Highway to glory?

Can anyone please tell me exactly where the Lagos-Ibadan expressway starts. Had the gory experience of spending approximately 1hr 40mins from the redemption camp to the MFM camp, 5:30pm to about 7:10pm before the vehicle I was in finally broke through. There were some broken down vehicles, a few collisions and finally at the MFM end; no obvious cause of the traffic jam. The damaged portion of the road was perhaps the only logical reason for the extensive "go-slow".

 

I really want to know exactly where the road starts so I can understand if Julius Berger are justified to have started their road expansion task at a point after the redemption camp from the Lagos end. There was a decomposing body of an adult male directly opposite the redemption camp and with the numerous pot holes and ponds along the stretch between the redemption camp and the MFM camp, one begins to wonder if that portion of the road was deliberately left to the hosts of heaven to fix.

Now they are all over facebook ranting about how Lagos-Ibadan expressway is getting a face lift by the benevolent president after many years of being neglected. Neglected by the opposition? These people are constantly taking us for a ride and I feel even much more insulted when those who ought to be youthful and know better start singing the praise of these looters.

 

It's supposed to be just over 6 months left to the next general elections and we don't yet have permanent voters cards and some people are appointing Corp marshal to head aviation because of 2015. If the people are content with dwelling with filth everywhere and plying roads not befitting for transporting animals, then they should "kontinuu" looking on like "mugus" and allow sycophants dictate to susceptible voters what to do on Valentine's day. If the administrators of 2 landmark convention grounds cannot prevail on the government(s) concerned to promptly address the urgent defects on the portion of road that cuts through their domain, they had better summon angels to either get rid of that decomposing body or at least restore him to life.

 

The frantic response to the Ebola issue clearly shows the knee jerk response of our governments if any at all. Should the fear of an epidemic not prompt the government to move fast to resolve any pending issue in the health sector? Samples have to be sent to Dakar for confirmation, I sincerely hope and pray we don't have any outbreak because Dakar would just be too far. Bush meat was clearly on display all the way from beyond Ibadan to Lagos, I'm not sure if some of our people indulge in bats anyway.

 

I read in the newspapers on Friday that the aviation ministry had debts of 153billion naira, a 21billion drop from what it used to be. I really want to know what the equivalent of $1billion is in naira.

 

2015: AȘỌ ẸBÍ POLITICS CONTINUA

It is amazing that I only got to watch the very popular 1993 jingle of the Social Democratic Party for the first time last week while “facebooking”. Someone had posted a link to the “MKO-Kingibe-Progress” hit which I only got to hear from schoolmates 21years ago and my curiosity got the better of me; I just had to finally put a video to the soundtrack I knew fairly well.

 

I must have written close to seven secondary school entry examinations in 1992 mainly for state and federal government owned schools inclusive of those administered by the military; the military held sway at that time so it was in a way a sensible backup plan for some desperate parents to potentially have a child in the military eventually just in case. My parents both attended boarding schools and were determined for all their children and wards to have similar experiences. Despite the number of examinations entered for, the goal was to do well enough at the federal common entrance examination in order to gain admission on merit into one of two choices made at the point of registration. Having the third highest score amongst candidates from my primary school was disappointing enough (24marks less than my older sister had 3 years before); this was soon followed by an extensive letter of admission into the Federal Government College Azare, Bauchi state. I remember my mother expressing her complete displeasure and assuring me that there was no way I would be off by myself to an unknown land. She already had a daughter in Akure causing her enough concern not to talk of transporting another child across the river Benue. She must have wondered to herself how those responsible for the admission process translated Lagos and Odogbolu to Azare; more disturbing to her was the fact that she could not do anything to alter what had been done. It was soon clear to all and sundry that the mismatch process affected a good number of candidates and it was widespread. Someone close enough to my parents informed them that the Federal University at Akure was starting a secondary school and in a flash my cousin, Tolu and I were rushed to take part in the entrance examination. To cut the long story very short, we were successful and moved into my aunt’s house in the Isolo area of Akure hopeful that the boarding facility promised by the school authorities would be established in only a short time.

 

The house we lived in for about nine months was still partly completed and one important facility missing was a television set. We spent a large chunk of our time after school outdoors tending to goats and chicken reared by my aunt. We ensured the animals were fed and regularly had to walk some distance, cutlass in hand to get fresh grass for the goats to eat in addition to fodder. We ate cocoa yam and water yam with palm oil some mornings; local rice and bush meat were common and we drank water from the “cleanest” well in the area. This was a modest life that thought me about hard work and contentment. The smell of harvested cocoa we spread out to dry and observing goats in the compound was enough entertainment for young boys like ourselves. I remember opening the gate to the house for a politician who had come to see my aunt’s husband late one day. The man appeared very tall to me and he did not come alone. It was later I was told he was a leading Ondo politician; Olu Falae. As the presidential elections of 1993 approached, it was difficult for my cousin and I to join our classmates in singing the popular jingle that was meant to herald the emergence of a new democracy that would deal the final death blow to the military. We did not know the words nor did we have a television to cure our ignorance.

