By Dare Akogun
The Senator representing Kwara Central in the National Assembly Mallam Saliu Mustapha, has admonished Nigerians, particularly wealthy individuals and corporate organizations to contribute to efforts at raising awareness and public sensitization on early detection of cancer.
Mustapha, in a statement issued by his media office in commemoration of World Cancer Day, appealed to citizens to get involved in the crusade to eradicate cancer in the society.
The legislator, who is also the Turaki of Ilorin, emphasized the need for wealthy individuals and corporate organizations to complement government’s efforts towards stepping up awareness and public enlightenment on cancer.
He said, “we need to invest and have a funding pool to fight cancer scourge in our country as late detection makes cancer very difficult to be successfully managed, hence the need for us to come together as one to ensure increase awareness on this disease”.
While appreciating the investment of Kwara state Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq in the health sector with the provision of modern equipment and employment of medical personnel, the Kwara Central Senator said citizens must be ready to partner the government and support the worthy cause of eradicating the disease because the fight against the scourge requires the support of all.
“As we are marking World Cancer Day, I want you all to know that the war against cancer is for everyone to fight. Many lives have been lost in Nigeria and globally everyday to this scourge. Based on medical advice, we are made to know the importance of early detection through regular screening to tame the disease.
“On our own part, we will continue to support initiatives geared towards saving the lives of our people, especially against cancer and other related diseases. But I want to re-emphasize that we can save precious lives and prevent needless death from cancer if we can raise public consciousness and ensure massive awareness on the likely causes of cancer, prevention and treatment”, he said.
The Turaki of Ilorin encouraged the country’s tertiary institutions of learning and medical laboratories as well as Research Institutes to further research into the disease and recommend actionable panaceas to tame the spread of cancer.
While urging cancer patients not to give up the fight against the scourge, Senator Mustapha called on Nongovernmental Organizations to work with the government at levels to have access to diagnosis, prevention and treatment of cancer.
