Costly cynicism

Editorial

AMIDST soaring numbers of coronavirus cases in Nigeria, there are citizens who think the whole pandemic narrative is a hoax and nothing to warrant compliance with safety protocols prescribed by governing authorities. Not that the tendency is peculiar to us, as there are prominent world leaders and citizens of other nations who have voiced cynicism about the global scourge. But it is nonetheless a challenge that must be locally addressed, given that Nigeria by the close of last week had topped 35,000 infections and verging 800 deaths from the virus.

Recent reports freshly highlighted the perception by some Nigerians that the COVID-19 experience in the country is contrived. Some have said it is a ruse by federal authorities to justify deploying public resources to spurious ends. And those who think that way are not just faceless individuals: before Kogi State fell to the case count, the state government repeatedly alleged that it was resisting inducements to declare phantom cases for promised material rewards. Others alleged that the pandemic containment campaign is aimed at extracting funds and other forms of material support from donors, locally and internationally. Yet, some others view the pandemic to be largely an elite problem. Notions as these have inspired disinclination among citizens, especially at the grassroots, towards precautionary measures like wearing of face masks and observance of social distancing guidelines prescribed by government. The tendency, in effect, has contributed to rising infections in the country and violates the call by the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on citizens to ‘take responsibility.’

We can’t ignore entrenched socio-cultural factors promoting this mindset – among them low literacy level, which disposes some Nigerians more to superstition than scientific proof; religious fatalism by which ‘faithists’ dismiss sensory evidence as “not my portion;” and long standing distrust in the institution of government deriving from failure of leadership over the years. But there are also gaps in the COVID-19 narrative presently that do not help credibility.

A field survey by The Nation newspaper revealed that a sizeable number of Lagos residents are shunning the use of face masks, which the state government mandated as a safety protocol. Asked the motivation for such negligence, one respondent said she did not believe there was anything to coronavirus different from the age-long challenge of malaria, because many people who were taken into isolation for COVID-19 have returned saying they were treated with anti-malaria drugs. She added: “So, if it is malaria they are treating as COVID-19 for reasons best known to the authorities, why do I need to panic and wear masks around when malaria has always been with us?”

Another respondent argued that statistical trends have not borne out possible connection between prescribed safety protocols and coronavirus infection. “Since the beginning of the so-called pandemic in the country, the cases have (been rising) while many of us not wearing face masks have not fallen ill for one day,” he said. Other field surveys cited cynics who said the daily updates that NCDC provides on infections were too coldly statistical to be believed.

This cynicism is costly because it fuels the infection rate of the virus. But it is also true that the optics of the pandemic as of now begs credibility. The portrait of COVID-19 is more datalised than humanised, with top functionaries affected being projected as faces of the pandemic while ordinary citizens who constitute the majority of sufferers and survivors are indicated with mere statistics. That, apparently, is the basis for the erroneous notion that it is a ‘big man disease.’

More needs be done to humanise this pandemic with copious visuals of survivors – even victims – just so to enhance the credibility of the narrative. Survivors from the grassroots, along with the personages, should be enlisted to tell their stories and localise how the message is passed to the citizenry. Pictures and video footages of isolation centres often depict rows of empty beds. We need to see the patients even if we blur their faces, and we need to see them often. Changing its iconography will change attitudes and enhance credulity.  Inevitably, the prospects of Nigeria defeating COVID-19 lie in every citizen strictly complying with safety protocols aimed at curbing infections. Hence, no effort should be spared to dispel grassroots cynicism that could deny the country a fighting chance.