Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan reacted with an unorthodox tone to the first case of Ebola in his country, calling the victim a “madman” for carrying the Ebola virus into his country.
On Tuesday, Nigerian officials confirmed the 10th case of Ebola virus in their country.
Forty-year-old Patrick Sawyer, Nigeria’s patient-zero, died from Ebola while being treated at a hospital in Lagos on July 25. One of the nurses that treated him for the extremely contagious virus was infected shortly thereafter and died last week. Last weekend it was confirmed that eight others had tested positive for the virus, according to government officials.
President Jonathan said Monday in the capital city of Abuja, “It is unfortunate that one madman brought Ebola to us, but we have to contain it,” adding the government would do all it could – “everything possible” – to contain the deadly virus.
The Nigerian President continued, “He became a suspect. And the country [Liberia] asked him not to leave the country so that he will be observed, but the crazy man decided to smuggle himself out, and now we are suffering because of it.”
President Jonathan told his audience that traditional burial procedures, ones that involve touching the dead body while burying the victim, mustn’t be employed for fear of spreading the virus. “We must advise our people not to over-celebrate burial now,” he said.
“If we manage it [Ebola] well, we can get over it in two months and return to our normal lives,” he added.
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