By Lateef Adewole
Two days ago, I watched a video clip of Steve Harvey, the black American Tv Show host, which, I supposed, was done in commemoration of the 50th independence of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In that video, he showed some not too distance past of the desert country, where people travelled on horse back in the desert-filled cities. The ancient buildings, the narrow untarred roads, the wretched-like lifestyles of the people and so on, were featured. Everything reeks of poverty.
Later in the video, he then showed the new country as they have it today, with Dubai as its flagship. All advancements which can compete and be compared with any other, anywhere in the world. The magnificently and opulently built skyscrapers that dotted that land scape. The seemingly magical structures, the sprawling airports, the breathtaking road interchanges connecting beautiful road network, the healthcare system, the space programme and many more. I learnt that they even replicated the seven wonders of the world in The Falcon City of Wonders in the country.
Mr. Harvey then asked: “who does this in 50 years?”. A kind of rhetorical question. He still answered it himself: leadership! What made all the difference was leadership of that formerly backward country. A leader, with vison, emerged at some point and decided to do what is right by his people and the result is what we are witnessing today. In actual sense, it did not take 50 years to do so, that magic transformation took place only in the past two to three decades.
I remember how the same Dubai was said to have come to Nigeria to borrow money in the 70’s. Nigeria was so rich that our leaders at the time decided to “dash” them the money they needed instead of giving them as a loan. Today, comparatively, where are the two countries between Nigeria and UAE? Isn’t it wonderful that Nigerians now troop to Dubai for succour, greener pasture and survival? I doubt if our leaders would not have borrowed from Dubai or approached them for loan at this period we are on borrowing spree. This has been the story of Nigeria, in relation to many countries of the world, its so unfortunate.
Before I will br castigated, I am not saying Dubai or UAE has no bad sides too. I have once had someone argued that they only showed the beautiful parts to the world. Yes, that’s PR. Where is your own beautiful side? Moreover, with the level of visits across the world to Dubai, if all that were fake, such could not have been kept secret for too long. It only means that the poor and bad sides are still significantly smaller than the beautiful side. Whichever way, we should do our own first and showcase them also as PR!
I am not focusing mainly on Nigeria in this write-up but on our continent, Africa, as a whole. I once read a joke where it was narrated that God sent an angel to go to the world, to share and deposit natural resources in different parts of the world. That he had gone to some parts in Europe, America, etc, and deposited their assigned portions, as he was going in Africa, he hit his toes against a stone and fell, making all the remaining resources he carried which were beyond Africa’s portion, to pour down on African soil and he became sad.
The narration went further that he then reported to God about the incident. Guess what they say God’s response was. That the angel should not bother himself because, the people who will live on that continent will never value all that resources deposited in excess on their soil. That they will not make use of them for the benefits of the people. Isn’t this the truth? That was a bitter but truftful joke! It is disheartening that it is the truth.
I have always feel sad about the stunted growth of Africa, if at all there is any. The coming of Coronavirus last year exposed this further. It came to a head for me some days ago as I watched African leaders “trying” to blame their failures on others from other continents and countries, as far as failure to get Covid vaccines is concern. They lamented the inequitable distribution of vaccines globally, with African countries specifically getting the short end of the stick. They called it “vaccine iniquity”.
Or, how does one explain that most African countries are yet to reach 5% vaccination while some countries in other continents have started admninistering a booster jab (third round)? In Nigeria, the total vaccine dosage available is about 10.1 million. Fully vaccinated population is around 3.6 million. That’s a meagre 1.8% of our 200 million population. If we need to get to about 70% vaccination for herd immunity, that is a journey of 68.2%, translating to 136.4 million people, requiring 272.8 million vaccines for double jabs. Where will that come from when it has been a struggle to even get the small quantity that we got? Yet, total global vaccine dossages is about 7.81 billion and fully vaccinated population is 3.33 billion (42.7%). Can we compare? Who took these vaccines? Hoarded by privileged countries, to be administered to their citizens alone, at the detriment of other people in a place like Africa? That’s immoral!
That’s why I wondered what the problem of government is with that threat to workers to take vaccines or face sanctions. In many states, despite the general aparthy to take it, it is sometimes a struggle for people who showed interests and visited to take theirs. Sometimes, it involved going the “Nigerian way” (person wey no understand, na im sabi). If 25% Nigerian population decided to take vaccines, that’s 50 million, needing 100 million jabs, will all these government officials making threaths not “japa” (run away) when they get overwhelmed? We hardly set our priorities right.
Countries which try to coarse or passuade their citizens to get vaccinated already have excess provisions for them. Where we are still struggling to vaccinate 5%, some countries are talking of booster jabs. That means, substantial population have taken the first and second jabs. They are now talking of a third one. This is in the world where a continent like Africa is still battling with the first jab for less than 10% of the population. Isn’t that discriminatory? Isn’t that unfair? Isn’t that wicked? But, who are we to blame? Ourselves in Africa, particularly our leaders.
