In recent times, statistics available have shown that in Nigeria, cervical cancer accounts for 15 per cent of female cancers as compared to just about 3.6 percent in the developed countries. Shockingly, less than 0.1 per cent of Nigerian women have ever had cervical cancer screening in their lifetime and less than 1 per cent is aware of the existence of this silent killer. Consequently, cervical cancer kills a woman every hour in the country. Although 100 percent preventable, the cancer kills more women aged 24 to 35 years old women in developing countries than any other cancer in other parts of the world.

“It is a shame that despite the simplicity of the cure, hundreds and sometimes thousands of people in Nigeria die every year from this disease. The worst is that they are usually slow and ineffective in responding to this epidemic,” a community health worker, Sheun Ademola told VF.

“I was not born a blind man; rather I started having eye problem when I was four years old in my Ubulu village in Eziowelle. The problem was diagnosed as cataract on the two eyes but I was able to manage to go to primary school, although it was difficult for me to see what was written on the board with it.

The recent multiple auto accident on the Otedola Bridge along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway which claimed several lives has once again brought to the fore the question of alleged police culpability in such incidents.

Their zeal for work was palpable; which is why everyday these workers, mostly women, some with their babies resting firmly on their backs, defy sun and rain as they storm major streets of Minna, the Niger state capital, with brooms and rakes in their hands to keep the streets clean. And with time, they succeeded in transforming the once dirty environment to a more friendly and habitable place.