It’s that time of the year again; when we dress brightly in our traditional attires and elaborate head gears. The women in their buba and iro sewn with aso-oké, the men in their starched and well ironed isi-agu and the northerners showing off in their Getzner babanriga and atamfa. It is that season of the year where school children all over Nigeria, celebrate Independence Day with various festivities. As expected, my children were asked to bring something creative to their school’s Independence Day exhibition. One of my daughters wanted to make bracelets with green and white beads while the other wanted to make a flag. As I helped the younger one colour her flag a brilliant green, a sudden wave of sadness washed over me.
When I hear of Nigerians celebrating Independence, I often wonder what indices they use. Is it education, employment, economy, security or healthcare?
Nigeria was 61 years on October 1, 2021. By sheer coincidence, it was also 61 days since Resident doctors (NARD) embarked on a nationwide strike. All tertiary hospitals across the country have come to a standstill. The consultants and medical officers are trying their best but cannot treat up to 30% of the patients usually seen in the hospitals. The wards are scanty and the operating theatres working sub-optimally. Some centres have had to shut their dialysis units and labour rooms. The weight has shifted to state-owned hospitals, which are currently overburdened with patients being admitted on the corridors, couches and even on the floor. The situation is pathetic and heart wrenching. A friend of mine lost her baby in Kebbi because her baby was born prematurely and could not get an incubator. Many accident victims have died because they cannot be admitted and cared for in the government hospitals. Many more cannot afford care in private hospitals.
A newspaper headline dug-up from the Daily Sketch, February 22, 1995, showed that the federal government has always been at loggerheads with NARD and NMA (Nigerian Medical Association). In the news, the FG was threatening doctors with no work, no pay if they (the doctors) did not call off the strike. Twenty-six years later, same headline, same story, same solution.
And the rot is not just in healthcare.
I remember in 2015, when a friend of mine narrated how they were asked to examine some of the Chibok girls that escaped. The governor at that time had ordered for the girls to be medically examined at the state hospital and my friend, who worked there, told me how shocked they were to meet them. Nowadays, the ‘shock’ has worn off. I have lost count of how many times parents or relatives have brought victims of kidnap to be examined after they have been discovered or ‘rescued’. The chill that used to run down our spine when we heard that someone has been kidnapped is nowadays replaced with “Eiya…you too?” or “Allah sarki, it happened to so and so too”. News channels no more report it as breaking news; whether it is school children or people abducted from their homes, the novelty of kidnap or insurgency has worn off. In its place is a wide gaping scar of indifference. The government’s indifference to its citizens.
Before some of you crucify me for being unpatriotic, please hear me out. Yes, the Nigerian Army is trying and yes tons of ‘bandits’ (for lack of a better word) have been killed as evidenced by the many videos shared on social media. But for every bandit killed, have you stopped to think of all the lives and property that have been lost? Why did we wait this long? What do we do with all the orphans littered in villages? What about the IDPs begging on the streets of Maiduguri? Do you think they feel any joy when they see videos of soldiers killing insurgents or worse still being granted amnesty?
Last week, some doctors went on a National assignment from the National Primary health care centres to some local governments in Jigawa. The assignment was to educate secondary school graduates on some basic health care knowledge on how to recognise symptoms like diarrhoea and vomiting. The posters, printed in both English and Hausa language, were brightly coloured showing pictures of the various symptoms. It was anticipated to be an easy project- get secondary school graduates who were willing to volunteer for a monthly stipend of N5000, teach them how to make ORS for diarrhoea and give paracetamol for fever and teach them to recognise when to refer patients to the nearest PHC.
The doctors met the village head of the first village and told him of their request. He was pleased about the program and immediately called all his children first (what is that word again? Yauwa, Nepotism!). He paraded them as having graduated secondary school. Some of the girls who were married were immediately summoned from their houses, as it was an opportunity for them to earn something. Trouble started when the first girl was asked to read the posters and she started stuttering. My friend noticed her struggling and asked her to read the Hausa version instead. Again, the stuttering continued. The doctors chucked it down to anxiety and called the rest. One by one they came and struggled to read the text on the posters. To cut a long story short, out of fourteen ‘graduates’ paraded that day, only one could read fluently in Hausa! The next day, a widow in her sixties who heard about the program came to try her luck. This old woman who had only primary school education, read the text both in Hausa and English language proving that quality of education has not only declined but has crashed beyond repair! How do you reconcile the fact that a woman who was educated in a community primary school in the 1950s has better diction and reading skills than someone who just finished secondary school in this century??
When this government came into power—they campaigned in two primary areas—Security and a promise to improve the economy. I think it’s safe to say that neither promise has been delivered. Security is at its worst and as for the economy, all I know is that I can no longer afford Ovaltine.
For any country to survive, the budgetary allocation must weigh heavily in three areas—Security, Healthcare and Education. Sadly, Nigeria has failed in all three segments. Some may argue that the allocation is there- it is corruption that has eaten up the funds or the lack of budgetary implementation. Whatever the cause, sixty-one years later, we are not any safer in our homes and affordable and quality education is still a myth. The health care system is in crisis and everyone has started ‘hustling’ to make ends meet.
As for stable electricity and potable water, Nigerians have since given up. We are tired of being lied to. The average Nigerian man’s dream is to save enough to install a solar inverter (since sunshine is free), have a back up generator (In Naija, backup is essential) and dig up a borehole to provide water for the house.
Let us not kid ourselves, there is no need for celebration.
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