Tomori scoffs at the allegation of racism instead of tackling coronavirus
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
A professor of virology has blamed Abuja’s negligence for the Omicron travel ban slammed on Nigeria by Canada and the United Kingdom, dismissing the racist bias trumpeted by Muhammadu Buhari’s propaganda machine.
Oyewale Tomori told the national COVID-19 summit organised in Abuja on Monday by the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) that Nigeria is on Omicron red list because the federal government “condoned errors of commission”.
Tomori was the Regional Virologist for the World Health Organisation (WHO) Africa Region from 1994 to 2004 and served as pioneer Vice Chancellor of Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State between 2005 and 2011.
He first sounded the alarm in October this year that many Nigerians who travel with fake coronavirus results are being tested positive on arrival at their destinations abroad.
Buhari, as usual, neglected to tackle the problem and stop the embarrassment.
On December 1, Canada banned flights from Nigeria and nine other African countries. On December 4, the UK added Nigeria to its red list after Nigerians who arrived in that country tested positive for Omicron, a new variant of coronavirus.
__________________________________________________________________
Related articles:
UK and Canada ban flights from Nigeria, others over Omicron
UK quarantine costs inbound travellers additional £2,285
Omicron COVID-19 variant surges 330% in South Africa province where it was first detected
__________________________________________________________________
Lai ignores science, plays racism card
Buhari’s Information Minister and lie merchant, Lai Mohammed, held a press conference in Abuja on Monday where he ignored the scientific evidence and cited racism. Just the way he denied the massacre at Lekki toll gate in October 2020.
South Africa and the other African countries have also alleged racism as the motive for the travel ban.
However, a few blocks away from Lai’s press conference, Tomori insisted at the Covid summit that in contrast to the accusation of racism against Canada and the UK, Nigeria is simply paying for “overlooking errors”.
Promote environment for Nigerians to excel, Tomori tells Buhari
Tomori said: “I woke up today to hear that Canada no longer recognises my genuine vaccination card. And Britain has clamped a travel ban on us. A few days ago, I had to know there was Omicron in Nigeria from outside.
“The same Canada was telling me that Nigerians who travelled out with negative COVID lab results were omicronised, before my own CDC finally tells me that we had the variant, detected in samples collected from people who recently travelled from South Africa.
“Were they people on the entourage of President [Cyril] Ramaphosa [when he visited Nigeria on November 30]? They did not tell.
“We painfully call the reactions of the UK and Canada racism, inequity. But I say we are paying for condoning our errors of commission and overlooking our errors of omission.”
Tomori urged Buhari to promote an enabling environment for Nigerians to excel.
“Mr. President, the current generation of Nigerians is much smarter than my generation.
“Give them one-tenth of the enabling opportunity and environment which good governance gave my generation, and Nigeria will be donating vaccines to poor Europe as India is doing; Nigeria will be providing loans to China, and not the other way round.
“The first epidemic we must address is the one affecting our culture and true Nigerianess. We must have a nation where national interest buries self-interest.
“Otherwise, this summit will become a mirage and a vapour. It will be burnt to ashes by the fire of evil that plagues us.
“Unless we build back better on our culture, the outcome of the summit will descend into the valley of the disregarded and disremembered, and become another expensive exercise in futility.”
Mustapha canvasses international protocols
PSC Chairman and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, lamented that Nigeria and some other countries have become targets of restrictive measures because of Omicron.
“Nigeria joins the WHO and other countries in calling on countries of the world to implement risk based international protocols that are in line with international health regulations whilst we are developing a new pandemic treaty that will avert this type of situation.
“Global health security is our collective responsibility irrespective of our economic status,” he said.
The summit had the theme ‘Global Health Security Threat: Repositioning to End the Pandemic and Build Back Better’.
