A couple, Benedicta Ehanire and Andrew Ehanire, recently published a 262-page non-fiction book, Journal of the Pandemic: Reminiscences of Two Lockdowns. In a review of the book, South-south Bureau Chief BISI OLANIYI re-captures the experiences of the authors during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and how they navigated the turbulent period
The authors of the book published in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria: Dr. Benedicta Ehanire and Sir Andrew Ehanire, are a couple. Benedicta, a doctoral degree holder in English from the University of Benin (UNIBEN), and retired as Manager, News and Current Affairs from the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), is currently the Spokesperson of UNIBEN, while her husband, Andrew, who studied Sociology at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, and worked for the Presidency in the Special Services Department, is currently holding the management franchise for Edo State Government-owned Ogba Zoological Garden and Nature Park on Airport Road, Benin City.
The 262-page, six-chapter and three-part book, with well-designed and colourful cover, has neat print and attractive content, thereby making it the readers’ delight. Journal of the Pandemic: Reminiscences of Two Lockdowns is dedicated to God Almighty; Gen. T.Y. and Senator Daisy Danjuma; the authors’ lovely children: Alexander and Pearl; as well as all the people who touched their lives positively; while the forward was written by Prof. Emmanuel Omobowale of the Department of English, University of Ibadan (UI).
The non-fiction book’s part one, of six chapters, contains reminiscences about the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and lockdowns caused by the pandemic in Nigeria from March 2020, which was narrated in first-person style by Benedicta; with part two, titled: “Recollections,” by Andrew, being his harrowing and horrifying experiences in the hands of his abductors in the creeks of the Niger Delta in 2017; while part three contains the appendix.
The diary is rendered in very simple language, even while it discusses the very serious issue of COVID-19 pandemic in a frank and pragmatic manner, thereby making the abridged memoir really interesting, as it gives the reader a rare glimpse into the superb administrative abilities of UNIBEN’s 10th substantive Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Lilian Salami, who is the second female helmsman of the federal government-owned higher institution, after the late Prof. Grace Alele-Williams.
Chapter one of the book is titled: “One Week Shutdown,” with Benedicta giving details of the activities at UNIBEN on a daily basis, from March 25, 2020 to April 1, 2020, when the vice-chancellor had to entend the university’s shutdown by two weeks, in view of reports of escalation of the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the efforts made by health workers and top officials of the state and federal governments.
She said: “The incidence of COVID-19 was gaining traction globally. In spite of that, Nigerians appeared skeptical that there were grave dangers posed by the pandemic. Governments at different levels, especially the Federal and Lagos State Governments, were putting stringent measures in place to sensitise the citizens and to showcase their readiness to contain the pandemic.
“To this end, the Federal Government had constituted a high-powered taskforce, called the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, headed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, with the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, and other relevant stakeholders, as members.”
Chapter 2 of the book is titled: “A Two-Week Extension,” with Benedicta detailing what transpired at UNIBEN, between April 2, 2020 and April 14, 2020, thereby disclosing that the shutdown of the university for two weeks afforded her enough time to put together her article for the Literary Society of Nigeria’s journal. As she reflected on the best ways to fill in the next two weeks of partial holidays, she received a text from UNIBEN’s vice-chancellor, requiring her to prepare an update on the commencement of mass production of liquid soaps and sanitisers by the university, as an interventionist strategy to check the COVID-19 pandemic, while noting that at that time, people were dying like chickens in America, Italy, Spain and Germany, but the incidence was not as grave in Nigeria, by God’s mercy.
Chapter 3 is titled: “COVID-19: An Uncertain Future,” which is a summary of the author’s activities from April 15, 2020 to April 30, 2020, and the reports of horrifying deaths from the pandemic in Nigeria, particularly that of the Chief of Staff (CoS) to President Muhammadu Buhari, Mallam Abba Kyari. Chapter 4 has as title: “Dawning and Doubts,” which chronicled what transpired between May 1, 2020 and May 17, 2020, especially on the increasing deaths from COVID-19 in Nigeria and other parts of the world, while detailing the interventions by UNIBEN, particularly the ventilators and hand-wash machines.
