Fashola Reveals Who Deserves Credit In Ebola Defeat

In the spirit of the Independence Day celebration, Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, has revealed the true heroes of the fight against the deadly Ebola Virus Disease EVD.
The governor while delivering his Independence Day speech on Wednesday stated that those campaigning across the country with the defeat of the killer disease are not actually those that should be given the credit, Premium Times reports.

According to Fashola, those that truly merit the credit for Ebola defeat in the country are the health workers who helped curtailed the virus from spreading. He said condemned the fact that in several rallies across the country, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has continued to mention Nigeria’s success on the virus as among the achievements of President Goodluck Jonathan- led administration.

Governor Babatunde Fashola

“I have heard some stories emanating from campaign podiums with claims of conquering Ebola. The question we must ask is whether those who make these claims saw Ebola? It is women like Stella Ameyo Adedevoh to whom such a claim rightly belongs. It is young Nigerians like Dr. Morris Ibeawuchi, who first made contact with the index case patient and continued to treat him who saw and conquered Ebola. He got infected, from doing his job, got sick, survived and is back to his job. It is first responders from the Lagos State Ministry of Health like Dr. Jide Idris, Dr. Yewande Adesina, Dr. Wale Ahmed, Dr. Kayode Oguntimehin who saw Ebola. They responded to the call from First Consultant Hospital. They spent 12 (Twelve) hours daily in the early days supervising the construction of Ebola containment facility when the epidemic broke,” Fashola said.

The governor further explained that even the Lagos State Infectious Disease Hospital which later became the epicenter of Ebola management was initially meant for tuberculosis patients and patients with other infectious diseases. He revealed that the patients poured out their anger on the medical personnel who came to move them to create room for Ebola patients, adding that they even spat on some of the health workers like Dr. Adesina, who was doing her job.
Fashola also gave credit to Dr. Abdul-Salam Nasidi of the National Disease Control Centre in Abuja, who he said, saw and conquered Ebola. He said the Doctor helped in no small way to co-ordinate the containment of the virus.

“Dr. David Brett-Mayor of the World Health Organization saw and conquered Ebola. He single handedly started the Ebola isolation ward having cleared and cleaned the room. He admitted and cared for the patients before any Nigerian doctor joined him. Professor S. A. Omilabu, the dedicated virologist at LUTH, saw Ebola and conquered it. He coordinated the fault free testing for Ebola and managed all the samples professionally. Peter Adewuyi saw Ebola and conquered it. He led the contact tracing team of many dedicated officers for the first 2 (two) weeks. Mrs. Funmi Lagbokun, Mrs. Modupe Aiyedun Davies, Mrs. Basirat Adeoye, Ms F. O. Bamgboye, Mrs. K. O. Oshisanya, Mrs. Kazeem Abioye, Mrs. Abiola Lasaki and Mrs. K. Adeshina all saw and conquered Ebola,” he said.
Fashola described them as dedicated team of nurses, nursing aid, care giver, health assistant and hygienist who commenced work voluntarily in the Ebola containment ward without any demand other than the sense of duty. He said Yemi Gbadegesin and Abdulsalam saw and conquered Ebola, because they coordinated the de-contamination, removal and burial of the index case and other cases, adding that it was because of them that First Consultant could re-open for business.
The governor reiterated that the aforementioned names were the ones that saw and defeated Ebola, and urged Lagosians not to allow anyone tell them deceive them.

“These men and women, who showed courage, who risked their lives, are our true champions and heroes. They showed the spirit of service, the spirit of Lagos and the spirit of our good old days. Nobody should take this credit away from them. They are not celebrating because they know that the work is not finished. They are already working with our people and planning to volunteer to go and give help in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Their reward for hard work will be more work and they tell me that they are ready,” Fashola said.
It would be recalled that, following Lagos State government response to Ebola outbreak, other West African countries currently dealing with the Ebola virus have solicited help from the Lagos state government in strategies to fight the virus.

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