Scientists validate more herbal ‘cures’ for sickle cell anaemia

Nigerians with sickle cell anaemia should no longer die or be limited by the condition because scientists have identified and validated herbal cures for the condition. CHUKWUMA MUANYA writes.
RECENT studies estimate that about 89 per cent of persons with sickle cell disorder (SCD) worldwide are in Africa, of which Nigeria alone constitutes 25 per cent. Europe has the least, 0.1 per cent, while the United States of America (USA), Asia and the Mediterranean have 3.5 per cent each.
However, most current works on the development of specific therapy for sickle cell anaemia include the discovery of Hemoglobin modifiers, membrane modifiers and genetic modifiers among others.
Several studies have shown that some of the orthodox modes of treatment of SCD include induction of fetal hemoglobin (HbF) using HydroxyUrea (HU), Butyrate or its derivatives, oral administration of Clotrimazole, which is a potent Gardos Channel inhibitor; blood transfusion and Haematopoetic cell Transplantation (HCT).
Although, the successful use of HU was reported in children, however, side effects or poor drug efficacy of some of these agents poses problems for many patients. In addition, the high cost of HCT is hardly affordable by most sickle-cell disease patients in Nigeria and other developing countries.
However, herbal medicines have come to the rescue. They are accessible and cheap. Nigerians were last year reassured by the Minister of State for Health, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, that the only Nigerian herbal drug that has received global acceptance and patents for treating sickle cell anaemia, NIPRISAN, developed by researchers at the Nigeria Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), will be back into the market after almost 10 years of stopping production due to property right and financial issues.
Scientists especially those at NIPRD have continued to identify and validate new candidates.
According to a recent study published in the journal Anaemia, three new anti-sickling herbs: Entandrophragma utile; Chenopodium ambrosioides; and Petiveria alliacea were reported in May 2011. At NIPRD, where NIPRISAN was developed, three other recipes are currently awaiting development.
Entandrophragma utile is commonly called African cedar, Sapele mahogany, Ashanti cedar and is of the plant family Meliaceae.
Commonly called Indian wormseed, sweet pigweed, Mexican tea, Jesuit’s tea, Chenopodium ambrosioides belongs to the plant family Chenopodiaceae. It is called ewe imí (leaf of excreter) in Yoruba.
Petiveria alliacea is commonly called guinea-hen weed in English and ojú sajú in Yoruba.
The study raised the hope that the search in the Tropics for more effective herbal recipes for managing sickle cell anaemia will be more fruitful with time and effort.
The study is titled “Traditional Herbal Management of Sickle Cell Anemia: Lessons from Nigeria.”
The researchers from the Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Quality Control, NIPRD, Abuja, and Department of Pharmaceutics & Medicinal Chemistry, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Amassoma, wrote: “Among the Efik and Ibibio, Hausa, Igbo, Idoma, and Yoruba: clove (Eugenia caryophyllata or “kanunfari” in Hausa; Piper guineense (“eche” in Idoma or “akwa-ose” in Igbo); grains of paradise (Aframomum melegueta or “otuta” in Idoma); Sorghum bicolor (the leaf stalk yields an extract that looks like blood); Pterocarpus osun (common in the Yoruba state of Osun) are used in various health conditions, including sickle cell anemia.
“As stated earlier E. caryophyllata, P. guineense, P. osun, and S. bicolor are the herbal components of the Yoruba recipe upon which the anti-sickling drug Niprisan is based. Prior to the era of Niprisan these herbs were either extracted with “ogogoro” (ethanolic distillate of palm wine) or with an aqueous solution trona (sodium sesquicarbonate—a mineral used in Nigeria as tenderizer). Niprisan has passed phases IIA and IIB, and is widely used in Nigeria, and is known or popular in India and the United States of America (USA).”
In 2010, Swift of COSMID Corporation, USA, stated the following: “A dried extract of four plants has been used to treat patients with SCD in Nigeria for many years (NIPRISAN). It has been through multiple clinical trials in Nigeria and has been formally approved for use in that country since 2006 for the treatment of Sickle Cell Disease (SCD). The United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) has determined there is sufficient safety and efficacy data for NIPRISAN to start a Phase III clinical trial. The US FDA Botanical Review Team (BRT) suggested a simpler formulation of NIPRISAN, development of a chemical fingerprint for the formulation using LC/MS and elucidation of some of the anti-sickling compounds in the formulation would improve standardisation and increase the probability of obtaining FDA marketing approval.”
The researchers said that to the best of their knowledge phase III trial of Niprisan is yet to be reported. “We did however suggest in 2011 that phytocannabinoids and vanilloids in E. caryophyllata and P. guineense may account for some of the useful effects of Niprisan in sickle cell crisis. Some of these compounds, including shikimic acid derivatives (vanilloids) and cannabinoids are indicated, respectively,” they wrote.
This is the testimony of one of the American doctors: “Doctors in Nigeria use Fagara (Fagara zanthoxyloides) to reduce the painful crisis of the genetic disease, sickle cell anemia. This herb has a variety of unusual properties that reduce platelet and blood cell sticking. After reading the reports from Nigeria many years ago, I decided to try fagara’s relative prickly ash bark for the same indication.
