Nigeria provides technical volunteers
The Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital now has more doctors, nurses, lab technicians and radiologists to serve the public. Nineteen more thanks to the Nigeria-Belize Technical Co-operation Programme, a partnership which has provided Belize with expertise in the areas of education and health for over a decade. The new two-year contractual agreement between Belize and Nigeria was signed by Foreign Minister Assad Shoman and Nigeria’s non-resident High Commissioner to Belize, Florentina Ukonga. This afternoon News 5’s Ann-Marie Williams spoke to Ukonga about the technical assistance, as well as recent developments in her country, which is home to over one hundred and twenty-six million people.
Florentina Ukonga, Nigerian High Commissioner
“How Nigeria will benefit from the service? Well, the idea of a technical aid scheme was actually not so much because we want to benefit as such, though there is nothing that one does that one doesn’t benefit directly or indirectly. If it increases mutual understanding, that’s a sort of benefit. If it increases friendship amongst the people, that is one form of benefit. I think it exposes our young people to kinds and times of other people and of other regions; that’s also one type of benefit. And above all, if it helps to develop the man power needs of Belize and Belize in turn is able to help other people, maybe not now, ten fifteen years time Belize may be in a position to help other countries within this same region.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“Ms. Ukonga in a country like Nigeria, very powerful in Black Africa, how do you reconcile your country still practising some of those barbaric laws, like the Sharia law against women?”
Florentina Ukonga
“Well, we have a predominantly Muslim population. It has emerged whether it is politically engineered or politically contrived or genuine we’re yet to see. But in the opinion of most people, they think it’s a political thing that some people who are not either for one reason or the other personal to them, may want to cause a bit of confusion, have brought this idea of Sharia and they have managed to hoodwink the masses to say that they want it…the masses in that region. But when it was adopted in about four states of the country and the truth and the reality of full application of the Sharia law, has started dawning on people, and especially when they have seen the selective manner in which it has been applied…”
Ann-Marie Williams
“Well I’m basically talking about the angle where if a woman is caught in an adulterous situation she is stoned to death. How do you reconcile that?”
Florentina Ukonga
“Nobody has been able to reconcile that, not even those who want to implement the law. Because basic questions other Nigerians…and other Nigerians have really stood up in stout defence of the poor victory, that look, you said this woman was caught committing adultery just because she had to have a baby. She didn’t have a baby by miraculous conception, somebody impregnated her, where is that man? Nobody is talking about it.”
The volunteers were this morning welcomed at the K.H.M.H. by High Commissioner Ukonga, Health Minister Jose Coye, hospital staff and members of the media.
