Mr. Dennis Akagha has been certified by doctors to be free of Ebola
Virus, but his fiancée, Miss Justina Ejelonu, a nurse at First
Consultant Hospital, Lagos Island, Lagos who came in contact with
Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian-American that brought the virus to Nigeria,
did not survive the disease. In this interview with GBENRO ADEOYE of
PUNCH, Akagha shares his near-death experience, the stigma he faced and
the promise he made to his late fiancée
You’ve been certified to be Ebola Virus negative, for how long has that been?
It’s going to two weeks now. Saturday (today) will make it two weeks
exactly that I’ve been certified negative. I’ve not had any of the
symptoms since then. But I’m granting this interview basically for one
reason; before I was quarantined, I saw it in the Bible that I would not
die but live to testify the goodness of God upon my life. When God
saved me, it is my responsibility to tell the whole world and Nigerians
that God is still in the business of doing miracles. So I’m a living
testimony of the goodness of God.
You said before you were quarantined, that means at that point, you knew you had Ebola Virus
Yes. But it was not that I was tested positive to it but I had started
seeing the symptoms; I had started feeling feverish and having pains all
over my body, my muscles, my waist. I was described as being
symptomatic at the time. The symptoms came up for like three days. My
temperature rose.
So what do you really think saved you? Did the doctors give you any drugs?
I will always tell the whole world that it’s a miracle because I met
people who were at the isolation centre before me and I left the place
before them. I stayed there for five days. It was a miracle. What worked
for me was my faith and my belief because right from the day I saw the
symptoms, I had been talking to myself.
I found it in the Bible that the
power of life and death is in my tongue which means anything I speak
happens for me. At that point in time, I started speaking to my body, my
blood system and doing the things you will ordinarily not understand.
These are the things we call mysteries.
Would you like to share some of these mysteries?
I can share them but some people may not believe them. In the church
where I worship, we believe in holy communion and feet washing. The
Bible says that the life of the body is in the blood and I also found
where Jesus was telling his disciples, if you eat my flesh and drink my
blood, you will have life abundantly and not die. With this
understanding, I started taking the blood of Jesus and eating the flesh
three times in a day. I started doing feet washing. These are the
mysteries and they are the things that helped deliver me from the
bondage of sickness. I got the bread from my church and I was blessing
my water to do feet washing.
You were there for five days, what was your experience like within that period?
I was taken in on Tuesday, August 19, 2014 and left there on Saturday
night, August 23, 2014. The experience wasn’t funny, anyway. I really
want to appreciate Lagos State. The state has done the best out of all
the places where Ebola has been ravaging lives. Initially, there were no
volunteers and the facilities were not there but it was because the
virus came unexpectedly. Nobody expected it. But within a short time,
the facilities improved, so the state tried.
The first day I got there, I was just telling myself that I was not
Ebola positive. When I got there, they took my blood samples and the
results came out the following day. Then, I was kept in a ward meant for
suspects. We had two wards: one is a ward for persons suspected to have
the virus and the other was for persons confirmed to already have it.
So once you are confirmed to have it, they will take you away from the
‘suspects’ ward’ to the other ward.
When I was confirmed to have it, they took me to the ‘confirmed’
ward. I went in with them and I met others there. Immediately I lay down
on my bed, I cried but nobody knew I was shedding tears. I just lay
there and cried. I was crying to God because I already told him that I
would not die but live. It took me five minutes to shed the tears and
afterwards, I wiped my tears. One of the doctors came in to tell me that
my results were not clear to them. She said the results were bulky;
that was the language she used and that they could not understand it. In
other words, I wasn’t meant to be there.
So they took me back to the ‘suspects’ ward and said they would rerun the tests. That was on Wednesday.
They reran the tests and the results came out on Thursday afternoon.
It was positive. So they asked me to go back to the ‘confirmed’ ward. I
told them I was not sick. They said that I was positive but I insisted
that I didn’t have Ebola. We quarreled for sometime so it took me time
to go back to the ‘confirmed’ ward. It was after much pleading and also
because they said I was a risk to others in the ‘suspects’ ward. So I
went back to the ‘confirmed’ ward but I was still saying I was not sick.
I was still taking my holy communion and doing feet washing and
praying. I slept thereon Thursday night and then they came again to take
my blood samples.
