Free Eye Care Initiative By Kano State Governor: Ganduje

Genuine, sincere and good leadership is first and foremost about ensuring the security of lives and properties of the citizens. It is about satisfying the yearnings and aspirations of the governed. It is about promoting their wellbeing and welfare through articulation, planning and implementation of appropriate programmes and policies particularly in key sectors like education, healthcare, agriculture, water supply, infrastructure, environment and employment opportunities. Good leadership is indeed doing the right things that positively touch and transform the lives of the people. This, however, must be predicated on the principles of transparency, accountability and prudence in the management of public funds by those in power.

In keeping to his promise for total transformation of the state through the consolidation, continuation and initiation of people-oriented programmes, projects and policies, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje OFR, has indeed set the ball rolling by initiating several laudable programmes and policies that positively impacted on the lives of the teeming populace as a testimony of good, genuine and sincere leadership that will continue to be anchored on transparency, accountability, prudence and rule of law. The Governor made this clear to all whenever the opportunity presents itself.

“We are aware of the economic and social repercussions of blindness. Cataract, which is the leading cause of blindness among our people, is treatable. Yet, many people lack the money to treat it and other eye problems hence we initiated this programme; to save people from blindness”.

Kano state governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje made the above remarks on Sunday, while launching the state government policy initiative to curb the menace of blindness, which is caused mostly by diseases that are treatable. The programme, tagged: “Free Eye Care Camp” was aimed at providing free medical treatment, including medicaments and surgery. It is targeted to benefit 44,000 eye patients suffering from various forms of eye diseases across the 44 local government areas in the state.

The Ganduje administration has, no doubt, indicated its avowed commitment to sustainable human capital development initiatives through formulating people-oriented projects and programmes. Speaking during the launching at Sir Sanusi General Hospital, ‘Yankaba, Governor Ganduje said his administration initiated the flagship free eye care programme as part of its human development agenda, the sole objective of which was to save people from visual impairment or total blindness. Since the launch of this novel policy initiative not a few people have commended the government’s efforts at curbing the menace of blindness with its devastating effect on the victim’s socio-economic living standard.

Stakeholders were unanimous on the debilitating impact of blindness as it incapacitates an individual’s competence while limiting the victim’s productivity. Vision impairment or total blindness becomes even more pathetic if the victim is a young kid because the prospect of educating him or/her becomes a near impossible task. Apart from paucity of funds by governments to establish additional specialist schools for the blind, dearth of professional teachers coupled with the need for modern educational resources for the blind and the high rate of school – tuition fees charged by the few private institutions are only few among the many challenges of educating the blind children in this clime.

Moreover, the stigma and inhumane treatment of the blind by their kith and kin and the people generally should be a cause for sober reflection by right thinking individuals. Nobody wants or wish to be blind! Those affected are fellow human beings with high ambitions and expectations like any other person prior to their blindness. But because of their affliction they are hardly recognized as reasonable and respected members of the society due to their physical deformity.

Unlike in the developed countries where people with similar challenges were given every necessary support and encouragement to excel and compete with their peers and actualize their God-given potentials, here we tend to look down on them with contempt and disgust as if they are not part of us. This ugly trend is what the incumbent administration has vowed to reverse through the free eye care initiative. Of recent the phenomenal rise in the rate of people suffering from various types of eye diseases that eventually cost them their eyesight has increased tremendously, hence the state government’s decision to move fast and rescue those that can be treated before the sunlight set on their eyesight. For a government that prides itself as the bastion of hope for the masses, provision of free health and sound education has been the main focus of the administration’s policy thrust since inception in May this year.

And thus alarmed by the increasing statistics on the proliferation of cases of victims of blindness as a result of inability to pay for medicaments or undergo eye surgery, due largely to the prevailing economic crunch being experienced in the country, the Ganduje administration in Kano came up with this laudable initiative: to prevent patients with eye problems that are curable, from becoming completely blind!

The policy objective of the programme, according to Governor Ganduje, was to help the patients, who are mostly peasant, rural dwellers with no financial capacity; to provide free eye treatment to people with visual impairment so that they too can lead a normal life. Consequently and in line with its policy objective of providing free health care and education to all, the Kano state executive council last Wednesday, resolved to curb the menace through this commendable initiative.

The council observed that, the absence of eye clinics in most rural areas of the state makes it difficult, if not impossible for poor patients to seek medical intervention. Subsequently the government sought approval for the release of the sum of N61, 8000, 000, 00 to Messers Sight Boost Nigeria Initiative to facilitate the operation, covering the three senatorial districts of the state.

By ABDULLAHI BABA ALAWUSA Esq

(hajialawusa@gmail.com)

SOURCE: LEADERSHIP NG