by Dr. Soyombo Ayomikun

   I won’t go about

   Shaking everyone in a handshaking spree

   Especially strangers

   Whose travel history I can’t ascertain

1.Even though drunk

At my joint in ‘Isale Eko’

Stuporous at that

Speaking in tongues as if ‘in the spirit’

I won’t eat bushmeat

I won’t mind sipping my pepper soup alone

I won’t even regret my action

For the sake of Ebola

 

 

2.I won’t kiss the scantily clad lady

Gambolling around at Allen avenue

Even if she pouts her lips

Explaining that it goes for free

I will shake my head

And happily say ‘mba’

I will remove my sandals & hasten away

For the fear of Ebola

 

 

3.I won’t go about

Shaking everyone in a handshaking spree

Especially strangers

Whose travel history I can’t ascertain

A nod of the head won’t be bad

And a warm smile as pleasantries are exchanged

They just have to bear that for now

For the fear of Ebola

 

4.I will make handwashing a ritual

So far as drought has not overtaken the globe

Before sinking my fingers into my mound of ‘iyan’

Straight to my basin I’ll stroll for some cleansing

I will even use my sanitizer

Happily as I watch my ‘iyan’ steam

I won’t frown my face as I go through the ritual

For the fear of Ebola

 

5.If Ebola kills another

Even if such is a relation

I’ll beg that fire be used

To help transport the body to the place beyond

Though that may be a painful choice

Why allow an infected body cause nations pains?

Tears may be shed but cremation will be embraced

For the fear of Ebola

 

4.As a health-care giver

I’ll become more vigilant

Not all catarrh or diarrhoea is now a joke

The deadly virus may be lurking within

I’ll treat all patients maintaining zero contact with their body fluids

Giving them utmost respect in the process

Whilst trying to care for another

I should not become a victim

I will treat all to the best of my knowledge

For the fear of Ebola

 

 

5.As an immigrant from any of the countries

Currently fighting the gruesome battle against Ebola

I will gladly yield myself

To any screening or quarantine if required

I won’t feel offended with the isolation

As I know it’s so the world can smile again

Even if confirmed with the disease

In tears I’ll yield all over to my maker

I’ll tell the care-givers

Not to forget cremation when the curtain gets drawned

I’ll painfully chew the bitter seed

For the fear of Ebola

 

 

6.Ebola has no face

Ebola has no smell

We don’t know if it’s either male or female

It has no pity

Ebola has no mind

Crawling around extinguishing beautiful minds

Only knowledge & cooperation

With a little more of discipline

Will help us win this sour battle

Wash your hands

Avoid contacts as much as possible

For now let go of bushmeats

Divorce yourself from roasted bats coated with sweet stew

Agree with health-care givers

On the adviced disposal of infected corpses

This definitely is a sorrow in a blip

One sublime to test our will

Let’s unite so we can rise

Above this fear of Ebola

 

* ‘Isale Eko’ : a location in Lagos Island,Nigeria.

* ‘mba’: an Igbo dialect from Nigeria meaning ‘no’.

* Iyan : a staple food of the Ondo people from Nigeria usually taken in boluses with bare hands.

 

N.B. :Dedicated to Dr Sheik Umar Khan,who contacted the virus in the process of taking care of infected individuals at the Hospital in Kenema,Sierra Leone.He died of the disease.

 

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Soyombo Ayomikun tweets from @alabaster85

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.