By Ezekiel Nabieu
This question is parodied from a biblical statement in Romans 3:8 that states “And why not do evil that good may come?” Referring to the context some people felt that they should do evil as a prelude to good. That false argument was based on the idea that the Lord needs sin in order to demonstrate that he is God. That is not so.
Let us now grapple with the question whether the unsolicited Ebola which is causing such havoc will leave a backlash of good during and after its exit from this country. In this regard St Augustine said “God judged it better to bring good out of evil than to suffer in evil to exist.”
Who would have had the prescience to know that such a calamity would befall this nation? Who forewarned the authorities responsible for drawing up the Agenda for Prosperity? Who warned them that they should be prepared for a different agenda?
Now here comes a disease that is bludgeoning us into living our lives as solitary and self-contained as oysters. Indeed it has licked us into shape. It has caught us off guard. This does not mean that the modern Shylocks have abandoned their craft. They are unnecessary evils to sidetrack our attempts to return to the status quo ante bellom.
Discipline
Most of our trials and tribulations had arisen from indiscipline and they still arise sometimes phoenix-like with great disaster. It usually does not take much effort to conform to rules and regulations. The heavens themselves, the planets and the animal kingdom are perpetually in conformity with order. Why do we flout laid down rules and regulations to please ourselves and not society? Don’t we know that by displeasing society we are vicariously displeasing ourselves? We must conform to discipline for we are by nature raw and wild.
This brings me to the very recent case of a Community Health Officer who contracted Ebola after allegedly secretly treating a Sheikh who died of Ebola. His death looked like suicidal and homicidal if the allegations are true. He is reported to have witnessed the washing of the body of the Sheikh by the Sheikh’s family and others but made no report to the relevant authorities. Because of this act he was arrested and detained at the local police station. A couple of days after that detention the CHO died of Ebola at an Ebola treatment centre. The lesson here is that with or without full protective gear one should not contravene laid down protective regulations. It is curious how medics with protective gear have been contracting this disease.
Hygiene and Sanitation
There was a time in this country when hygiene was taught in primary or elementary schools as a separate subject. There was a time when Sanitary Officers in uniform used to inspect compounds to ensure cleanliness. All that is now history. Sometimes it is natural to wonder whether the elimination of some practices of the past necessarily leads to progress. The fact is that some people erroneously feel that new is always better.
Fast forward, it is exhilarating to learn that the authorities have been constrained by Ebola to resume practices of cleanliness even if they are not related to the present scourge. The washing of hands with soap, if inculcated and sustained, will go a long way towards eliminating other illnesses like worm infestation, etc.
Among other things 1,000 schools will be provided with hand-washing equipment (water tanks, faucet, lightly chlorinated water), children and teachers will thus be able to wash their hands, feet and face before and after school in order to reduce the risk of spreading germs. This will not only reduce the risk of spreading Ebola but also other diseases such as malaria and diarrhea which kill far more people each year.
Digital handheld thermometers are to be made available to teachers in the schools to enable them detect a potential fever - one of the first symptoms of Ebola. Teachers will be able to monitor the temperature of all the students in the school every day before and after school. If a student has a fever he or she will be sent home and their family will be referred to the nearest health centre. This is an effective way to spread the use of thermometers throughout the country, even in the most remote areas. It will also help to implicate families and communities in the management of the outbreak.
Employment Opportunities
Another prevalent disease that is well known is UNEMPLOYMENT which is not contagious but excruciating. The ugly aspect is that while employment exists members of the opposition parties and other non-party members of the APC seem to be being proscribed from employment. And this is done at a time when we hear of the inane statement that “The time for politics is over.”
Domestic Facilitation
It is a well-known fact that the family, especially the nuclear, is the smallest unit of society. Owing to urbanisation and the past civil war it has suffered an unfortunate disruption. As a result homes have been converted to parks and garages. This is because husbands and children in many cases have been checking out of their homes in the mornings and only checking in at night. But during the war, as now, they have been constrained to be identified with their homes during daylight. Husbands and other elders have now been forced to participate in the up-bringing of their children and wards. Meanwhile prostitutes have been experiencing a hard time of it. This is because they cannot ply their trade without touching.
True and False Prophets
The Bible tells us: “Do not despise prophesying but test everything; hold fast what is good” 1 Thes. 5: 20-21. In our present circumstances there have been various prophecies about the ending of the Ebola scourge. Some have said “Ebola don go” while others have said that it will last for a couple of months depending on the repentance of the nation. Which one would De Pa choose? Perhaps Ariogbo could come in here handy. Let’s not forget that no priest prophesied the Ebola scourge. That remained in the realm of the esoteric. It is not going to be easy to distinguish a false prophet from a true one. Ebola gives us the opportunity to find out at the end of the scourge.
Order of Priorities
There is everything right in getting priorities wrong during budget season almost every ministry or department could be heard clamoring to be the most important naturally. It is up to the governors to determine the order of priorities according to the financial resources in hand.
For us (Sierra Leoneans) the health sector has always been consigned to the backburner in our order of priorities. The consequence is not hard to discern. In cases of intractable medical conditions selected government officials are flown out to places like India, Germany and Ghana at taxpayers’ expense. The rest of the populace has no alternative but to die of curable diseases in an elitist system.
By courtesy of Andrew Keili let me quote from Dr. Mulera as follows: "The Kenyan doctors who are demanding that their government allocates at least 15 percent of the national budget to the health sector are attempting to keep their patients from harm and from the injustice of substandard medical care. An African government which hopes to retain its medical manpower has no choice but to pay doctors salaries that take into account their many years of education; the critical nature of their work; the very long hours they must put in; the risks they face and the indispensability of their services. He makes a startling remark on government priorities".
To afford this, sub-Saharan African governments should rethink their priorities. Does country X need six air force jets worth $740 million or does it need 740 doctors? At $50,000 per doctor per year, the cost of the jets would pay 740 doctors for 20 years. Does country X need 350 MPs and 100 presidential advisers or does it need modern equipment and other resources with which to help reduce maternal, neonatal and infant mortality? It is a matter of priorities.
Readers can now read between the lines on how our governments in Africa are using us not only to enrich themselves but also to garner most of the citizenship rights to themselves and their cohorts. Tell me what is the national production to the GDP of our standing army of thousands in the Mano River Union? Why should they be allocated more money in the national budget than the Ministry of Health?
To answer my question let me state that Ebola is an unnecessary evil, unlike Robin Fallay who said it is a necessary evil. We did not need it for progress. It has only provided us with doing things that we leave undone and not doing the things which we ought to do. By all accounts Ebola is an intolerable evil. Let me say in the words of Matthew 6:34 “Sufficient unto the day is evil thereof”.
(C) Politico 21/10/14