“I made a simple tincture of 50 per cent prickly ash bark and 50 per cent ginkgo leaf, and gave it to a young African-American girl in the first grade who constantly missed school and needed to be hospitalized three to four times per year due to the painful sickle cell crisis. I gave her about 25 drops three times a day. She immediately stopped having serious problems, her thinking was no longer fuzzy, the frequency of her attacks went down to about one per year, and the severity of the attacks decreased appreciably. This success has continued through the years, as long as she takes her medicine. I saw her last year, and she has blossomed into a beautiful junior high school student, the sickle cell disease now only a bit-player in the background of her life.
“Another of my patients had lived with the disease his entire life, with almost constant pain, and bimonthly crisis. I gave him 35 drops three times per day, and he immediately improved in the same way as the young girl. This improvement in both frequency of attacks and level of pain has persisted in three of my long-term patients over many years. The wholesale cost of this medicine is less than $20 per month at full dosage. My biggest fear is that this knowledge will be co-opted by a pharmaceutical company, and made available to the many suffering children only at an exorbitant cost.”
Fagara znthoxyloides is called Chewing stick in English and orin ata in Yoruba.
Entandrophragma utile, Chenopodium ambrosioides, and Petiveria alliacea
The results of a study titled “Phytochemical and antisickling activities of Entandrophragma utile, Chenopodium ambrosioides and Petiveria alliacea” showed that they exhibited substantial anti-sickling activity. This may offer a rational explanation for the use of these plants in managing SCD by traditional healers.
Until now, the root, leaf and bark of Petiveria alliacea, Chenopodium ambrosioides and Entandrophragma utile respectively are used by traditional healers for the management of SCD in some parts of South West Nigeria.
The study published recently in Journal of Medicinal Plants Research by scientists from the Faculty of Pharmacy, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Sagamu; and Department of Microbiology, University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, evaluated the in-vitro anti-sickling activities of these plants’ parts using p- hydroxybenzoic acid and normal saline as positive and negative controls respectively.
Methodology involved the inhibition of sodium metabisulphite induced sickling of HbSS erythrocytes (sickled red blood cells), collected from a confirmed sickle-cell disease (SCD) volunteer in steady state using both crude methanol extract and its aqueous fractions.
The extracts/fractions of the three plants at 1.0 and 0.1 mg/ml were observed to exhibit significant anti-sickling activity while lysis of erythrocytes occurred at 10.0 mg/ml.
Phytochemical screening of the plant extracts revealed the presence of saponnins, tannins and alkaloids. “Therefore, the use of the plants by the traditional medical practitioners in the treatment of SCD is justified,” the researchers wrote.
Pawpaw and guinea corn
Nigerian researchers have achieved 93 per cent anti-sickling properties and 84 per cent reversal activities with Carica papaya (pawpaw) and Sorgum bicolor extract. Sorghum bicolor is commonly called guinea-corn or sweet sorghum. Guinea corn is called dawa in Hausa.
The study was published in African Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology by researchers from Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State and Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun-State.
Traditionally in Nigeria, S. bicolor is used as a blood builder and used in the treatment of sickle cell crisis. A four - five day cold infusion of a mixture of S. bicolor leaves and Carica papaya unripe fruit pulp is used by the Yorubas (western Nigeria) to alleviate bone pains.
The researchers wrote: “The anti-sickling properties of fermented mixture of dried unripe fruit pulp of Carica papaya and dried Sorghum bicolor leaves, mixed in equal proportions in distilled water, was carried out using sodium metabisulphite sickled red blood cells and the result presented. Equal weight of dried C. papaya fruit pulp and S. bicolor leaves were fermented together in distilled water at room temperature and the aqueous extract obtained and used for anti-sickling assays.
“The extract gotten from the materials incubated for five days indicated as SP5, was found to have the highest anti-sickling properties with 93 per cent inhibitory and 84 per cent reversal activities. The concentration of the day-five extract was further varied. 0.2 ml was found to be the optimum volume of the test extracts…
“C. papaya had been reported to possess anti-sickling properties suggesting that the active compound(s) preventing and reversing sickling could be organic acids, produced after hydrolysis of corresponding esters in the fruit. Also reported are amino acids, glycine, phenylalanine and tyrosine, which have been reported to possess anti-sickling properties.
“The combination of these two plants could have synergistic effect since one or more components of each have anti-sickling properties hence the high values for both the reversal and inhibitory activities.”
A herbal preparation made with Sorghum bicolor has been able to boost blood levels (treat anemia), stop pain and inflammation, reverse cell damage (antioxidant), and increase cellular immunity in Persons Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in animal and human models.
Sorghum bicolor belongs to the plant family Poaceae. It makes a refreshing non-alcoholic beverage, kunu-zaki (in Hausa), and tasty pap, akamu (in Ibo), and thick porridge or porage, tuwo dawa (in Hausa). It is fermented to make sorghum beer called burkutu or pito, or made into flour and mixed with bean flour then fried to make dawaki.
