…say ‘we’ll sit at home until coast is clear’
. ‘Many escapees from Kano scourge now okada riders in Lagos’
Against the upbeat mood of some Nigerians about the partial lifting of the over one month lockdown earlier ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari to check the spread of COVID-19, some citizens are not excited about returning to normal life and work, beginning from today (Monday).
This set of Nigerians told The Point that there was nothing much to cheer about the partial lifting of the restriction order by the President, at a time when the country has continued to experience a daily rise in the number of infections and deaths from the ravaging pandemic.
According to them, the fear of COVID-19 should be the beginning of wisdom for all discerning Nigerians abreast with developments across the world concerning the deadly pandemic and interested in self-preservation.
In separate interviews with our correspondents, they indicated that it was too early for the Federal Government to end the lockdown at such a time in a country where health facilities were known to be in a terrible state, and even non-existent in many communities.
They noted that there was the possibility of the country experiencing a spike in the rate of infections in the next few days as citizens move about to conduct their normal business and return to work while the country is still grappling with combating the deadly disease.
At the weekend, the Nigerian Medical Association and the National Association of Resident Doctors warned of a looming disaster in the country with the partial lifting of the lockdown from today.
According to the NMA and NARD, the time is not auspicious for the Federal Government to ease the total lockdown of the country.
As at Friday night, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control confirmed that 68 deaths had been recorded from the pandemic in Nigeria. The NCDC’s COVID-19 Situation Dashboard on its website also stated that COVID-19 deaths had been recorded in the Federal Capital Territory Abuja and 16 states across the country.
Also on Friday, the NCDC noted that the total number of confirmed infections in the country had risen to over 2000 while 351 recoveries had been reported.
Nigeria records new cases of coronavirus on a daily basis. The World Health Organisation recently ranked her the sixth African country with exploding cases of the coronavirus pandemic.
But still gripped by the high rate of infection from the deadly pandemic, these Nigerians said they would have wanted the total lockdown to continue until COVID-19 cases had been significantly reduced or totally eradicated from the country in order to mitigate the risk it poses to human lives.
GOING OUT NOW IS LIKE COMMITTING SUICIDE
A trader at Balogun Market, Lagos, Madam Fausat Abeke, expressed her displeasure with the Federal Government’s decision to ease the lockdown now, vowing that she would not venture out of her house from Monday, inspite of the difficulties and inconveniences her family had been experiencing since the total restrictions were imposed.
Abeke told The Point that the risk of going out only to contract the deadly virus was bigger than the economic advantages.
“The number of people infected with the virus keeps on increasing day by day. We need to be patient and let the number of infected people drop before we start moving out en masse. How do you want me to go and open my shop at Balogun Market in this ravaging pandemic? Going out will be suicidal and I am not ready to commit suicide,” she said.
Speaking in the same vein, an Estate Valuer at the Apongbon Area of Lagos, Bashiru Lanihun, who is currently with his family members in Ibadan, Oyo State, wondered why President Muhammadu Buhari decided to lift the total lockdown when only a few Nigerians had been tested for the virus and the country is still grappling with handling the over 2000 cases already in its hands.
Lanihun told The Point tersely, “Yoruba ‘ni eni to bawa laye lo nsise,’ meaning ‘it is only when you are alive that you can go to work.’ I am not going out until I see a drastic reduction in the number of infections being released by the NCDC.”
A contractor, Moses Ajao, on his part, said the President’s directive to Nigerians to begin to move out from today was confusing and scary at a time when the country was still in the grips of the ravaging pandemic.
Ajao stressed that he was not ready to “commit suicide” and would not go out until a “total drop” had been recorded in the spread of the infection.
“He (President) said he was easing the lockdown and at the same time he said interstate travelling was prohibited. I reside at Ibafo in Ogun State and I have my shop at Computer Village, Ikeja. How will I get to my shop? I am not going out until there is total drop in the spread of the infection. The figure being released on a daily basis is scary. I will not go out as I don’t want to commit suicide,” Ajao said.
The Head of Administration, Livingstone College, Kosofe, Lagos, Bukola Oyetunji, warned that the partial lifting of the lockdown could boomerang and result in the rise in the number of infected persons in the country.
Oyetunji said that as sophisticated as the health system in the developed countries was, they were at some point overwhelmed by the huge casualties from the deadly virus, compelling them to still maintain the lockdown.
“It is so disheartening that our government is more concerned about the economy rather than the lives of Nigerians. As powerful as America, Italy, Germany, Spain and others are, they have not lifted the lockdown, even inspite of their sophisticated medical equipment and quality personnel. I pray that the decision by the President will not backfire, especially against the common people in this country,” she said.
