A former member of the House of Representatives, Dr. Wale Okediran, has stated that the ongoing insurgency in northern Nigeria has prevented children from receiving essential immunisations for the past five years.
Speaking on a monthly programme of the Oyo State Broadcasting Corporation in Ibadan on Thursday, Okediran warned that the situation could lead to increased child mortality and disease outbreaks.
“Where I am bothered as a health practitioner is that because of insurgency, we have not been able to immunise many children in the North for years. When you want to look at the indices of Nigeria when it comes to vaccination, the North’s record will always go down,” he said.
The former lawmaker, who is also the Secretary General of the Pan African Writers Association, linked the insecurity to broader socio-economic decline in the region, affecting commerce, internally generated revenue, and farming.
He contrasted the present situation with the past, recalling a more peaceful and integrated North. “People like late Chief Bola Ige and his generation were all born in the North… In those days, the railway system and many other things, you had many Yoruba extraction growing up in the North. They were even born there and the movement was peaceful.”
Okediran said his research for his book ‘Madagali’ gave him firsthand insight into the devastation caused by Boko Haram in states like Adamawa and Borno.
He expressed hope that recent collaborations between Nigeria and foreign countries to combat insurgency would help the region recover. “I am hopeful that with this collaboration… the North will be able to regain its glory of previous years,” he stated.
The comments come days after a deadly attack by suspected insurgents on Woro and Nuku communities in Kwara State, highlighting the persistent security challenges.
