While I expected the caller to return the call, I wondered which of the respected academics from Northern Nigeria he was referring to.

I am aware of two professors who bear Pate as a surname. They are both solid intellectuals and leaders in their respective fields, who have reached the heights of their careers and attained global recognition.

One of them, Umar Pate, is a professor of Media and Society, while the other, Muhammad Pate, is a professor of Public Health. They have both produced exceptional scholarship, with footprints of excellence, not only in the academy as producers of knowledge but also as administrators in the public service to humanity, whether locally or internationally or across the two spheres.

While Umar is the son of a local Fulani chieftain in Adamawa State and bears the traditional title of Kaigama, Muhammad is the son of a Fulani herdsman in Bauchi State and holds the title of Chigarin Misau in the state.

They both obtained their first degrees in Nigeria. Umar graduated in Mass Communication from the University of Maiduguri and was offered an automatic teaching job in the Department following his National Youth Service. On the other hand, Muhammad graduated from the Ahmadu Bello University Medical School in Zaria, after which he started work in the institution’s teaching hospital, before moving to Gambia to the British Medical Research Council Laboratories.

Umar Pate, who became a professor of Mass Communication at the age of 36, was also a senior lecturer at the Bayero University Kano (BUK), where he spearheaded the outstanding transformation of the Department of Mass Communication into a full-scale Faculty of Communication and served as its pioneer Dean.

He also established a modern radio station, set the pace for the creation of a modern television station, and secured the department a huge grant from the MacArthur Foundation for the smooth running of the broadcast services on the BUK campus. He was equally Dean of the Postgraduate Studies programme of the Kano-based university before his appointment as the Vice Chancellor of Federal University Kashere, Gombe State.

Meanwhile, after serving as a catalyst for the attainment of significant impacts, through far-reaching health sector reform programmes in Africa and other continents, as a World Bank health specialist, Muhammad was appointed chief executive officer of the National Primary Healthcare Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) at the peak of the polio epidemic crisis in Nigeria. Within a short period of his appointment, his strategic engagement with traditional rulers in helping to demand for vaccines and other primary healthcare services in their respective domains laid the foundation of an aggressive emergency polio eradication response. This was implemented through emergency operation centres (EOCs) that contained, and later eradicated, polio transmission in the country.

Muhammad Pate also led the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation into Nigeria and guided their approach of direct engagement with the State Primary Healthcare Agencies. It was therefore not surprising that he was subsequently appointed as Health Minister by the Nigerian government, before he later resigned and took up the position of a professor in Duke University’s Global Health Institute, in the USA.

Umar Pate as President of the Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN) is an advocate of social accountability through the practice of investigative journalism and a leading light in capacity building through the modification of the journalism curriculum in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions, to address emerging trends in the industry. His scholarship is highly cited, locally and internationally, in the areas of crisis communication, political communication, communication policies, media freedom, development communication, health communication, peace and conflict communication, among others.

Umar Pate has served the UN system in Afghanistan, Liberia, Sierra Leone and the Cameroons, and was on the Board of Directors of the International Network of UNESCO Professors in Communication (ORBICOM), in addition to being a consultant to several multilateral organisations, including USAID, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNESCO, the World Bank, and Ford Foundation, etc.

On the other hand, Professor Muhammad Pate has taught comparative health systems to postgraduate students at the Duke University Global Health Institute. Also, his record of service includes being the global director of Health, Nutrition and Population (HNP) at the World Bank, a director of the Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents (GFF), and a professor of public health leadership at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health. His technical expertise was felt when he led the World Banks COVID-19 global health response, during which he represented the Bank on various boards, including those of GAVI (the Vaccine Alliance), the Global Fund, and UNAIDS.

Without any form of equivocation, the lives of the two Pates are synonymous with hard work and excellence across the intellectual spheres and service to humanity, which is enhanced by the testaments of witnesses to their selflessness, senses of contentment, tolerance, and easy reciprocation of good.

“Beep… Beep… Beep…!” my phone rang again, displaying the same foreign number.

