WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Deputy Russian army corps commander is killed in Ukraine

Major General Vladimir Zavadsky, deputy commander of Russia's 14th Army Corps, has been killed in Ukraine, a top regional official said on Monday.

The governor of Russia's Voronezh region, Alexander Gusev, said Zavadsky had died "at a combat post in the special operation zone", without giving further details.

"Special military operation" is the term that Russia uses to describe the war in Ukraine, now approaching the end of its second year.

The investigative news outlet iStories said Zavadsky was the seventh Major General whose death had been confirmed by Russia, and the 12 senior officer overall to be reported dead since the start of the war.

Deaths of senior Russian officers, which military analysts have attributed in some cases to Ukrainian success in intercepting lax communications, have become rarer as the war has progressed.

Zavadsky was a much-decorated officer and a former tank commander, said Gusev, adding that his death was a heavy loss that caused "transfixing pain".

** Ukraine says it attacked oil depots in Russia-occupied Luhansk

Ukraine's military said on Monday it attacked oil depots in the Russia-controlled Ukrainian city of Luhansk a day earlier.

Its forces carried out a "successful strike", the Strategic Communications Department of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on Telegram, without going into further detail.

Earlier on Monday, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti said Ukrainian troops attacked an oil depot there with combat drones.

That report, which cited Russian-installed authorities, said a fire broke out after the attack but was extinguished.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine and US trade blame for ‘failed counteroffensive’ – WaPo

US and British officers helped plan the Ukrainian spring-summer campaign and provided all the asked-for vehicles, but Kiev decided to divide its forces in three directions, according to a Washington Post feature published on Monday. 

Over a dozen Post employees interviewed “more than 30 senior officials”from Ukraine, the US and the EU, only a handful identified by name. The outlet’s conclusion was that “a counteroffensive born in optimism has failed to deliver its expected punch, generating friction and second-guessing between Washington and Kiev.”

A series of eight tabletop wargames at the US base in Wiesbaden, Germany reportedly developed a “viable, detailed campaign plan” for the attack. The Pentagon wanted the offensive to start mid-April and focus on cutting the “land bridge” to Crimea by driving to Melitopol. 

General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time, advised the Ukrainians to also send sabotage groups into the Russian rear, saying there “should be no Russian who goes to sleep without wondering if they’re going to get their throat slit in the middle of the night,” according to one official.

The NATO-armed 47th Brigade, so new that 70% of its members had no combat experience, was to lead the way.

Nothing went as planned.

Washington and Kiev “sharply disagreed at times over strategy, tactics, and timing,” according to the Post. Instead of a focused assault towards Melitopol, the Ukrainian leadership insisted on attacking in the direction of Berdyansk and Bakhmut/Artyomovsk as well.

Kiev initially demanded over 1,000 armored vehicles, which US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin deemed “near-impossible.” Eventually, they received 1,500. However, some vehicles were criticized as “unfit for combat,” with issues like missing tracks and inadequate maintenance blamed on Ukrainian troops.

The US secured a supply of 155mm artillery shells from South Korea, since it could not produce enough by itself. Requests for F-16 fighter jets were denied due to cost concerns and their vulnerability to Russian air defenses. 

The US also trained and equipped nine Ukrainian brigades in NATO methods of warfare. Simulations based on Ukrainian and Western intelligence projected Ukrainian brigades reaching the Sea of Azov in 60-90 days with up to 30-40% casualties.

“The plan that they executed was entirely feasible with the force that they had, on the timeline that we planned out,” a senior US military official told the Post. “They got everything they were promised, on time,” a senior US official said. 

The attack scheduled for mid-April finally “lurched into motion” in early June. Ukrainian troops immediately got bogged down in minefields and mauled by Russian artillery. 

“Incinerated Western military hardware – American Bradleys, German Leopard tanks, mine-sweeping vehicles – littered the battlefield. The numbers of dead and wounded sapped morale,” the Post noted. After just four days, General Valery Zaluzhny “tossed aside” American doctrine and planning, switching to smaller-scale infantry assaults.

The June 15 meeting at the NATO HQ in Brussels was “heavy with an air of frustration,” per the Post. Ukrainian Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov – who would be fired in September – informed Austin that over 50% of the US-supplied mine-clearing equipment was already destroyed.

Western reliance on armored maneuver and a breakthrough “didn’t work,” a senior Ukrainian defense official said. Another had disdain for the wargaming approach to planning the operation, pointing to the lack of accounting for drones and other technology. 

“All these methods … you can throw them away,” he said. “Because it doesn’t work like that now.”

The 47th expected to take the village of Robotino within two days. It had not done so until August 28, and has since been pulled from that section of the frontline and rushed to shore up the crumbling defenses of Avdeevka, to the east.

“At almost every point along the front, expectations and results have diverged,” the Post noted, describing the morale in Ukraine as “waning”and its cause as “precarious.” One British official said that Kiev’s goal of reclaiming its 1991 borders would “take years and a lot of blood,” assuming it’s possible at all.

Reuters/RT

The Guinness World Records (GWR) has been around since about the time I was born. In fact, I am just a little older than the founding of the British reference book that was a thrill for me as I grew up and visited libraries to look it up, along with the  Encyclopedia Britannica. It used to be known as the Guinness Book of Records until its name changed in 1999. The new name accommodated the American branding of the same thing as Guinness Book of World Records. Trust the Americans. Since they rebelled against the British, they had been using their can-do spirit to ensure that their uniqueness from the motherland is maintained. Aside from insisting on their spellings in their own Americana, they substantially altered the course of history by designing their electricity voltage as 110-120/60 instead of the British 220-240/50. This difference meant that British products would not work in America and thereby forced their own local production, until the Japanese started making products to accommodate both and we no longer needed to carry voltage step-downs anymore.  

