Return of Ebola: Triumph of 2014, test of 2026

By Sola Ogundipe
October 20 has acquired an unsettling significance in Nigeria’s public health history. 12 years ago, on that date, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Nigeria free of Ebola after a painstaking campaign halted an outbreak that threatened to overwhelm the country’s fragile health system. On October 20, 2026, the confirmation of an imported case of Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease in Abuja reopened an uncomfortable question: how prepared is Nigeria to confront the virus again?
The coincidence is striking, but the lesson is more important than the date. The 2014 victory demonstrated what decisive leadership, vigilant surveillance, contact tracing and coordinated ...