Is HIV/AIDS Pandemic Within Earshot?
t is patently wrong to assume that HIV positive is no longer the death sentence it was in the early twenties. Strong indications emerged recently to rattle sex addicts that the killer virus is about returning in full force from its forced vacation.
Latest figures on the HIV/AIDS pandemic show that Benue State is at the top of the chart followed by Akwa Ibom State with a prevalent rate of 10.9 per cent. The chairman of the State Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS, Dr Francis Udoikpong who revealed this however disputed the 10.9 prevalent rate as unacceptable. Nevertheless, he came up with a panic action to checkmate the spread of the deadly disease. Henceforth condom is to be made available in all hotels in Akwa Ibom state just like towels and soap.
Dr Udoikpong attributed the high prevalent rate to the youthful nature of the leadership profile in the state pointing out that its economy is in the hands of the youths comprising L.G. Chairmen, councilors, members of state legislature who are predominantly young men and women most likely to prioritize enjoyment and sex over and above other avocations because the cash is always handy.
It does not seem that flooding the hospitality industry with condom is the most appropriate antidote or response to the looming HIV/AIDS epidemic. One of the foremost damage missions of the policy is the labeling of the hotels as brothels whereas hotels offer temporary shelter or accommodation to guests in transit or on short duration visits.
As the Akwa Ibom AIDS Control Agency boss rightly pointed out, the offer of jumbo salary structures to some categories of Nigerians intoxicates the mind causing it to over spill into the world of pleasure and casual sex. Indicted hedonists include political office holders, legislators and top officers in both the private and public sectors in a country whose unemployment figure is unknown but knowable.
Within the HIV/AIDS hey days, India with its 4.8 million AIDS population was second only to South Africa. Sadly, it was reported in 2003 that one of its Supreme Court judges was an HIV/AIDS sufferer while the scourge sent to their untimely graves more than 3 million Ugandans in 2002.
Rather than flooding hotels in the state with condom, Akwa Ibom State government ought to have intensified its anti-HIV/AIDS campaign in the state media to warn the citizenry about the grave consequences of contracting the virus, believed to have returned through the back door.
The aggressive campaign should also incorporate HIV/AIDS universal slogan of “To stay alive and free from HIV/AIDS infection, Abstain, Keep to one sex partner or Condomize”. Furthermore, to keep the deadly virus at bay, Nigeria should emulate Uganda whose president subjected himself to HIV/AIDS test and tested negative. At the peak of the infection in Botswana, HIV/AIDS test was made mandatory for all parliamentarians, ministers, commissioners and other top, public officers who by the nature of their job patronize hotels regularly as second home. The bitter pill should be swallowed by the leadership because HIV/AIDS has a woman face.
Nearly always, notorious HIV/AIDS carriers are the big shots who habitually insist on raw sex without condom at any cost to their pocket. These money bags may be carriers undergoing treatment secretly at home or abroad, and yet prefer raw sex for its maximum enjoyment.
The war against the deadly HIV/AIDS and sexual promiscuity are inter-related. With mobile phones fueling and liberalizing the dating industry, the war has already been lost in advance.
Owelle Rescue us at Roche Construction Company
With due respect Sir, It is with deep sense of humor and pains for rescue that I write this email to you I am one of the “black workers “as they e-mail “Masters” refer to us in Roche Construction.
Sir There is an ongoing slavery, torture, intimidation and humiliation by the Irish management of Roche Construction Company Irete.
We, the blacks especially the lmolites are under hostage at Irete just because we are working with the Irish company, contributing our little quota to help rescue the Imo in line with your rescue mission agenda. The Irish MD has taken us to hostage since we started work with them and everybody including the GLO there (Mr. Jude) is afraid to voice out the tyrannical management for fear of being fired. He sees the treatment going on day and night there and could only advise us to demonstrate which can not be possible as we do not have workers union and the management will fire immediately anybody for that. A situation where if a worker is sick for a day, and did not come to work, you lose one week salary. If a tyre of any vehicle burst, mostly caused by overload of the vehicles with the heavy materials we work with which the management do not bother about the tonnage the vehicles carry, the driver bears the cost of the tyre from his salary.
We work overtime without payment sometimes on Sundays. Everybody is afraid of raising his voice for fear of being victimized since the management has bluntly refused us to have workers union
The immeasurable margin between the white workers and black colleagues of the same rank that work even longer hours, cannot be over emphasized. A situation where a black supervisor or manager that work longer hour than his white colleague and even more qualified , receives salary ten times less than that of the white colleague . To talk of field workers is a pathetic situation and many other atrocities.
Or is it the sub-standard cheaply sourced concrete they are using to cast the model school panels are we talking about. There is much to know about these Irish gangsters. They are now sourcing locally, all the materials used for the concrete wall panels and all other materials for our model schools of which the durability is much in doubt. Lately, they do not include gravels on the concrete mixture for the panels and they move it like that to couple the schools. His Excellency, I want this investigated so that you know what you are paying them for.
You can send your incorruptible delegate Sir, to investigate this claim by interviewing workers who will open their mouth and say all the atrocities going on there, IF THE WORKERS ARE ASSURED THAT THEY WILL BE PROTECTED FROM VICTIMIZATION AFTER THE INTERVIEW PLEASE.
The most unfortunate thing is that it is we the blacks that are doing the whole jobs now as they have sent back most of their white guys that they were paying hundreds of thousands to millions per month, and
replaced them with blacks who are paid pea nuts. Make your inquiries Sir, the people installing the schools are Christian, Darlington, Earnest, Austin and Joel. They are all Imo boys earning less than 70,000 while the white guys that were doing it before earned over a million per month. Confirm this from our accountant “Okechukwu” Sir. Ask him how much , was the Irish Owen, and Francis were paid before they left?
Sir, I am a loan voice in a hostage camp at Irete Imo State. Please come and rescue us. We do not wish to compare ourselves with them as they are “expatriates” per se or wish to earn the same salary with them, but let us be given a reasonable and commensurate remuneration.
MOST IMPORTANTLY SIR, WE NEED PEACE OF MIND WHILE WE WORK TO RESCUE lMO IN LINE WITH YOUR DiVINE AGENDA.
The threatening and victimization from the MD is more than too much that if you wake up in the morning to come to work, your mind flies away for fear of being fired for no just cause.
If a worker steal, for sure he or she should be fired, we are not in support of stealing or laziness and not being able to meet targets. But when we meet targets and even work overtime, we should be encouraged and not being discouraged by intimidation, threats, harassment, insults, abuses of racism and victimization.
Please Owelle Nwanem, God chose you and we voted you, and I was personally involved in guiding our votes at (NEC as the pioneer financial secretary of APGA youth Initiative (IYA) then. Please help us to talk to ROCHE CONSTRUCTION MD to give us peace of mind and security of job, we will work better and give better result to in line with the rescue mission agenda.
Thank you and God bless you Sir.
Onyemegbulem Onyemechi
Irette Imo State.
