What happens when the deadliest infectious disease know to man arrives in a megacity with over 21 million people.

I always wondered why 93 Days went out of the cinemas so fast. This is a movie about one of the most important moments in Nigeria's history and about some of the greatest people our country has ever known - Dr Stella Ameyo Adadevoh and the brave folks at First Consultant Hospital (FCH), Obalende, the same people who helped make sure that the Ebola virus did not wreck more havoc than it did.

In 2014, brave health care workers battle the Ebola outbreak in Lagos.

In 2014, Nigeria escaped an Ebola pandemic in the span of 93 days because of the bravery and quick response of health care workers in Lagos. As the world fights through the COVID-19 pandemic, the film 93 Days - though grim - is a hopeful reminder of humanity's capacity to overcome.

Steve Gukas' film, 93 Days (2016), tells the remarkable story of how Nigeria and supporting global agencies stopped the spread of Ebola in their country and, by extension, the rest of the world with extraordinary efficiency. A threat that various projections predicted could have resulted in the rapid infection of millions of people across the world officially ended in "just" 93 days.

93 Days is dedicated to Ameyo Adadevoh, a Nigerian physician who played a key role in the containment of Ebola in Nigeria.

On 20 July 2014, Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian-American diplomat, arrives in Lagos, Nigeria. He is immediately taken to First Consultants Medical Center after suffering from worsening symptoms. One of his accompanying physicians, Dr. Ameyo Adadevoh, is concerned that he may have Ebola, even though Sawyer denies the suggestion; nevertheless, she decides to quarantine Sawyer and asks her staff to exercise caution when tending to him. The next afternoon, the test results are returned, and Sawyer is confirmed to have Ebola. Word travels quickly that there is a potential first case Ebola patient in Lagos, and soon news organizations around the world start broadcasting the news. Nigeria immediately begins preparations for an Ebola epidemic. Dr. Adadevoh meets with Dr. Wasiu Gbadamosi, who is in charge of the Yaba infectious facility, and Dr. David Brett-Major from the World Health Organization. She finds the Yasu facility is under-equipped to handle Ebola patients. On July 25, the physicians discover that Sawyer has died. The First Consultants Medical Center begins enhanced precautions and monitors its staff for Ebola signs and symptoms. The story centers on the sacrifices made by men and women who risked their lives to make sure the Ebola virus was contained, before it becomes an epidemic.

Nigeria was declared Ebola-free on October 20, 2014 to global applause. The World Health Organisation called it a “spectacular success story,” and rightly so. For the first time in a long time, Nigeria was faced with a challenge that could have easily torn her apart, but she faced it squarely and defeated it, thanks to the efforts of some of the people featured in 93 Days.

“Never has our country faced a crisis like this,” Dr Benjamin Ohiaeri (played by Danny Glover) says in the movie’s closing monologue at the memorial service of the deceased staff of FCH, “Never have our people, and our nation, risen to a challenge like we did last month. And never have we paid a higher price... The memory of all the people who died will never fade, not as long as there is a Nigeria to remember them.”

Nigerians are often quick to forget grave events, perhaps it is a coping mechanism, because there are just too many sad things happening at the same time. But some things must never be forgotten. The Ebola crisis is one of them. It was a crisis that showed just how strong our country could be if we decided to fight against something together, and it showed just how valuable the sacrifice of a few could be to the majority. In a country where a snake swallows millions of naira and a monkey runs away with 70 million Naira, where truth is stranger than fiction and the politics is great source material for a comedy show, the people need to be constantly reminded that they are not powerless and to be reminded just how formidable they can be if they decided to stand up to the demons that beset them.

Apart from its political and cultural implications, 93 Days is one of Nollywood’s few examples of cinematic excellence, a movie that other filmmakers can look at and aspire to, one that all Nigerians can proudly refer to. It takes a subject so delicate and complex and executes it perfectly. From the acting, to the cinematography, music and plot, it has all the elements of a great movie by any standard.