TOBI'S DESK

A medical Doctor, Ehivai Njamala died from the deadly viral disease, Lassa Fever in Rivers state today January 14th. The disease, which is fast growing into an epidemic in Nigeria, killed the doctor who is resident at the Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital (BMSH), Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital. According to the Chairman of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) in the state, Dr. Duro Green, the deceased contracted the disease while treating some patients with the virus at the Disease Control unit in the hospital. Dr Njamala will be the third person to have died from the viral disease since it broke out in the state in December 2015. Lassa fever is a deadly viral disease that is spread by infected rats. Its spread can be stopped by keeping a rodent-free environment and maintaining proper hygiene.

Senior Special Assistant to President Buhari on Media and Publicity, Shehu Garba has asked Nigerians to direct all their questions about the missing soft and hard copies of the 2016 budget to the National Assembly. According to Garba, nobody can withdraw the budget from the National Assembly except President Buhari. Senator Ali Ndume had announced to his colleagues during plenary today that the budget was missing. "Nobody, except the president, can withdraw the budget. As far as we know, he (the president) has not done that. The copies in their hundreds have been delivered to both chambers of the National Assembly. By tradition, once the budget is submitted, it ceases to be our property. Enquiries as to where it is should be directed to the appropriate quarters", Shehu said.

Cristiano Ronaldo is yet to get over conceding the balon d'or to Lionel Messi but folks are keen to rub it in, his countrymen no less. A statue of the Madrid star that stands in his hometown of Madeira was vandalised. Vandals painted Messi's name on the back along with his jersey number. Talk about backstabbing. Lol..

Kashmea Wahi, an 11-year-old student from the UK, just earned a place among the world’s intellectual 1 percent by getting a perfect score on her IQ test. The test’s maximum score is 161 for adults and 162 for test-takers below the age of 18. To make her achievement even more impressive, her score of 162 puts her two points higher than the likes of Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein. After stumbling upon the Mensa test while surfing on her iPad, Wahi decided to test herself as a way of proving a point to her parents, both IT management consultants at the Deutsche Bank in London. She figured an impressive score might be an effective way to stop her parents from nagging her to study. Wahi is currently a student at West London’s Notting Hill and Ealing Junior School, where she helped her team secure third place at last year’s Oxford Maths challenge. She plays chess amongst other hobbies and has competed on the national level. She is thought to be one of the youngest test takers eve...

Two deaths in a row What was Ifeku community turning into? The first death had taken place last week Saturday and the body had been found in the house of a pastor early the next day The second death following the same pattern took place yesterday and was found this morning in front of the house of the popular pastor Richard Godwin. This latter death had drawn the attention of the whole community and even neighbouring communities. Pastor Richard was a popular and prominent figure in the state, He is known for the numerous miracles worked through him at Consuming fire ministries. Although he started small, God had seemed to be working in his favour big time. Rhoda, the beautiful choir mistress was the first to arrive at the Church premise that morning. It was not unusual of her to be at the church by 6.30am, when the service usually began at 9am. She was shocked by the Terrifying and disgusting figure she saw at the door of the pastors house. She screamed so loudly that everyb...

Pope Francis baptized 26 infants in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel on Sunday, in an annual tradition commemorating the baptism of Jesus. Thirteen girls and thirteen boys were baptized during the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord in the Sistine Chapel, the celebrated chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the Pope's official residence. During his brief homily, Francis told those present to encourage their children's faith. "Do not forget that the greatest legacy that you can give your children is faith. Cherish it to make sure is not lost, to make it grow and to leave it as a legacy," he said, according to a statement from the Vatican press office. During his remarks, amid the sound of crying babies, he encouraged the mothers present to nurse their children. "Just one bit of advice: when a child cries because he's hungry, I'll say to the mothers -- if your child is hungry, feel free to feed him here," he said. The Pope traditionally baptizes a ...

