Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
In a bid to contain the spread of COVID-19 and prepare for the post COVID-19 era, the Oyo State Government has begun naming and shaming of residents, religious groups, markets and corporate organisations, that could not self-police themselves and have been contravening the COVID-19 protocol.
This was made known yesterday during the COVID-19 containment stakeholders’ town hall meeting held at the Western Hall, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan, which was attended by the representatives of banks, government, market women, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Muslim Community, Park Management Committees, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, traditional rulers, Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) and so on.
The meeting was convened by the Oyo State Containment and Decontamination Project, which is being executed by the government in partnership with the University of Ibadan, and the private sector, including GIS Consult, Bodija, Ibadan that has been using technology through the project to drive down COVID-19 in the state.
Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Seyi Makinde, Abdul-Mojeed Mogbonjubola, said: “With what Governor Seyi Makinde is doing in Oyo State, we are taking the people to the second phase, where people are going to be the ones enforcing the strict adherence to the COVID-19 Protocol by being their brother’s keeper, telling your brother to use facemasks, wash his hands and use santisers. I think it is going to work for us in this state.
On possible sanctions for those contravening the protocol, he stated: “We actually discussed with the governor and he is not really looking at sanctions for people contravening COVID-19 Protocol. There is something the committee is doing.
We call it ‘See and Shame.’ The people going against or observing the protocol, the GIS will take their pictures and send them to the centre and we can put them on the Internet and share.