Researchers have also shown that unripe mature pawpaw seeds may provide a cheap and accessible treatment for kidney damage and sickle cell anaemia. They found that seed extracts of unripe mature fruits of pawpaw can protect the kidneys from damage and could offer hope for the treatment of poison-related kidney (renal) diseases.
The study titled “Nephroprotective activities of the aqueous seed extract of Carica papaya in carbon tetrachloride induced renal injured Wistar rats: A dose- and time-dependent study,” was published in Biology and Medicine.
Nigerian researchers have also shown the anti-sickling properties of crude juice extracts of the edible portions of three commonly consumed tropical fruits namely Persia Americana (avocado), Citrus sinensis (orange) and Carica papaya.
The study was published in African Journal of Traditional Complementary and Alternative Medicines.
Fagara zanthoxyloides and Cajanus cajan
Researchers have clearly demonstrated that plant-based antioxidants replete in Cajanus cajan (Pigeon pea in English, fio fio in Igbo), Fagara zanthoxyloides (Chewing stick in English, orin ata in Yoruba), fishes, fruits and vegetables, nuts and whole grains, and nutritional supplements can compensate for some inborn defect of sickle cell anaemia.
The studies suggest that for people with Sickle Cell Disorder (SCD), it means healthier red blood cells, less anaemia and pain, and other improvement in health.
Nigerian researchers have reported a randomised single-blind placebo controlled study, which showed that the extract of Cajanus cajan reduced the frequency of painful crises and possibly ameliorated the adverse effects of SCA on the liver in children aged one to15 years.
Cajanus cajan is a popular food in developing tropical countries and belongs to the plant family Fabaceae. Nutritious and wholesome, the green seeds (and pods) serve as vegetable.
The results of this study by researchers at the College of Medicine University of Lagos (CMUL)/Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, published in the Journal of Tropical Paediatrics, are encouraging when viewed in the light of increasing concern about the benefit of new conventional therapies like Hydroxyurea in an African setting where limited resources make widespread use, monitoring of side effects, and toxicities virtually impossible.
Considerable attention has thus been paid, particularly in Africa, to naturally occurring anti-sickling agents, which offer the potential of being relatively safer, easily administered and potentially less costly than Hydroxyurea.
In summary, evidence from this study shows that the extract of Cajanus cajan appears to be safe, easily administered and efficacious in reducing painful crises and may offer increased benefit to patients with SCA in future.
Roots of Fagara zanthoxyloides (orin ata in Yoruba), known as chewing sticks, are widely used for tooth cleaning in West Africa. The Nigerian Zanthoxylum is a common component of the rain forest vegetation of southern Nigeria.
According to a study on the Nigerian Fagara zanthoxyloides by S. K. Adesina of the Drug Research & Production Unit, Faculty of Pharmacy, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, traditional healers throughout Nigeria have used species of the Zanthoxylum for the treatment of a wide range of disorders, including toothache, urinary and venereal diseases, rheumatism and lumbago.
According to the study, which was published in the African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines preliminary assays carried out at the Universitty of Ibadan, Isaacs Sodeye noted that it seemed that zanthoxylol isolated from Fagara zanthoxyloides in 1966 possessed antisickling activity.
Alchornea laxiflora
Alchornea laxiflora has shown promise in a College of Medicine University of Lagos (CMUL), Idi-Araba, study in treating sickle cell anaemia.
Alchornea laxifora is called uwenuwen in Edo; ububo in Igbo; urievwu in Urhobo; and ijin, ijin funfun and ijindi in Yoruba.
Preclinical anti-sickling and haemolytic toxicity studies on the herbal product, Cellod-S, carried out by researchers at Natural Medicine and Molecular Pharmaco-Biotechnology Laboratories Faculty of Pharmacy, CMUL, indicated that the herbal preparation produced 85 per cent sickling inhibition and 69.1 per cent sickling reversal.
The study titled “Does re-hydration necessarily imply re-oxygenation in sickling reversal? The Gardos phenomenon - revisited. A case for cellod-S herbal remedy” was published in Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacy Practice.
The researchers concluded: “The results of these pre-clinical evaluations indicate that Cellod-S has the acclaimed anti-sickling ethnomedicinal use, and thatbhaemolysis - a major mechanism-based toxicity of potential anti-sickling agents, and phenomenon most guided against in sickle cell sufferers- is not a problem with Cellod-S. We therefore recommend Cellod-S for extensive clinical evaluations in humans.”
Indian almond
Nigerian researchers have also studied the anti-sickling activity of Terminalia catappa leaves harvested at different stages of growth.
According to the study published in the Nigerian Journal of Natural Products and Medicine, the aqueous and ethanolic leaf extracts of Terminalia catappa, a fruit bearing tree, popular in folkloric medicine for the treatment of sickle cell anaemia disease were assessed for their in-vitro anti-sickling activities. Extracts were prepared from the reddish-brown freshly fallen leaves, reddish-brown leaves and green leaves of the plant by maceration in the solvents.
Indian almond is botanically called Terminalia catappa and belongs to the plant family combretaceae. It is found in almost every town and village in southern Nigeria.
Studies have shown that diabetes and its attendant complications (erectile dysfunction/premature ejaculation, leg ulcer/gangrene, liver/ kidney failure), lung cancer and sickle cell anaemia can be addressed with extracts of Indian almond.

