By Lizzy Okoji

Israel says it is ready to support Nigeria in the areas of Intelligence sharing, modern combat equipment and extraction of relevant information to effectively win the ongoing war against terrorism.

Retired Lt.-Col. Jonathan Konricus, who served in the Israel Defence Force (IDF) said this in Jerusalem, while answering questions from some Nigerian journalists who are in Israel on a media tour.

Responding to questions from Journalists, on how Israel is willing to support Nigeria in fighting terrorism and insecurity in Nigeria, Kornicous said “what Israel has is a lot of experience.

 “Therefore, sharing knowledge, strategies and tactics on how to deal with terror organisation is one.

“Second is training, how to train forces better, the second thing is how to train forces in order to deal with counter terrorism or counter Gorilla operations.

“Another thing is equipment, equipment is very important, intelligence, and combat equipment, how to collect intelligence on your enemies and how to have the fire power and necessary tools to strike the enemy.

“Those are three elements that Israel can and is involved in few of the cases.

“Intelligence is key and Israel spends a quarter of its defence budget on generating intelligence, sensors, analysis, manpower, and that is what really gives us the upper hand against our enemies.

“However, it is very key especially in fighting terror organisations that are using civilians of making it impossible to distinguish between civilians are combatants.

“For any nation to effectively combat terror organisations, you need equipment, you need manpower, you need the manpower to be trained adequately in other to deal effectively with counter terror operations,” Kornicous said. 

Kornicous said that Israel knowing how prone it is from attacks have invested in interception which had a 92 per cent success rate of interception when Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired 4,400rockets at Israel in 11 days in May 2021.

Responding to questions on how Israeli communities in volatile communities have built resilience, Kornicous said that there is a close connection and collaboration between commuters and security agencies.

”Israel has at least 75 years of experience and in many cases more communities were subjected to attacks by different organisations, It is not a new thing.

“It is a reality, part of the DNA of Israeli communities whereby there is always a close connection between the communities and the security organisations, and mostly the IDF which is responsible for an area.

“We have specific personnel in each and every community, they have their fast response teams in every community, which is equipped by the military and trained by the military.

”What we have learned is that you have to have a quick first response on the ground within minutes to respond to an attack by terrorists.

“The first response made by locals is very important,” Kornicous added.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Israel and Nigeria first established diplomatic, cultural, and economic ties officially in 1960 after Nigerian independence was established.

Israel contributed significantly to the development of Nigeria as well as other Sub-Saharan African countries in the 1960’s and 1970’s by sending Israeli experts and volunteers to modernize Africa’s agriculture and teach African farmers sustainable farming techniques.

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Edited by Celine-Damilola Oyewole/Sadiya Hamza

Sharon Bar-Li, Deputy Director-general, African Department, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

By Lizzy Okoji

The State of Israel has reaffirmed its commitment to support Nigeria in driving its technology, innovative sectors, building entrepreneurship among the youths to boost the nation’s economy.

Some Officials of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs made this known during meetings with a delegation of Nigerian journalist on a tour of Israel on Tuesday in Jerusalem.

They said that Israel is known for its high technology, innovation which it successfully used to transform its nation to a developed one irrespective of its numerous challenges.

Sharon Bar-Li, Deputy Director-general, African Department, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Israel’s aim is to transfer knowledge to a society and ensure sustainability of such programmes by training and empowering local partners.

“We have continued working with African countries making the Israeli technology available.

“Here, it is really not about the know-how, transferring knowledge, transferring technology, but the idea of working with Israel is about the do how because we have the experience.

“Just several years ago we were a developing country and therefore we are in a very good position to work together with your countries.

“One of the fields that Israel have decide to master, and if you like to use as a spearhead in its activities in African countries is around a sector of innovation and entrepreneurship.

“Israel is described as the start-up nation, country of innovation. This restlessness that we have is the key engine to innovation.

“Although the traditional sectors of agriculture, water and health are still very relevant when working with African countries, we have realized that many African countries have entrepreneurial elements in which Israel and Israeli can connects with naturally.

