News recap

That the Nigerian economy is in a dire strait is no longer news. The statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics during the week confirmed that the country is in recession. And during the week, we were told why the economy could stay in a prolonged downward spiral mode.

Again, the Republican nominee for the US presidential election, Donald Trump, insisted he had no love for illegal immigrants in his country.

Summary of these news and others are in our news recap for this week.

Anthony Cardinal Okogie

If President Muhammadu Buhari had any doubt about the effects of the bad economy on Nigerians, he had Cardinal Anthony Okogie to tell him the fact. In a letter to the president, the Cardinal said Nigerians were hungry and they urgently needed the president to fulfil his campaign promises by providing good leadership that will check hunger and poverty in the land.

Cement

I doubt if a hungry man can think of building a house. But for those who can afford to, they have soaring prices of cement to contend with. So learnt this week. Investigations revealed that operators under the Cement Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (CMAN) have raised prices of brands by N600 per bag in factories, including additional N100 cost for haulage. This has increased retail prices from N1,600 to N2,300 depending on location. In some areas, prices have shot up to N21,350 or higher.

Financial experts believe the country may not witness a quick economic turnaround if the government does not take urgent steps to address the major problems the country faces.

Again, implementation of the Treasury Single Accountant which the federal government considers as one of its economic achievements may run into problems if the government refuses to honour the terms of contract with the company that developed the TSA backbone.

Fuel queue at MRS filling station, Airport road Abuja on Thursday, March 10, 2016. PHOTO: NAN

As Nigerians grapple with rising inflation, a news made the rounds that fuel marketers were considering hiking the prices of petroleum products. in its editorial on Monday, The Guardian stated that such insinuations, against the background of arguably the worst economic hardship in Nigeria’s history, were not only depressing, but insulting, and smacks of gross insensitivity and callousness on the part of those contemplating it.

The eclipse in Abuja PHOTO: Ladidi Lucy Elukpo

However, the annular eclipse which occurred on September 1 provided a fleeting moment of relief for someone. But the hope of many who looked forward to catching a glimpse of the phenomenon was eclipsed as the much talked about eclipse predicted by the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) failed to appear in  many states in the southern and eastern parts of the country, The Guardian reported.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally on August 30, 2016 at Xfinity Arena in Everett, Washington. Trump addressed immigration issues on the same night that his campaign confirmed an August 31 meeting with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. Matt Mills McKnight/Getty Images/AFP

And so was the hope of those who thought Republican presidential standard bearer would soften his rhetoric on illegal immigration.

“On Day One, I am going to begin swiftly removing criminal illegal immigrants from this country – including removing the hundreds of thousands of criminal illegal immigrants that have been released into US communities under the Obama-Clinton administration,” Donald Trump told supporters in Des Moines, Iowa, on August 28.

Back to Nigeria with another irking story.

Some MTN mobile telephone subscribers in Abia State are unhappy with the company for introducing and selling to them two customised MTN handsets, which the company said are tagged 620 and 720 smartphones. The subscribers are irked that they cannot replace the batteries of the two handset brands whose batteries, according to them, could not be replaced when they died after purchasing from the MTN, said to be the sole seller.

The Super Eagles will begin their campaign for a ticket to Russia 2018 World Cup away to Zambia in October.

I reckon these subscribers will probably be angrier if the Super Eagles fail to fly against Tanzania in an African Cup of Nations qualifier match slated for this weekend in Uyo. But a positive outcome is expected from the match with all the Nigerian stars in camp ready to impress their new gaffer.

Chenopodium ambrosioides

Obviously, those who suffer from rheumatism cannot play football actively. But they can, at least, be comforted with the news that there are more locally available herbs that could ease their pain.  Until now, several medicinal plants including Zingiber officinale (ginger), Citrus aurantifolia (lime) and Psidium guajava (guava) have shown anti-rheumatoid arthritis properties.

But researchers from the Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria, have endorsed more medicinal plants used for the treatment of rheumatism by Amahor people of Edo State.