Nigeria: Boko Haram Vows Reprisal on Vigilantes

A spokesperson for the Boko Haram, Abu Zinnira, has said his group will launch a manhunt for youth in Borno and Yobe states who partake in vigilante activities to identify and arrest members of the terrorist group.
Some youth in both states have formed vigilante groups to assist the Nigerian military to identify and arrest the terrorists in the towns. Their activities have been commended by the presidency and the military; but has now put them in a battle with the terrorists.
Abu Zinnira said his group is also waging a bloody war against the government of Borno and Yobe States in reaction to the massive arrest of their members by youth in the states.
The terrorists' spokesman, stated these in a statement written in Hausa and emailed to journalists.
He added that they are waging a war against the Nigerian state in order to establish a Sharia legal system. He said while they maintain their hostility against the police, soldiers, politicians and other symbols of authority, they have now added the youth in these states to their kill-list.
"We have established that the youth in Borno and Yobe states are now against our course. They have connived with security operatives and are actively supporting the government of Nigeria in its war against us. We have also resolved to fight back," he said.
Some members of the youth groups, who did not want their identity disclosed for security reasons, have also vowed to continue their fight against the Boko Haram insurgents in Maiduguri, saying that they will not be deterred from carrying out their mission and there will be no going back.
Borno and Yobe, as well as Adamawa, are under emergency rule with heavy deployment of soldiers by the federal government. This has, however, not stopped the terrorists who have killed dozens of people in separate attacks in the states.

UN Security Council hails truce accord between Malian parties

UNITED NATIONS, June 19 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Wednesday welcomed the signing of a truce accord by the Malian government and rebels on Tuesday, calling on all signatories of the agreement to "fully implement its provisions."
"The members of the Security Council welcome the signing in Ouagadougou on 18 June 2013 of a 'Preliminary Agreement to the Presidential Election and the Inclusive Peace Talks in Mali' between the transitional authorities of Mali and the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) and the High Council for the Unity of Azawad (HCUA)," said a press statement issued here late Wednesday.
The accord, reached after 10 days of tense negotiations in the capital of Burkina Faso, will enable Malian troops to enter the rebel-held city of Kidal in the northeast of the West African country to secure presidential elections scheduled to take place on July 28.
Long-term peace talks will start after the election.
"The members of the Security Council note that this Agreement reaffirms the sovereignty, territorial integrity, national unity and secular nature of the Malian State, provides for an immediate ceasefire, paves the way for the nationwide holding of presidential elections and establishes a framework for inclusive talks with all communities of the north of Mali, and as such constitutes an important step towards lasting peace and stability in Mali," the statement said.
"The members of the Security Council commend in this regard the mediation efforts of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) led by the president of Burkina Faso and the president of Nigeria, with the support of the special representative of the United Nations secretary-general, the African Union High Representative and the Special Representative of the European Union," the statement said.
"The members of the Security Council call on all signatories of the Agreement to fully implement its provisions, with the support of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), the African-led International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA), the African Union and ECOWAS," it said.
"The members of the Security Council call on those armed groups in northern Mali that are not signatories to the Agreement, and that have cut off all ties with terrorist organizations, to unconditionally commit to all the provisions contained therein," the agreement added.
Negotiations opened on June 8 to iron out differences between the rival sides ahead of the planned election in July to end the crisis since a military coup on March 22 last year.
Besides disarmament of the armed rebels in identified sites, the Malian parties also agreed that the Malian army will be progressively deployed in Kidal under the joint watch of the International Support Mission for Mali and the United Nations International Support Mission for Mali.
The deployment of Mali's security forces in this locality will be done "without further delay" and the parties agreed to end hostilities with a cease-fire that came into force on the date of signing the agreement. They also agreed to end attempts to occupy new positions.
The parties equally agreed that the rebels will remain with their weapons as they await to be placed in identified camps, because the mediators and Mali's partners were of the view that disarmament is part of the Demobilization, Disarmament and Reintegration process.
In April, the UN Security Council approved the 12,600-strong United Nations peacekeeping operation, known as the MINUSMA, to take over in Mali on July 1 for an initial period of 12 months.
The main task of MINUSMA is to support the political process in Mali, in coordination with the African Union (AU) and the ECOWAS.

Designers Dolce and Gabbana sentenced to prison for tax evasion

Read more: Designers Dolce and Gabbana sentenced to prison, Dolce and Gabbana

ROME  (AFP) – An Italian court on Wednesday sentenced fashion house duo Dolce & Gabbana to one year and eight months in prison for tax evasion of 200 million euros ($268 million)
They were also ordered by the court in Milan to pay a fine of 500,000 euros to Italy’s national tax agency.
Lawyers for Dolce and Gabbana, whose celebrity clients include Beyonce and Madonna, immediately said they will appeal, and under Italian law the sentence will be suspended in the meantime.
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana were accused of having transferred control of their brands to a shell company in Luxembourg in 2004 and 2005 to avoid paying Italian taxes.
Prosecutors had argued that setting up the Luxembourg company Gado — an acronym of the surnames of the two designers — while the company was operating out of Italy was a bid to defraud the state.
They had called in May for the pair to be sent down for two years and six months.
In her closing speech at the trial, prosecutor Laura Pedio said there was “rock-solid proof” that the duo had committed “sophisticated tax fraud”.
She said Gado was “a sort of cloud with the consistency of gas,” while fellow prosecutor Gaetano Ruta said it was “an artificial construction the aim of which was to get a tax advantage”.
Although Dolce and Gabbana had originally been accused of tax evasion of around one billion euros, the court ruled that just 200 million euros of that sum was relevant.
Four other people, including Dolce’s brother Alfonso, were given suspended jail sentences.
Investigators completed a probe into the designers and five other people, in 2010 and the case was dismissed in April 2011 but reopened in November last year and went to trial.
“All that I care about is making clothes, that’s all. Let them do and say whatever they want,” Gabbana tweeted about the trial in April.
“To be accused of something that’s not true is not a pretty thing, but the heart of the matter is, who cares, we’ll all end up in the ground in the end,” he said.
Founded in 1985, Dolce & Gabbana employs more than 3,000 people and has 250 shops in 40 countries around the world.

