The funny thing here is, ZMAPP was developed by 9 individuals only! But in Nigeria we must set up a panel to look into it. This will consist of 700 unqualified individuals that know absolutely nothing about science to head the committee with the motive of siphoning more money from the Government. A simple Google search on ZMAPP will give you the Wikipedia page. It defines the drug and even gives you the name of the tobacco plant “Nicotiana benthamiana” which the drugs three humanized monoclonal antibodies are produced from, a general representation of the method used to produce monoclonal antibodies, studies published, and there’s even a picture of the plant! What other EXPO do we Africans need? “A ga luru gi nwanyi, tuwara gi ya ime”meaning- Should one get you a bride and also get her pregnant for your? But “No, ehn-ehn, mba, ra-ra ohh,” we want the ZMAPP from America "Nke Ahu wu authentic"- means (that one from America is authentic)

We call Nigeria a country but yet we can't defend our National Security, or have simple research labs. Doctors are on strike ohh, I heard. Which Nigerian based Doctor do you know will leave the comfort of his house, bosom of his wife and concubine nurses to go to another Virus infected country with a deadly disease to help out? Their response will be, “Tufiakwa Anam acho nne na nna mu ebe ahu maka gini" or "Dem no born me well to go there." I wouldn't even live in Nigeria if we had something like CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) because when our politicians want you dead they’d call up their favorite scientist to give them the bacteria (Ota Kpia Kpia) to wipe away their opponents family gbam. “Oya” Ebola has landed, if you are the real African scientist please stand up, or if we have research centers oya open the doors and dust off our old equipment. No be to answer Doctor for mouth.

However, the drug, which have not been established as a CURE, is still in the experimental stage. They have only been tested on monkeys “Rhesus macaque” and have not been formally approved. While they might be willing to take a chance and use such drugs on their own people, they will not start issuing it in large amounts to others countries. There are real consequences for doing that. What if it turns out later on that the drug has effects they were not aware of that are worse long term. Then that will become a legal issue. Normally, when drug companies are working on drugs that have not been used on humans or approved by the FDA, they are hard pressed to allow anyone to use them...even on American Citizens. I've seen cases in which little children dying from one rare condition or other where a drug is being tested and may be helpful, are refused. Even if they ever accept to use it, I'm certain, the parents of that child must sign a legal waiver. I understand the drug company's arguments. What if they gave that drug out and then bad things started happening to the people who received it or what if the drug works only for a short time and they release the infected people back to the population which in turn infects more people. But No We Africans don't want to hear that or understand due process, we want it now. Just like little babies if we don't get want we want we cry out. Then, there will be those who will start accusing them of trying to finish what Ebola started. So to be fair, in context, it's not so easy to just give people drugs if they aren't completely sure of its possible outcomes.

Nigeria is a country of its own like America and has an annual budget of its own. We also have people that claim to be doctors and scientist who don't do any research or find cures for anything. Yet they use Goverment funding to go to annual confrences all over the world, come back with pictures just to hang in their offices. All everyone wants to do is get into politics in Nigeria. Nigeria is a full blown country that should cater for the security and health of its citizens yet people in politics squander money for everything and nothing is left for anything. African countries are used to seeking help from other countries when trouble comes, but when our ministers party and buy jets they don't ask for help. The rest of the world conforms to a certain norm when it comes to governance, developmeny, human rights and standard of living, but in Africa “No, Ehn-Ehn, Mba, Ra-Ra Ohh!” We must eat all the bushmeat in Africa, chop bat meat, chop monkey, chop anything chopable. I see people on social media with their psychotic theories on how the Foreign countries “Oyibo” invented Ebola and “dem wan kill us all.” Is it Oyibo that invented bats which are the carries of the Ebola virus, or did they force us to encroach into bat territories and add bats and bush-meat to our delicacy? I went to Nigeria a couple of months ago, every corner you look, there's a hotel, bar, church, mosque or restaurant. No library in site, no research laboratory to be found, epileptic power supply, bad roads, poor sanitation, should I continue or stop? So give me a quater reason "Why a virus like Ebola no go thrive for Africa?"

Those two Americans were flown out and are doing better because they have a country that cares and has invested so much in making sure that they and by some measure the rest of the world do not suffer from horrific disease such as this for nothing. What do we do? We sit down fold our arms and go to Holy Ghost service and yell out call for prayers at odd hours. God answered us and gave us brains, but what do we do still? We don't fund research labs, we don't invest in teachers and researchers that can contribute to much that is going on in the world so in our idleness, we sit down and formulate unintelligent theories to absolve ourselves of any responsibility.

