NewsNot Funny: Zamfara Governor Attributes Meningitis Outbreak To God’s Anger As Death...

Not Funny: Zamfara Governor Attributes Meningitis Outbreak To God’s Anger As Death Toll Increases

SAN FRANCISCO, April 04, (THEWILL) – The Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari, has opined that the ongoing outbreak of Type C Cerebrospinal Meningitis in some parts of the country is God’s way of showing his anger against Nigerians for turning their back on him.

He made the remark while speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammdu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Tuesday.

Zamfara has been the worst hit since the outbreak of the disease with 215 persons confirmed dead in the state from the 336 who have died from the disease across Nigeria according to figures from the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control.

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“What we used to know as far as meningitis is concerned is the type A virus. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has carried out vaccinations against this type A virus not just in Zamfara, but many other states,” he said.

“However, because people refused to stop their nefarious activities, God now decided to send Type C virus, which has no vaccination.

“People have turned away from God and he has promised that ‘if you do anyhow, you see anyhow’ that is just the cause of this outbreak as far as I am concern

“There is no way fornication will be so rampant and God will not send a disease that cannot be cured.”

The Zamfara governor said relevant organisations across the globe had announced that there were only 5 million doses of the vaccine against the Type C virus. “That is not enough for Zamfara people alone, not to talk of Katsina or Kano,” he said.

He said Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Health has only 50,000 doses of the vaccine, out of which 20,000 was given to Zamfara state because of the high rate of the disease in the state.

“Our focus as a state now is to continue treating those who are infected with the disease, but as for vaccination, it has an international dimension.

“We have information that Nigeria will get the highest percentage of the 5 million doses available now. Apart from WHO, other International bodies such as the Bill Gates foundation and UNICEF are also currently focusing on how to tackle the outbreak,” he said.

The governor expressed the hope that the outbreak would eventually be tackled, but, said “the most important thing is for our people to know that their relationship with God is not smooth. All they need to do is repent and everything will be all right.”

Asked if only the people need repentance and not leaders, Yari responded saying “leaders are doing their best by enlightening the populace and working assiduously for the good of all.

“Your major assignment as a leader is to convey the message; you cannot go from house to House and arrest offenders for instance,” he said.

THEWILL recalls that Medical doctors, under the aegis of Nigeria Medical Association, Zamfara State chapter, had last weekend accused the state government of failing to prepare for the outbreak of the disease despite warnings insisting that the government is still not responding well to contain the outbreak.

Yari however disagreed with the insinuations that his government failed to act accordingly to address the outbreak saying he called an emergency meeting comprising all top state and local government officials and traditional rulers towards stamping out the disease.

“The meeting came out with a strategy to be adopted and the money required to deal with the outbreak and a lot of work is going on,” he added

Meanwhile, Abdullahi Shinkafi, the Secretary to the Zamfara State Government, at a news briefing in Gusau on Tuesdaysaid additional 1,864 cases had been recorded in the state since the outbreak of the disease.

Shinkafi, who is also the Chairman of the state’s Committee for the Control of Meningitis, revealed that 1,344 people have been trained as vaccinators and they have been divided into 224 groups of six people each adding that the committee was mobilising communities in the state, through the Local Government Meningitis Control Committee, to create more awareness on the disease.

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