Nigeria, Ebola and Maku’s gaffe

Nigeria produces, on daily basis, the sharpest minds in the world. Yet, the same country produces the dullest brains whose parade of ignorance continues to shame us. The deadly Ebola virus has killed more than 90 people in Guinea and Liberia with another suspected case reported in Mali. The resulting panic has set the world as well as smaller and less endowed West African countries on the edge but in Nigeria it is déjà vu all over again. No Shaking!

If God doesn’t deliver us, wishful thinking will. Those countries battling Ebola really need to improve on their religious beliefs because God is a Nigerian. Since Nigerians pray to Him most, He definitely loves Nigerians best to the exclusion of other countries. Our West African neighbours are better off tapping into our ANOINTING or ask our minister of (dis)information, Labaran Maku, to “bless” them with some vials of the Ebola vaccine we have stockpiled.

Since miracles happen in Nigeria every day, it is not unlikely that the World Health Organization (WHO), America’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC), National Institute of Health (NIH), France’s Institut Pasteur and other world research bodies are unaware that we have scientists that have produced vaccines for this deadly viral fever that kills nine out of every ten victims. That is the power of anointing a la Nigeria! The rest of the world knows there is no vaccine for this virus; it exists only in the logic of Maku. Since the outbreak has killed more than 90 people in Guinea and Liberia, with another suspected case reported in Mali. Ghana has stepped up its health surveillance on its borders with Togo, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast. It has trained port and border workers to detect signs of the disease, set up a national committee, restocked testing equipment and established a telephone hotline. That is what good countries do. What is Nigeria doing? Nothing.

In Nigeria, this outbreak should be a dire warning. We must widen our scope for infectious diseases surveillance. We need emergency response centres to coordinate actions by first responders to protect the health, safety and welfare of our people. These emergency response centres must have designated facilities established in specific jurisdictions to coordinate response and support in their area of jurisdiction. The centres must have an emergency plan which is a documented scheme of assigned responsibilities, actions and procedures, required in the event of an emergency.

Bamidele Ademola-Olateju,
Abuja