Hero turned Victim

Lai Lai, actor no dey die'. 
Many of us have heard or even uttered this phrase at least once in our lifetime, most likely during a movie session. And more often than not, the heros seldom die. It almost never happens in our Nollywood movies. 

But life isn't Nollywood. In real life, there are no film tricks and if the actor isn't careful, actor go die and the Hero will become the victim.

This is the sad case of Dr Sheik Umar Khan, the Sierra Leonean who was involved in the management of more than 100 cases of Ebola virus in his country since the epidemic started in March .
He was the only Viral Hemorrhagic Fever specialist in Sierra Leone. 

The 39 year old doctor who was said to have contracted the disease last week died yesterday from the same illness.

He is no doubt a National Hero in his country and would be honoured by the world as one who gave his life for a cause he believed in.
He set out to help stop the epidemic of this deadly virus but lost his life in the line of duty.

I wonder if I would do the same.
Would you?

I can't imagine the pains and dread that this Dr would have felt  as he watched life slip gradually away from him. What horror his attending physician must have experienced  as he pronounced his colleague dead. 

Dr Khan's death reminds me of the character Khan played by Shah Rukh Khan  in the movie ' My name is Khan'; 'Khan from the epiglottis'. These 2 fellows had more than their names in common, they both put in all their efforts for the cause they believed in.


A lot of heroes that we celebrate today died for the cause they believed in. Dr Sheik Umor  Khan has joined that league and will be remembered for this.  

The question is ' what will I be remembered for?'
What do you stand for?
Is that cause worth your life?

Victims turned Villains?

I have noticed a new trend in the attacks by Boko Haram, an extremely disturbing trend which seems to be a medium to pass a message to whoever cares to listen that BH is still undeterred . It appears to me that Boko Haram is sending this message out to the whole of Nigeria. In less than 24 hours, Kano was rocked with at least 5 bomb attacks/attempts. Some were successful, some were not. But 3 out of these attacks were by female suicide bombers, young females; one of them was described by the police as being around the age of 16. And I, like many Nigerians have wondered if these girls aren't some of our Chibok sisters. I mean, how long does it take to change a person's opinion? Let alone a child? 105 days is definitely a great length of time to change a person's ideology. And what if these female bombers were given no choice? I mean, what choice do they have, if these girls are really some of the Chibok abduction victims? To make a choice between hoping to be rescued by the Nigerian armed forces or ending their misery by becoming suicide bombers? I agree with the government that this is a different type of war, which is obviously beyond their capacity and capability to handle. Out of curiosity ( and a poor knowledge of Nigeria's geography), I checked Nigeria's map just to see if Sambisa forest and Kano shared a border , and as I suspected, they don't. They have at least 2 other states in between them. If these are our Chibok sisters, then some, if not all of them are no longer in Sambisa; yet the government keeps reassuring us that they know where they are but can't use force to rescue them. Who is fooling who? I don't want to believe that these female suicide bombers are some of the Chibok girls, but the truth remains that they are still girls! We keep campaigning each day "bring back our girls", but what if these girls have been transformed into potential terrorists?  What if these victim have been turned into villains?  Will our girls ever return? I am at a loss for words. Adamawa had 3 separate attacks yesterday leaving over 50 people dead, Kano had 3 bomb attacks in the spate of 24 hours, Kaduna a few days ago! This madness has to stop. Boko Haram obviously isn't on a leash, they are on a rampage! A crazy, killing spree and little girls ( who are probably victims themselves) have become a means to an evil end! We are tired of the statements from the presidency, their hopefulness and our seeming helplessness. What will it take to stop this rampage? What is Nigeria doing wrongly? Someone asked me yesterday if Nigeria can ever become better, and I responded in the affirmative. Naija which way forward?

Much Ado about hepatitis; an Update.

Today, 28th of July has been designated as World Hepatitis Day by the W.H.O.

A while ago, I wrote about hepatitis and what we should know:

much ado about hepatitis

I came across a simple chart that talks about some facts about hepatitis.

Here's the link to that chart:
http://www.who.int/campaigns/hepatitis-day/2014/hepatitis-b-c-d.pdf?ua=1

Remember Nigeria, in times like this, stay healthy!  

God bless Nigeria. 

That annoying siren!

One of the new and widely accepted trends in newly-built or recently-refurbished houses are the alarm systems that go off when electricity is restored from PHCN i.e. when ' Nepa brings light'!

If you are familiar with these sirens, you'll know that they are so loud and alarming ( and sometimes upsetting).
To have these sirens go off every time PHCN gives you light is a source of joy for a lot of us. But when the bored NEPA official keeps switching off and switching on the power, it becomes ' that annoying siren!'.

How many things in our lives that are supposed to be a source of joy and contentment have become that annoying siren?

The circumstances around us tend to turn the once-enjoyable experience to a routine, tasking responsibility.

The once great husband has become 'that man', your lovely wife that "fat woman", the job you once loved has become a burdensome routine.

The challenges of life tend to take away the special moments all around us if we allow them.
 A lot of people have fallen into this trap without even knowing it.

