By Isaac Asabor
Going down memory lane, it would be recalled that Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, a contagious and fatal respiratory illness, aptly called SARS reared its ugly head in China in November 2002 until Scientists identified it in February 2003.
However, the disease no longer exists in any part of the world, but it literarily came to Nigeria to settle in late 1992 and mischievously changed its name to Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and pretentiously claimed to have come to this part of the world to deal with crimes associated with robbery, motor vehicle theft, kidnapping, cattle rustling, and firearms. As gathered, it was the then Deputy Inspector General of Police, Anthony Ogbizi that literarily facilitated its relocation to Nigeria and instantly made it a part of the Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (FCIID) which he headed then.
The medical variant of SARS that pretentiously berthed in Nigeria, and to the consternation of many turned to Police SARS, was the result of infection by a coronavirus that scientists named SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV). For the sake of clarity, SARS-CoV is related to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 infection, even before the Current COVID-19.
It was gathered that since the medical variant of SARS relocated to Nigeria and literarily became a Policeman that there was no cases of new Report since 2004. I asked, “Why would there be new cases when it has berthed in Nigeria and accommodated in the comfort zone of the Police Force where it was unleashing fire and brimstone on Nigerian youths until it was disbanded in October 2020 amidst the EndSars protest?”
It is said that the medical variant of SARS spread to over 24 countries before health authorities managed to contain it. Nevertheless, from November 2002 to July 2003, there were 8,098 cases worldwide and 774 deaths.
In the United States, there were eight laboratory-confirmed cases and no fatalities. All eight people who the illness affected had traveled to areas where SARS was prevalent. Global cooperation enabled health authorities to deal swiftly with the threat of SARS and to rapidly contain the illness, and SARS infections are not occurring anywhere now in the world, although scientists are strongly of the opinion they could reappear one day.
At this juncture, it is expedient to metaphorically extricate the medical variant of SARS from the Police variant of SARS, which is only found in Nigeria. As asserted by experts, the coronavirus SARS-CoV causes SARS. A coronavirus is a common form of virus that typically leads to upper respiratory tract illnesses, including the common cold. Different kinds of coronavirus can infect humans.
Medical experts are unanimous in their professional submission that there is a thin line that divides both SARS-CoV and COVID-19. They have raised alert about the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) which is a contagious and sometimes fatal respiratory illness. They have further explained that SARS first appeared in China in November 2002, and that within a few months, SARS spread worldwide, carried by unsuspecting travelers.
A report added that “SARS showed how quickly infection can spread in a highly mobile and interconnected world. On the other hand, a collaborative international effort allowed health experts to quickly contain the spread of the disease. There has been no known transmission of SARS anywhere in the world since 2004”.
According to health and medical experts, SARS can be difficult to recognize in children because it mimics other respiratory diseases, such as influenza. It generally begins with a fever higher than 100.4° F (38° C) and progresses to include one or more of the following symptoms: Headache, overall feeling of discomfort, body aches and chills, sore throat, cough, pneumonia, difficulty in breathing and shortness of breath. Other effect or rather symptoms are Hypoxia (insufficient oxygen in the blood) and diarrhea (for 10 to 20 percent of patients).
They added that there is currently no test to diagnose SARS, and noted that the symptoms of SARS may look like other medical conditions, and in that light advised parents to always consult their children’s health care providers for a diagnosis.
Paradoxically, the SARS that spread to Nigeria disguising as Policemen resorted to the perpetration of horrific human rights violations, particularly on Nigerian youths. And there was no doubt that police authority likes it, and retained it for the systemic torture and other ill treatment they are inherent with, particularly for the purpose of obnoxious investigations within the Nigerian Police.
As the Amnesty International’s investigation revealed, there was a disturbing pattern of abuse of detainees in SARS custody despite the 2017 Anti-Torture Act. In many cases, Amnesty International bore witness to the scars, bruises, and dried blood on victims’ bodies. Many of them were subjected to beatings with sticks and machetes and denied medical care. That was the variant of SARS we had in Nigeria.
Against the foregoing backdrop, it is not an exaggeration to say that Nigerian youths, ostensibly sensing that the variant of SARS they were faced with was diametrically opposed to the SARS they were taught of in medical schools, and the one they had read about in literatures; both online and offline; hence their resort to embark on a peaceful protest tagged #EndSARS to demand the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit, as well as other reforms in the Nigerian Police. What started out as a peaceful demonstration by thousands of youths, degenerated into chaos after the protests were hijacked by hoodlums.
However, the worst happened at about 6.45 pm Tuesday, October 20th, when several social media accounts revealed that peaceful protesters were allegedly being shot at by the Nigerian military at the Lekki toll gate.
Against the foregoing backdrop, not few Nigerians, particularly Lagosians believed that SARS has being banned. But alas! Given the way and manner the Police conducted itself in Lagos as it fired tear gas on Wednesday on hundreds of demonstrators that turned up at the Lekki toll gate in a memorial car procession to honor those who died during protests last year in Nigeria’s economic hub, one can conclude that SARS has resurrected.
In fact, there was an observed scene where there was a tense stand-off between security forces and the protesters, who made a handful of arrests, including a man who was being interviewed by CNN.
Against the foregoing backdrop, it can be metaphorically concluded that SARS from medical perspective is not troubling the youths but the Police SARS which they were told had being banned last year. To put it metaphorically and medically, nothing has changed with the proscription of SARS.
