Gov Okowa Has Demonstrated Excellent Proactiveness In Fight Against COVID-19, Says Medical Lab Scientist

By Daniel Dafe

A renowned medical laboratory scientist and the Chairman, Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN), Delta State Branch, Dr. Kingsley Amaihunwa, has commended Governor Ifeanyi Okowa over measures taken by his administration to prevent the spread of  Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the state, adding that “he has demonstrated excellent proactiveness so far.”

Dr. Amaihunwa spoke to Oasis Magazine during an exclusive chat in Sapele recently.

He said: “When a red flag was raised in Italy, the United States of America (USA) and Spain, the leaders of those countries ignored it. That is the price they are paying today.

“I give it to the governor; maybe because he is a medical doctor. He has demonstrated leadership and despite pressures from different places, he has stood his ground and did what was necessary.

“Extending the lockdown was a difficult decision but as a leader he had do it because when things go wrong they will heap the blame on him and hold him responsible.

“Today people are calling Trump names. He has been doing well, but his approval rating has dropped because of how he handled the pandemic.”

Furthermore, to the proponents of the conspiracy theory of the connection between COVID-19 and 5G, he said: “This is not the time to pay attention to a conspiracy theory, but to save lives.”

He added: “We all have to take responsibility so we can slow down the spread.”

Coronavirus is real and ravaging the whole world; economic activity has been shut.

“Now, the disease is novel and unknown to history. But scientists are given it the needed attention to unravel what it is all about. It is going to take a little while, but science will overcome it.”

He continued: “For the first time since I was born, I am seeing the world economy shut down and religious gathering not allowed to hold. At first I thought the world has come to an end. But my research showed that in time past there were other global pandemics when even at a time, half of the world population died.

“COVID-19 has come to stay and it is important that vaccines are made. Today, we prevent many diseases with vaccines. For those afraid that Bill Gates’ vaccines will carry the mark of the beast, they should start thinking of how to produce their own because vaccines are important in the fight against this disease.

“I am aware that Israel and France are doing something about making vaccines. What stops us in Nigeria from producing our own vaccines? Many years ago Nigeria was producing vaccines in Yaba.”

According to him, “people need to continue to practice personal hygiene,” stressing that hand washing, sanitizers and all the other precautionary measures should become a part of our lives and not just because of COVID-19.”

“Corporate organizations should have a place at the entrance where people can have their hands washed. Also, individuals can have their own hand sanitizers. Then if you are coughing you ought to do that to your elbow or use a tissue paper and dispose it. The world will come out of this,” he opined.

Speaking further, he said: “HIV was not here before and people only tested for it in specific places, but now you can walk into any lab to do the test for HIV.”

On the allegations that the disease is a chemical weapon produced by China, he said: “I cannot blame China because as scientists, we do not speculate. But, I do not also believe that China is big enough to intimidate the whole world and no one will be able to find out how this disease came about.”

Amaihunwa is the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Health Monitoring to the Governor of Delta State.