In a chat on Your View, a Television Continental (TVC) live programme, Prof. Otoikhian who is also the founder of “Stop Sickle Cell in Africa,” dismissed the hope of cure or effective management of the disease, saying the disease is a curse.
“The death sentence is from both parents who are AS and SS and still go ahead to get married."
He described the management of sickle cell as a waste.
“Investing in a sickle cell child is like you load your money in a sachet and you are in a moving car, and you throw it through the window.” he said.
He disclosed that his foundation is working towards getting Africans to be aware that sickle cell anaemia is not reversible or curable and that the only solution is for people with AS genotype not to marry spouses with SS genotype.
He did not see any reason to mark the World Sickle Cell day either.
“What is there to celebrate,” he remarked asking why anyone would want to celebrate a disease that inflicts so much pain and anguish on sufferers.
His views have however not resonated well with Nigerians, especially people living with sickle cell anaemia.
A caller to the programme identified as Annette told him he was being insensitive and stigmatising sickle cell sufferers. Contrary to the Professor’s view, the caller said the World Sickle Cell Day was being marked to celebrate the sufferers.
“We are celebrating people. We are celebrating life,” she said.
Some Sickle cell sufferers have also reacted angrily to the Professor’s views.
One of them on twitter lamented: “Your guest has made me weep today. I won’t forget all he said about me and all living with sickle cell. I curse him and his useless foundation''.
text from Nigeriahealthonline
Watch the Video
*Rather harsh words used....very harsh!
He is painfully right, although he used harsh words, but then people need tough love, tough reprimanding, but then Nigerians don't like the bitter truth, tomorrow one AS will marry another AS and believe one yahoo pastor for a miracle. Wisdom is profitable to theeeee.....
ReplyDeleteHaba BB painfully right u say? That investing in a child with SS is a total waste? Will u tell me that in ur entire life uv not seen an SS grow to adulthood with proper education? Some even work. So u blv SS is death sentence? Is it every SS u know that has died?? Dis man is just doing ITK.
DeleteThat's d way u see it, the way I see it is, he is dissuading intending couples of the AS gene from getting married...simple, if u like be sentimental.
DeleteAgain, watch d video, don't comment based on twitter review n sentiments.
DeleteExactly at BB. He spoke harsh truth. Lost 2 siblings to SS , my younger bro been dating his As gf since 4yrs, we have begged, band the girl, did all sorts for still.... Am sure d Dr has an experience of SS and pple who still stupidly fall in love and give birth to SS.
DeleteMe I jeje born pikin as I no c compatible AA husband material, to God b d Glory, my sons father now wants marriage after 5yrs.
A lot of adults don't know there genotype at this age and time, its annoying. C Anunobi d actress and many more are childless cos of love, that one no mean say pikin wey wan die, no go die! But y b there killer?
Some people should learn how to talk abeg. Haba. This is too insensitive. A lot of people are struggling with it and you go live to make the situation worse for them. Na wah.
ReplyDeleteEven after saying this someone with AS will go ahead and marry an AS hoping for a miracle and they will start crying to SDK and the public about it. Pick the sense in what he said and educate those around you so that we can help our generation.
DeleteDo not criticise the man, our parents were ignorant of some of these science stuff and God has made us to learn and know it so that we can help ourselves and save the unborn kids from the sufferings attached to it.
Bonita some pple need to b harsh to b4 they get it.
DeleteToo insensitive. Hw can he say investing in that child is a waste. Let me give you my story Sir, my brother is 35 going on 36, married, has 2 boys, was a banker, now training to be a financial consultant. Sry i forgot to add he is a chattered accountant. So where is the waste here?
ReplyDeleteMy elder sisters friend is even 40. A doctor and married with twins and living with SS.
DeleteHer twin boys are AS and they have decided to stop on those twins.
This man's statement is insensitive. I know people need tough love. But you don't have the right to ridicule the SS kids that are already here.
I don't believe in bringing kids to the world to suffer but let's love the ones already here while we discourage those already in such AS AS relationship
Oh they are 36 and 40 and living healthy. Fo fucks sake...its been a painful and agonizing 36 and 40 years. They are not happy because at any time they fall sick. Get the sense from his message and stop talking sentimental nonsense. Ppl who are here r already here. He is speaking to intending couples. If africans did this 50 yrs ago...ss would be on its way out. But nooooo. We will pray this and we will pray that and i love him this and i love him that. Knowingly bringing ppl into the wotld to suffer. Fucking morons. This man is obviously exasperated and is done mincing words. U know an ss child will drain u financially, Emotionally and physically but u know ahead anyway because of stupidity selfishness and religious hope on a matter-of-fact issue. Is that not a wasted investment if u choose to do it knowingly. Arrrgggghhh. Stella make sure you post. I'm angry
DeleteVery smart comment
DeleteSry i forgot to say he is SS.
