Anonymous Whatsapp Message Alleges Concealed COVID-19 Explosion in Lagos, Nigeria

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Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju

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Mar 23, 2020, 1:13:32 AM3/23/20
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 I spoke with the consultant of the Infectious Diseases Unit, LUTH yesterday and he told me clearly not to listen to a single thing spoken by the government.

 A lot of people are already infected and are taking Armatem at home, meaning when the pandemic becomes full blown in Nigeria, it will likely be worse than China and Italy.

 Pls tell your family and friends to stay away from needless gatherings, no matter how “important”, keep your hands as clean as possible all the time, avoid touching anything outside your house, run away from anyone who sneezes or coughs around you.

Pls I have a note of warning for all of us, especially those in Lagos.

They are dealing with far more than what they are revealing and he warned that everyone should take caution as though the pandemic is already full blown in Nigeria.

He said even those who recover from COVID-19 suffer close to 50% of lungs damage permanently, which means they will be on medication forever or they may die from complications in a few years after recovery from COVID-19.

 It’s not a flu like China makes people believe, it’s more like chronic pneumonia.

The doctor told me the NCDC is telling suspected cases to self isolate when there’s no means of checking how well these people isolate. This means by the time  they start showing symptoms, they would have infected others.

 The virus like most viruses doesn’t last long in the body after incubation. Viruses have no “cure”, only the symptoms will be managed. The virus takes its course in like two weeks before the body develops antibodies to defeat it.

This is the best possible way to curb the spread. This thing is not a joke at all. It is estimated to claim at least 80million people worldwide. Do all you can not to be one of them.

 Avoid people like the plague Cos asthma has weakened the lungs already and they won’t survive COVID-19.

 COVID-19 will almost certainly be fatal to anyone who has respiratory illness, kidney or liver disease before infection. Cos those organs are usually its target.

 If you have asthma, pls treat this like someone gave your name and picture to an assassin.

 This virus is not a joke whatsoever.

 More advanced countries don’t even have enough test kits, how much more Nigeria?

Panic now and act like the crazy one now, so you can be the sane one in the end.

 It is capable of infecting every human being on earth and killing up to 10% of the human race.

If you have internet, watch “the worst hit hospital in Italy” on YouTube and see what’s going on there first hand.

 I don’t even care what Lagos State want to tell me.

If they like they should underestimate the virus..

on our own part.. let’s stay at home.

It was when I saw how free the roads were at closing time yesterday that I knew that some people are actually already at home.
 
Stay Safe, Everyone

Victor Okafor

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Mar 23, 2020, 4:17:24 AM3/23/20
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Oluwatoyin:

Why are you peddling a dooms-day scenario based on hear-say at a critical time like this that calls for responsible leadership? Who is helped by this sort of propagandist posting that seems to derive from an inner self-doubt, an apparent display of a belief in an innate African vulnerability and weakness and an apparent display of a lack of belief in an African capacity to do? What do you remember of how Nigeria responded to Ebola? What lessons can you derive from that experience?


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Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju

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Mar 23, 2020, 4:49:32 AM3/23/20
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Okafor,

Simply tell us why think the information has no value,  with reference to evidence.   

You could reference the actions taken so far by the Nigerian govt and Nigerians in general  that make the message an obvious lie that should be ignored.

thanks

toyin

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Gloria Emeagwali

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Mar 23, 2020, 9:59:29 AM3/23/20
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One  issue should be factored into the discussion, and that is the age factor, and the possibility, though not an inevitability, that Africa’s demographic structure, being youthful, is a plus. The virus seems to be particularly virulent for senior citizens.That may account for Italy’s high mortality. 

At the end of the day, though, vigilance is key. Hand washing ,
NOT coughing into the air, physical distancing where feasible and immune system build -up seem to be key and we have to find ways of reinforcing that message.

Africa’s political elite should realize from this point,  that not only is adequate health care
a human right, but that its own continued survival depends on the health of its population.

Investigation into the efficacy of local botanical  and  pharmaceutical products
is more important than ever.