Chapter 5 is titled: “A Gleam of Hope or the New Normal?” The author noted that on May 18, 2020, it was 51 days after the issuance of a formal shutdown of UNIBEN, and the directive to all staff to work from home. She stated that as at May 24, 2020, there had been 226 deaths from COVID-19 in Nigeria, with 7,839 confirmed cases, while 2,263 recovered and were discharged, and 265 new cases, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). Benedicta titled chapter 6 “Musings,” thereby giving details of her activities between May 25 and 31, 2020, and the unpleasant COVID-19 experience, with NCDC then putting the confirmed cases in Nigeria at 10,578, with 299 deaths recorded, 3,122 recovered/discharged, while 416 new cases were discovered, which ended part one of the book.
Part two, titled: “Out of Body Experience,” is Andrew’s story of his experience in the hands of kidnappers in September, 2017, told to Benedicta formally and in detail, for the first time, since the hellish events. Andrew said: “I was abducted from my office in Benin City on a very busy Sunday evening. There was sporadic gunfire, and three policemen were cut down by AK-47 bullets before my eyes. The gunmen dragged me on the floor of rickety car parked outside, and were firing into the air. After about two kilometres, we got to a brook with two canoes, which we boarded and rode for over an hour to join waiting speed boat with powerful twin engines on a wider river, while the canoe operators were paid off.
“One of the gunmen in the boat, who appeared to be the leader, proudly informed me that they were the ‘strike force,’ sent to capture me, after I had eluded other teams on three occasions. I had been abducted for over two weeks, before I finally made up my mind to make an escape bid. The price for failure would be more dreadful. There appeared to be a frenzied preparation for a festival and I was very scared that I was going to play a role in it, as the sacrifice perhaps. I was familiar with the daily drumming and chanting of the Egbesu cult, with occasional gunshots.
“The price for attempted escape is said to be death. I had been told that most people brought to their camps never went back alive. I was also told by one of the gang leaders that their assignment was to assassinate me, but that their oracle revealed that I was not guilty of any of the offences foisted by my detractors. On the fateful day, I had seen characters looking like witch doctors being ferried to the main camp. The militants always carried AK-47 rifles with multiple magazines. The agony of doing nothing was unbearable. So, at dusk, I launched myself into the murky water of the pervasive creeks of Niger Delta. I had to keep my eyes open, while under water. My clothes were carefully folded in a polythene bag, but after a long swim, I involuntarily let go of the bag containing my clothes, while it was floating away, as I had only a boxer short for clothing, which later became tattered, and I pulled it off to swipe mosquitoes, on the 6th day of my escape into the mangrove forest, thereby lying naked.
“I heard voices nearby, as some fisher women were paddling a small canoe. I hysterically blurted out to them to help take me to a police station. They disappeared instantly and reappeared some moments later with two gun-toting militants. One of the women removed a wrapper and it was thrown at me. We moved to the first port of call on the day of my initial arrival at the camp. It took an agonising three-day wait for them to put a call through to my wife, Bennie.”
Andrew revealed that in the coming days, he was privy to the negotiations the kidnappers had with his family members for ransom, stressing that after the first ransom was delivered, they improved his welfare and even bought him a radio. By the end of the second week, when the co-author made his escape, a second ransom was paid, without hint on when he would be released, while for another week, he could not speak with his family, but when he eventually spoke with his wife, the new boss of the gang in the camp assured his wife that he would be released the same day, but demanded transport money.
Andrew disclosed that he was given a white robe at the camp, and a speed boat was arranged, with eight men in black and armed with AK-47 rifles escorting him to an abandoned jetty in a village in Delta State, where his friend, Comrade Victor Ogba, picked him, after throwing the requested transport money to the escorts, while he hurriedly joined the rickety and crawling car, which arrived Benin after one hour, thereby reuniting with his wife and two children: Alexander and Pearl, with a young doctor examining him in Benin, and he then flew to Lagos for in-depth examinations in one of the best private hospitals.
Part three of the book is the appendix, which consists of UNIBEN’s updates/press statements by Benedicta on the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic, between March 31, 2020 and May 30, 2020, as well as the new look university’s (UNIBEN’s) block of flats, epilogue and index. The minor error spotted in the book was on page 230, part two, with Andrew stating that: “…..before heading to the airport,” instead of “…..before heading for the airport.” Benedicta and Andrew’s efforts in putting the informative, educative and well-written book together are laudable, with people all over the world admonished to read it, in order to learn more about COVID-19 and its variants, as well as how to avoid being kidnapped and strategies to survive in the dens of kidnappers, thereby being alive to tell the horrifying stories.