This is an issue I have with many highly skilled professionals, but with doctors in particular. And before anyone comes at me, my own brother is also a doctor and I had this exact same problem with him.

The issue is tunnel vision and lack of humility. "I am a doctor, bow to me." https://twitter.com/DrAbioye/status/1248802174622216192

The tunnel vision makes them see every problem as a nail for their hammer. A doctor is unlikely to see a pandemic as anything but a medical issue, so everyone who is not at epidemiologist must give way.

Meanwhile it is also an economic and sociological issue - even more so!

This is how we get Nigeria's COVID-19 response strategy (drafted exclusively by doctors) being utterly, completely divorced from Nigeria's reality, which was my secondary point in yesterday's column.

"Stay at home!" "I'm an epidemiologist."

OK, and...?

When the strategy falls flat on its face which it already has done, it'll never be their fault because of course, they were doing what the books said. It'll be the fault of "Nigerians" for being disobedient, ignorant so-and-sos.

Intellectual hubris on crack cocaine.

Doctors are extremely important, moreso in a pandemic than many other professionals. But you know who else we need? Economists. Sociologists. Anthropologists. Behavioural Psychologists.

People who can marry Ivory Tower knowledge with street O.T. for meaningful impact.

Because if you don't have those people, all you have is doctors telling people hours from literal starvation to "Stay Home and Inshallah."

Then when this instruction is ignored, they stamp their feet in puzzlement going "I'm an epidemiologist! Why won't anybody listen to me?!"