Renowned media entrepreneur, Kadaria Ahmed, and popular film director, Femi Odugbemi, came up with a film documentary on COVID-19 which reveales the state of the Nigerian health sector and response to the pandemic. The 95-minute documentary was first premiered in Lagos and recently premiered in Ibadan, where stakeholders in the health sector were present to view and share their thoughts. NURUDEEN ALIMI brings highlights of the event.
The COVID-19 pandemic since it was first discovered in the country has brought series of changes in the way Nigerians live their lives – wearing of facemasks, periodic washing of hands and keeping physical distance have become normal way of life.
The advent of the pandemic has also revealed how viable the Nigerian health sector is in handling the scourge. Availability of large number of health personnel and a good number of isolation centres for infected persons are some of the swift responses by government to contain the spread of the pandemic.
Prompted by what COVID-19 revealed of the Nigerian healthcare system, renowned media entrepreneur, Kadaria Ahmed and ace filmmaker, Femi Odugbemi, with support from MacArthur Foundation and Policy, Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), came up with a 95-minute documentary which X-rayed the arrival of the pandemic, government response, revealing some of the lapses and the good side of the country’s health system.
The documentary film entitled ‘Unmasked: Leadership, Trust and COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria’ was recently premiered at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Conference Centre, Ibadan. It was the second screening, as the maiden edition was held in Lagos.
Produced and directed by Femi Odugbemi and co-produced and presented by Kadara Ahmed, the film documentary turned out to be a conversation starter with the theme: ‘Stopping brain drain in the health sector’ where the Oyo State governor, Mr Seyi Makinde, represented by his Chief of Staff, Mr Bisi Ilaka, was the special guest of honour, while the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, was represented by the branch controller of the bank in Ibadan, Mrs Olufolake Ogundero.
The conversation also had as panelists, Consultant Virologist to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Professor Oyewale Tomori; Provost, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Professor Olayinka Omigbodun and Kadaria Ahmed as moderator.
Speaking on the documentary, Kadaria Ahmed stated that:”We are actually thinking that what COVID-19 revealed was not so much about the pandemic itself, but about the dysfunction of public healthcare system, that it is not really designed to produce average good healthcare for Nigerians.
“We believe that public healthcare is central to development and it is also central to building a functional society because it is at the heart of looking after human resources, as without human resources, no country can develop.
“And we think some of what COVID-19 essentially revealed were the dysfunction that exist in our public healthcare system, which speaks sometimes to our values and sometimes the endemic corruption.
“It was not bad news in our view because we also saw unprecedented cooperation between private and public sector. And in some ways, we got a little glimpse of what is possible if people decide to work together.”
She also attributed why the documentary is scheduled to be taken round the country to the documentation of history as it unfolds so that people have a record.
“You know memory can be a little bit faulty and people do not always remember accurately.
“Odugbemi and I set out to tell this story, to document this historical moment and tackle questions of leadership, governance and trust, which were brought to the fore by the pandemic and to which Nigeria needs to find answers urgently. We experienced devastating losses, including that of a team member while filming, so this is also a personal story.”
Professor Oyewale Tomori, while featuring as a panelist, said:”What this documentary has unmasked is just a scratch on the surface. Even when you hear the answers from some of the big people you know that they were just covering up.
“When they talk about the fact that our people are buying vehicles made outside the country, is it that there are no vehicle makers in the country? Which vehicle are they buying from outside the country? They are using our money to buy Forex, to buy vehicles from outside the country and yet, there are one or two more people producing vehicles in this country.
“Why don’t we focus our attention on buying those vehicles if they really need them? Then secondly, it is not just a matter of governance alone, as Yinka suggested, it should be on part-time basis, what are they even doing? Most of the time, they are not there; all these so-called oversight visits is another conduit pipe to make money.
“Let us be frank, I am talking from experience because some of them have come to us on the so-called oversight visit. The things they are asking for are those that should not be heard from people leading us. But at the same time, it is not them alone; if the society has not permitted it, they won’t be doing it.”
Another panelist, Professor Olayinka Omigbodun, a professor of Psychiatry and Provost, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, said a country that wants to be wealthy needs to invest in the health its populace.
She noted that when there is no health, there is no wealth, adding that health is inter-sectoral and multi-sectoral.
“Every organ of government fits into health; if there is corruption, it affects health. If there is insecurity poor nutrition or poverty gender violence; transportation affects health not to talk about the actual health sector itself which is clearly revealed in this documentary we have just watched that the health sector was very fragile.
“This COVID-19 just revealed how fragile our health sector is, that we are totally unprepared to face a pandemic of this nature. I must also say that health is not just the absence of disease; if you look at the definition from the World Health Organisation (WHO), it say Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being. Not merely absence of disease. So, how many people in this country enjoy this? It shows that health is wealth and we have not invested in it.
“Another thing is that the actual healthcare system was very fragile and could not stand up to the pandemic. It took us suddenly and we were not prepared.”
Representative of the Oyo State governor, Chief Ilaka, while commending the brains behind the documentary film, said:”I think it is a wonderful, rich, well-researched, well-put together and well-presented documentary. It addresses a lot of issues from different perspectives and I am sure that there are lots of other perspectives out there, but it is a job well-done.”
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents
In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state…Stakeholders in ICT react Stakeholders in ICT react
Selfies, video calls and Chinese documentaries: The things you’ll meet onboard Lagos-Ibadan train
The Lagos-Ibadan railway was inaugurated recently for a full paid operation by the Nigerian Railway Corporation after about a year of free test-run. Our reporter joined the train to and fro Lagos from Ibadan and tells his experience in this report…Stakeholders in ICT react Stakeholders in ICT react
and then