OPINION: The Nation At It’s Defence!!! By Dr. Onakoya Abdulkareem

Correcting the havoc of the decadence in the Nigerian socio-political sphere is not a task that could be achieved in a few years of democratization as many believe.

The fact that most people in the country are not in their ‘real sense of being’ when commenting on the supposedly controversial issues in the polity is not too far from the truth.

Political figures have turned the affairs of the nation into mere instruments of political sagacity ignorantly bewildering the future of the unborn citizens.

The recent outbreak of COVID-19 has actually exposed some of the ‘political epidemics’ the nation MUST wage war against if at all any meaningful development is envisaged.

Most developed countries and or developing are on high terms of finding lasting solutions to the pandemic with the engagement of the Egg-heads in the ivory towers while Nigeria has succeeded in ‘benching’ ours for lack of proper crisis management techniques.

Even the retired Professors and Researchers have since been called back to the laboratories lately in some countries all in the bid to fighting the war together.

Ireland’s PM in his own capacity as a Medical Doctor volunteered to join the country’s medical team to save the nation. I’m still waiting to see any of our leaders having such a big heart to take up such a good step.

We have enough of such professionals in the corridors of power here at home. In Uganda, Kenya, South Africa and some other countries in Africa, as they observe the ‘stay-at-home’ order, most of their academics are very busy researching into the containment and total halt of the pandemic.

Only two out of about 300 universities in Nigeria (public and private) have actually come up with locally made sanitizers to supplement the efforts of the government. Big applause to the authorities of Bayero University, Kano and the University of Benin, Edo state with such lofty ideas.

This is a time to test our veracity. A time to engage our professors. Time to make use of the upcoming talents we have in the nation – medical and pharmaceutical students.

Universities in Europe and Asia are releasing huge amounts of money for researches to combat the virus. We take less attention to this only to go ahead with the invitation of Experts from China while we have thousands at home doing next to nothing.

Quick to tell you that China relied heavily on the brains in its citadels of learning to fight the outbreak. We all saw the result. The US and the UK are romancing the researchers in most of their higher learning institutions to fight the scourge. Extensions are made to external experts in other countries in this fight. Can’t we borrow a leaf?

A call is hereby made to our leaders if truly the love of the nation is at their hearts to call on our ‘research banks’ (if any) to get back to work and use what the nation has invested in them educationally and technologically to help this ‘sinking ship’ from the further terrible tide.

The government is also called on to ease the tensions orchestrated by both the ASUU and the government for further dialogue to be resumed in order to allow the engagement of these Professors and Researchers for the betterment of our nation.

The government is further urged to release grants and research funds to our health institutions and universities to support the volunteers who are ready to take up the task of creating a rigorous academic stride to fight this virus and other unforeseen circumstances in the future.

This could be another way forward !!!

Dr. Onakoya, Abdulkareem is the Director, Political Dynamics, Lagos, Nigeria.

Email: cheikhabdulkareem@yahoo.com

Tel: +2348026621805

Twitter Handle: @DrOnakoya