MY CONSPIRACY THEORY ON EBOLA

Lately, there have been a lot of talk about the Ebola disease worldwide, of course more in Africa. I personally thought the Liberians to be quite unserious when they insisted that the ebola scare was just a conspiracy by their government to get foreign aid. I was shocked when Nigerians proved more difficult. They became impossible when it was discovered that there was a possibility of cure with the appearance of the drug #Zmapp in the scene. Nigerians decided it must be a conspiracy theory when they asked for the drug and a "NO" was the response from the United States of America on the basis that it was an #experimentaldrug. The agitation tripled, when it was discovered that the priest in Spain had gotten it yesterday. When the Liberians got it today, the media was abuzz with conspiracy theories.  I have even come up with my own conspiracy theory. (Of course this post isn't a serious one, just something to get the edge off).

So, about my theory or should I say my friend and I's? We were gisting generally (of course about ebola), when the word bioterrorism entered the discussion. Infact, the discussion went as follows;

Friend: " I read somewhere that the way this disease is spreading is what oyibo will call bioterrorism".

Me: Shey?!! the close meaning I can get in English is "that may be right"

Friend: It's true now, how did the disease appear in West Africa? I thought it had been contained in Central Africa for almost 40 years now.

Me: I don't know oh! I've thought about it before. Is it possible that someone escaped from containment and flew to Liberia?

Friend: Hmmm....

Me: No, I don't think so. They said it was gotten from Monkeys in Lofa. The boundary town between three initially affected countries. (refer to this post to see the video).

Friend: Abi oh!

Me: They also said that it was in the monkeys from that same forest that they discovered HIV II.

Friend: There is nothing that is not in that forest.

Me: So, if the monkeys had ebola since, why didn't they have an outbreak all these years in Liberia, Guinea or Sierra leone? At least, they have been eating and playing with the monkeys all these years.

Friend: No wonder the people don't believe that ebola is real. Will you really blame them? See what is happening here (Nigeria) now. To stop eating bushmeat, na war.

Me: Well, prevention is better than cure. But ehn, if it was gotten from the monkeys, is it that the monkeys travelled from Central Africa and landed in Liberia? It would have had to pass through all them Cameroun, Togo, Benin, Ghana, e.t.c. to get there. Abi, did someone travel with it from Congo to Liberia as a pet via Plane or Ship?

Friend: My dear, I don't know oh!

Me: You know, I watched a movie (I think it's mission impossible) where one scientist weaponised a virus, created an antidote. He then wanted to use it as a means of terrorism. They killed the guy, of course that's only a movie. What if someone actually tried it in real life? Maybe, not weaponise it, but harvested it and inoculated it in the monkeys in that Lofa forest?

Friend: It could even be a laboratory experiment gone wrong.

Me: Shey you saw that abandon research centre for monkeys in that video? (in this context, shey = I think).
Anyway, We are in the hands of God with this one. Did you hear about that Zmapp drug? They said they won't give us, that it is still in the trial stages.

Friend: Is it not what we were talking about yesterday? And you where siding with the Americans.

Me: When?

Friend: During class

Me: Really? I was just stressing that all we Africans know how to do is wait for finished product. In this day and age, why couldn't we have gone into the research of producing a drug for it. It is even an original African problem. It is the same thing we are doing with Lassa fever. Waiting and relying on the west for everything. Next thing now, we'll ask them to give the drug for free. Their corporate organisations are already pumping in money to see to more production of the drug.

Friend: Why didn't they try the drug on the Liberians? They had to wait for hundreds of people to die, then they couldn't wait to give their citizen.

Me: Did the Liberians produce the drug? But wait oh! this is becoming something else oh! So they had the drug all this while sha? Na wa o! Do you know that I just got information that they have giving the priset in Spain.

Friend: You see?

Me: Did you hear that Ghana has also possibly gotten their first case? One very sick man from Burkina Faso oh! Carried across the border by his family members.

Friend: Almost the same way the Liberian knew he was sick and came to Nigeria in the name of diplomacy.

Me: Are the big African countries being targeted?

Friend: Don't ask me oh? I don't know.

My people that is how that discussion ended. No conclusions drawn, just hypothesis. Lol. It was a nice brain storming session, wouldn't you say? Anyway, conspiracy theory or no. Africa!! Nigeria!! this simply shows it is time for you to wake up, get up, and start working hard!!!

Cheers.....