IF YOU’RE A TRUE NIGERIAN
GET TESTED FOR HIV/AIDS, COULD SAVE YOUR
LIFE
A favorite nephew of this writer died of AIDS about fifteen years
ago. Sunday’s death was very painful . He was
the only son of his mother. He
was the family rising star. He is survived by an ageing mother and three
sisters. One of Sunday’s sisters later
died as teenager of brain cancer shortly after Sunday’s death. Sunday’s death
was not just a devastating blow, it was heart wrenching because Sunday was so
promising, handsome, a young hard worker whom every village woman would like to
have for a husband.
Besides, Sunday had a thriving business in Lagos. He was
his mother’s financial pillar, and he was making serious money. I
miss my nephew a lot. Unlike some of my other hooligan nephews and nieces, Sunday was intelligent, kind, aggressive, and a
no-nonsense young man. He didn’t want American education so we let him do
business.
When Sunday died, people had not heard much of AIDS. It was
a rare disease just coming to the attention of the world. It was a disease most
Nigerians were afraid to talk about, sort of hidden in the closet. Here is a true story that took place in
Nigeria to demonstrate how fearful my people were when AIDS first broke out
upon a sleeping world.
A few years ago, a very large package arrived at the Murtala
Mohammed Airport, Lagos, for the American Embassy. The package was addressed in
large letters :” FOR THE USAID.” The USAID stands for THE UNITED STATES AID FOR
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, which is an office at the U S State Department in
Washington, DC. As soon as people saw the package being rolled out, there was a
massive stampede. My people took off to
their heel because they mistook the office at the U S State Department for the disease
AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).
Fearful Nigerians sped off running out of our airport. Soon, everybody at the
Murtala Mohammed Airport , including employees and passengers, fled. There was pandemonium.
People cried. Mothers grabbed their little ones and sprinted. Men cried “Chimo! Chimo!” (My God! My God!) The
airport was deserted. The airport personnel
including security ran. Church goers crying:
“Nna anyi nke eluigwe, oyia a egbu anyi”
(Our Father in heavenly, this disease is killing us) Some passengers missed
their flights. It took a battalion of Nigerian army and police to restore order
when finally the USAID package was identified.
It was rumored that my favorite musician Fela Ransome-Kuti also
died of AIDS. News about AIDS spread
like a raging inferno fiercer than oku ana mmuo (hell fire), and there were
several misconceptions about the disease. Rumor had it that when Fela’s physician
announced that Fela had died of AIDS, his wives complained that it shouldn’t
have been announced because nobody would want to have sex with an AIDS patients’ woman.
Although scientists have sprang to their
feet to fight AIDS with research, vaccination
and drugs and treatments have come, great
fear of the disease remains till this day. Help came out too late in Nigeria after AIDS had
snuffed out my nephew Sunday’s life. Whether treatment is out or not, nobody in
the right mind would want to catch AIDS. Prevention with condoms and abstinence
(no sex) appear to be the only options.
Because people did not talk much about AIDS and because so
very little was known about it, AIDS became a phantom, a silent killer hiding in
the bushes to grab unsuspecting victims. A phantom is apparition, spirit,
specter, or ghost. A common myth about
AIDS emerged and was traded by word of
mouth. Here are a common myth and true fact about AIDS.
MYTH: AIDS is a disease of Africans and gay/homosexual persons.
President Trump is alleged to have said
of Haitian immigrant arriving in America: “all have AIDS.”
HIV and AIDS: In HIV, the AIDS virus is dormant, meaning it
is latent, inactive, sleeping. AIDS is the full blown HIV virus. This writer
takes this essay as opportunity to ask all friends to go test for HIV virus.
AIDS is easy to prevent or cure when
detected/ diagnosed early.
Fear of AIDS is real among Africans, just as cancer strikes
fear into the hearts of most people. This writer have several friends to react
to AIDS differently. An American professor insulted one my Kenyan friends Dr. K. who was working on the PhD in political science at a major
North Carolina university. The Professor said: “When are you going to complete
your research dissertation so you can go back to your AIDS-infested country?
To make matters worse, the professor stripped my friends of
his University Fellowship which provided my friend with the only hope of funds he
needed to pay his fees and feed his wife
and two children. My friend suspended his studies to take a job at a factory to
feed his family. He later went back to the university to receive the PhD.
Another Kenyan friend working on the PhD in public
administration at an Ohio university slapped female faculty advisor professor
down for insinuating that he Mr.O’s country was full of AIDS-sufferers.
