Faith, Hope, and Love

On August 15, 2014, a friend (also my co-worker) emailed to see how my family in Nigeria was doing when she heard it had spread there. Below was my response (written on August 16 th ) and it answers why I partially hijacked my sister’s blog… I initially tried to use the Note function on Facebook but it didn’t seem to be working so I gave up and just wrote in dependable Microsoft Word – this reminds me to give a special shout out to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for donating money ($50 million) and services to the Ebola epidemic.  –TAI Thanks for always being so sweet... I have mixed emotions about it all: sad, hopeful, bitter, guilty, relieved, confused, and honestly...  terrified ... I think the scary answer is that only time will tell. What is known is that Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone have been struggling with this crisis a long time and any numbers reported are underestimations. For Nigeria, it's so new and yet has the potential to be disastrous....

More thoughts from my sister about Ebola. --B :-) The Problem with Ebola, Part 2                                                                         October 2, 2014 [May] the L ord turn his face toward you and give you peace. – Numbers 6:26 Ebola is especially terrifying to people, EVERYwhere around the world. As a doctor, I was reflecting, the ER was one of my most dreaded places because anything (i.e., any virus, bacteria) could show up and for at least a period of time, you were exposed to them. After you assess someone and then later fear they may have Tuberculosis (TB), you get a little/lot nervous (this is the ...

Over the past few months, there's been a lot of talk about Ebola in West Africa. And this has sparked a lot of responses from Africans, both on the continent and in the Diaspora. It's also sparked a lot of responses from the Western world--many that have felt ignorant and upsetting to me as an African. My biggest pet peeve has been how the media has portrayed it. I was in journalism for a while, and I've always found a strong distaste for articles that were more about sensation than about clear, objective reporting. Most of the articles I've read have promoted ignorance and a "panic" about Ebola versus really presenting the reality of the disease and how it's being handle. An example: West Africa has a lot of countries. And only 4 of those countries have been dealing with Ebola. Two of the four have contained it and it is no longer a problem. Yet all the articles simply just reference "West Africa."  As a doctor, my sister has had lots of th...

In many ways, Costa Rica reminds me of Nigeria. The abundance of buildings with the simple concrete facade and tin roofs. Crude wooden or metal signs to alert you of the presence of a shop or restaurant, advertising the availability of wi-fi, satellite TV or fresh fruit. Narrow roads that look like they could not possibly support for two-way traffic, yet somehow they do! Along with bicyclists, pedestrians, and the occasional cow or two. Men ferrying women and babies on motorcycles, school children looking crisp and sharp in their uniforms. Differences? Oh, they exist. For one, this is no savannah. In Nigeria, I would not be on a long mountain road full of precarious twists and turns. Each bend in the road would not open up to a breathtaking view of thousands of trees and an abundance of vegetation. There would not be waterfalls, or clouds of steam billowing out of volcano craters. I would not be looking down on homes and businesses below, or experience the fog that settles on t...

Today Nigeria is 50 years old. Earlier this week, I jokingly tweeted a friend saying that our country must be in a mid-life crisis with all the issues that face it. She later tweeted her hopes that the next 50 will be greater and better than before. When Nigeria gained its independence in 1960, the country was expected to be at the forefront of economic and political progress as independence continued to sweep the continent.  It was expected to lead Africa in its transition from colonial nations to independent one. To be the shining star as Africa went from undeveloped to developed. Nigeria has the largest population in Africa, the most varying ethnic and linguistic groups. At independence we had some of the most experienced politicians and an able and efficient service, and we did (and still do) have a very diversified economy. So what happened? Why are we still at the same place we were at independence... if not actually in a worser place? It's like, as a countr...

One of the funniest websites ever! And so true! You know you're Nigerian when...