WITH a total of 438 Nigerians already lost to the outbreak of Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) as of April 5, this, definitely, is not the best of times for the Nigerian health sector and indeed Nigerians who are saddened by the death of their fellow compatriots. Of more serious concern, however, was Mr. Abdulaziz Yari, the governor of Zamfara State’s attribution of the epidemic to God’s anger. As far as Governor Yari, the chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) was concerned, the type C strain of meningitis which is currently wreaking havoc in the country is God’s own way of afflicting the affected persons in order to make them to pay for their sins. This is an eggregiously false statement that is bereft of any modicum of creativity. It is equally untrue that the type C strain of meningitis is alien to the meningitis belt in Nigeria. That lie was told most probably to cover up covert official negligence and inability of the government to be proactive.
It is not clear what the governor’s intention was for making the somewhat thoughtless pronouncements on meningitis but if his intention was to hoodwink the people and shift attention from the seeming absence of good governance that culminated in the current sordid state of affairs, he did not succeed. Many eminent persons, including some leading northern elite, have consigned Yari’s thesis to the dustbin. However, if Governor Yari’s perspective actually stemmed from his reading and understanding of the very serious matter at issue, then there is a problem, and a grave one at that, because Zamfara State is the worst hit by CSM ravaging the North-West. It clearly indicates that the governor, like many leaders in this sociopolitical space, is bereft of ideas on how to bail out his people from the grave situation they are in.
To be sure, Governor Yari is entitled to his opinion that God plays critical roles in the affairs of men and as a leader of his people, he has a duty to admonish them to be morally upright and practice their religions as prescribed in the holy books. But to attribute the meningitis outbreak to the moral and religious lifestyles of Nigerians is obtuse, lazy and smacks of gross insensitivity. Perhaps it should not be really surprising because Yari’s theory is in tandem with Nigerian leaders’ penchant for invoking the name of God and religion to hoodwink the people. Nonetheless, the governor’s perspective on meningitis stands logic on its head because the majority of the dead are children. Could it be that the children’s sins were more grievous than those of the adults? Not a few Nigerians are sometimes filled with consternation at the way the mind of some leaders in this clime works. Oftentimes, they leave the substance to chase shadows. They ignore the proverbial leprosy to concentrate on the treatment of ringworm.

The truth is that CSM infection is intricately linked to the standard of living of its victims. It has been established that it is a disease that is prevalent among the poor and those with very poor standards of personal and environmental hygiene. In particular, those who live in small, crowded, hot and poorly ventilated environments are known to have a high predisposition to CSM infection. And a cursory look at the Human Development Indices (HDI) in Zamfara State shows that they are below the national average in virtually all areas. Even the national average is nothing to write home about when compared with the numbers from civilised climes. The outbreak of CSM and the attendant fatalities simply exemplify the level of poverty in the land and especially in the CSM belt.
It should be noted that this intolerable level of misery is in turn attributable to the leadership problem which many believe is the cause of the impoverishment of the people. This humongous and debilitating challenge is what the leaders should address and seek a sustainable way of fixing, rather than taking solace in the patently retrogressive and fatalistic refrain that ‘what will be will be.’ It is rather preposterous and demonstrates ingratitude to submit to fate over a challenge that God has adequately empowered the leaders to overcome.
The governor of Zamfara is enjoined to roll up his sleeves and work harder to genuinely provide quality leadership that will culminate in improved standard of living for the people, and to properly enlighten Zamfara citizens on the imperatives of good hygiene. He should run a sincerely proactive and responsive government that makes provision for the rainy day. That way, the governor will find that God was not responsible for the outbreak of CSM. And in the same vein, the solution to the CSM epidemic and other challenges confronting the state resides largely in the government and its people, and not in any unseen power.
It is not clear what the governor’s intention was for making the somewhat thoughtless pronouncements on meningitis but if his intention was to hoodwink the people and shift attention from the seeming absence of good governance that culminated in the current sordid state of affairs, he did not succeed. Many eminent persons, including some leading northern elite, have consigned Yari’s thesis to the dustbin. However, if Governor Yari’s perspective actually stemmed from his reading and understanding of the very serious matter at issue, then there is a problem, and a grave one at that, because Zamfara State is the worst hit by CSM ravaging the North-West. It clearly indicates that the governor, like many leaders in this sociopolitical space, is bereft of ideas on how to bail out his people from the grave situation they are in.
To be sure, Governor Yari is entitled to his opinion that God plays critical roles in the affairs of men and as a leader of his people, he has a duty to admonish them to be morally upright and practice their religions as prescribed in the holy books. But to attribute the meningitis outbreak to the moral and religious lifestyles of Nigerians is obtuse, lazy and smacks of gross insensitivity. Perhaps it should not be really surprising because Yari’s theory is in tandem with Nigerian leaders’ penchant for invoking the name of God and religion to hoodwink the people. Nonetheless, the governor’s perspective on meningitis stands logic on its head because the majority of the dead are children. Could it be that the children’s sins were more grievous than those of the adults? Not a few Nigerians are sometimes filled with consternation at the way the mind of some leaders in this clime works. Oftentimes, they leave the substance to chase shadows. They ignore the proverbial leprosy to concentrate on the treatment of ringworm.

The truth is that CSM infection is intricately linked to the standard of living of its victims. It has been established that it is a disease that is prevalent among the poor and those with very poor standards of personal and environmental hygiene. In particular, those who live in small, crowded, hot and poorly ventilated environments are known to have a high predisposition to CSM infection. And a cursory look at the Human Development Indices (HDI) in Zamfara State shows that they are below the national average in virtually all areas. Even the national average is nothing to write home about when compared with the numbers from civilised climes. The outbreak of CSM and the attendant fatalities simply exemplify the level of poverty in the land and especially in the CSM belt.
It should be noted that this intolerable level of misery is in turn attributable to the leadership problem which many believe is the cause of the impoverishment of the people. This humongous and debilitating challenge is what the leaders should address and seek a sustainable way of fixing, rather than taking solace in the patently retrogressive and fatalistic refrain that ‘what will be will be.’ It is rather preposterous and demonstrates ingratitude to submit to fate over a challenge that God has adequately empowered the leaders to overcome.
The governor of Zamfara is enjoined to roll up his sleeves and work harder to genuinely provide quality leadership that will culminate in improved standard of living for the people, and to properly enlighten Zamfara citizens on the imperatives of good hygiene. He should run a sincerely proactive and responsive government that makes provision for the rainy day. That way, the governor will find that God was not responsible for the outbreak of CSM. And in the same vein, the solution to the CSM epidemic and other challenges confronting the state resides largely in the government and its people, and not in any unseen power.
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