Der Monat Juli!

Dear Diary,

"Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do! And whatever else you do, develop good judgement."

Is it just me or is the year running a little too fast? The days are just zooming past and all of a sudden, 24 hours is no longer enough. I'm back with my monthly recap. The title of this post is in German and it means, "the month of July". Let's count our losses and be thankful for the blessings that July dealt us. What rocked and sucked this July? Find out!

Ebola!!! Yes, I had to start with it. 

The first case of Ebola was diagnosed in Nigeria this month. Our fears became real when the Ministry of health confirmed it in Lagos after  a Liberian, Patrick sawyer who boarded a plane from Liberia into Nigeria, collapsed at the airport. He was rushed to the hospital where it was confirmed that he had the disease. He Died on Friday, the 24th of July. Apparently, 59 people came in contact with him while he was in the country. Despite the Frantic efforts being made by the government to contain the virus, it is our individual responsibility to ensure adequate personal hygiene. Wash hands properly with soap and water as hand sanitizers are only 99% protective against Bacteria and not Viruses (Ebola is caused by a Virus). This disease spreads through direct contact with the blood, or other bodily fluids of infected people. It is also a dangerous time for the health workers and care givers as they are prone to be infected while treating patients. 

Dr sheik Umar Kahn who treated about 100 patients in Liberia, has died from the disease. It is advised that infection control is adequately effected in our clinics and hospitals. There's a lot of information available online, please google 'Ebola' and find images and articles that'll increase your knowledge base.

On July 17, a Malaysian plane crashed in Ukraine. Flight MH17 was reportedly shot down by Russian rebels who thought it was a military aircraft flying in their zone. More than 100 passengers on that plane were going to Melbourne for the World Aids Conference. Another plane crash involving Air Algerie also occurred. May God comfort the bereaved and grant the departed, eternal rest.

Dentist turned musician, Dr Sid married his fiancée Simi Osomo in a state of the art traditional wedding. Also, one of the sons of Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo (KICC) Tomi Ashimolowo, married his heartthrob, Dorothy Jeneba Kamara. 

Jude Okoye, elder brother of the p'square brothers, married former  beauty queen, Ify Umeokeke. Cheers to a fulfilling marriage filled with beautiful children. Only MC with an M.Sc, Naetochukwu Chikwe and wife welcomed their second child this month, hearty congratulations to them. 

The World Cup ended on the 12th of July with a beautiful closing ceremony. Germany took the cup home after battling it out for 120mins with the Argentines. In other news, Drogba is back at Stamford Bridge. He signed a one year contract with Chelsea this month. Welcome back DD!

Glasgow 2014 is now live and as expected, team Nigeria is already making us proud. Nigeria won her first gold at the commonwealth games when weightlifter Chika Amalaha pulled a total of 196 points in the 53kg class coming out tops. Blessing Okagbare did it again, she won the 100m women's final. Go Team Nigeria!

A number of people including 3 sons of Sheikh Ibraheem El Zakzaky, who led the Shiite protest in Zaria, a March dedicated to the conflict between Israel and Palestine were killed in a clash with soldiers who were trying to disperse them. It was supposed to be a peaceful protest and the soldiers were to disperse them quietly but something happened along the way and violence erupted. Elrufai's  23 yr old son Hamza Elrufai was involved in a ghastly motor accident and died at the scene. May the souls of the faithful departed, rest in peace. 

Boko haram spread their tent over our sister country, Cameroon and kidnaped the Vice Prime minister's wife, Amadou Ali in the process. Luckily she was rescued after 3 days.  

Bombs, bombs and more bombs! A market in Maiduguri was bombed on the first day of July and that was the beginning of the July season of bombings. A bridge was bombed in Yobe state and bombs also exploded in Kaduna. In the last week of July, Kano state was bombed 5 times! With every explosion, a family is thrown into mourning. The average nigerian has gotten so used to this way of life that the announcement of an explosion does not even cause the batting of an eyelid. It is well!

Over 100 days since the Chibok girls went missing and now there is a new trend of female bombers. A 10 year old girl found wearing explosive device apparatus in katsina, any correlation? I hope not. #MH370 is still missing and no clue in sight. The world is boiling at the moment. Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Palestine, Nigeria, Iraq, Sudan, e.t.c, each with their story to tell. It would seem absurd to see the light at the end of this very dark tunnel, still, when there is life, there is hope.

May the month of August, wipe away the tears of the previous months and give us a reason to smile.

HAPPY NEW MONTH!!!