Gov Yari insists meningitis has spiritual undertone, as NMA says he’s wrong

Zamfara State Governor Abdulaziz Yari has insisted that the present outbreak of meningitis in Nigeria which has killed hundreds of people is a punishment from God.

But the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has condemned the claims made by Yari on cause of the disease.

Yari said the Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, has no basis to argue with him on that and promised to take him to Quran and Hadith where he based his comment on.

Yari was quoted to have said last Tuesday that the outbreak of Type C meningitis disease in Zamfara State and other parts of the country was as a result of total disobedience to God’s word and indulgence in fornication and other sins.

The comment did not go down well with Sanusi and several other Nigerians who came hard on Yari over the comments.

Sanusi had argued that with his knowledge of Islamic law, that the governor’s comments were totally incorrect.

But reacting during an interview on Channels Television, the Zamfara State governor argued that he still stands by his words and wondered why Sanusi, a degree holder in Islamic law, would chose to argue his comments.

He said, “I stand by my word that if people do not change, God will not change for them, because if you are looking for mercy, you have to be merciful to one another. Therefore, I will answer the Emir perfectly and give him the content of the Quran and content of the Hadith where I belong to and where I have my facts and why I mentioned what I mentioned that it’s in the Quran, in the Hadith.

“He knows it and I wonder, as a degree holder in Islamic law, why he says that I have no basis for making this comment.”

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has joined Sanusi and others to condemn Yari’s alleged claims.

Making clarification about the disease in Abuja, the President of NMA, Prof. Mike Ogirima and Secretary-General, Dr. Yusuf Sununu Tanko, said Cerebrospinal Meningitis ravaging five North-West states at the moment is an infection caused by Neisseria meningitides bacteria which is “rampant with overcrowding and transmissible via air.”

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