 

The simple symbols and colors of both political contraptions in 1992/1993 could have been a source of genuine concern about the sincerity of the Babangida dictatorship. How difficult was it really to look at the Nigerian flag and coat of arms to extract two colors and two animals? There was arguably no ideology involved in the formation and membership of the SDP and NRC. Individuals only had to choose between wearing predominantly green or white colored “aso ebi” which perhaps corresponded to whichever side their allies or tribal and religious sentiments gravitated. It did not take long for the pseudo-foundation of “Hope 93” to evaporate and a brief cameo by a certain Ernest was truncated by his support cast. A Yoruba was deemed disenfranchised and duped of his rightful seat as head of government and his kinsmen scratched and barked at the new order led by the constantly goggled imperious General who many cried the cap fitted at one point in time. It was not surprising that the Yoruba exiles and pro-democracy campaigners voiced their desire for a Yoruba president when the opportunity came again in 1998 after the sudden demise of Sani. Chief M.K.O Abiola had died under very mysterious circumstances in the presence of American envoys on July 7, 1998; there had to be compensation for the ethnic group the man belonged to. Exhausted Generals set out for a final heist and together with the remnants of the political class from the first republic and more recent opportunists; they started the machinery for a transition to civilian rule. They soon degenerated to the structures they were used to and the parties formed were actually not different from those that existed before the civil war. It was all about ethnicity, religion, selfish interests and “padi-padi” all over again.

 

Our pulpits have been deliberately or otherwise used to showcase and promote ineptitude since 1998. It is normal to present political candidates before congregants as long as such individuals lay claim to a personal salvation myth and have the ability to utilize the right vocabulary. Many of our pulpits have been silenced ever since; consciences riddled with guilt and hands soiled with blood and gold. Those who speak either speak lies upon lies or the outright truth. Sadly, these very few truthful ones are tagged overzealous and jealous because of their reluctance to participate in the outward show of solidarity with people of supposed common faith. This is the same even with other religions, the volume of currency in circulation is choking those who ought to discern right from wrong and lead by example. A few minutes to address susceptible congregants followed by verbal onslaughts to force open heaven’s gates in demand for blessings and divine resources are all a politician needs to win and win again. What is the use of a debate when one could arrange a phoney interview or claim to be of the same stock as past globally acclaimed Nation builders and legends?

 

The textile industry appears to be thriving in Nigeria, I may be wrong. Clothes business is definitely serious business especially when it comes to Nigerians. From women programs in churches, to funerals, birthday parties and of course weddings; the idea especially with the more celebratory events is to outdo one another and identify with the celebrant(s). Family members and friends would usually have different outfits and whatever level of commitment exhibited could directly affect the kind of treatment given with respect to food, drinks and souvenirs. This culture is also practiced in our political space where one simply needs to show up in the colors of any party or be seen wielding their emblem to get a seat at the dining table. It is mostly all about interests and self-preservation. Anyone hungry enough at any given time to partake in a state or federal baked pastry only needs to wear the toga of the incumbent to get a share even if it is at the expense of losing all integrity (i.e. if present at all) and starving thereafter. The Alliance for Democracy joined forces with the All People’s Party in 1999 to defeat Obasanjo’s People’s Democratic Party. They failed and had to settle for the southwest states claimed largely on the reputation of the late and former premier of Western Nigeria: Obafemi Awolowo. The same AD then played the ethnic card for the 2003 polls. I still wonder what Obasanjo promised the Abraham Adesanya led party to cause them to suddenly start singing the praises of the man they never believed represented the interest of the Yoruba race. The AD were completely obliterated; well nearly annihilated except for the highly lucrative Lagos state which has since served as the springboard for the now chief defender of the Yoruba race to launch an audacious bid to recover lost territory.

 

Many have ascribed political genius to the incumbent President Jonathan for reclaiming an erstwhile PDP state and the recent impeachment of the former Navy commander turned governor. I believe he is simply utilizing the play book authored by the former president; General Olusegun Obasanjo. This tactic involves utilizing the state resources both human and monetary to entice, intimidate, blackmail or manipulate perceived rivals to alter their fashion sense all in a bid to secure a second term despite clear evidence of non-performance and incompetence. There are reports that the legislators and governors are giving their full support to someone they would not even employ to head their respective personal businesses. They must be doing this because of what they have already benefitted or what they may be planning to do if their candidate gets reelected. I have a feeling that the disgruntled ones amongst them may have struck temporary compromises that could be followed by chair pulling, frustration or actually unseating “Mr. Desperado” when they sense the moment is right; I may be very wrong. The fact that one gets other people to wear clothes made from his/ her selected material or color does not always translate to expression of goodwill.