GE

Victor Okafor

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Mar 23, 2020, 9:59:38 AM3/23/20
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Well, you have hit the nail in the head. Were these recent announcements by Nigerian government authorities based on a thorough assessment of the Nigerian situation, taking all relevant environmental factors into consideration and with input from Nigeria-based epidemiological scientists and WHO, or were they primarily cat-copies of promulgations emanating from certain Western capitals? A consequence of these emergent Nigerian govt announcements is to trigger mass panic seemingly unwanted by the situation on the ground. Prior to the announcements, Nigeria appeared to be responding in a level headed manner.

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OLAYINKA AGBETUYI

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Mar 23, 2020, 12:59:54 PM3/23/20
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GE.

Your observations are indeed accurate.  In the UK the mortality rate is more than 90% seniior citizens with previous underlying medical problems and this is made clear in media briefings.  So the fact that majority if the infected only need to isolate to recover is made very clear in government directives.

OAA



Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.


-------- Original message --------
From: Gloria Emeagwali <gloria.e...@gmail.com>
Date: 23/03/2020 14:03 (GMT+00:00)
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Anonymous Whatsapp Message AllegesConcealed  COVID-19 Explosion in Lagos, Nigeria

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One  issue should be factored into the discussion, and that is the age factor, and the possibility, though not an inevitability, that Africa’s demographic structure, being youthful, is a plus. The virus seems to be particularly virulent for senior citizens.That may account for Italy’s high mortality. 

At the end of the day, though, vigilance is key. Hand washing ,
NOT coughing into the air, physical distancing where feasible and immune system build -up seem to be key and we have to find ways of reinforcing that message.

Africa’s political elite should realize from this point,  that not only is adequate health care
a human right, but that its own continued survival depends on the health of its population.

Investigation into the efficacy of local botanical  and  pharmaceutical products
is more important than ever.


GE

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Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju

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Mar 23, 2020, 12:59:56 PM3/23/20
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Victor,

Please help me understand.

You challenged the information I shared as in effect unnecessary scare mongering drumming Africans' abilities.

I asked that you justify your view with reference to the actions by the Nigerian govt and by Nigerians in general that make the scenario described an outright improbability and therefore clearly a lie.

You have responded by asking qs.

I thought you already have the answers to such qs and were therefore responding to me from a position of assured knowledge.

thanks

toyin







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K. Gozie Ifesinachukwu

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Mar 23, 2020, 2:38:54 PM3/23/20
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Victor,

Oluwatoyin’s contribution is no doomsday scenario. It is no different than Dr. Fauci’s comments and competent leadership should have advanced these warnings several weeks (maybe even months) ago. We cannot avoid this pandemic by burying our hands in sand.  

 

“I think we should be overly aggressive and get criticized for overreacting,"…. "I think Americans should be prepared that they are going to have to hunker down significantly more than we as a country are doing.”—Dr. Anthony Fauci, (US Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases).

 

What applies to USA applies to every country in the world—thus the WHO declaration that coronavirus is GLOBAL PANDEMIC. We cannot pray our way out of this nor go with our standard resort to “hope” as a “plan”. It has to be worked at the highest levels assuming there is competent leadership in Nigeria to do so.

 

And here for more information on coronavirus: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/03/23/coronavirus-isnt-alive-thats-why-its-so-hard-kill/

.

 

Regards,

Gozie

 

From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafric...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Victor Okafor


Sent: Monday, March 23, 2020 3:05 AM
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Salimonu Kadiri

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Mar 23, 2020, 5:28:38 PM3/23/20
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​Honestly, Mr. Adepoju's contribution is not a doomsday prophecy rather, it is a clear case of propagating unintelligent fake news. Coronavirus pandemic is serious but Nigerian intellectual pimps and prostitutes at home, and some abroad, are turning it into partisan politics. Educated parasites whose education are the real source of economic and industrial  backwardness of Nigeria continue to dominate debates. Hence, the swamp pretending to be lagoon could write, "I spoke with the consultant of the Infectious Diseases Unit, LTH yesterday and he told me clearly not to listen to a single thing spoken by the government." Why should the identity of a consultant in the infectious diseases unit of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LTH), projecting a catastrophic prognosis about the explosion of Coronavirus in Nigeria be anonymous? However, the intellectual pimp pretending to be well connected has been exposed.​ https://www.premiumtimesng.com/coronavirus/383369-coronavirus-luth-denies-gloomy-prediction-for-nigeria.html 
The management of Lagos university teaching hospital has denied a gloomy prediction about coronavirus, asking Nigerians to disregard the “fake news”. The message, quoting a consultant of the ...
​The link speaks volumes and the self-overrated intellectual effigy has made the mistake of going to swim in the river.
​S. Kadiri


