Sam Ayodele
Ogunnoiki, a Nigerian working as a security guard in Cornwall, London, United
Kingdom has been banned from work because colleagues feared he could have
contracted dreaded EBOLA VIRUS DISEASE while on holiday in his home country,
Nigeria.
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| Sam Ayodele Ogunnoiki discriminated against over Ebola |
Despite Nigeria
being declared virus-free, Ogunnoiki, 46, from St Austell, Cornwall, and who
works as a security officer at Pendennis Dockyard in Falmouth, according to
DAILY MAIL, got the shock of his life after returning from a three-week holiday
to visit his mother in Nigeria and find he had been banned from work because
his employers feared he had Ebola.
Ogunnoiki, who has
worked for Stout Security LTD for eight years, on Saturday received a letter
from his boss saying several members of staff had raised concerns about working
with him following his trip. In the letter, he was told by director Trevor
Mannell that he had to allay colleagues' fears that he was carrying the Ebola
virus back with him and could not allow him to return to work until he had been
back in the UK for at least three weeks.
The letter to Ogunnoiki reads:
“You have been in
my employ for several years and I
have always done my very best to look after you, frequently helping you out
when you called on me for assistance. With our friendship in mind, I have
spoken to you and expressed my very deep concerns about your trip to Nigeria. Several
members of staff have now voiced their concerns about the possibility of your
carrying the Ebola virus back with you and have made it very clear that they
are extremely reluctant to work with you on your return.
“One member of
staff has even written a clear and concise letter stating the concerns of your
work colleagues. In this case I have to support their concerns - especially as
I have already voiced them personally to you. In order to allay any fears that
you are a carrier for this deadly virus, I feel I cannot allow you to return to
work until you have been back in the United Kingdom for three weeks - which is
the incubation period.
“I must also request that you visit your doctor
on your return and get a clean bill of health before you can start work with
us. I am very sorry about this Sam but everyone works in close proximity
together and I have to put the concerns of the majority first.”
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| A bromide of letter barring Ogunnoiki |
Ogunnoiki
described his employers’ dramatic move as unbelievable and said he had been
tested in Nigeria for the disease before leaving the country which had come
back negative. He said his wife who is employed by the same company had been allowed
to work despite having been in contact with him since he returned back from
Nigeria, which made no sense.
“It's just discrimination. I have
worked at Stout since moving to Cornwall in 2006 when I married my wife, who is
English...There is this stigma surrounding me now. It's just ignorance and
a nightmare because I cannot work. I'm a British citizen. My wife does the same
job as me and I saw her at the weekend and she has been allowed to work, but if
she has been in contact with me she would have Ebola too. There is no
justification for this at all,” Ogunnoiki told DAILY MAIL.
He expressed doubt
if the company would rehire him to work again at Pendennis Dockyard in
Falmouth. He said he has now been put on a zero hour’s contract.
A spokesman from
Falmouth and Truro Port Health Authority confirmed that no restrictions had
been placed on Ogunnoiki as Nigeria had been declared Ebola free last month.
Words by FUNSHO AROGUNDADE
Photo Credits:
Daily Mail
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