It was with great shock that I read about the gruesome murder of Mr.Auwal Shanono, National President of the Nigeria Medical Students’ Association (NIMSA) in Ibadan on the 5th of June 2011. He was returning from Ife after attending a national conference on preventing maternal mortality. From agency reports, he stopped over at Iwo Road, Ibadan to board a night bus to Kaduna (until his death he was a 500 Level medical student at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria) with a group of other students when they were ambushed by warring factions of the NURTW in Ibadan.
It was with great shock that I read about the gruesome murder of Mr.Auwal Shanono, National President of the Nigeria Medical Students’ Association (NIMSA) in Ibadan on the 5th of June 2011. He was returning from Ife after attending a national conference on preventing maternal mortality. From agency reports, he stopped over at Iwo Road, Ibadan to board a night bus to Kaduna (until his death he was a 500 Level medical student at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria) with a group of other students when they were ambushed by warring factions of the NURTW in Ibadan.
He was killed and burnt beyond recognition whilst the other four escaped death by the whiskers.
His death has again exposed the insecurity that prevails in Nigeria, the lack of value placed on life and the inability of the security agencies to prevent and bring to justice the perpetrators of dastardly acts like this.
As President of the Nigeria Medical Student’s Association,Mr.Shanono was arguably, the leader of the second most influential student’s body in Nigeria, he was the leader of one of the most organised student’s body in Nigeria and in his position was an influential voice at the world body based in Geneva(The International Federation of Medical Students Associations).Amongst other roles of ensuring that the interest of medical students was represented effectively within Nigeria he also led a body that was in the fore front of health advocacy. Surely a lot was placed on him as the National President of NIMSA.Unfortunately today he is no more .Simply because some guy called Tokyo must control all the motor parks in Ibadan. What did Shanono have to do with motor park administration? Why brutally torture and burn him beyond recognition for simply using the Local Government owned motor park? It baffles me till now.
What is even more baffling is that in 2011 we are busy having national conferences on preventing maternal mortality when serious countries now take it for granted that no woman should die from child birth. In the UK the Secretary of Health is informed of all maternal deaths and a ministerial enquiry is launched. According to the WHO/United Nations Children Fund, UNICEF, in 1995, Nigeria had the third highest number of maternal deaths in the world. By the year 2000 the worrisome death-wave was yet to abate. For every 100,000 live births about 840 women died in the process of child birth. Out of the 27 million Nigerian women of reproductive age back then, about 2 million did not survive either pregnancy or childbirth. For you to understand the enormity of this; 2 million deaths will be like wiping out the population of Malta, Bahrain, Luxembourg, Brunei and Cyprus put together. So appalling has the maternal mortality rate become that in June 2008 Nigerian government officials were invited by the UN Special Committee dedicated to the protection of women's rights to explain the deplorable rate of deaths of pregnant women in the country. On its part UNICEF in it's the State Of The World Children Report, 2009 stated that "one out of nine global maternal deaths occurs in Nigeria." Pregnant women have better outcomes in Niger, Burundi, Congo Democratic Repulic, Rwanda and even Yemen compared to Nigeria.
This clearly represents a failure of our health policies. Full stop. And it was for this reason, the conference of maternal mortality was organised. The conference Mr.Shanono went to attend as the leader of medical students in Nigeria before he was brutally killed in Ibadan.
A few papers have reported his death. The Nigerian Police has declared the almighty Tokyo, Chairman of the NURTW wanted (as if they don’t know where he lives).Even more bizarre, Tokyo has said he will not answer police summons because they (the police) are biased against him. He has said he is only willing to hand himself over to the Governor of Oyo State (maybe because he expects the Governor will only pull his ears and ask him not to kill medical students next time). I would have expected the Governor to immediately ask Tokyo to come over to Government House and hand himself in. Instead His Excellency has reacted by banning the NURTW.
Even more intriguing is that I am yet to hear any word of condolence or condemnation from Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD). Most leaders of NMA and NARD were products of NIMSA.The NMA and NARD should be in the fore front demanding justice for Mr.Shanono.This matter should not be swept under the carpet. It is only in Nigeria that a tout expects to get away with the murder of the National Leader of Medical Students.
President Goodluck must immediately direct the police to fish out the perpetrators of this act and prosecute them. Tokyo must answer police summons for no one is above the law. If a Senator could be arrested and detained for the murder of a factional chairman of the NURTW, I see no reason why Tokyo should be granted special status. A clear message must be sent.
Dr.Abounu Abounu practises Forensic Neuropsychiatry in the United Kingdom and was a former National President of the Nigeria Medical Students Association.
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