I watched a news report on Channels TV about the Wives of Army officers who engaged some of their former members recently turned widows. The leadership of the association made up of wives of the top brass of the army were dressed in matching elegant outfits, green and red in color such that the widows were not equally clad in. I wondered to myself how those who were to receive packs of soap, foodstuff and some provisions would have felt in the midst of top class women whose husbands were never going to die again in the service of Nigeria. I thought the entire event did not showcase any form of unity or solidarity with the plight of those who had lost their bread winners most likely following the commands of the husbands of the elite women who had come before them. Would the soldier who are still alive witness this treatment of the widows of their departed colleagues and not sell out for better deals even from terrorists? It is the same practice at the local government, state and federal levels; elected officers who ought to be in the service of the people are seen parading like royalty with their  pathetic subjects scrambling around to do their bidding even if it means trampling on helpless citizens. Government establishments are not also left out in this delusion of grandeur and even supposed pious religious leaders have their stooges readied in their quivers. This frantic hustle for stardom and supremacy is what the citizens get to observe daily till it becomes their ultimate desire; morals, values and ethics soon became obsolete and trashed.

 

Anyone who regularly operates in cyberspace especially on the more socially interactive platforms and Nigerian themed forums would observe that there is already a reprisal of the Nigerian civil war albeit virtual. Nigerians particularly the youthful are torn across ethnic, tribal, religious and political divides. The hypocrisy of all who support the present status quo and who live in denial of our precarious situation is as apparent as daylight. The question I ask is what exactly has bred and still reinforces such animosity despite the attempts to reconcile and overcome our differences. I do not quite have all the answers but I am certain the first answer is that there is yet no consensus on the legitimacy and viability of a Nigerian state. The traces of self-destructive prejudices and bitterness thought to have been wiped out or at worst suppressed over time have been transmitted as dominant or recessive traits to the offspring of Nigeria; those meant to be the future and hope for failed generations in our past. The past have taken the God given resources of the land to corrupt the future; they have denied their progeny of the needed nourishment and shut them out in the dark while they thrived in their insatiable lust and greed. The regular expression of ignorance and senseless rage in this virtual realm numbs the mind most times. I remember my first sojourn to the federal capital city in 2007, I looked with disdain at Abuja and thought to myself how much of a poor photocopy it was of what Lagos was meant to be; Lagos had in fact lost all glory particularly with the many decades of neglect and pollution. It would take more decades for total recovery I presumed. One needs to view the moral and intellectual decay exhibited by our youth and others on social media platforms from a similar perspective. How long would it take to completely salvage this chaos and correct the deliberate, calculated distortion of a potentially unstoppable generation? How is it going to be possible to redeem a Nigerian youth who recklessly berated and described Oby Ezenkwesili on facebook as a “g**damn bigotous f**l” because she suggested that the incumbent government used state funds to hire a foreign public relations firm to launder its image? This is someone that attended a federal college and is a graduate, possibly with a higher degree at that. Anyone who thinks we do not have issues should better arise to the reality that we do have very serious ones in fact.

 

Some of us had the privilege of attending federal government colleges that were established to heal the wounds of the civil war and forge everlasting bonds across differing tribes, tongues, genders and deities. We had color coded houses meant to give identity and allow for healthy competition and teamwork. We did sports, club interactions and had many other things in common. The millionaire’s son became best friends with the orphan; the Igbo, Tiv, Fulani, Egba and Benin boys all ate from the same bowl and played soccer on the same team. We did not care where our prefects came from; it was mainly about duty, responsibility and competence. At the end of the day into adulthood, the fair-skinned Yoruba girl said yes to the once skinny Igbo boy she knew when they were young. I do not believe we need to be homogenous to coexist, we need to understand our differences and quit wondering why others are dissimilar and expecting them to change for our convenience. We should instead harness our positive qualities and amalgamate them into policies and structures that would benefit maximally even the least amongst us.  We can only be as strong as our weakest link; if we think any region is deficient in anything that is where significant attention ought to be directed.

 

Valentine’s Day of 2015 is approaching fast and many title contenders are actively stocking their war chests for the anticipated battle of wits and baboons. Placing a state under siege and having money, Oryza sativa and kerosene flowing about cannot be deemed as free and fair. It is understandable that many have already resigned to another four years of pain and embarrassment under the incumbent who has his foot on the state’s resources while a few others are now more than ever before convinced that it is now the right time to bail from the sinking Nigeria ship. I choose however to have hope yet again for another push. Hope that the ruling party would implode and have more competent people challenge for the party’s ticket. Hope that money or the promise of it would not determine our choices in 2015. Hope that the opposition would not trade again for secret favors. Hope that the issues that divide us are once again relegated to the background, even if what happened in 1993 was an illusion. Hope that I could witness presidential debates that would have a Raji Fasola take on a Goodluck Jonathan (my fantasy pairing). I must be dreaming and need to be drenched in ice-cold water from Antarctica. The incumbent have already placed their enforcers strategically to reclaim lost territory and consolidate Aso rock; we wait to see what transformation a former FRSC corp marshal will bring to aviation. The ”Frankenstein” opposition on the other hand are cowered in a corner and desperate to reprise whatever they did in 2007 to hold on and reclaim lost ground probably at the expense of providing a credible alternative to the abnormal situation that exists now. The incumbent readily point out the lack of ideology and manifesto with regards to the opposition as if it covers up for their own lack and proven case of cluelessness over the past 15years. They are presently giving the president kudos for giving the Lagos-Ibadan expressway a new look considering the fact that the road has been abandoned for many years. Was the road abandoned at any time by the opposition? More important than these Siamese twins, I hope the people will do the needful and at least sound it loud and clear that they are in control to the clique that has held us hostage and in shackles for these many years. The people should be mindful of food packs, credit alerts and souvenirs that would only spell doom for generations unborn.

