‘We are yet to kick out polio from Nigeria’

Dr. Mike Omotoso is the immediate past Governor of Rotary Club District 9125 covering 23 states and the Federal Capital Territory. Omotosho in this interview with JOKE FALAJU said there is need for Nigerians to give more towards kicking polio out of the country and providing humanitarian services to people. He also threw more light on the roles Rotary Foundation has been playing in eradicating polio from Nigeria. Excerpts:

The Rotary foundation is widely known for the role it played in the eradication of polio from Nigeria. How were you able to achieve this?

Let me correct this impression, polio has not been kicked out from Nigeria, but the country has been removed from the list of the polio-endemic nation, when we started this work almost 29 years ago, we had 135 countries that were polio-endemic nation, today we have just two, Afghanistan and Pakistan. We need three years without any case of polio before we can begin to say polio is out of Nigeria. The celebration we had when the representative of World Health Organization came was to certify Nigeria a non-polio-endemic nation.

There is a lot of confusion out there over the eradication of the disease, but the truth is we need to sustain what we have so that we can stay for three years without any polio case, we have gone two years now, meaning we still have a year to go to ascertain that we have kick polio out of Nigeria.

Rotarians have been contributing money towards the eradication of polio from Nigeria we have spent over $1.5billion globally towards eradication of polio, and in Nigeria alone we have spent $300million towards the eradication of the diseases. After vaccinating 2.5 billion children we are delighted to say yes, we are gradually kicking polio out of Nigeria.

In addition, we also reach out to stakeholders to get their buy-in, these are opinion molders within the community, gatekeepers in the community, who would allow us gain easy access to communities to vaccinate the children. You know as long as there is a child who has not being vaccinated, there is still the possibility of polio, because it takes a child that has not being vaccinated to infect other children and then we start again, and as long there is still polio in the world, children can still get infected.

We have also being getting support from the government, for instance, the current President not only immunized his Grand Daughter on a national Television, but also went on routine immunization from house to house in Daura, Katsina State, this is highly commendable, because it encourages others to do the same. Also, the Emir of Kano drank a complete vile of the polio vaccine, just to let people know that it is safe, and to stop the insinuations that the vaccine is for population control.

Also during the national immunization Day, Rotarians come out en-mass, to encourage people to take the vaccine. In rotary, we use three things, to make community a better place, to provide humanitarian services like treasures, talent, time, writing, mobilizing resources. These are some of the things we have been doing in the last one-year that we will all need to do even more so that we can move towards kicking out polio from Nigeria.

What is your take on humanitarian organizations that enrich themselves in the name of providing humanitarian support?

Let me correct that impression, I think people go into humanitarian services to really serve the community, although few bad eggs will generally give the sector a bad name. But by and large, the bulk of people are there to provide real humanitarian services. But rotary is a humanitarian organization, we are less than 111years old and today the foundation has more than $1trillion in reserve just to help humanity. The club boast of 1.3 million members all over the world and we are present in over 200 countries and geographical region as clubs, we have about 35,000 clubs, each community will have a club, so the more we proliferate clubs within the community, the more we get to know about the needs of those community.

We support and augment what government is doing. So if a local rotary club gets to know about a need in a community, they bring it to the club. Then individuals can agree to provide the need, and that is why one has to have a location before you serve in Rotary because you cannot give what you don’t have. If an individual cannot do it, the club will provide the need, if not the need can brought to the district that supervises club, if the district cannot do the project, then it can be presented to rotary foundation and get a grant, and if it doesn’t work you can reach out to well-meaning Nigerians.

The polio effort was championed by rotary but we were not the only ones working, World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nation Children Fund (UNICEF), the Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation are also supporting in fact, the bill and Melinda Gate Foundation donate $2 for every $1 rotary provide. So we are not working alone and that is the beauty of partnership, everyone come on board and it makes the work a lot easier.

Rotary is one the credible organization in the world, its not a new organization, it is 111 years old and that is the credibility we are building upon. Its not about having so much in your pocket or bank account with N120 you can prevent a child from crawling for the rest of his/her life because with N120 you can buy a polio vaccine, you can imagine what N1,200, N12,000 can buy. It is not about the amount of money it is the wiliness to give that really matters, because when you give you get, the hand of the giver is always on top and givers never lack.

What are your key achievements as the former Governor of Rotary Club?

My main role as the Governor is to encourage club to do projects and be the best they can be as clubs and as Rotarians. However as the Governor, one is expected to come up with a signature project, and the signature project is the four-way test and the four-way test are the thing you say or do and can be applied profitably in relation to others, private, public life and even international life. It can also be applied to proposed legislation in business, government, and advertising and could also be applied in the relationship between teacher and students.

We have been able to carry the four-way test campaign everywhere, including schools, market-place, undergraduates, and prison inmates. Usually, posters of the four-way test are being put around, just to make people realize the importance of the four-way test, and this has further increases awareness of the club, and many people are taken interest to become a Rotarian.

More so, our membership strength has grown by 60 percent, we grew from 1885 to 3000. Also the club has broken all records in the district, including the highest number of club chartered in the single year has 13, we also broke the national record by any district in Nigeria, it use to be 33, seven years ago, this year we have chattered forty club, that is to say many more people have been brought to provide selfless service for people.

How has the four-way test benefited Nigerians?

It encourages you to become a better person, the Four-way-test are the things you think, say or do, so it is about you, and you are in total control of your thoughts, words and action. So automatically if you apply the four-way test to the things you think, say, or do, you will become a better person, and since your thought, words, actions are towards somebody else, and it has the potential to positively impact other people.