So, the frenzy that accompanied Hilda Baci’s getting on GWR for a sustained length of time in cooking was amazing to me. The country was excited on 13 June when she was recognised. I equally developed an affection towards her for her resilience and the efforts she took to know what was required and worked hard for it. All of a sudden, the Guinness World Records started trending in Nigeria. The featuring of Nigerians positively on international platforms build our goodwill in the global arena. Our goodwill has been very low for a while, in spite of the great efforts of our Nollywood and Afrobeat ambassadors and our soft power. Goodwill goes beyond not being discriminated against in tourism or the ease of attending conferences in another country. The son of a friend almost lost his Ph.D hard work for nothing other than the South Africans not being ready to issue him a visa to fulfill an obligation, even when they readily issued visas to his Nordic classmates. His father had to find a number of who knows someone who knows someone who could change the sad situation.

GWR informed the world that there had been an unusual 1,500 applications from Nigerians seeking to follow Hilda Baci’s footsteps. Two or three compatriots tried to upstage her and mainly got the wrath of Nigerians. This is a very bad Nigerian attitude. We should have encouraged others to see if they can do better. Finally, on 7 November, an Irish celebrity chef blew Baci’s record apart. We were unhappy and some, with a condemnable attitude, sent unprintable messages to Chef Fisher.

With Hilda Baci being blown out, on 21 November, President Bola Tinubu, joined the GWR race. According to The Cable, Tinubu announced at the 10th German-Nigerian Business Forum that “he deserves recognition from GWR for the economic reforms he has introduced since assuming office on May 29.” This is an important development. Tinubu is asking foreigners to recognise that he has been improving the lives of Nigerians. There is no doubt that six months is a short period in office. But it is possible for Nigerians to do some trends analysis and examination of his reforms, before our President’s yearning for a foreign recognition.

When self-styled President Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida got us debating on whether we wanted an IMF loan with its conditionalities, we overwhelmingly said ‘NO’. Yet, the maradonic dictator tricked us by introducing his Second-Tier Foreign Exchange Market as an home-grown alternative to the loan. Then as a young senior lecturer, I was one of those who crusaded against the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP). I actually published an academic piece on SAP, as Olu Falae and co. were betting their lives on our long-term El Dorado. I am sure if anyone cares to ask him or IBB today on what happened to the naira, they would readily quip about that popular scapegoat: the lack of implementation.

The problem then, and now, is the failure of our knowledge industry to realise that the post WW II design of the world was to ensure the enslavement of parts of the Americas, Africa and Asia, as hewers of wood and carriers of water for the Western world. Some leaderships in Asia realised this and succeeded in outsmarting the design. With leadership deficit across the board in Nigeria, we will continue to wallow in drilling ourselves into a bottomless pit, using adverse theories taught to us as natural laws of human advancement, without opening our eyes to see them as they should be – an interest based worldview for the sustenance of the West. Of course, the immediate interests of some of us are catered for as we pile up our national patrimony abroad again for investments and creation of employment in the West – as revealed in the Panama, Paradise, and Pandora papers.

Our President is an ardent believer in these adverse-to-our-interests “laws of nature” on the political economy. Please note that I wrote political economy and not economics because production, distribution and consumption are intertwined with interests – politics. Policymaking should be based on well thought through intentionality to change for the better and not show-off to be seen as an action man/woman.   

The President cannot avoid responsibility for the double whammy of the fuel and exchange rates he imposed on the country on an impulse, without a strategic well sequenced effort that should have focused on our income profile (after getting Emefiele out of the way), and Nigeria’s corruption associated behaviour in storing value in dollars, etc. This problem is more so when our President had prepared for the office for so long and had a three-month transition to office after his election, and no-one rushed him after his swearing-in, when he gained control over the CBN, as well as other information on the emptiness of our wallet. We must not forget that part of the campaign of Mr President was to hit the ground running, with the impression that he had many strategic thinkers already lined up.

By the way, “our being almost bankrupt” should be no excuse because Tinubu put himself forward as capable of fixing the situation.

However, the impact on Nigerians of the policies that Tinubu put forward as enough for another Hilda Baci-like heartwarming recognition on GWR, can be seen clearly – Nigerians are worse-off. Of course, the economists, like Falae did, would tell us that what matters is the long-run. But in the long-run, we would all be dead. Fortunately, Falae and IBB are still alive to see what they did to us in 1989.

We are all ready for a tight belt that would improve the life chances of our children, who have continued to seriously vote with their feet by engaging in japa out of the country. But we should not go down the same path of IBB/Falae and 43 years later be saying these were good policies and we should blame their lack of proper implementation for where the economy is today.

At the political level, the cost of governance, in the face of all of us, is skyrocketing under this administration. Borrowing has continued unabated. Femi Falana reportedly put out a documented set of corruption (that economists, bereft of standing up for the truth, euphemistically call leakages) data that would immediately refloat Nigeria if Tinubu’s body language on corruption could boldly change for the better. These billions in dollars are stored in Nigeria and around the world and can be brought back under various moves. $7 billion fixed in 14 banks that Falana pointed to can be recovered from these individuals if they want to continue having bank licences. The crafty use of AMCON to defraud all of us, as dubious loans to friends are forgiven, can be addressed. Different fraudulent thefts of oil can be traced and recovered. We were lucky that we escaped P&ID, but not because of Tinubu. If we had lost that case, the naira may be knocking N2,000+ to a dollar by now.  

