Kubwa Community

Some groups of corps members recently embarked on a sensitization campaign within Kubwa environs on the implications of drugs counterfeiting, unwholesome foods and other regulated products, as part of their Community Development Service.

The corps members, comprising of 2012/2013 Batch B and C, under the National Agency on Food and Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC) group, also unveiled a billboard strategically mounted at the Kubwa orientation camp with various messages on the dangers and abuse of drugs.

Unveiling the signpost, the NAFDAC Director General, Dr. Paul Orhi, said the project is a platform provided by the corps members in advancing the crusade against counterfeit drugs being championed by his agency.

The Director General, who was represented by the Acting Director, Special Duties, Alhaji Abubakar Jimoh, commended the corps members for embarking on the campaign, describing it as another way of cementing the partnership his organisation has enjoyed with the scheme over the years.

The President of the group, Peter Nwaogu, said the campaign has become expedient in view of the number of casualties recorded daily as a result of numerous fake drugs in circulation in the market across the country.

He enjoined members of the public to always look out for the drugs’ NAFDAC registration number, factory location, batch number, manufacturing and expiry dates, among other information before buying them.

In her reaction, the coordinator of the group, Mrs. Nnenna Onuigbo, said the essence of the exercise is to further educate people on how to differentiate the original drugs from the counterfeit ones.

While expressing optimism that the exercise would yield its desired results, she said the group intends carrying the crusade to Dutse and to feed NAFDAC back with the reactions from the people at the end of the exercise.

In a move to discover creative talent out of the continent and also promote the efforts of  publishing industries in Africa, Etisalat Nigeria has initiated the ‘Etisalat Prize for Literature’, the first ever pan-African prize celebrating first time writers of published fiction novels.

The Etisalat Prize for Literature aims to serve as a viable platform for the discovery of new creative talent from the continent and invariably promote the growing publishing industry in Africa. Entries will be accepted for two categories, namely: Full length English fiction novels and Flash Fiction Short Stories, to be launched towards the end of the year and driven entirely via social media.

Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Steven Evans said that the Prize was created out of the need to give recognition to indigenous works of literature while also rewarding new entrants and encouraging further participation.

“We are pleased to have initiated this important project that celebrates literary excellence and creativity in Nigeria and across Africa. We believe literature has the potential to effect change and serve as a catalyst for promoting a cultural revolution. However, it is a field that has been relegated to the background, making African fiction and short story writers to look to international awards for recognition,” he said. 

“The Etisalat Prize for Literature is our way of sharing in the passions and aspirations of young and upcoming writers as well as breathing new life to the literary society,” Evans added.

The initiative, Etisalat Group maintains is part of its aims to recognize and celebrate writers and other members of the literary community across Africa by bringing together celebrated high profile writers, book critics and academics from across the Continent and beyond in order to give credence and honor to ‘home-grown’ talent while also rewarding new entrants and encouraging further participation in this area.

Etisalat maintains that at the core of it’s vision is promoting passion, nurturing talent and providing a platform for communicating ideas.

Etisalat Nigeria is one of the major mobile telecommunications service providers in Nigeria. Established in 2008, Etisalat holds 15% of the Nigerian market share with over 15 million subscribers.