Ebola: Nigeria Must Sustain Vigilance

The confirmation of one imported Ebola case in Abuja last Tuesday has triggered anxiety. Memories of 2014, when Nigeria lost five lives including Dr. Stella Adadevoh while containing the virus, remain fresh. That history is both warning and reassurance. It warns that Ebola allows no complacency, yet reminds us that Nigeria contained it before and can do so again.

So far, the Federal Government’s response has been measured. Health Minister Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate has assured Nigerians that the patient is isolated, contact tracing is underway and containment activated. The Presidential Task Force on Ebola Preparedness, chaired by Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila, said it detected the case four days after arrival, after monitoring over 44,000 flights since June. At the NEC meeting last Thursday, Pate disclosed that 21 states have updated response plans, the NCDC Incident Management System has been activated and collaboration is ongoing with WHO, Africa CDC and Ugandan authorities.

These steps are important because they show institutional memory. Nigeria is not starting from zero. However, preparedness must move beyond paper work to our borders, hospitals and communities, where legitimate unease begins.

There is the unavoidable question of how the case circulated undetected for days. Nigerians are asking whether screening at entry points was rigorous enough. The Task Force explanation that the passenger was asymptomatic is plausible, since Ebola has an incubation period of two to 21 days, but that exposes the limits of airport screening alone. Post-arrival surveillance, community reporting and early presentation at health facilities become far more critical. If we rely only on the airport, we will miss the next case.

The question of resources has compounded the anxiety. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar last week called on President Bola Tinubu to account for N10 billion reportedly approved for Ebola preparedness since June when cases surged in East Africa. The call touches a raw nerve because Nigerians have seen preparedness funds approved with little to show. It deserves an answer, not dismissal. This newspaper believes that transparency on how much was released, when, to whom, and what was procured in protective equipment, reagents, isolation beds and training will build more trust among citizens.

In response, the APC Presidential Campaign Council asked Atiku to stop politicizing health issues. We agree that there is merit in the appeal for unity. This is not the time for blame games because a virus does not know party. However, it is wrong to conflate accountability with politicization. Asking how N10 billion was spent is not sabotage; it is responsible citizenship. A transparent account will help government itself by silencing rumours.

What must happen now is a shift from assurance to evidence. The Ministry of Health and NCDC must provide daily, data-driven updates on contacts traced, those in isolation, those tested and states that have activated Emergency Operations Centres. Silence breeds rumour, and rumour in an Ebola outbreak kills as surely as the virus. That openness must extend to the subnational gap the minister revealed. If only 21 states had updated their plans as of last Thursday, 15 remain exposed. The NEC resolution must be enforced within days, not weeks.

Beyond bureaucracy, Nigeria must reactivate community protocols that saved us in 2014. Airport and border screening must be tightened, and hand hygiene campaigns revived in schools, markets, motor parks and worship centres. Health workers in public and private hospitals, where first contact happens, must be retrained and protected with adequate PPE and clear referral pathways.

But all efforts will fail if misinformation thrives. Nigerians must get information only from NCDC, the Federal Ministry of Health and WHO, not forwarded voice notes. There must be no stigmatization of the patient, his family or the Ugandan community. Stigma drives cases underground.

Finally, the Presidential Task Force should publish a breakdown of its spending since June. That single act will reassure Nigerians and boost their confidence in the system.

Nigeria contained Ebola in 2014 not because we had the best hospitals, but because we had swift coordination, honest communication and citizens who complied with directives. One case isolated is good news, but zero secondary transmission will be the real measure of ultimate national success story. That will require fewer assurances and more concrete action that will guarantee public trust.