It is the duty of the president to ensure a fair balance between the paper analysis of his advisers and the anticipated impacts on the lives of Nigerians. It is on the basis of positive impacts that he should seek our affection. As a Professor and in the category of those who can recommend him, I would gladly nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize if he reverses our downwards trend on corruption. Leadership deficit and corruption are the main drivers of conflict. External dynamics is also important in relation to conflicts in Africa. However, smart leadership can outsmart adverse external dynamics, as some Asians have successfully done. To move on corruption, he would be signaling a significant move to ameliorate our toxic conflict environment in Nigeria, nay in Africa. The buck stops at our president’s table. 

Charlie Munger died on Nov. 28 at age 99. These reflections on his life and career, which he wrote for CNBC Make It, are among his final writings.

One's journey to career satisfaction is not always linear. After graduating from Harvard Law School, I joined a well-regarded firm in California. I built a home and a family, and I worked hard for years.

Even so, I wanted to earn more than what a senior law partner could expect. I started investing in stocks, businesses and property development before starting a law firm with some of my colleagues.  

I spent many successful years at the firm, but I wasn't satisfied practicing law. I liked the independence of a capitalist. I liked figuring things out and making bets. I preferred making the decisions and gambling my own money. I usually thought I knew better than the client anyway, so why should I have to do it his way?

One evening, at a dinner party in Omaha, I was introduced to a fellow named Warren Buffett. Warren and I shared many ideas when it came to business, finance, history and investing. He persuaded me to quit the law at the earliest point I could afford to do so. We eventually agreed to go into business together, which turned out to be an incredibly good decision. 

I have three basic rules for career satisfaction that have always helped me. I believe they can help any young person evaluating a career decision. While meeting all three is nearly impossible, you should try anyway. 

1. Don't sell anything you wouldn't buy yourself.

The safest way to try to get what you want is to try to deserve what you want. It's such a simple idea. It's the golden rule. You want to deliver to the world what you would buy if you were on the other end.

There is no ethos, in my opinion, that is better for any person to have. By and large, the people who have had this ethos win in life, and they don't win just money and honors — they win the respect and the deserved trust of the people they deal with.

Plus, there is huge pleasure in life to be obtained from getting deserved trust. Reputation and integrity are your most valuable assets — and can be lost in a heartbeat. 

2. Don't work for anyone you don't respect and admire.

You particularly want to avoid working directly under somebody you don't admire and don't want to be like. It's dangerous. We're all subject to control to some extent by authority figures, particularly authority figures who are rewarding us. Dealing properly with this danger requires both some talent and will.

I coped in my time by identifying people I admired and by maneuvering, mostly without criticizing anybody, so that I was usually working under the right sort of people. A lot of employers will permit that if you're shrewd enough to work it out with some tact.

Generally, your outcome in life will be more satisfactory if you work under people whom you correctly admire.

3. Work only with people you enjoy.

I've found that intense interest in any subject is indispensable if you're really going to excel. I could force myself to be fairly good in a lot of things, but I couldn't excel in anything in which I didn't have an intense interest or enjoy.

If at all feasible, you want to maneuver yourself into doing something in which you have an intense interest alongside people whose company you enjoy. 

Another thing you have to do is have a lot of assiduity. I like that word because to me it means: "Sit down on your ass until you do it." I've had marvelous partners, full of assiduity, all my life. I think I got them partly because I tried to deserve them, and partly because I was shrewd enough to select them, and partly because there was some luck. 

I have been incredibly fortunate in my life when it comes to these basic rules. With Warren Buffett, I had all three. 

Charlie Munger was Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, and Warren Buffett's closest business partner and right-hand man. As a legendary and pragmatic investor and active philanthropist, Munger was a Harvard Law graduate and was known for his wide-ranging wisdom across a multitude of disciplines — including psychology, economics, biology, history and physics. Munger served as a director of Costco Wholesale Corporation and as chairman of the Daily Journal Corporation. An abridged version of his book, "Poor Charlie's Almanack," is being released by Stripe Press on December 5, 2024.

CNBC

The migration of doctors and other health workers to other countries is taking a toll on hospitals across the country as the institutions have reduced the number of their outpatients and surgeries due to a shortage of manpower.

The PUNCH investigations on Sunday showed that almost all the health institutions were battling with the shortage as they could not cope with the high number of patients who thronged the government hospitals, which were affordable compared with private ones.

Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Health had on Wednesday raised the alarm that not less than five wards with about 150 beds, had been closed down at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, due to a shortage of health workers.

Chairman of the Committee, Amos Mogaji, said the five wards had to be shut because there were no workers to operate them despite the large number of patients received at the institutions daily.

However, LUTH is not the only hospital battling with the problem as health workers lamented the heavy workload because their counterparts had left the country.

Although the Nigerian Medical Association and the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors could on Sunday not give the exact number of medical doctors that had left the country, the NMA had a few years ago said 2,000 health workers were leaving yearly.

Also, NARD had in January 2023 stated that a survey it conducted indicated that more than 2,000 of its members left the country in 2022.

However, the harsh economic conditions in the country have been pushing many doctors to leave the country as 1,197 doctors had moved to the United Kingdom since May 29, 2023.