ReplyDeleteHe put it in a very insensitive way. He could have just given advice to people with AS or SS to avoid getting married to each other in order to lessen the scourge or advice people to check their genotype as to know who to avoid procreating with.
ReplyDeleteMy friend and her spouse are both AS. She recently got pregnant which I celebrated here but she was told she had to undergo a text at three months to check the baby's genotype and if it's SS they will advice accordingly but the choice is yours.
I don't know why education does not affect our people's level of insensitivity. This man calls himself a professor but I cringe at his comments.
Foolish professor. He dont know that these words he has spoken will have negative effects on people being affected and on parents.
ReplyDeleteYeye man
This is appalling. A professor of genetics. Rubbish.
ReplyDeleteHarsh but remains d bitter truth. They should start arresting d AS parents that intentionally bring these children to d world to SUFFER. That way, the rest that will want to go ahead to marry in d name of love will have sense.
ReplyDeleteI don't think being AS is the problem, the fact that someone who is well enlightened and educated and aware that he or she is AS will still go ahead to marry another AS; that's where the problem lies.
DeleteMost parents married ignorantly, but our generation is now fully aware of the consequences. So, they should be cautioned.
By the way, I am AS and my parents are both AA.
To the best of my knowledge, I am the only AS in my family.
MS you can't be AS if your parents are both AA. Pls let your parents repeat their genotype. One of your parents must be AS for you to have AS as your genotype. Is either you are not their biological child or that the is a mistake some where in the genotype of your parents and your own. Or may be you typed wrongly. Pls check again
DeleteIs this possible?? Go and check well again or ask your parents to check well or better still, make ur mama talk wettin happen o
DeleteMs A I don't understand how it is possible for you to be AS if your parents are both AA.
Delete@anonymous, although I'm not a doctor or in any of the science field, but I read a lot from experts about everything related to my body etc.
DeleteIt is possible although very rare.
Same thing with blood group, you don't have to to carry the blood type of your parents; it's a seven generation thing.
Thank you.
Ms A it’s not possible. Your mama play away match abeg. Your dad needs DNA test on you. Either that or they kidnapped you and don’t want to tell you. Don’t bobo is here. Some of us are professionals and experts in this field
DeleteMs A why are you arguing?
DeleteLet your parents have another test, one of them is DEFINITELY not AA!
😆😆😆
DeleteThat’s how my friends husband went around believing he was AA based on the medical test done before he started work back then (which made my friend marry him) only for their 2 year old to fall sick and blood test revealed he was SS
DeleteChaiiiiii..... mans brain wan scatter... my friend brain wan scatter... he repeated test and he is AS
Now they have an SS child that my friend .. something my friend had been rejecting suitors for
This life eh
IS HE SAYING PEOPLE LIKE US DONT HAVE HOPE?
ReplyDeleteMy dear you have hope. Your hope is in God Almighty
DeleteThis touched me, no mind the man dear, you have hope dear. Just be taking your drugs, you will be fine. One big supervisor in CBN is an SS, he will be retiring next year, count his age and consider he survived it. You too will survive in Jesus Name.
DeleteHnmmm someone close to me just lost his only beloved daughter to this plague. The man hasn't been himself all these days. It is well.
ReplyDeletePlease let's leave sentiments out of this. I watched the video and I agree having watched someone Bury 3 of her kids due to sickle cell
ReplyDeleteI have watched two people I know very well bury their son on New Year day and it was his 20th birthday.
DeleteIt is a bitter truth that was passed harshly to a now very sensitive society
In this modern age and time of plant stem cell revolution? Why should an SS suffer in silence? Please get my details from Stella if you want to remain healthy and strong.. This Professor should go back to school.
ReplyDeleteAnd how many can afford the treatment? 36 million naira! According to the prof, there's no 100% guarantee because the body can reject it. Too much misery for the patient and their loved ones. Best to eradicate the problem as the Prof said.
DeletePpl r sha stupid o. Oga how many... i ask how many ppl can afford stem cell treatment? Ppl r shouting stem cell as if it will be freely available to one and all. AS and AS stop mating. Just stop pls.
DeleteSILLY PROF!!! My brother-in-law is SS, his doing well in his business and his very kind as well. He takes care of his mother and siblings more the the AS banker sef and then sm clown calls training them a waste and he claims he has a foundation. Please if your a sicker here don't put what this man said to heart. You guys will be alright, bone marrow transplant changes one's genotype as well, guess he doesnt know that.
