2014: THE YEAR NIGERIA WOULD NOT FORGET IN A HURRY (1): Written by Temple Chima Ubochi Email: [email protected] Bonn, Germany In happy moments, praise God. In difficult moments, seek God. In quiet moments, worship God. In painful moments, trust God. In every moment, thank God (Ritu Ghatourey) Most people can look back over the years and identify a time and place at which their lives changed significantly. Whether by accident or design, these are the moments when because of a readiness within us and a collaboration with events occurring around us, we are forced to seriously reappraise ourselves and the conditions under which we live and to make certain choices that will affect the rest of our lives (Frederick F Flack) It seems Nigeria is reaching the point of no return; we have seen bad years, but, Nigeria’s image has never been more battered, both locally and internationally, as it has been this year. 2014, as the precursor of 2015, is not giving those who want Nigeria to remain as one something to cheer about. It’s now one bad news after another, and the government seems incapable of tackling the multi-faceted problem besetting the country. Nothing seems to be working in the country; the security challenges seem insurmountable; poverty is ravaging the population and the national debt is mounting. Egbejumi-David was right when he wrote that Nigerians are now their own local government in that they provide their own electricity, they provide their own water, they provide their own security; to some extent, they provide their own health care, often times, they maintain their own roads, pay heavily for the education of their kids and some relatives; mobile phone charges are astronomical etc etc. The nation’s debt is rising astronomically in that the Debt Management Office said that the foreign debt has risen by 40 percent to $9.38bn, up from $6.7bn recorded last year, while the local debt component of the total national debt was currently at N8.9tn ($48n), up by 37.1 percent from N6.49tn at the end of March 2013. In all, the nations total public debt has also risen from N10.1tn as of March 2014 to N10.4tn as of June 2014. Where did all the monies go? Probably into the pockets and bank accounts of the politicians and government officials while majority of Nigerians suffer. How did the national debt get to be so big? First and foremost, Boko Haram has upped the ante; its deadly onslaught in 2014 has surpassed that of the previous years. The terrorists have killed more people in 2014 than it did in any of the previous years; it kidnapped more than 200 school girls in Chibok, and uptill now, the government does not know where the girls are. What we hear is that American jets have spotted the girls every now and then, but rescuing them has been improbable. As we try to make sense of it all and to come to terms with the security challenges denting Nigeria’s image, then, out of the blue, one Liberian-American with Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) surreptitiously sneaked into Nigeria and started “distributing” the deadly virus. On July 20, 2014, Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian-American imported the disease into Nigeria while attempting to attend an ECOWAS conference in Calabar, Cross Rivers State. Now, the government has said that more than 200 Nigerians have died so far because of the virus including the female doctor, who tried to treat the infected Liberian-American, the carrier of the virus into Nigeria. This female doctor, Stella Ameyo Adadevoh, prevented Sawyer from escaping from the hospital and infecting more people. This writer joins other Nigerians in saluting this female doctor who laid down her life for others to live. But who was this heroine? Coincidentally, Dr. Stella Ameyo Adadevoh was the great grand daughter of Herbert Macaulay, Nigeria’s foremost nationalist; her great grand mother, Okwuegbunam (nee Azikiwe), was the immediate senior sister, same father same mother, of Obed Azikiwe, Zik’s father. So, one can see that which ever side, this late doctor came from two families which fought for Nigeria’s emancipation from colonial rule, and she continued that trend by laying down her own life to save greater majority of Nigerians from untimely, lonely and gruesome death. We read were the Owelle of Onitsha and son of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Chukwuma Bamidele Azikiwe, described Dr. Adadevoh, a relation and friend of his, as a compassionate, selfless but disciplined person and urged the government to immortalize her. Azikiwe also advised Nigerians to imbibe the positive aspects of the character and life of the late doctor which according to him deserves the highest national honor for putting her life on the line in service to our fatherland. Hear him: “Ameyo was both my relation and friend. She was a very kind, caring, and selfless person. She also had discipline and steely determination. I am not surprised that her selfless compassion and steely discipline will make her restrain Patrick Sawyer from leaving the hospital to probably spread the Ebola virus to epidemic proportions. This she did at risk to her life. Inspite of her