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Ämne: RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Anonymous Whatsapp Message Alleges Concealed COVID-19 Explosion in Lagos, Nigeria
 

Cornelius Hamelberg

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Mar 23, 2020, 7:46:58 PM3/23/20
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Baba Kadiri,

The situation we are in, I expect President Muhammadu Buhari to say to the nation, it’s a matter of all hands on deck!

You and the self-overrated intellectual effigy are on the same side. The intellectual pimps and prostitutes and the educated parasites too, since you all want the best for Nigeria.

The situation in the whole world is so serious that even a charlatan prophet issuing his “fake” doomsday prophecy from the pulpit has to be taken seriously for the simple reason that he cannot be very wrong about the escalating danger being posed by the dreaded Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Even Nigeria’s most influential Bible-thumping Pentecostal pastors fear it.

Since the testing for the virus has only been conducted on a very limited scale, the management of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital is in no position to downplay the gravity of the situation and may not even know what they are talking about. 

The WHO warns Africa to prepare for the worst

The WHO people know what they are talking about and it’s a piece of advice should be taken seriously by Nigeria which is Africa’s most populous country.

That the Director-General or any individual spokesperson for the management of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital could deny that he said exactly this or that, in no way diminishes the utter gravity of the virus which is airborne and is not a respecter of borders or persons. The WHO warns Nigeria to prepare, and the management of whatever hospital or indeed Mr president himself or whoever it is that is in charge or responsible for trying to make the best out of this very bad situation has only this one question to answer:  Is Nigeria prepared?  Equipped to do the job?  How many hospital beds are there?

Right now, there is a free flow of the Coronavirus in and out of Nigeria.

Lagos, the country’s commercial capital has still not been locked down, nor have the densely packed Abuja, Ibadan, Kano, Kaduna, Port Harcourt, Benin City, Maiduguri, Aba, Zaria been locked down. Quarantined.

Any denial of the fact that ” if the pandemic becomes full-blown in Nigeria, it will likely be worse than China and Italy” is the kind of ” famous last words” that are guaranteed to come back and bite the denier and the charlatan non-doomsday prophet  - and if they are proved to be wrong – as is most likely, then the so-called ” fake news”  will continue to be  proved  to be true news  or true prophecy  and start haunting the rest of us, in the coming months. To get a rough idea of  what it was like in China, we could looka here : The lockdown: One month in Wuhan


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olugbenga Ojo

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Mar 24, 2020, 6:24:41 AM3/24/20
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Thank you for this peace. May God bless you real good. 
 By the way, what can anyone do to make Nigeria government, even before now,  to be up and doing in all areas of endeavors looking at the way things are being handled generally outside the act of embezzlement. Its like our people are not part of human race moment they get to the positions of leadership and authority. Examples abound. 

If needful  had been done before now by successive governments  will our hospitals; teaching or ordinary, not be available for treatment of this pandemic with a little bit of adjustment of the facilities that would have been provided?  As much as I agree that it might be wrong timing calling for strike by ASUU, when is it right to correct our government and what method is strategical enough for the government to yield and do the right things?  

Every areas of development is in shambles without any sign of improvement to come  in the nearest future the way the government treats lots of issues .  I think our government through those that runs the government are BIORANs As Yoruba  people describes anyone that does not take to warnings.  It is very sad and very many do not have any other country to run to and become part of those who are in diaspora. There is God those in governance should know and His wrought are there. 

