Patrick Sawyer Legacy: Obasanjo blasts Liberian government over poor Ebola containment

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Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo has lambasted the Liberian government for not doing enough to curtail the spread of Ebola Virus Disease.

Obasanjo also stated that Liberian officials connived with Sawyer to import the disease to Nigeria.

The former President spoke during a Q&A session after an event entitled ‘An Afternoon With Obasanjo’ organised by the publisher of Inside Watch Africa magazine, Mr. Oluwaseyi Adegoke-Adeyemo, at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta.

He said: “It is devilish enough that Patrick Sawyer had to spread this, and, indeed, spread it to Nigeria in connivance with some authorities from his country. Because they knew he had it before he came to Nigeria. The EVD has started to take its toll on the country and the West African sub-region. The toll is not only on the number of those that are ill or dead but on the economy of communities, countries, region and the sub-region.”

He said Pharmaceutical companies in Nigeria should be incentivized to develop a cure for the virus.

“Pharmaceutical companies in the country should be encouraged to carry out research on the EVD and come up with vaccines to treat the deadly disease. Also, we have to be aggressive in taking precautionary measures.  When you see your neighbour or someone who has unique symptoms not just of ordinary cold or fever, take him to the doctor, whether it is symptomatic of Ebola or ordinary malaria. We should not wait till someone has incubated it for so long just like Patrick Sawyer, who knew he had it and deliberately spread it.”

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