The call came through without breaking this time, and I realised the caller was an old acquaintance, who admitted to having been the one who called earlier. I then quickly asked which of Professor Pates he was referring to, in apprehension of the line breaking off again, before the message was complete.

The caller said he was referring to Professor Muhammad Pate, who had just resigned as the chief executive of GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance so that he could return to Nigeria and make positive contributions to the health sector under the current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, even as a formal announcement is yet to be made.

GAVI, formerly known as the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation, is a public-private global health partnership with the goal of increasing access to immunization in poor countries. It remains the main donor-funder of vaccination in low- and middle-income countries, which a budget in excess of $7 billion.

The caller added that he was aware of the subterranean and at times open campaigns of some politicians to discredit his nomination for a possible federal appointment because he was not on the ground during the political campaigns.

It is interesting that despite Pate being appointed as CEO of GAVI with an enviable package of remunerations in February 2023, following a year-long recruitment process, he appears to have chosen the yeoman’s job of public service in Nigeria. This points to a quality beyond self-seeking that is almost alien to much of human nature. Pate was expected to have officially resumed in GAVI on the 3rd of August, when he announced what many consider his shocking resignation, as he was noted to have said that he has taken an incredibly difficult decision to accept a request to return and contribute to his home country, Nigeria.

While I cannot confirm the authenticity of the alleged gang-up and conspiracy against Professor Muhammad Pate, although one has stumbled upon a few not-so-complimentary commentaries about his imminent federal appointment on social media, it is necessary to urge President Tinubu to keep on the front burner the crucial task of national rebuilding that incumbent upon him in his search for and recruitment of those to help him achieve his mandate of a re-engineered country.

The President needs beyond finding appropriate ways of rewarding those who worked for his election persons with track records of significant service and leadership experience, alongside technical expertise in relevant fields, who can help in salvaging Nigeria from the very bad place in which it is presently.

Nigeria deserves the very best of qualified male and female persons who can manage critical sectors of governance such as health, the economy, security, and education, among others. Appointments should therefore be on merit and not as patronage to feather the nests of political godfatherism.

As the two eminent Pates Umar and Muhammad go about deepening their intellectual and public engagements, I wish them more wins, and years of rewarding work and excellence. May the spirit of excellence that they are bearers of, define the Nigeria that we are all striving for.

Yushau A. Shuaib is the author of “Award-Winning Crisis Communication Strategies.”

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In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday to mark the 2021 International Museum Day, the Minister also appealed to the Nigerians, especially the elite, to join the ongoing campaign to repatriate all looted Nigerian artefacts.

He thanked the individual Nigerians who have established private museums as well as those who support the various public museums with their hard-earned resources, saying the elite in particular can offer support by adopting museums in their neighbourhoods

Alhaji Mohammed said the campaign for the repatriation of looted artefacts, which was launched by the federal government in October 2019, has yielded fruits, with the spate of return of stolen Nigerian antiquities from around the world.

He expressed appreciation to the German government and German museums, both of which are presently in the forefront of repatriating Nigerian antiquities.

Listing the efforts being made by the federal government to recover looted artefacts, the Minister said Nigeria has caused a claim to be instituted before the UNESCO’s mediation body, the Intergovernmental Committee for the Promotion of Return of Cultural Property (ICPRCP), for the return of an Ife bronze object to Nigeria, marking the first time ever that Nigeria will institute a claim before this international panel.

The Ife bronze head, which was stolen from the National Museum in Jos in 1987, was acquired by an art gallery owner in Belgium, who is now demanding money from Nigeria before releasing it.

The Minister recalled that in January 2020, he met the Secretary of State for Culture of the United Kingdom to press Nigeria’s demand for the release of the said Ife bronze head, which is now being kept in the British Museum, expressing the hope that the matter would soon be resolved in favour of Nigeria.

“Also, after a vigorous pursuit, the United States has approved Nigeria’s request, under the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (CPIA). The import of this approval is that any cultural property that is 250 years or older can never enter the United States of America from Nigeria, unless with the official imprimatur of Nigeria,” he said, adding that such antiquities will be returned to Nigeria from the US border without the need for expensive litigations or diplomatic shuttles.

