Nigerian Newspapers: Key Advocacy Calls | Thursday 23rd January, 2025

Nigerian Newspapers

This roundup of Nigerian newspaper headlines highlights some pressing issues and the urgent advocacy calls they warrant.


1. ‘Doctors begin three-day strike in Abuja’ – Punch

The residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) might want to mark their calendars: doctors are officially on a three-day strike.

Why? Because, apparently, paying salaries and allowances for life-saving work is a ‘luxury’ the FCT administration thinks it can skip. In case you were wondering, your tax money seems to be busy funding everything but health care.

This is not just a strike. This is a warning shot. Today, it’s three days. Tomorrow, who knows?

Our Take: The Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, should clear the unpaid salaries, allowances, and other demands due to medical doctors. Lives are on the line, and the clock is ticking.


2. ‘Lassa Fever: Health worker infected as NCDC confirms 143 cases’ – Premium Times

If this development were a play, it would be titled A Tale of Preventable Catastrophe with the usual cast: overwhelmed health care workers, underfunded facilities, and indifferent authorities.

Our Take: Lassa fever is a hemorrhagic viral disease primarily transmitted through contact with food or household items contaminated with rodent urine or feces. In other words, our national epidemic is fueled by preventable filth and systemic neglect.

While the NCDC proudly notes a marginal decrease in the Case Fatality Rate (CFR) from 16.4 percent in 2024 to 15.4 percent this year, one wonders if that is cause for celebration or a grim illustration of how low the bar has been set.

We call on the NCDC to coordinate with local governments to prioritise awareness campaigns in high-burden communities. The agency should ensure that health care workers get adequate protective gear.

For the federal and state ministries of health, enough with the reactive firefighting. They need to invest in preventive measures like rodent control programmes, improved sanitation infrastructure, and consistent public health education campaigns. Prevention is cheaper than treating the aftermath, isn’t it?

Finally, and this is for every citizen, take hygiene seriously. Clean your environment, store food properly, and seek medical attention at the first sign of symptoms.


3. ‘Youths Scoop Fuel from another Faulty Tanker’ – Daily Trust

Nothing screams ‘we learned absolutely nothing’ like a group of young people flocking to the scene of yet another tanker accident, a few days after nearly 100 lives were tragically lost in Niger State.

In Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, Wednesday became a masterclass in reckless disregard for safety, as people rushed towards danger instead of running from it.

Our Take: Let’s call this what it is: a societal failure. Not just on the part of the youths risking their lives for curiosity or spilled fuel, but also on the part of authorities who have yet to implement meaningful public safety education, enforce traffic regulations, or ensure timely disaster responses.

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) must enforce strict regulations on fuel tanker safety and maintenance. They should also demand accountability from transport companies whose vehicles fail basic safety checks.

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