Healthcare and Leadership:The Stories of Stella Adadevoh and Henrietta Lacks Come Alive on Nigerian Stage

By Floyd Igbo

Nigeria as a country is experiencing crises of varying types from political quagmire to economic strife. This has resulted in multiple protests around the country with the most recent one in August 2024. The cries of the citizens in the nationwide protest communicated a deep yearning for good leadership. People expressed how saddened they are that the necessities of life are taken for granted, and are not met. Then the price of fuel wasn’t even as high as it is as I write this article.

As a result, the people are sick, hungry and insecure. All of these anomalies are inextricably connected to medicine as healthcare issues – if not for anything, for the fact that the physical and mental health of the citizens are consequently put at stake.

These concerns beg the question: how can a nation suffer all of these including hunger when there are leaders? In this connection, I saw a play recently which resonated within me and got me thinking. It was titled ‘Return of the Goddess’ written by Gladys Akunna  and Emile Bryant. The play published by Caltop publishers in 2022, highlighted the shining leadership of two African women who have blazed the trail in health care and medicine for the betterment of all. They are Ms. Henrietta Lacks and Dr. Stella Adedavoh whose stories should not be and will not be forgotten in a hurry. The play was staged by the Theatre department of the University of Benin and was directed by Chris Ugolo and OghenemudiagaAkpughe. I also learned it’s been performed at OdimegwuOjukwu University, (OOU)[i].

‘Return of the Goddess’ explored the concepts of equity, medical ethics, healthcare, social justice, and good leadership. Through the character of Dr. Kelechi, an academic who discusses themes in medical ethics concerning Africans on the continent and in the diaspora with a group of students, the audience is educated about the outstanding leadership displayed by the heroines while urging us to shout their stories out for the world to hear. It is also a wake-up call to Nigerian leaders to do what they should do to save our country now and for posterity.

Upon Ms. Henrietta Lacks’ death in 1951, the African American young woman’s cancer cells were obtained and cultured. The cells are the source of the HeLa Cell line, the first and only immortalized human cell line as it is still used for medical research today[ii]. Dr. Stella Adadevoh who passed on in 2014 was a Nigerian physician credited with having curbed the spread of the Ebola virus epidemic in Nigeria by placing the patient zero Patrick Sawyer in quarantine despite pressure from the Liberian government. She resisted the pressure for the greater public good. Dr. Stella Adadevoh died of the dreadful disease of Ebola alongside some of her dedicated staff[iii].

“Return of the Goddess” successfully underscores the nurturing nature, strength, and resilience that exudes out of African woman when she is described as against all odds, ‘will not be eaten’. In the dialogue, there are chants of ‘odeshii’ which the cast proclaims vehemently. It means ‘I am invincible’ and that is what the African woman truly is. On another level, this symbol is also for the African American community which has survived social inequity following the more than the more than 500 years of slavery in America.

With “Return of the Goddess”, the playwrights highlight how Dr. Adadevoh and Ms. Lacks broadly represent Africa: one on the continent and the other in the diaspora. Coincidentally, it is the same situation with the playwrights Gladys Akunna and Emille Bryant who are yet another link between Africa and the diaspora in specific ways.

The two women represent the ‘goddess’ that Akunna and Bryant speak of In the play’s title. The Igbo of eastern Nigeria call the earth ‘Ala’ and ‘Ala’ literally means Earth Goddess. This speaks to the fact that beyond the ‘mere’ act of procreation that women are designed to carry out, the exemplary women have proven that there’s no limit a true leader can go to make sure the people’s well-being is prioritized.

Medicine is designed to be both preventive and treatment based. While Adedavoh was preventative, Ms. Henrietta’s was interventional medicine, using her cells. These two women show that some sterling qualities that can come out of Africa despite the chaos and trauma in the continent and the diaspora.

One of the great things about the play ‘Return of the Goddess’ is how it is set within a  University campus. It is said that knowledge is power and thus with the performance of this play by the students, they learn important history in culture, health care, and about quality leadership that can be emulated.

It’s Important to note as well that this UniBen production of ‘Return of the Goddess’ took place amid a campus shutdown because of students protests over the poor, inadequate electricity supply on campus due to increased high tariffs nationwide, and the inability of the University to meet up with payments[iv]. These highlight the very crisis we speak of.

 Healthcare is a social responsibility, more so on the part of those entrusted with the authority to oversee and implement its services to the community. The culture of equity and justice is Important for social life as an unjust world breeds all sorts of vices. Many people will go into depression and many leaders will go neck deep into corruption, like in most post-colonial African societies, for instance. The vicious cycle will engulf the nation and the people will not reap the dividends of democracy. It should be realized that democracy should not be ‘just about the leaders’ but a government of, by, and for the people. We can only hope that our leaders look to women like Ms. Lacks and Dr. Adadevoh as models as we work toward building a healthy and progressive society.