Dayo Sobowale
In tribute to the highly diseased time of the contagion that we are in, I start with a tribute to a Nigerian leader I never met in his life time, the former Chief of Staff to our President the late Abba Kyari, who died recently from the corona virus ravaging our world for now. He died in harness and therefore to me deserves a national salute and I pay this tribute, given the circumstances of his demise and burial, with a quotation from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, from Mark Anthony mourning the body of the fallen Caesar –‘ But yesterday the word of Caesar might have stood against the world; now lies he there /And none so poor to do him reverence . ‘May the soul of the late Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari rest in peace Amen.
Let us now go back to deadly predicament we are in with the corona virus and probe ourselves within and without, as members of the human race on how we can contain and defeat this contagion before it makes ‘worms meat ‘of all of us – to which I say forcefully God Forbid. Today is not a time for any criticism on the above topic . My simple mission here is to say that we must go on with our lives here in Nigeria and the rest of the world in spite of the blind fury of the spreading corona virus . My plea is that we cannot afford to close shop economically because of the virus because the aftermath of that will be more calamitous in social and political costs than even the present ordeal, which fortunately in our part of the world now is less tragic than those of the nations in Europe and the US especially. I acknowledge that the virus falls in the domain of Medicine which is a science but a solution to it should not be a purely scientific or medical one, but a multidisciplinary solution that weighs the containment measures along with the capability of society at large to absorb such measures and survive in one piece and not in mangled, angry pieces subsequently. I will illustrate with some incidents over the last week all over the world.
In Nigeria during the lockdown some mischievous people sent out false news that some communities were being attacked or were about to be, by a group called ‘One Million Boys ‘ and there was panic all over. Indeed I thought one million boys were really on a march against all of us. The panic became worse when ordinary citizens saw wildly armed youths with machetes and cutlasses marching about purportedly to defend their community against the so called ‘Im Boys’ . Of course the Police had to intervene to disarm those who would defend their community against hoodlums , ums and looters but it is clear this is a recipe for anarchy and the crazy rationale for the miscreants fomenting and spreading the false news was the negative economic impact of the lockdown. This has led to more false news or thereabout, of thieves looting locked shops for foods and snacks and kitchens for pots of soups and meat. Which is a very hunger driven situation, if really true.
There was also the news that WASC and NECO exams have been postponed indefinitely there by creating unnecessary alarm and confusion for young people, youths in general and their parents over their future. Such announcements definitely create an atmosphere of concern that society is collapsing or coming down and there is no way one can predict the reaction or indignation of those involved. Similarly it was announced that face masks will be needed by anyone venturing out during the lockdown or thereafter. That certainly calls for concern for our Nigerian community which is crime prone and where the danger can be amplified when we become overnight a community of masked citizens. I can only pity the Police and law enforcement agencies in identifying who they are dealing with, especially in identification parades.
As for ordinary citizens, I am sure social distance will be automatic when it is obvious that you can’t see the face of anyone you see, and they can’t see yours either. How that will make for good public safety or law and order in our part of the world is something one can only pray for as we suddenly become a nation of masquerades in broad daylight and at night too. Yet for now WHO said the mask is not a proof of protection against the virus.
I wish to point out that I am not the only one bothered about life during the lockdown but after the pandemic altogether. I will use the experience of Italy and the US recently to see how we can learn something from their present economic and political predicament. This is not to say that we need to run the gamut of their experience which was costly in terms of thousands of deaths. The two nation’s scientists worshipped statistics such that they waited willy nilly for a graph of deaths to peak in the hope that it will fall down and the lockdown will be open with less deaths. We do not need to wait to invoke such morbid statistics here, more so as we know that the two nations are already regretting and counting the costs of allowing growing death statistics while locking down their societies and ruining their economic strengths. In the US it is the president leading the fight against the scientists to stop the lock downs. In Italy there is resurgence of the Mafia coming out to help Italians struggling to feed themselves and their families during the lockdown when government did not live up to its obligations and promises to give lockdown bail out to such families.
In Italy the news is that the Mafia is back and it is because of the economic hardship of the pandemic lockdowns. The resurgence of the Mafia has been so recognized in the EU such that a German Minister warned that any Euro COVD-19 loan to Italy will end up in the hands of the Mafia because the Mafia has bailed out most Italians during the lockdown and they are indebted to the Mafia. Some statistics from the EU nations recently showed that 25 % of Italians under the age of 20 are jobless, out of school and any form of training and are easy prey for jobs and deals to sustain their lives and future with the Mafia.
So with a looming Mafia future, corruption and crime will rear their ugly heads in Italy again. That is the price in Italy of making the solution or cure of the pandemic worse than the disease with lockdowns.
However, it was the US President Donald Trump who first coined the phrase that the pandemic ‘s ‘remedy should not be worse than the disease’ and the US president has moved to match his words with action even going as far as attacking his own chosen scientists on the matter. The reason is not far fetched. This is an election year in the US and Trump has watched the virus disrupt and hammer down his three election boasts and campaign of a buoyant economy, a dominant foreign policy and a boisterous followership of his supporters which made him to taunt a reporter recently that ‘people love Trump’ .
In terms of political survival Trump needs the Lockdown to be removed or eased out in order to have a normal election he expects to win. If you add to this the oil tragedy that has US oil on a negative price recently you will see why Trump has to crush the pandemic fear and paralysis at all costs to get American politics and society back on course. He has gone ahead to encourage those states’ governors and protesters willing to follow his charge to stop the lockdowns in spite of his adopting the advice of his scientists to fight the pandemic on lockdowns and social distancing. That is gritty pragmatism worthy of emulation by other nations and leaders including Nigeria.
To technically resign ourselves as a nation and as a people to the unchecked advance of a blind pandemic is to behave like crazy man standing in front of a raging bull. That certainly is suicidal particularly for our economic needs and future as well as our political stability. We need to sidestep this raging pandemic like the Matadors in the bull fights in Spain, where unfortunately they forgot or ignored their Matador Bull fight strategy this time around. The result is that thousands of Spaniards have been killed in this pandemic, although this is a far cry from the 50 million killed world wide in the Spanish flu of 1918. Let us learn from history and retool our kits to kill this virus at minimal societal cost and mortality.
Once again long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
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