Meet a man, who was almost decapitated in a horrific car crash, but miraculously survived and is ready to go home, County Durham, England, UK.
Tony Cowan was riding his car when suddenly it spun out of control and crashed into a telephone pole. The 29-year-old was rushed to a local hospital, where doctors were fighting for his life after a scan showed his neck had fractured and his head had literally ripped off from his body. Besides, the young man suffered a complete spinal cord injury and was in a coma.
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After months of waiting for any progress, Cowan’s family and girlfriend, Karen Dawson, were preparing to say their last goodbyes and turn his life support machine off at that very instant the man regained consciousness. Much to the doctors’ surprise, Mr Cowan was not brain damaged despite his head was unattached to his spine.
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The medics managed to reattach his skull to his spine with a metal plate and bolts in an extremely rare operation but could not do anything with his paralysis. Despite his miraculous recovery it is highly unlikely he will ever be able to talk or walk again. Tony – who communicates him through an electric board – said: “I love Karen with all my heart and I can’t wait to go home to get back to the life I had.”
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Speaking to reporters Ms Dawson said: “I love him so much and it would mean the world to me to get him home. We were like two peas in a pod and spent all our time together. We are in the process of trying to get Tony home, even though he needs 24/7 care and will have a care team move in with him.We are going to give Tony as much a normal life as possible, we have assured him we will be there for him ever day, and he will never be alone.”
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Editor’s note: “Water is a basic necessity of life, as its provision should form part of the basic program of any right-thinking government at different levels of administration. We all need it for many activities and purposes, particularly at the domestic level, towards encouraging hygiene and healthy living,” the Naij.com author Hussain Obaro writes and draws our attention to the water supply troubles in Kogi state.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Naij.com.
Regular provision of pipe-borne water remains a chief challenge that is mostly evident in urban and semi-urban centers throughout Nigeria. Due to present economic hardship, many residents and house-owners are unable to pay the huge amounts that borehole outfits and water tanker operators usually charge. The borehole business and water tanker dispensary has become a huge venture across the country because of the irresponsibility and inability of government to prioritize provision of regular water supply to the populace.
Kogi state, geographically located in the heart of Nigeria, or what is historically referred to as the ‘middle belt,’ is one of the states created in August 1991 by the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd.) alongside Delta, Yobe, Jigawa, Taraba, Osun, Kebbi and Abia states. Like many other cities in Nigeria, Lokoja, the state capital, occupies a nerve position in Nigeria’s history. It is an ancient town that is well-blessed with water resource, being the host of the confluence, the meeting point of two great rivers Benue and Niger. Despite this natural advantage, the lack of potable drinking water supply accurately rhymes with an anonymous sailor’s distress statement: “Water, water everywhere, but not a single drop to drink”. This perfectly describes the portable water supply crisis in Kogi state and Nigeria in general.
The obsolete and low-capacity water infrastructure and neglect on the part of the government to fully harness the water resource have contributed to worsening the crisis in the Lokoja metropolis and its environs. Successive governments, from the first military administrator, Colonel Danladi Zakari, to the incumbent Alhaji Idris Wada, have failed to put any meaningful and deliberate measure in place at addressing the water needs of the people. For the purpose of emphasis, it was only during the administration of the immediate past governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, that a decisive attempt aimed at addressing the acute water shortage in the state capital and environs was made, which led to a revisit of the report of the technical committee on the “Greater Lokoja Water Project,” originally initiated in 1995 by the military administration of Colonel Paul Omeruoh.
The project mentioned above was contracted to the Chinese GeoConstruction Company (CGCC) at a cost of about N10 billion and expected to supply about 10 million gallons per day. As laudable as this project may seem, it wasn’t enough to quell and adequately put an end to the water challenge of the inhabitants of Lokoja and environs, probably because of the long neglect of this basic amenity.
The challenge of providing potable water to Lokoja, and Kogi state in general, is growing by the day. Residents from various parts of the state, notably the urban areas, always move about with kegs and other containers in search of water for their daily use, all the more during the dry season. As early as five o’clock in the morning, women and children carrying bowls of various shapes and sizes start trekking long distances in search of this very scarce commodity. The problem is further compounded by the fact that the state’s population keeps growing: due to the spate of insecurity occasioned by the Boko Haram insurgency, many people from the northeast and other volatile northern states flee to find peaceful abode in the confluence state.
The central senatorial district of the state is blessed with big dams, like the Ekuku and Osara, that could effectively supply more than tens of millions gallons per day to the inhabitants of that part of the state and even the entire state. Still, the animosity and acrimony on the part of the ‘born-to-rule’ ethnic group of the state has been a major impediment against these water projects. They believe that resources not located in their own part of the state are not worth harnessing, even if doing so could benefit the entire state.
The IREHU waterworks which used to supply potable drinking water to the people of Okene has been reduced to a mere campaign tool for winning the votes for politicians. No efforts are being made to make good on their campaign promise to rehabilitate and resuscitate the ancient waterworks outfit as soon as the elections are over.