“And this is where we identify a good area, a common denominator where we can work together,” Bar Li said.

Bar-Li said that one of Israel’s sustainable development programmes in Africa is the establishment of its Development Agency, MASHAV’s Innovative Hub (Innov-Hub) in Abuja for aspiring researchers.

She said that Israel will be replicating the innovative hub for young entrepreneurs in every capital country of Africa where it has a Mission.

She said that the policy is geared at entrepreneurship and innovation touching different fields in so many different sectors to create cohorts of young entrepreneur, and a network that can contribute to their economy, their communities, with Israeli’s support.

“This is the direction we have been taking in serval years in Africa, the MASHAV laboratory outside Abuja.

“Following the success, we emulated and established one in Accra and now we are looking at putting another one in Dakar Senegal.

“And the vision is to have such centers of excellence and innovations in each of the countries in which we have an Embassy,” Bar-Li said.

Mr Emmanuel Nachshon, Deputy Director-general, Public Diplomacy, Israeli Foreign Ministry said that Israel have specialists going to different part of the world and helping them build a better economy.

He explained that what makes the Israeli phyilisopshy very special as opposed to other countries is that they come to build projects that the people can understand, train them on it to be dependent and not reliant on them.

“What we are looking for is partnerships at which local people are part of the project. That they are not just recipients of the projects because that is the only way to make it work.

“If you are a rich country, the easiest thing to say is that I will buy them fish but it is a big mistake because if you buy them fish, people will not fish themesleves.

“So what you need to do is help them create better sources of nourishment to catch those fish and this is what we try to do.

“What is unique about Israel is that we have no colonialist past, so it means we come with clean hands. These results are successful and they contribute to humanity,” Nachshon said.

Amb. Eynat Shlein, MASHAV’s Deputy-director said that MASAHAV’s activities are visible in Nigeria with more projects and programmes to be facilitated by MASHAV.

“We worked in Nigeria on various projects in recent years. I hope you have heard of the I fair, the innovation workshop that is going on for the third year.

“There were a lot of participants in the training that is going in for the third time and it is a very successful model.

“Israeli government holds hands with the Israeli private sector and of course with Nigerian partners and offer innovative training for young Nigerians. More collaborations on trainings in the coming years,” Shlein said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Sadiya Hamza

Ms Suzzie Benvenziti, Executive Director, Hadassah Office in Israel

By Lizzy Okoji

Jerusalem, Jan. 17, 2023 (NAN) Israel’s Hadassah Hospital has expressed willingness to support African countries to improve their health sectors  by sharing best practices, developing research as Hadassah Hospitals is already at the  forefront  of global innovations.

Ms Barbara Sofer, Israel Director of Public Relations and Communications, Hadassah Office in Israel made this known on Tuesday in Jerusalem, while briefing some Nigerian Journalists on a tour to the hospital in Israel.

This is also as Sofer disclosed the several breakthroughs in research and procedures that Hadassah Hospital have recorded making it the solution center for terrible conditions.

One of such breakthroughs Sofer disclosed is a treatment for bone marrow cancer, Myeloma which is less expensive in Hadassah Hospitals and affordable for patients from across the world.

“One of the latest things we are very proud of is this new treatment for multiple Maloma.

“Getting it in the U.S cost money, but here our doctor has managed to legally create a less expensive version of this.

“And something that will be possible for not only our country but throughout the world and in affordable places that do not have the budget.

“So it is a very innovative treatment with a very high success rate. Israel’s Hadassah hospital develops breakthrough affordable treatment for cancer.

“We have a pro promising treatment for macro-degeneration and also is based on stem cells, Israel has an advantage that we are of as one of the counties that have stem cells available as opposed to the United States when they were banned to use this embryo stem cells.

“We now have treatment for macular degeneration using stem cells, a breakthrough treatment is back surgery where many people can have broken backs and they cannot undergo surgery because they are frail, we also have the wake surgery.

“That is the direction we are working in high tech innovations,” Sofer said.

