Seeing Is Believing!

L-R: Chief Gani Fawehinmi, All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) Presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, and ANPP’s Lagos State gubernatorial candidate, Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi, at Fawehinmi’s house... yesterday

Yea! Your eye is not deceiving you, this is Chief Gani Fawehinmi Endorsing Buhari, and Tokunbo Afikunyomi for Lagos state Governor. This image was published by Thisday online of 19/03/2007

Medical care abroad for Nigerian leaders By Uzoma Gbulie

I HAVE always marveled at the state of ruin the Nigerian health system has fallen to. I cannot claim first hand knowledge - at least not in the last five years - but I do avidly monitor news articles about the goings on in Nigerian hospitals and indeed Nigeria as a whole. And having trained and practised in Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), I do have a baseline for comparison.
With the nation now focused on the up-coming elections, an eye-opener to the state of our health system is the fact that two prominent contestants - for the number one position no less - have recently been flown abroad for medical attention:
* Governor Yar'Adua the PDP aspirant who was treated in Germany for complications for renal disease.
* Vice President Atiku Abubakar just recently flown to the UK for a knee injury.
Much as I feel no ill-will towards either man, I think this speaks volumes of how our current and intended leaders view our own country and its health care system. Both individuals in question have access to the highest available level of care in the country - including the doctors in the State House and the touted National Hospital Abuja - yet sought succour in European health facilities.
My view is this: You cannot keep running away from the garbage in your own back yard. Our leaders past and present have treated the issue of healthcare in Nigeria like a step child only because they know that they can fly out of the country to receive medical attention elsewhere.
Nigerian doctors and nurses are found the world over. Here in the United States I daresay we comprise at least 30 per cent of all foreign health care workers - rivalled only by the Indians and Asians. The majority of these providers practise outside Nigeria not by choice, but because the environment in the country remains unfavourable. In 2007, the basic facilities needed for tertiary care are lacking in the country, and there is no initiative - from government nor the private sector - to improve upon what we have.
And even when doctors or other health care professionals resort to strikes to protest non-payment of salaries and benefits, our government turns a deaf ear - again only because the leaders have other options.
As Nigerians, we are unfortunate that we have a short memory. We fail to realise that society and infrastructure are inseparable, and what we do today has ramifications for everyone else as well as for ourselves in the future - hence when Gen. Abdulkarim Adisa died - after being flown to a hospital in the UK - it takes not a great mind to infer that his death was avoidable.
The auto crash he was involved in could have been avoided if the roads were in good condition (General Adisa was at one time Minister for Works and Housing). Urgent medical attention within the 'Golden' hour following his accident would probably have saved him - not an intervention days later - but where are the medical facilities needed?
Our own first lady died following complications from plastic surgery in Spain - yet another example of our dependence on foreign health care facilities - and yet there is no guaranteed salvation therein. Every so often even such care is inadequate and unfortunately the ultimate price of death is the result.
Nigerians die everyday - for reasons that in the rest of the world have ceased even to be acceptable excuses. Whenever there is any large-scale accident or explosion it highlights the absence of even basic emergency care: ambulances, emergency personnel, fire services, even the availability of common water. It is only when there is such a mass casualty incident, or when a relative or prominent individual dies, that we acknowledge these gross inadequacies of health care delivery (or the lack thereof) in Nigeria.
But being Nigerians, we mourn, we forget and then we move on - with no sustained effort at correcting the problem.
My prayer is that sometime soon we will realise how we harm ourselves by not addressing important issues in health care, as well as in education, basic amenities, power supply and industry in Nigeria. And until that day comes, the leaders will continue to erroneously seek attention abroad for such insignificant tests as plain X-rays, the common man will continue to die because he cannot get basic medical attention - neither for cerebral malaria nor after a road traffic accident, and Nigerian-trained doctors and nurses will continue to provide care in ungrateful foreign countries because they see no way to come home. And this only because of the uncertainty, frustration and dissatisfaction such a move would portend.

• Dr. Gbulie is Chief Resident - Surgeon, Howard University Hospital, Washington, DC. This piece was published in the Guardian Newspaper of 18/03/2007

Nigeria: Vips' Health - When Charity Begins Abroad...

I am sure you are all aware of the vice president trip to the UK on a minor medical treatment. The editorial below says it all, when are we going to kick this bunch of shameless politicians in Nigeria out of power . Power To The People (PTP)

Read On.....

This Day
EDITORIAL of ThisDay Newspaper March 18, 2007Posted to the web March 19, 2007
Lagos

Against the background of what seems a season of injuries and sudden illnesses for presidential candidates of major parties in the upcoming elections in Nigeria, the state of the nation's medical establishment comes under a sharp focus. Even more, Shaka Momodu examines how the failure of a national health delivery vision has turned foreign countries into medical Mecca for Nigerian political leaders - even for minor ailments...

First, it was the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate and Katsina State Governor, Alhaji Umaru Yar'Adua. A little over two weeks ago, Yar'Adua who arrived Abuja from Kano was said to have collapsed in his house from exhaustion and was subsequently flown on a presidential jet at about 8.30pm to a specialist hospital in Germany through the presidential wing of the Abuja International Airport.

