I WANT to start by saying thank you to the media for their role in this crusade. I want the media to know that they are a major stakeholder in the quest to rid our world of poliomyelitis. In Nigeria, we have received considerable support from both print and electronic media. I want to particularly thank the publisher, management and staff of The Guardian for their role in publishing my articles and making them available to the reading populace as part of my contribution to end polio now!

The work ahead of us is still enormous. It is no news that India is out of the PAIN countries leaving behind Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. And this Sunday morning as I write, Nigeria has 22 out of the 34 global cases of Wild Poliovirus (WPV) recorded as at 22nd of May, 2013. This accounts for over 64.7 per cent of all the recorded polio cases all over the world. This calls for real actions. Political motivated actions!

Early in 2009, Lagos recorded few cases of polio, three or four in number. Under the strong and globally acclaimed good leadership of Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), four children that had hitherto been strong and full of life fell into loss of limbs and became crippled. Governor Fashola became angry and furious. He lost four children (out of those he later described as pure and innocent) to the cruel hands of polio. Lagos population is high. The highest in Nigeria and compares with that of the population of 30 African countries like Burundi, Rwanda, Gabon, Tunisia, Botswana, etc. for year 2012. Considering the population, four children losing limbs could have been viewed as insignificant. A good leader will not see it so. He will see it as a failure of stewardship, a failure of accountability and a failure of governance.

The basic function of government is the security and welfare of its citizens. Section 14 subsection 2a, (S14(2a) of the 1999 constitution says: “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary function of government”.  Governor Fashola, being a lawyer, knows this very well that the purpose/basis for governance is being defeated when children who are defenceless or whose only defence is government are allowed to be destroyed by poliovirus. Just as expected, the governor swung into action calling all stakeholders into various forum meetings. It is like saying never again shall we allow polio to capture and cripple any of our children in this land.

But Nigeria has been the leading polio endemic country for the many years, with the disease killing and crippling and destroying the lives of our young ones. In the midst of all this, what our government could say is to give us 2015 to end polio. My question is what happens to the children that will become unfortunately crippled by between now and then? To the best of my knowledge, the Federal Government is doing nothing to assist the physically challenged persons and yet allows the pathogen of our disability to walk freely wrecking more havoc everyday. This has to be corrected, please.

Amongst the various strategies adopted by Lagos State Government is the popular Stakeholders’ Forum of August 8th, 2009. It was a serious brainstorming session with a singular theme of eradicating polio and keeping Lagos permanently free. After this were the various town-hall meetings with the grassroots at the five political divisions of Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu, Lagos Island and Epe (IBILE). In the midst of these town-hall meetings was the Lagos-Ogun joint polio awareness day. Other programmes include the Youth against Polio (YAP) and the various state sponsored activities and programmes.

In July 2009, during the sub-National Immunization Plus Days (IPDs) flag off ceremony in Lekki, the governor had made a clarion call to all Lagosians to assist him to take care of these children and offer them help and give them kind advice having admitted that he couldn’t do it alone. That is the spirit! Polio problem is a gargantuan problem. No one can do it alone. Bragging of such status of ‘I can do it alone’ is tantamount to exaggerated self-worth and always leads to failure. That was why I yelled when at the appointment and swearing-in of Prof. Oyinbushi Chukwu as the nation’s health minister, he boasted that within one year he will eradicate polio. I wrote an article then that was published in The Guardian about his speech. It was a possible dream but it was not possible for him alone. He failed.

The import of this article is that polio problem is a surmountable problem. What we need to fight and to conquer this monster is political willingness. When I say political willingness I mean leadership that will put empathy into consideration and accept responsibility for the welfare of the people. Government that sees a crippled child as a loss of great potential and want to prevent it; as a loss of human resources and a diminishing factor to our dreamed future and will take decisive actions to avert it. Having that big picture perspective that made Fashola to cry out, any government with the interest of its people at heart will cry out at that scenario.

In crying out, like Fashola, there must be an open invitation to all. Walls of political affiliation must be broken down, religion must be put at bay, ethnic sentimentality must be sidetracked and social class jettisoned if we want unreserved response and help. Government of the affected states must be stern and wear an angry look when taking about polio. Some people may ask why he is angry. Is it more than the polio we are talking about here? We are talking about crippling and killer disease! Fashola was angry and furious and the rest of us knew he meant business. Polio is not our friend, it is our enemy and more dastardly, the enemy of our future. We cannot afford to be smiling at it when we are not fools.

If we do all these and act right, it will not be long; our country will celebrate the demise of the last wild poliovirus in Nigeria. Amen!

• Kuye, a Polio Survivor, author and the coordinator of the anti-polio outfit, Polio Rescue Association, writes from Lagos.