The purpose of this essay is twofold. First is to encourage
my readers from Africa to take the bold step to test for HIV. Second purpose is
to debunk, discredit, demystify, or expose the myth that AIDS is prevalent in
Africa or is high among persons of African descent. I called a Nigerian friend,
Dr. P. to inform him I had decided to
take the AIDS test.
ME; I’m going to take HIV text.
DR, P: Doc, why?
ME: I don’t know, But my best nephew died from AIDS. Two of
my professor friends have been falsely accused of having AIDS. One was kicked
out from his PhD program. The other slapped a woman because of false
accusations of having AIDS. I’m going to
take the test.
DR. P: I still don’t understand why. Suppose…
ME: Suppose what? Suppose
I have the disease? Is that what you are saying?
DR. P: Yes. Suppose.
ME: Then I die. You know one thing? No one is going to live
forever. Don’t come to my funeral. You hear?
As soon as we hung up the phone, I drove to the County Health Department to
learn more about the disease that killed
my favorite nephew and that frightened two
Kenyan PhD’s . I took a number from the machine and sat down in the
lobby for about 30 minutes to complete a
form that asked for pieces of information, such as my name, address, marital
status, education level, diseases I have had in the past. My number was No. 147. The HIV tester popped
his head in the doorway and called my name. I got in the room and we both sat
down.
TESTER; Sir, what can I help you with today?
ME: Good morning, Sir. I want a test for AIDS.
TESTER: Why do you want the test?
ME: My nephew died from AIDS years ago. Two of my professor
friends were frightened.
TESTER: We give test for HIV here. Is that what you want
done for you today?
ME: Yes, Sir. May I have that? How long will it take? How
soon would I have the result?
TESTER: Yes, you may have it. Excuse me. It doesn’t take
long. Almost instantly. You’ll have your result almost immediately today.
ME: Okay.
The man brought out three tiny bottles which he placed on
the table before my eyes. He punctured the middle finger of my left hand and squeezed
my finger to get the blood to flow. He took a tiny spoon to collect a sample of
my blood and dropped the blood into a tiny bottle that contained some blue
liquid. He shook the tiny bottle vigorously to produce a solution. He then
poured the bloody solution into a small bowl. The solution dissolved almost
immediately. He showed me empty bowl
with a tiny spot at the bottom of it. He added some liquid from a second
bottle into the tiny bowl. It dissolved again.
He said to me”Now you saw only one spot in the bottom of the
dish, right? If I add the contents of the third bottle into the dish and you
still see one spot, you don’t have HIV. But if you see more than one dot,
then…” He added the contents of the third bottle into the bowl.
ME: Then what? You didn’t complete your sentence.
TESTER: Your HIV test
is negative. You don’t have HIV
ME: That means I don’t have AIDS? Why is the test so fast?
No waiting period?
TESTER: No waiting period. I told you so. You don’t have
HIV. Where are you from? Lagos?
ME: I came to have AIDS test, and you are talking about HIV and
where I come from.
RESTER: You don’t have AIDS which is what I said. The HIV test is a test for AIDS. You
don’t have AIDS. Where are you from?
ME: From Nigeria. Why? People often say AIDS is in Nigeria
and all over Africa.
TESTER: Not true. There are more cases of HIV and AIDS in the City of Atlanta, Georgia alone
than there are in all of Nigeria.
ME: Why so many AIDS cases in Atlanta, Georgia?
TESTER: Atlanta is a
hub of the South with a large population of teens who engage indiscriminately
in unprotected sex. Here is your test result. Do you want some condoms?
ME: Why? hahaha. Yes, may I have some condoms? Thanks
I drove home and called the Nigeria professor Dr. P
ME: I did the test and it was negative.
PR. P.: Really? You’re brave. I’m going to take the
same test.
ME: Why?
DR. P: Just to be sure. I know I don’t have AIDS. I have a wife and three healthy daughters.
ME: Why have the test? You don’t have the disease and you
have healthy children?
DR. P: You know. I might want to have children with Nigerian
girls at home. You know?
ME: You have a wife and children in Americans and all healthy.
Why test for AIDS?
DR. P: You know my children are all girls. I may want to
have a son with a Nigerian woman one day.
ME: Chei! Na wa!
Dr. James C. Agazie; jamesagazie@gmail.com;
jamesagazies.blogspot.com
Written Wednesday Jan 22, 2018 at 5:18pm
No comments:
Post a Comment