The Katsina governor who suffers from a kidney condition, made his first public comments about his health last month when he declared: "I am fit and healthy. I will invite them (opponents) to a game of squash. If they can play 12 straight sets with me, they are welcome." In the last couple of weeks, the hitherto reclusive governor has criss crossed the country on campaigns and had been in Kano and Abuja within the last 48 hours to his medical incident.
But the PDP National Secretary, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, in Lagos, described Yar'Adua's medical condition as requiring no more than "routine medical check-up."

According to Maduekwe, "Our candidate in the general election, His Excellency Governor Umaru Yar'Adua, took time off today from what has generally been a grueling
national campaign schedule for everyone, to present himself for a routine medical check up at a clinic in Abuja.

"In full consultation with his personal physician, a decision was subsequently taken today that the process of medical investigation could benefit from facilities overseas at this early stage of the campaign since more weeks of a challenging campaign still lie ahead."
At press time, Yar'Adua is back in Nigeria and is on the political stumps again - in obvious good health.

He is firing from all cylinders. But some 24 hours after he returned to the country, Vice President Atiku Abubakar took his turn to fly to a London hospital after a reported fall in his private gym at the Vice Presidential Lounge at Aso Rock Villa where he was said to have torn a knee ligament.

Notwithstanding that the fall was described as a "mild domestic accident", Vice President Atiku Abubakar was flown to London on the presidential Jet for surgery on his knee after President Olusegun Obasanjo had called to wish him well. Interestingly and incidentally what comes off as a temporary truce between Obasanjo and Atiku came a day after the VP had written Senate President Ken Nnamani, drawing his attention to what he described as moves by the President to derail the transition programme.
The Vice President who had chattered a private plane for the trip traveled on a presidential jet instead.

Obasanjo made the jet available after he was informed of the Vice President's accident by his chief of staff. According to the media adviser to the Vice President, Garba Shehu, the President made the Presidential plane available for the Vice President's trip after he was informed of the accident involving his deputy and the need for him to have immediate surgery.
Gleefully, they announced to the public. "We had already chattered a plane for the trip but when the president got wind of it because we have to get landing right through the Chief of staff, he called the Vice President and offered him the use of the presidential plane."
The issues..
.
The emerging consensus of analysts is that the extant national health sector situation apparently commands zero confidence by the country's leadership themselves. This scenario could then explain why after eight years in the saddle, conceptualising and driving a health delivery policy, a key member of the presidency - the vice president - would jet out of the country to London for medical attention after tearing a knee ligament during a gym workout.
Further, the fact that another key personality of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party and its presidential flag-bearer had to be flown to Germany for a 'medical checkup' is a stinging indictment on the eight-year presidency of the Obasanjo administration.
Many other prominent figures both in political and business field have availed themselves of this course.

It could be recalled that participants at the Nigerian National Health Conference (NHC2006) held at Abuja between November 28 and 29 2006 succinctly captured the nightmare that the country's health sector is in.
Samplers: "The Nigerian Health System is dysfunctional and grossly under-funded with per capita expenditure of US$9.44 on health (World Bank, 2005); Nigeria still has one of the worst health indices in the world and sadly accounts for 10% of the world maternal deaths in child birth whereas she represents 2% of the world population, as at year 2000."
And more..."The national health management information system is still weak thus the country lacks an integrated system for disease surveillance, prevention and management; Key social correlates of ill-health including hunger, poverty, illiteracy, lack of clean water, poor sanitation, poor housing, gender disparity and unemployment are still prevalent; There is disconnect between policy making process, research activities, and ownership of research agenda by key stakeholders."

According to Dr. I.O Ogunbekun, "Excessive bureaucracy and a dearth of skilled management have crippled health services in Nigeria over the past ten to fifteen years, despite an administrative structure which allows for adequate decentralization of the decision-making process. Overdependence on tax-based funding has further threatened the survival of these services. Innovative management, coupled with greater efficiency in health sector spending and the introduction of risk-sharing arrangements could, however, bring about considerable improvement in the quality of publicly provided health care."
Some years ago, the late maximum ruler, General Sani Abacha, while announcing a coup and trying to justify the sack of the civilian government by the military, described the nation's hospitals as having degenerated into mere consulting clinics under the ruling civilian class. Today, it's obvious Nigerian hospitals are back to the consulting clinic status. Most of the competent and experienced doctors to consult are no more available. They have escaped from the nation's harsh economic conditions and the pervading general insecurity.
Elite Conspiracy?

The political elite, whose negligence has led to the parlous situation in the health and other sectors usually jet out of the country to seek medical attention in foreign countries rather than bringing the health care in the country to the required efficient standard. The utter neglect of the sector continues because the ruling class always has alternative in foreign countries where the health sector is accorded priority attention. Unfortunately, many of them end up dying in the foreign land. This fact has been demonstrated in successive upper class deaths abroad. The nation's two excellencies could be said to be lucky.

