From Uche Usim and Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, yesterday, lamented that over 3,000 primary health centres across the country have been taken over by weeds.
Mustapha, who made the disclosure in Abuja at a public presentation of a book, entitled: “A Sociology for Medical Practice,” written by Manassah Daniel Jatau, a retired deputy comptroller general of Customs in charge of the Modernisation, Research and Economic Relations Department, advised that concerted efforts must be made to revive them and generally improve the health sector.
He said there was an urgent need to begin planning for the ballooning population of Nigeria as the projections of future population figures were scary.
“In the next few years, Nigeria will become the third most populated nation. The rate at which we spend our resources going for medical tourism abroad is alarming. The thing about COVID19 is that it is a leveller. It affects everybody and nobody is safe until everybody is safe.
“So, it is in their interest that they are creating the vaccines and ensuring everyone takes it. I am glad we are interrogating our health system in Nigeria.
“If we take away the semblance of civil authority from the local government, we will continue to see ourselves in the critical crises we face. Corruption, at every level, has dwarfed and thwarted every effort of growth and development of the country.
“Corruption abounds in every aspect of our lives, including churches and mosques. We have drifted as a people. We need a paradigm shift in our perception of corruption. It is not only when you steal money that is corruption. Abuse of power, impunity in place of work are all corruption. I believe if we can imbibe the content of this book, we will bring some healing to this all important sector,” the SGF said.
Mustapha said he knew the author of the book from a very youthful age, adding that many issues were raised in the book with a compelling need to address them.
Jatau said the book was inspired by the realisation that health is too important to human beings and that leaving it to biological, chemical and pharmaceutical sciences alone will leave numerous health conditions unresolved.