MANY RECENT ESCAPEES FROM KANO SCOURGE NOW OKADA RIDERS IN LAGOS
A livestock merchant based in Abule Egba, Lagos, Alhaji Ibrahim Abubakar, told The Point that he had made up his mind not to go out to continue his business for now as he got a scary revelation from a friend of his in Kano, his home state, that many people from the state running away from the mysterious disease, had somehow found their ways back to Lagos and many of them were now engaged in commercial motorcycle business, popularly called okada, in the suburbs.
He said, “Those of us living in the suburbs in Lagos are no longer safe because so many of these boys you see operating okada business in your communities have recently arrived from Kano to escape from the strange illness killng people in their hundreds in that state. I’m from Kano and a friend of mine back in Kano called to tell me this.
“So, for now, I’ve decided with my family members that we cannot resume our business yet. We remain at home for now, especially with this revelation from my friend and I have seen many of these Kano boys myself in my community here. In fact, for now, I’ve told my family that we should avoid taking okada, if it’s compulsory we go out. I think it is safer we trek the distance to avoid getting infected easily with the virus now killing them in droves in Kano. I tell you, so many of these okada boys you see now are recent returnees from Kano.”
PREPARE FOR HARVEST OF DEATHS
An Executive Manager with an insurance company, Mrs. Tomi Adebayo, described the relaxation of the lockdown from today as a looming disaster.
Adebayo warned that Nigerians should be prepared for a harvest of death with the easing of the lockdown.
She told The Point, “The aftermath of relaxing the lockdown may lead to a national disaster. While the coast is not clear yet, many Nigerians will go about their business with no care or caution about the deadly virus, thereby resulting in a rapid spread, and curtailment will become difficult. When such a situation occurs, there may be an alarming record of deaths.
“I don’t see this as a wise decision. I’m not sure that health experts around the world would have approved this. This is just another disaster waiting to happen!”
A clearing and forwarding agency manager, Adewale Kazeem, told The Point that with the partial lifting of the lockdown from today, government and Nigerians should brace for the worst.
Kazeem noted that if, while under total restrictions for over a month, the country still recorded over 2000 infections, with the relaxation of the lockdown from today, it should expect a surge.
He accused the government of wanting to cover its failure to provide for Nigerians during total restrictions, saying its decision to ease the lockdown was premature.
Kazeem, who said he was not ready to allow any of his family members return to any activity from today, therefore, warned Nigerians to stay at home until it is safer to go out.
He said, “Government should prepare for the worst as the lockdown is lifted. With the lockdown, we recorded more than 2000 infections and some deaths. Definitely, after easing the lockdown, there will be serious surge.
“For me and my family, I don’t think it is safe to go out yet. Whoever that likes himself should take caution and stay at home. Government’s act of relaxing the lockdown was just out of their inability to cater for the needs of the citizens while they stayed at home. Now, they want us all to die. I think the world’s government should respond to this.”
REVERSE DECISION TO EASE LOCKDOWN BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE
A businessman, Alhaji Mohammed Sabo, told The Point that easing the lockdown in a state like Lagos, which is the epicentre of the Coronavirus scourge, was not a well thought-out decision by the government.
Sabo said despite the existence of protective measures against the deadly virus, Nigerians had failed to comply with them to save their lives even under total restriction.
He said that if Nigerians could throw caution to the winds while struggling to get their own shares of the palliatives while the total lockdown lasted, worse situations would occur with the easing of the restrictions.
He said, “Plans by the Federal Government to relax the lockdown in Lagos, Ogun and FCT at a time when Lagos happens to be the epicentre of this COVID-19 pandemic, to me, may not be a well thought-out decision. As at today, May 2, Lagos has 1006 confirmed cases with 20 deaths while Ogun State and FCT have 56 and 214 confirmed cases, respectively, with four deaths recorded as at today.
“Agreed, there are protective measures to be observed by the people, especially the core ones – social distancing and face mask, the big question is, to what extent are we sure Nigerians will comply with these, going by what we saw during the funeral of Mallam Abba Kyari, former Chief of Staff to President Buhari, where prominent Nigerians confidently flouted the social distancing order?
“Apart from this, to what extent have people in these states been adequately sensitised? If distribution of palliatives could make people jettison appropriate measures to curb continuous spread of this virus, what happens in states like Lagos now that lockdown is eventually relaxed when we don’t even know when the vaccine will be made available?”
Quote:
“It is so disheartening that our government is more concerned about the economy rather than the lives of Nigerians. As powerful as America, Italy, Germany, Spain and others are, they have not lifted the lockdown, even inspite of their sophisticated medical equipment and quality personnel”