 

There should be no room for any mistaken identity towards 2015 and regrets subsequently. No stories like “I voted for the man and not the party”; there is nobody without shoes anymore and the fellow who preaches that “common stealing is not corruption” cannot be regarded as humble or driven by love any longer. If individuals on corruption charges, previously convicted or of questionable character can receive state pardons or aspire for public office; Shekau could just about get away with the Premiership of Northeastern Nigeria if only he could dress up in the colors of any of our political parties and stroll into their conventions with his mammoth supporters and arm-twist or better still detonate his way to victory as long as someone’s 2015 dream becomes reality.

Nigeria, it is well with you.

 

 

Jide Akeju
24/July/2014.

THE THINGS THAT WE DO

Growing up in a 3-bedroom flat with four siblings and quite a number of uncles and cousins present at various times can be termed as eventful and a much needed dress rehearsal for facing head-on the harsh realities of life in the future. My banker father and Nurse Mother did their absolute best to ensure that every child in their home got a good enough basic education at primary level. They squeezed through thick and thin to ensure that they met the financial requirements to send ten children to perhaps one of the best private schools in Surulere at the time over a twelve years period. I was very much aware of their sacrifices and strived hard to excel, a task not made easier by having an older sister who seemed to glide through classes effortlessly all the way to secondary school. A visit to the accident and emergency room as a 5year old to the hospital where my mother gave over 30 years of service to have a close to 7cm laceration on my right foot sutured must have contributed to forging in my mind, a desire to help others medically. That scar now appears like the mirror image of the “NIKE” symbol, I should be modeling for the sportswear manufacturing giant now.

Medical school in Nigeria can best be described as an anticlimax for the many successful and not quite successful entrants. If one took a quick survey of the new medical intakes waiting to register at the University of Ibadan a few years ago, one would have realized that a good number of these individuals possessed quite excellent O’Level results and could easily have strolled into any department in any university across the land. Some were most likely local or state champions at their respective secondary schools, ignorant of the meaning of failure and already used to competition and academic excellence. The many lectures (mostly boring), numerous texts to read and memorize; ward rounds truncated by insults and fainting spells, theatre time to observe surgeries and practical sessions inclusive of non-palatable cadaver dissections, autopsies and field trips all combined to further deflate the psyche of the average medical student. A diet made up of biscuits, soft drinks and plenty chewing gum over many sleepless nights and restless days marked our normal routine. The reward was just a piece of paper that read: “The following students have satisfied the examiners…” followed by digits that represented the candidates. On rare occasions, a few students had their numbers asterisked indicative of distinctions while some others would have references in one or more courses. The mixed emotions of rejoicing, disappointment or outright failure despite significant hard work were sometimes very difficult to deal with plunging a few into depression and varying degrees of mental instability. These individuals would have perhaps excelled elsewhere but ended up being weighed down by the huge burden of letting self and family down. Our teachers insisted there was no room for error especially where human life was involved. We needed to be thorough, rapidly executing examination for instant and spontaneous diagnosis even before the results of requested investigations arrived.  The absence or relative absence of a robust reward system for outstanding students coupled with the rat race for placements following graduation contributes in no small measure to discouraging even the excellent ones amongst us.

The uncertainty that follows graduation only serves to throw the young doctor into overdrive, unto a quest for survival and fulfilment. It used to be the mainly the United Kingdom and North America; Australasia, Scandinavia and the Caribbean have now become new havens for the many doctors who have closed the chapters of their Nigerian origins. The doctors who are left in Nigeria are either happy enough to stay at home, too patriotic, older or hustling in preparedness for whatever exit door opens up to them. The distribution of doctors and specialists across the nation is skewed heavily towards the more developed regions and states where teaching hospitals exist. The population and greater awareness of health also allows for more and in a few cases, sophisticated private practices to thrive. The less developed states are left to make do with their few indigenous doctors and the few sojourners that come their way. Some states from time to time depend on volunteers on board Non-governmental organizations, unaccredited imports from North Africa and Asia with the few NYSC doctors that choose to stay. The remnants are either with the Armed forces or the paramilitary agencies.