I was there on Friday too. I was doing my regular exercise- press up
and everything. Then on Saturday night, they called me that I had been
discharged. I had even forgotten that my blood samples were taken for a
test. They said my results came out negative. In that case, I didn’t
have any business there anymore.
How did you feel when you were told you could leave the centre?
The first thing I did was to go back to my closet, knelt down and
thanked God. I felt happy because I knew it was not just an ordinary
miracle. When I was there, I posted on my Facebook wall that my case
would defy all medical terminologies and theories. And a lot of people
wrote ‘Amen’ to it. But some of them may not understand but I had this
belief in myself and in the God that I serve. A lot of people were also
strongly supporting me with their prayers. I will encourage people
having health challenges or suffering from terminal illnesses not to
keep silent, they should tell others. I had friends and relatives
praying and fasting on my behalf. On Facebook, my Whatsapp group, they
were praying for me and sending me messages and Bible portions on what
to read and declare. Those things helped me to boost my faith.
How have your friends, relatives and neighbours been relating with you since you returned from the isolation centre?
The stigma will always be there and it will take some time for it to
phase out. It happened when HIV and Lassa fever came out. So this is not
the first and it won’t be the last. But I know that with time, it will
phase out. I faced a lot of stigmatisation on my street.
Can you recall specific instances?
Yes. When I was symptomatic, because I had bushy hair, I went to a salon
to have a haircut. Somebody who knew what happened to my fiancée ran
away from the salon. Also, I went somewhere to buy toothpaste and the
mallam (Hausa man) refused to sell to me. He said he was not selling. I
said but you have toothpaste, he said yes, but that he was not selling.
And where I worked as a marketing officer, it happened. I got a job this
same month Justina got a job at the hospital (where Patrick Sawyer
visited). Mine was an oil and gas company. Indirectly, I experienced it
there. I no longer work there.
Were you told to stop coming?
They did it indirectly. It will be shameful for me to go back there.
After I left the isolation centre, I said no, I won’t go back there. God
has a reason for everything. A lot of people have told me to protest
but I said no. For God to bring me out of this, He has very big plans
for my life. The communication was no longer there; I was calling (the
office) and they stopped picking my calls. So I didn’t bother to go to
the office. It got to an extent that even after I came out, my mum
travelled to the east (my hometown) for an August meeting and as soon as
she got to the venue, everyone ran away. They were like, since your son
had Ebola, then you will definitely have Ebola. That was the extent of
the stigmatisation.
What was the quarantine centre where Justina was kept like when you got there?
As I said, Lagos State government didn’t expect it. So the environment
wasn’t that conducive. The place she was, was a different facility from
where I was. It was the same hospital environment but not the same
facility.
Justina and others were put there while government was
preparing a better place for them. She was already there before some
others were moved to the other facility. There was no water or oxygen
where she was, and the environment wasn’t okay. Lagos State government
tried and did its best to make sure that they improve the facilities
later and I can testify to that.
Were you disappointed that there was no water or oxygen?
It still boils down to the fact that it was not expected. There was no
oxygen available when she needed oxygen but one thing about her was that
she lived a good life and was very friendly. She was loved by people
and had good friends, so when she needed oxygen, her group of friends
rallied round and came up with oxygen that day. In fact, they said they
would provide more if she needed more. The situation took government
unawares but those things are there now. I was there and I can testify
to it. The facilities are superb and the environment is nice. There are a
lot of volunteers now.
When you saw that the place was untidy, did you approach the health workers and what did they say?
Nigeria as a whole, we didn’t t expect this. It was not expected. So it
took time for people to start volunteering to come and work. So those
people who were there were scared so I didn’t blame them.
Nobody wanted
to take the risk of being infected. It was not until after a lot of
awareness had been done that people understood more and started coming
to volunteer to work there.
Do you think that the government could have saved her life if the facilities were better?
Well, I really don’t know. God knows best. I was discussing with someone
recently and I said she shouldn’t have died. The person asked why and I
said I saw a portion in the Bible where God said He would satisfy us
with long life. She had not even lived up to 50 when she passed on. The
person told me that a new born child that dies within a week has lived a
long life. I wondered how and he said the day we die is the day our
lives end which means we have lived a long life and have fulfilled our
purpose. I’m still pondering over that but I came to a conclusion that
God wasn’t sleeping so He must know about everything that happened. As
much as people were praying for me when I was there, people were praying
for her also.
