Aisha Maureen, My Anambra State Anti-Sickle Cell Agent

I have not seen an insensitive and clownish, confused and gallery-playing government

like that of my state. This is a state where the first lady uses the president of Sickle Cell [SS], Mrs Aisha to raise so much fund for her pet project and in appreciation, the sickle cell body was dumped or say kicked out into the cold.

[Picture: Aisha Maureen Edward, director of Centre for Moral Mentorship]

The dilemma now became like my old man will say it “nwata nwe ewu na aji”[a kid claims ownership of a goat only by the stroke of the wool ] ,this lady maybe by the virtue of her good mind or her believe that the first lady may help her cause or say the cause of the sickle cell patients ,she fall what they call in Nigerian parlance “mugu” .do not ask me why after she raised multi million naira for office of the first lady toward sickle cell that nothing has been heard from that office toward the support of the sickle cell .this case of big fish eating the pickles of the small fish reminds me of that of mtn.

MTN network offers 1 minutes of every individual calls made in Nigeria toward sickle cell patients in Nigeria but the problem is that the money is not going toward helping any sickle cell or planning on helping one in future , it goes  into the purse of some egg heads who derive joy in stealing from the sick .

They are not alone on that quest ,imagine the travails of SS patients in Nigeria ,a nation so engrossed in idiotic and lopsided sentiments that they give more preference to HIV patients ,a situation that is manmade or over 85% self-inflicted ,contrast it with SS ,a situation none of the carrier has a hand in the making ,because it was a mistake of our government who swore allegiance to stupidity and refuse to address ,lecture and sensitize the masses on the way to circumvent bringing kids as SS into this world by making sure that before any marriage will be constituted  there must be a certified DNA result ascertaining that both spouses are not as , because no miracle will change as +as not to become SS .

Forget the trading or say miracle vending pastors that will tell you that they will pray you out of it and they will make you to sow seed of faith , seed of believe ,seed of miracle ,seed of breakthrough ,seed of seeds and seed  to force the hand of god , but after all that , the patient will still be back to status quo , while the miracle vending pastor will be smiling to the bank with the exploit from the meek and confused congregations that believe that miracles are for sale and the more money you give to god the bigger your miracle .

I call them baby Christians because Jesus Christ that i know never even ask for offering ,never collect or even ask for tithe , instead he feed 4 thousand and 5 thousand and he give sight to blind ,walk to the lame and clean skin to the leper and ask them to go and enjoy life , but this days the pastor will make you feel like a thief if you fail to  give them all in your pocket and trek home or give them your children school fees while your children stays at home , the pastor will but a brand new jeep .

The miracle pastors are so disgusting this days that they refuse to believe in holy ghost and angels, that is why you will see a miracle working pastor and for his protection, he hired Nigerian police or army, instead to have faith on the angels and holy ghost, they have consolation on gun totting vandals and mostly Muslims against divine protection , which means they never believe in what they preach .

You see a miracle performing pastor will be cruising on several jeeps while other pastors under him are sharing one room with 6 children and 72 rats, and the head pastor will be blind to that injustice but moving back to the SS pressing matters.

Today in my state, despite the law passed back in days in support of SS and I provide “below are excerpts of the law; no. ANHA/law/2002/2:

A law to provide for eradication and control measures for the sickle cell disease and for related matters.

Be it enacted by the Anambra State House of Assembly as follows:-

1.       This law may be cited as the sickle cell disease (control and eradication) law, 2002 and shall come into force on the 1st day of January, 2002…

3- as from the commencement of this law –

A.       No pupil shall be enrolled in any school unless he or she presents an SCDP (sickle cell eradication programme) certificate to the head-teacher or principal; and

B.      No person shall be married in any church or registry without presentation of his or her SCDP certificate to the ministry or registry official.

4- 1. Every head teacher or principal in whose school pupils are enrolled without verification of SCD certificates shall be guilty of an offense and shall on summary conviction be liable to pay a fine of 1000 naira or six months or both.

2.       Any minister or registry official who weds a couple without verification of the SCDP certificate of either spouse shall be guilty of an offence and shall on summary conviction be liable to a fine of 2000 naira or one year imprisonment or both.

5- 1. All general hospitals and other hospitals designated by the commissioner shall be installed with necessary laboratory equipment.

2- All investigatory centres shall be responsible for conducting genotype tests for a prescribed fee upon any person who presents him or herself for such test

3- The commissioner shall fix a minimal fee for each test and may revise the fee from time to time in accordance with prevailing costs.

4- An investigatory centre shall issue each person upon whom a genotype has been carried out with an SCDP certificate which shall be in the form shown in the schedule of this law.