With health institutions including the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta; Aminu Kano University Teaching Hospital, Kano and the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife losing close to 1,000 doctors to japa in the last two years, there are strong indications that over 4,000 doctors might have left the country in the last two years.

In the FMC, no fewer than 200 doctors, including 50 medical consultants have left the country for greener pastures abroad.

Because of the shortage of doctors, it was gathered that the hospital was forced to reduce the number of its outpatients attended to and elective surgeries.

According to veryhealth.com, an “elective surgery” is the term used for a procedure that can be safely delayed without great risk to a patient’s health, such as cataract surgery. A nonelective (or emergency) surgery is a procedure that must be performed immediately for lifesaving or damage-preventing reasons.’’

In Kano State, it was gathered that no fewer than 789 nurses and 162 doctors had left the state, while about 50 doctors had left hospitals in Benue State.

One of our correspondents gathered that as many as 65 doctors left the OAUTH, Ile-Ife, in the last year, while about three wards had stopped admitting patients over inadequate manpower in the hospital.

An official of the NARD in the hospital, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said, “65 doctors left OAUTH last year. 45 of them completed their training and left, while 20 abandoned their training and left for other countries.”

He also said about three wards in the hospital had stopped admitting patients due to inadequate manpower.

“Out of three units we have in the emergency section, only one is admitting patients. Two other units in the emergency ward are not admitting patients due to inadequate staff.

“Also, the psychiatric unit is not admitting new patients because we don’t have enough nurses. The Paediatric Unit is seriously understaffed. Generally, we don’t have enough staff in the hospital. Some people are available to work, but they are not employed,” he said.

OAUTH management could not be reached for reaction to the claim, as calls to Kemi Fasooto, the hospital Public Relations Officer, rang out and she has not responded to a text message sent to her by our correspondent, as at the time of filing this report.

FMC Abeokuta

At the FMC, Abeokuta, Chairman of the Medical and Dental Consultant Association of Nigeria, Jimoh Saheed, stated that in the last four years, the hospital had lost about 50 consultants and 150 resident doctors to the japa syndrome.

He said, “The japa syndrome has really affected and is still affecting the healthcare system in Nigeria. About 50 medical and dental consultants left FMC Abeokuta alone in the last four years. The number of resident doctors who left for greener pastures should be times three the above number.

“Therefore, the implication is that there is a severe shortage of manpower in the hospital, which has hampered the service delivery and care of patients. We have had to reduce the number of patients seen per clinic and also, and the elective theatre cases per day also dropped.

“As it stands, some segments of our emergencies had to be collapsed for the unit to work efficiently. The implication of all these will mean that we can’t function optimally and the japa wave has affected service delivery, training of medical specialists as well as research.”

Jimoh said the way forward was for the government to declare a state of emergency in the health sector, which would include massive recruitment of various health personnel, and equipping the hospitals to international standards, among others.

Similarly, the Chairman of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, Ogun State Hospital Unit, Ijaye, Abeokuta, Lola Idowu, said nurses that had left the hospital in the last three years could not be less than 40, including those who had retired.

The Benue State chapter of the NMA confirmed that more than half of the number of medical doctors working in the state Health Management Board had left the country to search for jobs in better locations.

The NMA Chairman, Usha Anenga, described the situation as pathetic.

Anenga said, “We used to have over 100 doctors at the Health Management Board but now there are less than 50 left. We used to have a consultant and epidemiologist at the Federal Medical Centre but they have left. The gynecologist at the University Teaching Hospital has also left.”

At the University of Jos Teaching Hospital, Plateau State, about 100 resident doctors have left the facility as the remaining ones at the hospital lament the shortage of manpower in the health institution.

President of the ARD in JUTH, Ishishen Artu, stated that last year, more than 70 resident doctors left the hospital.

“What is happening across the country about japa syndrome is not different from the situation here in JUTH. When I came on board as ARD president about 11 months ago, we had 410 members.

“But during our last nominal roll from the accounting department, we were about 340. So that is to tell you how doctors have been moving away from the hospital,” Artu stated.

He blamed the manpower shortage on poor welfare packages, insecurity, and inadequate equipment, and called on the government to intervene to avoid an imminent collapse of the health system across the country.

He added, “Some of us who are still around are not finding it easy. Many of our mates outside the country including Ghana, and South Africa are receiving three to five times what we are receiving in Nigeria.

“They want to come home to practice but they can’t come under the present situation. That is why the government has to look at the issues holistically to address them so that the health sector will not break down completely in the country.”

Kano hospitals hit

Over 789 nurses and 162 doctors have relocated outside Nigeria from Kano State alone, according to the NMA in the state.

Similarly, over 162 medical doctors relocated to other countries across the world within the same period under review.

Chairman of the Kano State Chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association, Abdullahi Sulaiman, disclosed this in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Saturday.

“Many medical doctors and other categories of healthcare workers are exiting the state in droves. So, I cannot tell you the exact number of doctors and nurses that have left the country. I can only give you an estimate.

“It is a bad situation and this is across almost all healthcare workers, not only doctors. They are leaving for Gambia, Somalia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, and many others every week,” he said.

According to him, the shortage of such personnel was causing a lot of problems, as those left behind were forced to bear the brunt in the form of overwork, exhaustion, and burnout in a non-conducive working environment.

“About two years back, we wanted to open some wards that were constructed and donated by some wealthy individuals at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, but because there were no healthcare workers to man the places, we had to suspend the opening until later,” Sulaiman stated.