ReplyDeleteBone marrow transplant you say? I am SS and after my last crisis I contacted a hospital in the U.S about the procedure. They emailed me back giving an estimate of $250,000:00. Please how many people can afford this. The man is truly harsh but the truth is bitter. Sickle cell is horrible and anyone who deliberately in the name of love chooses to inflict this kind of pain KNOWINGLY deserves a life sentence. I can excuse my parents as they got married in the 70s where little knowledge was available. This is 2018! Google is your friend. It is not acceptable anymore. Wake up people. I am a very brilliant woman but I got passed over a few great opportunities because “you look really fragile. We are afraid to hire you”. I lost a sibling very suddenly to this disease and the thought of death is constantly torturing me. I am a Mum to 2 lovely kids and I would hate to leave them for any Witch to train if I’m not here anymore. Please let us do the right things.
DeleteEyah, kisses and e-hugs to you dear, my prayers to God Almighty for you too. You shall never die but live and reap from your kids the love you are giving them today in Jesus name. Is good that you are facing your fears and taking care of yourself too. Be strong all the way.
DeleteUgly man, ugly soul. So because he with his great education cannot find a cure he chooses to attack the parents and those with the disease. I bet if he had found a cure and was up for a Nobel prize this whole interview would have gone differently. There is a cure for every disease, and because you have not found it does not mean it does not exist. There was a time men believe the earth was flat and the earth was the centre of the universe, just because they believed it did not make it true. Maybe none of us will live to see the cure, but because we do not see it in our lifetime doesn't mean it does not exist right now.
ReplyDeleteMaybe your parents wasted their money training you because you are still ugly on the outside and on the inside. Education did not help you in life to be a better human being. You are a waste of education who could not make any in roads on a disease you claim to be an expert in. Geneticist my ass..mtscchw
Please,what are you saying?
DeleteYes,i agree that we are in the age of discoveries and technology.Sickle cell anaemia is genetic disorder just like albinism for example but sickle cell anaemia can "clearly and simply" be avoided,so why not avoid it pending when the "cure" is found?
Do you know the number of deaths he must have seen from SCA alone?I think he is beautiful and i'm really impressed that for the first time someone came out to say the truth
in a sane country, this guy would have been stripped of his degrees. Prof my foot. how can someone be this educated but no manners? cannot communicate his ideas in a gentle way. if this guy was a doctor, his kill rate would be very high cos he is the kind of person that will not even bother to turn uo for an emergency patient. how can one a genetic professor and have no compassion for people. yet i bet he is a christian. i blame the TV show too. they too should apologize to their viewers and distance themselves from this man. for the record, i know SS patients who are doing well with their lives, married and all. this life is by God's grace not by genotype
ReplyDeleteStripped because he borrowed it from you abi?
DeleteYou dare judge him based on religion, this shows how sentimental you are. You wanted him to preach false hope so that you can feel good and continue to languish in lack of knowledge.
You can not blame the TV station because that's what is known as fairness or balance in reporting.
Lastly, check statistics of SS patients "doing well" and those that suffer and eventually die before you talk that last paragraph. Deal with facts madam Sentimental Nigeria Ltd.
SS patients doing well indeed. Ur whole life is based on suffering. But because u live to 50...u r living well. Ask how many of them have quietly wished for death when the pain set in? Been there done that. Stop being sentimental. He served it hot...maybe some ppl will drink the tea this time....
DeleteActually she’s right. If this was the Us, he would’ve been penalized. In any case, he would never have talked like this
DeleteQuite insensitive of him. They didn't choose to be SS so we must show them love. Some of them live very long if the condition is properly managed. There is a cure for sickle cell anemia,the bone marrow transplant but its very expensive.
ReplyDeleteYes ooh! I watched it on IG yesterday. Yes he's being blunt but he said it rather harshly.
ReplyDeleteI served in Delta state & majority of my students were of the AS genotype & we had a couple of sickle cell carriers. Can't forget the many nights we stayed awake to keep them warm when they go into crises or the early mornings we had to rush them to the hospital.
🙁
Oga your speech are rather insensitive. Do you think they brought this to themselves? Why not encourage them rather than making them feel bad. For your information, sickle cell is no longer a death sentence. There are many routine drugs available, and very soon, FGN will partner with some Indian Doctors to have office here in Nigeria for Bone Marrow Transplant. My support for all the champions out there, you are a winner already.
ReplyDeleteWell said, thank you.
