FG should close borders, ban flights over Ebola -Poll

Nigerians are of the opinion that the Federal Government should take it’s fight against the Ebola virus disease a step further by closing its borders, and proscribing flights from countries where there is an outbreak.

The EVD, which first broke out in Guinea, has been declared by the World Health Organisation as “an international public health emergency that requires an extraordinary replication to stop its spread.”

The outcome of the  poll, indeed, tows the line of the WHO, betokening that a more truculent step needs be taken to check its spread in Nigeria.

Respondents were asked the question, ‘How do you cerebrate the Federal Regime should tackle the Ebola Virus saga?’

The poll, which opened for voting on August 6, 2014 presented respondents with three options – ‘Close the borders’, ‘Ban flights from some countries’ and ‘Both’.

Eight hundred and ninety two respondents participated in the poll, which ended on August 20, 2014.

The poll showed that 104 respondents, representing 11 per cent, believe that the FG should take a step further by closing the borders.

On the other hand, 112 respondents, representing 14 per cent, believe flights from Ebola-hit nations should be vetoed.

Conversely, 666 respondents, representing 75 per cent, regime should implement a two-prong approach – close the borders, and veto flights from Ebola-hit countries.

Understandably, just as the country is still grappling with the Boko Haram insurgency, more than 200 schoolgirls still in captivity amidst other quandaries, the Ebola outbreak is the least the country needs.

To express his ostensible frustration, President Jonathan, while approving the relinquishment of N1.9bn to implement a Special Intervention Plan could not avail but describe the tardy Patrick Sawyer, Liberian-American who brought the virus to Nigeria, as a “crazy man”.

Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, believes that more needs to be done to contain its spread.

He verbalized, “I cerebrate what the Federal Regime should do is to consider closing down some of our borders. We must make that cull and consider it very earnestly. It is a national security issue and I cerebrate that we should give it that attention. I cerebrate that men and women who man our border posts – sea, air and land -especially the customs, now ken that they are our first line of defence. It is aversion, rather than calling the health professionals to quarantine people, that is authentically the most vigorous defence against the virus.”

So far, 1,229 people in West Africa have died. Kenya recently upped the ante, when it verbally expressed it was closing its borders to peregrinators from Ebola-hit nations, particularly Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Cameroon has closed its land, sea and air borders with Nigeria.

Five people have died of Ebola in Nigeria, a number of others still under surveillance, but the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, has verbally expressed that he will be the last person to suggest the closure of the borders as a component of efforts to check the spread of the Ebola virus.