As the rate of the spread of the coronavirus continue to escalate in Nigeria, many concerned citizens have continued to express mixed feeling on the rational behind the recent ease of the lockdown in Ogun and Lagos States, when the infection is on the ascendency. Did the Federal government make any policy summersault in easing the lockdown?
It was like a bedlam when Lagos residents returned to work for the first time in more than 30 days after rigorous lockdown was imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Commercial activities therefore resumed in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, Lagos and Ogun States after the federal government declared the gradual easing of restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
President Muhammadu Buhari had the previous Monday “approved a phased and gradual easing of lockdown measures.”
While some felt a relief returning to work or business after sitting at home for more than a month, others in the commercial capital, Lagos felt that with the virus still ravaging the country, government should have extended the relaxation of the lockdown. It was true that some people were close to losing their mind at home because of the financial pressure from family, as many ran out of money, and gradually running out of food, too.
“I know the lockdown is for our own safety, but my family and I needed to eat to survive. It was tough,” Uju Chinedu, a single parent and entrepreneur said. Some have argued that the Federal government partially opened the economy not because there were progresses made in curbing the virus, but because of the failure on its part to provide any form of social security or palliatives for every Nigerian that was asked to stay at home.
Some Lagosians who spoke to our correspondent within the week said in as much as there is pervading hunger among the people and the need to keep some institutions running, relaxing the lockdown is not necessarily advisable and instead government should have worked more on how to provide economic stimulus and palliatives for Nigerians before opening up the economy.
“What you now saw on Monday was a stampede in every sector of the economy that was not really prepared to handle the emerging crisis. Also, the management of the entire relaxation of the lockdown was poorly planned. Nigerians, especially Lagosians, are doing their normal thing, right from the Agbero at the motor park, Danfo conductor and the driver to the passenger. Government rules are being flagrantly flouted and the security organisations are overwhelmed in enforcing the regulations,” Adeleke Adesiyan, a gift shop owner at Oshodi, said.
Ebube George, a scientist told the Saturday INDEPENDENT on Wednesday that, “I am not in support of the partial opening of the lockdown in Lagos given that this opens up the channels for rapid contagion and spread of the Covid19 virus. It is all due to the failure of leadership to meet up with adequate palliatives for the citizenry the decision to relax lockdown was taken. If possible I would have supported the extension of the lockdown because of the lethality of Covid-19 virus, which seems to be mutating with newer strains indicated to be emerging.”
Uju Chinedu, the managing director of Firmview Paints, Lagos agreed with George. “I am not comfortable with the easing of the lockdown because it’s obvious the government wished to spread the virus more, knowing they don’t have any solution to the pandemic yet.
Considering what I have seen so far on the internet, personally I am not comfortable with the decision. Three months not weeks of total lockdown should have been more ideal, government should have been more strict with their decisions and make palliatives available to hungry Nigerians to encourage them, make them understand that the implications of moving around is death of course. I believe nobody wants to die. I respect Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State for being strict and I believe it is the only way to help save lives.”
Mr. Kosoko Olatubosun Babatunde, a writer based in Ikorodu agreed with Chinedu. He described it as unfortunate that, “we are too gullible in this part of the world. Those who have relatives who contacted Covid-19 won’t dare go out. Government should have made sure of finding the solution before it decided to ease the lockdown. I am not totally happy with it because of the aftermath. Other countries that have all the resources are still lockdown just because of the effects of the virus on their citizen.”
Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, lawyer and civil rights activist, who is the founding Director of Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), a non-governmental maternal and reproductive health advocacy organisation said relaxing the lockdown is not a question about being right or wrong. For her, a state like Lagos, which is the commercial nerve centre of the country and arguably the most populated city in the whole of Africa, a lockdown in the state does not just mean keeping people indoors, it also means a lockdown of the country’s economic activities and revenues.
For her, it means lockdown of people’s source of livelihood and survival, and if people cannot engage in the exchange of goods and services, survival in terms of what to eat and resources to purchase essentials become a very big problem so, “I believe the time is ripe for the partial opening of the lockdown after having gone through five weeks of staying at home, that is; one week of partial lockdown issued by the state government and four weeks of total lockdown issued by the Federal government. However it should have been gradually, full opening of the state, as it appears dangerous because of the implication if this spread into the community continued.
