Storm in a teacup

Editorial

The hullaballoo about the Infectious Diseases Bill, before the House of Representatives, and its variant before the Senate, is un-called for. While we support those who are demanding a public hearing before the passage of the bill, we condemn those trying to shoot down the bill. No doubt, the legislative procedure provides for public hearing, to ensure that stakeholders critically examine every bill, before it is passed into law.

Now that the House of Representatives has slated the bill for public hearing, we urge interested parties to take advantage, to gift Nigeria a modern law to deal with pandemics like COVID-19. The allegation that the legislators have been bribed to pass the bill is not substantiated, and we urge those peddling the rumour to provide proof or keep quiet. The COVID-19 pandemic poses such a grave danger to human race, so, a bill to address its challenges should not be made an object of political gerrymandering.

While everyone is entitled to his/her doubts, we find it difficult to equate an amendment of a 1926 colonial law, with a determination to sell Nigeria to foreign interests. Perhaps, because we have never been faced with a major pandemic since the Spanish Flu, we had to rely on such a legal relic to deal with a 21st century challenge. We however note the argument by Femi Falana, SAN, that the 2018 National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Act provides answers to the deficiencies of the 1926 Act.

If the assertion of the learned silk is tenable, we wonder how the nation’s machinery of government were blindsided, to rely on a 1926 colonial law, when a modern act of our democratic parliament is in place. But, what is most worrisome is the attempt by some persons, who should know better, to use all manner of subterfuge to completely muddle up a legislative effort to contain this epidemic and curtail the effect of any future pandemic.

As a democracy, the National Assembly, by virtue of section 4(2) of the 1999 constitution (as amended), is empowered “to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the federation or any part thereof with respect to any matter included in the exclusive legislative list set out in Part 1 of the second schedule to this constitution.” Of note, item number 54 on the said exclusive legislative list deals with quarantine, which has been the most contentious of issues arising from COVID-19 pandemic.

So, let the opposition has its say, and the majority its way, whether to pass the bill, and in what form; or to even throw away the bill. For us, the attempt by some, to muscle and intimidate the National Assembly by whatever means is anti-democratic, and we urge Nigerians to eschew that. Our country should be in sync with other nations that rely on science and technology in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and other modern challenges.

We therefore urge Nigerians not to be paranoid, based on unfounded conspiracy theories. Some of those who push these theories may have ulterior motives. Of note, the greatest challenge we face in the fight against COVID-19, is the absence of data. It has remained an impediment, in contact tracing, and some other areas. Even to share the palliatives provided by the governments have become problematic because there is no reliable data to ensure checks and balances.

To save our country from the scourge of pandemics, we need a modern law. We must also rely on data, science and technology, and eschew fake news and unfounded conspiracy theories. Nigerians must realise that our salvation lies in our hands.