Ebola in the time of Ebele
By Yomi Odunuga
Four months after Chibok happened, Ebola scourge
has brought another dimension of high anxiety,
breaking into the nation’s consciousness with such
deathly impact. There is an increasing number of
suspect victims of Ebola while two persons have died
of the expensive but deadly joke about using water
as prophylactic treatment of Ebola.
When President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan tagged Mr.
Patrick Sawyer a “mad man” for irresponsibly
ignoring a travel restriction out of Liberia and
thereby becoming the sole carrier of the deadly
Ebola virus into Nigeria, many said it was an un-
presidential retort. Well, I beg to differ; there is
time to be statesman-like and there is time to be
completely human, especially when one is
confronted by deadly realities that can wipe out so
many lives in a matter of weeks. Of course, I’m
aware of the age-long cliché here that the living
should not speak ill of the dead.
However, we should understand that what the late
Sawyer did was not just a despicable act but callous
in its entirety. And regardless of how well we try to
cover rotting cadavers with the fragrance of a
thousand flowers, it does not in any way equate a
licence to make heaven. Buffeted by truckloads of
problems that continue to defy any quick fix
solutions, Sawyer’s tragic visit couldn’t have come at a
worse time in the life of this country.
That singular trip to Nigeria has thrown an entire
nation into confusion, aside exposing its citizens to
one of the deadliest diseases that ever afflicted
mankind. Now, we all live in real fear of one another
while concern mounts across the globe. Today,
Sawyer is gone yet he is here with us daily.
Collectively, we remain the potential collateral
damage of his act.
The virus he left behind is spreading like wildfire,
unleashing its fatal blow and ravaging our souls. The
signs are not just visible in the violence of the
President’s swear words but also in the reality of
death that haunts the land. This Sawyer left a sour
taste in our mouth. Since Sawyer had nothing
positive to contribute to our nation’s woes; he
should, at least, have spared us the anguish of
cursing his cremated body to the lonely grave.
If he had hearkened to the wise counsel to go into
seclusion or surveillance, to determine if he had
been infected with Ebola virus following the death of
his sister of the virus in Liberia, we could have been
spared the anxiety over an epidemic which Jonathan,
in his legendary uninspiring dry comic, has vowed to
eliminate in just two months! Anyway, we all know
what to believe when our President gives timelines.
Or is there anyone in his cabinet that can refresh our
memories on the timelines that have been met by
Jonathan even on matters he has full control over?
But then, this is not about presidential bashing. It is
about what the grave indiscretion of the late
Liberian- American, Mr. Sawyer, is inflicting on our
psyche. In far-away USA, Sawyer’s wife, Decontee
Sawyer, who is a radio host in New York, gave a
robust defence for her husband’s decision to visit
Nigeria.
She explained that Mr. Sawyer had no trust in the
healthcare system in Liberia and had possibly headed
to Nigeria with the hope of receiving better
treatment for his ailment. Surely, he had a flawed
picture of our healthcare system and he was unaware
that our VIPs would rather die in foreign hands
instead of our mismanaged hospitals.
And even if that were the case, how come the
relevant authorities in Nigeria were never informed
of that sickening visit? Or could it be that certain
persons knew about the deadly trip but closed their
eyes and blocked their eardrums in exchange for
crisp dollars? We need to know what really
transpired before Sawyer boarded a Nigeriabound
plane! With an epileptic health system that has gone
into the intensive care unit as medical doctors
continue with their strike action over unfulfilled
promises by the government, it is laughable that
Jonathan could come up with that rude joke of a
scoring a triumph over the Ebola scourge within 60
days.
As I write this, two health workers, a medical doctor
and a nurse, have died from the disease. They were
directly involved in treating Mr. Sawyer at the First
Consultant Hospital, Lagos. A protocol officer who
had contact with Sawyer also died of the virus on
Tuesday in Lagos. Eight infected persons, including a
nurse who just got married recently, have gone into
seclusion while 177 persons have gone under
surveillance.
