The United States is using the epidemic of the
Ebola virus to advance its imperialist agenda in
West Africa, a civil rights activist and journalist
in Detroit says.
Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News
Wire, made the remarks in a phone interview with
Press TV on Tuesday while commenting on
President Barack Obama’s announcement that
the US military will be involved in tackling the
Ebola outbreak in West Africa, arguing that it
represents a serious national security concern.
"I believe this is just another means for the
United States military intelligence’s deeper
penetration of the African continent. Already the
United States has military presence in Libya, in
Sierra Leone, as well in the west African state of
Nigeria, all of which have been... impacted by the
epidemic of the Ebola virus,” Azikiwe said.
"The only way in which this disease can be tackled
is through the proliferation of medical personnel,
trained doctors, nurses, the development of the
field hospitals and clinics, and it’s through this
process that the disease can be arrested," he
added.
"The reason why this disease is having such a
traumatic impact on Africa... is the fact that there
are not adequate healthcare facilities in these
various countries -- adequate research facilities --
so this disease can be tackled both through
research as well as through medical treatment,"
the civil rights activist noted.
"This treatment will be designed to contain a virus
and also to eliminate it. But it's not a military
solution, it's a medical solution, and the medical
solution is definitely related to the lack of the
development, the lack of resources inside the
region," he stated.
"The Ebola cases that have been sent to the
Unites States for treatment have gotten very
positive results. That is directly related to the level
of medical facilities and healthcare professionals
[in the US] that can address this issue," Azikiwe
said. "But it's not a military issue, it's a medical
issue, and the medical issue is definitely related to
the question of development in West Africa."
"[T]his is the only way of which there will be a
long-term solution for this crisis. The disease at
this point is a threat for West Africa; but it's also
an international threat because there's no way it
can be contained strictly in the West African
region," he emphasized.
He added that “there have been some cases in
the northern region of Democratic Republic of
Congo. Although they are claiming the outbreak is
unrelated to the outbreak in West Africa, still we
go back to the question of adequate medical
facilities and adequate medical personnel.”
“So this is the real solution and [regarding]
AFRICOM - the United States Army Command for
the Africa Region - these military intuitions are not
established for the purposes of healthcare. They
are established for the purpose of carrying out
the United States' imperialist foreign policy in
Africa and this is just another mechanism for
Barack Obama to move in that direction,” Azikiwe
concluded.


Link http://edition.presstv.ir/mobile/detail.aspx?id=378229

That's Westerner for you, trying every means to gain economic benefits.

The more reason we must shun the current model of success in Nigeria (neo-colonial thinking, corruption and laziness) and begin to trace the path of originality, self-reliance and productivity