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| A cross section of religious leaders during the COVID 19 vaccine campaign in Maiduguri |
By Melvin Ibeh, Maiduguri
Religious and traditional leaders have called for equal distribution of COVID-19 vaccines especially, to people living with disabilities and the less privileged in the society.
The Clerics and traditional rulers further called on government to make the vaccine accessible to people and work with them to ensure that people believe in the existence of the virus, which many seem to think is more of politics than reality.
Speaking at the weekend during a one-day stakeholders meeting on Promotion of COVID-19 vaccination in Borno State with religious leaders and members of the society, organised by the Centre for Democracy and Development ( CDD ) in conjunction with the Open Society Initiative for West Africa ( OSIWA ) , the Chairman Christian Association of Nigeria ( CAN ) , Borno State Chapter, Bishop Mohammed Williams Naga, said the political concerns in the COVID-19 pandemic is what is making citizens not taking the issue of the pandemic serious.
He added that involvement of religious and traditional rulers in programmes of government for the pandemic will ensure adequate sensitisation towards acceptance of the vaccines, since both leaders are closer to the grassroots.
Bishop Naga who was represented by Catchiest Abraham Akporue said:" Government should make the vaccine available to the less privileged and avoid politicisation of the process. From the beginning , the government would have worked with the religious leaders and the traditional leaders in discussing this issue so that it would be able to penetrate to the grassroots.
" We are going to try our best to talk to people to receive this vaccine to prevent it from resurgence."
Also speaking, Professor Ibrahim Umara of the University of Maiduguri, urged political leaders to play a leading role by openly taking the vaccination alongside family members to prove to people that the virus is real.
On the mandatory vaccination order issued to federal workers by government, Professor Umara said the order is more of moral issue than constitutional matter, noting that it is a moral duty for citizens to abide by the order so as to curtail spread of the virus.
Earlier in his remarks, the Head of programme CDD, Mr Allison Timipere, said being that effective information around COVID-19 could be spread from religious angles , the CDD felt that having a sensitisation programmes like this that target religious and traditional leaders would promote sensitisation of the COVID-19 vaccination process to the followers.
" From this meeting, the Professionals like people from the National primary health care development authority and of course, the National Orientation Agency ( NOA ) , could help dispel those negative narrative about the vaccine , so when they returned to their Mosques and Churches they would be better able to inform members of their congregation to begin to accept the vaccines ," Timipere said. END
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