But why is this happening ‘sef’ is the question an extraordinary Ariogbo like me is posing. Oh yes! Ariogbos do ask questions requiring answers. How I wish the day will come when humans will live like Ariogbos. You want me to narrate to you how Ariogbos spend their lives huh?! Okay, just read on as I take you across the extraordinary Ariogbo journey. Ariogbos are not shortsighted; Ariogbos don’t have ‘bad heart’; Ariogbos are not corrupt; Ariogbos are not immoral; Ariogbos love each other; Ariogbos are Ariogbos and not humans. Now you see what I am trying to say right?! Don’t worry; keep trying. You might just get to the stage one day soon when all the good attributes the Ariogbos are enjoying will become a part of humans, living and non living things.

I am recounting the Ariogbo experience in amazement over the isolation the human kingdoms called Sierra Leone and Guinea are about to face from their good or bad or ugly neighbors called Liberia. Oh yes! They are all part of the Mano River Union basin sharing wars and diseases in common, at least in the recent past. But it seems Liberia is no longer ready to share anything in common again with Sierra Leone and Guinea, especially when it comes to Ebola. You heard me right. Liberia has already isolated itself from the MRU community unofficially but realistically and logically and dramatically. Hahahahaha!!!! Don’t mind my grammar; I just flex my English muscles ones on a while so that I will feel like human. Let me return back to what I am saying. Once upon a time; precisely over one year ago now, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea unite themselves as brothers and sisters to embrace with six hands the deadly disease called Ebola. The three countries saw themselves as a community of people living and working together and sharing common interest. Oh yes! Whether officially or by design or by accident, Ebola was shared among the three countries as a common interest; or you can even say they shared it as an uncommon interest. The disease arrived in Guinea, spread to Liberia before finally landing in home sweet home Sierra Leone. At first, the three countries decided to embark on one on one fight. When the moment of truth revealed itself, they started shouting for international or global help. The Americans stormed Liberia as if they were on a mission to invade the West African country; they said they were going to fight Ebola the American way. The British descended on Sierra Leone (though not like manners from Heaven) and claimed that they were going to fight Ebola the Briton way. I think France landed in Guinea by yard road to help the locals in that part of the world to fight Ebola. Don’t ask me what I meant by yard road…humans are too inquisitive and always ask a lot of questions. The only problem I have with them is the fact that they hardly ever comprehend the answers they get from such questions. So why ask when you cannot understand the answer? But again, a human will argue that we should not blame the questionnaire for not understanding the answer, but the respondent for not making the answer clear enough to be comprehended by the receiver. Well, I will leave that for another debate altogether because I am not as ordinary as humans. I see things from an extraordinary perspective, thus my submissions.

Let me don’t get distracted by your voices, actions and inactions. I have a lot to do and say today with regards Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Ebola. In the Ariogbo Kingdom, the arrival of Britain, America and France in the three West African countries reminded us about the sad slavery and colonial episode. Oh yes! America colonized Liberia; France colonized Guinea and Britain colonized Sierra Leone. Wow! So the colonial mentality still exists between and among the West African colonial masters? This was the first question I asked myself in my small but convenient Ariogbo corner. But even before I could figure out an answer, another thought crippled into my mind. Maybe, the colonial masters have decided to help as a way of compensating their ‘slaves’ for all what they did wrong in the past and present; and for the wrongs they intend to do in the future? Hmm!!! Wait o! Could this also mean that Britain, America and France still consider themselves the colonial masters of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea respectively?! Well, now this is getting serious. May the ancestors watch over Africa and direct the West to do the right thing. Whatever the case was, the colonial masters stepped in to save their slaves; sorry, their colonies or protectorates or areas of interest.

However, their efforts were not good enough as Ebola persisted even with the American, English and French fights. Hmmm!!! The slaves (sorry, I meant to say Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia) picked up their pieces and decided to fight their own wars in their own ways. They ‘re-formed’ themselves into a community as launched an MRU war against Ebola. To a very large extent, the MRU war could be described as successful because it fuelled panic in Ebola in Liberia. As I speak, Ebola has packed its bundle and found an escape route out of Liberia. You heard me right! Ebola has left Liberia in one piece. Or you can say Liberia has isolated itself from the MRU community as it no longer share the common Ebola interest with Sierra Leone and Guinea. Yes e! Liberia has bolted away from the MRU mess. Laughable or cryable?! Keep the answer to yourself because I am only Ariogbo. But wait o! ‘Na bad Liberia do?’ If you look at it from the definition of a community, your answer will be in the affirmative because Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia should live together, walk together and share common interest including Ebola. But is Ebola a common interest anybody or country would want to share? The answer is obvious ‘gbet’. I have witnessed husbands running away from their wives and mothers running from their kids for their lives because of Ebola. So why can’t Liberia do the same? I am sure the humans that created the definition of a community did not know about Ebola, thus the inclusion of the clause ‘…and sharing common interests’.

But wait o…that is not all. Liberia has not only gotten rid of Ebola but is also tactically getting rid of its neighbors. Well, this is the sorriest part in the movie. How can Liberia advise its citizens to practically stay away from Sierra Leone and Guinea because of Ebola?! ‘Na so now?!’ So you are cutting off ties now because of common or uncommon Ebola? Hmm!!! But other countries did not warn their citizens against Liberia when the disease was ruling Liberia ‘o’. Such a warning will not do more harm than good. Is this not what humans refer to as stigmatization? Why is Liberia stigmatizing its brothers and sisters? Oh I see! So Liberia has even forgotten that Sierra Leone may have contracted the virus from them? So why isolate us now?

Hope these humans in Sierra Leone are learning the bitter lesson?! Liberia may soon just close it bothers to Sierra Leone and Guinea. ‘Yes e!!! Make we nor gee dem Ebola…dem nor get sweh’.

‘But Liberia bad nor fine o’. Please don’t run away from your neighbors when they are in need…don’t treat them like lepers…don’t stigmatize them…don’t laugh at them if you cannot help them…don’t run away from your neighbors because of Ebola…don’t act like wicked humans. Sierra Leone and Guinea need you now more than ever before. Don’t abandon your friends please. But wait o! Is Liberia even reading this? ‘Make ar go sleep sef’.