What made all the differences in that UAE story and booster jab matter? Quality, visionary, selfless leadership. Not this cancerous ones we have in most African countries now. It is ironic that it is not that the continent is bereft of quality people who could hold their own anyhwere in the world, but unfortunately, such persons never get to the leadership positions. The system is already rigged against them. Where such happened, the system will still hamper them, tie their hands and legs in chains (literall) to prevent them from functioning.
Afterall, even in many of these countries getting all the accolades for successful invention and production of Coronavirus vaccines, many doctors and scientists involved are from Africa. Some are from Nigeria, to be specific. So, it isn’t lack of cerebral persons who could perform the “miracles” but lack of system to make them do it!
In some instances where there were local solutions to local and or global problems like this pandemic, the inventors will be discriminated against, both at home and away. Some scientists in Nigeria have made claims that they have presented some possible vaccine candidates requiring further testing and clinical trials to government, Federal Ministry of Health, but months after, they never got any response. We know how things work with government.
Such efforts are not appreciated, and government officials will not be interested since it will not involve procurement. Do you know the huge amount of hundreds of millions of dollars that is being spent to procure the foreign vaccines? That’s the real deal for many in government. Supporting local discoveries, inventions and possible production is tantamount to blocking their sources of illicit funds. They will never support it. Why would will still be begging for vaccines after 22 months that the virus broke into the country and the continent? And we are crying that the “oyinbos” are not allowing us access to the vaccines produced in their own countries, like a child whose sweet was taking away from him or her. How ludicrous and stupid!
The coming of a new mutated variant of the Coronavirus brought a new twist. By the way, why must anything horrible be associated only with Africa? From findings, this new Omicron variant did not emanate from Africa. Some say it is from Belgium. Others sources claimed it came from Netherlands. But, every country in Europe especially, have started shutting its doors against African immigrants because of Omicron. The focus has been on South Africa and Botswana, which were accused as the origins but that claim may not true. What nonsense is that? Nigeria is also already being included by some countries for travel ban. Two cases have just been discovered in the country few days ago.
Unless and until Africa and their leaders wean themselves of this “feeding bottle” lifestyle as a continent, depending on the rest of the world in what is majorly a “master-slave” relationship, when in the actual sense, all the natural and human resources we need to advance are here, we may never make any meaningful progress, not only in production of our own locally made vaccines but in all aspects of our life.
Didn’t the news of China taking over the international airport in Uganda, Entebbe Airport, go viral days ago? This happened because of default on their debts to China. It was denied. But if true, wouldn’t that be the beginning of recolonisation or slavery in Africa? China was accused of doing similar thing in Zambia few years ago. China must have felt cheated with the slavery and colonisation that ravaged Africa for some centuries as they were also victims. They could not participate in the “sharing of Africa”. That may explain their aggressiveness in penetrating Africa, using facade economic routes, many of which are dubious and suspicious.
They offer seemingly generous loans to dumb, irresponsible African leaders, who stake the sovereignty of their countries to take such loans, many of which are laddened with corruption. Same corrupt practices that China executes any accused of. They encouraged here just to be able to administer the “Uganda treatment” in many African countries.
When many of these loans are properly evaluated as to what they were used for, the projects on ground are not commensurate with them. Substantial parts would have been frittered away. Some countries would not be able to account for them. Where some physical projects are executed, like the rails in Nigeria, we cannot feel the consequential impacts of such humongous speding within our economy.
Since all the billions of dollars borrowed to fund projects have entered into Nigeria, how many industrialised cities or communities have been built as a result? How many big manufacturing companies have emerged to serve such billion dollar infrastructural projects investments? How many Nigerians have become legitimately successful and rich from providing support services to the projects for which the billions of dollars were borrowed? What has been the economic impact of these loans to Nigerian economy? Only emotion-clouded people do not want or like us to query these borrowings.
Many of these loans have added little or no economic value to Nigeria. How does a sovereign country collect a loan from another country with slave-bounded conditions? Most, if not all these loans from China included terms that are absurd. Like, all equipment, most materials to be used, most workforce to build the projects, and management of the infrastructures, have to come from the same China. They loan with one hand and collect with the other. Who does that? What then is left for the debtor country as benefits? The rail system that may not be able to liquidate the debt incurred to build it due to bad management, inefficiencies and corruption in the system? Which could also help China to take possession of any collateral once the country defaults in its obligations. This is the template. They know African leaders and people are corrupt and self-centred.
In all, while we all need to be more vigilant and take more precautions as continously recommended by the health institutions and professionals saddled with managing the pandemic locally and globally, by wearing our face masks, regularly washing hands, maintain good hygiene, take vaccine and stop the spread, local solution efforts should be made a policy and be pursued by the Federal government. Indegineous scientists should be supported to solve our problems. Enough of beggarly attitude from our leaders in Africa.
With how providence has minimised the deadly impact of the virus in Africa, contrary to the initial projections and expectations of the rest of the world about Africa, we already have a leverage. We had the least casualties in terms of infection rates and consequential deaths globally. That should count for something and prong us to step up in handling our situation, instead of going cap-in-hand begging others for vaccines, which we will pay or already paid for. That is idiotic.
May God continue to protect us and guide us aright.
God Bless Nigeria.
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