On the home front, Alhaji Mohammed said in order to forestall further theft of the country’s antiquities and other heritage properties and to enthrone better management in this field, ”we are placing the law pertaining to this sector before the National Assembly. We know they will give it every support and ensure its expeditious passage.”

Reflecting on the theme for this year’s International Museum Day, which is ‘The Future of Museums: Recover and Imagine’, he said the theme has its background in the changes the world has experienced in the past year because of the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We hope the expected full recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic will be the harbinger of a reimagining that will enable us to leverage on the areas in which we have comparative advantage – our arts and our culture – in order to re-launch ourselves to the world,” the Minister said.

The International Museum Day is celebrated on May 18 every year to bring knowledge and information about museums to the people and to introduce museums to the communities.

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Back in 2018, a rise in the number of internally displaced children and a corresponding increase in Nigeria’s birth rates had prompted a surge in the number of out-of-school children to 13.2 million.

In March 2020, Adamu Adamu, education minister, had also said there were 10 million out-of-primary-school children but that the figure could rise to 14 million when added to those out of junior secondary schools.

Obasanjo, whose account was published in the Monday bulletin of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), said that in the next 10 years, these out-of-school children could become perpetrators of heinous crimes and constitute a nuisance in the society.

The former president also called on policymakers and key players in the education sector to brace up for challenges as well as ensure that the quality of Nigeria’s education meets the UNESCO Education for All (EFA) standard.

“If we don’t take care of these 14 million out-of-school children in the next 10 years or so, they will be the terrorists, armed robbers, and kidnappers of the future,” Obasanjo said.

On the long-standing concerns about the proliferation of tertiary institutions in the country, he warned that quality education in Nigeria shouldn’t always be about the number of universities available.

“It should be about whether they’re doing what they should be doing, whether they meet the needs of the industry where they are situated, or whether they are delivering quality education,” the ex-president added.

“We should be preoccupied with what product is coming out and not about the number or the size. America has varsities with multi-campuses where student populations number in the thousands.

“I used to be a member of the Board of Trustees of Wilberforce University with a total population of 1,500, a small university but one which is making meaningful and impactful contributions.

“We should build on what we have now, improve on them. A population of over 200 million people having 170 or more universities is not too many for me as what matters are content and quality

“And the ability to turn out appropriate products for market and industry. If that is achieved, then universities could be said to be doing what they should be doing and we should hail them for it.”

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The World Heritage Committee of UNESCO, which made the announcement at its 43rd meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, based its decision on “extensive restorative work on Bethlehem’s Nativity Church, in Palestine”.

The synoptic gospels of the New Testament of the Bible state that Christ was born in a manger in Bethlehem, in the reign of King Herod, to Mary and Joseph.

“The nativity is the basis for the Christian festival of Christmas,” the organisation said in a statement on its website.

According to the statement, the committee acknowledged the high quality of work carried out on the church in recent years, including the restoration of its roof, exterior facades, mosaics and doors.

It also welcomed the shelving of a project to dig a tunnel under Manger Square and the adoption of a management plan to conserve the site.

“Just last week, reports revealed that archaeologists had discovered inside one baptismal font, or basin of holy water used for the baptism rite, a more ancient font that dates back to the sixth or seventh century.

“Since the Second Century the church, situated 10 kilometers south of Jerusalem, has been identified by Christians as the birthplace of Christ.

“While the edifice of a church built there in 339 CE was replaced after a fire in the sixth century, the elaborate floor mosaics were retained from the original building.

“The official site also includes Latin, Greek Orthodox, Franciscan and Armenian convents and churches, as well as bell towers, terraced gardens and a pilgrimage route,” the statement added.

The birthplace was inscribed on the World Heritage List 2012, and was simultaneously added to the List of World Heritage in Danger due to the poor state of the Nativity Church.

Others on the list include Syria’s ancient cities of Aleppo, Bosra and Damascus, all inscribed in 2013, and the “Maritime Mercantile City of Liverpool” in the United Kingdom – which consists of six locations in the city centre – inscribed in 2012.

