There was an outbreak of COVID in my house as last weekend approached and so I told myself that I must do the correct thing. I immediately went into self isolation (because I had been exposed) and started cancelling all physical engagements that I had committed to attend over the course of the next few days.
One of the first casualties was a Future Leaders Network event billed for Saturday morning in Ikoyi where I was supposed to be the Keynote Speaker. I contacted them and offered to deliver my Keynote Address virtually instead. Dr Tony Rapu (medical doctor and pastor) was the intermediary for this engagement. He was the one who pressured me to commit to being the Keynote Speaker at this event that was organised by a bunch of highly responsible young men. Tony even held an emergency conference call between the young leaders, himself and myself to help “pacify” them after I cancelled my physical participation. They decided to postpone their event on account of my physical absence; they felt it was too late in the day to hurriedly arrange for my virtual participation instead.
I maintained my ground with all and sundry that it would be irresponsible for me to start going around Lagos attending physical functions at a time when there had been an outbreak of COVID in my house. I know a little bit about the Omicron variant and how highly transmissible it is. That I had no symptoms whatsoever was not the issue. The chances were that I could be at the incubation stage.
It would suffice to say that I cancelled all physical engagements in Lagos, including Weddings, Business Meetings etc. Then I got a phone call inviting me to go to Aso Rock on Wednesday to attend the launching of the new National Development Plan 2021-25 by Mr President, in my capacity as Co-Chairman (Private Sector) of the National Steering Committee that was set up to produce the Plan. Indeed, my Co-Chairman (Public Sector) called me also i.e. the Finance Minister. I told her that I felt fine and had no symptoms, but that the correct thing to do (as per NCDC protocols) was that I must continue to self-isolate. In anycase, my latest COVID test had been taken on Monday morning by 54-Gene and the result was not yet out. The Finance Minister accepted my logic and said she would explain my absence for health reasons and based on a strict adherence to the NCDC safety protocols. We even discussed how long the incubation period could stretch.
This morning (Tuesday) I woke up and saw an email that came in overnight containing my COVID test result from Monday (yesterday) morning and it was POSITIVE.
I have chosen to tell this story so others can learn from it. If I did not steadfastly cancel all engagements since Friday morning, only God knows how I might have contributed to the spread of COVID in Nigeria simply by being irresponsible and disobedient.
I still do not have any COVID symptoms, but in a sense my positive test result was both a relief and a lesson. To all those who felt I was being too strict to the point of being ridiculous, I stand vindicated. I am relieved because some people argued with my stance and felt I was simply overzealous. Now they know different.
Apart from using my plight to serve as a lesson to others, my final reason for making this public is to help a few misguided persons who still prefer to stigmatise COVID. There is nothing to be ashamed about if you are the latest person to be caught by a pandemic.
Finally, please get your head around this; I had taken two doses of the Astrazeneca Vaccine in early March and late May 2021 and I also took the Pfizer booster shot last week in Victoria Island and yet COVID still knocked on my door. I was well prepared in the sense of taking all the preventive measures which the Nigerian Government placed at my disposal. Perhaps the vaccines help to make me asymptomatic (so far) ? Are you as well prepared as I was? If you are not, what do you intend to do about it?
Atedo N. A. Peterside (CON) is the President & Founder of Anap Foundation and the Founder of Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC. Twitter: @AtedoPeterside