CCTV footage has emerged of a Russian hospital doctor punching a patient who collapsed and later died. The incident took place in the city of Belgorod, 670km (440 miles) south of the capital, Moscow, on 29 December. The patient had earlier kicked a nurse, after which the doctor punched him in the head, Russian media reported. Investigators think it was a case of "involuntary manslaughter", one official told Russian TV, but have launched a criminal case. The story went viral after the CCTV footage came to light. Yelena Kozyreva from the local investigations committee said they believed there was no malicious intent in the doctor's actions. Relatives identified the patient as Yevgeniy Bakhtin, 56, a resident of Belgorod, LifeNews TV reported. The doctor has been named as Ilya Zelendinov, according to the privately owned channel Ren TV.

With the recent outbreak of Lassa fever in the country, it is important for us to put in place preventive and control measures in our homes/offices most especially since reported cases has been confirmed in the region. The Minister of Health , Prof Isaac Adewole issued a statement on friday, 8th January 2016 in Abuja in response to the outbreak of Lassa fever in the country in his statement he confirmed that the fever has spread into eight states namely : Bauchi, Nasarawa, Niger, Taraba, Kano, Rivers, Edo and Oyo. He added, “The total number of suspected cases so far reported is 84 with 40 deaths, and a Case Fatality Rate of 46 per cent. “Healthcare workers seeing a patient suspected to have Lassa Fever should immediately contact the epidemiologist in the State Ministry of Health or call the Federal Ministry of Health using the following numbers: 08093810105,08163215251, 08031571667 and 08135050005. Lassa Fever is an acute febrile illness with bleeding and death in severe case...

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang beats Yaya Toure to Caf award Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang narrowly beat Ivory Coast's Yaya Toure to win the Confederation of African Football's player of the year award. In a vote of coaches and technical directors of Caf member nations, Aubameyang earned 143 points, with Manchester City midfielder Toure, 32, the runner-up with 136 points. Aubameyang, 26, is the first player from his country to win the award. Ghana and Swansea midfielder Andre Ayew, 26, was third with 112 points. Aubameyang is the Bundesliga's leading scorer so far this season, with 18 goals in 17 league games. The Gabonese star made a traditional acceptance speech, thanking his family, team mates and the President of Gabon, Ali Bongo Ondimba, a notable football fan. The President returned the compliment, in a statement which hailed Aubameyang as key to his country's hopes when they host the next Africa Cup of Nations in 2017, describing him as an ...

Davido Mentions Dele Momodu and Baby Mama In Lyrics of Osinachi Remix Davido mentions Dele Momodu and Baby Mama In Lyrics of Osinachi Remix Haha! This right here got me pumped up and anticipating the remix to the smash hit single by Humble Smith featuring HKN Boss Davido, who has been going through some tough time with personal issues of late. Having been hospitalized and released yesterday , he posted a tweet about him heading to the studio to record his part on the remix. This video surfaced a few moments ago though, It appears that Davido takes a sly shot at his Baby Mama and Dele Momodu by mentioning their name on his verse.Watch the embedded Instagram video  below. Osinachi remix will be released tomorrow 7th January 2016!!

The outbreak of Lassa fever in Nigeria has spread to Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital where a nursing mother and her two-week-old baby have been confirmed to have died of the deadly viral disease. This comes after the Taraba state government last week confirmed the outbreak of the disease in their state. Rivers State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Theophilus Odagme, while confirming the death of the mother and child said “First incident happened between December 30, 2015, and January 1, to a mother and later to her two weeks old child. Yesterday, at about 10:00 pm, I received a call that a mother and child died in a hospital following similar and serious fever which killed them and was suspected to be Lassa fever. After series of test conducted on them, it was confirmed they died of the disease.”. He said that contact tracing had begun and sensitisation of health care providers was ongoing to address the disease. Lassa fever is a deadly viral disease that is transmitted b...

I decided to do some digging to come up with this info for the medical and medical inclined once. Let's just say its my new year gift to you.  *winks* Official WHO health days Although there are many ‘health days’ to promote important public health issues, many of which are supported by the World Health Organization and partners, the following list represents the official WHO health days, as mandated by the World Health Assembly, that are recognized every year. But if you want a full list of the days, send an email to me via tobionieyerinsylvester@ymail.com and I would send you the pdf file. World TB Day 24 March World Health Day 7 April World Immunization Week Last week of April World Malaria Day 25 April World No Tobacco Day 31 May World Blood Donor Day 14 June World Hepatitis Day 28 July World AIDS Day 1 December world health days.

