Zamfara State Governor Abdulaziz Yari has said that the ongoing outbreak of meningitis in the country is a punishment from God. He said the Type C Cerebrospinal Meningitis killing many in the country is God’s way of punishing Nigerians for their immoral conduct. 


The governor spoke in Hausa during an interview with State House reporters yesterday after meeting President Muhammdu Buhari.

"What we used to know as far as meningitis is concerned is the ‘type A virus’ which had been tackled through vaccinations by the World Health Organisation (WHO). However, because people refused to stop their nefarious activities, God now decided to send Type C virus, which has no vaccine," the governor said. 

"People have turned away from God and He has promised that ‘if you do anyhow, you see anyhow,’ that is just the cause of this outbreak as far as I am concerned. There is no way fornication will be so rampant and God will not send a disease that cannot be cured," Yari stated.

"The most important thing is for our people to know that their relationship with God is not smooth. All they need to do is repent and everything will be all right."

Asked whether leaders also need to repent, he said:

"Leaders are doing their best by enlightening the populace and working assiduously for the good of all."

He said a meeting of stakeholders in the state had adopted a strategy to deal with the outbreak. According to him, the five million doses of the vaccine announced by relevant organisations against the Type C meningitis in Nigeria "is not enough for Zamfara people alone, not to talk of Katsina or Kano".

"Our Focus as a state now is to continue treating those who are infected with the disease, but as for vaccination, it has an international dimension. We have information that Nigeria will get the highest percentage of the 5 million doses available now. Apart from WHO, other International bodies such as the Bill Gates foundation and UNICEF are also currently focusing on how to tackle the outbreak."