National
Fury Over FG’s Plea For Ventilators From S/African Billionaire
By Ayodele Oluwafemi
Angry reactions have trailed the action of Nigeria’s Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning’s plea for ventilators from Tesla and Pay Pal founder, Elon Musk.
The verified official handle of the ministry, on Wednesday, responded to the tweet of the South-African born billionaire’s offer of ventilators.
Musk, who founded the electronic automobile company, Tesla Inc. had on Wednesday, announced on Twitter thus:
“We have extra FDA-approved ventilators. Will ship to hospitals worldwide within Tesla delivery regions. Device & shipping cost are free. Only requirement is that the vents are needed immediately for patients, not stored in a warehouse. Please me or @Tesla know.”
Responding to the tweet, the verified Twitter account of the Ministry of Finance replied “Dear @elonmusk @Tesla Federal Government of Nigeria needs support with 100-500 ventilators to assist with #Covid19 cases arising every day in Nigeria.”
The tweet was on Thursday deleted.
A ventilator is a breathing aid to assist critically sick persons to breath and is said to be useful in handling critically ill COVID-19 patients.
Recall that the Minister of health, on Tuesday Osagie Ehanire, disclosed that Nigeria may not need many ventilators for COVID-19 patients.
The appeal by the Ministry turned into a subject of controversy, as many Twitter users argued that the plea is a national embarrassment, considering the billions donated by private individuals and organizations for the fight against COVID-19.
Some segment of Twitter users argued why the ministry decided to follow unconventional means instead of applying formal means of international engagement.
GreenwhiteGreen gathered the following reactions:
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