One thing I am certain about is that this ‘Ebola’ wind will eventually blow away like other viral infections that have appeared in recent times. It is however noteworthy that the level of fear that the Ebola incidence has injected into the hearts of Nigerians seems to have exceeded the fear of a terrorist attack by the dreaded ‘Boko Haram’. It is also clear to me that the attention Ebola has attracted is as a result of the constant local and global media emphasis. Take it off the airwaves and we will soon forget about its existence.
I guess what frightens most people about ‘Ebola’ is:
• There is no apparent cure for Ebola hemorrhagic fever. More than half of people infected in this outbreak have died.
• It’s a cruel end that comes within days. Patients grow feverish and weak, suffering through body aches, vomiting, diarrhea and internal bleeding, sometimes bleeding from the nose and ears.
• The damage can spiral far beyond the patients themselves.
• Outbreaks spark fear and panic.
(Source: World Health Organisation)

However here are some reasons why Ebola should NOT be feared:
• Ebola doesn’t spread easily, the way a cold virus or the flu does. It is only spread by direct contact with body fluids such as blood, saliva, sweat and urine.
• Family members have contracted it by caring for their relatives or handling an infected body as part of burial practices.
• People aren’t contagious until they show symptoms.
• Ebola has a mortality rate of about 55%.
(Source: World Health Organisation)

Ebola’s toll is minuscule compared to other diseases that kill millions of people. Malaria kills over 300,000 Nigerians per year according to a US report while HIV accounts for 215,000 deaths per year in Nigeria.
The most stupefying of all events surrounding the incidence of the Ebola virus is the emergence of a ‘SALT BATH DAY’ on Friday, 8th of August 2014. I woke up that morning to text messages and blackberry broadcasts prescribing salt baths and salt drinks as a cure for Ebola. The way this unfounded cure went viral was so alarming. What shocked me the most was the fact that educated and seemingly intelligent people also got into the frenzy of forwarding this information.
Someone might ask why Nigerians reacted with such fervency at this misinformation about Ebola. Here are the reasons why I believe this happened:
1. The fear of death.
So many us love life in spite of the levels of need and poverty that exist in our own spheres. We may be in need but we believe that with hope and faith, eventually everything is going to be alright. The idea or suggestion of death to the average Nigerian therefore often causes massive irrational behavior in a bid to preserve life.
2. Superstition.
The foundation of Nigerian/African culture is rooted in superstition, justifying the need for potions and charms, ceremonial washings and other such acts. It is believed for example that if your motor vehicle kills a duck while driving, you prevent death by putting a coin in its mouth. It is also believed in some quarters that yam peels should never be found in a home as it will bring an illness upon the entire household. The virgin cleansing myth in South Africa gained our attention a few years ago – A mistaken belief that having sex with a virgin girl cures a man of HIV, AIDS, or other sexually transmitted diseases. This myth is a potential factor in infant rape in South Africa.
Likewise the idea that a cure as accessible and affordable as bathing in salt water or drinking same is readily welcome. The placebo effect of such action can be soothing and calm the fear currently being entertained.
3. A religious system that has been infiltrated by superstition and African fetishism.
We currently have a new religion known as ‘christofetishism.’ which is practised in many churches. This is characterized by the drinking of Goya oil, popularly known as ‘anointing oil’. Others dip their fingers in milk and honey, taking daily licks because some ‘MOG’ instructed them that it will make their lives sweet and they will experience favor. Holy Water is now being sold for beguiled congregants to sprinkle and drink to evoke blessings, and salt is regularly sprinkled to sanitize homes and lands from evil spirits etc. Imagine Jesus Christ asking his twelve disciples to drink milk daily so that they will look like the land of milk and honey or become multi-millionaires. Even the suggestion of this is irritatingly absurd. This ‘christofetishism’ is simply a product of biblical illiteracy and the crafty tendencies of some who have appeared on the scene in a bid to acquire wealth. We have taken the shadows of the Old Testament and made them the reality of the New. Something Christ himself never did.
This same practise in the days of King Constantine who declared Christianity the official Roman religion solely for political gain in about AD313 is the reason why the church went into a season of apostasy known as “the dark ages”.
The question I ask in terminating these thoughts is; ‘Where is our faith in the God who is able to preserve us and keep sickness and disease away from our midst?’
To Ebola, I say; “Your days are numbered.”
To the numerous members of the body of Christ I ask; “Whose report will you believe?”