Daily Independent Online.
*
Friday, June 11, 2004.
Do not use GSM handsets at any hospital or in the rain
This story was told by a house-man in a local
hospital. A four-year old girl was admitted due to leg fracture. As it was an
open fracture, she had to undergo an operation to stitch the protruding bone
back in place. Though it was quite a minor operation, still she was hooked on
to a life system, as it is somehow part of the process. The doctors had to
input some date prior to the operation to suit different conditions.
Thereafter, the operation proceeded. Half way through the process, the life
support system suddenly went dead.
The culprit: somebody was using his/her mobile-phone
outside the operation theatre. And the frequency had affected the system. They
tried to track the fellow but to no avail. The little girl, young and innocent
as she was, died soon after. Sad to say, she was the only child. Message: Be
compassionate! Do not use your hand phone at any hospital or places where you
are told not to use it. You might not be caught in the act, but you might have
killed someone without knowing.
The use of GSM handsets in the rain can cause
untimely death, users have been warned. Pakistan's Fire Protection Association
(FPAP) warned that mobile phones attract lightning and can set callers on fire
in the rain. Lahore's Daily Times quoted an FPAP official as saying that electronic devices
were "ignition sources", and cell phone accessories can draw
lightning from the sky, causing serious harm and even death to mobile users.
The information above was sent to my e-mail box by a
friend and I deem it fit to share same with the larger public many of whom are
GSM telephone users. Since the advent of mobile telephony in Nigeria in 2001 or
thereabout, there has been a lot of irresponsible usage of the communication
device. For instance, in spite of repeated warnings by the Federal Road Safety
Corps (FRSC) that it is dangerous to use mobile phones while driving, many car
drivers are still in the habit; thereby constituting danger to other road
users.
The warnings at fuel stations and banks that
customers should switch off their phones on the premises are often ignored
while some air travellers are in the habit of not switching off their phones
when they are air-borne in the aeroplane. They therefore constitute avoidable
danger to other co-travellers. Oftentimes at workshops, conferences and
seminars participants usually break the ground rule that they switch off their
phones or if need be to put it on vibration only; this non-compliance therefore
constitute unnecessary distractions to the proceedings. It is quite unfortunate
to note that even during church services some worshippers still leave their
phones on thereby allowing the funny call tones to distract others at the
service.
I have heard it said that it is unhealthy to put the
mobile phones in the breast pocket as it can cause heart failure or attack, yet
it is commonplace in Nigeria to see guys keeping their handset in the wrong
places. The story was told of an elite who had his handset on while trying to
re-fuel his electricity generator; the mobile set ignited the fuel and the man
was consumed in the ensuring conflagration.
It is my humble opinion that the Nigerian populace
need to be sensitised to the dangers posed by the wrongful use of mobile
telephones. Much as they are desirable and needful, their usage should not be
abused. GSM operators, handset manufacturing companies and their dealers in
Nigeria need to sponsor a lot of enlightenment campaigns on the associated
dangers to the wrong use of mobile telephones. Safe and responsible use of
mobile phones should be encouraged and enforced.
Jide
Ojo,
Abuja,
FCT.
