By Chijioke Njemanze
On-going efforts by humanity to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic have been multi-faceted. From Nigeria to South Africa, from London to France, from Spain to Italy, from China to the United States, lockdowns, social distancing, use of face masks and hand gloves, washing of hands and use of sanitisers are some of the remedial actions taken to curtail the spread of the disease while the world scrambles to find a vaccine and ultimately, a cure.
Equally, people are struggling to come to terms with giving up their hyper active lifestyles to stay confined within their houses for extended periods of time to stay safe and protected from the scourge of the virus. With four weeks into the lockdown, the possibility of many more weeks to be spent in “captivity”, is giving rise to, among many issues, the feeling of boredom, restlessness and anger, commonly referred to as “cabin fever” .
With everyday life as we know it now practically at a standstill, people have come to rely on telecommunications as the panacea to combat both the challenges brought about by COVID-19 virus and Cabin Fever, which is equally on the rise. Taking a line from Globacom’s recent television commercial that says, “Data is Oxygen”, I can deduce that the company had predicted the future because telecommunications today is providing the necessary oxygen to keep us going on many fronts in these very trying times.
A picture of President Muhammadu Buhari holding a teleconference with some of his ministers confirms the pivotal role being played by telecommunications in our nation currently, an activity that was not publicly known to have been in place at the government before now. No doubt, telecoms has brought sophistication in the way our government runs activities now.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) popularised its telephone numbers through text messages sent to Nigerians while lives and property are being secured through emergency telephone numbers. With telecommunications, therefore, distance is no barrier to reaching the agency in moments of emergency.
Furthermore, telecoms is also playing a key role in easing the pains of people in isolation centres and their families. Coronavirus patients quarantined in isolation centers are not allowed to receive visitors. They are, however, allowed to keep in touch with their families and friends through telecommunications. I got a rare peep into one of the centers when former Ogun State Commissioner for Sports, Barrister Bukola Olopade, who tested positive to the virus, posted a video of how he was faring. He even availed us of the experiences of the people in his ward, including foreigners, whom he interviewed.
It is also possible that there has been an upsurge in the use of telecommunication services by individuals and organisations since the deployment of the stay-at-home panacea to curtail the spread of the virus. Professionals working from home must have been consuming a lot of data to perform their tasks and meet their obligations. Suffice to say that one cannot but use telecommunications in the current dispensation not just to stay in touch with family members, friends and loved ones, but also to carry on daily activities such as commercial and business transactions, entertainment and even educational endeavour.
One key area in this regard is the enabling of online financial transactions. Internet banking, mobile banking apps as well as Point of Sale (POS) transactions have been on the upward trend this past decade. But their value has never been emphasized as much as it is being done now. With banks, offices and shopping malls and even mom and pop stores being mostly closed to regular businesses in compliance with the stay-at-home order, people have had to rely on online channels to carry on their financial transactions. This is only made possible by reliable internet connectivity.
Telecommunications has enhanced financial transactions during this lockdown when cheque clearance is on hold in Lagos, Ogun and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. My uncles and aunts in Abeokuta, Ogun State, who before now had resisted online banking by refusing to collect their ATM cards were compelled to register for the ATM cards the other week in order to access their money locked in the banks and pay for their electricity and other necessities, such as television subscriptions, purchase of drugs at pharmacies, etc.
Four weeks into the lockdown, even though I feel secure from the dreaded virus my cabin fever quotient is on the rise as a result of being confined to the four walls of my house. However, my smartphone, PC and my mobile service provider, Glo, have been wonderful allies. As if to ameliorate the effects of cabin fever on customers like me, Glo has gone ahead to offer what they aptly call a “Stay Home” data plan, which gives me an extra 20% bonus on the data plans I buy. So, I have no qualms in staying in touch with families and friends all over the world, bonding with them either through video calls or live chats as well as voice calls. Indeed, telecommunications has got people talking and safely socialising.
Religiously, homes are being transformed into churches and mosques with the faithful having services streamed into their living rooms. On a weekend recently, ministers and workers of an international ministry, to which I belong, had their annual conference online and members followed their General Overseer’s teachings on the television, as well as through online streaming. In addition, I have been accessing soul lifting messages, hymns and gospel music on the net to deepen my faith during these trying times. Ingeniously, my network Glo had to come up with a special “Sunday Data” plan, offering me 1.25 GB for just N200.
In education, telecommunications has given me unfettered access to tons and tons of information online, while my son, Emmanuel, a final year private university student has been catching up on his studies and has even concluded his project online during this period. A neighbour whose kids are in private primary and secondary schools confided in me that it is now that Nigerians fully appreciate the benefits of telecoms. He explained that his kids have monopolized his official laptop and the only one at home, to do their school work, as their schools teach and send lesson notes online. There is also the ease of uploading and downloading videos, music and streaming news. I for one have not missed, for one day, my favourite newspaper and magazine columnists despite the fact that I could not go out to buy the physical newspapers and magazines since the lockdown started. My experience during this lockdown has been very pleasant as videos open without buffering, with little or no downtime on Glo’s extensive 4G network.
It left me thinking that while we are all saluting the front line health workers for endangering their lives in the fight against the dreaded Coronavirus, it is also important for us to acknowledge the role of the Management and staff in keeping the Glo mobile network functioning smoothly thereby preserving one’s sanity levels during these difficult times. Courtesy of reliable internet services offered by the likes of Globacom, many like me have become more sophisticated in their consumption of telecoms products and services.
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