Day: July 24, 2023

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Odu’a Investment Company to launch foundation to rejig educational standard in South-West

The Odu’a Investment Company Ltd. (OICL) says it will launch the “Odu’a Investment Foundation”, to rejig the standard of education in the South-West region of the nation.

Chief Bimbo Ashiru, Group Chairman, OICL, at a news conference in Lagos said that the three priority focus of the foundation were on youth empowerment, education and healthcare.

Ashiru said this was one of the objectives of OICL’s five-year strategic plan, to plough back to the people of the South-West states of Oyo, Ondo, Ogun, Osun, Ekiti and Lagos.

Ashiru explained that the youth empowerment aspect of the foundation would cover Information Communication Technology (ICT) capacity building for youths; creation of innovation hubs and incubation centres; strategic job creation; investing and supporting youths in the agriculture sector.

According to him, the education aspect will also cover institutional and infrastructural support; literacy education; girl child education; adult literacy; vocational technical skills training; grants and scholarship for indigent students.

He said healthcare aspect of the foundation would focus on reproductive health; adolescent health projects; control of communicable and non-communicable diseases; institutional support and capacity building.

“The vision of the foundation is to create an enabling environment where everyone can live a healthy, peaceful and productive life.

“The mission statement is to improve healthcare, expand educational opportunities and promote youth development and information technology in Southwest Nigeria’.

“Some of the objectives of the foundation is to promote, develop and empower the teeming youths of South-west Nigeria with a focus on education and health-physical, mental and social.

“We also plan to deliver significant long-term education and youth development benefits in our stakeholder communities.

“The foundation will serve as a conveyor of goodwill from OICL to the good people of South-West extraction while enhancing the quality of life and livelihood of the people,” he said.

According to him, OICL will also inaugurate a seven-man advisory council to protect the corporate image of the foundation by effectively representing and promoting its interests and relevant stakeholders.

He listed Dr Awolowo Dosumu as Chairman of the foundation; while Dr Olusegun Olugboyegun; Chief Onikepo Akande; Dr Biodun Shobanjo; Dr Victoria Samson; Chief Wole Onipekun and Mr Aderemi Makanjuola would be the members.

“These are highly revered sons and daughters of Southwest origin with proven record of impeccable character and they will be inaugurated on Thursday, July 27.

“They have distinguished themselves in their chosen field of endeavours and have given their acceptance to serve and act on the Advisory Council of the foundation as “Think- Tank”.

“The Oduá Investment Company Limited, the investment hub of the South-West Nigeria in September 2021 incorporated the Oduá Investment Foundation(OIF) at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) .

“This is to serve as an independent social corporate arm of the company to give back to the society and improve on the life and livelihood of citizens within the confine of the owners states.

“This will complement the efforts of the state governments in impacting lives meaningfully to its people.

“Oduá foundation is a non-profit making organisation established to sustain the ideals of the founding fathers of OICL,” he said.

Earlier, Mr Adewale Raji, Group Managing Director, OICL, said members of the advisory council were selected from each of the southwestern states, based on their antecedents.

Raji said they were to serve the foundation for two years after which they would be succeeded by a board of trustee.

According to him, a full-time Programmes Manager had also been employed to work with the council.

Also speaking, Mrs Folusho Olaniyan, Independent Director, OICL, revealed plans to work with lots of local and foreign partners aimed to attract substantial funding for the foundation.

Mr Seni Adio, Odu’a Director, said the essence of the foundation was to have a formal structure that would become an institution to focus on healthcare, education and youth empowerment.

“We are happy that the members of the advisory council are excited about their new responsibility,” he said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

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Teenage couple arrested for allegedly conspiring to terminate pregnancy

A teenage couple was arrested at Grootfontein in the Otjozondjupa Region on Wednesday after they allegedly conspired to terminate a pregnancy.

A crime report issued by the Namibian Police Force (NamPol) on Sunday stated that the 19-year-old male and 18-year-old female, who are in a relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend, were involved in the incident.

It is alleged that the boyfriend provided the abortion pills to his girlfriend, who was six months pregnant.

The girl allegedly used the pills and experienced abdominal cramps. She was admitted to the hospital and discharged the next day.

They were expected to appear in the Otjiwarongo Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

In another incident, four-month-old Secilia Ndahambelela was found dead by her mother at their residence in Kuvukiland location at Tsumeb.

The mother woke up during the night, breastfed the baby and went back to sleep, before waking up again at 08h00.

