Health Care – Nigeria (Africa) is not Wakanda

What is Wakanda?

#Wakanda is a place where an injured king with a mortal wound can receive life saving treatment.

Wakanda is a place where a foreigner with a life threatening condition is transported to receive care that is not available in his country.

Wakanda is a country with access to advanced diagnostic and therapeutic care at little or no cost to the citizens.

Wakanda is a country where the leaders have total and complete faith in their healthcare system.

Wakanda is supposed to be a country in Africa.

Wakanda is supposed to be the Giant of Africa.

Wakanda is not Nigeria.

Wakanda is not Nigeria, a country with 186 million people, majority tethering at the brink of poverty. A nation with vast and endless natural resources which have little or no impact on the lives of the citizenry. A potentially great economy mis-managed by a few greedy, self centred, narrow minded and corrupt politicians.

It is not Nigeria, a  place where the leader leaves his native country for 104 days to seek medical care in another country at the expense of citizens who have no access to such care in their communities. Where the leader having seen how such systems work in another country sees no sense of urgency to immediately declare a state of emergency in health care in his native country.

A place where the leader despite signing billions to equip his presidential clinic can not find basic drugs or functioning equipment in that clinic.

A place where the son of the leader after being involved in a road traffic accident has to be flown abroad for continued care.

Where numerous politicians and rich individuals prefer to fly abroad to treat minor ailments. This at a cost of billions in #medical tourism.

A good movie but…

The movie #Black panther is one that has brought widespread cheers and acclaim.  Many African movie goers  are beaming with pride at the great depiction of the Motherland. However, after the initial euphoria, one can’t help but to  draw parallels with Nigeria. Indeed the movie seems to say this as the opening scene is in Sambisa Forest. The Black Panther and his team rescues a truck load of girls (Chibok girls).

But that’s about as much similarity as we can draw.

Nigerians and Africans everywhere are heading to Cinemas donning unique African prints, Ankara dresses and beads to watch the Black Panther Movie. This is good but we must sit back and truly reflect on the movie’s message to us as individuals and our country as a whole.

If you’re an African Politician, don’t come out of the cinema giving great speeches. Rather, reflect in shame because

Wakanda is not Africa!

Have you seen the movie Black Panther? What parallels can you draw?

image credit: vanityfair.com