Editorial
End Tuberculosis, Now

The soaring prevalence of tuberculosis-related deaths declared in Nigeria annually makes it mandatory for exigent and unyielding response by the government to contain the spread of the disease. There is barely anyone who venerates human life that would not cringe at the news that more than 250,000 Nigerians are extirpated every year by the deadly disease. Yet, it is preventable and, with the right medical intervention, curable.
While joining the rest of the world to mark this year’s World Tuberculosis (TB) Day yesterday, March 24, 2022, the disease has been rightly described as an epidemic, not only because of the deaths it causes in Nigeria but the peril it constitutes to the entire world. Nigeria is positioned seventh among the 30 high TB burden nations and second in Africa. The quandary of tuberculosis in the country has been worsened by drug-resistant TB and the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
As usual, the root of Nigeria’s poor showing is the lack of dedication by the government to fund the programme of detection and treatment of the ailment. The same attitude of nonchalance that has encumbered the fight against other lethal diseases has also been transposed to the TB containment, allowing the illness to take advantage of the apathy to burgeon in Nigeria even when the incidence has witnessed a global drastic reduction over the past 20 years.
Despite calls for enhanced funding for TB control, Nigeria has recorded a 69 per cent ($257.4 million) funding gap in 2020. Of the $373 million required for TB control in the nation in 2020, only 31 per cent was available to all the implementers of TB control undertakings in the country and only seven per cent of the 31 per cent was dispensed by the Nigerian government while 24 per cent of the funds came from donors.
This was divulged by the Stop TB partnership and the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme (NTBLCP) at the 2022 pre-World TB Day press conference in Abuja. The partners called on world leaders, including governments at the national and sub-national levels to step up and triple or quadruple the funding to save lives and end TB by 2030.
Tuberculosis and HIV are strongly linked. Whereas people with healthy immune systems may not fall ill from latent TB infection (when a person has TB but does not have any symptoms), those living with HIV are much more impressionable to active TB (when TB infection leads to illness). The risk of developing active TB is estimated to be 20 times greater in people living with HIV than in persons who are HIV negative.
Worldwide, TB is the 13th principal cause of death and the second primary infectious killer after COVID-19. In 2020, approximately 10 million people fell ill with tuberculosis globally — 5.6 million men, 3.3 million women and 1.1 million children. The baneful ailment is present in all countries and age groups.
Tuberculosis is effectuated by bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that most often affect the lungs. It stretches from person to person through the air. When people with lung TB cough, sneeze or spit, they impel the TB germs into the air. A person needs to inhale only a few of these germs to become infected. About one-quarter of the world’s population has a TB infection, which means people have been infected by TB bacteria but are not ill with the disease and cannot transmit it.
The Millennium Development Goal for tuberculosis is to discontinue the increase in incidence and halve the mortality of the disease between 1990 and 2015. This goal has now been reached on a global scale, although not in the most affected region of Africa. The new target is TB elimination, defined as one case of active TB per one million population per year, which is to be reached before 2050.
Tuberculosis is a malady that affects mostly the poor and low economic population in Nigeria, leaving the patient and households with pestilential financial loss. Many patients are unable to pay for treatment from their income alone but have to rely on loans or dispose of their assets to have sufficient means for treatment. We prompt the government and development partners to demonstrate strong support to the patients.
Following stigmatisation in Nigeria, many people with TB fail to come out candidly to seek treatment. It is for this reason that the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends the directly observed treatment, short course (DOTS) strategy. The technique combines five elements of commitment with increased and sustained funding; case detection through quality-assured bacteriology; standardised treatment with supervision and patient support; effective drug supply and management system; and monitoring and evaluation system and impact measurement.
The DOTS strategy was expanded to all the states of the federation in 1993. About 969 TB microscopy centres were established in 494 local government areas, according to the National Strategy Plan for Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control. Sadly, these centres have largely remained moribund. They must be made to work to reduce infection and death.
WHO, in its World TB observation this year, chose “Invest To End TB. Save Lives”. This communicates the crucial necessity to invest resources to ramp up the fight against the menace and achieve the commitments to end it. Nigeria has to key into the global vision of ending TB by 2030, which is also a component of the Global Goals of Sustainable Development. Early detection and treatment are paramount to prevent spread.
