Rumours, myths, prayers and Ebola

If memory serves me well, I think it wasn’t long after I settled down in Lagos in 1991 after my compulsory (but hugely enjoyable *wink *wink) National Youth Service in Akure Ondo State that the incident I want to recall occurred. I was combining my post-graduate studies then at  the University of Lagos while searching for employment (a rather stressful combination, you know) and the “news” met me in a bus one morning on my way to school, that men’s “equipment” and women’s breasts were disappearing in Lagos, if they shook hands with the wrong person.

Ridiculous as it might  sound, people especially men, who are obviously more notorious for shaking hands started pocketing their hands ostensibly to avoid the traditional greeting, even if it was such a restriction against several other activities. The women were advised to protect their “attacks” by implanting a lump of charcoal inside each bra to safeguard each breast. Nobody could actually tell where this fable originated from neither were any verifiable cases of the loss of these precious “instruments” reported in the mass media, but the palpable fear and pandemonium it created was second to none.

I make this recollection, 23 years after,  against the backdrop of the stories making the rounds about  the dreaded Ebola Virus, which recently killed a Liberian in Lagos Nigeria. Let me take two of those stories; one ludicrous and the other dangerous. The one, which says the consumption of bitter cola is an antidote to Ebola is absolutely ludicrous while the other about curing the disease with prayers is very dangerous. These two misleading stories actually hit at the crucial nerve centres of managing Ebola namely prevention and cure.

For goodness sake, the curative capability of bitter cola for Ebola and several other ailments, for that mater, are unsubstantiated and can be likened to hiding a piece of charcoal in the bra to avoid losing your breast. The best way to avoid the deadly disease is still sticking religiously (pun not intended) to the checklist of “dos and don’ts” issued by health authorities most of which are centred around hygienic lifestyle. Frequent washing and sterilisation of the hands, which are the most abused parts of the human body, have been indicated as the best form of avoidance of the disease. So, for those who can’t avoid shaking hands with strangers and even friends, then dashing into the nearest bathroom to wash the hands after every handshake or reaching for your bottle of hand sanitiser will help keep you away from danger. Perhaps, this is is the easier part.

The not so easy part is that of using prayers to cure Ebola. I won’t bother challenging my friend Pastor Ituah Ighodalo’s assertion in this regard since several people have so brilliantly taken him on. As a matter of fact, he seems to have recanted by saying he never asked victims of Ebola not to seek medical assistance. I suppose what he wanted to say (which was then taken out of context by some very religious people) was that Ebola could be treated spiritually in combination with medicine, which I think makes more sense. Even so, it is pertinent to highlight the terrible harm some spiritual healers have caused and will cause (in the case of Ebola) with their often facetious claims of healing powers.

To begin with,  it is a well known fact that religion is the opium of the people. Some people think that their belief in God and worship of him, therefore, is a sure means of solving all their problems-even those clearly within their human capacity to resolve. I don’t know how that works out in the face of millions of poor, sick and dying people around the word who believe in and worship one form of god or the other. Meanwhile, people who believe firmly in the power of the human mind are inventing and creating new things everyday to make life better. While I do not want to turn this write-up into a debate about the power of God (or gods, if you like) or the power of prayers, I certainly want to state unequivocally that the stupid belief in the efficacy of prayers and capacity of religious leaders (especially pastors) to heal the sick has compounded the already horrible healthcare system in Nigeria. This will be cataclysmic in the case of Ebola, an extremely contagious disease.

One of my friends, who is a doctor in one of the tertiary health institutions in Nigeria once told me that the major reason it appears that more deaths are recorded in Teaching Hospitals is because of the time people waste between churches or  native doctors and when patients are brought to such hospitals. Most times, they are literally brought in dead! He told me the story of a very educated man, rich as well, and a known Christian who was first taken to a church for the “treatment” of what turned out to be acute diabetes before being brought to the hospital-by which time he had been totally messed up. The family foolishly believed he was suffering from a spiritual attack simply because the man was hallucinating and delirious. While the pastor was done delivering him by casting out the demons in him and subjecting him to dry fasting (a sick man!), the man poor man had slipped into coma and subsequently suffered multiple organ failures as a result of sustained low blood sugar and high blood pressure. After six months of wasted prayers, the man was “rushed” to the UCH! Of course, he didn’t survive. Sad.

Now, what I described above is not a contagious disease, scary as it might seem, but you can imagine the number of similar cases that have happened and are currently happening around the country as you read this. You can also then imagine what will happen, if people infected with Ebola resort to going to seeking spiritual help rather than medical assistance. Not only will the spiritual healer and his followers get infected, going by the stupendously contagious nature of the disease, the family members and everybody who comes in contact with the victims will also be prone to infection. That will be an unmitigated disaster, my friend, and it must be prevented.

In this wise, I salute the proactive steps taken by the Lagos State Government, not only in the management of the first case of Ebola in Nigeria and the ongoing massive  public enlightenment but also in the outreach to religious organisations. News making the rounds indicate that Lagos State health authorities have reached out particularly to the Synagogue of All Nations owned by Pastor T. B. Joshua, a very popular centre, some say, for spiritual healing. It is widely believed that miracle seekers from around the world throng the church and victims of Ebola from Liberia and Sierra Leone, where Joshua has great following, will undoubtedly be coming for healing. This stitch in time, if it can be so called, will surely save nine. Indeed, the wise step to take if you or relative feels sick, as always and especially in the current circumstance, is to go to the hospital first and involve your pastor or prayer warriors after, if you must. I suppose that’s what Lagos state government saying by engaging the churches. We surely can’t mess with Ebola. Even dead Ebola victims are said to be deadlier than the living ones. So, we must be guided and err only on the side of caution.

Nigeria was once rated the most religious country in the world. I don’t know what the advantages of such a ranking are, but my guess would be that more Nigerians would probably go to heaven (at least during the period the country occupied the top rank). I am also aware that, by its very nature, religion can make people lose control of their intellectual capabilities and, therefore, outsource every single creative genius in them to a supreme being. This is probably why some people are making life-changing inventions elsewhere while others are busy  in other places packing their earthly belongings and heading right back to the stone ages in the name of religion. It is possible (and I personally strongly believe) that God is the source of all inventions including such transformational devices as mobile phones, aeroplanes, MRI machines, televisions, cars, computers, etc. The medical field is replete with discoveries that have enhanced the potential of man to live,live well and live long. For example, since the vaccines against the six or seven notorious child-killer diseases were invented, tales ofAbiku or Ogbanje have evaporated from our folklore. Haven’t they?

I strongly think, my brothers and sisters, that resorting to religious or spiritual solutions to otherwise normal challenges makes a mockery of our fabled love for and belief in almighty God. We can pray as much as we can against Ebola but we must not pray over it. Otherwise, we are all snookered. Be warned; be safe!

Oparah writes from Lagos.