AUN Professor Malachy Okeke's treatise on the Coronavirus has become one of the best-shared information about the pandemic since Nigeria reported its index case in February.
Published exclusively in Premium Times on April 12, the article titled: "Are Africans Immune to Coronavirus" urged Nigerian and other African Governments to sustain ongoing measures including social distancing, testing, wearing of facemasks and patient tracking, aimed at protecting their populations against the Coronavirus, as there exists yet no scientific proof that sub-Saharan Africans enjoy any form of immunity against the virus.
Premium Times Editors described the article as "well-written" and one of the most read since the outbreak of the pandemic.
AUN Founder and Nigeria's former Vice President, HE Atiku Abubakar, Waziri Adamawa, was so impressed with the piece that he tweeted it and shared on his widely viewed Facebook page. "I found this article on #Covid-19 by Professor Malachy Okeke very illuminating", said the Founder. "I recommend it to everyone". The piece has since been shared by 547 readers since it first appeared.
There were encouraging clap-backs. Musa Ibrahim Bere heaped praises on Atiku Abubakar: "Your contributions (to) the economic growth of Nigeria . . . are highly commendable. May Almighty Allah rewards you abundantly", while Okeh Godwin Okwesilieze thumbed up Dr. Okeke's paper: I totally agree with your advice. It won't be easy for Nigerians but prevention is better than cure".
Malachy Ifeanyi Okeke, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Sciences in the Natural & Environmental Sciences (NES) program, graduated first class from the University of Nigeria Nsukka before proceeding to the University of Tromso, Norway, for his Master's and doctorate degrees in Medical Biology. He held senior research and teaching positions in Norway, and was Senior Scientist, Molecular Inflammation Research Group, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, before joining AUN, in 2018. You can read the full article here