Gabriel Amalu
The social media has replaced the Lagos traffic. Uncertain, winding and unending. It has become the escape route from the drudgery associated with the ravenous attack of the coronavirus pandemic. In one WhatsApp message we are told that Nostradamus predicted corona as a queen, which shall wreak havoc on the world, in the year of the double, 2020. Somehow, it is fashionable to attribute mysterious happenings to the 16th century French astrologer and seer, who made several predictions that came to pass.
Corona has also been likened to a king. But whether a queen or a king, this unwanted visitor is a wreaker, and should go away. It has turned the world upside down, and the centre can no longer hold. Some have attributed the virus to God’s way of showing his supremacy over man. The argument being that because of the great achievements in science and technology, man had begun to count himself equal to God. So, God decided to show superiority, by allowing one small virus to torment the world.
While this argument is spaciously speculative, there is no history of a similar traducer that has at the same time maligned the entire world as COVID 19. Even the earlier plagues didn’t have this much impact. So, in the past week, from New York to Paris, from Berlin to London, from New Delhi to Beijing, from Pretoria to Lagos, from Oslo to Tokyo, it has been eerie silence all over. On COVID 19, there is no dichotomy, between the east and west, between third world and first world, between the rich and the poor.
Indeed, the great stock that advanced countries had made of conquering the outer space has not been of any help, so far. Before now, it was believed that should the earth become uninhabitable, the advanced countries of the world could abandon the earth for the laggard ones, and move their people to another planet. Maybe such a drastic move lies in the future, even as the fearless virus has hit at the heart of the British Empire without fear or favour.
Of note, the twitter loving Donald Trump of the United States of America, now prattles endlessly as the unwanted visitor has confounded and unsettled his dear country. This unwanted visitor, which he cannot intimidate with his tweets, or technology guided missiles is rampaging his beloved cities. In another video, the protagonist claimed that it was a war waged by mammon, against humans. The mammon is the god of money or wealth. He likened the economic meltdown across the world as a greater pandemic than the corona virus.
Of course, the world economic order is in turmoil, with a relation saying the impact is so huge that the entire pension savings of many Americans have been wiped out. Officially the world has gone into economic recession according to some sources. Nigeria which suffered recession few years ago, is set to return to those challenging time, more so as the price of crude oil continues to plummet from the attacks of COVID 19, and the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia.
On the lighter side, a wife was videoed singing and praising COVID 19, for forcing her husband to stay at home. She said that all the lies and tales by moonlight which men peddle to get out of the house are no more tenable, and she thanked the virus for all that. Those husbands who spend the family fortune on gambling on the English Premier League and other hot spots have also been restricted by the closure of non-essential service stores.
Some children too are not left out in the grand opportunity to enjoy their parents, thanks to COVID 19 pandemic. Before most parents were forced to stay at home; in many homes, both fathers and mothers leave the house very early in the morning and return home very late, while the children are left at the mercy of the nannies and house girls. But all that have changed, with most parents forced to stay at home, whether out of fear of the virus or the order of government to stay at home.
Mothers who have not neared their kitchen for ages, because of the pressure of work, have all returned to their old beats. Fathers too are helping with their children’s school assignments, while some have returned to helping with preparing the family meals. So, with the sit at home order, the social media is awash with stories of how COVID 19 pandemic has engineered great family reunions, amidst the fear and trepidation, resulting from the virulent attacks of the virus.
In their innocence, some children would wish the cause of the enduring love from mummy and daddy lasts much longer. While the children hope, scientists are frantically working hard to find the cure for this invincible evil that has befallen the world. Unfortunately, like the conventional armies confronted by terrorist organisations, the scientists are stupefied by this asymmetrical enemy whose ways and means are different from what they are used to.
Okey Bakassi, in one video asked what those who are owing their landlords would do with the sit at home order. As for social distancing, he wondered how those who are 10 in a room and parlour apartment would observe the instruction. Same for those who must use the same bathroom and toilet. One concerned Nigerian interviewed on one of the television programmes asked how hungry Nigerians can stay at home when hunger is knocking on the doors of their tummy.
Another challenged group are those trapped at state borders, who cannot return to where they live after visiting a neighbouring state. The joke is also on the wealthy, especially those in the corridors of power. Some erroneously think the disease is attacking mainly the rich and powerful. While at a newspaper stand, one angry Nigeria asked rhetorically whether any poor man has been infected by the disease, and answering himself, he mentioned the famous Nigerians that have been infected.
While such permutation is clearly fallacious, there is also the story in the social media that the National Centre for Disease Control, only caters for the rich and politically connected. The author of the message claimed that after several efforts to get tested, he came to the conclusion that those infected are grossly underreported. Some also believe that the virus is a punishment for the privileged elite who neglected the medical infrastructure in the country.
Last Sunday, President Muhammadu Buhari finally spoke, ending weeks of speculation about his wellbeing, and that of his kitchen cabinet. He reinforced the need for hand washing, social distancing and staying in our homes.
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