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FEATURES, On This Day

On this day 2014: Dr Stella Adadevoh died in Lagos.

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On this day 2014: Dr Stella Ameyo Adadevoh died in Lagos, thereby paying the ultimate price to prevent the spread of the deadly Ebola virus in Nigeria. Born in Lagos in October 1956 to Prof. Babatunde Adadevoh, ex-vice-chancellor of the University of Lagos, Adadevoh’s great-grandfather was the Nigerian nationalist Herbert Macaulay (himself the grandson of Samuel Ajayi Crowther, the first African Anglican bishop). Adadevoh was also the grand-niece of Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe. She attended the famous Corona school Yabaand Queen’s school Ibadan. She got her medical degree at the University of Lagos before proceeding to obtain a fellowship with Hammersmith Hospital London. She returned to Nigeria, married Afolabi Cardoso and lived most of her life in Lagos. She spent her last 21 years at the First Consultant Hospital in Obalende, Lagos Island, where she correctly diagnosed Liberian Patrick Sawyer, Nigeria’s index case of Ebola in July 2014. The Liberian denied contact with an Ebola patient, even though his sister had died of the virus. Once Adadevoh suspected Sawyer might have Ebola, she quarantined him and contacted the authorities while she created a makeshift isolation centre for treatment. Adadevoh kept Sawyer in the hospital despite his desperate attempts to leave. His claims that he had malaria fell on deaf ears. Adadevoh also turned down the Liberian Ambassador’s request to release Sawyer for a business conference in Calabar. Through her action, Adadevoh played a key role in curbing the spread of the deadly Ebola virus in Nigeria. However, on 4 August 2014, it was confirmed that she had tested positive and was being treated. Adadevoh died on the afternoon of 19 August 2014. Her body was decontaminated and cremated. Her family obtained the ashes and held a private funeral on September 12, 2014, in Lagos. She is survived by her husband and son. The Adadevoh Health Trust @drasatrust was founded in memory of the Nigerian heroine. May her soul continue to rest in peace.

Blog, Reverie

Take Responsibility.

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  How can we begin to adjust to a new normal or if you like a different normal as we transit to the post lockdown era? I will answer shortly but please permit me to tell a brief story. A few days ago while rummaging through Twitter I stumbled on two successive video clips that evoked some raw emotions. One was about a stray dog that made it his job to protect school kids and ensure that they cross the busy street safely. Extolling the dog, the narrator said that he shows up every single day to shepherd the kids through the pedestrian crossing and even curses out at drivers that refuse to stop. In one instance he chased a car for a few metres, barking repeatedly at the driver before returning to continue his duty. It was a spectacle really and I hadn’t seen anything like that before. The second was on the BBC. A viral video of the multitude at Bournemouth beach on the second day of the recent UK heatwave. I watched as adults carelessly mingled in total disregard of the laid down guidelines to prevent further spread of the COVID-19 virus. The BBC reporter said there had been ongoing problems with “huge numbers” of people visiting the beach, despite the coronavirus pandemic. And that many had camped overnight, parked illegally and even used resident’s front gardens as toilets. Shocking! I was struck by the contrasting events of the two videos and it got me querying why we can’t be like dogs. Frankly, how often have we seen these lovely creatures in acts of protection and compassion? Countless times they have displayed better ability to take responsibility than some adults. You see, it will be easier to get carried away as we begin to enjoy more freedom going into the post lockdown period. Many of us have planned a break or a vacation within the state. Some may have even scheduled an international trip when the quarantine restrictions are lifted in the coming days. But let us have one important thing in mind; The virus is still here with us. It did not go anywhere, it is just that we have managed to curb the spread or as they say “flatten the curve”. However, until we have a vaccine or attain herd immunity as the case may be then no one is entirely safe from contracting the virus. We can be proud that we made it to this stage because many of us complied with the guidelines from health experts. But we must proceed cautiously. The basic instructions are quite simple to maintain. Avoid non-essential activities, observe social distancing, wash your hands regularly and wear a face mask when applicable. Like the dog, let us take responsibility.    

Essays, Writers

Infidelity: A Ravaging Virus by Mercy Ofem.

