by Olagunro Modiu
I was listening to a public
talk of the US based Cleric- Shaykh Khalid Yasin titled “What is the purpose of
life?”; it was the question and answer session and in the process of providing
an answer to a question on Darwin's theory of Evolution, he said “And if you're
still talking about evolution, then you really are a bush Doctor looking for a
cure for Polio; it's over with it, its finished”.
Bush Doctor? I was
astonished! Could this Islamic scholar be
serious? Does it mean that Polio no
longer affects other Countries of the World knowing fully well that the ailment
still ravages the Nigeria society?
According to Wikipedia (the free
encyclopedia), Polio is an acute, Viral, infectious disease spread from person
to person, primarily via the fecal-oral route; it mainly affects Children under
the age of five.
In 1994, the World Health
Organization (WHO) region of the Americans was certified Polio free, the
Western Pacific in the year 2000 and Europe in June, 2002 with more than
10million people walking who would otherwise be paralyzed and more than 1.5
million childhood deaths prevented.
The Advisory committee on
Polio eradication (ACPE), which is the individual oversight body on the
eradication effort have it that the World success in eradicating Polio now
depends on four countries namely Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and Nigeria
forming the Polio acronym (PAIN).
A 2012 report indicated that
India has also been certified Polio-free whereas Nigeria remains Polio endemic
with 122 reported cases- a figure which is half of the Global cases for the
year as against Pakistan's 58 and Afghanistan's 37.
Nigeria, according to the
World Health Organization (WHO) sits at 187 amongst 191 Nations in Healthcare
with responsiveness level at 149th /191, Fairness in financial distribution-
180th /191, Health expenditure-176th /191, Health Goal attainment- 184th /191,
Level of Health system- 175th /191 with an Uncertainty level ranging from 183
to 189.
There are over 3 million
Nigerians living with the deadly AIDS virus making her the second in the World
behind South Africa with a whooping 5 million infected persons. With 79.44
death per 1000 live births for Males, 68.97 per 1000 live births for Females
and a total of 74.36 deaths per 1000 live births, Nigeria ranks at 15th on the
Infant Mortality table Worldwide- a situation that has partly been attributed
to the fact that approximately 2 0ut of 3 births occur at home hence, a
Maternal Mortality rate of 800 per 100 000 births.
With over 3.3 billion Malaria
cases Worldwide causing over 1.2 million deaths annually with 300 000 from
Nigeria representing 1 out of every 4 deaths as a result of Mosquito bites- a
pandemic described as the number one killer of small Children killing over 400
people in Katsina state alone in the spate of one month in the year 2012.
According to the United
Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), over 40% of Nigerian Children between the
ages of 6-11 do not attend Primary Schools (valued at 4.7million), 30% drop out
from Primary Schools and only 54% transit to the Junior Secondary School- a
phenomena that is attributed to Child Labor, Economic hardship and early
marriage making Nigeria, according to the Mo-Ibrahim Foundation home to an
estimated 10.5 million “out of school” representing 37% of the World out of
School hence, the prospects of Nigeria achieving Education for all by 2015
remain frail (UNICEF).
According to the World
Development Indicator Database, Nigeria occupies the 167th position among 168
in the Education Expenditure ranks, a total Tertiary enrollment of 947 538,
53th /175 on the Scientific and Technology articles ranks and 98th/121 on the Adult Literacy rank
representing 48.66%.
The poor state of the
Educational System and Research in Nigeria is also evident in the number of
Patent applications which according to Phonius ranks, at 118th /191 countries
with 13 applications in 2004 and 4 in 2008 whereas Japan had a massive 507 113
and 500 034 in 2004 and 2008 respectively.
On the Multi-dimensional
Poverty Index (MPI), the self-acclaimed “Giant” of Africa ranks at 84th with an
Index of 0.3676 on a scale of 0 to 10, 50th /88 on the Global Hunger Index with
a score of 18.4, 115th in the Household Income table with a value of $1.80,
33rd /262 on the Unemployment rate rankings and 29th among 178 countries on the
Road Traffic deaths ranking with a monthly average of 4532 reported cases.
On the Human Development
Indicator with a minimum of zero and maximum of one, Nigeria had an Index of
0.321 in 1975, 0.378 in 1980, 0.391 in 1985, 0.411 in 1990, 0.432 in 1995,
0.445 in 2000, and 0.470 in 2005 sitting at 158 among 159 nations one above
Tanzania.
Statistical reports have it
that over 20 000 Nigerian citizens are docked behind bars across Europe and
Asia for various offences ranging from drug smuggling, crime, theft and other
vices. According to media reports, no fewer than 4000 Nigerians are in Spanish
Prisons, 389 in Malaysia, 400 in India, 26 in Vietnam, 1000 in China, 300 in
Indonesia, 594 in the United Kingdom, 800 in Togo, 500 in Brazil and Thailand
respectively,.
With a Prison Population of
over 40 000 which includes 6000 children and minors(many of whom were born
there and now serve terms with their parents) according to the Premium Times,
Nigeria ranks at 153rd among 155 Countries on the Countries with the most
congested Prisons with an Average of 3 Prisons per 10 000 Persons.
With a population of 400 000
Police personnel including 107 000 ghost workers (Ministry of Police Affairs
report 2010) and over 20 000 engaged in special duties to Monarchs, politicians
and other big men and thick madams, the Security of a Country of 160 million
people is left at the mercy of 273 000 Policemen and women representing 17
police official per 10 000 Nigerians.
A US Investigation reveals
that over 750 000 Police are in the United States, less than one-half of
1% ever shot anyone which is in contrast
with what operates in Nigeria; In 2004, 2987 cases of extra judicial killings
was reported by the Nigeria legal Defense and Assistance Project; In November
2007, the former Inspector General of Police- Mike Okiro confirmed that 785
people were killed by the Police within his first 100 days in Office, according
to a report in Thisday Newspaper, a total number of 7198 people were killed by
the Police Force between 2008 and 2011; A 2010 report by the Human Rights Watch
showed that the Nigerian Police Force extra judicially kills an average of 4.6
people per day.
According to a research
carried out by the Network of Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN), it was
reported that every major Police Station have an “officer in charge of
torture”-(IRIN)
A close look at the figures
presented clearly shows that we are- in the word of the 15th century English
philosopher and political theorist-Thomas Hobbes in the state of nature where
life is Nasty, Brutish and Short.
The blame game is enough;
let's for once reflect on what we, as individuals can do rather than what the
Country can do for us. It behooves on us as young citizens of Nigeria to work
assiduously in our respective capacities- as future doctors, teachers, lawyers,
engineers, etcetera- by nurturing a positive attitude.
The American actor, Patrick
Swayze once said- “how do you nurture a positive attitude when all the
statistics say you're a dead man? You go to work”. Going to work implies we,
contributing our quota in order to put Nigeria back on the wheels of Great
Nations in Africa and the world at large.
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