He stated that recently, five anesthetic doctors were employed by the AKTH but three had since abandoned the work and relocated abroad.

“We have been talking about the issue but the government is not taking deliberate steps to address the problem.

“To prevent doctors and other categories of health workers from going out of the country, the government must take deliberate action to address the issue,” he added.

1,197 doctors move

Findings by The PUNCH showed that approximately 1,197 Nigerian-trained doctors moved to the United Kingdom since May 29, 2023, when President Bola Tinubu assumed office, to date.

At the moment, Nigeria is set to overtake Pakistan and become the country with the second-highest number of foreign-trained doctors in the UK. Currently, India remains the country with the highest number of foreign-trained doctors in the UK.

This is according to the register of the General Medical Council of the UK. The GMC is a public body that maintains the official register of medical practitioners within the UK.

Though about 1,197 Nigerian-trained doctors were licensed between May 29, 2023 and December 1, 2023, the total number of Nigerian doctors licensed to practice in the UK is now 12,198.

This figure, however, excludes Nigerian doctors who were trained in other countries.

Presently, there are 73 Nigerian-trained doctors in the field of anaesthetics and Intensive Care Medicine, 61 in the field of emergency medicine, 241 for general medicine, 207 for obstetrics and gynecology, 17 for occupational medicine, 16 for ophthalmology, pediatrics field with 164, and 50 for pathology.

There are 35 of them for public health, 357 for psychiatry, 29 for psychiatry and 135 for surgery.

The rate of migration of medical doctors has recently become a matter of concern. The Nigerian Medical Association, while lamenting the high rate of medical brain drain, had said Nigeria might import doctors in the future.

In 2015, only 233 Nigerian doctors moved to the UK. The number increased to 279 in 2016, while the figure was 475 in 2017. In 2018, the figure rose to 852, while it further increased to 1,347 in 2019.

In 2020, the figure was 833 even though the GMC closed operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The figure for 2021 was put at 932.

Chairman of the Committee of Chief Medical Directors of Federal Tertiary Hospitals, Emem Bassey, commenting on the brain drain said, “Some African countries are also beginning to poach from Nigeria.

“The West Coast is looking for our specialists. So many people are now going to places like Sierra Leone and Gambia and the wages they earn $3000 to $ 4000. It is about three to four times what they earn back home. So we are beginning to see that people are leaving for other African countries too.

“The health sector is currently undergoing a major crisis in terms of manpower. What we are seeing is that medical specialists, not just doctors, even nurses even more nurses are leaving. Doctors, nurses, laboratory scientists, physiotherapists, radiographers, and all manner of health professionals are leaving the country in droves.”

On his part, the NARD Chairman at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Salmon Abeeb, explained that the number of medics who had left the hospital was significantly high.

He stated, “LASUTH is the closest to the airport, so it affected us. Whenever the system employs, within a month or two they usually leave. Last week, LASUTH employed 18 to 20 doctors and consultants, I can tell you that before next month, half of them would have gone.”

Abeeb added that doctors were now getting sick due to heavy workload. He revealed that LASUTH was also getting close to shutting down wards due to insufficient manpower.

“The workload is now becoming more we are the ones doing the job of everybody and there is burnout, doctors are getting sick every day because of the burnout.

“We are yet to shut down but we will soon get there because the workload is too much and resident doctors are already complaining.”

 A medical consultant in one of the federal hospitals in the South-West, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said, “The issue of the shortage of manpower is nationwide. It cuts across all government hospitals and the reason why we have this shortage is because people are moving from Nigeria to other countries. The salaries that health workers are receiving are below small

“In addition to that, the lack of facilities to work with is an issue. I have personally experienced a lot of stress doing my job. Even though some medical directors know how to muddle their doctors to make sure that work is going on, there are hospitals that will tell you that you should not bring more than one major and one minor case in a day because the health workers available have been overstretched.

 “In my unit as a consultant, I am supposed to work with two senior registrars and four registrars but as I speak with you, I only have a house officer to work with.”

 He said that improved facilities in hospitals across the country and an increase in wages of health workers would encourage health workers to shun the idea of migrating for greener pastures while stating that legislation to ban medical tourism would force political officeholders to improve the country’s health sector.

 “Our leaders know what to do. The first thing is to increase the salary of health workers. Also, the infrastructure within the hospitals should be improved. For example, you may want to operate on a patient and the patient needs ICU cover while the ICU may be available, there may not be ventilators and when both are available, electricity could be a problem.

 “I have a friend who is also a health worker who has left the country. The last time we were talking, he told me he was getting his one-year salary in Nigeria in one month over there.

“Lastly, if there is a law to force political office holders to access medical facilities within the country and only be allowed to travel except the situation warrants it, they will be ready to improve the nation’s health facilities. If all these are done, health workers will be willing to stay,” he said.

Punch

Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S., Embassy in Nigeria, David Greene, has revealed that they have interviewed over 150,000 Nigerians while further noting that the embassy has interviewed about 30,000 students this year.

Greene made this statement during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja. He said, “What folks do not know is that this year we have interviewed more than 150,000 people.

“This is in addition to 30,000 students. Hundreds of thousands of students have had the opportunity to seek visas from the U.S. We are doing the best we can to get proper ways for all the categories after having an enormous backlog as a result of Covid-19, and all that.”

“We have made great progress though. In March we instituted a five-year term for visas to the U.S.,” he added.