My first year after medical school saw me launch up North to the capital city Abuja. I remember sleeping on a couch in a living room area for three months due to limited rooms available and preferential treatment given to well-connected individuals. We regularly had a sitting male senator at the time visiting a particular room in the house where we stayed. He came with the number plates of his vehicles covered always and by the time we were done with our internship, we noticed a brand new “Kia Cerato” left behind in the parking area. Abuja was plagued by all sorts of vices ranging from underage drivers, teenage junkies, reckless drivers and suicides. Saving lives and patching up the traumatized was guaranteed. I worked so hard that I weighed a mere 56kg with my trousers loose around my waist, a marked drop from the 64kg that I recorded in my second year at the university. It was due to a combination of unhealthy late eating and outright work overload. I still remember vividly most of the cases of trauma and assault I had to deal with many times late into the night; nights not even followed by rest. I was so engrossed in my work one night at about 2am when the current senate president David Mark alongside his long time army buddy, Tunde Ogbeha passed behind me to see a Caucasian expatriate who had been involved in the car accident which the patient I was attending to was also involved in. He was the driver of the ill-fated vehicle on the way to the airport, no one even bothered to come to his side to give him a word of support and encouragement. No case tore at my heart like that of a very young man in his early 20s who had a huge tumour growing from the right side of his head and which was in fact bigger than his head, he had to support his head with his hand. I was the first to see the lad who had no money on him. My consultant had not seen such a case in his many years of practice and was immediately compelled to count some money from his own pocket to enable the patient take an immediate CT scan. We eventually got a lady correspondent with the AIT to cover the story in order to raise funds for his management and after just a few minutes with him, she could not control her emotions and just began to shed tears. The monies eventually came in and when blood for the marathon surgery planned was required, my immediate boss who is normally steel eyed and devoid of emotions was the first to roll up his sleeve to eke out a pint, a gesture that was soon emulated by myself and a few other doctors involved. I do not want to recount the many other situations that eventually landed me on the physiotherapist’s table. I had been only able to sleep on hard ground and feared that I would live the rest of my life with a debilitating back pain.

My journey to Plateau state thereafter got me to spend almost a year at the General Hospital Langtang for the compulsory national service. I observed that the hospital like many others in the towns that made up the old Benue-Plateau state was commissioned by Joseph Gomwalk during the reign of General Yakubu Gowon in the early 1970s. They deemed it fit at the time to build accommodation for the workers in the staff quarters fully equipped with furniture, gas cookers and refrigerators, the one room that housed the dental clinic I was to run had what was left of a formerly functional chair, a compressor and a dental x-ray machine. This sight reminded me of the Jos railway terminus. The main building had intact wooden and glass structures installed at inception and the commemorative plaque had the name of the then commissioner of transport Tafawa Balewa as the individual who opened the terminus in 1954. The railway system has however waned since then. My clinic lacked sufficient instruments and there was only resource for cold sterilization of used instruments. We always had to improvise and the only few occasions we had electrical power was when the HIV clinic generator was operated to facilitate the management of the many affected patients who came from far and wide. I had to help a frail woman with Ludwig’s angina with the limited tools at my disposal. Not acting or waiting for an ideal situation would only have assured her of an early grave. It was difficult to do the things I did there, there just had to be done. There was a 3month shut out of all Plateau owned hospitals while I was there as a result of issues that could easily have been resolved. Sadly, the people had to bear the suffering. I had the opportunity to go on two volunteer missions to Bali, Taraba state and Benin City. The General hospital in Bali was constructed under the reign of General Babaginda but had by and large become a desolate land. At that period, there was not even a single doctor resident in that town even though the hospital was constructed to have a substantial kitchen and laundry service. The hospital had more or less degenerated to the status of a hostel for sick people. At Benin, we were stationed at the hospital built by and named after the late wife of the then president Obasanjo. We realized that there were two dental rooms that had never been utilized since the large hospital was commissioned. We requested for access but were denied so we had to make do with improvisation to render help to those in need. Two weeks of travelling by road and volunteering opened my eyes to the vast opportunities inherent in our land and people. Unfortunately, these lofty ideas do not register in the minds of our leaders and policy makers. It will only concern them if they have something to directly benefit financially or personally.

I have not had to be involved in so much surgery since returning to Lagos but I will not forget operating into the night  till about 4am with my team to retrieve a bullet from a young man’s broken jaw and patching him up. We were back at an academic seminar before 8am in the morning and this is just what the daily routine of some doctors is like and they do not grumble but get on with it. These doctors may hardly find time for a convenient relationship with their spouses and/ or children. They may never be available to pick up their children from school as they go about trying to help the children of other people who may never say a word of gratitude. We are ever weary of transporting infection to our spouses and children and all we get for all the risk taking is a miserly 5000 naira or some figure slightly higher. Those who call us when we are busy may assume that we are avoiding them; relationships could easily get strained during these periods. Marketers come to sell their products and packages to us assuming that we only need to snap our fingers to conjure up money. When we tell them we have not been paid or do not have enough, they find it hard to believe.

