Nigerian scientist failed to win FG’s N36m award for treatment of coronavirus disease (Lassa fever)
Nigerian scientists and researchers have failed to win a total of N36 million offered by the federal government as a reward for finding a cure for COVID-19 and Lassa fever, a DAILY POST investigation has revealed. became.
The award was announced on February 13, 2020 by the then Minister of Science and Technology (now Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology), Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu.
However, an investigation by DAILY POST revealed that as of Tuesday, November 21, 2023, more than three years later, no one has been able to claim their winnings.
Announcing the award of the prize, Onu said: “I call on all Nigerian scientists to find a cure for coronavirus and Lassa fever. 36 million naira will be awarded to the scientist who can do this.”
“There is nothing that we cannot do that we want to do. Nigeria will contribute to the world,” he added.
At the time the minister dangled the bounty on Nigerian scientists, the coronavirus had not spread beyond China, where about 1,000 deaths had been recorded.
On March 1, 2020, less than a month after the announcement of the prize money, Professor Maurice Iwu, former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, met with Mr. Onu at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja and clarified the following: I made it. He described it as a potential treatment for coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Iwu is a professor of pharmacology and the potential treatment was developed by his research group, the Biological Resources Institute of Nigeria (BION).
Noting that a non-clinical evaluation agreement was signed between the research group and the Bureau of Microbial and Infectious Diseases, a US government agency, on February 27, 2020, Iwu appealed to the federal government and Nigerians to He appealed for support for development. It could be turned into a drug as a treatment. He said the only factor holding back the drug’s development is finances.
In his response to Iwu’s presentation, Onu advised the research group to provide its findings to a team established by the federal government to test potential treatments and medical innovations.
The minister added that the N36 million cash prize offered by the Federal Government to a Nigerian who discovers a cure for coronavirus and Lassa fever is meant to motivate scientists in the country.
Subsequently, in May 2020, following the announcement of the prize, the minister said a committee had been set up to investigate claims by some Nigerians that they had discovered a cure for COVID-19. It revealed that.
“You may recall that on February 13, 2020, I appealed to Nigerian scientists to find a cure for the coronavirus disease and promised a financial reward of N36 million.
“Since then, many institutions and individuals have sent us letters claiming that their research results and natural products can treat COVID-19.
“Therefore, a committee comprising fellows of the Nigerian Academy of Sciences would be helpful in considering these claims,” Onu said on May 14, 2020.
That was the last time I was asked about the prize money.
Iwu’s effort is the most widely known effort by Nigerian researchers and scientists to develop a treatment for the coronavirus.
Apparently, by the time COVID-19 spread around the world, Nigeria had to rely on importing vaccines from abroad to curb the spread of the disease, so Iwu and his research group are working hard to develop treatments. It seems that it was not successful.
Less is known about the efforts of Nigerian scientists to discover a cure for Lassa fever, a more localized and potentially deadly disease, and claim 36 million naira.
Lassa fever, a seasonal disease that usually occurs in parts of Nigeria during the dry season, still has no definitive treatment and most infections are fatal.
The total prize money of 36 million naira went unclaimed and forgotten.
Three years later, Nigerian scientists have failed to collect the 36 million naira prize money.
An official from the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology told DAILY POST that no scientist won the prize.
COVID-19 is no longer the public health concern it was when the federal government offered N36 bounties, and the offering appears to have been outpaced by events. Meanwhile, Lassa fever remains a public health emergency in Nigeria.
Investigations by DAILY POST further revealed that the prize money of N36 million was forgotten due to the resignation of the former minister who championed the project, Mr. Ogbonnaya Onu.
The departure of the previous government led by Muhammadu Buhari, who was president at the time the award was announced, shows that the issue has been overtaken by events and lost to history.
DAILY POST reported that three years later, many government officials involved do not even know about the 36 million naira prize.
When contacted by DAILY POST on Tuesday, November 21, the Director General of Media and Public Relations in the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, Aurora Obed, said she was not aware of the N36 million prize money.
“I wasn’t there at the time so I didn’t know anything about it. I’m new to the ministry,” he said in response to an interview with DAILY POST.
Minister Onu, while announcing the prize money, disclosed that the Nigerian Academy of Sciences has been entrusted with scrutinizing submissions from researchers and scientists to identify the recipients of the 36 million naira award.
Established in 1977, the Nigerian Academy of Sciences is Nigeria’s leading independent scientific institution dedicated to the development and advancement of science, technology and innovation, bringing scientific knowledge to proactively guide the country’s policy and strategic direction. It’s an institution.
However, when contacted by DAILY POST, the Academy President at the time the award was announced, Professor Most Onuoha, said the issue was not conclusive.
Asked if any scientists have won the award, he answered, “Not to my knowledge. I don’t think so. I don’t even know how many applications there were.”
“I don’t think the matter is settled, especially since the then minister (Ogbonnaya Onu) resigned over a year ago.”
Further, when asked if the Academy was concerned that a Nigerian scientist was not awarded the award, Onuoha suggested that the prize money was not clearly conceptualized.
“That’s a concern, but I don’t know how the minister has handled it. I heard the announcement, and the minister has spoken in several places since then.
“But I don’t know if there was a proper arrangement. There should be a timeline, a way to post, and if possible advertising. I don’t remember seeing any of it. All I remember is… I heard the announcement.”
The emeritus professor of geology added: “The Academy of Sciences has an award similar to the NLNG Science Award. The NLNG Science Award includes schedules, specifications, and all necessary details.
“Perhaps the minister was hoping that if he had anything, he would send it to the ministry in lieu of the N36 million prize money.
“If you look into it, you’ll find that either no one submitted it, or they submitted it but there was no uniform or directed procedure or focus.
“I think your findings are correct because if there was someone who claimed it (the 36 million naira prize), we would have known.
“We don’t know why that is, but it could be any of these things. No one thinks he did a good enough job to deserve the award.”
Continuing, he said, “36 million naira is not that big of an amount.The NLNG science award is also 100,000 US dollars, but they (NLNG) may have increased that now. 100,000 US dollars is 3,600 US dollars. It is a big amount compared to 10,000 naira.
“The academy gives money, but it also gives gold medals, because we recognize that money is important, but it’s not everything.”
Source: dailypost.ng