An Imperfect Storm
By Chikwe Ihekweazu & Vivianne Ihekweazu
A Christmas Break
December 2019–January 2020
Time moved at a slower pace in the village. Days began with a leisurely breakfast—often fried yam and plantain with egg stew—shared by kin around a large dining table. Cousins, who had also returned to the village from different towns and cities across the country, joined us. Early visitors dropped by daily, seeking advice, offering gifts or simply looking to catch up, and we always made time to share a drink and a conversation. Life in the village at the end of the year was a time for reflection and reconnection with family. I cherished the mornings spent walking around our kindred, sitting with the Umunna, the older family members. We would engage in spirited debates about different things, trivial and weighty, even dialogues that stretched far beyond our vicinity. Our discussions were always peppered with Igbo proverbs, each trying to outdo the other in wit and wisdom.
December in Amaigbo, was more than just a time for celebrating Christmas. It was a time for discussing and solving family issues, celebrating births, mourning deaths, and reminiscing. It was a time for strengthening bonds and carrying on age-old traditions. The experience of sipping freshly tapped palm wine, surrounded by loved ones is indescribable. There was also the matter of lingering family disputes that were discussed with passion. Having everyone together was a great avenue to address and resolve grievances. Sadly, recent years have unfolded with economic hardships so people can hardly afford to travel home, but those who managed to make the journey always felt immensely rewarded. Every day was a new celebration, from traditional weddings to thanksgivings, to casual gatherings held in open spaces mysteriously livened by soft moonlight and Afrobeats music in the background.
When I was a child, my parents would take my siblings and me to the village every year at Christmas, and I now did the same for my family. Taking our family back to Amaigbo every year was a chance to pass on values that I had earlier learnt—the celebration of family, community, and tradition. I would watch our children form strong bonds with their cousins the same way I did in my childhood, allowing myself to be overwhelmed by nostalgia. Our children especially loved the freedom to roam from house to house in the village with their cousins. In those moments, I realised there was nowhere else we would rather be, even though time had brought along changes of its own.
Apart from the emergence of modern homes, there was greater connectivity to the ‘outside world’ than when I used to visit as a child. In the past, the village was a sanctuary, a place to escape the turmoil of urban life. Then came internet access, which revolutionised the dynamics of ruralness. There was no absolute on or off anymore. I couldn’t entirely switch off and immerse myself in the village’s beautiful serenity. However, the internet also made it easier to stay connected with friends and work no matter where we were. As the Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), it was especially important for me to correspond with my team and stay abreast of health emergencies within and beyond the country even when I was on leave. Unfortunately, viruses are little impolite things. They make no special consideration for holidays or other festivities. I dreaded being called by my Minister to enquire about an incident that I had not heard about, so being connected meant I was always on top of things.
The evening before everything changed, I was sitting on the veranda with some of our family members, as was our routine most evenings, enjoying each other’s company over freshly tapped palm wine and an assortment of beer. The air was thick with dust from the Okorosha masquerade dance that had just taken place in the village square.
The next day was scorching. I collapsed onto the sofa in our sitting room, trying to catch my breath after a long morning walk-about. The whirring ceiling fan provided little relief from the sweltering heat. To distract myself, I mindlessly scrolled through my email and notifications. My scrolling finger stopped and hovered. There was a news report about a mysterious ‘pneumonia-like’ illness spreading in Wuhan, a town in China I had never heard of…
Excerpt from “An Imperfect Storm” copyright © 2024 by Chikwe Ihekweazu & Vivianne Ihekweazu. Published by Masobe Books.
About the book: The word epidemic is a common one in our lexicon, but most people had never experienced one. All that changed in December 2019 when rumours of a “pneumonia-like illness" began to circulate from Wuhan, China. While many around the world may not have ignored it, an infectious disease epidemiologist on a Christmas break in Amaigbo, South-eastern Nigeria recognised a potential warning sign.
Before that day, a journey of detours, discovery and destiny began for Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, a path that led him to becoming the Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). The work to build the NCDC into an institution of repute was complex and challenging. Each step, initiative, staff hire, and resource allocation contributed to Nigeria’s ability to respond to an unprecedented global event—a pandemic not witnessed at this scale in over a hundred years. COVID-19 was not just any outbreak, but a seismic shift in world affairs and history, leaving a lasting effect on lives, the economy, health, information dissemination, politics, and ideological systems.
This book explores the phenomenon never before witnessed in grand scale and in small details. It is a book about the love of humanity, the power of family, of hope, resilience, and collaboration. It is Chikwe and Vivianne Ihekweazu’s personal account, but also an important piece of history.
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Chikwe Ihekweazu is an infectious disease epidemiologist and public health leader with over twenty-five years of experience in senior leadership roles at the World Health Organisation, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, the South African National Institute for Communicable Diseases, the UK's Health Protection Agency (HPA), and Germany’s Robert Koch Institute. He is the recipient of the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) awarded by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for his service.
Vivianne Ihekweazu is an accomplished health communications professional with over twenty years of experience. As the Managing Director of Nigeria Health Watch, a health communication and advocacy organisation based in Nigeria, she works tirelessly to structure health communications strategies that strengthen health advocacy in Nigeria. Using informed commentary, intelligence and insights on the Nigerian health Sector, she drives change on topics that matter to her including nutrition, maternal newborn and child health, routine immunisation, sexual and reproductive health & rights and health security.
