Permit me a space in your widely read newspaper to air my views on the spread of a new pandemic disease known as covid-19.
Due to the negligence of the Nigerian government corona virus disease also known as covid-19 roughshod its way into the country.
The lackadaisical posture of the government and indeed its citizens, no doubt is what led the country into this despotic state we find ourselves as far as the spread of covid-19 is concerned.
While the government is slow in action, some Nigerians initially did not believe that covid-19 is real! Some who believed it to be real held the view that the virus can not survive the hot weather in countries like Nigeria! Hence, like the people of the early days in the Holy Bible when Noah was asked by God to make an ark to avoid being swept away by flood, they call it a bluff and turned deaf ears to the preventive measures against the spread of the virus as they continued socializing and doing their daily businesses.
Of course, the government heard about the corona virus breakout, long before it walked its way vivaciously into the country! When the information broke out, one expects the government to have acted swiftly by closing its borders as first precautionary measure against the spread of the dreaded disease to the country. Instead, it took the government almost two weeks before it declared emergency of the virus which by then had turned pandemic!
Consequently, the covid-19 finds its way into the country and the entire country is thrown into panic as the number of those infected by the virus increases by the day.
ALSO READ: OPINION: WHAT AFRICA MUST DO TO MITIGATE THE DAMAGING EFFECTS OF CORONA VIRUS
As of 1.15pm on Easter Sunday the number of corona virus cases has risen to 318.
Though, the stay at home directive by the Federal is a welcome development yet, it’s having serious effects on the social and economic lives of Nigerians especially the poor masses.
The economy and indeed, business activities are paralyzed just as academic calendar of various institutions are disrupted as well. To say the least, every sector including sports and entertainment is affected.
As an undergraduate, I was waiting to write my semester exam when came the order for all student vacate the campus as a way of curbing the spread of the covid-19.
Unfortunately before the stay at home order, the corona virus had grown beer-bellied, killing both the rich and the poor; young and old.
Interestingly, this time around, there’s global restriction of movement, as a result of which citizens of each country are to stay in their respective countries to lick their wounds. Lobatan!
There is no isolation center for the rich separate from that of the poor!!!
Interestingly, the federal government recently announced some palliatives to cushion the effects of the stay at home order. While giving kudos to government as well as philanthropic individuals and organizations that have contributed handsomely towards mitigating the effects of covid-19 pandemic,. At this point, it is necessary to seek the intervention of anti-graft agencies such as the EFCC and ICPC towards ensuring that the various interventions/funds collected are not corruptly mismanaged by the covid-19 Task Teams.
Now that the entire country is on the lockdown, the federal government should employ all measures to forestall a breakdown of another epidemic disease called ” *hunger virus”* otherwise known as *hunvid-20*
Findings have revealed that, this disease is more infectious and it also kills faster than covid-19.
*** Gloria Ifeoluwa writes from Ilorin, Kwara State.
