
Last semester, I read the autobiography of Fela Anikulapo Kuti by Thomas Moore. I grew up listening to Fela’s songs. My mom was a big fan of his songs and she often played them and told us stories about the great things he achieved. Fela died a few years before I was born, and up until last semester, I never bothered to know the cause of his death. You see, Fela Kuti was a traditional man. He believed strongly in traditions and culture to the extent that he closed his eyes to modernization. When Fela fell sick, he refused Western medicine. Every attempt by his sons to make him use medicine failed. Eventually, Fela died. Looking at Fela’s life, I'm pretty sure he would have at least lived longer if he wasn't ignorant about western medicine.
Gone are those days when human beings relied on traditional methods like herbs and roots. I can't even imagine how they treated injuries and deadly diseases. Although those methods were crude and painful, they were effective to some extent. Times have changed. Thanks to technology and research, scientists keep developing new methods to combat illnesses and diseases. Currently, there is no permanent cure to some diseases like diabetes and cancer, but who knows, maybe in the next couple of years, that narrative would change? Despite the fact that the world and health system is moving rapidly, some people are still stuck in the past. Especially those who were alive before technology became as advanced as it is now. They bluntly closed doors on western medicine. I know of a family who never uses drugs. Whenever their children are sick, they prepare potions for them.
This ignorance is what has led to the death of many people. This brings me to today’s Hive Learner’s topic: Vaccinations. Vaccinations have saved many lives. There are different types of vaccines, and each serves different purposes. My mom is a nurse and growing up, she made sure we took vaccines. I have a scar on my left shoulder. When I asked my mom about it, she said I got it when I got vaccinated as a baby. I wonder why it left a mark. Maybe the doctor didn't do it well or maybe my skin was too soft at the time? My mom often takes my siblings and I to the vaccination center to get vaccinated. When I was younger, I was really scared of those tiny needles, but now I think I can take it without breaking a sweat.
Despite the fact that some of these vaccines help prevent diseases, many people still choose not to get it. One of the reasons people choose not to get vaccines is due to ignorance. Just like Fela, many people today still prefer to turn to traditional methods when they are sick. Another reason is because of the conspiracy theories they have heard about getting vaccinated. I have heard many conspiracy theories about vaccines, but the ones that really shook me to fear was the Covid-19 vaccine.
2020 was a terrible year for everyone. During the Covid-19 lockdown, news was flying from left and right about the disease. On TV, we saw how the disease claimed lives like it was nothing. After some time, scientists managed to develop a vaccine. Everyone was happy about it, until the conspiracy theory started flying around. We heard that the vaccines were developed by a certain country to reduce the world’s population. We read articles, blog posts and tweets about people who took the vaccine and died. I remember reading a post about someone who took the vaccine and started barking immediately. There were so many theories surrounding the vaccine, but to stay on the safe side, we chose not to get it till things became clearer.
Images in this post are mine.
Thanks for reading through.