In any drug there must active ingredient and that ingredient must have a source or origin. Nigerians just have lost the ability to think. The thing with Nigerians is, we never read up on current facts we just remain stale on colonial knowledge. We just wait to be fed some news, and always discredit what a fellow Nigerian has to say. This man might be right (Dr. Iwu), if you guys have followed up on the Ebola news instead of turning up at the club and playing turn down for what, you'd find out that USA developed a serum that helped the two American Doctors get better. It's called ZMAPP, use you internet for something good and Google it yourself. " ZMapp is an experimental mixture of three humanized monoclonal antibodies for immunological protection against the Ebola virus, and manufactured in the Nicotiana plant. On 4 August 2014 the drug was first tested on humans. It was administered to two Americans who had been infected with Ebola. Both people appeared to have had positive results." Guess what else has nicotine in it? Bitter Kola! yes bitter kola contains little caffeine which is not harmful to the body system rather it helps as an antibiotics. Instead of making fun of the Doctor, the Nigerian Government should make use of our funds to find out if it is a promising fact or even get the tobacco plant “Nicotiana benthamiana” to research on. But no we always want already made things.

This I copied from a recent publication from Bloomberg's website " A tiny San Diego-based company provided an experimental Ebola treatment for two Americans infected with the deadly virus in Liberia. The biotechnology drug, produced with tobacco plants, appears to be working. In an unusual twist of expedited drug access, Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc., which has nine employees, released its experimental ZMapp drug, until now only tested on infected animals, for the two health workers. Kentucky BioProcessing LLC, a subsidiary of tobacco giant Reynolds American Inc. (RAI), manufactures the treatment for Mapp from tobacco plants." Please use your internet for good things Nigerians instead of watching twerking videos. I wanted to find out what the relevance of Dr. Iwu's controversial tenure as Nigeria's electoral umpire to his capabilities as a scientist or the authenticity of his scientific research? To me both spheres of endeavor are different from the other and rather unconnected in any material way. Knowledge humbles those who acquire it because it reveals to you the vast complexity of our system of things and the universe at large. Knowledge without culture is a disaster!

Also, have you bothered to research thoroughly on Iwu's claim and how it was received by the scientific community even in the United States and the way the international media including the BBC reported it back in 1999? Surely if his claim was dubious, he would long have been exposed to the world and disgraced as a charlatan. I make no pretension to scientific knowledge or background of any kind but I can understand simple information which any of us could access in this age of the internet. “On Thursday August 5, 1999 the BBC reported online that a plant which can halt the deadly Ebola virus in its tracks had been discovered by scientists in laboratory tests. The plant under review was garcinia kola or bitter kola commonly grown and eaten in West Africa.” In that same report the bitter kola was attributed with the ability of being effective against some strains of flu also caused by viruses. Dr. Maurice Iwu (as he then was) was the major researcher behind that discovery which was announced at “16th the International botanical congress in St Louis USA in 1999.” I wouldn't know what has delayed the development of a dispensable drug for the ailment from this discovery but it would appear that Iwu is not a fraud as far as this issue is concerned.

Africans complain, why did the American doctors receive the treatment first, why shouldn't they? They left the comfort of their homes to go to a Virus infected country to help save others. "ZMAPP nah their country man make am, funding for the research nah probably taxpayers money." But no, Nigerians or Africans can never understand due processes, we all want already made things. "We are busy "chooking eyes" into other peoples taxpayers money and scientific research." In 2014 Governors in Nigeria are still commissioning water projects and villagers come out dance and give them Chieftaincy titles while other countries are busy moving forward commissioning ground-breaking scientific researches and satellites to space. If African countries always look up to other countries for help for everything except when it comes to partying and looting funds, why are we then called countries? The world conforms to a certain norm but again, our African countries will say "No, Ehn-Ehn, Ra-Ra Oh" we like "apiam way" short-cuts, never want to follow due process or take no for an answer. Oya lets solve Ebola with the typical way we solve things in Nigeria, Prayers and Fasting 6am to 6PM, Occupy Ebola, Ebola party turn-up Tuesday, Ebola Don Come Again Part 2 by NolloyWood, Baby Girl You are My Ebola Remix Featuring God knows who . Ndi ara! You expect America to make cure for you and not make enough for its Citizens first”eh kwa?” If you like don't go and buy Bitter Kolla and eat, swallow, boil and drink the water, stay there and be waiting for ZMAPP. "ZMAPP gba kwa Kpia gi Anya there." Instead of coming to social media to poke fun at Dr. Iwu or others, get your self some Bitter Kola and wait for the American vaccination to be tested and be available to us all. At least half Bitter Kola is better than no Vaccination "Nkem ji ka mma"

By Michael John- A
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http://africanboythatwrites./2014/08/08/ebola-and-the-african-virus/