Sports people negotiate huge contracts and oil rig workers get paid all sorts of allowances because they take huge risks and their employers understand these facts. Should it now be difficult for those who are key players in providing befitting healthcare for Nigerians to make basic demands for better working conditions and reasonable remunerations? Is it too much to request for relevant training for certain specialties overseas so that our people would no longer need to storm India and other medical tourism sites for treatment? Is it too much to request for decorum in the administration of the health sector instead of some people promoting selfish agendas rather than demanding for measures that would guarantee quality leadership? Is it not necessary for Nigerians to arise and make concrete demands for their own welfare and for their children? 

The things that we do and must yet do; it goes beyond just watching medical themed series like Grey’s Anatomy and wishing what we see on those sets to miraculously appear. It will require revamping the training and retraining programs at all universities and teaching hospitals; it would require policies that would encourage Nigerian scholars, halt the brain drain and improve the distribution of practitioners and facilities across the nation. The biggest problems of doctors are doctors; we do not require an alliance of joint health workers to add to the menace of those that derive pleasure in sabotaging us. Nigeria worked before and can yet work if only we can retrace our steps and at least believe in the Nigerian state again.

God raise for us selfless leaders from amongst us. Amen.

Jide Akeju

10/07/2014

UNDERCOVER CRIMINALITY?

It has been over one week since I was caught up in the mega "go-slow" along the Ikorodu road on a Friday morning. I had navigated through GRA Ikeja and decided to join Ikorodu road at Maryland en route Surulere.  It is not really surprising to witness snail paced traffic on Lagos roads usually caused by frequently broken down vehicles, usually avoidable accidents, illegal "stop and search" patrols, bad weather and the many crater ridden and gully eroded roads that hardly or never get maintained. The cause of this early morning gridlock was however something different. My first sighting of smoke was when I got to the Anthony area of the road. It was then I realised it was not a wise move to have ignored my initial plan of utilizing the Agege motor road instead. I knew something beyond the normal was happening and had my phone readied  to become an i-reporter. It was only a matter of time for my quick shots of burning BRT buses, stranded commuters with armed and whip wielding soldiers to start trending on Twitter. It would not be an exaggeration to say that I got more retweets and interactions in two hours of mad traffic than I ever had since I opened a Twitter account. Eyewitness accounts and pictures on social media clearly identified the perpetrators of the chaotic scenes that Friday morning so it was rather nauseating to read the press release from the army that put all the blame on "area boys". Have the army become so cowardly to admit that a few erratic men and women in camouflage took laws into their hands to avenge the death of a colleague? Have they become so classless to apologize for the misdeeds of their kind? What indeed is all the masking and cover-up about? Why blame area boys who perhaps have more dignified jobs these days directing traffic or collecting levies from cycle and motor operators? Why have they chosen to deliberately feed the public wrong information and apparently shield criminals in their fold?

I was at the legal department of the hospital where I work last week solely to apply for a new identity card. I had to wait to see the official concerned and could not help but overhear the conversation of two male and a female official in that office. They talked extensively about the deliberate attempts by junior doctors who they helped to gain accommodation in the hospital to deceive them and cause any trouble capable of costing them their jobs. It was later in their discussion that they mentioned that there were other non doctors who also indulged in the pranks. I resisted the urge to engage in their talk until a nurse came in to visit one of the men. She soon realised that I was a doctor and suddenly started to accuse me of trying to reduce the amount paid to nurses and other health workers (not doctors) as hazard allowance. I was shocked and demanded to know the source of such information. I tried though unsuccessfully to convince her that the peddlers of such information were liars and were only trying to cause commotion that would benefit only the peddlers in the long run.

Why would leaders of an association made up of dissimilar unions indulge in spreading error to their members in order to convince them to detest doctors? They say doctors are fighting for their salaries and allowances to be reduced; they tell the public that doctors are selfish and are only interested in monetary gain. They continue to insist that members on a particular grade level in the civil service should become directors which is being resisted by doctors. They claim doctors own private practices and divert patients from government hospitals to maximize income. This mega union is in the first place not homogenous and consist of workers who have varied educational qualifications. How can a pharmacist or physiotherapist convince a hospital worker who has nothing but a senior secondary school certificate to join in a struggle for directorship? Who would eventually get to the grade necessary to qualify for such appointments? The secondary school certificate holder? They included this demands with others such as improved hazard allowance and uniform allowances to shut down a hospital in Lagos for over one month in January of 2014. What is the proportion of pharmacist in a teaching hospital for example? If their association stood alone and decided to embark on a strike action for improved hazard cover (I really do not know how much hazards they face in reality), they are assured that such action would have little or no effect as patients would be readily referred to procure their medications from external sources. This is actually part of the normal practice at most hospitals due to the fact that most in-hospital pharmacies do not quite have a complete spectrum of drugs available at any given moment. Their action would only be effective when they can utilize their foot soldiers to cripple the entire hospital. When new patients or those on appointments arrive, they would meet locked clinics and no records office to open a card for them. These patients leave the hospital assuming that the hospital is shut because doctors are on strike or perhaps because of a deliberate attempt to use the tag of a doctors' strike as cover for their "inconsiderate" action.