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Woman Gives Birth To A Headless Baby

A woman was horrified when she gave birth to a baby without a head.

Headless Baby

It was a devastating moment to the first time mother, when she learned that her baby did not survive after being born headless. Gynaecologist Doctor Shilpa Ambekar, who treated the 30-year-old mother, in Mumbai, India, confirmed that it has been an emotional journey for the couple, according to local press reports.
The mixed emotions of excitement and sadness came after the woman gave birth to twins, which one of them was perfectly healthy while the other twin was born without a head and did not survive.
The malformed fetus, known in medical terms as “Acardiac Monster” was born stillborn, according to a doctor at the Bombay Hospital.
“The parents, are still in shock after seeing the baby,” Dr. Ambekar said.
In the fifth month of pregnancy the couple was told that their was something unusual with one of the babies and was given the option to terminate the baby. The couple chose not to do so in order not to hurt the healthy baby, according to local press report.

Freedom for all, Life more abundant...Liberal minded leader

Freedom for all, Life more abundant

By Tunde Fagbenle
I am doing the unusual today. I am bringing my readers an abridged version of the first address of Chief Obafemi Awolowo as President of the Action Group to the party’s Conference at Owo on April 28, 1951.
It tells so much of the minds of our heroes past and, seeing how much the country continues to totter, with the issue of restructuring reverberating anew, serves us lessons and ideals to borrow from, not just in the West but in Nigeria as a whole. (All emphasis throughout mine)
Titled, Freedom For All, it goes thus:
“Gentlemen,
The pleasant duty of introducing the Action Group has been entrusted to me.
On the 21st March of this year, the Action Group was introduced to the public through the Press, and its aims and objectives were clearly set out.
Since then the Action Group has been unfolding itself and fulfilling its aims and objectives more by action than by words.
There are, however, two items in the aims and objectives which I should like to emphasise, since they are the very basis of the Action Group. I refer to items (1) and (3). The two are complementary and they read as follows:
(i) To bring and organise within its fold nationalists in the Western Region, so that they may work together as a united group, and submit themselves to party loyalty and discipline;
(ii) To prepare and present to the public programmes for all Departments of Government, and to strive faithfully to ensure the effectuation of such programmes through those of its members that are elected into the Western House of Assembly and the Federal Legislature.
If any group of people fail to agree as to basic principles and as to the methods to be adopted in applying those principles, it is impossible for them to work within the same fold, and to submit themselves to party loyalty and discipline.
The basic principles which have brought the members of the Action Group together are summarised in the following motto: Life more abundant; Freedom for all.
It is our belief that the people of Western Nigeria in particular, and of Nigeria in general, would have life more abundant when they enjoy:
(i) Freedom from British Rule
(ii) Freedom from ignorance
(iii) Freedom from disease and
(iv) Freedom from want.
In our view, the rule of one nation by another is unnatural and unjust. It is maintained either by might or by complete subordination, through crafty means, of the will and self-respect of the people to the political self-aggrandisement of the tutelary power. There can be no satisfactory substitute for self-rule.
An ignorant and poverty-stricken people are the easiest preys to political enslavement and economic exploitation. Diseases of all kinds follow in the wake of ignorance and want.
The basic principles which, therefore, have brought us together within the fold of the Action Group may be stated in the following words:
1) The immediate termination of British Rule in every phase of our political life.
2) The education of all children of school-going age, and the general enlightenment of all illiterate adults and all illiterate children above the school-going age.
3) The provision of health and general welfare for all our people.
4) The total abolition of want in our society by means of any economic policy which is both expedient and effective.
Having agreed on these basic principles, it becomes necessary to take the next step, namely: to agree as to common methods in the application of those principles. This is a very important step: because, even though people may agree as to principles, if they don’t agree as to methods of application it would not be possible for them to work together.
All that we would need in addition would be persistence and consistency in the pursuit of our principles, and resolution and discipline in the execution of our common methods of application.
Only we must make sure about two things, namely: that our principles are just, and that our methods are practical; for nothing defeats their own ends so easily as unjust principles and impractical methods of approach.
In the first release of the Action Group, it has been made abundantly clear both in item (5) of the aims and objectives and in the body of the release that it is not the intention of the Action Group to embark on Regional politics exclusively. It is sheer necessity that has compelled us to decide to get together to put our own house in order.
As an earnest of our good faith, the subjects on which policy papers have been prepared are not confined to Regional subjects but cover Central subjects as well.
We have promised, and we mean to abide by our word, that if a countrywide organisation acceptable to all is established, we would not hesitate to become the Western Regional Working Committee of such an organisation.
It must, therefore, be our hope and our endeavour that as soon as we have duly consolidated and strengthened our position throughout the Western Region, we should, in cooperation with nationalists in other Regions, influence the formation of a countrywide organisation on the same realistic and scientific lines as the Action Group.
We are a party — in fact, the only party in Nigeria with definite ideas and practical programmes for the advancement of Nigeria towards early freedom and prosperity.
Our enemies and detractors are already at work… It is not an easy matter to resist the temptation of being dragged down the drains of bitter recriminations and press war. But if we are to attain our objectives, we must resolve to pursue our cause unflinchingly without paying the slightest heed to ‘the envious, and the asses that bray.’
What our people want to know, above all things else, is not the defect or incapacity of this or that organisation, but the plans and programmes which we have for improving their lot and the relative merits of such plans and programmes.
Our line of action is therefore clear. Whilst our enemies and detractors busy themselves with abusing and decrying us, we should direct all the machinery of our publicity towards the propagation of the excellence and the relative superiority of our programmes and the suitability of the men who we put forward to execute them.
In this way, we would succeed in commending ourselves to the public by our sheer merits and our merits only. This, in my view, is a nobler attitude; and if we remain true to it, we are bound to succeed where our detractors fail.”
Taken from “Voice of Reason: Selected Speeches of Chief Obafemi Awolowo” Vol. 1, Fagbamigbe Publishers (1981) Pages 195-200.