However, he assured visa applicants of the mission’s commitment to tackling all visa-related hitches. According to him, issues related to visas would fully become a thing of the past, saying the mission is doing everything within its power to tackle such challenges.

He urged persons desiring to travel to the U.S. to apply early and ensure that the visa requests are tied to events.

“Folks that are seeking visas should apply early, make sure that the plan is for an event as they can. This is because we do acknowledge that there is a backlog and we will do what we can to make sure people that need a warrant visa to the U.S., can get them,” he said.

Daily Trust

Babangida Aliyu, a former governor of Niger state, says Nigeria’s corrupt electoral system has made it impossible for honest people to contest elections. 

Aliyu spoke on Saturday at the annual lecture and general meeting of the Kaduna state chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR).

The former governor said delegates for primary elections see the nomination process as an avenue to make money.

“One of the issues that may erode the confidence in our system is in our election and electoral system, to the extent that some prominent Nigerians are questioning whether democracy is workable in Nigeria,” he said. 

“The process is so corrupted that it has become impossible for honest and not well-to-do-person to contest election in Nigeria.

“The delegates see the nomination process as their opportunity to make money and shamelessly collect from all the aspirants, knowing that they can only cast their votes for one person. 

“At the end of it all, the highest bidder gets nominated.”

Aliyu said the level of corruption in the electoral system has also made most election victors be elected by the court. 

“Our institutions that should engender confidence and loyalty to the nation have become porous, corrupt and display a total lack of integrity.

“Sale and purchase of appointment both at the civil service and political levels.

“Most of these offices are supposed to be neutral, non-partisan and loyal to the country and the government of the day. 

“How can that happen when an officer who purchased his offices now knows the beauty of corruption? 

“In addition, these are the offices that talk, treat and handle issues of ethical sustainable development. 

“We may be doomed if we don’t arrest and correct the situation.

“How many of us know the councillor representing your ward, the members of the state assembly, your members of the house of representatives, your senator, not to mention your governor or minister?

“We have a runaway democracy because we the critical stakeholders don’t seem to care so long we are in our comfort zone.

“We must pay attention so that those we elect must be reminded of their responsibilities.”

The Cable

Israel expands Gaza ground offensive, vows to hit the south with 'no less strength' than the north

Israel’s ground offensive expanded to every part of the Gaza Strip, its military said Sunday, as it ordered more evacuations and vowed to hit south Gaza with “no less strength” than the fight that has reduced large parts of north Gaza to a moonscape.

Heavy bombardment followed the evacuation orders, and Palestinians in the sealed-off territory bordering Israel and Egypt said they were running out of places to go.

Many of Gaza’s 2.3 million people fled to the south after Israel ordered civilians to leave the north in the early days of the war, which was sparked by the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack in Israel that killed about 1,200, mostly civilians.

After dark, gunfire and shelling were heard in the central town of Deir al-Balah as flares lit the sky. Israeli drones buzzed overhead in Gaza’s second-largest city, Khan Younis. U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk urged an end to the war, saying civilian suffering was “too much to bear.”

Residents said the military dropped leaflets calling Khan Younis “a dangerous combat zone” and ordering them to move to the border city of Rafah or a coastal area in the southwest.

Halima Abdel-Rahman, a widow and mother of four, said she’s stopped heeding such orders. She fled her home in October to an area outside Khan Younis, where she stays with relatives.

“The occupation tells you to go to this area, then they bomb it,” she said by phone. “The reality is that no place is safe in Gaza. They kill people in the north. They kill people in the south.”

The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said the death toll in the territory since Oct. 7 has surpassed 15,500, with more than 41,000 wounded. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths, but said 70% of the dead were women and children.

A Health Ministry spokesman asserted that hundreds had been killed or wounded since a weeklong cease-fire ended Friday. “The majority of victims are still under the rubble,” Ashraf al-Qidra said.

Hopes for another temporary truce in Gaza faded as Israel called its negotiators home, and senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan said talks on releasing further more hostages must be tied to a permanent cease-fire.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the war will continue until “all its goals” are achieved. One is to remove Hamas from power in Gaza.

The earlier cease-fire facilitated the release of 105 of the roughly 240 Israeli and foreign hostages taken to Gaza during the Oct. 7 attack, in exchange for 240 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Most of those released by both sides were women and children.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told NBC’s “Meet the Press” the U.S. was working “really hard” for a resumption of negotiations.

The United States, Israel’s closest ally, has urged Israel to avoid significant new mass displacement and to do more to protect civilians. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris told Egypt’s president that “under no circumstances” would the U.S. permit the forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank, an ongoing siege of Gaza or the redrawing of its borders.

As Harris flew from Dubai and an appearance at the U.N. climate conference back to Washington, she spoke by phone with Israeli President Isaac Herzog. They discussed the situation in the West Bank, with Harris reiterating U.S. concerns with steps being taken that could escalate tensions — including extremist settler violence, according to a summary provided by Harris’ office.

Harris also spoke by phone during the flight to Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Palestinian Authority, and again stated U.S. support for the Palestinian people’s right to security, dignity and self-determination, according to the summary.

On the ground in Gaza, there was fear and mourning. Outside a Gaza City hospital, a dust-covered boy named Saaed Khalid Shehta dropped to his knees beside the bloodied body of his little brother Mohammad, one of several bodies laid out after people said their street was hit by airstrikes. He kissed him.

“You bury me with him!” the boy cried. A health worker at Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital said more than 15 children were killed.