The 54 properties on the List of World Heritage in Danger aim to alert the international community to threats to essential characteristics for which a property was initially inscribed on the World Heritage List.

These can include armed conflicts, natural disasters, unplanned urbanisation, poaching or pollution, the statement added.

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UNESCO first adopted March 21 as World Poetry Day at its 30th General Conference in Paris, in 1999, with the aim of supporting linguistic diversity through poetic expression and increasing the opportunity for endangered languages to be heard.Every year, the day celebrates what UNESCO describes as “one of humanity’s most treasured forms of cultural and linguistic expression and identity.”

The organisation said: “World Poetry Day is the occasion to honour poets, revive oral traditions of poetry recitals, promote the reading, writing and teaching of poetry, foster the convergence between poetry and other arts such as theatre, dance, music and painting, and raise the visibility of poetry in the media.”

Practiced throughout history – in every culture and on every continent – poetry speaks to common humanity and shared values, transforming the simplest of poems into a powerful catalyst for dialogue and peace.

In her message on the occasion of the World Poetry Day 2019, Ms Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, said, “UNESCO is putting the spotlight on indigenous poetry, to celebrate the unique and powerful role of poetry in standing against marginalisation and injustice, and in uniting cultures in the spirit of solidarity.” She continued, “poetry is important for the safeguarding of often-endangered languages, as well as the maintenance of linguistic and cultural diversity.”

Azoulay said, “2019 marks the International Year of Indigenous Languages, led by UNESCO, to reaffirm the commitment of the international community in supporting indigenous peoples to preserve their cultures, knowledge and rights.

This designation comes at a time when indigenous people and their languages and cultures are increasingly under threat, in particular from climate change and industrial development.

“As part of our efforts to safeguard living traditions, UNESCO has included a number of poetic forms on the Representative List of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity, such as the Hudhud chants of the Philippines, the Mapoyo oral tradition of Venezuela, the Eshuva, Harákmbut sung prayers of Peru, and the Koogere oral tradition Uganda,” Azoulay said. “Every form of poetry is unique, but each reflects the universal of the human experience, the aspiration for creativity that crosses all boundaries and borders of time, as well as space in the constant affirmation of humanity as a single family. That’s the power of poetry!”

According to Jahman Anikulapo, curator, Culture Advocates Caucus (CAC), “though conceived as a tribute to honour the 1986 Nobel laureate in literature, Oluwole Akinwande Soyinka, on the occasion of the UNESCO-declared yearly World Poetry Day, An Evening of Life and Ideas with WS has been designed as a showcase — of the diversity of the Nigerian poetic voices and traditions.”

A youth-centred event, Anikulapo said, “it is the flagship event of the Providus Bank Poetry Café, a periodic exploration into the intricate world of African poetic traditions and literary heritage.”The event will line-up a coterie of mid-career poets, students, youths drawn from some of the extant and emerging poetry communities of Lagos. The line-up comprises:

Sammy Sage Hassan
He was in the forefront of recording and publicly staging poetry events in various cities around the country. He has two poetry albums; over five videos that enjoyed generous play on major national radio and TV stations, where he also made a score of live appearances.

Iquo Diana Abasi
She often performs her poems with a touch of culture-rich Ibibio folklore. Her first collection of poems, Symphony of Becoming, was shortlisted for the NLNG Nigeria prize for literature, and the ANA poetry prize; both in 2013.

Adebola Afolabi (REZthaPoet)
His works also probe the notion of identity and culture and; often seek the binding factor towards unity, in acknowledgement and celebration of diversity. He is the convener and co-host of the monthly event Griots and Bards (G.A.B), which holds at the Thought Pyramid Art Centre, Ikoyi, Lagos.

Salamatu Sule
In her debut collection, Orchestra of Her Last Rites (2018), poet, book reviewer, Salamatu Sule celebrates the deathless beauty of womanhood and motherhood; connecting between the glorious past and contemporary society.

