Recently, a very close friend of mine in his early sixties confronted me with a question which I  considered rather unusual:

"Uba, at what age should a man abstain from sex?"  'Sex?,' I intoned, wondering what must have prompted this question from such a gentleman that could easily be mistaken for a celibate.  

Of profound amazement is the fact that this friend of mine who looks every inch a misogynist, is not oblivious of the fact that I'm not a medical doctor, or sexologist. 

l looked at this man intently for some moments, mentally searching for the right answer to his question, when luckily, a bright idea flashed into my mind. 

I then responded with an air of triumph, by telling him that when The Great Zik of Africa was alive, he was once asked the secret of his longevity to which he answered: "Moderation in one's lifestyle."

Hoping that I had hit the bull's eye with my "brilliant" response, my friend was least impressed, saying that I was being unnecessarily hypothetical and evasive to his question, demanding that I should be categorical in my answer.

Though I did not make this known to my friend, I was thinking that as one advances in age, both his libido and even appetite for food would equally begin to diminish.

Even those hobbies he had always found interesting when he was younger, would no longer mean anything to him. So, why should that of sex be an exception, I had soliloquized.

Since I seem to have failed this exam  set for me by my friend, I hereby solicit the assistance of the esteemed readers of this post for bailout!

According to medical experts, malaria is an infectious disease that is spread by female mosquitoes that are infected with plasmodium parasites.

The parasites are said to be transmitted to humans through the bite of these female mosquitoes. The symptoms include; fever, fatigue, vomiting and headache, which could lead to death if not treated.

Reports indicate that the region with the highest number of malaria cases worldwide, is Africa, which Nigeria is the acclaimed "Giant."

According to the latest world malaria reports released in December, 2019, there were 228 million malaria cases in 2018 globally.

Back here in Nigeria, available statistics indicate that there are an estimated 100 million malaria cases, with over 300,000 deaths annually in the country. A figure that even made the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic a child's play!

More worrisome is the official records which show that 97% of Nigeria's population lives in malaria endemic environments, thereby making almost the entire population vulnerable to this deadly disease.

One wonders what could be more alarming and heart-wrenching, than the frightening death toll arising from this ailment annually across the country. 

Over the years, the government seems to have so trivialized the issue of this infectious disease, considering the kid gloves with which it is being handled.

Presently, all the nation's resources seem to have been massively channelled towards combating HIV/AIDS, Ebola, Lassa fever, including the novel COVID-19 pandemic, thereby relegating malaria (which I prefer to call the landlord), to the background.

With the above intimidating mortality rate resulting from this disease annually, one begins to wonder whether the government is not aware of this precarious situation, which is capable of exterminating us, if not decisively tackled.

A sexegenarian friend of mine recently confided in me that he suffers from malaria attacks every month, for about 20 years now. He listed the names of assorted anti-malaria drugs which he has continued to take, with little or no improvement.

In order not to (inadvertently) promote or run down the manufacturers of these drugs, I've restrained myself from mentioning the names of these drugs here. This is basically to "allow somnolent quadrupeds to remain reclining," as the proverb goes. 

But suffice it to say that most anti-malaria drugs in the country these days, are somewhat ineffective, as the disease seems to have developed strong resistance to them, hence the frightening death toll.

This is why the government should, as a matter of urgency, intervene and do everything possible to minimize the seemingly unending mortality rate of this silent killer.

Going by the available statistics of deaths arising from malaria which I'm being guided by, I want to observe that the deaths caused by this disease are far higher than that of COVID-19 pandemic when compared.

For instance, the latest COVID-19 updates (as at today, 3rd September 2020), show that the country has recorded a total of 1,027 deaths since the outbreak of this pandemic in the country in February this year.

This implies that the above deaths were recorded within barely a period of five (6) months. Now if you multiply 1,027 by 6, it will give you approximately 172. That's the average number of COVID-19 victims every month in the country. 

Now based on verifiable records on malaria, the country records an estimated 300,000 victims every year. When you divide the above figure by 12, it gives you 25,000. That means that malaria alone kills an estimated 25,000 persons in this country monthly. Wow!

So, what are we talking about? In fact most people strongly believe that COVID-19 pandemic is simply the twin sister of malaria, as both present similar symptoms, only that the novel pandemic was given a scary nomenclature, to hyperbolize its mortality rate, and instil fears in the minds of the people.

When the founder of DAAR Communications Plc, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi was discharged from COVID-19 isolation centre, the media mogul disclosed that throughout the period he was quarantined at the centre (alongside some family members), they were given only anti-malaria drugs, until they got recovered. 

It therefore goes without saying, that if only a quarter of the resources being mobilized to fight COVID-19, should be channelled to malaria, I can bet you that the country would have gotten rid of this national pestilence, or drastically reduced it to the barest minimum. 

While one is not in any way trying to downplay or under-estimate the deleteriousness of this global pandemic called COVID-19, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), should wake up to its responsibilities, and confront the elephant in the room. 

This is in tandem with the idiomatic expression which states that; "Elementary sartorial techniques initially applied, preclude repetitious actions to the squares of three."