Today, as far as health matters are concerned for this ravenous privileged class charity begins abroad instead of home. Against this background one can attempt to understand why a torn ligament by Atiku would warrant a junket to a London clinic. Torn ligaments are common conditions sustained by Ajegunle boys in Lagos while playing street soccer. None has been known to have flown abroad for treatment. Not too long ago, frantic efforts were made on how to fly out the embattled former governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Dieprieye Alamieyeseigha for medical attention. It is assumed that no hospital in Nigeria has the capability to attend to his ailment and that of other members of the elite class. This explains a major source of avoidable drain in the country's foreign exchange earnings over the years.

In the face of this often frivolous health-related junkets, quite a number of Nigerians are pitching for an outright ban on such foreign trips. But the question is can such a restriction really be imposed to stop the privileged class from enjoying this exclusive foreign medical attention?
Another dimension in many cases is the unending foreign trips for medical attention is just a camouflage for members of the political class to stash their loot in foreign banks away from the prying eyes of the deprived and hungry poor who constitute more than 90% of the population.
Some say such a law would serve the overall interest of Nigeria and Nigerians. If the ruling elites refuse to accord required attention to the health infrastructure and institutions in the country, it is better they also face what the rest of Nigerians are facing. Like the masses, they should stay here and possibly die here. There is no doubt that Nigeria has the resources required to bring the nation's hospitals to any world standard if there is indeed some sincerity.

How possible is it that no hospital in Nigeria can treat Atiku's knee injury? What is the qualification of his personal physician who at the slightest and most frivolous pretext recommend travel abroad for medical treatment? If they can't treat a swollen leg or torn ligament how can they treat more serious ailments? Or is there a hidden motive for these frequent junketing abroad?
Ironically, 95 per cent of the people they want to vote for them can hardly afford two meals a day.

The vulcanizers on the road side, tailors, mechanics, recharge card sellers and the very ordinary people on the streets, and all those who cannot afford to buy travel tickets let alone chatter a plane to fly abroad for more serious ailment die everyday in the country. Atiku has been in government for eight whole years and yet no hospital in Nigeria can treat his knee ligament. It is indeed a shame.

Happy Birthday and Many Happy Returns Mr President

Happy birthday mr President, 70 years old is a long way, though I don't know if people like me can live long enough to reach that age as I do not have the money to travel abroad for medical treatment nor do I have money for my 3 square meal, this is however compounded by a pitiable state of our health care delivery system. Mr president , How much is a tin of Gari,I bet you don't know.

In 1966 , when you and your colleagues plunged the nation into war, that makes you to be only about 30 years old then, perhaps that was the main reason we fought that senseless war that killed over 1 million Igbos and thousands of other Nigerians, it was just a quarell between a bunch of 30 years old military officers.

Have you heard about the health care workers strike in parts of the country?, you probably did, hundreds if not thousands of people will lose their lives because of this strike that I am sure from your own perspective is caused by unscrupulous individuals within our healthcare system.

After all our hospitals are well funded and equiped.

Happy Birthday Sir and please enjoy your anniversary afterall you will be to the funeral of a lot of Nigerians who are years younger than you even as I am writing this some are either dying of hunger or from accident which is a result of bad roads and policies that is if they are not beign roasted alive from one of those pipeline explosions.

Hip hip hip Hurray! Many happy returns of your years, not many of the same results we have had over the years.

This same message goes for all our past military leaders , police and custom bosses.

BY
Oppressed Nigerian

Adedibu's Interview, an eye opener

Fellow Nigerians, this video is an insight into the problem with Nigeria.

Please watch it and let me know what you think.

I saw it on nigeriaworld.com the best Nigeria News Website.

Adedibu Interview

If you think Adedibu is making his comment on Obasanjo up, read what Obasanjo said at a campaign rally in Ibadan as reported by thisdayonline.com on 03/07/07 in reference to Adedibu's thuggery.

“Baba is like a dry fish that cannot be bent. We have to manage him. He can't be reformed. It is his experience that we need. He is not God or an angel. He has his shortcomings but if we must correct him, it has to be in the secret not in the open. “We should not hesitate to tell him his weak and good points. If he does good, we should appreciate it and if he does bad, we should be diplomatic in telling him and not in the public but in the secret."

Calling Nigeria From Abroad

For those of us calling our relatives back home it is quite frustrating if you happen to use any of the calling cards, from experience I have had in the past with this cards I prefer using New cards as they are introduced because I found out this is when they are still good, this is the time when 30 minutes actually means 30 minutes, after a while you no longer get the number of minutes promised for the value of your card.

My wife uses an online service called pennytalk, it was good at first but now when I called I really don't like the quality of the call, I don't know if this is a general thing but using it to call Ghana and Nigeria has been a very unpleasant experience for me. Most of the time, it is either you can't hear the other party or they can not hear you.

If anyone know the best card to use to call please post it here for other readers , make sure to mention your city state & country and why the card is good. We need to make these companies accountable for the kind of service we get from them.

I am working on a list of companies in my area and should be posting them soon.