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 Infidelity. A five syllabic word specifically used in the context of relationships and marriage, also known as marital infidelity. It can be directly translated in a general notion to another word: cheating. In lay-man’s terms it can simply be said as cheating on one’s spouse/partner.      Oxford (2010), defines infidelity as the act of not being faithful to your wife, husband or partner by having sex with somebody else. Longman (2009), explains it as a situation whereby someone has sex with a person who is not their wife husband or partner.      A virus is known to attack a living host and rapidly multiply, breaking down defenses as well as creating an avenue for the possibility of other infections and diseases. Infidelity in a relationship is akin to this. It is one of those actions that has nothing positive attached and for good reason. All accounts indicate that all incidences of infidelity serve as a doorway for an inflow of more negative situations with the most negative being separation and divorce. The irony exists in the fact that despite this being known it appears that the rate of infidelity is on the rise, aided by social media and easy access to communications via instant messaging applications.      Multiple statistics complied show that up to 25% of marriages experiences at least one event of infidelity: this means that out of every 100 marriages, 20 will experience at least one case of infidelity while going through the course of their married life. Although each existing individual is unique in their genetic makeup the driving force behind infidelity remains the same, falling in a range that stays constant: physical to emotion.      The lack of love and the desire to seek it. In an instance where a partner has a feeling of less love reciprocated or unrequited love in a relationship or marriage, he or she will be tempted to seek other ways of getting said love and more often than none consider external sexual activities as the next available means. Misplaced priorities about love and sex also play a role here, the notion of “love is not sex and sex is not love” is rendered useless and said notion becomes blurred.      Feelings of neglect alongside insecurity. Every Individual has needs, whether they be emotional, physical, economical or otherwise. The idea of not getting said needs fulfilled in a union stirs up uncomfortable thoughts and feelings that more often than none leads to a state of unrest from said individual. Working hand-in-hand with this is the feeling of insecurity of the fulfillment of those needs in said relationship or marriage, a person can resort to attaining a means of “security and stability” via infidelity. This acts as a means of chasing away the thoughts and feelings of neglect and lays a means to an attempt to feel a sense of security about themselves.      Sexual addictions and a lack of discipline. The chances that an individual who is addicted to sex won’t stop on the basis of being in a relationship with another is likely to be higher than the opposite scenario. High chances also exist that said person will be entangled in infidelity. The ability to control one’s self stems from discipline of the mind and body, an individual who lacks discipline and is not ready to discipline themselves will constantly fall into situations that arise due to the absence of said discipline.      The absence of commitment in a relationship. It is said that anything that is worth doing is worth doing well, this speaks directly of hard work and commitment. A person who owns a car and does not pay attention to the state of the car will end up with a broken down car sooner or later. In an existing marriage, if the dedication and work is not put in to the extent it should the outcome will not be a good one.      Issues arising from aging and body image. In our digitalized world of today social media has created an image and a “standard”, falling short of those standards indirectly means lacking an appealing state which in turn means not being considered worthy of attention or devotion. This in turn affects the mentalities of people in relationships to seek for “the better appeal” which in turn leads to issues of infidelity.      The exposure to infidelity at a young age. The human nature is crafted in such that the young, until they reach a certain age of maturity adapt a “copy and paste” pattern from the things they see, hear and feel. A high probability exists that a person who was exposed to a cheating parent during their childhood years will turn out to be involved in infidelity when they finally go into a relationship.      The lack of respect in a relationship. Some say respect is reciprocal and some say respect is earned. Despite individual preferred mentality towards the matter of respect the simple truth exists that when respect is absent in a relationship chaos ensues. The one who lacks the respect views the other as worthless and the one not receiving the respect will long to be respected.      Abiding by a basic fact that evey action taken has its own form of consequence, the effects of infidelity in a relationship are as negative as they come.      Feelings of betrayal and the loss of trust. Going hand-in-hand with each other the first effects of infidelity is the feeling of abuse of trust which is termed as betrayal. An adage goes along the lines of “fool me once, it is not my fault but fool me twice and it is my fault”. The notion of being used will not sit well and as such a complete loss of trust will occur in said relationship.      High chances of illnesses. The act of having multiple sexual partners gives a high risk

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