By Samuel Ogunnaike
Sir: All I shall tell in this court shall be the truth, nothing but the truth. Devoid of any exaggeration, this household expression has seated itself unchallenged in the court system and by literary extension, to the logic warehouse of the citizens of the universe, especially, those of African descent.
Is every truth a reality and all realities true? That the witness said the truth is no proof that his articulation is realistic. This is not some naked philosophy but a conscious call by the conscionable infinite or finite universe to the unconscious victims, the vulnerable and the casualties running amiss on the life tracks.
Many a time, an individual has been wrongly educated to see the truth as the reality. The truth is, there is Covid19, the reality is you never for once prepared for the unknown. Life happens to everyone and seasons change. Even if events are predetermined, realities are not. Your ongoing harsh moments are interlinked to your embrace of hope, which is good, but not good enough. Hope without preparation and readiness is the worst system anyone can imagine. Covid 19, the unpleasant teacher, has taught a true real lesson: live for tomorrow, for hope is not a strategy.
At the society level, our politicians are learning it the hard way. We hope they are learning and rapidly absorbing the true real lessons of years of medical neglect and abandonment. Decades of siphoning and chronically callous looting. Our proportion of this epidemic is less than 400. Shamefully, we have outrun resources. A governor had to be relocated to another state for medical attention. What a time!
We have sowed heavy corruption, now, let’s reap massive pains. It is true that we may not have the sophistication and expertise of the white man; again, we may be unmatchable for him in terms of resources but the reality is, if we had laid our bed well, we would have lain differently on it. Is reality what the Bible expresses as: what a man sows, he reaps?
Definitely, Nigeria like her African siblings are today victims of reality not casualties of truth. The truth we know, but the reality we ignore. According to the International Medical Travel Journal, Nigerian politicians and officials have practised medical tourism for decades with around $2 billion estimate. Now that they can’t jet out, they rely on what has been our age long reliance- ill-equipped hospitals. For the first time, they are receiving treatment at home, with trust in our medical personnel. With Covid-19, reality has overtaken the truth. Despite our endowed resources, we do not in any way have a world class health system. Whenever new hospitals are launched, they are so starved of operating cash that some have been closed or made to operate way below capacity. If Covid-19 exited, would Nigerian leaders match truth with reality?
- Samuel Ogunnaike, Lagos.
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