Israel’s military said its fighter jets and helicopters struck targets in Gaza including “tunnel shafts, command centers and weapons storage facilities.” It acknowledged “extensive aerial attacks in the Khan Younis area.”

The bodies of 31 people killed in the bombardment of central Gaza were taken to the Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah, said Omar al-Darawi, a hospital administrative employee. One woman wept, cradling a child’s body. Another carried the body of a baby. Later, hospital workers reported 11 more dead after another airstrike. Bloodied survivors included a child carried in on a mattress.

Outside a hospital morgue in Khan Younis, resident Samy al-Najeila carried the body of a child. He said his sons had been preparing to evacuate their home, “but the occupation didn’t give us any time. The three-floor building was destroyed completely, the whole block was totally destroyed.” He said six of the bodies were his relatives.

“Five people are still under the rubble,” he said. “God help us.”

In a video from the same crowded al-Nasser hospital, UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said: “I feel like I’m almost failing in my ability to convey the endless killing of children here.”

Israel says it does not target civilians and has taken measures to protect them, including its evacuation orders. In addition to leaflets, the military has used phone calls and radio and TV broadcasts to urge people to move from specific areas.

Israel says it targets Hamas operatives and blames civilian casualties on the militants, accusing them of operating in residential neighborhoods. It claims to have killed thousands of militants, without providing evidence. Israel says at least 78 of its soldiers have been killed.

The widening offensive likely will further complicate humanitarian aid to Gaza. Wael Abu Omar, a spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority, said 100 aid trucks entered Sunday, but U.N. agencies have said 500 trucks per day on average entered before the war.

The United Nations estimates that 1.8 million Palestinians in Gaza have been displaced. Nearly 958,000 of them are packed into crowded U.N. facilities in the south, said Juliette Toma, director of communications at the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.

Elsewhere in the region, Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group said it struck Israeli positions near the tense Lebanon-Israel border. Eight soldiers and three civilians were wounded by Hezbollah fire in the area of Beit Hillel, army radio reported. The military said its artillery struck sources of fire from Lebanon and its fighter jets struck other Hezbollah targets.

Iraqi militants with the Iran-backed umbrella group the Islamic Resistance in Iraq said they struck the Kharab al-Jir U.S. military base in Syria with rockets. A U.S. military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said rockets hit Rumalyn Landing Zone in Syria but there were no reports of casualties or damage.

Later Sunday, officials with Iranian-backed militias in Iraq said five militia members were killed in an airstrike blamed on the U.S. near Kirkuk. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly. A U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a military operation not yet made public said the U.S. had carried out a “self-defense strike” near Kirkuk targeting a drone staging site.

AP

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russia attacks Ukraine with 12 drones, cruise missile, Ukraine air force says

Russia launched 12 drones and a cruise missile at Ukraine overnight, with Ukraine's air defence systems destroying 10 drones before they reached their targets, Ukraine's air force said on Sunday.

The cruise missile was not destroyed but did not reach its target, the air force said, without giving further details. It did not say what happened to the two drones that were not destroyed.

"10 out of 12 is a perfect score. These are good results that we see every day," Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat told national television.

Reuters could not independently verify the air force's report. There was no immediate comment from Russia.

The Iranian-made Shahed drones were headed towards Ukraine's northwest, the air force said. Most were downed in the Mykolaiv region in Ukraine's south.

Regional officials confirmed the attack but said they had no information on casualties or damage.

** Russia says it hit air defence HQ in Ukraine's Dnipro

Russian forces hit a fortified commander post of Ukraine's "East" air defence and alerting centre in the central city of Dnipro, the Russian defence ministry said on Sunday.

It said that it inflicted combined strikes by operational-tactical and army aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles, missile forces and artillery.

Reuters was not immediately able to corroborate the battlefield reports from either side.

Earlier on Sunday, Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 12 drones and a cruise missile at Ukraine overnight, with air defence systems destroying 10 drones before they reached their targets.

Russia's defence ministry also said it its daily dispatch that it hit fuel depots in the areas of Myrhorod, Poltava region and the city of Khmelnytskyi, an ammunition arsenal in the Mykolaiv region as well as manpower and equipment in 107 various districts.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russian forces wipe out depot of Ukrainian territorial defense in Kupyansk area

Russia’s Battlegroup West units have eliminated a munitions depot of a Ukrainian territorial defense brigade in the Kharkov Region, Battlegroup Spokesman Sergey Zybinsky told TASS.

"A munitions depot of Ukraine’s 113th territorial defense brigade was wiped out in the vicinity of the village of Liptsy in the Kharkov Region. The adversary’s losses amounted to 95 troops, an armored fighting vehicle, two cars and a 122mm D-30 howitzer," he said.

** Russian forces deliver strikes on Ukrainian personnel, hardware in Kupyansk area

During active actions, supported by army aviation and the artillery fire, a strike was delivered on personnel and equipment of the Ukrainian army’s 14th mechanized and 25th air assault brigades near the villages of Sinkovka and Berestovoye, Battlegroup Spokesman Sergey Zybinsky told

Russia’s Battlegroup West units, supported by aviation and artillery, have delivered a strike on manpower and hardware from two Ukrainian brigades, Battlegroup Spokesman Sergey Zybinsky told TASS.

"During active actions, supported by army aviation and the artillery fire, a strike was delivered on personnel and equipment of the Ukrainian army’s 14th mechanized and 25th air assault brigades near the villages of Sinkovka and Berestovoye," he said.

