WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW CAN KILL YOU.

Femi and Emeka were walking towards the motor park when they saw a small gathering of people under a canopy.

“What’s happening over there?” They both asked simultaneously, turning to each other.

“Guy Na wa for you o. No be me and you comot house together this morning? How are my supposed to know?” Emeka retorted with feigned anger.

“Let’s go and find out, abi?”

“Maybe they are sharing money or..”

“Maybe food.” Femi completed the sentence.

“Guy! you too like food” Emeka jeered with a smile.

“You too like money.” Femi replied

They saw 3 people walking towards them from the gathering and stopped to ask what was happening.

“Oh, it’s the doctors from the teaching hospital in town. They are checking BP free of charge.” One of them replied.

“I checked mine and they said it’s okay. Thank God! I’ve never had opportunity to check before.” The other added, encouraging the duo to go check theirs as well.

“This thing they are checking free is 200 naira per check in the pharmacy close to my house, so you better get yours checked now. It’s FREE.” The last guy concluded as they parted ways.

“Femi where are you going?”

“To check my BP na. Let’s go, since it’s free. We have nothing to lose”

“You and who? I’m not going anywhere abeg.” Emeka sneered

“Why not? Have you checked yours before? Let’s just utilize this opportunity.”

“No. I just don’t want to know. What I don’t know will not kill me.”

“Says who? Haven’t you heard that hypertension is a silent killer?”

“You know what? You can go ahead, I’ll wait for you here.”
Ignorance is bliss. Better not to know and live my normal life than to go there and find out I have BP. Then they’ll start giving plenty advice and drugs.

That’s how sister carried herself to go and check BP the other day and they said it was high and started giving her a thousand and one rules plus tests and drugs. Nobody should stress me.

But where is Femi now? How many hours is this going to take? Let me go and find out what is delaying him.


If you have Emeka’s thought pattern, you are wrong.

Contrary to popular belief that what you don’t know cannot kill you, what you don’t know (hypertension) can actually kill you.

What shall it profit a man to feign ignorance and lose his vital organs to the effects of uncontrolled hypertension?

Roll up your sleeves and get your BP checked at every opportunity you get.