It must really be easy and lucrative to run private hospitals in Nigeria with the monthly demands of diesel powered generators and huge taxes. Some doctors have private practices; so do some pharmacists, laboratory scientists and physiotherapists even if they may just consult at the homes of bed ridden or arthritic patients. Some nurses too could have private practices from the comfort of their homes; they only need to acquire a few instruments and charge neighbours a small amount for routine procedures that may not require a visit to an emergency room. It also would not cost much for such to run retail chemist shops. This is like a case of having a beam in one's eye while trying to blow out the dust from another's. This practice is similar to what is practiced in our national political space. The likes of General Buhari are labeled as terrorists and Islamic fundamentalists by "christian" supporters of the present obviously corrupt incumbent. Some citizens follow this trend and have vowed never to vote for the man who they fear is relentless in his goal to transform Nigeria to an Islamic nation; a feat he did not even comprehend when he had supreme power as a military dictator. That is sadly the state of the nation we live in now.

It is not strange that some private hospitals may be better equipped than the state owned institutions. These practices still find it very difficult to meet global standards, the state of our public institutions will not even qualify to be graded with such highly standardized parameters. Why should a demand for upregulation of standards be deemed excessive, selfish and inconsiderate? The chambers of federal legislators and that of the federal executive council get huge budgetary allocation for maintenance and installation of new touch screen gadgets to facilitate voting in the case of the legislators. The low-key news about the commencement of a nationwide strike by judiciary workers was just on the news. In another story during the same broadcast, the Anambra state governor was captured presenting brand new salon cars to judges and senior judicial workers in the state to improve the delivery of "justice" in the state. He also promised to improve on their accommodation and general welfare inclusive of providing new generators. I just wonder if the governor would respond in similar manner if the health workers in the state's employment agitate for better working conditions.

The various governments in Nigeria have perfected the "divide and rule" tactic in dealing with perceived trouble makers. They yield ground to one side at the expense of the other even though both sides claim to have the best interests of the patients at heart. The present NMA strike if called off following any agreements and understanding with the centre will most likely be followed by a counter-strike by the JOHESU to press home their own demands. At the end of this vicious cycle, the health sector would have achieved next to nothing and the centre would have more funds at their disposal to effectively steal which technically is not corruption.

It is really sad when other health workers continue to obsess about hospital consultants who occupy top appointments such as medical director and other top positions. They desire such offices and the perceived benefits that come with them; stereotyping and generalizing all doctors in the process. They never tell the stories of consultants who have to perform surgeries under harsh conditions, doctors who have to tell a patient that his surgery was cancelled or aborted because of power outage or lack of oxygen. They never tell the story of the doctor tossed under the bus by his employers when sued for supposed negligence even though she had a tough choice to make in deciding which case needed more urgent attention. The story of the house officer who spent close to a week waiting in an emergency room for an "emergency" appendectomy due to lack of space or that doctor that spent his entire savings to manage a fractured limb acquired while on duty. It is difficult to forget the sight of watching a colleague go through the psychological trauma and discomfort of taking medications following an accidental needle prick whilst treating a potentially immunocompromised patient or the thought of those doctors who died on the road to or from distant examination centres. They perhaps do not pay attention when doctors rally themselves to raise money for their patients or when they offer their services for free during volunteer missions. They obviously do not regard the doctor who has just lost a spouse but is at work the next day because the patients have appointments; they did not hear that my father passed away on a Saturday and I was back at work on Monday morning after a nearly 12hours journey to see my family.

I do not blame them because they do not know. The doctors do not dwell in the past but simply get on with their jobs. The house officer will use the light from his phone to get a blood sample even if it is at the risk of him pricking himself, the pathologist will continue his autopsy even if agitated relatives of the deceased are outside and threaten to storm his room. A good number of medical directors are very much politicized and have made a harsh of their primary duties which has justifiably attracted resistance and defiance. It is still not an excuse to be unreasonable and distracted from the ultimate prize; a world class health sector. If the university of Lagos had an electron microscope in 1976, why should we in 2014 be begging for routine light microscopes deemed surplus to requirement in many of our institutions? If General Obasanjo on the 17th of November 1976 said that university education would become tuition free across the nation and that tuition and boarding would be free for polytechnic and technical-secondary education; why should we even tolerate an arguably non existent technical school structure and closure of higher institutions for months under a civilian administration? If we had rail tracks and locomotives of near British standard at independence, why should anyone tell us in 2014 to join a train that would take several long hours to kano; a journey that he would take with one of several jets in his fleet?

We have either participated in or encouraged criminality that has now become our creed in Nigeria. It is worse when we disguise it and label others as disgruntled and unpatriotic when in fact we are feeding fat and destroying our conscience in the process.

We need to repent. Absolutely!

Jide akeju.

12/07/2014

GREEN EAGLES AND CHRISTMAS FOWLS.