Hadassah Hospital, Isreal

Ms Suzzie Benvenziti, Executive Director, Hadassah Office in Israel said that the hospital operates an open-door policy which makes it open to everyone irrespective of religion, and race.

Benvenziti said that the hospital which is innovative and reassert hub has been able to thrive in Israel amidst several challenges

“The hospital has an open-door policy treating everybody without regards to religion, race and nationality and same is with the staff working here coming from every background.

“For this reason, in 2005, Hadassah hospitals were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and this is really one of the core elements of our values of the hospital.

“The Hospital is a Center of excellence with over 200 research projects happening here at every time, we swerve more than 1 million people annually and we are at the fore front of innovation worldwide.

“Various departments have been named on top of their field, various projects have been recognized, acquired by companies from across the world,” Benvenziti said.

Holgar Fung, Anaesthesia Specialist in the hospital said that there is a lot that African countries can learn from Hadassah hospital to improve medi-care in the continent.

Fung, a Cameroonian doctor in the center urged African governments to build health infrastructure, equip them, regular trainings of medical personnel, improve and carryout more procedures and treatments, conduct researches to meet global standards.

“I am very hopeful about the African continent because there are more and more awareness because of the internet and the younger generation is becoming more and aware.

“On infrastructure, we need to have structures, not only build but equip. We need to train people, and also we need to create linkages.

“When it comes to training, we have a lot of medical schools on the continent but the problem is we do not encourage the culture of research which is really key and the center piece at Hadassah because the more you research the more you innovate, the more possibility you have to help people.

Another thing on the structure is procurement of logistics, open market and non-monopolisation. Because of greed, only one person wants to control the whole chain for personal gains. We should work on ourselves for collective benefits.

“We need to improve our offers of health care, because most of our people go to India  and the truth is, Indi is not better than ours.

“Increase the numbers of procedure we do and this can only be possible if we train more people, we need to buy equipment improve in supply chain management,” Fung said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Sadiya Hamza

Dr Alim Abubakre

By Razak Owolabi

Dr Alim Abubakre, founder of TEXEM UK, has advised government and private sector leaders to support the mental well-being of their workers to survive the present global turbulent times.

Abubakre, a university don in the UK, while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, added that people used to think that COVID-19 was the worst crisis the world ever faced.

He said that surprisingly enough, even before the effects of COVID-19 were over, political instability worldwide began.

Abubakre said the Russia-Ukraine war had affected supply chains worldwide, and there seems to be no relief soon, saying the effects have severe effects on the global economy.

“Following the sharp slowdown in 2022, various international bodies have warned that there could be a recession in 2023.

“Indeed, in October 2022, the International Monetary Fund warned that the global economy’s growth would fall by 2.7 per cent in 2023.

“As a leader, whether in government or the private sector, you have a unique role in inspiring confidence, even during times of turbulence,” he said.

Abubakre said that there were signs that the projected global economic recession was beginning to bite.

He said organisational models could only succeed with effective strategic leadership during hard times.

Abubakre said while some effects were inevitable, leaders could prepare for the uncertain future and find a way to sail through the tough times.

He said one of the strategies through which leaders could survive turbulent times was to embrace innovation and adopt innovative practices.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, organisations that innovated quickly thrived, while those that did not, cease to exist.

“Chinese scientists sequenced the COVID virus in just three weeks. The UK’s National Health Service constructed a 4,000-bed capacity hospital within four days,” Abubakre said.

According to him, innovation should be embraced during and after a crisis to increase the chances of survival of an organisation.

“If you can sustain the same efforts over time, even after a crisis, you are sure of growth and top performance,” Abubakre

said.

He said another strategy was ensuring good mental health for leaders and employees, as

working and living in times of uncertainty creates anxiety, depression, burnout and other mental-health-related issues.

“All these eventually affect performance, and it gets even worse when there are crises and volatilities in the market.

“As a leader, you are responsible for supporting activities that promote good mental well-being for everyone.

“One way to do so is to create initiatives and efforts that help reduce the effects of issues related to mental health,”

Abubakre said.

