Congo,
Nigeria’s opponent for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier(AFCON), arrive
Calabar so scared; feeling like everyone in this West African country is
infected with Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). On the other side, Nigeria national
team players, who are predominantly foreign-based, are also very suspicious of
their opponent from East Africa.
Well,
Chelsea star, John Mikel Obi, seem to have the solution. He came to the
training pitch on Tuesday, fully kitted up with track down, long sleeve jersey
and gloves. He even offered gloves to his coaches and team mates as a way to
get everyone protected.
“The fear of Ebola is the beginning of wisdom!” Mikel declared jokily.
The outbreak
of the deadly virus has threatened the lives of both young and old. It has
shown it has no respect for neither rich nor poor; footballers nor fans… World
Health Organization estimated that in the next six months 20, 000 people may be
killed by the virus in West Africa.
Hey! Come to
think of it, anyone can be infected by mere physical contact with another
person who had already been infected before – and you never can tell who EVD
carrier is??
The irony is
this; the ravaging virus had killed more of the medical personnel that
volunteered to treat infected patients. Doctors and Nurses now flee at the
sight of any suspected person, who may be manifesting the symptoms.
Patients
themselves are also staying away from hospitals because they feel it may be the
likely place to make contact with infected persons. The stigma of an infected
person alone is more than the death itself. So people manifesting the symptoms
preferred not to show up for diagnosis. After all, there’s no cure yet! I read
a story online of how the alien dressed medical personnel were chasing some
suspected persons into the bush in Ikorodu Lagos.
The federal
government of Nigeria has extended the resumption date for schools; Customers
are properly checked before they are allowed entry into banking halls. People
have been advised to stay away from Rallies, Crusades or any large gatherings
for that matter. This raises a lot of funny questions as to how players and
fans can be protected in the upcoming AFCON qualifier matches in Nigeria.
1.
- Will the match be played behind closed doors and fans can only watch from their TVs at home?
- 2. Well then, will quarantine officers be available at the gate to check everyone getting into the stadium?
- 3. Will everyone getting into the stadium wash their hands? Will sanitizers be made available?
- 4. How will the spectators be advised to dress when coming to the stadium? Will they need to carry their own sanitizers?
- 5. How will spectators sit in the stadium? Will they sit distant from one another at the popular side?
- 6. How will the players dress? Will they invent new football fashion?
- 7. Will the players mask their faces, put on long sleeves, gloves, tight leggings… to prevent skin contact?
- 8. Will players skip the traditional friendship handshake as they line up to start the match? Will they prefer to do ‘hi-five’ or ‘chop knuckle?’
- 9. How will players prevent sweat contact from one another? Will they still exchange jerseys after the match?
- 10. Will players dropping saliva or sweat be sanctioned on the field of play?
- 11. How will medical personnel that treat injured players dress? Will they dress like some aliens from space?
- 12. How will a discovered Ebola virus infected person be isolated from other players and fans? Will he or she be arrested and quarantined?