Uche Uwadinachi
Author of critically acclaimed poetry collections, Scar in the Heart of pain and Love to a Flowerbird, Uche, a performance poet, was first prizewinner of ANA Lagos Poetry Performance Festival (LASPOFEST) in 2006; Second Prize Winner of Ken Saro-Wiwa Contest USA 2010; Second Runner-up in the National Poetry Slam Competition 2012; Third prizewinner for Poetry at the FNLPOETRY Competition 2012 and Top Poetry Winner (March) of the African Street Writer 2013; as well as the Spoken Word Poet of the Year 2015 at the Nigerian Writer’s Award 2016. Four poetry communes in Lagos, Poets in Nigeria, LoudThotz, AJ House of Poetry and Bariga Poets Collective will also perform in the evening of creative expression.

* The Guardian

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Salah Khaled, the Resident representative of the organisation, made the call during the opening ceremony of a two-day training for journalists in Yaounde, Cameroun.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the programme was supported by the Canadian government in collaboration with UNESCO and Union Internationale de la Presse Francophone (UPF).

The training which had 30 journalists, drawn from Chad, Nigeria and Cameroun, participating, is under the theme: ‘Improving Media Coverage of Issues Related to Terrorism and Violent Extremism’.

“The role of the media is really important in this regard, because they are the link to the society.

“Journalists should be careful what they report, who they report while ensuring that they don’t incite issues that can degenerate into violence,” Khaled said.

He added that media professionals should play the role of sensitising the public, share experiences to educate the people while reporting.

According to him, UNESCO will sustain, support to countries and institutions with effective approach to fighting terrorism as well as curbing violent extremism.

The President UPF, Aimè Bihina, said the union intended to carry out fight against terrorism through building the capacities of media professionals in the region.

She said that terrorism had existed in diverse forms over the years, in form of extreme cases of violence.

Bihina added that terrorism and violent extremism are the greatest fear for the future, explaining that terrorist attack targets both victims and the society.

According to her, there is need for the media not to inadvertently contribute to stigmatised groups,exacerbate division, irrational fear and hatred through reports.

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The Minister made the call in Abuja on Tuesday when he received a delegation from UNESCO on a courtesy visit to his office.

“The information era of the 60s, 70s and 80s are not exactly the information era of today. In the 70s and 80s even up to the 90s, we depended largely on the print, radio and television to mould opinions and views but today, with the Social Media, I think it’s a completely new ball game and this is where UNESCO will also need to adapt, especially in the area of support they give to us.

“Today, our young ones – I think it’s correct to say that about 80% of them, don’t rely on the traditional media: newspapers or even radio or television, as their source of information. Today, they rely more on the Social Media. Even the traditional media today also have realized that unless they are also present in the Social Media, their impact will probably not be felt.

“So I want to appeal to UNESCO…to look at how you can assist us in capacity building in the area of Social Media,” he said.

Alhaji Mohammed said such assistance becomes imperative because the Social Media has now become a platform for the dissemination of fake news and disinformation, which is a nightmare for public information managers.

He, therefore, appealed to UNESCO to focus more on building capacity on how to manage information emanating from the Social Media.

In the area of culture, the Minister said Nigeria has now become a powerhouse in the creative industry through the proliferation of its films, music and other forms of entertainment.

“There is no gainsaying that Nigeria rules Africa when it comes to entertainment and again we want the assistance of UNESCO in developing more, especially in the area of content. We have so much content and so many stories to tell the world but we need to assist the creative industry in training the filmmakers to improve on their capacity, technically, so that they can tell their stories on a better platform,” he said.

Earlier, the leader of the delegation and Assistant Director-General of UNESCO for Africa, Edouard Matoko, said the organization is ready to support the development and implementation of the Creative and Culture Industry Action Plan for Nigeria in order to build the capacity of the youth, especially in the film and entertainment sector.

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Netanyahu had already announced in October that Israel would pull out of UNESCO following a decision by President Donald Trump to withdraw the U.S. from the agency for its alleged “anti-Israel bias.”

A Foreign Ministry spokesman had said Saturday that a letter of withdrawal will be sent before the start of the new year.