He said one of the best initiatives leaders could try concerning mental health was, availing counselling to everyone and ensuring leaders and employees had support when needed.

Abubakre said leaders should create platforms for sharing experiences where employees could share their activities or engage in sessions that help bring people together.

He also urged leaders to de-stigmatise mental health by establishing various programmes to help achieve such goals in their organisations.

“The idea here is to create a community of support.

Notably, supporting mental health and wellness is a game changer.

“It separates organisations that thrive from those that suffer losses and stagnation, especially during crises.

“Moreover, unlike other challenges that affect organisations, mental wellness directly affects performance,” Abubakre

said.

He advised leaders to communicate effectively, saying proper communication plays a very vital role during times of uncertainty.

Abubakre said communication enables organisations to function effectively despite disruptive events and risks.

“People want information, and whether good or bad, you need to ensure it gets to the right people on time using the right platform,” he said.

Abubakre called on leaders to emphasise purpose and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by

contributing to the communities and societies where their profits come from, as this is one way to win during turbulent times.

“It is a move that creates a beneficial cycle that will help your organisation to remain afloat even during crisis times.

“Note, however, that CSR is not just about giving to the community near your organisation.

“Your moves must be relevant and help tackle social issues, environmental hazards, governance issues and others,” he said.

Abubakre said leaders must be strategic to succeed in these turbulent times.

“So, how do you survive all these and steer your organisation successfully even during such turbulent times?

“You need to be more deliberate about the choices (e.g., around intrapreneurship, internationalisation, acquisitions and alliances) that you make.

“And the actions (e.g., processes, practice and leadership style) that you take to position (e.g. around; culture, resources, macro-environment and engaging stakeholders) of your organisation for enduring success,” he said.

Abubakre told leaders to let their strategy-making be a continuous process which entails deliberately choosing a distinct set of activities and- is responsive to changing times to deliver a unique mix of value.

He said this is what progressive and top five companies such as Amazon, Walmart and Apple all have in common.

Dr Alim Abubakre is on the advisory board of the London Business School Africa Club. He is the non-executive chair of These Executive Minds (TEXEM, wwww.texem.co.uk), an organisation he founded that has trained over 4,000 executives across multiple continents.

He is a Senior Lecturer in International Business at Sheffield Business School (An AACSB accredited Business School) at Sheffield Hallam University.

Sheffield Hallam was named the University of the Year for Teaching Quality by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020.

(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani

By Lizzy

Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Cui Jianchun, has said that adaptation is the key characteristic of China’s policy against COVID-19 as the country refines its policy in line with a changed landscape of viral contagion.

Cui, in a statement made available on Friday in Abuja, said the refined COVID-19 policies adapted by the People’s Republic of China was timely and science based.

He noted that with adaptation to the new policies, China was one step closer to fully opening to the outside.

He said domestic and foreign airlines would operate scheduled passenger flights, with limits on flights no longer applicable, including closed management, nucleic acid testing, and quarantine measures.

“Countries adjusting the COVID policy would invariably go through a period of adaptation. China is no exception.

“However, China’s current COVID situation on the whole remains predictable and under control, as many cities have gone through the peak.

“This adaptation by China is also important from a strategic and long-term perspective, for effectively coordinating COVID response with economic and social development.

“American, British, German and other foreign chambers of commerce in China, commend this downgrade adaptation.”

He said this would clear the way for resumption of people-to-people exchange and business travel, and enhance foreign investors’ confidence in the Chinese market.

Cui advised that beyond the natural virus, people should be more weary of the political virus, especially the political manipulation of COVID response measures by few countries would only bring chaos to world’s solidarity.

“As many international health experts indicate that, the main variant now spreading in China is the same one prevalent in other countries, it is senseless to impose extra restrictions on travelers from China.

“Political manipulation of COVID response measures by few countries would only bring chaos to world’s solidarity.”

Cui quoted President Xi Jinping’s New Year’s address where he noted how well China had prevailed over unprecedented difficulties and challenges since COVID-19 struck three years ago.

