The “bring back our girls” campaign has taken the backseat for now. Ebola safety tips now in the news.
Since the unfortunate incident that saw a Liberian American, Patrick Sawyer, spreading the Ebola virus into Nigeria, the aftermath the country is still contending with. Only God knows Sawyer’s motive, but whatever the motive may be, it has revealed the laxity of our officers and how porous the nation is.
Ebola has become a disease in Nigeria, which all efforts are directed to contain. It is a disease that kills faster than malaria or HIV/AIDS.
The manner in which Ebola crept into Nigeria should be a concern to stakeholders. How Sawyer outsmarted airport authorities and other officers calls for question. Because government officials have preoccupied themselves with money-making and politics, they could not strategise for the disease that has been threatening all other African countries.
More than five persons who came in contact with Sawyer either at the airport or at the First Foundation Hospital that he was rushed to in Obalende, Lagos, have died. Over 130 persons were quarantined in Lagos. The disease, spread mostly through body fluid, especially handshakes, and people are advised to wash their hands frequently with sanitisers. Contact with infected persons or dead persons are also discouraged to curtail the virus.
Some Nigerians are introducing religion as a potent factor in the cure of the virus. Even basic science has a religious angle in Nigeria. It was therefore not surprising when a text message started circulating weeks after the Ebola virus disease broke out that “people should bath with salt and water while reading Psalm 91 to prevent Ebola”. As funny as it may sound, many people took to the unscientific Ebola cure.
One can’t but wonder how events will turn out even as more people are infected with this deadly disease. Knowing Nigerians and their perseverance, one should expect the “Nigerian cure” to the Ebola virus very soon.
Bring back our girls has subsided, Ebola safety tips now on the news.
Ebola is no longer a fictional story we hear about on the news. It is now an unwelcome guest to Nigeria, walking among us and striking fear into the hearts of many.
. Elizabeth Adogbeji is a 300L student of Mass Communication at the University of Maiduguri, Borno State.