Ogochukwu Ikeje
Once upon a time an Israeli guide had a little surprise for the Nigerian pilgrim under his charge, a manager at a multinational oil company. Last year the Middle Eastern nation, with a modest nine million inhabitants, attracted 4.5 million visitors, about half of them classified as Christian pilgrims. Today Israel hosts a variety of cultures, and you are sure to find a few black-skinned residents there. But at the time the oil company chief, Oputa Ikweke, a London-trained engineer, visited the country, the sight of a Nigerian was rare on Israel’s streets. Promising to “show you your brother”, the guide took the pilgrim across streets and avenues right down to where an Igbo man was hard at work. It must have been a surreal meeting of kinsmen in a distant land.
Yet, such is the Nigerian’s appetite for tasting other lands that during Olusegun Obasanjo’s presidency, the newsroom was often enlivened by jokes that the only country the president did not visit probably had very little oxygen or none at all.
The wanderlust is still with us, especially our leaders and aspiring ones, who frequently fly to Europe or America or the Emirates in western Asia, to shop or rest, to check with their doctors or attend an owambe or a christening or a child’s graduation at a prestigious institution, or for that matter, to do whatever tickles the ‘big man’s fancy. Consider that some years ago, a state governor was flown to Germany because of an aching tooth, a clear declaration that no dentist was good enough in the state in question nor in any part of the country. A colleague of his just across the border was also described at the time as resident abroad, visitor to home state.
But in a matter of weeks, the coronavirus or Covid-19 has put the world on ice. Airports are shut along with land borders. House gates and doors are fastened, and people, rich or poor, are learning for their own good to sit at home and pray that this virus will blow over quickly. With schools, offices and markets also closed, except shops offering foodstuff, weekdays now feel and look a lot lonelier than weekends. Even if the ports were not shut, no Nigerian at this time would run to the United Kingdom, where Prince Charles, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and Health Secretary have all tested positive for the coronavirus. Or to Spain where there is concern that soon bodies would be found in homes where people have been holed up because sufferers are not getting enough medical attention. Or to Italy which, by Friday afternoon, posted a total of 8,165 Covid-19 deaths. Or to the United States which is on the verge of becoming the epicenter of the disease.
In Nigeria there were 65 confirmed cases, up from 51 on Thursday with one official death, according to the centre for disease control, as this column went to press on Friday. Any little comforts? No. Rather there is mounting concern. With over 200 million people, Nigeria is three times larger than Italy, which boasts arguably the best medical system in Europe.
The virus has curbed Nigerians’ love for travel the way no presidential decree or diplomatic restriction could have. Yet there are other ways the Covid-19 has hurt Nigerians.
Churches and mosques have been advised to close or at best keep worshippers below 50 persons at a time. About 49 per cent of Nigeria’s over 200 million people are Christians, and roughly the same figure Muslims. Whatever the result of their faith, teeming adherents derive succour from those worship centres. Some churches have been sealed for flouting the directive.
Sporting events have also been shelved across much of the world. With the popular leagues in Europe on hold, consider what that means to half of Nigeria’s population who are said to be active football fans, according to cheeronnigeriablogspot.com. Consider, also, what that means, say, to supporters of Chelsea Football Club owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, said to have the largest fan base in Nigeria, about 12.3 million of whom faithfully follow the club on Instagram and Google+.
Throw in also the over 20 football betting sites in the country complete with their staff and revenue turnovers, and you will understand that the coronavirus has wreaked havoc in the country.
That is why for two weekends running you have not heard the roar “GOOOAAAAL” from your neighbourhood viewing centre.
Everything has changed suddenly. The virus gave no one any time to think up any alternatives. No opportunity to duck. That is the sucker punch. But safety first.
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