By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
A Virologist Professor Oyewale Tomori has called for a total revamping of the cultural attitude of Nigerians as a way of tackling pandemics in the nation.
Tomori gave this advise yesterday in Abuja at a 2 Day National COVID-19 Summit organized by the Presidential Steering Committe on COVID-19 to fashion out workable solutions towards ending the pandemic and build back the economy better.
Tomori who called for a cultural change by Nigerians said, “No matter what plans we formulate to respond to pandemics and disaster, we will surely fail, if we do not seriously address the issue of culture and environment.”
He emphazied that Global Health Security must be built on the foundation of National Health Security and the National Health Security must be laid on the foundation of individual or personal health security.
“COVID is not the enemy, Lassa fever is of minor league, Yellow fever is yellow livered, Monkeypox is child’s play, Cholera is a dehydrator, our underdevelopment and backwardness rest on four pillars.”
The Virologist said, “The real enemies of Nigeria, but lack of patriotism, the main destroyer of our nation; self-interest, the burial ground of our national interest; corruption, the executor of our orderly development and shamelessness, the destruction of our national pride.”
“Over the last 60 years, these diseases, all affecting our culture, have become the combined endemic demolisher of the foundation of our individual health security which has shaken the foundation of our national health security and in turn determined our irrelevance as a nation in contributing meaningfully to global health security,” he stressed.
