Penultimate week, I examined the severe economic effect of the coronavirus now ravaging the world, and came to the conclusion that it is a combination of health and economic challenge. At that time, Nigeria had only 44 cases, but as I write the nation has 284 cases, moving up by 600 per cent in, a situation that has compelled the President to order a complete lockdown of three states, Federal Capital Territory, Lagos and Ogun. The principal reason is to enable health workers to trace the contacts made by confirmed cases to discover people who have contracted the virus, and thus halt the spread. Lagos State, which has been exemplary in battling the virus, has recorded minimal casualties, a clear indication that the virus is no death sentence. It is critical to trace all cases, in order to curtail the spread. There seems to be a large degree of certainty, going by the rate of new cases, that all who have contracted the virus have not been found, hence the need for the lockdown to enhance contact tracing. I have elected to highlight some lessons emanating from this global pandemic because, from the look of things, the nation is on the verge of overcoming the crisis.
It must have dawned on everyone that the health sector has received less attention than it deserves, more so when no nation is willing to open its doors to those seeking treatment. The borders are closed such that your resources are immaterial in the prevalent circumstance. You cannot be flown anywhere for treatment, you must stay home for medical attention. The hope is that, as we come out of this, the true meaning of ‘health is wealth’ would need no further explanation. It must be one of the most vital lessons of the coronavirus. If only the condition would put a stop to medical tourism, which has become the favorite habits of the high and mighty, to the detriment of health facilities in our clime.
A new economic order is looming, given that the pandemic has also become an economic crisis. Nations have committed all they have in combatting the problem. When the light at the end of the tunnel becomes obvious, a new economic order is bound to put nations like China ahead of many others. Such European nations as Italy and Spain are bound to be found in the lower rungs of the economic ladder. The virus would have depleted the nation in people and cash. There are already malicious propaganda against China, to discredit it and cast aspersions on that country, but this is not a media war, it is the reality of an emergent economic power. The virus has made good the Igbo proverb about lizards whose belly are flat on the ground thus masking their belly ache. The virus has shown that some economies, known to be strong, may indeed be having bellyache. When the evil wind of the virus blows over, economic bellyaches will become obvious. Nigeria must brace up for the coming torment. Government must work out ways to cushion the effects on companies in order to halt imminent loss of jobs.
If the Central Bank did not compel the high net worth people to make donations, they would eventually have done so. It takes the people to make a king. The people need to live to work for them to have more money. The donations they made is, indeed, a practical way to be their brother’s keeper. If the people are wasted by the virus, they would find that their tons of money would lose value in a situation where they cannot fly to other climes for comfort. It was the irony of life that, as rich Nigerians open their treasury to the nation in aid of the fight against the virus, poor Nigerians are milking themselves. Cost of food items soared, hitting the roof, as high as 200 per cent in two days, a case of class oppression by same class. Marketmen and women hike prices to the detriment of themselves. The lesson is that those who shout on top of their voices to disparage government, would do worse in the stead of those in power. We owe a debt of gratitude to donors who have opened part of their treasury to help Nigerians who would rather be wicked to themselves in the face of hunger and death.
However, government must not use the donations on infrastructure. It ought to go into feeding the people, and providing for their needs while they are compelled to stay in their houses, and wait for the contact tracing to be completed. Welfare packages for the people should be atop the agenda in disbursing the funds. The people must come first. They have to be alive to enjoy whatever health facilities are coming in the wake of fighting the virus. Government, as represented by the task force on COVID-19, should not expend the donations on building health infrastructure, if the people face severe hunger during the fight. The facilities would turn to ashes in the mouth, if the people are killed by other means besides the virus. Life must come before infrastructure, which is why government at the local, state and federal levels must place emphasis on salaries. That way, the staff would be alive to see the end of the pandemic.
The lesson is that people have to live to enjoy infrastructure. Families have to explore new ways of surviving in difficult times. We pray that this global pandemic would go away. But faith without work is dead, which is why we must take precaution and pray that this evil wind blows away.