According to Cui, President Xi said that from the very beginning of its response against the pandemic, China had always taken responsible policies on a science-based and targeted approach.

He said that It had been proved and widely recognized that China’s COVID response policies over the past three years realised the goal of achieving the best results at the least cost.

Cui said that “In the past three years, China has provided the greatest extent possible of protection to the people.

“China has made the best effort to protect the life and health of its 1.4bn people, and poured all resources into treating every patient, no matter its own nationals or foreigners living there.

“In the past three years, China has witnessed the stability of its economy and also its supply chain to the world.

“One of the key focuses of China COVID policy is to minimise the impact of the pandemic on economic and social development.

“With joint efforts of the whole country, China’s economy has managed to consolidate its resilience and maintain sound fundamentals, making it a reliable driving force of global economic growth.

“The country’s GDP expanded at an average annual rate of 4.6 per cent from the third quarter of 2019 to the third quarter of 2022, which is well above the world average, according to data released by the OECD.

“Besides, China has also led the world in terms of trade volume, goods production and energy production, and kept its inflation rate at a relatively low level.

“In the past three years, China has witnessed the large-scale vaccination internally.

“China’s efficient response policies have bought precious time for researching and developing vaccines and medicine, and raising the vaccination rate of the whole population.

“In the past three years, China has promoted the robust international solidarity. Since COVID-19 began, China has actively participated in international response”.

Cui said that the government of China highly commended the government of Nigeria for its science-based and proportionate COVID response measures, which had featured from the very beginning of its response.

“The light of hope on final victory over pandemic is right in front of us. Just as appealed by President Xi at his New Year address: ‘Let’s make an extra effort to pull through, as perseverance and solidarity mean victory’. (NAN)

Edited by Idris Abdulrahman

The Houston Museum of Natural Science in the U.S. has handed over a looted ancient Egyptian sarcophagus, widely known as the “Green Coffin”, to its home country, Egypt.

The wooden sarcophagus dates back to the late Dynastic Period (from 664BC to 332BC)

The sarcophagus was returned by U.S. diplomats during a Sunday ceremony attended by Egyptian Foreign Minister,  Sameh Shoukry and the North African country’s Tourism and Antiquities Minister, Ahmed Issa.

The Green Coffin, which is about 2.9 metres long, was said to belong to an ancient priest named Ankhenmaat.

In September 2022, Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg said that the sarcophagus was illegally looted from Egypt by a multinational network of antiquities smugglers, who trafficked it into the U.S. through Germany in 2008.

He said a collector later loaned the coffin, which was originally looted from the Abu Sir necropolis in north Egypt, to the Houston Museum of Natural Science in 2013.

Egypt’s MFA Spokesman, Ahmed Abu Zeid said in a statement “the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted today the ceremony of handing over the ‘Green Coffin’ to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities after it was recovered from the U.S.

“Sincere thanks to the American authorities for their cooperation in preserving the cultural and civilizational heritage of humanity.”

The ministry highlighted that Egypt was one of the first countries to ratify The Hague Convention and the UNESCO Convention of 1970 that prohibits and prevent the illicit trafficking of cultural property.

They pointed out that Egypt was keen on the existence of bilateral agreements with other countries to protect cultural heritage and antiquities.

They said the agreements contributes to the procedures for recovering antiquities with many countries.

However, Antiquities Minister Issa said, “the return of the sarcophagus showed Egypt’s strenuous efforts to recover smuggled artifacts.”

At the handing over ceremony in Cairo, a U.S. diplomat described the return of the Egyptian sarcophagus as being “emblematic” of a long history of co-operation between Washington and Cairo on “antiquities protection and cultural heritage preservation.”

Issa noted that Egypt has succeeded in recovering 29,300 artifacts from several foreign and Arab countries in recent years, including from New Zealand, the U.S., France and Israel.

In 2020, the U.S. repatriated the “Gold Coffin”, while in 2019, the Stele of Pa-di-Sena, which is from the Late Dynastic Period, was handed over by Washington to the African country.