If urgent measures are not taken by both the federal and state governments to deliberately addressing the age-long water crisis in Lokoja and Kogi state in general, the probability of an outbreak of disease in the coming days cannot be overruled. This would drastically affect the entire nation, both socially and economically, due to the strategic location of the state as the ‘gateway’ via which all geopolitical zones in Nigeria are made accessible.
Hussain Obaro is a writer, motivational speaker and public affairs commentator from Ilorin, Kwara state.

Governor Muhammadu Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa state on Friday, June 26, said he received a report that recommended to reduce ministries from 17 to 13.
Ibrahim Hassan Hadeijia, the state’s deputy governor, briefed the press after submitting the report, saying the need for efficiency and maximisation of resources informed the decision to streamline the ministries, departments and agencies.
He said: “Before now, Jigawa had 100 ministries, departments and agencies. After studying the situation in the last three weeks and in line with current financial realities, we have decided to merge some ministries and departments.
“So, from 17 ministries we now have 13. From 88 agencies and departments, we now have 66.” 
“We are not going to retrench anybody but we will deploy some staff to areas where their services are most needed,” he added.
According to the deputy governor, they discovered that some ministries and agencies duplicated their functions while bloating the overhead of the state. He added that their overall objective was to make the civil service cost effective and efficient in the discharge of their activities.

Barely a month after President Muhammadu Buhari became Nigeria’s President, many Nigerians are already reminding him of his campaign promises.
It would be recalled that the former Head of State was sworn in as Nigeria’s President on May 29, 2015, after he defeated former president Goodluck Jonathan.
In this regards, a famous social commentator, Ike Chidolue, on Saturday,  went on his Facebook account to post 81 campaign promises made by Buhari.
Below are the campaign promises as posted by Chidolue:
1. Public declaration of assets and liabilities
2. State and community policing
3. Ban on all government officials from seeking medical care abroad
4. Implementation of the National Gender Policy, including 35% of appointive positions for women
5. Revival of Ajaokuta steel company
6. Generation, transmission and distribution of at least 20,000 MW of electricity within four years and increasing to 50,000 MW with a view to achieving 24/7 uninterrupted power supply within 10 years.
7. Empowerment scheme to employ 740,000 graduates across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
8. Establishment of a free-tuition and scholarship scheme for pupils who have shown exceptional aptitude in science subjects at O/Levels to study ICT-related courses.
9. 720,000 jobs by the 36 states in the federation per annum (20,000 per state).
10. Three million Jobs per year
11. To embark on vocational training, entrepreneurial and skills acquisition schemes for graduates along with the creation of a Small Business Loan Guarantee Scheme to create at least 5 million new jobs by 2019.
12. Churches and Mosques would not pay taxes under national laws, but if they engage in businesses, the businesses would pay tax.
13. Provision of allowances to the discharged but unemployed Youth Corps members for Twelve (12) months while in the skills and entrepreneurial development programme
14. Making the economy one of the fastest-growing emerging economies in the world with a real GDP growth averaging 10% annually.
15. Creation of a Social Welfare Programme of at least Five Thousand Naira (N5000) that will cater for the 25 million poorest and most vulnerable citizens upon the demonstration of children’s enrollment in school and evidence of immunisation to help promote family stability
16. Recruitment and training of at least 100,000 officers into the Nigerian police force and establish a Federal Anti-terrorism Agency.
17. One free meal (to include fruits) daily, for public primary school pupils
18. Building an airport in Ekiti State
19. Eradication of state of origin, replacing that with state of residence to ensure Nigerians are Nigerians first before anything else.
20. Establishment of Crime Squad to combat terrorism, kidnapping, armed robbery, militants, ethno-religious and communal clashes nationwide
21. Working with the National Assembly towards the immediate enactment of a Whistle Blower Act
22. Economic stability for the ECOWAS nations and maintaining a strong, close and frank relationship with West Africa, South Africa, UK, USA, Canada, and other African countries
23. Establishing a conflict resolution commission to help prevent, mitigate and resolve civil conflicts within the polity.
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24. All political office holders earn only the salaries and emoluments determined and approved by the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission RMFAC.
25. Permanent peace in the Niger Delta and other conflict prone areas such as Plateau, Taraba, Bauchi, Borno and Abia.
26. No plans to Islamise Nigeria.
27. Nationwide sanitation plans to keep Nigeria clean
28. Preserving the independence of the Central Bank
29. Simplifying immigration process to foster faster visa processing at points of entry.
30. Special incentives to facilitate the education of the girl child
31. Full implementation of the National Identification Scheme to generate the relevant data.
32. Making Information Technology, Manufacturing, Agriculture and Entertainment key drivers of our economy
33. Balancing the economy across regions by the creation of six new Regional Economic Development Agencies (REDAs) to act as champions of sub-regional competitiveness
34. Putting in place a N300bn regional growth fund (average of N50bn in each geo-political region) to be managed by the REDAs.
