August 24, (THEWILL) — The story read like fiction. But this is Nigeria, where things often appear stranger than fiction. Last week, Citizens of Igbokofi in Yewa North Local Government Area in Ogun State celebrated to no end during the official opening of a two-room health care centre in their community after many had lost their lives for seemingly endless years because they could neither afford hospital bills in medical facilities in neighbouring Benin Republic nor summon the courage to cover the distance on time to seek medication for life-threatening ailments.
A woman narrated how she lost a baby and her womb. Shocked by the incident, many other unfortunate pregnant women reportedly fled to Benin to avoid a similar fate.
An elder told a Punch reporter, who had tracked the sad story over a long time to create sufficient awareness that woke the authorities to their responsibility, how his own son’s wife died some years ago while being rushed to the nearby village during labour.
In the end, it took the donation of land by the community to match the promise by the LGA Chairman, Olusola Akinbode, to bring the medical facility to reality. After the jubilation, another challenge cropped up. That is the herculean task, according to the reporter, of “navigating the bushes and lonely pathways to Igbokofi through Ijoun on a motorcycle, where only a few farmers on their way to their farms were encountered on the road.”
At the end of the occasion, the overjoyed citizens reportedly pleaded with the Chairman to fix the bad roads so that development could be brought to the community. The local government chairman replied that he would take their request to Governor Dapo Abiodun.
The Igbokofi story illustrates the sorry state of medical facilities across rural areas vis-a-vis urban centres in Nigeria. As the third tier of government, Primary Health Care centres are managed by LGAs. In reality, medical facilities are either non-existent or are simply in a sorry state, where they exist, facing severe systemic challenges.
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Available data show that only about 20 per cent of these crucial community facilities are fully functional, plagued by chronic underfunding, staff shortages, lack of basic utilities like power and water, and deep infrastructural gaps. Yet about 70 per cent of Nigerians make PHCs their first point of contact for health needs.
Apart from basic facilities that are lacking in the centers where they exist, the near absence of qualified personnel like doctors, nurses and midwives has turned them into decorative emblems of a failing health care system. Here is another round of electioneering when the candidates at all levels are expected to woo the electorate with promises.
Health, among other people-centered promises, should be a priority. Overall, the rural areas need to be opened up and the people there empowered to develop their potential collectively and contribute to governance. Local governments are where the majority of Nigerians live. It is high time the authorities begin to prioritise their welfare beyond the mere appeal to their voting strength as grassroots during every election cycle.