BREAKING NEWS: Kim Kardashian has given birth to a baby

She’s here! Kim Kardashian has given birth to a baby daughter, Us Weekly can confirm. The E! reality star welcomed the tot with beau, Kanye West, by her side at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in West Hollywood, Calif. Originally due July 11, the star couple’s new bundle of joy arrived a bit early, and as a special (early!) Father’s Day gift for West.
“Kim had her baby,” a hospital source tells Us exclusively. “She’s five weeks early. Kim got sick last night and had the baby early.”
The source added, “They’re all doing great and amazing!”
Kardashian, 32, confirmed she and West, 36, were having a girl (as Us exclusively reported in February) on the June 2 season premiere of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, sharing her excitement for all-things pink.
“I’m so excited we’re having a girl,” she gushed. “Like, who doesn’t want a girl? They’re the best. And I know that’s what Kanye has always wanted. He wanted a little girl.”
Kardashian’s pregnancy has not been in a walk in the park though, and she’s been upfront about the health struggles she had early on. On the upcoming June 16 KUWTHK episode, the cameras are there as the 5-month pregnant star cries in pain due to severe stomach pains that could be appendicitis.
“Getting appendicitis while pregnant is not fun,” she said during a confessional. “It’s not easy. It’s gonna be really tough to go through.”
Besides the health scare, Kim told Us Weekly in April that it was difficult to adjust to all her body’s changes at first.
“It was really hard for me to accept that the body changes, and I was having a different kind of pregnancy than Kourtney did,” Kim said of her older sister. “She made it look really easy, but ever since the baby started to kick I’ve really embraced it. Now I love being pregnant!”
During a recent interview with The New York Times, West, whose album, Yeezus, drops June 18, also revealed how he was embracing fatherhood, including the protection he already felt for his daughter.
“I would do anything to protect my child or my child’s mother,” he said.
Indeed, the TV star will be relishing in West’s love as they spend time with their newborn.
“Kanye showers her with love and reassurance, constantly telling her how beautiful she is,” a family insider told Us Weekly. “He’s the only one in the world who can make Kim feel that special.”
After years of friendship, Kardashian and West began dating in April 2012 and announced they were expecting on Dec. 30. There’s been no word yet on an engagement, and Kardashian finalized her divorce from NBA player, Kris Humphries, on June 4.
The new baby girl will join cousins Mason, 3, and Penelope, 11 months, Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick’s kids.