So what are your plans now that you’re fine, but out of job?
I intend to look for another job. If it’s the will of God for me to
work, I will get another job. Aside from that, I made Justina a promise.
I spoke with her the night she passed on but I had to go there to
confirm the next morning. I had to go inside there after wearing the
kits. I was led in and I held her hands, I just wanted to know if she
was truly dead. At that time, she was already dead. I told her that I
would make sure I pursued those things she could not achieve that I knew
about, in my own little way and with the help of individuals. I would
make sure she fulfills the dreams.
Before her death, she had a vision of a project that I don’t want to
share here. If that is what will keep me busy for the rest of my life, I
don’t mind to keep her memory alive. I wrote the plan and we were just
waiting to complete our marriage plans before proceeding with the
project. After her death, I had to go back to my system (laptop) to
fetch out those things and start reworking them. I’m done with writing
the plan and the next step is to register the business. Private
individuals who may want to support the cause since she died while
trying to save lives, are welcome. I don’t mind since it will be in
memory of Justina Obioma Ejelonu.
Yes, a lot of people have been asking
me, after now, what next? You have lost a loved one, you’ve lost your
job and you’ve come out negative, what next and I tell them that it
boils down to God.
You said you held her hand after she had died. But can you recall the last time you saw her alive and what she said to you?
The last day I saw her alive was three weeks today because she died on a
Thursday morning. She requested to see me and I went inside to see her,
cleaned her and made sure her surroundings were clean and okay. She was
on drips and I spoke with her. She requested for tea, hot or cold.
There was no way I could get hot water around so I went to get beverage
and two bottles of table water to prepare the tea (beverage) for her.
I
also bought bread for her. That was the last thing I bought for her. I
remember she said she loved me; that was the last thing she told me.
After cleaning her up, she called on one of the doctors, a WHO doctor,
Dr. David. She said softly to the doctor, did I not tell you? The doctor
asked what. She said did I not tell you that if my husband comes here, a
miracle would happen. I laughed and the doctor said yes. I had to clean
her up that day.
You took some risks taking Justina to the hospital and cleaning her up, didn’t you know the risks involved?
You see, if you love someone, you will do those things, except you
don’t genuinely love the person. If you genuinely love someone, you can
do anything for the person. I genuinely loved her; she was supposed to
be my wife. And at that point in time, I saw no reason why I should
abandon her. I know most men would do that but my conscience would judge
me for the rest of my life if I had run away. So I had to stand by her.
I took the risks because I loved her and at a point, I started being
careful at the same time. The Bible says wisdom is profitable to direct.
But I had been 100 per cent exposed already even before I started
taking precautions. I started using polythene bags as gloves, which was
not even safe. Not that I didn’t think of the risks, but love is a very
powerful thing. I know she would have done the same thing for me. So why
would I want to run away?
How did you receive news of her death?
Normally, I call her every morning but that morning , I called and
called and she didn’t pick up. So I went to the hospital and I was
supposed to get some things for her anyway. So I got the news when I got
there. It was painful for me. Have you lost a loved one before? At that
moment, I felt like going with her. I felt that I couldn’t stay behind
(on earth). I felt like dying so that it would be like we both died,
although it was not possible (for me to kill myself). But that was how I
felt.
Did you receive government visits at home?
I didn’t encourage visitors; I didn’t want anyone to visit me. The only
people that were visiting me were Lagos State government officials but
they were not coming to my house. They would get to my street and call
me to come out. They were only coming to monitor my temperature. I was
given a digital thermometer to check my temperature and I would tell
them the readings. I checked it every morning and I would meet them
outside and tell them. They were the only people coming everyday until
when they came to pick me; every other person had indirectly run away.
They took me away when my temperature showed that it had risen.
Did they show up immediately Justina was confirmed to have had Ebola?
Normally, they were suppose to come and fumigate my house on that day
but they didn’t come; they came two weeks after. I had already done it
myself. I bought three bottles of JIK and mixed it water. I did the
disinfection and cleaned my house by myself before they came.
Why did it take them two weeks to show up?
Well, I don’t know. I think maybe it was due to logistics. It’s none of my business.
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