“Over the weekend I instructed the Foreign Ministry to withdraw from UNESCO,” Netanyahu said at the start of his weekly cabinet meeting.

“I think that this is necessary in light of the biased, unilateral and absurd attitude of the organization towards us and also in the background of the U.S. strong stance in the UN, which we welcome,” he continued.

Israel has complained that a succession of UNESCO motions condemning its actions in Jerusalem did not take into account Jewish links to the city and the disputed holy site known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount.

Earlier in the year, the agency added the old town of Hebron in the West Bank, a pilgrimage site for Christians, Jews and Muslims, under its World Heritage Sites in Palestine, sparking outrage in Israel.

Netanyahu’s statement comes as the UN General Assembly last week overwhelmingly voted to rebuke Washington over its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

“Those who do not want a solution to the conflict are the Palestinians,” Netanyahu said, referring to a statement by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that he would not work with the U.S. on any peace process.

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State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a statement on Thursday.

“On Oct. 12, the Department of State notified UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova of the U.S. decision to withdraw from the organisation…

“This decision was not taken lightly, and reflects U.S. concerns with mounting arrears at UNESCO, the need for fundamental reform in the organisation, and continuing anti-Israel bias at UNESCO,” Nauert said.

The spokesperson added that the decision would take effect on Dec. 31, 2018.

The United States will remain a full member of the organization until its withdrawal comes into force, she added.

Nauert said the United States informed Bokova of its desire to remain engaged with the organisation in order to share U.S. perspectives and expertise on issues such as world heritage, press freedom, education and scientific collaboration.

Nauert said the U.S. will seek to establish a permanent observer mission to the United Nations cultural body.

Washington has not paid its UNESCO dues since 2011 to protest against the body’s decision to grant full membership to Palestine.

Prior to its protest, the United States contributed around $80 million annually to the Paris-based UN organisation, which accounted for about 22 per cent of UNESCO’s budget.

Former President Ronald Reagan pulled the United States out of UNESCO in 1983, but the country rejoined the organisation in 2003 under President George W. Bush.

Meanwhile, the cultural and educational agency of the United Nations, has expressed regret over the United States’ official decision to leave its organization.

“After receiving official notification by the United States Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, as UNESCO Director-General, I wish to express profound regret at the decision of the United States of America to withdraw from UNESCO,” said UNESCO director general Irina Bokova in a statement.

Bokova added that the U.S. decision marked a loss for multilateralism and for the UN family.

The United States had canceled its substantial budget contribution to UNESCO in 2011 in protest at a decision to grant the Palestinians full membership.

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The Director-General of the commission, Malam Yusuf Usman, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja.

Usman said that efforts were also on to address conservation challenges at Osun-Osogbo Grove in Osun State.

“Provisions have been made in the 2017 budget to address the conservation challenges of the Sukur site and Osun-Oshogbo sacred grove. These are both national monuments.

“Secondly, UNESCO has also made provisions for assistance to Nigeria to address these challenges.

“So in the coming weeks, you will see lot of activities around Sukur Cultural Landscape to address those conservation challenges following the attack of Boko Haram insurgents,” he said.

The NCMM boss added that the target was to restore the conservation status of the sites, ensure they attain cresting stage and become well maintained enough to attract tourists.

The director general said he expects other agencies to popularise the Sukur site to attract tourists from across the world.

“Our major concern is maintaining the conservation status of the sites and that is what we want to address.

“We also have plans for tourism development and tourists in case of disaster and so on at the sites,” Usman said.

NAN reports that Sukur is a stone-age iron smelting community whose history dated back to the Dur Dynasty in the 17th century.

The Dur had established a major supply link for raw materials needed for iron manufacture to north eastern Nigeria which continued into the first decade of the 20th century.

UNESCO had designated it a World Heritage Site because of its cultural heritage, material culture and the naturally-terraced fields.

Sukur is the first African cultural landscape to receive heritage list inscription in 1999 at the 23rd Session of UNESCO.

NAN also reports that the landscape is located on the hill above the village of Sukur in Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa.

It is situated on the Mandara Mountains close to the border with Cameroon.

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