upper class background, Ameyo was very down to earth and full of compassionate empathy for the disadvantaged and poor”. This writer joins other Nigerians in commending and eulogizing the Nigerian health care professionals who have put their lives on the line to prevent the spread of Ebola in Nigeria. In the words of the federal government personified by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, their spirit and determination are embodied in the heroic self sacrifice of two women, Dr Stella Adadevoh and Nurse Ejelonu, who put the wellbeing of all Nigerians ahead of their own when they treated Nigeria’s first case of Ebola and worked to prevent its spread. Of course, this writer commiserates with the families and loved ones of all the victims of Ebola, and prays the Almighty God to comfort and strengthen them all. The Ebola Virus Disease’s rampage seems unstoppable for now as the facilities and treatment measures for the victims are inadequate; there is shortage of medical personnel to take care of the victims of the disease, the drug companies are not interested in producing a drug or vaccine for it because it would not be “profitable”, and there’s no sign that things will change soon. Only heavens know when, how and where the disease will end. It surpasses any understanding how one foreigner became the bringer of this gruesome and lonely death into Nigeria. According to Jide Ojo, the Federal Government is making matter worse by its taking of a very foolhardy step by sacking about 16,000 resident doctors who have been on strike since July 1 before the outbreak of the EVD. The government also announced the suspension of the Residency Training Programme in all its hospitals pending the conclusion of the ongoing appraisal of the challenges in the health sector. These actions, to say the least, are retrogressive and would only worsen a bad situation. Where does the Federal Government hope to source replacement for these sacked doctors? As rightly observed by Dr. Osahon Enabulele, who is the immediate past president of Nigerian Medical Association, Currently, Nigeria has an abysmal doctor-patient population ratio of 1: 6,300. With this action of the government, the ratio will further decline to about 1:15, 500. Similarly, the morbidity and mortality indices are sure to worsen on account of this shocking action of government. Mr. Ojo rightly wished that Nigerias ruling elite patronise our decadent public hospitals. Perhaps, they would have taken a different approach to resolving the current impasse between government and the striking doctors. While government claimed to have met 90 percent of the 24 demands of the NMA, the doctors are saying there is no concrete evidence to show that government has met their requests. For instance, while some of the striking doctors have volunteered to help in the treatment of victims of Ebola, they complained of lack of protective gears for their operations. While government also claimed to have taken a life insurance policy for each of those health workers who are helping out in the containment and management of the Ebola scourge, government has yet to make open the details of the insurance policy as demanded by the doctors. What this means in essence is that the Federal Government is not transparent enough in resolving its issues with the striking doctors and this is not good enough. While Nigerians blame the government for “killing a fly with a sledge hammer”, they have also, according to The Punch, chastised the doctors for biting more than they can chew, in that a doctor is by the ethics of his calling or profession interested first and foremost in the saving of lives and anything that hinders the expression of that crave and passion is condemnable. The aspect of remuneration should be of secondary importance and considered only after lives have been saved and patients are out of danger. But in the case of our doctors, the primary thing is their pocket. If their demands are not met everyone is liable to death. Where is the life-saving spiriting of members of the Nigeria Medical Association? A Nigerian, Stephen by name, noted that these doctors are jokers. After all the pleading with them to call off their selfish strikes which they refuse, now they want the same Nigerians to support them in their struggle for reinstatement. We will not support this selfish attitude. Back to the Ebola scourge: The question becomes: Why did Sawyer entered Nigeria to multiply our woes? Why did the Liberian government allow the man to leave Liberia when his employer handed him over to the government for quarantine and observation? The intelligence agencies of Liberia and Nigeria should have shared information, and that would have prevented the man’s escape and sneaking into Nigeria, if that was the case. In advanced continents, such a blunder could not have happened, as the man would have been on a watch list, and all the neighbouring countries should have been informed about it. The Liberian government should have kept their Nigerian counterparts in the loop about the suspected carrier of such disease and should have prevented him from leaving his country of abode or crossing