Olugbenga 

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Cornelius Hamelberg

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Mar 24, 2020, 2:55:31 PM3/24/20
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Dear Baba Kadiri,

I just read a piece which begins with this rather ominous sentence:

“The COVID-19 crisis is functioning everywhere as a referendum on the quality of our leadership.”

 In this regard we ought not to judge Nigeria to be an exception.

We could also suspend disbelief and any final judgement on Nigeria’s commander-in-chief Muhammadu Buhari and his performance in the battle against the coronavirus until we see the beginnings of some concerted effort that could rise to the Coronavirus challenge as it begins to reap is deadly harvest throughout the Federation.

Even at the risk of sounding a little controversial when I say this – and it’s not meant to be a putdown,  indeed some Sierra Leoneans who are not even half as clever or intelligent etc and whatever than Nigerians, tend to be exactly like their Nigerian poetic and journalistic/ media  counterparts and experts, quite often, horrifically hyperbolic in diction in addition to being volatile and sometimes vile and aggressive by temperament. In most cases, they are acting in the public interest or promoting either themselves, their tribe, region, religion or the interests of their political paymasters.

In this regard, you could have it in your heart to forgive those who so consistently trespass against you in thought, word, and deed. I understand that in this regard too, Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju a gentleman and lover in other areas of life is no exception as his wordy opinion at the start of this thread and elsewhere testify. Nor must we deny the Honourable Don Farooq Kperogi the distinction of being crowned Nigeria’s King of the putdown and King of the anti-Buhari hyperbole. We could arrange the coronation ceremony at his earliest convenience, although that would have to take place over there in Georgia because as he has confessed to all of us, it’s not just a case of paranoia when he says that back home some people are out for his blood, are planning to do him in. That’s how it is in some places.  If you are not a praise singer, journalism can prove to be a dangerous business, livelihood. In many places in the world journalists are an endangered species. Over there in the United States, worst-case scenario Trump can accuse those who don’t sing his praises as being purveyors of fake news. The purveyors of fake news don’t find their names on the lists of those Wanted Dead or Alive…

About the media that is fanning some of the worldwide hysteria, well, here are a few facts to consider: As you yourself must have read in today’s Dagens Nyheter, in the opinion piece titled “Coronahysterin är farligare än själva viruset” (The corona hysteria is more dangerous than the virus itself) “according to WHO statistics, In 2017,  56 million people died in the world. The most common cause of death was cardiovascular disease (17, 8 million), and then cancer (9.6 million). Further down the list, for example, traffic accidents (1.2 million), suicide (793, 823) , murder (405, 306) and drowning (295,210). Wars and conflicts came as the cause of death in the 26th place, with “only” 129, 720 dead “ (WHO: main causes of death in the world )

These statistics in no way belittle the Coronavirus threat to mankind or lessen the urgency with which we must act, in Nigeria and everywhere else. The hysteria has succeeded in raising the level of fear even in the lionhearted. 

Here are some words of encouragement/ wisdom about overcoming that fear: Stay healthy. Do not fear. The two go hand in hand.

(From Your Daily Dose of Jewish Wisdom)


On Mon, 23 Mar 2020 at 22:28, Salimonu Kadiri <ogunl...@hotmail.com> wrote:
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Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju

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Mar 25, 2020, 5:39:03 AM3/25/20
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Thanks for this fine description Cornelius:

"Even at the risk of sounding a little controversial when I say this – and it’s not meant to be a putdown,  indeed some Sierra Leoneans who are not even half as clever or intelligent etc and whatever than Nigerians, tend to be exactly like their Nigerian poetic and journalistic/ media  counterparts and experts, quite often, horrifically hyperbolic in diction in addition to being volatile and sometimes vile and aggressive by temperament. In most cases, they are acting in the public interest or promoting either themselves, their tribe, region, religion or the interests of their political paymasters.

...

I understand that in this regard too, Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju a gentleman and lover in other areas of life is no exception as his wordy opinion at the start of this thread and elsewhere testify. " 
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/CAC50OP9iwfjEAM-tuC%3DijQXUjQZ7-%3D4KS8Y%2Bv4uJsEg-M_U%3DgA%40mail.gmail.com.
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