While watching a documentary on Sky News about the scourge of the Ebola virus in Liberia, I have been hit afresh by the reality of the terribly grim situation in that West African country. My utmost respect and admiration go out to the health workers who go through communities picking up the dead and dying, either to be buried or to be taken to the treatment centers. I dont know the amount of money that can compensate for this kind of work.These men and women are heroes and sheroes indeed. In addition, I cant help but feel very deep gratitude to God and much respect for all the people in Nigeria whose efforts contributed to stemming the encroachment of this terrible disease. Some people have made fun of the efforts of the Minister of Health and other governmant officials during this period. Some others have even said that what we experienced wasnt a serious situation, because if we had been faced with a bigger epidemic than we had, Nigeria would not have been able to contain it, especially because of the state of our health care system. This assertion may, or may not, be true, just as it is more likely to be true than untrue. But let us remember that one of the tests of good leadership and efficiency is when we can nip a problem in the bud, no matter what that problem is and in spite of its size. Anybody who has held a position of leadership/authority in an office, business, church, school, association, etc, will be able to relate to this.The situation we had at the time didnt need to be more serious than it actually was for us to judge the governments dexterity in handling crises.While the world is commending us for being the first country to have contained the Ebola virus, and in so short a time, some of us are insisting that the problem wasnt serious enough for us to deserve any accolades. What I can say to this kind of attitude is this: It is our way; the Nigerian way. We see wrong in every thing about ourselves. We dislike and distrust ourselves so much that even when we have done well, we refuse to acknowledge it. So, while we are at it- this self-flagellating that we love to do- let us even stop for a moment and think about the flip side of the coin. Let us ponder what would have been if the seemingly small situation we had wasnt handled properly and contained promptly. A huge chunk of our population, both in the villages and in big cities, would have been dead by now. What is happening in Liberia and Sierra Leone would been a big joke.
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 22:32:36 +0000
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