It’s embarrassing Nigeria’s still among countries with polio – Mark

By JOSEPH ERUNKE

ABUJA — SENATE president, David Mark, said it was embarrassing that Nigeria was still being ranked among countries with polio pandemic.

He also blamed states and local governments in the country for not doing enough to complement Federal Government’s efforts at arresting the disease.

“One of the countries in the world today where we still have polio is in Nigeria and it is a very embarrassing thing for us. I hope that we are doing something about it,” he said.

Senator Mark, who yesterday spoke during debate on a motion on polio, regretted that in spite of the fact that the Federal Government was providing vaccines for immunisation of people against both polio and measles, state and local governments were redundant at playing complementary roles.

After contribution from senators on the issue, the Senate, therefore, in a resolution, asked the Federal Ministry of Health, the National Orientation Agency and other relevant agencies to intensify sensitisation and awareness campaign throughout the country with a view to getting people embrace the vaccination against the diseases.

The motion, “Urgent Sensitisation and Awareness Campaign, Supply of Vaccines to Measles affected Areas”, was sponsored by Senator Danladi Sankara, PDP, Jigawa North West and 28 other senators.

“Why can’t the state governments on their own, do anything? This, to me is something that should be done at the Local government level if things are working properly.

“If not indeed, the Federal Government’s concern at all, vaccines and immunisation are things that are carried out at local government level.

“The state governors themselves must be very concerned and very worried that these things are happening. It is not a matter of coming to blame the Federal Government that they are not supplying vaccines. Even on their own, they should be able to arrange for this routine immunisation and vaccination,” he charged.

Senator Mark, while regretting that people had said much about the polio and measles pandemics in the country but acted little to stem the situation, charged senators, especially those from the north to undertake enlightenment campaigns in their constituencies on the need for their constituents to embrace the vaccination against the diseases.

He said: “People have talked about it but nobody has acted on it. But there is very little we can do as legislators; if you go home and talk to your people and you go away, and they give them the vaccines and don’t take it to the field, you can’t go and do it yourself.

“The bulk of this is at the doorsteps of the state and local governments and I hope that after this motion, we will be able to get the committee on health and ministry of health to try and persuade state and local governments to ensure that this routine immunisation is carried out and that vaccinations are given to those who ought to be vaccinated.”

He attributed the continuous existence of the diseases in the country to what he referred to as lack of dedication by those in leadership positions to fight the menace.

“In spite of the fact that we know what the problems are and what the issues are and what the solutions are, why have we not been able to do it?

I think that’s where the problem is, and it boils down to whether we are dedicated enough or whether we even want to do what we are supposed to do routinely”, he said.

He said those who were carrying out false campaign against the vaccination were doing it on political purpose even as he noted that some were ignorantly embarking on the campaign against the pandemic.

“No doubt that people go about deliberately misinforming the ignorant in the society about the consequences of routine immunisation or vaccination.

“Well, some use it for political reasons. If you look at the states that are affected currently, it’s unfortunate that it is more prevalent in the northern states. I think that all of us from the northern states must have the courage to go back to our constituencies and educate our people that this is the right thing for them to do and that it is the right thing for the family”, he said.

Earlier, while defending his motion, Senator Sankara observed that the outbreak of the measles in some parts of the north was as a result of excessive heat for the past two weeks.

He noted that 36 kids have so far lost their lives just as he said about 3,588 children aged between nine months and three years were on admission in various hospitals in the Northern parts of Nigeria.


Culled from Vanguard