THE CHURCH, THE HOSPITAL, WHICH IS THE HOME OF THE SICK

Last night at about 2am I saw someone drive at breakneck speed into the church beside my house. He was carrying a fainted woman. A week ago I witness the same thing. In conversations anytime a sick person is mentioned they are adviced to go to the church. The real question is which is the home of the sick the church or the hospital? Why do Nigerians think of the church first before the hospital? Is it poverty induced? Is it a lack of faith in our hospitals? Or maybe it is a sign of faith that you believe in the existence of an omnipotent loving God. The reality on the other hand might just be plain illiteracy. Whatever the reason the fact is that Nigerians attach a spiritual angle to every illness. The World Health Organisation claims that over a million die yearly in Africa from malaria as a result of lack of access to drugs. But it is high time they checked how many of the deaths had access to drugs but choosed to attribute the illness to the supernatural. The answer they get might surprise them.