The super eagles boycotted training the other day and demanded for their allowances both agreed and new demands. Nigerians over the moon that they had qualified for the second round of the world cup since 1998 raised their voices and lambasted the NFF for withholding the funds meant to pay the players who by the way had made fresh demands based on the fact that they made the second round. The Nigerian government also went out of their way to ensure the average players were appeased with the hope that the Brazilian jamboree would continue into the quarters.

Now to the small matter of a nationwide NMA strike which is into the second week now. The doctors who have been saving lives despite the absence of the much needed financial backing commanded by the super eagles have downed tools in demand for better provisions for the millions of super eagles fans who cannot readily jet out to India and the Americas for a quick blood work and liposuction on the one hand and clarification of the relationship between the quarter backs of the health practitioners and the other players (might sound supremacist but that's the truth). The media have sadly not put forward well informed journalists to really investigate all the pressing issues involved and some have volunteered their platforms to greedy stakeholders who readily misinform Nigerians on the real issues of the struggles. These people make purulent statements ranging from calling house officers "baby doctors" to questioning why doctors should even demand for "over sees" (like one of them spelt it in his publication) training instead of despising what we have at home. They do in fact have some valid points which become decimated in the midst of sheer ignorance that they exhibit.

I get to see fellow Nigerians on national TV from time to time begging for financial aid to get renal transplants in India or very critical brain surgeries overseas. Where are the experts and facilities that the JOHESU are misinforming Nigerians about? We see pregnant women who can afford to travel to foreign lands haul their fetus enhanced frames over oceans and mountains to deliver where they think their babies and themselves have a better chance, if not 100% chance of surviving. This in a way drains Nigerian trained and based doctors of credibility but it in fact does not tell the true story of the exploits of Nigerian doctors who endure so much hardship and inconvenience to still save lives and put smiles on the faces of impoverished Nigerians. This does not tell the story of Dr Frank who is ferried on a motor bike in the middle of the night across the desert of Yobe to perform a cesarean section to deliver a baby whose lungs may never inflate until Dr Kemi stays awake all night to manually ventilate due to the absence of basic ventilators and incubators that is basic in those countries where Nigerian mothers flee to. 

They tell Nigerians that the doctors are selfish but these people did not call Mikel selfish for his laboured display in Brazil and audacity to shame the country for a mere 15000 USD. No one is saying that there is no money issue involved but I do not think doctors should go on public forums to start discussing what medical officers, NYSC doctors, resident doctors and those who work in private hospitals earn. They only concentrate on what mega sums they assume hospital consultants earn and "enjoy" and never talk about the responsibilities of such appointments. There is this public assumption that doctors are earning bumper packages, if only the Nigerian people can take time out to ask doctors they know how much they indeed earn. They keep shouting that doctors working in government establishments own or also work in private practices where they divert patients to. There is no law that says doctors cannot own such practices, the truth is that only a small proportion of doctors actually do private practice. The shortfall in the number of available specialists requires a high demand placed on certain experts and the need for younger doctors to earn a decent living requires them to apportion their time to more than one or two practices that require necessary cover. Would a Neurosurgeon whose expertise is scarce be deemed selfish and greedy if he offered service to another centre that may not have one? This duplication of roles can only last a while as it takes its toll on the bodies of those concerned. A doctor's body is not firewood, there is a limit to the bending over that one can indulge in.

Nigerians keep ranting that the doctors' strike is killing Nigerians like Nigerians were not already dying in droves strike or no strike. A quick survey of autopsy cases would cause one's heart to bleed when you read of babies that could have been saved if only just one appropriate ventilator was available to aid their weak lungs. One would read of cases of people who died from gunshot wounds inflicted by robbers or police men, cases of young women that committed unsafe abortions because of the fear of not being able to provide for another child and the five year old who died from tetanus acquired from a broom stick pricking his hand and the ignorance of his parents to seek medical care early enough.

Nigerians seem to have mortgaged their existence for the pleasure of a world cup mediocre showing and have been manipulated to bark up the wrong tree when demanding for better health care. The doctors available in Nigeria are grossly insufficient, so are the nurses and other professionals. The policy drivers are only concerned about self preservation and glorification. They place their stooges over health establishments who although are doctors, spend their time intimidating and blackmailing younger colleagues and reinforcing despicable health care delivery to their fellow citizens; that is if they truly regard them as such. 

The elite corrupt organization FIFA has now in fact suspended Nigeria due to government interference. How I wish the  government interferes positively in health matters on a regular basis. Subsidizing sports, I mean super eagles football is more important to the government than the health and welfare of Nigerians; even the missing children. Like the chief medical director of a certain hospital said recently; "there is nowhere in the constitution where it states that the government shall be responsible for the health of Nigerian citizens, the closest thing to that is that the government shall be responsible for the welfare of her citizens". If welfare of Nigerians translates to funding the super eagles and ensuring Keshi retains his job with better pay, so be it.

God save the federal republic of Nigeria.

Jide akeju 

10/07/2014