“I don’t think it’s a question about what is right and wrong but about what is good for our reality/present situation in the state. You can’t place people on lockdown without any form of tangible social security and expect everything to be all right. Few days into the lockdown, we saw almost a complete breakdown of law and order in various parts of Lagos State. Majority of the youths and less privileged started to attack and steal from other citizens all in a cause for survival.
“People turned into vigilantes just to protect themselves as the Police seemed overwhelmed and also made it clear they had no more spaces in the correctional facilities within the state. We all agree that the infection rate is on the increase, but would you rather want people to die in their homes out of hunger? A lot of people have not been paid since the month of March, a lot of them have exhausted their savings and they have their families to take care of, so I feel people in Lagos needed a bit of that relaxation to earn a living for themselves even if it’s for a short while.
“I believe what we should focus more on now is to ensure that people practice all forms of precautionary measures and maintain high level of hygiene in public places to avoid spread of the virus. As I said, maybe a gradual relax would have been better, maybe one day off, two-day lock down and restrictions in some quarters. Our reality will not make the total shut down appeal to the people.
“I would have endorsed more weeks for the lockdown to continue if there was adequate and proper arrangements for the palliatives and welfare packages to get to every citizen in the state, but unfortunately, that is not our reality, that is not the situation we are in as at today and considering the losses businesses have already incurred, especially those in the private sector, an extension of the lockdown wouldn’t have been in the best interest of the state and it’s citizens,” Akiyode-Afolabi.
A cleric, Bishop Oscar Ossai of the City of Refuge, church Lagos takes the narrative further.
He said the lifting of the lockdown is a wrong decision. “Facts are and must be treated as sacrosanct. Our systems lack structure to manage free movements and dependence on people to self-regulate. The statistics of those infected by the virus has been rising steadily at an increasing rate. Lifting the lockdown will increase the rate of infections and mortality certainly.” He explained that government was worried about an insurrection owing to the challenges of the population being largely subsistence feeding from daily economic engagement. “This is the first time our government is confronted by a need to show governance at work. My fear is that our government may not acquit herself well. Other nations are providing well organised and carefully delivered palliatives for her people.
“Canada pays all working class citizens 2000 Canadian dollars; America credited citizens with 1500 dollars. Companies are receiving funds from Government for stability. Boeing, whose share is under threat received millions of dollars from government to shore up her operation. Those sympathetic with government will now say don’t compare us with the West. My question is, who should we compare you with? It’s time to hold every politician responsible for bringing Nigeria to her knees.
“Our common patrimony has been frittered away by the political class and they must provide for the people. No explanation is acceptable. This is where Buhari’s government must pass this test. Our mandate was given to this government to fight corruption. Let’s see the scorecard in that fight. How much have you recovered and where is the recovered funds in this time of need?” the cleric who is also a marketing communication expert queried.
With the total violation of the Federal government and health authorities’ directives to keep safe, there is palpable fear that there is going to be an explosion in the spread of the virus in the weeks ahead. Other respondents agreed with Dr. Abiola-Akiyode when she said that more people will be infected with the novel Covid-19 as contact with infected persons that may not be displaying symptoms may have also increased. “My greatest fear now is if the government and NCDC are ready for the possible increase in the number of infected persons as a result of the relaxation of the lockdown in terms of adequate medical personnel to attend to patients, enough test kits to carry out tests, more isolation centres to accommodate them, more PPEs for the safety of the medical personnel etc,” she said.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is not unaware of the fears expressed by some Nigerians. At the Presidential Task Force briefing on COVID-19 on late Monday, the Director-General of the agency, Chikwe Ihekweazu, said businesses must join hands to implement the required health measures, threatening that the Federal government might be forced to implement another lockdown if Nigerians do not comply with social distancing measures, leading to a new explosion of infections.
He said that, “initial reports are not too pleasing across the country.
So there’s only so much we can do, We can produce all the guidelines in the world, we can preach, hold press conferences, but if organisations are not going to support the implementation of these measures and help us manage the risk…how do we want to manage and mitigate the risk of exposure, the risk of transmission? Well, things have still not changed.”
Source: independentng