DeleteI watched this interview and I totally agree with the points he raised. Not everyone knows how to sugarcoat the truth and facts. The NGOs and foundations will keep getting funds and grants as long as couples keep breeding SS children. The Professor is simply saying "Stop it!".
ReplyDeleteIf two carriers are bent on getting married, let them refrain from having biological children. They can adopt instead. Love is not an excuse for anyone to punish their child or children. Can you imagine Eucharia's pain or Remi Surutu's sorrow? These two buried their children last year and it was heartbreaking to say the least.
If only the government can attach a jail term of ten years to this offence and insensitivity on the part of parents, people would definitely have a brain reset. May God have mercy on all sicklers and ease their pain especially those whose parents were truly ignorant.
this is where emotional intelligence comes in...you need to know how to convey a message the right way having in mind the mindset of the receiver...to any sickler reading this, dont let others define you. do the best you can and trust God you will live long
ReplyDeleteProfessor of Genetics my left foot! That man should be made to apologise to all people living with SCD or be sued by the foundation. Two of my professors in medical school had Sickle cell disease, yet they rose to become professors in medicine. Was their education a waste too? Its only in Nigeria you have learned people speak like motor park touts and get away with it. Mr arrogant professor probably meant to pass a message across, but it came out horribly wrong. As much as you blame the parents for the "very avoidable" parts they played,remember that the people living with this condition are human beings and DO NOT deserve this stigmatisation. Imagine saying investing in them is a waste? Kai! Its paining me more than the SS people sef.
ReplyDeleteHe is not referring to living SS carriers. This have is geared towards intending parents. People need to listen for understanding and remove sentiments.
DeleteHe is so harsh but he is speaking the truth. I know someone that keeps breaking up with her boo cause of As stuff then goes back. Should I pity such a person if they eventually marry. These people are well educated and yet blinded foolishly by love because they feel they cannot meet new people. The fools are hoping on modern medicine meanwhile no shingbai.Some people are ridiculous and selfish.
ReplyDeleteI watched the whole interview and yes- I agreed with his position. The Annette that called in is a boss in the sickle cell foundation. Truth is, until you encounter these SS patients, you won't get it!
ReplyDeleteHow can an enlightened adult say because of love, he/she must marry someone who has same gene. I dare say its a selfish choice and they do not consider the future of the child they are bringing into the world. Prof also mentioned that the 36m bone marrow transplant is not accessible to the vast majority of poor people who have these problems. Is that really help?
When it was described as a black people's disease, he pointed out that the white people put in strict measures to minimise sickle cell genes.
Africans and Nigerians are too sentimental. They do these things with the hope that some men of God somewhere would lay hands and heal them. My people, let us not seek spiritual revelations where common sense can be applied abeg!
Like my friend said yesterday, when she told some cancer patients that God would heal them, they looked at her in a way that made her disrespect her exposure and travels. They instead made plans on the best ways to manage their conditions. This in no way suggests that God doesn't heal, but he gave us minds and brains for a reason. Make emotionally intelligent choices that's all we are saying...
Tiri gbosa for u. Daz all👊👊👊
DeleteThe problem is that Sickle cell disease is supposed to be on the decline instead the number of people that have it presently are increasing tremendously, why?
ReplyDelete1. All these people that get pregnant anyhow without checking the blood group of their spouses.
2. Those that get pregnant in the name of bf or gf and hoping to trap the guys into marrying them...act of desperation or love, I do not know
3. The believers despite knowing the repercussion and thinking they can put their God to the test of the results changing in the lab.
For crying out loud, repeat your lab tests when you check your blood group in the hospital
For those who say they are AS and their parents are AA. Please go back and redo your tests and drag your parents with you. Such occurrence is like 0.000001% of being true. Unless erm...erm. Make I quiet here.
I will understand the illiterate parents but the enlightened ones who bring these kids into such pain and suffering do not deserve any pity because its sheer wickedness and selfishness on their part.
This professor is an asshole. There are companies like Blu that do research on blood hemoglobinopathies. Idiots like these are busy talking shit and decimating hope when there is hope and yes cure and yes methods for AS ppl to procreate without the incidence of sickle cell. This person needs to die by fire. Lazy mind.
ReplyDeleteThe best you can if you’re so much in love is to meet with your Gunnar preferably a fertility specialist and also a geneticist when you guys want to get pregnant and do selection. Yes, it is expensive but not nearly as costly as having SA kids... not nearly. And it’s getting cheaper everyday.. I know it’s a whole procedure with Ita protocols but it will give you peace of mind!!!
ReplyDeleteNot getting pregnant and keeping your fingers crossed and hoping for the best