5.       The commissioner shall cause to be included in the annual financial estimates of the ministry some budgetary allocation to be applied to implementation of modalities for eradication and control of the sickle cell disease.

6.       The commissioner shall set up, as part of the ministry, a sickle cell disease monitoring committee to be comprised mainly of health visitors.

7.       The monitory committee shall:

A.       Liaise with school authorities in order to enforce the verification of SCDP certificate of pupils and students;

B.      Liaise with churches and registries in order to enforce the verification of SCDP certificates of persons to be wedded.

C.       Conduct public awareness programmes in form of workshops and outreaches in order to enlighten the populace on ways of eradication of the sickle cell disease; and

D.      Liaise with the president of each town union to conduct house to house investigations and enquiries in order to find out couple and children who have not undergone the genotype test.

8.       The monitoring committee has power:-

A.       To recommend head-teachers, principals, ministers or registry officials for prosecution, who fail to verify SCDP certificates in the right circumstances.

B. With the approval of the commissioner to apply funds made available to it for effective performance of any of its functions.

While heartily appreciating the above law and calling for immediate 100% implementation, following are humble recommendations for amendment of the laws above:

1. Prioritization of qualified sickle cell patients in job recruitment processes in the state; this implies ensuring that sickle cell patients, by virtue of their disadvantaged delicateness, require immediate engagement as soon they are through with training. Work therapy has also been observed as very effective in deferred crisis episodes.

2. Allocation of at least one clinic in every local government area designed particular for sickle cell patients and cases.

3. Establishment of specialist counselling psychologists for sickle cell patients in the entire sickle cell clinic in the 21 local government areas.

4. Setting up investigatory bodies to fish out and prosecute fraudulent NGOs floating in the name of sickle cell disorder. Also investigating and prosecuting couples who are on the verge of or have already engaged in or aided and abetting engaging in carrier marriages.

5. Mandating genotype counselling in all schools harbouring teenagers and young adults.

6. Government sponsored these packages for sickle cell patients to ensure their optimum health services for their sustained optimum productivity.

7. Aligning with the association of people living with sickle cell disorder by setting up an allowance for them for their sensitization programmes on media and in the communities.”

21 job slot which the state government promised to sickle cell during the last walk a week has turn out same way her promises ends –cartons of brutal lies.

From my little part time research it seems that ministry of health Anambra State is enjoying the plight of sickle cell that is why they’ve not designated one hospital that will be in charge of this unfortunate brothers that are afflicted by the mistake of men and women with sense only to make love but not to think of compatibleness, whereby they will produce a child that will live through pains all the days of one’s life.

Leaving this patients at the mercies of pastors, doctors that will love to bill them through the sky on any bout of attack, then also at the mercy of this entire buy one get 4 charity organisations that will raise fund for a cause and use it to buy brand new car for the boss and his partners in crime.

I wonder why pharmaceutical society of Nigeria are not helping this unfortunate brethren ,when they know that the drugs this people use to control the pains are narcotic and opied and very addictive ,whereby after the doctors may have lured this people to the addictive solution ,they will be living from hand to mouth because whatever they scratched from the hard surface will be spent on drugs ,while the brothers and family will be standing by wishing they die and leave them any remnant for them to enjoy .    

My main concern now is, if my state government is busy playing with the lives of our people living with sickle cell, making merchandise out of them but refused to assist them as a government.

Need I remind the government that they promised the SS association of 25 open civil service employment during the walk a week with SS last 2 weeks? Maybe that one is also promises that had no intention of fulfillment. I am sure that none of this people were good enough to be called or invited to the stake holders meeting.

They have one option that is assured to be a blessing: they should go and see the man with heart of grace; the man that knows how to reach out and help society; the man that even though he has put in his time on official capacity. He is still putting his money to the help of the needy. It is time to meet Sir Peter Obi , the former governor of Anambra State .he is the man with listening ear and heart of gold and with that ,I am off for this phase 1 on sickle cell .

Before I drop my pen ,sorry we longer use pen ,we use i pad and laptop or even china android phone , before I drop my version may I say a little thank you to his lordship ,Bishop Ibezim who from the good part of his heart gave a big financial help to this people by providing to them numbers of first aid kits .By the way ,my friends of facebook and even my enemies ,this SS carriers live with constant drugs and each one always have first aid box that helps to battle attack ,each box cost about 10k each ,we can help them by buying them one of those first aid boxes .

Maybe next time, we will discuss how our money miss-road-millionaires prefer to waste money on other matters and irrelevant issues and never to the help of these brethren in great need.  

Mazi Odera