Lockdown: Lukewarmness Of Nigerians

By: Okosun Dennis

No doubt that Covid-19 has turned the entire world upside-down. The thinking can never be the same again after this brouhaha might have left us.

African countries have been sufficiently occupied by the virus with no one insulated against the pandemic and the death rate growing by the day. Everybody is involved.

Particularly in Nigeria, sometimes, people engage in unnecessary adventurism that spells doom. When such eventualities eventually happens, the blame-game syndrome erupts and lingers endlessly.

Since Wuhan came with it’s unwelcomed guest, Covid-19, late last year, some Nigerians took it with a pitch of the salt. Some never believed or have never accepted the new entrant into the families of diseases that Nigerians are vulnerable just like any other human beings living in other continents of the world.

The attitude have been docile. The thinking have been that Nigerians have higher immunity and its pigmentation can obliterate the virus. Some stressed that the weather conditions is a boost and have the potency to neutralise the virus. What a pernicious thinking!!!

Index case

The reality of Covid-19 gradually began to settle after the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, announced that an Italian has imported the virus into the country. The half truth syndrome aped and the feeling of “it is here” zeroed in.

Unfortunately, some didn’t just believe and found it impossible to adjust to the new life style. Funny enough, some new jesters erupted like volcanic eruption. The new addition to the lexicon sprouted. Social distancing and the use of face mask became a norm.

Despite warnings by various government agencies espicially the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), and media organisations, adjusting to the new social life partner was jettisoned still, by some. Until the Secretary to the Federal Government, Abba Kyari, Govs Adamu, El-Rufai, Seyi Makinde and others came down with the virus, some believed it was a ruse and didn’t take it seriously.

Medication

Nigerians are super human beings with shock absorber to knock out diseases no matter how contagious. The assumption was that if we could subdue Ebola, we would definitely deal a blow to Covid-19. That was the impression painted by majority of Nigerians. Unfortunately, the mistake people are making is that the virus has a peculiar characteristics to “jump” from human to human without knowing.

Sadly, we joke alot even when danger looms. With genuine intentions, Bitter cola, Garlic, Ginger, Lemon, Lime and Honey and other sundry trado-medical herbs have become potent antibodies people have resorted to to fight the virus. Why some went on drinking spree, others have made Ogororo and other strong gins their choicest morning rituals; often times drinking themselves into stupor and out of reckoning. To others who have been unlucky, they have had complications leading to death due to overdose

“Angst & and Anger

The effects of lockdown is gradually having a devastating economic reality on Nigerians particularly Lagosians. Petty thieves have grown; burgling shops, looting and stealing items within their visibility.

On Tuesday morning, along Ajah -Epe expressway, irate youths popularly know as street urchins blocked the road with bamboo sticks and used tyres at General Paint bus stop, extorting motorists.

Numbering about 20, they rampaged; hitting cars demanding for money. “Bring your money. Have you paid,” with violent intensity preoccupied them. Just as they were enjoying their act, the quick intervention of some policemen saved the situation and they were dispersed. On Thursday, the cave shifted to Ajah and Ilaje.

Has Lockdown succeed?

It is very impossible to discountenance the insinuation that the partial lockdown has not succeeded. At the moment, with the plethora of new cases daily reported, it is only wise to encourage Nigerians to have a changed attitude and stay at home. Until, we are given a clean bill of health that every strand of transmission is in abeyance, all is not yet Uhuru.

However, Nigerians could be very difficult to manage. A drive round Lagos indicates that the lockdown order didn’t and has not achieved the desired results as people mailed around the town aimlessly. Some are still engaging in back-slapping, hugging and shaking of hands without social distancing frivolously, recklessly and ignominiously.

In other climes, people have been restricted and confined to their houses. In Spain, families have been indoors for over three weeks. In Saudi Arabia, Vatican City despite being the headquarters of the Moslem and Christian faithfuls, people have been banned from worshipping in the Mosque and churches. Constitution and laws of nations have been suspended because Covid-19 is spreading exponentially just to save lives.

With the warning that community infection is rising in Nigeria, it portends that all these weeks of staggered lockdown in the country have not worked. Unfortunately, there are still vehicular movement everyday and there are insinuations that some of the vehicles buy their way through most of the check points. Danfo and Okada riders are busy conveying passengers without social distancing.

Sad enough, public enlightenment campaigns seems to have fizzled off at the local government areas specifically as their basic concern is distribution of palliatives – who got what or who didn’t get. Instead of the law enforcement agents impounding vehicles and fining them hugely, they are allowed to go after gratifications.

Regrettably, what would spark multiplicity of cases of Coronavirus is because there are not voluntary testing units across the country. Generally with just about seven testing points in the country, it is grossly inadequate. A situation where people are only tested after they had contracted the virus is a huge minus to the drive to stem the spread.

At the moment, statistics from the NCDC indicated that slightly over 5,000 samples have been tested Nationwide with 288 cases, 7 deaths, and 51 discharged. With a multi-sectoral national emergency operations centre (EOC) activated at Level 3, continues to coordinate the national response activities, according to NCDC, it is sufficient to say, these are grossly inadequate measures to tackle the pandemic.

A woman who spoke anonymously to the at Ajah said “I cannot stay at home because he has a baby to feed. Asked where she lived, she explained, “I am living at Bogije (about 20kms from where she spoke), I am sell things in the market and need to sell to feed.” Another young lady identified as Funmi, explained: “I have am important thing to do hence I had to leave my house to attend to it. I have been trekking from Crown estate, along Ajah-Epe expressway to Oloku-nla before I got a lift to Alasha-Lekki.

But when asked if what she was going to do was more important than her health, she simply smiled and added, “I have no choice. This thing is very important to me. I will not die,” she concluded.

Taking a cursory assessment of the four hours daily movement by the Lagos State government, I honestly feel the relaxed movement was a monumental mistake on the part of the Lagos State government considering that in other climes, where cases were reported and have been battling to save lives in Italy, Spain, Britain, Iran and USA, citizens are imposed varying degrees of fines and the complete shutdown is doing more good in those countries despite the number of deaths recorded since the outbreak.

It beats ones imagination, therefore, that some Nigerians as seen at Apapa, Lekki traffics and Gbagada where they defiled decency and crowded themselves doing arobics, is a display of extreme lukewarmness. It goes to show some animalistic idoicy even when governments at different levels are losing sleep at the expense of the ravaging pandemic.

Way forward

I think advocacy and sensitization are not enough. Yes, despite the avalanche of awareness that erupted at the beginning Covid-19, I think that guard has been lowered at the altar of sharing freebies. Conversely, Nigerians need to do more than they are doing now.

Unfortunately, when the lockdown was enuciated, there were not enough bailout and freebies to cushion the effect on the masses. Where such existed, it was politically concieved, biased and distributed hence Nigerians see the sit at home as a well orchestrated design to inflict punishment and hardship on them even though that is not true.

Sadly and paradoxically, Nigerians should take this pandemic seriously. If some foreign enemies in France can suggest using Africa as a test ground for Covid-19 vaccine trial, that is enough reasons for Nigerians to be circumspect and take the fight to the virus not the other way round.

With just simple attitudinal change and accepting all that needed to be done to stay alive, the victory over Covid-19 is just eminent and not far from us. The earlier that is done, the better for the entire country and humanity.