“When she returned at 09h00, she found that the baby was not breathing. No foul play is suspected,” the report read.

The baby’s body was transported to the Tsumeb Hospital mortuary for a post-mortem to be conducted.

Meanwhile, five male suspects aged between 29 and 41 were apprehended on Friday after they were allegedly found with half of an Oryx carcass in their possession, without a permit. The discovery was made at a mini road block on the D2172 road in the Otjozondjupa Region around midnight after their car was searched.

The suspects are expected to appear before the Okahandja Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

Police investigations in all matters continue.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

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Teen girl raped at Onegolo village

A 14-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a 37-year-old man on multiple occasions between April and July 2023 at Onegolo village in the Oshikoto Region, the Namibian Police have reported.

The police in a crime report on Sunday said the girl is in Grade 6.

“It is alleged that the suspect entered the victim’s room at night while her parents/elders were at the cuca shops and had sexual intercourse with her under coercive circumstances,” the crime report said.

The victim’s pregnancy was detected at 10 weeks during a medical consultation at the hospital.

The suspect has been arrested and is expected to appear before the Tsumeb Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.

Police investigations continue.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

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Man arrested while allegedly trying to sell cannabis to undercover police officer

A 30-year-old man was arrested after he allegedly tried selling cannabis valued at N.dollars 112 750 to an undercover police officer in Windhoek on Friday.

In a crime report issued on Sunday, the Namibian Police Force (NamPol) said the incident occurred in Otjomuise around 21h00, when the suspect allegedly tried to sell the cannabis to the police officer.

The cannabis was confiscated.

In another incident, two Namibian men aged 34 and 27 were arrested for the alleged theft of property from plot 46 at Brakwater in the Khomas Region around 09h30 on Friday.

It is reported that unknown suspects unlawfully and intentionally stole the complainant’s fencing materials, which included about 2 000 fencing poles valued at N.dollars 48 000.

The suspects allegedly entered the plot without the owner’s consent. No recovery and arrests have been made.

In a separate incident, an 18-year-old Namibian female allegedly committed suicide in Ondobe Constituency in the Ohangwena Region on Friday.

Her body was found hanging from a tree.

The girl, who was a Grade 12 learner at Oshikunde Secondary School, reportedly left a suicide note.

Her body is being kept at the Eenhana District hospital mortuary for a post-mortem.

In a similar incident, 29-year-old Riccardo Izaks, allegedly hanged himself in his bedroom in Otjomuise around 11h00 on Friday around 11h00.

It is alleged that the deceased hanged himself after a quarrel with his partner at her residence. No suicide note was left behind and no foul play is suspected.

The deceased’s next of kin have been notified.

Police investigations in all matters continue.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

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Matundu suggests paradigm shift from investments to preparedness

The Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Jennely Matundu, said Namibia is vulnerable to climate change and disasters, and that is a challenge that calls for a paradigm shift from investments in disaster response to preparedness.

The deputy minister said this during the inaugural meeting of the Africa Multi-Hazard Early Warning and Early Action System (AMHEWAS) Steering Committee here on Monday, which will continue until 28 July.

“The AMHEWAS programme is well positioned to mobilise resources and establish multi-hazard early warning systems (MHEWS) to reduce disaster losses by 2030, which will contribute to building a resilient continent,” Matundu said.

She also stated that there is a request for support to establish MHEWS for Namibia that will be aimed at reducing disaster losses and accounting for loss and damage and could be used for climate change negotiations.

Adekunle Joliff Milton King, Permanent Representative to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, and chairperson of the Bureau of the Permanent Representative Council Sub-Committee on Environmental Issues, said Africa is facing increasing disaster losses and damages due to social and economic vulnerability and unsustainable land use practises, adding that floods, tropical cycles, landslides and windstorms have increased in frequency.

“Between January and June 2023, more than 700 people lost their lives, 152 000 were displaced, and over one million were disproportionally affected by tropical cyclones across Malawi, Mozambique and Madagascar,” King added.

Director of Sustainable Environment and Blue Economy of the African Union Commission, Harsen Nyambe said even though Africans contribute the least to climate change, they have no choice but to address it because climate change means more Africans will go hungry and face epidemic diseases and vectors, and more of them will stand to descend.

“It is for this reason that, as an African Union, we felt that we could no longer continue to talk because talk is cheap. It’s time to walk the talk and embark on concrete actions that will help us avoid some of the challenges that we face in terms of climate change,” Nyambe stated.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency