Editorial
Nigeria And The Ebola Scare
An injunction placed at the gate of Uyo Magistrate Court in compliance with the indefinite nationwide strike in Uyo last Friday. The strike was however suspended last Saturday.
The death of a Liberian in Lagos said to
have died of Ebola virus has brought
home the fear of the scourge currently ravaging some of the Central and West African countries. It has also engaged the attention of the world and the reason is obvious, Ebola is dangerous.
Ebola is considered to be worse than HIV/AIDS not because it has no known cure or vaccine, its effect on victims is rather fast and excruciating. Infected persons face painful death in days. So far, about 720 persons are known to have died of the virus in Central, Southern and West Africa.
The Ebola virus, classified as a zonotic disease came to limelight in 1976 from forest bats along the Ebola Rivers in Zaire, now Democratic Republic of Congo. It is said to have been transmitted to chimpanzees, monkeys and a few other animals when they feed on infected animals and fruits. Men contract the virus through handling or and eating of infected animals, especially ‘bush meat’ as well as the keeping of games and pets.
Regrettably, Ebola virus has claimed many lives including healthcare providers. Only recently, a frontline medical doctor in Liberia, Samuel Brisbane died of the virus and so did another doctor in Uganda, while an American aid worker, Nancy Writebol was said to have tested positive to the virus. On Tuesday, July 20, 2014 another frontline doctor, Umar Khan reportedly died of the virus in Sierra Leone.
Infected persons exhibit symptoms ranging from diarrhea, bleeding, high temperature, haemorrhagic fever and sore throat among others. Thankfully the Federal Ministry of Health says no Nigerian has been infected with the virus, even as medical experts warn against the consumption of “bush meat”, as well as physical contact with infected persons, by way of hand-shake, sexual intercourse and exposure to wild animals and birds.
The situation has become scary that the corpse of a Nigerian flown home to Anambra State from Liberia raised fears and caused federal authorities to carry out autopsy on the corpse to reassure the people.
We think that more than any other time, Nigerians need to be very cautious as conditions that predispose the population to the virus appear to be everywhere. Nigeria’s close interaction with some countries with the virus is an issue. Also worrisome is the preponderance of slum settlements and a culture that cherishes the “bush meat” delicacy.
Though there are concerns about the spread of the virus world-wide, concerted actions are ongoing to contain and prevent it from overwhelming the population, especially, in Africa. Moreso, the World Health Organisation, WHO and the European Union have put in place facilities and strategies to combat the scourge.
The Tide commends the Lagos State Government for the prompt action following the death of the Liberian. It quickly quarantined the hospital where the Liberian died and identified 47 persons that had contact with the deceased while searching for those on the same flight with him. We also commend the elaborate plan set in motion by the Rivers State Government on the subject.
Already, Arik Air has suspended flight to countries with Ebola record and advised others to do likewise. This the Nigerian government must enforce, even as the recent ban on bringing of corpses from abroad is a move in the right direction.
While we expect citizens to report suspected cases, we believe that this is the time medical personnel and other stakeholders, especially, the mass media should synergise towards providing the needed sensitisation.
There must be effective plan for adequate surveillance on the Ebola disease as well as diagnoses and containment strategy. In as much as it is good to isolate or quarantine infected persons, the authorities must request and confirm health certifications from pet owners and importers of animals and birds into the country.
Perhaps, this is one reason health workers, who have been on strike for so long, should reconsider their stand and go back to work to help save the population.
There are moments in the life of a legislature when plain speaking becomes a public service. Senator Adams Oshiomhole provided such a moment on the floor of the Senate when he accused the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, of manifestly neglecting critical federal arteries in Edo and Delta States, and implored his colleagues to prevail on the Minister to adopt a more equitable and genuinely national approach to road infrastructure delivery. It was blunt, it was uncomfortable, and it was necessary.
The specifics of his complaint deserve restating. Drawing attention to the recent approval of some 20 new road projects despite the parlous state of existing ones, the former Edo State governor lamented that Nigerians cannot travel from Benin to Warri, Benin to Asaba, Benin to Auchi, or Auchi to Okene without encountering severe distress. He alleged a deliberate omission of these corridors from the national budget in the last three years, save for palliative interventions directed by President Bola Tinubu through tax credit arrangements. His question — “What have we done wrong?” — resonates far beyond the chambers of the National Assembly.