over to another country. Oh I forgot; we are talking about Africa here, where everything goes and life has no value, where all that matters is money. This writer found the excuse given by the wife of the Liberian for exporting death into Nigeria as so flimsy and irresponsible. The wife said that her husband left Liberia for Nigeria on the hope of receiving better treatment in Nigeria than in Liberia. According to reports, the widow of late Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian who brought Ebola into Nigeria, defended her husband’s decision to travel to Nigeria, saying he did so in desperate search for a country with better healthcare system than his own country. TMZ Liberia Magazine quoted Decontee Sawyer, who is a radio host in New York, as explaining 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. How is our health services better to warrant a virus carrier to export his deadly cargo into Nigeria in the hope of getting a cure? The man was an American citizen, why didn’t he travel to the United States, where the health care system is first class? Having found that Nigerians and others did not buy her excuse, Sawyer’s wife became remorseful and had only apologies thereafter, as elombah reported that haunted by the pains she caused Nigerians, especially the families of those who has died as a result of the deadly Ebola disease brought by her husband, when she issued a statement last week, Patrick Sawyers wife has come out to publicly beg for forgiveness from Nigerians. In a statement, she noted that, I share the pains that the family members of the Nigerian doctor are going through. It is just a pity that Patrick had to cause this damage both in Liberia and Nigeria. I want to reach out to them and express how deeply saddened and sorry I am for their loss and their pain. I do apologise if my words have caused anyone who is grieving more pain. I fall on my knees and ask God for his healing power for all of those who are still infected with Ebola. I pray for all of the families whose loved ones were taken away by this merciless killer Ebola, especially those affected by Patricks actions”. Sawyer’s wife then poured the heaps of blame on the Liberian government who refused to do anything when the outbreak began in their country, but only acted when Sawyer died in Nigeria. Hear her: Ebola didnt start with Patrick in Liberia, as we both know. Ebola was in Liberia from a traveller from Guinea since February of this year. The government knew about it and did nothing. Many Liberians, including me, called out to the government then to close the borders. They didnt do so until one of their own, Patrick (Sawyer), died in July. Many people died before Patrick and their lives were just as important. That is my frustration. Ebola didnt have to go to Nigeria, Africas most populated country, had the Liberian government taken drastic actions sooner. I, too, have family members and friends in Nigeria, and now they are at risk because of Patricks actions. In spite of my anger and disappointment with him, I dont believe that he did this with evil intent (I could be wrong). I believe his actions were that of a desperate man. And sad for everyone involved, Nigeria was closer than the U.S. This is just my take on what he could have been thinking (of course, I could be wrong). My regret is that I was so caught up in my own pain and frustration that I neglected to see the pain of the innocent people both in Liberia and Nigeria who are affected by Patricks actions. For that, I am deeply sorry. The last thing I wanted to do was to cause them pain. It is a pain I know. It is a pain I dont want them to have. Now, Nigeria is the news again for the same bad reason; once the name of the country is mentioned abroad, Boko Haram, Chibok Girls and Crime are what people think of, and now Ebola virus has been added to that list. Any Nigerian travelling out of the country becomes a suspected carrier of the virus and will be handled specially in an ignominious way. This writer returned from Nigeria about four weeks ago where he went to bury his mother. During the first week of his return, his work colleagues were keeping a distance from him, for the sake that he just returned from Nigeria. It was only after another week and there was no sign of illness, that many of his colleagues started getting closer again as usual. No doubt, many Nigerians who travelled home within this period had similar experience anywhere they may be. Look at what Ebola Virus Disease, brought into Nigeria by one Liberian, has cost Nigeria and Nigerians: As of August 14, about 198 cases of Ebola virus infections have been established in the country. Out of these, 177 are said to be in Lagos, while the remaining 21 are in Enugu. By now, more cases must have been established and more deaths recorded. Some Air France flight crews are refusing to board planes bound for Nigeria over fears of the Ebola outbreak. That’s after British Airways and Emirates suspended flights to the country. In Germany, authorities put 600 people into quarantine, after a Nigerian woman, who showed symptoms of Ebola virus infection in a job centre, in Germany, was rushed