PDP has accused operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, of plotting to poison its National Publicity Secretary Olisa Metuh who was arrested yesterday January 5th. “The PDP insists that for whatever reason Chief Metuh was arrested, his rights as a citizen under the law must not be trampled upon. We therefore demand (for) his immediate release and that due process of investigation and prosecution concerning him should be strictly adhered to. We state this because we have been made aware of top directives to break Chief Metuh and if possible poison him during his detention by the EFCC,” they said in a statement

Below are the full list of the 44 countries: 1. Bangladesh This South Asian Country has a mutual Bilateral ties with Nigeria, which offers Nigerian Passport holders free 30-day visa upon arrival. Additional Information: visitors not holding a return or onward ticket will be denied entry. Also, proof of sufficient funds is required. 2. Barbados Barbados offers Nigerian Passport holders six months Visa free. However, visitors are required to have sufficient funds to cover their stay as well as a return or onward ticket with them. 3. Republic of Benin The neighboring West African state made her coexistence with Nigeria easier with Free Visa, as instituted by Economic community of West African States. (ECOWAS) 4. Burkina Faso This African brothers got it together here by making “Entry” to Burkina Faso for Nigerian Passport Holders Free. 5. Burundi Burundi offers Nigerians a 30 days visa on arrival at Bujumbura international Airport. 6. Cameroon The Ecowas objec...

Nigerian University dropout becomes a stockbroker after using his student loan to start trading & now earns £30,000 on a bad month Elijah Oyefeso, 21, trades on the stock market for just one hour a day to earn his income. Elijah, from Camberwell, south London, who likes to show his wealth on Instagram (inset) now lives in a £5,000 flat, buys expensive cars like the £150,000 Lamborghini he had sprayed gold (left), and likes to buy watches including a £21,000 Cartier watch that he's worn twice. Read full story after the cut... From UK Daily Mail He said: 'If you work hard you don't need to look at the price tag, you just get it.' Elijah claims he bought his first Mercedes aged 18 but soon faced jealousy from his peers in the south London neighbourhood after his success. He said: 'They've come from the same area and they're still in the same area and went to school in the same area. 'My mum came from west Africa and came with probably...

A team from DAAR Communications, owners of AIT and Ray Power F.M, was at State House, Abuja, today, January 5, to present a giant seasonal card marking Eid el Maulud, Christmas, and New Year, to President Muhammadu Buhari. Seems like the president was not there in person to collect it.

The Iranian government says it has employed all her diplomatic channels including warning the Nigerian government to release the leader of the Shia Muslim group in Nigeria Sheikh Ibrahim al-Zakzaky. He was arrested alongside other members of his group following a clash with the Nigerian army in Zaria, Kaduna state on Saturday December 12th. Over 60 people died in the fracas. "We have used all those channels to warn them [Nigeria] regarding this issue. So hopefully the government... would adopt wise action given the sensitive situation," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hoseyn Jaberi-Ansari told reporters in the capital, Tehran today January 4th.

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has sworn in the First Female Chief Judge of Rivers State Justice Daisy Wotube Okocha at a ceremony that took place at the state government house today January 4th. Justice Okocha has been the state Acting Chief Judge since June 1, 2015.

Real Madrid have made the controversial decision of sacking head coach Rafa Benitez after the club's unimpressive 2-2 draw against Valencia last night. The club had endured a poor set of results under the Spaniard and fans not happy with the team's defensive style of play, the club has moved quick to sack the former Liverpool and Napoli coach to replace him with club legend Zinedine Zidane. Zinedine Zidane is expected to take over first team duties as the club's head coach.

Reverend Mpho Tutu, daughter of South African social rights activist, retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu got married to her lesbian partner, Professor Marceline Furth in a private ceremony in the Netherlands on Wednesday December 30th, 2015. Mpho, a mother-of-two, is an ordained Episcopal priest. She was previously married to Joseph Burris, with whom she had her 2 children. The Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation confirmed that she married her partner in a small civil ceremony. This is both Tutu and Furth’s second marriage. In a statement, the foundation says the couple will have a wedding ceremony in Cape Town in May this year. Furth is a professor in paediatric infectious diseases at the Vrije University in Amsterdam.