We lend our full and unequivocal support to that call. The Auchi-Benin Road, for instance, has been in a deplorable and near-impassable condition for several years, turning what should be a two-hour journey into an all-day ordeal of broken axles, extortionate fares, and despondent commuters. The media have, on multiple occasions, chronicled the suffering of motorists, traders, and students who ply that route. To describe it as a federal road today is to stretch the meaning of the term beyond recognition.
This pattern of sidelining is not confined to Edo or Delta. Even here in Rivers State, the disposition of the Federal Ministry of Works has left much to be desired, particularly along the Eleme axis of the East-West Road. That road, which ought to be a flagship of federal presence in the Niger Delta, has remained in a wretched state for long. Those who use it daily — workers at the Eleme Petrochemical Complex, the two refineries, Onne Port, and the countless ancillary industries — can attest to its deterioration. Work has proceeded in fits and starts without the sustained urgency such a strategic road demands.
The Eleme stretch is not a mere intra-state byway. It is the gateway to the nation’s economic jugular. According to the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing’s 2023 Highway Condition Survey, only about 35 per cent of the country’s 36,000 kilometres of federal roads are rated as being in good or fair condition, with the remainder classified as poor or very poor. The East-West Road, conceived in the 1970s to bind the entire Niger Delta, remains unfinished in critical sections more than four decades after. If it had been treated as a priority, the perennial gridlock, carnage, and economic loss on the Eleme-Refinery junction would have long been consigned to history.
The irony is as painful as it is glaring. The Niger Delta remains the goose that lays the golden eggs. Data from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative [NEITI 2023 Oil and Gas Audit] show that the region still accounts for over 78 per cent of Nigeria’s federally collected export earnings and about 65 per cent of total government revenue. The National Bureau of Statistics [NBS Foreign Trade Report Q4 2024] similarly confirms that crude oil continues to dominate export receipts. By every metric of equity and economic logic, a region that sustains the national purse deserves first-rate consideration in the allocation of infrastructure, not afterthoughts and tokenism.
Road infrastructure is not largesse to be dispensed by favour; it is the skeleton upon which commerce, cohesion, and citizenship hang. When contracts are concentrated in one geopolitical zone while other zones are left to contend with craters, it erodes trust in the federation itself. The World Bank’s Nigeria Development Update [June 2023] estimated that poor transport connectivity inflates the cost of moving goods by up to 40 per cent and costs the Nigerian economy an estimated $1.5 billion annually in lost man-hours and vehicle maintenance. If we profess to be one country, then equity must be the compass that guides key institutions before any project is executed. Development must spread round, not pool in one place as though other regions do not matter.
There is also a grave security dimension that can no longer be ignored. The deplorable condition of federal roads has become a veritable enabler of criminality. The NBS Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey reported over 2.5 million incidents of kidnapping-related occurrences nationally, with transport workers identifying bad road spots as prime ambush points. When vehicles are forced to crawl at 10 kilometres per hour through failed sections at Auchi, Sapele Road, or Eleme, they become sitting ducks for armed gangs. Fixing bad roads, therefore, is not merely about convenience; it is about safeguarding lives.
By his intervention, Senator Oshiomhole has hit the nail on the head and reminded Minister Umahi of a fundamental constitutional truth: public office is held in trust. The Ministry of Works is not a personal estate where contracts are awarded according to whim or political convenience. It is a national institution funded by the collective resources of Nigerians, including the oil and gas rents from the very communities whose roads are now neglected. The Minister must demonstrate balance, transparency, and a pan-Nigerian outlook in the distribution of projects that impact the daily existence of citizens. Selective neglect breeds suspicion, and suspicion is corrosive at a time when the nation is preaching unity, oneness, equity, and justice.
Consequently, the National Assembly must go beyond rhetoric and assert its oversight powers with vigour. Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution [as amended] empower the legislature to investigate and expose any maladministration in the execution of federal projects. If an office holder is not acting rightly, it is the duty of the Senate and the House of Representatives to call him to order. Oversight must not be reduced to budget approval ceremonies; it must translate to field verification, public hearings, and insistence that the Federal Character principle, as enshrined in Section 14(3) of the Constitution, reflects in road awards.
Let the Auchi-Okene, Benin-Warri, Benin-Asaba, and Eleme East-West gangways be restored to motorable dignity. Let priority be given to completing existing, economically vital roads before embarking on new ones. If those who, through their resources, sustain the federation are sidelined in the distribution of tangible dividends, it tells poorly of our nationhood. Bad roads must be fixed, and they must be fixed now, with fairness as the guiding standard.
