Ndubuisi Osele

The novel coronavirus that was first noticed in Wuhan city of China had since landed in Nigeria as it’s also in Europe and America with untold fatalities.

The Chinese authorities, following the outbreak of the pandemic, declared lockdown, converted some other public amenities into emergency hospitals to contain and combat the virus. There was in their structural system existing workable healthcare system that made it easy for the Chinese authourity to have access to qualified personnel to do the needful. The economy was equally buoyant to sponsor the emergency situation. Foods and other contigencies were provided to caution the effect of the lockdown. There are enough testing kits and other auxiliaries pertinent for the effective management of the awful health challenge. Hence citizens receive free treatment in conducive temporary facilities.

Europeans and later American tourists were the first set to transport the dreadful virus home. It was like hell in France as the country was left in despair. The government nearly collapsed in the confusion that followed massive and uncontrollable spread of the pandemic. Yet the military was called up. Emergency clinics established overnight and existing functional facilities on ground to provide the much-needed backup structure to deal with the unpleasant covid-19. Within months the fatality and spread surge reduced remarkably.

Britain was not so lucky as it relaxed and relied on media assessment of the corona virus pandemic than taking a cue from events in France to prepare for any eventuality. The reality dawned on the British when thousands were declared positive just in few days. Before the Prime Minister could finish his preparation strategies to contain the spread, he has been pronounced positive for the virus and isolated. Britain is one of those advanced countries with stable economy and existing functional health facilities yet those that bowed to the virus are hitting 30,000.

America has been on lockdown for months to contain the spread of covid-19. The President has been addressing the issue with kid gloves till he faced the reality. Today United States has the highest number of fatalities world over. Many companies are at the brink of collapse as Millions of American citizens had filed for unemployment benefits. Covid-19 still, is hellbent on wrestling the economy down and wash it off offshore. The American government is now faced with two obvious pandemic – the severe economic pandemic and lesser virus – covid.

The leadership could not lay hands on any meaningful political jargon to tell the American citizens than to come up with the ‘Chinese blame’ theories – chinese involvement and origin; chinese mismanagement of information to Chinese negligence or blockade to full investigation. These are political approaches to quell the yearning American public but yet none of these tales and moonlight stories fixed nor brought any palliative to the American masses. Yet American government was determined and provided makeshift hospitals and rallies round the clock to provide stipends to enable the citizens to provide for themselves while observing lockdown.

These lockdown policies were aimed at stopping the spread. Secondly they allow agencies to fasten and freely move around and provide neccessary amenities to handle the eventual mass outbreak.

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Nigeria copied the lockdown without proper understanding of the policy itself and found herself in a terrible mess. Some states, like Rivers state, assumed fully a federating state without recourse to the overriding federal power. They try to overrun the federal government directives to stick to theirs in a show of lockdown superiority. Little did these states and federal government know the core essence of lockdown policy as applicable in China, Europe and America.

Nigeria’s Federal Government announced lockdown without any attempt to improve on the dilapidated or rather non existing health care structure in event of surge. The nations where the lockdown policy were copied provided food and medicals to those locked down while Nigeria locked down and provided bags of rice that if shared to the Nigeria population each citizen would get just a grain as a share. Very unfortunate was the Oyo state that got 1,800 bags of weevil infested expired bags of rice – Covid-20. Oyo state as at 2016 has a total population of 7,840,900 (source:National population commission). 1,800 bags of expired shared among presumed 7,840,900 of Oyo citizens without adding 4yrs population projection to 2020. Definitely each citizen will Perhaps get less than half a cup.

America lockdown was followed with $1200 palliative for adults and $500 for children. In all other cities of Europe food and consumables are dropped at family’s door steps by the government and companies.

Perhaps, Nigeria assumed that once people are locked inside their houses covid-19 would seize to exist. One continues to pander the essence of Nigeria lockdown.Till now, not up to 1% of Nigerians has been tested of the dreadful virus. But in essence of whats on the ground, Nigeria lockdown policy was to enable her to borrow billions of dollars from IMF to tackle covid-19, another window to feed the snakes or this time pythons.

The current ease on lockdown is equally not targeted at any meaningful approach. The obvious remains that people have started massive disobedience to the lockdown and security agents advised the government to relax the policy or face massive disobedience and possible revolution. The relaxed policy was not done to the benefit of Nigerians but to benefit those in power who played to the gallery to avoid revolution. Nigeria embarked on lockdown without target and support to sustain the policy.

We are indeed in a horrible state piloted by heartless dare devil operators of democratic despotism.

Chief Osele writes from Isuofia, Anambra State