CORONA VIRUS IN NIGERIA AND THE ‘SECOND SEMESTER’ OF THE LOCK-DOWN.

Monday 13^th of April 2020 was supposed to mark the end of a 14-day lock-down initially imposed on a few states in Nigeria. But after the address of the President same day, additional 14 days came knocking, the ‘second semester’ of the lock-down as jocularly referred to on the Nigerian internet space.

This decision has sparked a lot of reactions from the citizens with a relatively few people in support of the extension, others who have contrarily opined are the poor and hungry. These people usually are with no hope of getting food unless they go out to work daily for their wages, so their stance is meant to be clearly understood.

I still remember when the news of Corona Virus came to town, I was here sympathizing with the Republic of China to ‘get well soon’ oblivious of the fact that the first case to be recorded in Nigeria was already planning its visit into the Country. It however came in form of an Italian expatriate who was on a business visit to a popular Cement Factory in Ogun State.

Prior to that time, I had spoken to a few friends based in America and Italy, Countries which was worse hit right after Wuhan. Commiserating their lock-down state, I was still hoping as at that time that we do not experience same in Nigeria. This wasn’t for anything but that realistically, Nigeria does not have what it takes for her to successfully be on lock-down.

 Unfortunately, it happened. The very ill and not swift to emergency policies of the Nigerian Government by refusing to isolate ‘imports’ for possible checks, most of who were Law-Makers and the members of their family brought this on us.

 But that’s okay, the deed is done already and we just have to move on.

And a quick introduction to why lock-down seems a problem to Nigerians;

         More than half of the population lives below one dollar per day. This is saying about a hundred million people goes to work every-day and what they make can only feed them for that day. Money hardly spills in their pockets let alone enough for them to save for the future- 'a future' which came suddenly like the time we are in now.

 An average indigent family in Nigeria is so poverty stricken that asking them to stay back in the face of lack is difficult. Hunger virus and frustration alongside utter depression would unleash what Corona Virus may actually not.

The Nigerian Government by the way claims to have effectively distributed funds to the indigent, yet the record which right now is in burnt-shreds makes verifying this claim clearly impossible. The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federal Republic went up in flames barely twenty-four hours after an ‘official’ was asked to give reports of their spending. This is another of such unfortunate incidences that clearly shows how those who we elect to power constantly makes a mockery of our intelligence as a people.

In furtherance to the ‘first semester’ of the initial locked down which was between March 30^th to April 13^th by the way, it was marred by a lot of activities most of which was unfortunate.

Midway into the lock-down some Lagos and Ogun Communities woke up to theft by a group of axe-wielding youths, who terrorizes and unleash mayhem on helpless victims. The self-acclaimed ‘one-million’ boys raided houses, carted away food items and handy gadgets like Phones and Laptops. People at ATM queues were robbed, females were molested too.

Their grievance? They were supposedly hungry and angry. A question of a poor that is angry with the Government yet venting it out on an equally poor man. How is that even reasonable?

Other unfortunate incidence includes suicide by breadwinners who couldn’t bear to watch their dependents go hungry as they helplessly watch. Petty stealing increased and many people threw caution to the winds with social distancing by beginning to trade albeit secretly.

Very much unlike reasonable Nations in the world, those that are able to provide food and other basic amenities to indigent citizenry, Nigeria operates differently in a way that remains unfavorable to the masses. And despite the huge donations of indigenous Business Men to the Government (through the Central Bank of Nigeria's Account), they continue to play hanky-panky with funds meant to cater for the needs and well-being of the masses.

Meanwhile, there are other reasonable avenues that these donors should have better harnessed their funds. These channels would have made a greater impact in the lives of the poor as against giving all to the Government. These men; 

Ø  Michael Adenuga (CEO of Globacom Telecommunications) donated one Billion Naira (2.6-million-dollar equivalent). But how about setting aside a certain percentage of the donations at least, towards providing free/subsidized calls and data services to the masses? 

Ø  Aliko Dangote, who is the richest black man in the world (produces food items like Dangote Salt and Sugar, Petit Tomato Paste, Dansa Juice, Ziza Milk, Dangote Noodles, Macaroni and Flour) also contributed same amount. Yet there was no attempt at subsidizing his products for the citizens in this hard time, an action which would have been a better palliative to the people. Or is hunger not a disease too?

       There is even an unofficial increase in the prices of some of his commodities that directly affects me. The bag of Dangote sugar increased to Sixteen thousand Naira from thirteen thousand Naira (price hike in just two weeks). Dangote flour too went up by a thousand Naira.

