Last contact with her
When I had a patient with cardiac problem, like I normally do if I don’t have the facility to handle the case, I would refer it to her. On this particular case, I called her and said, Ameyo I have a patient with cardiac problem; can you handle it? It was then she told me she could not do anything because the hospital had been closed down; that it was in their hospital that the Ebola index case was identified. She did not tell me she was directly involved but she later sent a text message on where the patient could be treated.
Family facing stigmatisation over Ebola?
It is normal in this part of the world for people to stigmatise others because of the strange disease. It is a disease that was imported into this country. Ameyo would have survived it if she had the right treatment or got the right drugs on time to battle the disease. She was a doctor on duty to save the life of others.
Forgiving Patrick Sawyer after wife’s apology to Adadevoh’s family
I told you what Ameyo meant to the family. Her apology on behalf of her late husband can only be accepted when it comes genuinely from the heart. Personally, I can only accept it when it is not from the lips of the wife but from the heart. You can tell me you are sorry and may only be from the lips and it has no value but when it is from the heart it is a different ball game. There is a different feeling there. It is not a question of saying I am sorry. Did it come from her heart and spirit? Well, if comes from her heart and spirit, I accept her apology. Mind you I am speaking for myself.
What about calls for immortalizing the heroine?
All Nigerians, home and abroad, said Ameyo saved Nigeria from Ebola epidemic that would have been difficult to manage in a populous urban mega city like Lagos. Is that not a fact that she saved Nigeria from such epidemic that has no cure? That was what transpired. This man came from Liberia and nobody knew he had Ebola. He was diagnosed of Ebola in his country but still came with it to Nigeria. When Ameyo identified the case, he did not confess to Ameyo; he continued to lie to her. If he had told Ameyo she would have been more cautious, this idea of playing around with such dangerous blood would not have arisen. Again, when he saw that Ameyo had discovered that he had Ebola he wanted to run away and Ameyo courageously pinned him down. Why did she refuse to let Sawyer go? It was just to save lives of Nigerians. Jesus Christ says there is no greater love than for a man to give his own life for another. Which Ameyo did for Nigeria. If Ameyo has really saved Nigeria from Ebola epidemic outbreak, why will she not be recognized openly , why won’t our president Goodluck Jonathan voice it openly?
Accuses FG of Linking doctors strike to Adadevoh’s death
This is an occurrence with a concomitant doctors’ strike. Doctors’ strike is different from Ameyo’s death. They are not advising Jonathan enough. Doctors’ strike is a political problem; it is different from what Ameyo paid the supreme price for. This has to do with safety and security of Nigeria. She saved lives and it has nothing to do with politics. There is no reason whatsoever why President Jonathan should keep quiet about Ameyo’s case. He should be able to make a difference between these two things and come out to honour Ameyo. Ameyo needs to be honoured. A monument needs to be built to honour her. We should do the right thing for once.
Coping with Ebola in Nigeria
The world is changing. We need to adjust to new conditions. And the conditions will keep changing. Starting from the weather, things are changing. There is climate change, there is a permanent change in climate and we may not know the climate as before. It brings about mutations — changes in genes, viruses, fungus and bacteria. Thus, virus you knew before may not be the ones you know now. That means that the drugs you have for them before may not be effective now. There is a strain of poliomyelitis recently discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo that is not responding to previous old good vaccines for polio. Everything is changing very fast. The world is in trouble.
