Nigeria on Wednesday recorded 1,664 new COVID-19 cases, a new high in a sustained rise in the infection of the pandemic in the country.
Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said the new infections took the country’s total to 94,369.
NCDC had announced on Tuesday that Nigeria recorded 1,354 cases on Monday.
While the infection rates are rising, high-profile deaths from the virus are also being recorded.
On Wednesday, the University of Lagos (UNILAG) lost one of its distinguished academics, Prof. Duro Ajeyalemi, to the virus.
Ajeyalemi’s death came just three days after that of the university’s eighth vice-chancellor, Prof. Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe, who was also said to have died from COVID-19-related complications.
In the latest figures released by NCDC, the agency said that 22 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) recorded the new infections with Lagos having the highest number of cases with 642.
The FCT recorded 407 new cases while Plateau recorded 160 new cases. Also, it said Kaduna State recorded 83 new infections while Rivers State recorded 62. Others state are Adamawa-47, Nasarawa-38, Abia-29, Edo-28, Anambra-27, Niger-24, Ogun-24, Imo-15, Oyo-14, Kano-12, Osun-12, Borno-nine, Delta-seven, Enugu-seven, Bauchi-five, Ekiti-five, Sokoto-five and Jigawa-two.
The centre also said that Nigeria recorded 77,299 recoveries and 1,318 fatalities. The NCDC said that there are now 14,990 active COVID-19 cases.
The NCDC also said that Nigeria recorded five deaths in the past 24 hours. The agency has said that a multi-sectoral national Emergency Operations Centre, activated at Level III, is coordinating response activities nationwide. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that from Feb. 27, 2020, till date, only 980,046 samples of suspected infected people had been tested in a population of more than 200 million people. The country also approved 70 public, seven corporate and 32 commercial laboratories across the country with varying testing capacities.
The resurgence in the rate of infections has rattled the governments at both the federal and state levels. While the federal government has said there will be no more lockdown, it has however re-introduced previous protocols for the control of the virus transmission.
In Lagos, which is the epicenter of the pandemic in Nigeria, governor Babajijde Sanwo-Olu has stressed the need for residents to comply with the protocols.
“There is an urgent need for us to be more circumspect in the way we live, interact and socialize with our friends and family. Many people are ignoring #COVID19 warnings and guidelines, thereby exposing themselves and others to the virus. “We are well into the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yesterday, (Tuesday) Lagos scarily recorded its highest number of infection in one day 712. “We have already recorded a frightening spike in infection cases. This spike brings positive cases to a total of 32,720 in Lagos alone,” he said on his Twitter handle, @jidesanwoolu.
“This second wave comes with severe symptoms, and the higher number of positive cases we detect, the higher number of casualties we’re bound to record. We do not want this, but for this to be avoided, we must be intentional and cautious. “We also do not want to go into another lockdown. It is important that you wear your masks, avoid crowded areas, wash or sanitize your hands regularly, and practice social distancing. “2021 will only work for us if we take #COVID19 seriously and follow the guidelines laid down by Lagos State Ministry of Health and Presidential Task Force, PTF, on COVID-19,” the governor said.
Ajeyalemi was the pioneer Registrar/Chief Executive of the Joint University Preliminary Examinations Board (JUPEB) – a body that conducts standard exams for students taking approved foundation/diploma programmes in universities to prepare them for direct entry.
Ajeyalemi was born on November 7, 1950 had his primary education at the St Peter’s School, Ibokun (1956-61); secondary at LA Secondary Modern School, Ibokun (1962) and Kiriji Memorial College, Igbajo (1963-67) before proceeding to the Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo (1970-72) and UNILAG (1973-76).
He had his postgraduate education at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK (1978-81).
His career started at the Nigerian Ports Authority in 1968 and was there till 1970. He moved on to Lever Brothers as a Management Trainee in 1977 before joining UNILAG as a Graduate Assistant in 1977-81. He rose through the ranks becoming Lecturer II, Department of Curriculum Studies (1981-83); Lecturer I (1983-84); Senior Lecturer (1984); AG Head, Department of Curriculum Studies (1992-94); and became Sub-Dean, Faculty of Education (1991-92).
On his part, Prof Ibidapo-Obe was President of the Nigeria Academy of Science.
He attended both Ilesa Grammar School and Igbobi College from 1962 to 1968, before entering the University of Lagos from 1968 to 1971.
In 1971 he obtained a first-class degree in Mathematics, and later a Master of Applied Mathematics with a minor in Computer Science in 1973, capping it with a PhD in Civil Engineering with specialisation in Applied Mechanics/Systems in 1976, both from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
He was born on July 5, 1949; married to Olusola and has four children.
He was a Western Nigeria Government Scholar at UNILAG from 1969 to 971 and was the overall best graduating student in 1971.
He once served as the Chairman of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, and was a two-time recipient of the Best Vice-Chancellors Prize (2004, 2005).
He had over 150 research articles and publications to his name, and was elected a Fellow of the African Academy of Science (AAS) as well as that of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) in 2010 and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in 2015.
