Gowon says Nigeria has conquered guinea worm scourge

Former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, on Wednesday said the country has successfully eradicated the scourge of guinea worm in her territory.

Mr Gowon, who was in Oyo State to thank the state government for its support for the guinea worm eradication programme, said Nigeria was able to achieve the feat through the assistance of the US charity, Jimmy Carter Centre. Taofeek Arapaja, the state Deputy Governor, received Gowon on behalf of his boss, Adebayo Alao-Akala, who had travelled abroad.

The Yakubu Gowon Centre (YGC) began to be involved in the fight against Guinea worm in Nigeria in March 1999, as a partner of the Jimmy Carter Centre.

“Available records have shown that there is zero case of the spread of the disease in Nigeria, though more than 650,000 guinea worm cases were discovered across the country in 1987,” he said.

He specifically praised the efforts of the Oyo state government in the fight against the diseases which, he said, was eradicated in the state in 2006.

“By last year, we confirmed that there was no more guinea worm in Enugu and there is no more guinea worm throughout Nigeria. Oyo State has no guinea worm since 2006,” he said.

The former Head of state said Oyo State had progressively moved from identifying between 16,000 to 17,000 cases in 1987 to around 300 in 1999.

“But in 2006, the state government reduced it to zero level. It is a great achievement by any standard to the local government. I say congratulations to the governor and to the communities as well for achieving this milestone,” he said.

Challenge of leadership

Mr Gowon said he was challenged by the humanitarian efforts of the former US President, Jimmy Carter for committing huge resources to the fight against the spread of Guinea worm in Nigeria. He said the scourge has opened his eyes to the many challenges of leadership.

“It tells one that as a leader, you need to look beyond your immediate environment but go very far to know the needs of your people,” he said.

The Guinea worm eradication programme recorded a near-panic moment in 2006 when, after he scourge had been declared conquered in Nigeria, more cases were discovered in Enugu State.

Gowon said this was a moment of shock to him.

“When we went to Atlanta, Nigeria and I were given an award by the Jimmy Carter Centre,” he said. “When we came back, we received this shocking news that about 50 cases were found in Enugu and part of the airports. They are the areas where you do not expect any cases of guinea worm because they were supplied with pipe borne water. We thought there should be no problem there. But, my goodness, it was a shock to us. With the help of the Carter Centre, state government, local government chairmen, we put our efforts together to make sure that the disease was curtailed there.”