Feat. Noun. An act or deed showing unusual daring, skill, etc.
As Nigerians, we don’t usually have encomiums showered on us like it happened on Monday, 20th October, 2014 when the World Health Organisation declared our nation free of the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease. Our response to the outbreak, which helped us to contain and break the disease’s chain of transmission within a relatively short time, was described in superlative terms: Dr. Rui Gama Vaz, the WHO country representative in Nigeria characterised it as “a spectacular success story”, while Dr. Pauline Hervey, representing the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, called it “a remarkable achievement” on account of which she “applauded” the nation.
One cannot but join in acknowledging and expressing sincere appreciation to all the actors at various levels who played vital roles in order to ensure the safety of the entire population. Special mention must be made, no doubt, of the Lagos State government as well as the staff of First Consultants Medical Centre. Nigerians owe them a debt of gratitude. Our hearts also go out to the families of those who lost their lives, especially the medical personnel who contacted the disease in the course of performing their professional duties. May they know the comfort that only God can give, and find some relief in knowing that their loved ones are greatly appreciated for their heroic acts. They helped Nigeria achieve the feat for which we are being so celebrated.
Now, I’ve been trying to think what this whole experience signifies and what conclusions could be drawn from it. For one, it shows there are still some really good people in Nigeria who would do their work honestly and conscientiously. Oh sure, the impression one gets, especially from government offices, is that work is really not supposed to be taken too seriously, since your salary is guaranteed to arrive at the end of the month. Why sweat unnecessarily? However, maybe what the Ebola experience shows is that when push comes to shove and there is real danger in the air, you can count on some Nigerians to rise to the occasion and demonstrate unusual daring and skill. And ingenuity.
Ingenuity is probably one of the attributes which the general populace contributed in the fight against that dreadful disease. For one, the level of awareness was extremely high among Nigerians everywhere, and people sought to protect themselves however they could. For example, handshakes all but vanished as a form of greeting. Also, passengers in our normally crowded buses employed various means to minimise bodily contact with others, from wearing long sleeves to wrapping themselves up in plastic sheets. As for the use of hand sanitisers, it would actually be interesting to find out how much their sale will have contributed to the nation’s economy this year.
Considering the response from government, both at the federal and state levels, I couldn’t help thinking to myself: So, these people actually care about us! I mean, you find it difficult to believe they care when you see how long it takes them to fix a simple pothole or seriously work to complete the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, so that unnecessary accidents do not continue to claim our lives and we do not keep wasting time spending five hours for a journey that should normally not take more than an hour and a half. But the swiftness with which they swung into action and the commitment they showed actually gladdened one’s heart – these are leaders who would protect us in the face of certain danger. The potential for the number of infections spiralling out of control in a megacity like Lagos was real, and it is heart-warming to see that it was not allowed to happen.
There is a question which must be posed: Why can we not replicate this kind of feat in other areas of our national life? Is it that the other ills plaguing us are not serious enough? President Jonathan, in the statement read on his behalf by Dr. Reuben Abati after the WHO certification, expressed his belief that “Nigeria’s globally-acclaimed success against Ebola is a testimony to what Nigerians can achieve if they set aside their differences and work together, and calls on Nigerians to strive to replicate the unity of purpose and all-hands-on-deck approach adopted against Ebola in other areas of national life.” Great! We’d love to – at least, I would. I just need somebody to make it clear to me what role I could play in increasing the generation of electricity which we are told has just fallen again by 1000 MW, or how I could put my hands on deck to ensure that the rehabilitation of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway is completed before Christmas.
For now, however, I do not wish to continue along that line of thinking. I want to relish the moment and be genuinely thankful that our nation has accomplished something that we can truly be proud of. I do not see any sense in most of the awards that are thrown at people in this country; however, if somebody were to decide to give a special “Ebola Management Award” to First Consultants and Lagos State, I would applaud very loudly.
My final thought goes to Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia as they continue to struggle with this terrible disease. May help come their way and may they too be free of Ebola in no distant future.
