The university must be the guardian of reason, inquiry, and philosophical openness, offering rational and timely criticism in areas of public policy, social and economic life. The purpose of the university must go beyond awarding degrees and conducting research. The university must be the catalyst for the socio-economic advancement and improved health of the society, and for the health and economic security of the nation.
At this point, let us take a critical review of where we are as a nation. Is Nigeria a developed nation or an underdeveloped nation? We all know we are not a developed nation, and we will vehemently resist being classed as an underdeveloped nation. We prefer to be inoffensively called a developing nation. The truth is that no nation, whether developed or underdeveloped, is static. We are all developing, none is static. You are either forward marching into the progress of a better life, or sliding backwards, retrogressing, but not static.
There is no doubt that human development is anchored on relevant science and technology, and development in human society is a many-sided process. Development, which may be defined as the capacity to live a more satisfactory life through exploiting the resources of nature, is not limited to any one group, country, or continent. In our individual way, we have strived to live a better life through the exploitation of our resources. How successful we are in development, depends upon the extent to which we understand the laws of nature, that is, science and on the extent to which we put that understanding into practice by devising tools, that is, technology. The level of understanding science and the level of applying the understanding of science, separate the “developed” from the “underdeveloped”.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) provides an annual report – Human Development Report which includes the Human Development Index (HDI). The HDI is used by the UN to measure the progress of a country. The HDI examines the state and status of health, education, and incomes. The HDI for health is measured in life expectancy, while the years of schooling for adults and expected years of schooling for children of school entering age is the measure for education. The wealth component (or a decent standard of living) is measured by Gross Domestic Income (GNI) per capita ($ PPP) instead of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita ($ PP). The minimum and maximum limits are $100 (PPP) and $ 8,478 (PPP)
Now let us consider where Nigeria stands in the HDI ranking over the years. Countries are categorised into four levels of human development. These are the Very High Human Development (VHHD), the High Human Development (HHD), the Medium Human Development (MHD) and the Low Human Development (LHD). Nigeria has sat comfortably in the middle of the LHD category. The good news is that our dear country moved one step up from rank 161 in 2012 to 157 in 2013 and 2014, and since 2015, has continued the downward trend into the lowest of human development. In 2019 and 2020, our HDI scores were 0.540 and 0.539, with rankings at 160 and 161 respectively out of 189 countries.
Nigeria is a country that celebrates any movement irrespective of direction! Nigeria’s motion in progress reminds me of the dancing style of some groups in Nigeria. As they dance, they rise and fall, twist, and shake; with one leg firmly and immovably planted on the same spot, they circle round and round to the beats of the drums and guitar. In that state, for the whole evening of dancing and sweating, they remain in a state of continuous motionless progress.
Allow me to digress to bring the face of the LHD index. Let us see in flesh and blood what it is to be a citizen of a LHD index country. Let us first hear from outsiders. On January 16, this year, the Nigerian Tribune carried a report on the travel advice given by the U.S. embassy to intending visitors to Nigeria. Let us now see the images of our country 60 years after independence. Please go with me on a visit to view different aspects of daily life in Nigeria and see how we have neglected science and remain in such a poor state.
The Nigerian society is largely uneducated and disunited, divided by differing tongues and tribes. Under the influence of poor governance, ordinary Nigerians are unaware of their rights and are ignorant of the role that science and technology play in achieving socio-economic transformation and development. Our culture plays a major part in the way we are governed and how we run and live our life. We must anchor our national development and progress on the highly valued components of our culture – integrity, honesty, transparency, hard work, trustworthiness, accountability, diligence, and humanness. The way many of us behave – politicians and citizens, you will think we came from and are nurtured in the culture of the kingdom of Armageddon
As if the situation was not bad enough, then came COVID-19 the evasive, invasive, elusive, and invisible one, to expose the underbelly of the depravity in our society and our decadent nation. The virus followed up with its variants that were more transmissible, more evasive, and often more virulent. As of January 24, 2022, almost two years after the first COVID-19 case arrived in Nigeria on February 27, 2020, we had recorded 252,428 COVID-19 cases and 3,126 deaths.
We experienced three COVID-19 waves between February 2020 and November 2021. A fourth wave started early December 2021 and is waning out. The first wave of the epidemic lasted from February to October 2020, during which 62,835 cases were recorded over a period of 252 days, an average of 252 cases per day. Over the 212 days from November 2020 to May 2021, of the second wave, 103,630 cases were reported, an average of 583 cases per day. The third wave was from June 2021 to November 2021, with only 40,187 cases reported (daily average of 210 cases). So far, 38,114 cases have been reported in the fourth wave which began in December 2021
The predominant COVID variants responsible for the different waves were Alpha for the first and second waves, overtaken by Delta during the third wave, and in turn, replaced by Omicron in the ongoing fourth wave.
Testing for COVID-19 virus infection took off on a slow start with only three laboratories able to run PCR tests for the virus. Currently, there are over 140 private and public health laboratories testing for COVID-19, all over the country, with each state having at least one testing laboratory. During a national emergency, such as with the COVID-19 outbreak, intervention facilities such as laboratories, should be brought under national control and coordination, with little interference from state governments. We have not succeeded in testing adequately because many of the laboratories are under state control and the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) is often at odds with states on the issue of regulating laboratory activities. Some states during this outbreak, refused to submit their results to the NCDC, and in some cases, they stopped laboratories under their control from performing tests, either directly on order or by not providing resources for laboratory activities, including non-payment of allowances for laboratory staff or by not providing reagents and supplies. We need our laboratories to be working as a collaborating and coordinated network. In addition, it has been difficult for the NCDC to efficiently coordinate national genomic sequencing.
To be continued on Monday
Professor of virology, Tomori, delivered this convocation lecture at the University of Medical Sciences, (UNIMED), Odosida Campus, Ondo City, recently.
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