In 1999, I stumbled on  some information about the Ministry of Health which somewhat astonished me with regard to the campaign against malaria.

The sum of money allocated for the fight against the disease was stated in one column and in column where the expenditure was to have been stated was blank. This was quite startling. It would have been rather normal if a sizeable amount or all the allocation had been expended, even without anything to show for it.

Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu Health Minister

But that such a provision had been made and totally ignored was, to say the least, “un-Nigerian”, if you will pardon the coinage.

I was a bit more sprightly in those days than now, and so launched out on an enquiry as to why nothing had happened to the money, nothing at all. It hadn’t even been stolen, or “misappropriated”, if you like. It had simply been ignored—or could it simply have been overlooked?

My enquires slowly revealed a reason that made me reel with laughter. The allocation had not been touched because it was not particularly needed. Those who might have taken control of it did not seem to be interested because they were being adequately serviced in other ways. They might not have been particularly honest, but their philosophy of service was definitely not imbued with the spirit of greed as the “operators” of the civil service have proved to be, especially in very recent times.

Where were the” extras” which kept them away from the allocation coming from? Well, it turned out that the money was actually meant for the research that would lead to the eradication of malaria. But there was a very powerful lobby set against any success in that area, and it seemed it had been able to prevent any headway by simply turning the attention of those concerned in other directions. At first it sounded so weird, but it sent me wondering why indeed there had been very little impact made by way of a vaccine, or drug, or any significant, systematic undertaking aimed at eradicating malaria from Nigeria.

I published an article about it in this very newspaper at that time. I decried the fact that the business of anti-malarial drugs was confined to the production of remedial medicines that did not really seek to cure the patient but relieved the symptoms and pain caused by the disease over a period. It would indeed appear that they were all similar in chemical content since most of them were of the a common origin. Several of them were, in fact, unabashedly the same, so that the same drug was sold under different names—or brands. The whole thing had the faint odour of a double exposure. The drugs were declared obsolete after a while, but the manufacturing of antimalarial drugs went on from strength to strength. Anytime the drugs appeared to be getting less effective, a new brand would be launched with all the marketing strategy you could imagine. They were identifiable some twenty years ago from the “-inine” suffix of the names … you know, quinine, livaquine, quinacrine etc.

A lot of Nigerians, who escaped an early death, were left to nurse themselves on all sorts of pills into their graves. But the pharmaceutical firms grew fatter and fatter. They were diverting  the attention of the researchers away from serious work by luring them from fruitful endeavours, so much so that the money provided for the work was not even noticed. But now, it would appear that a lot of money has been coming in officially, but is still being utilized to discover nothing of any particular benefit in the eradication of malaria. This time, all that the pharmaceutical companies have to do is blandly offer more tablets with new names.

A sound solution should have been found to the problem all these years, with all the scientists that we boast of. Even if they are not capable by themselves of ridding this country of the scourge of malaria, they can learn from other parts of the world where the evil of mosquitoes has been totally suppressed. The argument that these disease-bearing insects are found in mangrove swamps, which abound in parts of Nigeria, no longer holds in the face of the situation in a place like Brazil where mangrove swamps also flourish, but where the lethal spread of malaria has been all but overcome. In fact, it was announced a few years ago that a vaccine had been discovered against the disease there. We do not seem to have taken any advantage of that facility. It is also known that the Chinese do have a very good remedy  which the Americans chased around before they discovered it on the shores of the Potomac in Washington, DC. That fact was also published here years ago, but what has been the follow-up from the Ministry of Health and its tribe of researchers? There was some heavy breathing in one of our numerous, perennially striking, universities sometime ago, when some excitement was created about a “discovery”, or “breakthrough” in the fight against malaria. But, like our public inquiries, it seems to have flared brightly, noisily, and gone to sleep. What we are left with are new slogans and new designs in mosquito nets—and a smear of Chinese medication.

But all this campaign about new types of drugs and mosquito nets really gives me a pain.

Mosquito nets as a deterrent against malarial infection are as old as the hills. It is an ineffective method, cumbersome to install and impracticable to maintain. The campaign itself is thus wasteful and only provides further avenues for another chapter of the unending scam in the management of public funds. Those who are in charge, as well as we who only watch and turn away our eyes, know that it is no more than a charade that is played out at the cost of human lives. The scandal of the stolen pension funds may be more open, but it all comes to the same thing in the end— human suffering increases as bank deposits boom.

On the other hand, the problem of polio is almost solved even if, with Afghanistan and Pakistan, Nigeria is reckoned to be among the few countries where the disease is still considered endemic. The campaign here has been very successful though it still has to continue apace. But in the case of polio, as it is well known, a vaccine has been found to combat and destroy the virus. All that has to be done is to apply it orally. It wasn’t discovered here, but has been very useful to the health of the young ones as it becomes more and more accepted and popular. However, we should not wait for some other scientist to discover the vaccine against malaria for us.

I am confident that Nigerian scientists will find a way, a scientific and efficacious means, of combating malaria and defeating it if they strive to. We have the brainpower in this country. A sincere and serious research into the leaves and roots we brew to produce the effective herbal potions which have served us for years on end, is sure to put a halt to this killer disease in no time at all, if only we would put our acts together.

One of the “experts” who are so good at telling us how devastating malaria has been to the well-being of so many people, without proffering any realistic measure of how to quell the rapacity of this killer-disease, recently dared to call the herbal alternatives to the myriads of the pills and capsules we are saddled with, “concoctions”. As it is usual with his type, he offered nothing as to how they could be improved. It is enough that he condemns it. I have forgotten his name. It shall not be remembered. But any physician, pharmaceutical researcher, or scientist who can at last provide a lasting and effective remedy to the scourge of malaria in this country, will never be forgotten. He will have his name indelibly engraved on our hearts for ever. Immortality waits.

Echoes: I like your piece on “monkeys and baboons. “ But consider the Nigerians who live in the Northern part of the country, who also feel that General Buhari is also threatening them to either support him or be prepared for another round of mob attack. ALL OF THESE POLITICIANS ARE FIGHTING TO CONTROL THE  RESOURCES AT THE CENTRE. Let us make the Centre unattractive so as to reduce the tension. (Abdul Gunu – 08155555336)

Then the monkeys and the baboons will all be one!

Time out.