The Circle of Thoughts and Ideas, an International Forum on Contemporary Thinking and Ideas, has questioned Nigeria’s preparedness for a global pandemic.
The group expressed this doubt in Calabar at its 2024 Annual Forum, which brought together professionals from diverse fields of human endeavour.
Speaking at the forum, Roland Ndoma Egba, a professor of surgery and consultant surgeon, said the government lacks the political will to do what ought to be done.
“The world is aware there will be another pandemic but what is our preparedness?” he asked.
“Everybody knows what ought to be done to prepare but the government is not ready to do so.
“It’s not that the knowledge is absent but the facilities are not available and also the political will to prepare against these emergencies.
“Nigeria was producing vaccines in the 1970’s but over the years this has been abandoned due to the absence of political will.”
He said America promised to send a man to the moon within 10 years and achieved this and India also became the health capital of the world within 10 years because their then leaders had the political will to do so.
In his presentation, Professor Francis Bisong advocated serious protocols that will come up with sanctions against those who create diseases.
He also said Africa has enough public health experts to contain pandemics like the COVID-19 and they should be properly engaged.
Also speaking, a technology expert, Okim-Alobi Oyama made a strong case for the use of technology in addressing contemporary challenges in the country.
He also advocated reasonable use of Artificial Intelligence and coding that reflects local peculiarities and languages.
Earlier, Professor Nchor Okon, the Convener of the forum said the world faces unprecedented complexities, explaining that the Circle of Thoughts and Ideas (CTI) hopes to challenge the status quo, inspire new thinking and foster connections that transcend the forum and contribute to lasting, positive solutions.
