Lawmakers’ Motion For Pre-Boarding Medical Checks, A Misplaced Priority

Here we go again, majority of the country’s political class who have the penchant for dribbling Nigerians just to shift attention from their ineptitude to escape responsibility for their failures which have contributed to the myriad of hardships confronting the majority of Nigerians can never be tired of amusing the whole world.
70% of the over 200 million Nigerians residing in the country today who cannot afford to join in the ‘japa’ syndrome which literarily means emigration from the country for survival are battling with different ailments ranging from high blood pressure, depression, frustration, psychiatric problems and other mental disorders that can be traced to hardship and abject poverty brought upon them by the wicked attitudes of this few group occupying top positions in the government.
Through the greed of many of the political class, many lives have been rendered incapacitated in view of the absence of the essential needs like hospitals, good schools, adequate power supply and poor road networks.
Amidst these mountain of problems brought by bad governance, those still surviving are only living on the grace and mercy of God.
Presently, the entire length and breadth of the country is at a cross road with the citizens mostly in the middle and lower class statuses walloping in abject poverty to the extent that some families cannot vouch for one meal per day.
Going to the hospitals and looking at how people die regularly because they could not afford to buy N1,000 worth of injections/drugs will bring any reasonable person to tears while these so called politicians move about in their affluence with no iota of sensitivity to the plights of those on whose shoulders they rode to their positions.
Agreed that the present hardships blowing through every nook and crannies of the country did not just start today, but the hope of Nigerians became rekindled when a new government that emerged on May 29th, 2023 promised to take the citizens out of the choking harrowing pains.
With the high hope that the pains will soon be replaced with relief and gains under the new government, Nigerians remained calm while such policies like the removal of fuel subsidy was effected with appeals from the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu led government to Nigerians to embrace the spirit of sacrifice and tolerance as he leads the country out of this desert of pains.
The understanding so far shown by Nigerians in the face of these unbearable sacrifices in the past weeks has unfortunately tilted towards the side of the masses even as the so called public office holders continue with their usual ‘me and my family alone’ attitude which remains the bane of the country.
Sadly, while the masses who formed 80% bulk of the population of the country have been subjected to more agonized pains under the different economic policies being rolled out under the guise of resetting the battered economy of the country, the political class including those in the National Assembly are only struggling to give themselves a soft landing with a view to further enriching themselves and make the majority poorer.
Therefore, how can one explain the recent news of how a whopping N70 billion was said to have been set aside for the lawmakers across the political parties to take care of their working conditions even when a meager N8,000 has been approved for a family of at least five, made up of a father, mother and three children to live on for a month all in the name of palliatives.
Obviously, all these injustices and inequalities being perpetrated by those in the positions of authorities in Nigeria are responsible for the high rate of Nigerians grappling with high blood pressure and other psychological related sicknesses.
The only medicine that can restore the good health God has provided for Nigerians which has been tampered with by the greedy politicians through their corrupt practices is for them to repent and provide good governance to those who voted them into power.
It was therefore a case of an insult upon injury when in the face of this political shenanigans, rather than address the root cause of why many Nigerians have become victims of high blood pressure, frustration, diabetes and mentall disorder, amongst others, some lawmakers are only calling on the aviation authorities in Nigeria to henceforth check the high blood pressure and sugar level of Nigerian air travellers before being allowed to board flights.
The resolution for the joke was followed by the adoption of a motion by one of the lawmakers at their plenary in Abuja and titled,”Need to make Provision for free High Blood Pressure and Sugar Level Check Desks at Airports.”
According to the lawmaker, air travel could be physically demanding and stressful for many passengers, hence, these factors, combined with the potential health risks associated with long flights and varying environmental conditions made it essential to prioritise the health of individuals passing through our airports.
While referring to those particularly concerned with pre-existing conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes, the lawmaker said it was imperative to prioritise the health of individuals travelling long through the airports, adding that this motion aimed to ensure their access to essential treatment.
For the lawmaker, by establishing free high blood pressure and sugar levels check desks at all airports, the country would promote early detection and preventive care for conditions such as hypertension and diabetes and; His words: “This will send a powerful message that we prioritise the well-being of our citizens and visitors by making healthcare services easily accessible regardless of their travel schedules.”
At the end, the house urged the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to put adequate medical facilities in Nigerian Airports to forestall sudden death from high blood pressure and diabetes among others.
As good as the motion looked, if it had emanated from other climes where their leaders put the concerns of their citizens first, it would have been well deserving, but for such a motion to come from a place like Nigeria where majority of people occupying similar positions are known to be selfish, makes it suspicious.
The motion has however continued to generate reactions across the country’s aviation sector in particular with key players calling out the lawmakers for chasing the shadows and leaving the root causes of the ailments.
Accusing the lawmakers of being hypocritical, the stakeholders while wondering how many Nigerians can afford to travel out under the precarious situation, equally challenged the lawmakers on why they could not move the motion that will prevail on the government to provide good hospitals and better conditions that will be of benefits to majority of Nigerians where ailments like high blood pressure and others could minimized or treated.
According to a key player who spoke sidelines who wondered if such test will only be targeted at international bound travelers or including the domestic travelers, cautioned the lawmakers against starting what they might not be able to accomplish.
His words: “Don’t start what you can not attain or achieve. To attract air travellers, begin first by checking not denying and you will find out that 60/70% of the air travellers would fall into this category and 70% of them are government officials and government sponsored.”
Many other stakeholders in their reactions to the development have unanimously challenged the National Assembly members to ensure they transform the health sector into a better and affordable space where ordinary Nigerians can approach to seek for medical treatment rather than create unnecessary bottlenecks for Nigerians who out of the hostile environment created through bad governance they still manage to make attempt to travel out of the unfriendly country.
Above all, rather than use the airport to truncate anybody’s travel plan, let those in government provide an enabling environment for Nigerians. The present condition is so toxic that only the few can survive.