Editorial
Making Rivers’ Seaports Work

When Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, received the Board and Management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), led by its Chairman, Senator Adeyeye Adedayo Clement, his message was unmistakable: Rivers’ seaports remain underutilised, and Nigeria is poorer for it. The governor’s lament was a sad reminder of how neglect and centralisation continue to choke the nation’s economic arteries.
The governor, in his remarks at Government House, Port Harcourt, expressed concern that the twin seaports — the NPA in Port Harcourt and the Onne Seaport — have not been operating at their full potential. He underscored that seaports are vital engines of national development, pointing out that no prosperous nation thrives without efficient ports and airports. His position aligns with global realities that maritime trade remains the backbone of industrial expansion and international commerce.
Indeed, the case of Rivers State is peculiar. It hosts two major ports strategically located along the Bonny River axis, yet cargo throughput has remained dismally low compared to Lagos. According to NPA’s 2023 statistics, Lagos ports (Apapa and Tin Can Island) handled over 75 per cent of Nigeria’s container traffic, while Onne managed less than 10 per cent. Such a lopsided distribution is neither efficient nor sustainable.
Governor Fubara rightly observed that the full capacity operation of Onne Port would be transformative. The area’s vast land mass and industrial potential make it ideal for ancillary businesses — warehousing, logistics, ship repair, and manufacturing. A revitalised Onne would attract investors, create jobs, and stimulate economic growth, not only in Rivers State but across the Niger Delta.
The multiplier effect cannot be overstated. The port’s expansion would boost clearing and forwarding services, strengthen local transport networks, and revitalise the moribund manufacturing sector. It would also expand opportunities for youth employment — a pressing concern in a state where unemployment reportedly hovers around 32 per cent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Yet, the challenge lies not in capacity but in policy. For years, Nigeria’s maritime economy has been suffocated by excessive centralisation. Successive governments have prioritised Lagos at the expense of other viable ports, creating a traffic nightmare and logistical bottlenecks that cost importers and exporters billions annually. The governor’s call, therefore, is a plea for fairness and pragmatism.
Making Lagos the exclusive maritime gateway is counter productive. Congestion at Tin Can Island and Apapa has become legendary — ships often wait weeks to berth, while truck queues stretch for kilometres. The result is avoidable demurrage, product delays, and business frustration. A more decentralised port system would spread economic opportunities and reduce the burden on Lagos’ overstretched infrastructure.
Importers continue to face severe difficulties clearing goods in Lagos, with bureaucratic delays and poor road networks compounding their woes. The World Bank’s Doing Business Report estimates that Nigerian ports experience average clearance times of 20 days — compared to just 5 days in neighbouring Ghana. Such inefficiency undermines competitiveness and discourages foreign investment.
Worse still, goods transported from Lagos to other regions are often lost to accidents or criminal attacks along the nation’s perilous highways. Reports from the Federal Road Safety Corps indicate that over 5,000 road crashes involving heavy-duty trucks occurred in 2023, many en route from Lagos. By contrast, activating seaports in Rivers, Warri, and Calabar would shorten cargo routes and save lives.
The economic rationale is clear: making all seaports operational will create jobs, enhance trade efficiency, and boost national revenue. It will also help diversify economic activity away from the overburdened South West, spreading prosperity more evenly across the federation.
Decentralisation is both an economic strategy and an act of national renewal. When Onne, Warri, and Calabar ports operate optimally, hinterland states benefit through increased trade and infrastructure development. The federal purse, too, gains through taxes, duties, and improved productivity.
Tin Can Island, already bursting at the seams, exemplifies the perils of over-centralisation. Ships face berthing delays, containers stack up, and port users lose valuable hours navigating chaos. The result is higher operational costs and lower competitiveness. Allowing states like Rivers to fully harness their maritime assets would reverse this trend.
Compelling all importers to use Lagos ports is an anachronistic policy that stifles innovation and local enterprise. Nigeria cannot achieve its industrial ambitions by chaining its logistics system to one congested city. The path to prosperity lies in empowering every state to develop and utilise its natural advantages — and for Rivers, that means functional seaports.
Fubara’s call should not go unheeded. The Federal Government must embrace decentralisation as a strategic necessity for national growth. Making Rivers’ seaports work is not just about reviving dormant infrastructure; it is about unlocking the full maritime potential of a nation yearning for balance, productivity, and shared prosperity.
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