Shockwaves are reverberating across Yorùbáland and the global Yorùbá diaspora following the sudden death of the Baba Ọba (King’s Father) of the famed Oyotunji African Village in South Carolina, USA. The late Baba Ọba, Lukman Arohunfale, a revered socialite and traditionalist, passed away under circumstances already sparking fierce controversy. His death comes just days after he publicly accused the newly installed Alaafin of Oyo, His Imperial Majesty Oba Akeem Adéyẹmọ Owoade, of allegedly ordering his courtiers to beat him mercilessly during a recent courtesy visit to the Oyo palace in Nigeria. In a widely circulated voice recording, the deceased recounted how what was meant to be a simple homage turned violent. Although the Baba Ọba had reportedly battled ill health in the past year, growing insinuations suggest that the alleged physical assault may have aggravated his condition, ultimately leading to his untimely death. The palace in Oyo recently denied that s...
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has disclosed that Nigeria has expressed interest to be part of the global Coronavirus drug trials and the process will soon be initiated. Fiona Braka, an officer in charge of WHO Nigeria said over 100 countries have joined the solidarity clinical trial and over 1,200 patients have been randomised from the first five countries to evaluate the safety and efficacy of drug combinations. At a press conference on Friday, May 1, Braka also disclosed 89 vaccines are being developed globally, including seven in clinical evaluation and several therapeutics in clinical trials.
She said;
“Nigeria has also expressed interest to be part of this solidarity trial and efforts are underway to start the process in Nigeria too. “Together with global health actors and partners, over the past week, WHO launched the access to COVID-19 tools ACT accelerator, a global collaboration to accelerate development for equitable access to new COVID-19 diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines. “We have a total of 89 vaccines that are in development globally, including seven in clinical evaluation and several therapeutics are in clinical trials. WHO is committed to ensuring that as medicines and vaccines are developed, they are shared equitably with all countries and people. “We do have the solidarity trial which is an international clinical trial to help find an effective treatment for COVID-19, launched by the WHO and partners. More than 100 countries have joined the solidarity trial and to date, over 1,200 patients have been randomized from the first five countries to evaluate the safety and efficacy of full drug and drug combinations.” The international health organization had launched trials for a drug such as hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine phosphate, and remdesivir in April, as part of its plan to combat the Coronavirus pandemic.