took to the auction podium on Tuesday night to lead the event from the house’s upper Manhattan headquarters. The sales were anchored by auction debuts for works by René Magritte from Ostin’s holdings, among others long held in private collections, as well as new records for Vilhelm Hammershøi and Isamu Noguchi.