to hospital on Tuesday August 19. At least, 600 visitors and staff at the employment office building in Berlin, according to reports, were stopped from leaving for several hours as emergency services sealed off part of the street. A Berlin fire department spokesman, Rolf Erbe, was also quoted to have said that because the patient came from an area affected by a highly contagious disease, we took these precautions. The Citizen of august 14 wrote that a Nigerian passenger caused a major panic after she fell sick aboard a Turkish Airlines from Lagos to Istanbul, on Tuesday August 19. The 32-year old lady had fever and vomited throughout the flight to Istanbul. She was given medical attention while aboard and subsequently isolated from the rest of the passengers with her son. She and her 3-yr old son were taken to the hospital for further medical examination. The Turkish Health Ministry issued a statement saying-“It is not possible to say the patient in question has the Ebola virus, but we are carefully evaluating even the smallest symptoms because she came from Nigeria.” At the same time, the spokesman of Turkish Airlines, Ali Genç, took to his twitter account to say the plane has been disinfected as a precautionary measure. The Rwanda football governing body, Ferwafa, requested the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to move its next month 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier match against the Super Eagles to another venue due to the deadly disease, Ebola. Nigeria is expected to play Rwanda on September 5 in Calabar, for its Group A qualifying match. President of the Rwanda football governing body, Vincent Degaule Nzamwita, disclosed that his players would not want to risk playing in Nigeria. His words: “We are worried about the spread of the Ebola Virus in Nigeria and we are scared of entering the country. We have requested CAF to switch the match venue to a safer one and we are waiting for a decision to be made. We are also waiting on Government to make a decision on how exactly we can make sure the players and entire delegation are safe”. But, FIFA overruled that the match must be played in Nigeria. In the words of Bayo Olupohunda, the fear of the Ebola Virus Disease in Africa’s most populous nation has made the terror campaign of Boko Haram seem like a child’s play. The EVD, which has killed about 1000 West Africans and still counting since February, may be Nigeria’s new killer. In a country where death stalks the citizens like a shadow, the fear is real. For one, the level of poverty has worsened. According to the World Bank, more than 100 million of Nigeria’s 170 million population live in poverty. More of that figure cannot access nor afford quality health care. Our hospitals are worse than consulting clinics. The emergence of the EVD had also occurred at a time when resident doctors are on a nationwide strike. They had been protesting poor working conditions in a country where the political elite go abroad to treat ailment s minor as headache. The poor living condition of the masses especially in Lagos, where three quarters of its estimated 18 million population live in crowded slums, will also aid the spread of the virus. Despite official information as to how observing simple hygiene can prevent transmission, conspiracy theories about Ebola have gripped the largely illiterate population. Some Nigerians have bought into the notion that Ebola is a ploy by the West to wipe off Africans. This theory was fuelled by the alleged “refusal” of the Obama administration to, until Tuesday August 19, release to the affected West African countries the experimental serum ZMapp. Nothing can be more ridiculous. Some religious entrepreneurs have also claimed Ebola is “God’s way of punishing Africans for their ‘sins’”. This may eventually pave the way for commercial miracle healing. As the Nigerian government battles to contain the spread of a disease that will make the AIDS and malaria green with envy, Nigerians have begun to adopt desperate and bizarre remedies to prevent infection. One of such is the “hot salty water solution”. A suggestion that since has been known to be a joke, that by bathing with salt mixed with water and drinking the same can prevent the transmission. That has proved fatal already. According to a report in a national newspaper, about 20 Nigerians have allegedly died due to excessive salt intake. Nigerians obviously do not want this Ebola. They have enough national tragedies to grapple with. The kidnapped Chibok girls have still not been rescued over 100 days after. We cannot afford to be afflicted by another potential national calamity. Let’s hope Ebola does not spread to the level of an epidemic. No thanks to Sawyer whom President Goodluck Jonathan angrily, and rightly too, referred to as a “mad man” for adding to the list of his problems. To be continued! TIT BITS https://youtube/watch?v=pW0oXhf47DU https://youtube/watch?v=Vt2YIpZWBqA https://youtube/watch?v=pxuuFQLBPeU THE THANX IS ALL YOURS!!! visit@nigeriaworld/feature/publication/ubochi/082514.html
Posted on: Tue, 26 Aug 2014 10:07:18 +0000
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