Ø  There was also a Billion Naira donation from a man whose company equally falls within the FMCG category. Abdul Samad, the Chairman of BUA groups should have better the lot of the people by subsidizing his products like Sugar, Rice, Flour, Pasta and edible Oils. 

Ø  Emeka Offor is the Chairman of EEDC, a Power Sector supplying Electricity to places like Anambra and Enugu. No need reiterating how fantastic providing free or subsidized cost of power to his Customers would have been at this time.

Ø  And despite pleas from customers to Multichoice to slash the prices of their Cable subscriptions for the lock down period, they didn't oblige. Instead, they jumped on the train like a 'challenge' sort of to make donations of the sum of 1.2 billion Naira. But can we blame a foreign Company when indigenous Business Men are not making their Customers a priority, especially in this hard time?

Ø  Other disappointing donations were from Commercial Banks, whose show of ‘eye-service’ to the 'Powers that be' as against the true reflection of genuine giving is appalling. From Segun Agbaje of GT Bank who donated one billion Naira, to another one Billion Naira donation from Oba Otudeko of First Bank and Five Billion Naira donation from Tony Elumelu (UBA).

Ø  Other Banks/ their Managing Directors who donated includes; Jim Ovia of Zenith Bank gave One Billion Naira too, and about the same amount from the following; Herbert Wigwe of Access Bank, Union Bank, Sterling Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Citi Bank, FCMB, Fidelity Bank, Eco-bank, Providus Bank, Wema Bank, Unity Bank, Heritage Bank, Polaris Bank, Keystone Bank etc.

Meanwhile, these are Financial houses who could have properly been able to access the data of customers, especially those whose account balance reeks pauperism. So what’s with the huge donations to the Government that will make little or no impact on those that are hungry.

          Big ups to a few Companies anyway.

Dufil, (Manufacturers of Indomie) distributed over ten thousand packs of their products to the poor, so also Arla foods, the producers of Dano Milk that has steadily partnered with various Non-Governmental Organisations like the Lagos Food Bank, by donating their products as relief packs to the indigents, since the lock-down began.

Let it sync that I intentionally skipped mentioning Femi Otedola’s one Billion Naira donations. As far as I am concerned, he does not have products that directly affects the poor, so he obviously could not have done any better than donate to CBN.

Finally on my plate on the perception of the downtrodden to the lock-down;

                    As soon as the announcement for the extension for another two weeks 'stay-back' was made, I looked through my window to see the reaction of my neighbors, and expectedly what their gathering oozes was no other but the fear of how to survive the coming days.

They had clustered in groups, wore gloomy looks that is synonymous to those in bereavement. It is hard to actually blame them because, in one of the families, the woman of the house sells used bags with an inventory of less than ten thousand Naira (approx.30 dollar) which she hawks on a daily basis prior to the lock-down. The children are all  aged between 10 and 15. The man on the other hand is a loader at the trade-fair market and daily waged too. Lock-down means no income, no pay, less feeding or non at all.

In another family where the wife sells tailoring materials, she had confided in me that the money kept behind for the duration of the lock down has since been exhausted in the first week. Her husband drives Commercial Trucks at the port, and as soon as goods from China were no longer coming in because of Covid-19 scare, his employer had sent him and others like him packing, this was even since January. They have six children, all of them aged between 3 to 13, so to say that life is becoming very unbearable for them is an understatement.

In my neighbor-hood as well are two widows. One of them with a girl aged 11, the other one has much elderly kids, two of them hefty looking boys in their early 20s. And anytime I see them staring into space at the balcony of their house, obviously when hunger beckons, I fear even for myself. This is just in case these boys decides to embrace crime, God forbid though, where will I run to?

I  am bothered because as an Employee, the mentality of the poor is that all salary earners are the closest to the Government. Oblivious of the fact that most of us are either in the Private Sector, or even earning lesser wage to what an average business man/woman would have made on a normal month.

These two boys especially are not lazy. They run petty businesses before now but with a daily wage though. The eldest drives a Commercial Tricycle alongside repairing cheap phones, double hustle if you would agree with me already. The other one runs a makeshift barbing salon shop to assist their mother who equally runs a small poultry.

As the second semester of the lock down begins, how will the out-rightly poor and lowly survive? The suicide figures of bread-winners are out there on the internet, if only our Leaders would not adjudge the news as ‘fake news to create panic’.

 And to the middle class that I belonged, how safe are we going to be in the coming weeks?

It  is important however to know that, when fighting Covid-19 in a Nation like ours, saving lives would be more than just asking the people to stay back to avoid getting infected, the menace of hunger also needs a few punches from the gloved hands of the Government.

And did I remember to mention that most Local Governments in Nigeria should be scrapped too? Essentially, they have always been found wanting.

This too shall pass!!!!