Chinese medical experts not needed in Nigeria, could manipulate virus – MDCAN

— As NUJ begs government to avoid Chinese medical team

Abiodun OBA

The Federal Government has been advised against inviting medical experts from China to help in fighting Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The Chairman of Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) chapter, Dr Muhammed Adeboye, told newsmen on Saturday in Ilorin that Nigeria has no alarming cases compared to other countries to warrant external help.

According to him, “It is a novel virus which might be probably man-made and to a large extent, the rate of infection here is not as much as what we have in other countries.

“They can still manipulate to want to know what it is that is working for us, then go ahead to manipulate the virus again.

“It is bad for us to be expecting experts because people are not dying massively in Nigeria and cases are not increasing astronomically.

“For now, we are not stressed out as far as the crisis is concerned and people are been discharged day-in-day-out.

“So, there is no indication to bring any professional from any part of the world,” Adeboye said.

“Bringing people in can be an avenue for many terrible things to happen as well, because we don’t have the capacity to manipulate viruses whether confirmed or not.

“And then, they will now import the virus with the so-called unwarranted assistance, before you know it more people will be dying of it.

“So, we don’t need any foreign assistance, not even from China,” the MDCAN president said.

He cautioned that any external unwarranted assistance could aid the foreigners to manipulate the virus to be more harmful to Nigerians.

As at 10.30 p.m. on April 3, the total confirmed COVID-19 cases in Nigeria are 210, with 25 discharged and four deaths.

In a related development, the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) has pleaded with the Federal Government not to get Chinese medical team involved in the fight against Coronavirus in the country.

Mr Chris Isiguzo, NUJ President in a statement on Saturday, said the union was alarmed by the decision of the Federal Government to bring Chinese Medical doctors into Nigeria to fight COVID-19.

According to Isiguzo, the Nigerian medical doctors are doing exceptionally well in fighting the outbreak.

“We caution that it will be counterproductive to bring in Chinese doctors. We reject a situation where Nigerians will be used as a guinea pig for any experiment.

“Thus, it is pertinent to plead with the Federal Government to stop this Medical Team from coming to Nigeria because of the Italian example where there was an inexplicable spike in COVID-19 related deaths when the Chinese doctors arrived the country.

“The Federal Government should as a matter of urgent concern investigate the allegation, that what is happening today is associated with the launch of the 5G communication network as Nigerians are becoming more agitated.

“We urge the Federal Government to be more proactive in dealing with these emerging issues because any mistake made will be catastrophic,” Isiguzo submitted.