It's time to put off that siren and just enjoy the joys of the restored electricity! 

As we go into the week, put off the siren if you must, and enjoy the little victories that come with each day, appreciate the numerous blessings around you and watch the seemingly big challenges become infinitesimal. 

Say a kind word to your subordinate because some people don't even have a job, appreciate your spouse and embrace your kids . 
Do something to show that you acknowledge and are thankful for the small blessings and watch God take care of every other thing.

Have a great week folks and stay healthy.
God bless Nigeria. 

Much Ado about Ebola!

This week hasn't been a cheering one in terms of news updates et al. Various airplane crashes, worsening insurgencies and conflicts, bomb blasts here and there. I decided to listen to the news just once a day unlike my usual and consistent tab-keeping of the latest news! I shivered as I saw tweets about a possible case of Ebola virus in Lagos State. God forbid I thought to myself. My fear was confirmed when I heard it from Ijeoma on Channels Newstrack at 8pm! What is it with Ebola you wonder? Here are some scary facts: 90 percent of people who are diagnosed as having Ebola virus do not recover from it. They die!!! Ebola virus is transmitted from an infected person to a healthy person by contact with body fluids and secretions ( blood, sweat, urine, saliva , semen etc). The symptoms are similar to what an average Nigerian will call malaria or typhoid fever. Headache, fever, weakness, muscle pain, rash, vomiting and easy bleeding. The recent outbreak of Ebola in West Africa which started in February is the worst recorded so far! A few days ago, one of the chief medical directors in charge of managing Ebola in Sierra Leone was also reported to have been infected. More than a thousand cases have been reported in this recent outbreak in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and over 600 of these people have died! There is no known cure presently for Ebola virus. So why did I shiver at the news of a possible case of Ebola in Lagos? We CANNOT afford to add this virus to the plate of our challenges. No we can't. Apart from the present health sector crises, we are not equipped in any way to deal with Ebola! So please pray! Pray to God to keep Ebola out of Nigeria and let our port health services be more aggressive. Let the health workers begin to update their knowledge and the Ministry of health get to work! God forbid that Ebola finds it's way into Nigeria! Because if it does, hmmmmmn. I don't want to think of the possibilities and consequences.

Wrongly wired.

I have often wondered why it seems so hard to do the right thing in Nigeria. I mean, you decide to be a good Nigerian citizen as you step out into your day, and at the end of the day, you just want to bury your face in shame or shake your head in disgust. 

Why is it so hard?

Today, I came up with a hypothesis. I think Nigeria has been re-designed to accept corruption and dishonesty as the norm. An average Nigerian condones corruption and sees the person speaking or acting otherwise as Oversabi or a goody-two-shoes. 

As y'all know, I am currently serving the fatherland in Northern Nigeria. 

At the beginning of the year, my Federal allowance was paid twice in a particular month, while some of my colleagues had a backlog of unpaid allowee.

I sought to do the noble thing and alert the authorities to the surprise of a lot of people.

I went all the way to the headquarters and they agreed to do something about it. 

Of course they didn't and I could have rested my case. After all, I had done my part.

Anyways, recently, I asked again about my overpayment and this time, I was given definite instructions.  

Believe me, it was not an easy feat! Imagine being stressed while trying to do the system a favour! I went back and forth between the NYSC office, my bank and their bank before I could get their money out of my coffers . The NYSC officials were as surprised as my bank manager and all said their own forms of prayers and even though I said Amen, I was more grateful that that burden had been lifted. 

What a relief!

I didn't bargain for the stress I got. I had imagined that since I was doing a good deed which was in fact a favour to NYSC, they would save me the usual stress attributable to this institution. I guessed wrong.

And I concluded: the Nigerian system is wired to enhance and propagate corruption and wrong values; and at the same time, frustrate the few sane Nigerians that still hold on tenaciously to our integrity.

Would I do this again if the opportunity arises? Of course I will. 

And that's why I have written today. 

To encourage you to do the same when faced with a  similar situation. 

God bless Nigeria!

#praybackourgirls

100 days and still counting. I was hoping that I wouldn't have to write today about our missing sisters, but alas here you are, reading yet again about them. We can't get tired of talking about these girls. The international community has lost steam about them and they can't be blamed. It's high time Nigeria took care of her problems. I wonder what every morning has been like for the families of these ladies since their abduction. I call them ladies cause in a few years, less than 5 years, that's who they'll be. I imagine that their family devotions would be centered around their missing daughters, every opportunity to say a prayer would be harnessed towards the safe return of their missing sisters. I don't think the immediate families of these girls  will pray for them just once in a while when they come across the hash tag campaign or when they see the red movement at the Unity Fountain in Abuja.  I believe that these girls will be paramount on their prayer points. And I think that we all, the majority of well-meaning Nigerians should take this more seriously.  We have been called the most prayerful people in Africa If not the world; so how come we haven't prayed these girls back? I would suggest that our campaign be rebranded. If the government haven't heeded our#bringbackourgirls cry, I know that our Father in heaven will hear us as we #praybackourgirls.