NANS plans protest over poor state of nation’s health facilities

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) will protest against the poor state of health facilities in Nigeria following the death of its former President, Mr Dauda Mohammed, a statement has said.
The statement issued by NANS’s President, Comrade Chinonso Obasi, on Wednesday in Abuja said the seven-day protest would commence once Mohammed’s remains arrived in Nigeria.
Mohammed departed Abuja for India on Sept. 30 to receive treatment for liver cirrhosis but died on Oct. 1 shortly before landing at Delhi Airport.
Obasi urged concerned authorities to urgently revive and standardise the nation’s health sector, adding that Mohammed would not have died if local hospitals were properly equipped.
“As preparations begins for the final arrival of the corpse of Comrade Mohammed -former National President of NANS 2011/2012-the association wishes to call at government at all levels and corporate bodies to begin conscious efforts at fixing the health sector..
“Mohammed died as a result of liver cirrhosis requiring transplant which cannot be performed in any hospital in Nigeria.
“NANS secretariat hereby directs all students to commence a nationwide seven days peaceful protest beginning from the moment the corpse of our late leader touches down at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja,’’ he said.
He stressed that it was regrettable that at 57 years after independence from colonial masters, Nigeria could not provide well equipped hospitals to manage the health of its citizens.
According to him, Nigerians die on a daily basis due to neglect and ill-equipped hospitals. He said it was high time a state of emergency was declared on the nation’s health sector.
Obasi said that concerned authorities should see the planned protest as students’ way of pressing for national priorities.
He thanked the Niger State Government and the entire Nigerian students for their efforts in trying to save the life of the departed ex-NAN president.