COVID-19: Creating opportunity through crisis

By Abdulganeey Abiola Adeyemi

SIR: Like many other countries battling the novel Coronavirus, the Nigeria government, at all levels, this time around, have done quite well by taking urgent and hard-headed precautionary measures to tackle the world outbreak by placing visa ban on some notable countries. As part of the aggressive and targeted tactics taken, schools and other institutions were shut down, religious gatherings restricted. Now, the whole country is near lockdown.

While the world battles Covid-19 on one side, it is only right that we comprehend and see to the implications of the novel pandemic, whether of the loss or the benefit to the world. The point is that while every crisis has obvious dangers, there’s no crisis without its benefit.

It can’t be gainsaid that COVID-19 pandemic is warlike and war-ridden; very much of a call to revolution with the number of deaths recorded within the short period of the outbreak. Also, with the level of attention and clinical gestures shown over the pandemic, it is clear that the reign of this novel virus will not be long.

COVID-19 will fight and go like other viruses and epidemic diseases. Like the losses incurred in the process of this crisis, what’s the world doing to benefit from this outbreak? At least, what opportunity do we make from the crisis?

Every crisis and war fought in the past had its losses and benefits. As for the benefits, World War l which accounted for the death of over 20 million people birthed the medical innovation that’s known as blood preservation. World War 11 birthed the first computer and used to break the codes of German Lorenz SZ-40 cipher machine.

What will COVID-19 pandemic birth us?

Today, companies and corporations are taking their services online. Everyone is being encouraged to work online and from home. Now the consequence is that when the crisis is over, many companies and corporations will discover that they can work efficiently without some employees. They will discover that they can cut their wage bill by moving their services online. This is one of the many benefits of COVID-19.

It’s high time everyone began to see beyond the global pandemic; beyond fear and frustrations of COVID-19, and continue to envisioning how this hard time will bring us everlasting fortune, lesson and benefits of which the crisis will be remembered for.

However, benefits of COVID-19 will not come easy, it will require us to carefully analyse the situations, be optimistic, be strong and be more proactive in other to exhume the opportunity buried therein.

• Abdulganeey Abiola Adeyemi, Ilorin.