Reuters/Tass

Researchers from Google AI have unveiled Translatotron 3, an innovative AI model that revolutionizes speech-to-speech translation, promising to turn users into real-time polyglots. This breakthrough technology eliminates the need for vast amounts of parallel speech data, making it accessible for languages with limited resources.

Overcoming language barriers

Language barriers have long been a hindrance to effective communication, both in everyday life and across global borders. While speech-to-speech translation (S2ST) models have emerged to address this challenge, they traditionally rely on extensive parallel speech data, limiting their utility for many languages where such data is scarce or entirely unavailable.

Enter Translatotron 3, a game-changing AI model developed by Google AI researchers. This revolutionary technology harnesses the power of unsupervised learning, allowing it to translate spoken language from one language to another without the need for copious parallel speech data. This breakthrough opens up the world of real-time translation and promises to make us all real-time polyglots.

The unsung hero: Unsupervised learning

Translatotron 3’s ability to operate without parallel speech data is made possible through its innovative use of unsupervised learning. Unlike traditional models, which rely heavily on paired speech data in multiple languages, Translatotron 3 leverages monolingual data alone. This approach allows the AI model to provide high-quality translations even for languages with limited parallel speech data available.

Beyond language translation: Applications abound

The implications of Translatotron 3 reach far beyond mere language translation. This groundbreaking technology opens the door to a multitude of applications that can reshape how we communicate and interact with the world.

One of the most immediate and impactful use cases of Translatotron 3 is enabling real-time communication between individuals who speak different languages. Whether in business meetings, social gatherings, or international travel, this technology has the potential to bridge linguistic divides and foster seamless global interactions.

Empowering speech-impaired individuals

Translatotron 3 also holds promise in assisting individuals with speech impairments. By facilitating clear and accurate communication, it can enhance the quality of life for those facing speech-related challenges. This innovation paves the way for accessible and inclusive communication solutions.

Language learning tools can benefit greatly from Translatotron 3’s capabilities. Personalized language learning experiences that adapt to individual needs and provide real-time feedback can make the process more engaging and effective. This technology has the potential to transform the way we acquire new languages.

The path forward

While Translatotron 3 may not yet be readily available on your mobile phone, the research behind it carries immense promise for future applications. As this technology matures and becomes more accessible, we can anticipate its integration into various devices and platforms. This includes mobile phones, earphones, and translation applications, ultimately leading to seamless cross-language communication across diverse scenarios.

Translatotron 3 represents a monumental step forward in breaking down language barriers and enabling real-time speech translation. By harnessing unsupervised learning, it offers solutions for languages with limited resources and opens the door to diverse applications, from cross-cultural communication to supporting individuals with speech impairments and enhancing language learning experiences. As technology continues to evolve, the potential for Translatotron 3 to transform how we connect and communicate with the world is boundless.

Cryptopolitan

With ideas this big, the more competition, the better

Five years ago, in an interview with the CEO of Axel Springer, Amazon's founder and former CEO, Jeff Bezos, talked about his ambitions to send humans to Mars. "The solar system can easily support a trillion humans," Bezos said. "And if we had a trillion humans, we'd have a thousand Einsteins and a thousand Mozarts...and unlimited, for all practical purposes, resources from solar power." 

It's why Bezos has been selling $1 billion a year in Amazon shares to fund Blue Origin, his rocket company. The thing is, so far, the only thing Blue Origin has to show for the effort is a few very expensive joyrides to the lower edge of space. 

Bezos isn't alone. Elon Musk has talked often, and as recently as this week, about his belief that the survival of humanity depends on us becoming a "multi-planetary species." It is, arguably, the reason he started SpaceX, which may just be his most important company right now.

Of course, Musk's SpaceX is a lot further along than Blue Origin. SpaceX won a contract for NASA's lunar lander back in 2019. It's launched hundreds of satellites, both for its own Starlink internet service, as well as for other customers. And, it has successfully carried astronauts to the International Space Station. 

At The New York Times' DealBook Summit, host Andrew Ross Sorkin asked Musk what he thought of the competition with Bezos and whether he will ever catch up.

"I hope he does," Musk responded. "I actually agree with a lot of Jeff's motivations."

Presumably, the motivation Musk is referring to is the dream of sending people to Mars. Both men have said that is their goal, though neither is anywhere near close. Musk has certainly advanced a lot further than Bezos, but it's interesting to hear him talk about how he views the competition. 

After all, Musk isn't exactly known for his graciousness towards competitors. For that matter, he's not especially known for graciousness at all.

You can say plenty of things about Musk and how he runs his business, but this column isn't about that. That isn't to say you wouldn't be right, it's just that there's actually a valuable lesson here if you can look past the usual antics associated with pretty much everything Musk says and does. 

In this case, it's a revealing insight because if Musk is serious about humans becoming multi-planetary, it's somewhat encouraging that he realizes that the more people putting resources towards the problem, the better. Musk has accomplished a lot with the companies he runs, and SpaceX is a real success story. Still, the problem of putting people on Mars is much bigger than any individual, or any single company. 

Whether you believe Musk means it or not, I think there's something to be said for the idea that strong competition almost always results in better results for everyone. For example, competition pushes innovators to improve their ideas and build better things. 

I don't know if Musk, or Bezos--for that matter--will ever send people to live on Mars. I would be very surprised if it happened in my lifetime. For that matter, I don't know if the companies they built will ever succeed in their mission. I am, however, certain that the only way it will happen is with a realization that the more people making progress the better.

Inc