MR. LECTURER

MR. LECTURER

A = Belongs to God

B = Belongs to me

C = Is for the very few best students

D = Is for the average students

E = Is for Everybody.

F = Is for those who question this decree.

This is the Gospel according to Dr. Noah, a randy lecturer in one of the Universities in South Eastern Nigeria. It is on record that beautiful girls in any class he lectures always have problems with their continuous assessment (C.A) and as such must “see him”. Few days before the commencement of the second semester examinations, news filtered into the campus that Mr. Lecturer is now HIV positive and was placed on antiretroviral drugs 2 weeks earlier. This shocking news elicited wild celebration among students in a lecture hall who saw the lecturer’s condition as an end to his reign of terror, but one particular event did not go unnoticed, some female students left the hall panicking with tears almost rolling down their cheeks. You don’t need Google to find reasons for such show of deep emotions, it’s payback time for those who were awarded A and B grades for deliberately missing lectures and course tests, the fear that they might have contracted the virus during the one-on-one lecture series has become a great source of concern.

But why have some students’ chosen to trade their bodies for grades?

While HIV silently kills more students than cultists and gangsters combined, it continues to receive less attention from school administrators. The word HIV has become a taboo word for some lecturers and teachers who are guilty of compromising their office

for pleasure.

Perhaps, those charged with the responsibility of imparting knowledge and promoting good conduct have slipped into amnesia and need to be reminded of their responsibilities. If lecturers and tutors can dedicate a minimum of 20 minutes once every semester or session for lectures, debates or discussions among their students on the threat posed by the pandemic may be their students might just take a cue.

Quote:

“Spread the Knowledge, not the Virus”

—Oche Otorkpa

http://www.publichealth.com.ng/hivaids-what-is-hiv-symptoms-transmission-phases-diagnosis-treatment/

http://www.publichealth.com.ng/how-to-build-a-career-as-a-public-health-nurse/

http://www.publichealth.com.ng/health-department-directory/

http://www.publichealth.com.ng/what-is-public-health-policy/

 

RIVER BENUE

Lance corporal Idibia arrived the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in high spirits, he had been part of the United Nations Peace keeping contingent to the Sudanese region of Darfur. He and his colleagues had just been relieved by another battalion after spending close to a year under the harsh climatic conditions of the area, where waves of dust and regular whirlwinds were a normal occurrence.

Top on Idibia’s mind on arrival, was how to find the wife of his dreams, his 35th birthday was approaching and he knew it was time to settle down, but there was a problem, he wanted a girl with good moral upbringing, untainted by the greed and immorality that comes with city life. As a soldier, he was known for his up rightness and high moral standards and he concluded that the city was not a place to find one.On a trip to Oturkpo his home town, he shared his burden with

Maria his elder sister who suggested Ochanya, the daughter of the village priest, she was the poster girl for chastity in the village. He accepted her recommendation and sought the family’s approval to marry their daughter.

On his next visit, a wedding date was fixed, and few weeks later the wedding took place to the delight of both families and Idibia returned to the battalion with his new bride Ochanya. Nine

months later, Ochanya gave birth to a baby boy to the delight of her Husband and the family was doing quite well.

Trouble started when the child fell sick and hospital visits became regular. At 20 months old the child was diagnosed with AIDS, Mr Idibia was stunned! He knew he tested Negative on return from peace keeping mission, and never had any sexual relationship with anyone outside marriage! How could his child be HIV positive he argued. He and his wife were later screened and the results came back positive.

Shocked and enraged Idibia confronted his wife who feigned ignorance of how the family came about the Infection.As the controversy raged on, an enlarged family meeting was summoned by the village head with both families in attendance.However, the meeting ended in a stalemate as both families pointed accusing fingers at each other.

The controversy was not resolved, until Ochanya opened up to her mother on her death bed, she told her that on the day before Idibia came to ask for her hand in marriage, she had sex for the very first time with Ogaba the village church choirmaster who died of AIDS six months earlier, with tears rolling down her eyes, she pleaded with her mum to forgive her, as she lay helpless on her hospital bed coughing intermittently.

I come from Benue state, North central Nigeria where the virus continues to ravage many communities, not because governments have not intervened but because our people have refused to change the lifestyle that brought us to this pitiable state, our actions has ensured that we made headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Sadly, many others have copied our dangerous lifestyle which has transformed farmers who previously cultivate large hectares of farmland to paupers. With sky rocketing rates of teenage pregnancy and alcohol induced suicidal behaviors, the world expects more from a state that prides itself as the food basket of the nation.

Quote

I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to

create many ripples.

—Mother Teresa

http://www.publichealth.com.ng/hivaids-what-is-hiv-symptoms-transmission-phases-diagnosis-treatment/

http://www.publichealth.com.ng/how-to-build-a-career-as-a-public-health-nurse/

http://www.publichealth.com.ng/health-department-directory/

http://www.publichealth.com.ng/what-is-public-health-policy/