Author: Editor

Yesterday, friends, relations and colleagues of Salihu Bappa met at the Pavilion in Abuja in remembrance of his contributions to society, his commitment to progress and in recognition of the role he played as an anchor of networking across generations, disciplines and numerous associations. The memorial event was chaired by his friend and school mate Ahmadu Muazu, former governor of Bauchi State who emphasized Bappa’s role as a bridge builder across communities and networks since their childhood days in Gindiri where they grew up in a very mixed convivial Plateau State.

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Autoimmune disorders encompass a wide range of immunological diseases that affect 4 to 10% of the population worldwide. They occur when immunological tolerance toward self-antigens is broken, resulting in immune responses against cells, tissues, or organs that lead to tissue dysfunction and/or destruction. The goal of autoimmune disease therapy is to restore tolerance to the self-antigen that causes the pathology by targeting autoreactive T cells while preserving immune competence to prevent infections and malignancies. The main challenge of this endeavor resides in choosing the mode by which the disease-driving antigen is delivered so that it can initiate the removal or reprogramming of the autoreactive T cells or the induction and/or expansion of antigen-specific regulatory T (Treg) cells to suppress autoreactive T cells. Although the potential of antigenbased immunotherapy approaches to restore tolerance have been demonstrated for the treatment of immunoglobulin E (IgE) – mediated peanut allergy (1), antigen therapies for autoimmune disorders are still being developed.

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I was taken aback on the evening of 9 January 2009 when my principal, the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua asked, “Who is Prophet Joshua?” I wasn’t sure how to respond in case the late cleric had been recommended to him. Apparently sensing my unease, he explained what led to the question. Following the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) meeting which ended that day, he (Yar’Adua) had asked then president of Ghana, Professor John Atta Mills, to stay the night in Abuja so they could have dinner together. But the man insisted he would spend the weekend in Lagos with the said Prophet. “I have not heard the name before,” the president told me while reeling out the names of prominent Christian clerics in the country with whom he was familiar. With that, I felt comfortable enough to share what I had read and heard about the late Pastor Temitope Joshua whom I never met.

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For instance, in October 2019, a tanker laden with petroleum products fell into a ditch in Onitsha, aspilled its contents and exploded. The subsequent inferno razed shops and other structures on Upper Iweka Road and at Ochanja market in the commercial city. As Minister, Sadiya Umar Farouk went to Onitsha, visited the site, sympathised with those affected and ensured the provision of relief.

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