The Ebola war

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THE world is  at war. Before you say the  Third World War!,  let me quickly add that it is not a war between nations, but a war by man to save himself from extinction. It is  a war to save the human race from being wiped out by the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), which hereinafter shall be referred to as Ebola.  Until a few days ago, Ebola seemed so  distant  from us.  It was something  we heard about in  other countries.

To the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea (DRC), Zaire, Sudan, Sierra Leone and Liberia, Ebola is not something strange. They have been living with the deadly virus, which has killed hundreds of people in those countries for years. Ebola kills within the twinkling of an eye if the victim does not pay attention to his health in good time. It can kill as fast as within three to 21 days.

Ebola took the world like a storm in 1976 in two simultaneous outbreaks in Nzara, Sudan and Yambuku, DRC. Yambuku is close to the Ebola River from which the disease got its name. These countries still experience seasonal outbreaks of Ebola, the latest of which has spread to Nigeria, Spain and the United States (U.S). Ebola was imported into Nigeria on July 20 by a Liberian, the late Patrick Sawyer, who flew in through Lome, Togo, to evade being stopped at his home country’s airport since he knew he was an endangered specie.

The late Sawyer, who was also an American citizen,  deliberately brought the disease to Nigeria. We do not need to be diplomatic in expressing our feelings over  this matter; I believe we should say it as it is because the late Sawyer did not mean well for this country by travelling down here in his endangered  state.  It was sheer wickedness for him to have done that.

He knew that he had Ebola and was therefore, literally,  carrying death in his luggage.  He knew that he was not supposed to travel in that condition, yet he did. He knew that he should not have contact with people, yet he sat comfortably with others in the plane.   The late Sawyer, as an  educated man, knew all these, yet his conscience did  not prick him.

What is so important about the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) conference he was coming to attend in Calabar, the Cross River State, that he sneaked out of  Monrovia, the Liberian capital, for in his killer state?  We have not been told the whole truth about how he left Liberia.

Through his despicable act, over 160 million Nigerians are today at risk of Ebola. Anywhere you turn today, the fear of Ebola is palpable.  The young and the old have nothing else to discuss, but Ebola – and its cure(s). This is why we have heard of the bitter cola and salt water therapies, among others.

These therapies are no match for Ebola, experts have said. Despite experts’ advice, I can boldly say here  that many will not report to hospital if they take ill, but will try out  these therapies first before going to the hospital as last resort. That is the way we are as Nigerians. But for the sake of our families and neighbours, this is the time for us all to, more than before,  be our brother’s keeper. Let us report all known cases of ill health before they get out of hand. By so doing, we will be saving lives and will not be carrying death all over the place like the late Sawyer.

Through the late Sawyer’s inhuman act, we have lost a nurse, while a doctor, another nurse and others who had primary contact with him are in hospital for Ebola infection. These people contracted the disease while trying to save his life when he was rushed to the First Consultants Hospital in Obalende, Lagos, last July 20. They were infected in line of duty by a patient, who knew what he was suffering from, but intentionally kept quite. What a callous and cruel act. Scores of others also came in contact with him at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Ikeja, Lagos from where he was rushed to the hospital.

He has endangered the lives of all these people who did not know that he had Ebola and were genuinely helping a man who they saw was ill. It is so painful that our people showed him so much care in order to save his life, but in  the end got what they never bargained for. Since the Liberian government knew about the late Sawyer’s status why did it allow him to leave the country for Nigeria?  I do not buy the argument that he ‘escaped’. How  could he have escaped if he was in isolation. The thing is that the government left the late Sawyer  to his own devices  despite being aware that he lost a sister to Ebola.

If other countries allow Ebola victims to leave their shores, where will the world be today? Ebola cases will abound all over the place with the risk of the entire world being wiped out. But the late Sawyer’s evil  plan was not against the world but against Nigeria. But he forgot that Ebola knows no boundary once a victim is let loose like the way he sneaked out of his country to  come to  Nigeria where  he died on July 25. There was nothing for the late Sawyer to come and pick here. So, he should have remained in his country to manage his ailment. And who knows, he might have survived if he did not take up the additional burden of travelling in that his very weak and sick state.

We have an emergency on our hands as the government has noted. People who caught  the virus in line of duty should not be abandoned to their fate. This is not a job hazard that they should be left to bear alone.  There are job hazards and there are job hazards, but this  hazard is a different one entirely.  Although the government has risen to the challenge so far, more still has to be done.The government must ensure adequate  protection of health, airport, Customs, Immigration and allied workers if we are serious about containing Ebola. These are the people that will do the job and if there is no protection for them, they may abandon work  and we all know what that means.  The late Sawyer put us through all this stress because of his evil intentions. Why did such an urbane man behave that way?

This is why I agree with President Goodluck Jonathan that the late Sawyer was a ”mad man”. If he was not mad, he would not have brought Ebola here and kept mute when he fell seriously ill.   If he was not mad,  he would have  opened up at the hospital   when his condition worsened that ”look this is what I may be suffering from having lost a sister to Ebola”.  Our people say the dead does not shield himself from those that will bury him. At that point there was nothing for him to hide again.  If he had no ulterior motive that was what he should have done as a gentleman. My fear is that those who came with him from Liberia for the Calabar conference are on the loose.  If they have the virus, they might have infected other participants without knowing.

The problem is how do we trace these people and  those  they came in contact with. We have a hell of a problem on our hands. Because of the callousness  of one man, a nation of over 160 million people is being threatened to be wiped out  by Ebola. If this is the intention of the late Sawyer and his collaborators, they will not succeed. Nigeria will overcome Ebola, come what may.