I woke up on friday morning August 8, 2014, to a news of puting salt in warm water, bathing with it and drinking from it as a prevention/cure for the dreaded, deadly disease EBOLA VIRUS.[right][/right]

I did not get any BBM message of the news. Maybe because i dont frequent BBM or because most of my frnds know i will counter the information as usual. I only heard of it this morning when as early as 6:00am many people in my neighbourehood were saying it that salt can cure Ebola.

I wondered in my heart as i lay on my bed. Was it the minister of health that anounced this? Turning on my radio, i heard a popular radio station here in Portharcourt encouraging people to do so nd even chew bitter kola as part of measures to curb the menace called Ebola.
Almost everyone in my neighbourhood adhered to the rumoured instructions. Before 7:00am, mama Chizoba’s sachets of salt had already finished. Jane my closest neighbour, added two sachets of salt to her warm water this morning to bath promising to buy salt in larger quantity when she comes back from school.

This is what you get in a country where the literacy level is low,(by literacy level i don’t mean certificates because many carry it around here but with little or nothing in terms of real knowledge) where people are helpless in this type of situation, where the government has no answer to virtually any issue that affects the masses. A country where a radio station will support a rumour that was puportedly spread by some group of young girls who joke with everything thinking its their normal ”runs girl s” life. A country where its students attend high school and university to cram. A country where people claim to belive in God but panic at every slightest thing that look new nd a puzzle to them. A country where the Government has failed to equip the hospitals or fund medical researches and get prepared for future occurences like this.

But Mostly, i blame the people themselves especially the youths who don’t verify issues before acting on it. People that will not question some news they hear or ask for the reliability of such news before making use of it. Citizens who don’t seek to expand their knowledge base by themselves but prefer to keep their brain idle. people who swallow what one man who calls himself ”MOG” tells them without consulting the real book that guide such religion, people who keep quiet and shout God help us when therir house is on fire, people who make excuse for their leaders as to why they under perform.

This is a wake up call to the people themselves to fashion out ways to make our country work. To sit down and question themselves on so many National issues and read wide to understand what they don’t know before. As one of my philosopher friend said, ”our body is already made up of salt so how then does salt cure Ebola”. Too much salt intake also is unhealthy to the body.

Our land need seious re-orientation and i implore those who are ahead of others intelectually and understands issues better to enlighten those around them its hard i know but please try.

Panic not my people Ebola will come and go.
MORNDEW.

Princewill Chimereze
Student, Writter, public Affairs Analyst, Facilitator and Social Commentator.
Source: www.enlightennigeriablog.

Hope this enlightens our people.