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Author: Moses Solanke

  • Oyo NAWOJ sensitises market food vendors on cholera

    Cholera

    By Oluwaseyi Oduneye-Ogunwomoju

    Ibadan, June 27, 2024 (NAN) The Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Oyo State Chapter, on Thursday visited some food markets in Ibadan to sensitise vendors on Cholera and how to prevent its spread.

    NAWOJ Chairperson in the state, Omolola Alamu, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the association needed to collaborate with the state government to check the outbreak.

    “NAWOJ is campaigning against the spread of cholera because we don’t want the people of Oyo State to contract cholera and, thereby, spread it in the state,” she said

    Alamu said the association went around to educate food vendors on the importance of maintaining good personal hygiene.

    “We need a clean environment; we must ensure that food cooked for public consumption is done in a good environment and with clean water,” she said.

    According to the chairperson, proactive steps are needed to ensure Ibadan residents are aware of cholera, going by the town’s proximity to Lagos, a state with high records of victims.

    “There’s a need for urgent and proactive steps to ensure that everyone is aware of cholera; knowing what to do and what not to do.

    “We picked food markets because many of the citizens buy cooked food to eat daily, and this is one of the fastest ways to contract cholera.

    “We are educating food vendors to ensure that what they are selling is made with clean water and in a healthy environment,” she said.

    Meanwhile, Dupe Fehintola, Chairperson, Nigeria Union of Journalists, Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS) Chapel, said it was pivotal to educate the public on preventive measures against cholera.

    According to her, “Prevention is better than cure.”

    Fehintola said she was surprised that some of the market men and women were not aware of the cholera outbreak in the nation.

    “We met people eating under unhygienic conditions, but we educated them.

    “We saw children picking things on the ground, but parents are ignorant that at this period in time, one needs to be very careful.

    “We, however, encouraged the children to constantly wash their hands with soap and water after playing around,” she said.

    She added that at the Okirika market, two women said they had taken it upon themselves for a while now to educate their colleagues on the importance of proper hygiene.

    “The market men and women are now getting more informed about cholera as we furnished them with more information in a one-on-one talk,” she said.

    NAN reports that food markets at Aleshinloye, Dugbe and Oke-Ado were visited. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

    SEY/MAS

    Edited by Moses Solanke

  • How Cholera outbreak is changing our lifestyles – Ibadan residents

    Cholera

     

    By Oluwaseyi Oduneye-Ogunwomoju

     

    Ibadan, June 25, 2024 (NAN) Some residents of Ibadan, Oyo State, said on Tuesday that the cholera outbreak had compelled them to reconsider their eating habits and develop mechanisms to keep up with the situation.

     

    The respondents made their views known in separate interviews by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

     

    A motor mechanic at the Scout Camp area of the town, Mr Wale Adeyemi, says others like him feel hit the most being artisans.

     

    According to him, since artisans rarely cook at work, they depend on food vendors.

     

    “One can’t expect people like us to cook when we are at our workshops. We buy food to eat as the only food most of us have at home is dinner.

     

    “We have food hawkers who come daily to sell to us but now, many of us don’t patronise them again.

     

    “Now, as my wife is packing the food for the children, she’s packing mine along. I also take garri and groundnuts or bread to ensure I have at least two meals at work.

     

    “I’m not buying food from anyone until the government will announce there’s no more cholera in Ibadan,” he said.

     

    A pepper seller at Challenge, Mrs Basirat Lawal, likens this period to the days of COVID-19, as she recalls the precautionary measure of the COVID-19 days being replayed.

     

    Lawal says she’s practising regular handwashing and mindful of where she buys her cooked foods.

     

    “Since I heard about the cholera incident and learnt it started from drinking tiger nuts, I have stopped buying zobo from my customer.

     

    “If I don’t bring food from home, I buy food from just one person because I trust her cooking hygiene, or I simply buy bread and coke.

     

    “My children need me healthy and alive because they are still young,” she said.

     

    Meanwhile, a barber, Mr Ahmeed Yinusa, described the experience restraining him from eating from different sources as the toughest in his over 30 years of existence.

     

    “One of the toughest things on earth is seeing food and not being able to eat it because that’s the fastest way to contact cholera.

     

    “I won’t lie, it is not easy for me. Well, maybe it wouldn’t have been this tough if I had been married.

     

    “I hope the government are proactive in ensuring that this situation ends soonest,” he said.

     

    In the banking sector, Miss Opeyemi Aboderin said hand sanitisers had become their go-to having to attend to several customers daily.

     

    Aboderin says she applies her hand sanitiser after exchanging items or documents with customers.

     

    “I know hand sanitisers are not 100 per cent effective as using water and soap, but looking at my environment, going back and forth to the washroom is not possible.

     

    “To stay healthy, I now wake up a bit earlier than before to prepare food that I’ll have as lunch.

     

    “This is, however, not convenient considering the nature of my work,” she said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

     

    SEY/MAS

     

    Edited by Moses Solanke

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