In 2021, Israel has returned to Egypt more than 95 artifacts that were either smuggled into the country or were displayed for sale in Jerusalem. (Sputnik/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

HLM/JPE

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Edited by Hadiza Mohammed/Joseph Edeh

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday renewed his call for a global vaccination campaign as the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic clocked one year.

In a statement, Guterres stated that equity in vaccine distribution represented the “greatest moral test of our times”.

It was on March 11, 2020 that the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the coronavirus a pandemic, NAN reports.

Noting that the world had faced “a tsunami of suffering” since then, Guterres stated that there was “some light at the end of the tunnel” with the vaccine roll-out.

“COVAX, the global vaccine equity mechanism, has started delivery around the world, including to some of the lowest-income countries.

“Yet I am deeply concerned that many low-income countries have not yet received a single dose, while wealthier countries are on track to vaccinating their entire population.

“We see many examples of vaccine nationalism and vaccine hoarding in wealthier countries, as well as continued side deals with manufacturers that undermine access for all.”

As of Thursday afternoon, no fewer than 328 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered in 126 countries, according to CNN.

Data compiled by the New York Times show that on continental basis, North America is leading with 17 doses administered per 100 people.

Europe is second with 10.2 doses/100 people, followed by South America (4.7 doses/100), Asia (2.6 doses/100), Africa (0.4 doses/100people) and Oceania (0.3 doses/100).

Looking back at the last 12 months, the UN chief said it had been a year of “empty office buildings, quiet streets and closed schools in much of the world”.

“I commend women, men and young people everywhere for adapting to work, learn and live in new ways.

“I honour health workers for their dedication and sacrifice and all other essential workers who have kept societies running.

“I salute all those who have stood up to the deniers and disinformation, and have followed science and safety protocols. You have helped save lives,” he said.

Guterres said the UN would continue to mobilise the international community through the COVAX facility to make vaccines affordable and available for all.(NAN)

By Ifeanyi Nwoko

Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Sidie Tunis says payment of outstanding community levies for the development of ECOWAS institutions will be  the focus at the Extraordinary Session on March 23, in Freetown, Sierra-Leone.

Tunis disclosed this at an interactive session with newmen on Thursday in Abuja in commemoration of the first anniversary of the fifth legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Community Level Assessment Report by the ECOWAS Commission, Member States owed about 797 million dollars as outstanding community levy in the last 16 years.

To address this, Tunis said that strategies on ensuring outstanding and subsequent payments would be the focus of the first physical Extraordinary Session of the fifth legislature scheduled to hold between March 22 and April 3.

“The Sierra Leone meeting will be dealing with our strategic plans: What we really intend to do as a Parliament, strategic plans from 2020 to 2024, that is, through the lifespan of the fifth legislature.

“We would also have a plan and seminar that will be dedicated to Community Levy, how countries can help the ECOWAS generally to raise funds.

“Because there are certain countries that put in a lot of efforts, there are those who are not doing so well.

“That is one reason why at that particular Seminar in Freetown, we will have the Commissioner of Finance in the ECOWAS Commission and other players who are directly connected with community levy.

“We will also have a resource person from Gambia who is one of those, who actually started the whole idea of community levy in ECOWAS.

“So, all of those experts will be in Freetown on March 23^rd to explain to Parliamentarians, to ensure that we are able to raise enough money for our programmes in ECOWAS.

“Not just ECOWAS Parliament but ECOWAS institutions generally, we have the West Africa Health Organisation (WAHO), they are doing extremely well, they are the frontlines in the fight against COVID-19.

“We have the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, the Commission is there that is providing the overall coordination for all the institutions.

“So, we are expecting that the Sierra Leone meeting, which is the first in-person meeting for ECOWAS Parliament will go a long way to look at all of these issues.

“And, to make recommendations to the ECOWAS Commission that will eventually go to the Council of Ministers and to the Authority of Heads of State” Tunis said.

According to Tunis, the ECOWAS Parliament is expectant that the meeting would be a success because Parliamentarians come from all of the countries in the sub-region, hence are Ambassadors of their countries to Parliament. (NAN)