Two key areas of advancement that could have made life easy for Nigerians through capacity to resolve life-threatening medical conditions with ease and the use of fingerprints to track criminal elements are not being taken seriously by the Federal Government, experts have posited.
The experts, Geneticists, Emeritus Professor Olufunmilayo Adebambo and Prof Ikhide Imumorin stated that the absence of a comprehensive genetic database of all persons residing in the country is major reason why early detection of cancer and other grave health conditions as well as the use of technology to track criminals have become very difficult.
Prof Adebambo who retired from the Federal h University of Agriculture, Abeokuta(FUNAAB) and Prof Imumorin, Executive Director, California State University Biotechnology PProgramme gave the hint while featuring as guests on the popular monthly online interview discourse, Boiling Point Arena.
The current affairs programme, hosted by a media professional, Dr Ayo Arowojolu and chaired by a frontline traditional ruler, the Olówu of Owu, Oba Prof Saka Matemilola, was transmitted via Zoom and broadcast live on six radio stations.
The topic of discourse was, “Genetic Revelations: Understanding the Conundrum of Paternity Conflicts in Modern Families”
Addressing the topic, the experts affirmed that the much-needed genetic database can never materialize without the Federal Government funding researches leading to a population-based genetic analysis based on DNA testing.
Adebambo, an acclaimed Nigeria’s first female Professor of Animal Breeding, Genetics and Biotechnology, said Nigeria still has a long way to go as the database signposts a major foundation for many developmental needs desired for the country.
According to her, “At creation, God already standardized genetic makeup of every human being and animal. If anybody has lived on this planet, the bone can tell us about the DNA, about the genetic makeup. The hair, even the nail can give us the genetic makeup, the immune genes, because it’s already programmed by God.
“The Immune Genes are created by God and are genetically inherited to control our disease system. Even diseases are inherited. Everything about our inheritance are already coded right from the beginning of our existence.
“Right now in Nigeria, there is a dire need for human genetic database like they have in the United States of America and Europe especially for criminal tendencies. So you can’t escape if you are a criminal because the moment you enter those countries, they will take your fingerprints and the fingerprints are already loaded into the database.
“The database is what we are lacking in Nigeria. But, before we can say we need the database, the Government has not really funded genetic research. God will help us in Nigeria.
“It has become very important for us in Nigeria to begin to look at our DNA, our genetic inheritance, every cell in our body and our hormone system are all coded.
“The database will greatly improve our health system. Our system can be personalized individually even up to drugs. There are certain drugs you can use that some other people cannot use. It also determine blood transfusion issues”
Om his his part, Prof Imumorin also spoke in the same vein, lamenting that there has never been any proper population-based genetic analysis in Nigeria stemming from any rigorous scientific survey.
He said: “The impact of genetic testing in medical applications cannot be over-emphasized. We are looking into a world in the US and in many other advanced countries where many therapies can now be personalized.
“So if you’re a patient, maybe, for cancer treatment, rheumatoid arthritis or some kind of neurological treatment like Parkinson’s disease or paranoid Schizophrenia or multiple Sclerosis, there are a number of things out there for which they now have very, very good testing. What that means is they will take your DNA and they will analyze your DNA to get your profile. And that profile, which is personal to you, will now be used as a basis to find a very particular therapy that is tailored to that particular profile.
“I’ve lived in the US for a very long time. Here, there’s a system that works to avert the issue of baby swapping or switching. They make use of appropriate tags which are put on the baby and same on the mother right from the labour room. And so, between the time the baby is actually born and the time the mother and baby are discharged, there is a window of time when the baby is in the nursery. It’s like a Big place where they have all these beds lined up side by side where they put all the babies.
The US based geneticist therefore appealed to the Federal Government to urgently prioritize the issues of database critical to the developmental progress of Nigeria.
The two experts however appealed to the Federal Government to come out with a policy that make every state of the Federation to set up a genetics screening laboratory where babies would be within a week after delivery, be screened for genetically inherited life-threatening medical conditions. They affirmed that if the genetic screening process is implemented like the National Immunisation Programme, the country the cases of children and adults suffering from inherited life threatening diseases would be minimised.
“To address the issues of inherited life threatening diseases, which on most situations are very expensive and sorrowful to manage at later stages of life, the Federal Government should as a matter of policy, encourage every state of the Federation to establish a genetic screening laboratory where every child born in that state will be screened within a week after delivery.
“It has to follow the National Immunisation Programme (NPI) pattern. When this is done, the doctors will know how to treat and prevent the spread of any inherited disease detected on any child at birth,” the experts posited.
The phone in discourse lasted for two-hour and was broadcast live on WASH FM, Lagos, Sweet FM, Abeokuta, Roots FM, Abeokuta, Ẹrimbe FM, Shagamu, Women Radio FM, Mowe, and Kruzz FM, Asaba.