35. Amending the Constitution and the Land Use Act to create freehold/leasehold interests in land along with matching grants for states to create a nationwide electronic land title register on a state by state basis.
36. Reviving and reactivating the minimally performing Refineries to optimum capacity.
37. Creating additional middle-class of at least two million new home owners in the first year in government and one million annually thereafter.
38. Creating an additional middle class of at least four million new home owners by 2019 by enacting national mortgage single digit interest rates for purchase of owner occupier houses as well as reviewing the collateral qualification to make funding for home ownership easier, with 15 to 30 year mortgage terms.
39. Enacting a national mortgage system that will lend at single digit interest rates for purchase of owner occupier houses.
40. Injecting extra N30bn into the Agricultural sector to create more agro-allied jobs by way of loans at nominal interest rates for capital investment on medium and commercial scale cash crops.
41. You farm, government buys, guaranteeing a minimum price for selected crops and facilitate storage of agricultural products as and when necessary.
42. Creating a national infrastructural development bank to provide loans at nominal interest rates exclusively for this sector.
43. Construction of 3,000km of Superhighway including service trunks.
44. Building of up to 4,800km of modern railway lines – one third to be completed by 2019.
45. At least one functioning airport is available in each of the 36 states.
46. Ending gas flaring and ensuring sales of at least half of gas produce, within Nigeria.
47. Speedily passing the much-delayed Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and ensuring that local content issues are fully addressed.
48. Establishing at least six new universities of science and technology with satellite campuses in various states.
49. Establishing six centres of excellence to address the needs of special education.
50. Prioritising the reduction of the infant mortality rate by 2019 to 3%.
51. Reducing maternal mortality by more than 70%.
52. Reducing HIV/AIDs infection rate by 50% and other infectious diseases by 75%.
53. Improving life expectancy by additional 10 years on average.
54. Increasing the number of physicians from 19 per 1000 population to 50 per 1000
55. Increasing national health expenditure per person per annum to about N50,000 (from less than N10,000 currently).
56. Increasing the quality of all federal government-owned hospitals to world class standard within five years.
57. Ensuring timely payment of retirement benefits for all pensioned senior citizens and creating a poverty safety net for all aged citizens above the age of 65.
58. Amending the Constitution to require Local Governments to publish their meeting minutes, service performance data, and items of spending over N10M.
59. Requiring full disclosure in media outlets, of all government contracts over N100m prior to award and during implementation at regular interval.
60. Amending the Constitution to remove immunity from prosecution for elected officers in criminal case.
61. Initiating action to amend the Nigerian Constitution with a view to devolving powers, duties, and responsibilities to states in order to entrench true federalism and the federal spirit.
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62. Reforming and Strengthening the Justice System for efficient administration and dispensation of justice with the creation of special courts for accelerated hearing of corruption, drug trafficking, terrorism and similar cases of national importance.
63. Establishing world-class sports academy and training institutes and ensure that Nigeria occupies a place of pride in global sports and athletics.
64. Reviving the Nigerian football league and putting incentives in place to make it as competitive as other national leagues.
65. Putting in place measures to identify talents early and ensuring their participation in local and international games to enable them become professionals.
66. Assisting Nollywood to fully develop into world class movie industry that can compete effectively with Hollywood and Bollywood in due course.
67. Ensuring that the rights of women are protected as enshrined in our Constitution.
68. Guaranteeing that women are adequately represented in government appointments and providing greater opportunities in education, job creation and economic empowerment.
69. Promoting the concept of reserving a minimum number of seats in the National Assembly for women.
70. Free maternal and children healthcare services.
71. Stabilising the naira.
72. Targeting up to 20% of our annual budget for this critical sector whilst making substantial investments in training quality teachers at all levels of the educational system (Some other APC policy documents had 15%).
73. Ensuring compliance with policies and measures to halt the pollution of rivers and waterways in the Niger Delta and other parts of the country.
74. Adopting a holistic approach to erosion and shoreline protection across the country.
75. ECOWAS currency by 2020 under Nigeria’s guidance and leadership.
76. Maintaining strong, close and frank relationships within the Gulf of Guinea, the Commonwealth, South Africa and the rest of the world.
77. Establishing a new special relationship with the leading emerging markets like Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) and other strategic partners around the world.
78. Government intends to commission a sociological study to determine Boko Haram’s origins, remote and immediate causes of the movement, its sponsors, the international connexions to ensure that measures are taken to prevent a recurrence of the evil.
79. Strengthening INEC to reduce, if possible, eliminate electoral malpractices in Nigerian’s political life
80. Improving operational and legal mechanisms so that disciplinary steps are taken against proven human rights violations by the Armed Forces.
81. Free education at primary, secondary and tertiary institutions for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Education.
Which one of this campaign promises has been fulfilled and which one of them do you think is unrealistic?