In a country where records of movements and
crossborder activities are rarely monitored, we
would be deluding ourselves to think that the data
above is anywhere near accurate. And that is exactly
where the problems lie. No one can say for sure how
many Sawyers are spreading the virus in hidden
places as the government battle to confront the
scourge.
A nurse, who was one of Sawyer’s primary contacts in
Lagos, has been tracked to Enugu. She travelled to
her home town to visit her family but she is now
under surveillance with 20 others she came into
contact with in the city. With the development, the
total number of Nigerians under monitoring for the
dreaded virus is now 198.
Even in climes with near-perfect policies on health
and environmental issues, governments and citizens
have to tread with caution while keeping tabs on
developments in West African countries that are
mostly affected by the scourge. Perhaps, we would
have been saved from the “pure madness” of Sawyer
if relevant agencies had been proactive in sensitising
Nigerians on the threat that Ebola virus poses to
humanity.
While it is not impossible that some of us would have
ignored the warnings; claiming with the usual
Nigerian religious fervour that Ebola virus cannot be
the ‘portion’ of God’s children, I’m sure that many
other Nigerians would have since begun applying
much caution in their daily interactions. They would
also have observed certain precautions including
maintaining the highest form of hygiene.
In truth, what the Sawyer madness has done is to
rekindle our legendary fire brigade approach in
tackling clear and present danger. When the
President’s immediate response included releasing
some millions of dollars, we realize that as usual, we
don’t fail to throw money at our problems. A friend
of mine has warned, jokingly though, that the money
should not be “isolated and quarantined” into private
pockets! Today, we now know the danger the
slightest of delay can cause in the life of a nation.
If Sawyer had not evaded the Liberian authorities
who had placed him under surveillance, and found
his way into a Lagos-bound plane via Lome, Togo and
Accra, Ghana, we wouldn’t have been running from
pillar to post gulping all manner of ‘medications’ to
ward off a virus that kills within 21 days of infection!
Aside the fact that handshakes and hugging have
been left to the discretion of those who dare to take
the risk in public gatherings including worship places,
the dying and the dead may no longer be availed the
traditional last minute love and kindness hitherto
extended to them by close family members.
The Ebola virus is so latent that it still poses danger
to anyone that comes in contact with the remains of
an infected person. An ordinary handshake or any
contact with the secretion of the infected is all that is
required for one to become a victim of a disease
that was imported into Nigeria by ‘one mad man’ as
the President noted. Listen to Jonathan: “It is
unfortunate that one mad man brought Ebola to us,
but we have to contain it.
As a government, we promise that we will do
everything humanly possible to contain the Ebola
virus. My conversation with the WHO D-G, Dr
Margaret Chan was revealing. She said 60 per cent of
the transmission was spread during burials. That is
why in my announcement; I’ve been saying that
people should be careful about burials. Some people
like burial ceremonies. This is not the time for burial
ceremony, somebody is dead, he is dead, leave him
there.
This is not the best time for those ceremonies. If he
is dead, he is already dead, Sawyer that brought this
Ebola to Nigeria; his sister died of Ebola, and he
started acting somehow, his country asked him not to
leave the country, let them observe him, but the
crazy man decided to leave and found his way here.”
What I feel is the shrill anguish of a man who is
deeply concerned about a clearly avoidable affliction
one foreign body has wrought on a country of over
160 million souls. It’s not just about the dead not
having a decent burial.
It’s also about how the living- –men, women, boys,
girls, poor, rich, old and young—have become
victims of the murderous intent of the dead Sawyer.
Surely, no one can blame the President for being
rash in his comments even if the subject of
presidential anger is as dead as death itself. I’m sure
we won’t blame him either if he transfers such
positive vibes to nailing those who daily plunge
Nigeria into chaos by their action and inaction.
How wonderful would it be to see a President who
calls a spade by its name and not just a farming
implement? How heart-warming would it be to see a
Jonathan comfortably calling corruption by its
damned name without cloaking it with a more
tempered language! Now that we know that we have
a President that could burst into a fit of riotous rage
even at the dead, we can only hope he would be that
enraged in a determined effort to pull the country
out of the brink!
Culled from The Nation
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