BLOODBATH: Village Head, Chief Imam, 46 others killed in Zamfara

It was a gory sight yesterday in Zamfara, North-East Nigeria, after gunmen raided Kizara village in Tsafe Local Government Area, killing the district head, the chief imam, the local vigilante leader, and at least 45 others.
The attack started at about 4am and lasted for more than five hours, according to a report in the Abuja newspaper, Daily Trust.
“Witnesses said dozens of unidentified gunmen arrived on motorbikes, and laid siege on the village, firing at residents,” the paper said, adding the following details about the incident:
“Some of the gunmen climbed a hill behind the village and shot at people trying to escape the attack as well as those trying to come in to help from neighbouring villages.
“The gunmen also went house-to-house, shooting men dead. They told residents that they were looking for vigilante members who they said were threatening them for a long time.
“During the attack, chief imam of the village, his deputy and three of his disciples were killed. Also shot dead were 11 people who came in from neighbouring villages to offer help.
“The gunmen also set fire to many houses and shops before they fled the village around 9 am.
Residents said the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Keta division engaged the attackers in a shootout for hours but he was overwhelmed and had to retreat.
“Alhaji Ali Hakimi, who survived the attack, gave an account of the incident to our reporter: ‘I woke up in the morning to get my children set for work on my farm. I suddenly started to hear gun shots. I listened attentively and I realized that sounds of the gun shots were coming directly behind me.
“ ‘I then sensed trouble and quickly run into my house. I saw one of my children standing at the compound and I told him to hide himself in a room close to mine but before he did that they came and shot him dead.’
Another resident, Idi Namarake, was quoted as saying that when he heard the gunshots, his wife advised him to hide under the bed, and soon after the gunmen forced their way into the room. They asked the wife where her husband was and she told them he had travelled. ‘That was how I escaped being killed,’ he said.
Daily Trust said the attack took place just two days after the security agents stationed at the village were withdrawn.
State police commissioner Mr. Akila Usman Gwary confirmed the attack, saying the police would leave no stone unturned in bringing the perpetrators to justice.
According to Daily Trust, “This was the deadliest in the series of bandit attacks on villages in Zamfara State over the past two years.
“In November last year, 20 people were shot dead in a similar attack in Kabaro town. A month earlier, 27 were killed in Dangulbi, while in Birnin Magaji 15 were killed in February 2012. These were preceded by the August 2011 attack in which 19 died at Lingyado town.
“In most of the attacks, it was believed that the gunmen were trying to exact revenge from vigilantes who had previously arrested armed robbers terrorizing local traders.
“Similar attacks have also happened in neighboring Kaduna and Katsina states. Just days ago, bandits attacked Kwasa-Kwasa in Kaduna State, killing two military personnel and four other people. In previous incidents in Kaduna State, 20 people were killed in Dogon Dawa in October 2012; 3 cops died in Birnin Gwari in the same month; and seven people were killed in Goron Dutse earlier this month.”

Northern youths launch manhunt on Boko Haram

Youth groups from several areas in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, have launched a manhunt for suspected Boko Haram members, Daily Trust can report.
Witnesses told our correspondent yesterday that the youths who are on a voluntary mission to help security operatives, arrested some suspects at the weekend, tied them up and handed them over to the Joint Task Force.
More than 500 youths from Gwange I, Gwange II, Blabirin, Mafoni and Hausari wards of Maiduguri are said to have organised themselves and resolve to go after insurgents who are sneaking back to the city, and hand them over to the authorities.
The JTF spokesman Lt. Col. Sagir Musa could not be reached for comments. The absence of mobile telecommunication services and the ongoing offensive against the Boko Haram have left journalists in Maiduguri handicapped in reaching out to military authorities.
But when contacted, Defence spokesman Brigadier General Chris Olukolade said he could not confirm the story but that the military would welcome any such cooperation from the civil populace.
“I am not aware. But every effort that is complimentary or consistent with current security operations by way of cooperation from the civil populace to put an end to the activities of terrorists in the land will continue to be welcomed,” he said.
Many members of the Boko Haram are believed to have run back to the city following the military offensive which began shortly after President Jonathan declared state of emergency and moved in troops into northern Borno to fight the insurgents and recapture territories under their control.
“We, the youths in Maiduguri have resolved to fish out any member of Boko Haram sect who ran back into the city, to his or their house or community, after they had left for villages and bushes from where they were recently displaced by the federal troops,” a vigilante group leader in Gwange II ward said.
The leader who prefers anonymity added: “We thank God that we in Gwange II have so far caught more than 10 Boko Haram members in our area and handed them over to the soldiers. And we are glad that our counterparts in GwangeI have also mobilized themselves for this patriotic community service. Insha-Allah we will soon carry this movement to Gwange III, Gwange IV and even other communities which are yet to take similar action.”
A witness told our correspondent that some youths in Hausari ward, last weekend crossed over to a neighbouring ward, Blabirin, and fished out a Boko Haram suspect who had ran back to the area, and handed him over to soldiers.
“This action of Hausari youths had provoked some Boko Haram members who manoeuvred their way into the city for reprisal; they came from the outskirts of Maiduguri, disguised as villagers conveying a corpse to the cemetery in a pick-up van. But they were repelled by the JTF,” a resident said.
South African timeslive.co.za yesterday corroborated this when it quoted local residents as saying that 10 attackers came into Hausari in a pick-up truck, with a coffin in the exposed flatbed rear.
“Everybody thought they were going for burial until they alighted from their vehicle and started bringing out their guns…They opened fire into different direction,” it quoted a local resident, Mohammed Aji as saying.
It also quoted military spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa as confirming that gunmen launched attacks on Friday evening in the neighbourhoods of Hausari, Fizzan and Gwange.
Meanwhile, as a result of the closure of all roads leading to the northern and southern parts of Borno, village dwellers are reported to be suffering from food shortages because they cannot access markets to buy food items.
“There is no food in our villages. All the foods we stored have finished and our people have been dying from hunger. If the situation continues, no one would be spared,” a food trader, Adamu Kuranabasa who maneuvered his way from Gwoza through bush paths of Cibok to Damboa into Maiduguri, lamented.
“Our people who are dwelling in villages came this week as usual to buy food items on market day of this week in Gwoza, unfortunately just a few of them were lucky to get some food items and I am sure it will not take them up to next week; that was why I decided to come to Maiduguri through these risky roads,” he added.
Commenting on this, military spokesman Olukolade said Special Forces only mounted road blocks on designated areas for stop-and-search exercises, often causing delays for travellers. But he urged people moving along such roads to be tolerant with the soldiers.
“There was no basis for soldiers to block the roads and put off movements. In fact I was in the area last week and I didn’t see any spot where roads are blocked and people could not move. But those who are patient enough with the troops have been passing through the check points,” he said.
He said : “You only have the necessary control of movement essentially to keep the populace out of harm. There is certainly no intention to make life unbearable as movement of essential goods and services have not been restrained, especially when they have been duly cleared, or authorized to the satisfaction of commanders on t

