Henry Okonkwo
Some Nigerians have shared their experiences and life lessons learnt during the COVID-19 lockdown in the country, detailing how they have shaped their lives.
Nigerians drawn from all walks of life told Sunday Sun some of the good sides of the lockdown, while others spoke on how badly the lockdown affected them and the country due to bad policies, and what they think Nigerian leaders and the people must begin to do differently in order to take space in the post-Covid-19 Nigeria.
One of the respondents is Mrs Chinelo Ugwu, a postgraduate student at the National Open University (NOUN), Enugu campus.
According to Mrs Ugwu, the lockdown has taught her that anything can grind to a halt by unforeseen happenstances. “I learned lessons, not harsh ones”, she said, “First and foremost, I have learned that everything, can wait. And that we really have no control over any aspect of our world. The best of plans and strategies can be halted without notice.
“COVID-19 lockdown threw up the things that matter most in life-relationship with God, family, friendship, humanity, etc. Then, going forward, with the Coronavirus experience, I’ll be more cautious about my spending. I will now always think twice before buying new shoes and clothes for a wedding that is six months away.”
Another is Mr Eugene Enemuo, a motor spare-parts dealer based in the Ladipo market, Lagos State. Mr Enemuo said the closure of all banks during the lockdown has made him to realise the need to use an ATM (Automated Teller Machine) card.
“The COVID-19 lockdown really opened my eyes to a lot of things. But one big lesson that I have learned is the need for one to embrace digital banking, most especially the usage of ATM cards. I say this because of the hunger and bitter experiences I had during the total lockdown. I had money in my accounts, but I couldn’t withdraw it because banks were closed. Before the lockdown, I’ve always preferred going across the counter to do most of my banking transactions. All these years, I’ve never liked the idea of online banking, like downloading a banking app on my phone or using ATM cards. I have these fears because I feel it exposes me to faceless online thieves that could steal all my money by merely getting just a few digits from my ATM slip. So, although I collect the cards from my banks, I don’t bother to use it or even care to change the cards when they expire. But the Coronavirus lockdown has changed my mindset because when the banks closed, I could have still had access to my money if only I had a functional ATM card. So, I had to rely on friends that lent me money to provide for my family. I’ve now realized the need to have and use the ATMs. Hence I’d say that is the biggest personal lesson I learned during the COVID-19 lockdown.”
For Alhaji Rasheed Awofeso, a community leader at Oworonshoki, and social worker at the Children And Community Protection Network, Lagos, the lockdown has made him to learn that the government has no clear welfare plan for the citizenry during emergency situations.
“I witnessed a lot of things as a social worker in my community. During the lockdown, our government failed Nigerians in areas of providing welfare packages, and even meeting the physiological needs of the people. We all took the lockdown as child play, but as the days went on, things became difficult for people, hunger, insecurity, lack of money became challenges to citizens. The Covid-19 palliative packages became a show of shame and disappointment.
“In Lagos State, Governor Sanwo-Olu had good intentions, but the implementation got messed up by some corrupt elements within the system. Above all, I think this COVID-19 lockdown is an ample opportunity for Nigerians to have a system reset.”
Also, Mrs Aderonke Oyelakin, a professional counselor at the Pastor Bimbo Adekoya Foundation, Lagos, said that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a disruptive impact on the way she and her family live, move, and operate.
“For me, these masks we all wear is a sign of solidarity and shared vulnerability. It reminds me, we are all in this together. Also, I have learned to adapt fast. I had to deal with a new reality and an inevitable negative impact on our finances and a larger impact on the economy. So, the post-COVID world offers many possibilities, like a reorganized set of priorities and engagements; and perhaps I can learn fully what kind of person I want to be in this new world.”
Mr Paul Oshunkeye, a research analyst, also agreed that the whole lockdown experience again showed him the raging issue of poor leadership in Nigeria.
“For me, the lockdown made me see again that my country, Nigeria, is ruled by inept leaders, who can neither think at the speed or quality of young Nigerians; who are the future of the country.
“Right before our government declared the lockdown, many young Nigerians kept warning that the move to copy the West and lockdown the country, won’t work. And it took a long time before the government realised that it wasn’t working. This showed that there was no original thinking when the virus began to spread. The poor thinking of our leaders.
“Even in the private sector, the mass sack of workers also showed a lack of leadership and creativity. Most businesses in Nigeria are run very poorly. It also exposed that my country can never be a great nation. When you lockdown Lagos, Abuja, and Ogun, those were the places palliatives should have been directed to. But Katsina State that had not been locked down had the highest number of beneficiaries. It was really mind-boggling to me. Also if christians became suspicious of government’s move to open the economy, and you find a popular pastor crying out that closure of churches is an attack on their faith, then we’ll also never be a great nation,” Oshunkeye said.
Mr Ikenna Anyanwu, an IT entrepreneur, disclosed that the lockdown made him to realize how poor and shallow the government is.
“A proactive government is a blessing. The entire lockdown was very avoidable and the economic losses suffered by many individuals who had no savings, but live on a daily income may never be recoverable. I now realize that having multiple streams of income, and technology-based business, is the new way of life.
“Also, I learned that communication and meetings do not necessarily need to be physical. The era of travelling from Owerri to Abuja or Lagos for a meeting should be a thing of the past. Online meetings and working from home to reduce the number of people on the road should be encouraged.”
Princess Ifedoyin is another respondent that shared her life lessons. “I have learned to diversify and aim to have more than one source of income. And to have enough savings in case of unknown situations like this COVID-19. Also, I learned that common thing like washing hands is often not as easy as experts have said it. As a health officer, I learned to be more careful, at my work. It was tasking for me wearing a face mask for more than 7 hours, but I had to do it to remain safe. But the biggest lesson is that I’ve found out that my source of income is not enough to meet emergency situations the lockdown brought on me”.
Mr Gabriel Iyanu, an operations and analytics staff at Bọlt (formerly Taxify), also learned so much from the COVID-19 lockdown. “The pandemic made me realize the meaning of John C. Maxwell’s popular saying, ‘everything rises and falls on leadership’. The COVID-19 pandemic showed me that we are the sum of the collective average of our elected leaders. The decision of these few trickled down to the least in society. It has further revealed the lack of empathy and commonsensical approach to leadership across the state to the federal level.’
He also said that the COVID-19 lockdown has exposed the need for a national database.
“Nigeria is such a classic paradox. Nigerians in the course of their lives fill the endless amount of biodata forms ranging from BVN, NIMC, Driver License, National ID, etc, yet the nation cannot boast of a single centralized national database. This was the primary reason the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) initially struggled with contact tracing for passengers who came into the country in late February. Hopefully, we have all learned the lessons that we can’t approach serious national development without the existence of an updated and centralized national database and will do the needful immediately this pandemic blows over.
“I also learned that most Nigerians are disaster away from poverty. As shown in the early weeks of the lockdown, most Nigerians are national disaster away from poverty. With more than 82 million Nigerians living on less than $1 per day, 40 per cent of people live in poverty, and GDP per capita of $2,028, according to World Bank, and Gross Savings Rate of 20 per cent, I’ve come to the grim realization that most Nigerians really don’t have savings and with the occurrence of one of life’s uncertainties, millions will be pushed further down the poverty line, “ he said.