Olusegun Adeniyi recounts battle with COVID-19, says ‘my faith failed’

Olusegun Adeniyi, chairman of THISDAY editorial board and former presidential spokesman, has revealed that he and his family members all tested positive for COVID-19.

Narrating his experience on Thursday in his weekly column, Adeniyi said he is disturbed that there are people who still doubt that COVID-19 is real.

According to him, a robbery attack in his house two days before his family (eight of them in the house) learned of their positive status might have prepared them for the news of the result.

Adeniyi said though “we are still not out of the woods with COVID, there are enough signs to show that the worst is already behind us”.

He added that the “pandemic is not something to fight alone”  while emphasising the importance of family and community in dealing with the disease.

“Despite all the prayers in the house, I am not ashamed to admit that my faith failed. But my wife was strong in her conviction that we would all pull through and so were other members of the family. The armed robbery attack seems to have prepared them, causing everyone to band together to cook, watch Netflix movies and turn the ritual of taking medication into a fair. They sang. They danced. And last Saturday when I was going through a tough period, they practically dragged me out to cut my 22nd wedding anniversary cake they baked. And when I reflect on it all, it is perhaps their ‘madness’ that has kept me sane,” he wrote.

“Now, I understand the feeling of emptiness and despair that can engender loneliness even in the midst of a loving crowd. Those who have experienced COVID-19 will agree that it is more than a disease. It is something that can take the afflicted to dark haunting places where they question whether life is really worth living. I have been there. Since we were all infected, my family couldn’t understand why I have taken it so badly.

“Meanwhile, there are several theories as to why COVID has not killed as many people in Africa as it has on other continents. My hunch is that perhaps it has to do with our sense of community. The pandemic is not something to fight alone. And sometimes the only difference between going on or giving up is the network of support and encouragement we can draw from those around us when we are weak and weary.”

Adeniyi, who said a friend prepared some herbs to mitigate the effect of the virus, argued in favour of the use of African traditional medicine.

He called on policymakers to give attention to the suggestion by Charles Soludo, former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that the country considers the use of traditional remedies.

“Growing up in the village, most of us took these concoctions that are now becoming popular, so we are well aware of their efficacy,” he said.

He expressed his gratitude to his family, pastor and friends for standing by his family through their trying times.