Boko Haram members go underground •US military monitors sect

THERE are strong indications that the militant Boko Haram sect may have gone underground in the face of onslaught by the Nigerian Armed forces, while there are increasing concerns about the emergence of vigilante groups reportedly hunting down sect members, but whose source of funding is not known.
This is coming as the international dimension to the Nigerian war on terror was confirmed by the Commander of the US Africa Command (AFRICOM), General David Rodriguez, who said US forces were paying close attention to Boko Haram militants in Northern Nigeria as the group expands its ties with terrorist organisations on the continent.
Insurgency threats still exist
Sunday Tribune investigation showed that while the military claimed successes in the operations, some other insiders were warning that the rebels had simply disappeared, meaning that the threat of resurgence still existed. According to those hinting at this prospect, the jihadists were trained to hit and run and not necessarily to hold a territory, especially when facing conventional military forces.
It was learnt that few hours to the deployment of the troops, many jihadists had left the Borno /Yobe axis with many reports confirming that traffic towards the North-Western cities of Bauchi, Kano and Kaduna were high.
An eyewitness even posted how some of these militants changed their appearances and successfully crawled over to the more peaceful North-Western and lower part of the troubled North-East. Checks showed that the natural blending into other parts of the core North by these sect members was aided by what some insiders described as local sympathy, due to a build-up of anger over alleged negative conduct of some members of the security forces.
Investigations showed that while the disappearance was being perfected, the foreign elements among the sect offered only weak resistance before they escaped through the border, after burning leftovers at their camps.
Sunday Tribune was told that just as the Malian Islamists retreated into Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and others at the advance of the French Army, the foreign jihadists in Nigeria also reportedly made their way out of Nigeria through porous and hardly-policed international boundaries with Chad and Niger republics.
Unconfirmed reports indicated that some sect members entered refugee camps being maintained by the International Committee of Red Cross in Niger and Chad from where they flocked to other jihadist bases in Southern Libya and other areas in the weakly-policed Sahel region.
This reality was cited as responsible for the Nigerian military‘s inability to report any further combat, after the initial bombardment of the forest reserve where the jihadists had their major base.
Concerns over vigilance group
Meanwhile, there are growing concerns within a section of the security forces about the emerging vigilance groups alleged to be hunting down the Islamists in support of the war on terror.
While the vigilantes are said to be doing a good job of tracking the fleeing jihadists, there are fears that the new groups may pose even more serious security challenge to the nation in future as is the case currently in Libya.
Security sources hinted that the emergence of the groups may not be unconnected with the 2015 elections as unconfirmed reports said the groups are sponsored by the state government as a way of helping the military.
Our source noted that while the military may have tacitly supported the vigilante groups as a civilian component of the war on terror, “this may be a move to rebuild a new group ahead of the 2015 governorship election in Borno State.
“We are concerned with the new groups. This is how Boko Haram started here. We also have what we called ECOMOG here. We are worried as this appears to be a regrouping for 2015. If this is about hunting down Boko Haram, why is it just starting now after the Islamists have either fled or have melted into the population?
“If the state government is sponsoring this effort, why now? And how do we disarm them after the emergence? If it is the military, how do we integrate them or disband them after the war?”
It will be recalled that the insurgency has been regularly blamed on politicians training and arming groups for electoral purposes.
US confirms surveillance of sect
After months of denial, the United States military has confirmed that it is closely monitoring the war on terror in Nigeria and particularly activities of the Boko Haram sect.
AFRICOM, based in Stuttgart, Germany, is the newest of the US military’s combatant commands. Its mission is to defend US national security interests by strengthening the defense capabilities of African states.
Rodriguez said one of the command’s top concerns was the spread of militant groups on the continent.
“We are very concerned about that because those connections expand opportunities, expand capabilities and things like that to those networks as they grow and develop. And Boko Haram is a very, very violent network. It is one that has had a very, very negative impact on the Northern part of Nigeria as well as Niger and Chad; and it crosses borders. It is going to take a coordinated effort by all those nations as well as some good decisions and good thought process for the Nigerian government to help solve that problem,” said General Rodriguez.
Rodriguez added that the US military’s role on the continent was to provide training and other assistance to the militaries of partner nations that requested the help. He said US forces were keeping a close eye on Boko Haram.
Despite the clarifications by the general, reports within the American media had pointed to a covert Drone war in Nigeria for resource grab, insinuations that drew sharp rebuke from the American African military command.
Nigerian Army Chief Visits American Command
Meanwhile, Nigeria‘s Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Azubuike Ihejirika paid a strategic visit to the United States Africa Army ahead of ongoing operations in Northern Nigeria. It is not clear whether the visit had anything to do with Nigeria‘s preparation against Islamist insurgents in Northern Nigeria.