BUHARI AND NEO-COLONIALISM (3)

The incoming government should be wary of some international organisations, argues

Although European nations and the United States can no longer control Africa with the use of force, they still do so through the activities of some international institutions and foreign non governmental organisations (NGOs) and others. Therefore the incoming Buhari government should from the onset free itself from the stranglehold of these neo-colonial institutions. It should scrutinise and re-assess the activities of the international institutions and NGOs working in Nigeria to ascertain whether they augur well for our development. Certainly the programmes of IPAS and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Nigeria do not augur well for our development. They are damaging to the character of the Nigerian young. They assault our cultural and religious values. The consensus reached at the various United Nations conferences, is that all policies and action programmes of the United Nations must conform to the purposes and charter of the United Nations and must reflect the diverse social, economic and environmental conditions of each country, with full respect for their religious, cultural backgrounds and philosophical convictions. Specifically, the consensus reached at both the

International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in 1994, and the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China in 1995, (Beijing 1995) was that “any measures or changes related to abortion within the health system can only be determined at the national level or local level according to the national legislative process”.

But shockingly last year at the third Family Planning Pre-Conference held at the Reiz Continental Hotel, Abuja, the UNFPA launched a condom-safe-sex campaign entitled, “No Hoodie No Honey”. This campaign was widely reported in the Nigerian media. The campaign was also posted on Twitter, Facebook and on other online social media. The campaign was targeted at young Nigerians especially Nigerian girls in the age bracket of 14-18. The campaign was aimed at supplying condoms and contraceptives to young Nigerians and luring them into believing that “safe-sex” is their right and therefore they shouldn’t be ashamed to practice “safe sex” even if the different cultures and religions teach otherwise. For example, one of the inscriptions on the No Hoodie No Honey roll-up stand posted on Twitter read: “Lets push for easy access to the female condom and that a woman may buy condoms without being shamed”. First: the campaign was tainted by fraud and deception. While scientific evidence consistently shows that the condoms, which contain naturally-occurring holes, do not

Sonnie Ekwowusi

protect its user against infections and against HIV and rarely protect against unwanted pregnancy, the UNFPA fraudulently masquerades about the cities of Nigeria and giving the Nigerian youths the false hope that condoms protect from any misdeed. This is very irresponsible of the UNFPA.

The Nigerian media also widely reported last year that Pfizer Pharmaceutical Inc., Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) had rolled out in Nigeria and other African countries one-dollar injectable contraceptives called Sayana press injectable. Sayana press injectable is aimed at human capital reduction in Africa and sterilisation of African women. It is the latest Greek gift from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and CIFF.

One wonders why the Jonathan administration has kept mute and allowed the UNFPA, Pfizer Pharmaceutical Inc., Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, CIFF and other foreign NGOs to be implementing programmes in Nigeria that are very damaging to the character of the Nigerian young. A study has shown that a woman who takes birth control pills before her first child is born has at least 40% of increased risk of developing breast cancer and that a woman who has taken the pill for four or more times prior to the birth of her first child has a 72% risk factor in developing breast cancer. In October 2011, the New York Times published an article entitled Contraceptive Used in Africa May Double Risk of H.I.V. This article was based on a cohort study by prestigious medical Research journal The Lancet that clearly stated that “the risk of HIV-1 acquisition doubled with the use of hormonal contraception especially the injectable methods.” In addition to the HIV-related effects of this product, there is also the doubled risk of breast cancer demonstrated by various studies like the extensive research done by the Fred Hutchingson Cancer Research centre, Seattle and published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) in February 2012, with the research team stating clearly after their studies : “We found that recent DMPA (Depo-Medroxyprogesterone acetate a.k.a Depo-Provera) use for 12 months or longer was associated with a 2.2-fold increased risk of invasive breast cancer.”

Therefore I respectfully urge the in-coming Buhari government to put on hold the activities of UNFPA, IPAS, Pfizer Pharmaceutical Inc., Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Nigeria. I say this with all sense of responsibility as someone who has been studying the said activities of the said foreign organisations for many years and has arrived at the reasonable conclusion that the said activities assault our cherished religious and cultural values.