The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Lagos State chapter says it has no doubt that the Lagos State government is capable of curbing and stamping out cholera that is currently ravaging the state.
The chairman of NUT, Lagos chapter, Mr Hassan Akintoye, gave the remark on Monday in an exvlusive interview with Nigerian Tribune when he was asked to give situation report about the disease in schools and if there is need for government to close down schools for now so as to effectively contain and stop the spread of the disease, which has already taken some lives and confined some others to hospital beds receiving treatment.
Akintoye declared that the state government is doing everything humanly possible to ensure the disease is tamed and stamped out in no time.
He said his assessment is not based on sentiment nor emotion as NUT is not partisan but on the efforts made so far and also on the past experiences during similar occurences, especially Ebola during Mr Babatunde Fashola’s administration and Covid-19 outbreaks.
According to him, even though Ebola was first reported in Lagos State and the state was also an epic centre of the virus, the quick response of the state government helped greatly in the fight against the virus and its eventual defeat in the country.
“Though, the defeat did not come cheap, the foundation laid by the state government then by putting in place, better medical and health infrastructures across the state including schools had equally helped the state to achieve similar feat during COVID-19 which came as a threat to global community.
ALSO READ: Impending heavy rain, flooding to hit Lagos, Oyo, Osun, 10 others
“So, based on these, I would want to believe that the outbreak of cholera cannot be as challenging to the state government to contain and stamp out like those two more serious cases I had mentioned moreso that Cholera is not a strange disease to us as a country.”
The chairman explained that more importantly on the current issue is the high level of advocacy and sensitisation campaigns going on across the state and other parts of the country and likewise the active involvement of almost all stakeholders including school teachers and parents in the exercise.
He noted that Lagos teachers, for example, are actively involved in sensitising and educating students and members of the public about the disease and their roles to curb it and stamp it out from the society.
He said teachers across schools had also taken it upon themselves to now supervise school food vendors to ensure their foods are safe for consumption and also monitor students to practice hygienic habits including regular washing of hands and avoid of unnecessary body contact.
He said provision of adequate safe water is no longer a problem in Lagos public schools as virtually all of them, according to him, have functional sources of water supply and also standby generators to power them.
“So, it won’t be necessary therefore to close down schools or suspend food vendors because of the disease. I don’t think we have reached that stage, except there is no more vacines,” he stressed.
Akintoye, however, pointed out that the beauty of it all is that students don’t have much time to spend in schools before going on long holiday.
“So, there is no need to disrupt the school calender,” he emphasised.
NIGERIAN TRIBUNE