The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Coronavirus

  • A poet’s reminisces with Coronavirus

    A poet’s reminisces with Coronavirus

    Title: Love–Songs in a Pandemic
    Author: Denja Abdullahi
    Year of publication: 2024
    Reviewer: Edozie Udeze

    No one has been able to cage a writer. Each time an inspiration hits a writer, he behaves like someone possessed by unknown spirits. Until those ideas are written down exhaustively, his soul, his person, all that make him a human being remain restless. Denja Abdullahi is such a restless soul, a poet, playwright and culture technocrat whose active soul is usually and continually on the prowl infused with all manner of inspiration and mischief through his pen.

    But the climax seems to have manifested more brazenly in this chapbook that came out of his brain on Coronavirus Pandemic and all the love affairs that took place whether secretly or otherwise during the lockdown. You see, if you cage a writer you are in trouble because he will write about it. If you dare give him conditions or lockdown or order him to be in seclusion, you have automatically given him the wildest and freest freedom to tear the society to pieces with his writings. Denja Abdullahi, while others, multitude of people all over the world, were bemoaning the life of seclusion and lockdown and isolation during the Covid-19 saga, was busy collecting ideas on how to write about the secret love details of Covid-19 and its aftereffects on families. The result is this amazing collection entitled Love-Songs in a Pandemic. It is a chronicler of deep hue; it is factual and expository.

    The poems truly align with the inner sentiments of a society locked in by circumstances, as some rediscovered themselves, their lost family values, while some others used the moment to hop from one romantic escapades to another. Denja, a former president of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), multiple award winning author and technocrat is very painstaking in his rendition. He pours out his mind in these moving lines. He shows his own personal mischief about romantic feelings, exploits, his inner concerns for the love of families to always blossom no matter the circumstances.

    Read Also: Nze-Jumbo rates Keshi Nigeria’s greatest footballer ever

    “Before I begin my song/I borrow the uncouth mouth of the itinerant madman/whose words should not be taken too seriously/I borrow the tongues of our mothers in the market place/who laugh the prudes and the hypocrites to scorn/I borrow the license of the turgid one who flogs the recalcitrant wife to order…” There are many more borrowing which in all gave the poet the authorization to open up and tore apart the theme with aplomb, feasting heavily on Covid-19.

    It is a long and meandering tale which he renders in parts in order to appeal to the public. And that is why the poet is rather pointedly audacious and provocative. He says, “Sex and things related to it have sent the world into a frenzy/ itinerant sellers of local sexual stimulants/have given way to sexual toys shops and imported tablets…/it is time to ramp up the sweetness in the beginning of this unending journey”. This is what lockdown bestowed on people forcing some men to behave or misbehave depending on the type of women in their custody. As a poet, Denja explains that it was time of /flashing rekindled tambourines and conga drums/oga glides around the house like a monk of the Harekrishna order/taking peevish looks and wondering what more fire can be kindled…”

    Meanwhile, madam gloats over the lockdown, with plenty headache on her head in order to hide her inner feelings making the man wonder if only women that are given to incessant headache in and out of season. A poet can be funny or mischievous just to get his lines across with deeper effects. As he reels out the lockdown tales he also gives women this amorous but apt nickname Baby La Fire. Baby Oku is what they are called in some local parlance. Denja says: “Baby La Fire, queen of the night and day/dispenser of ecstasies and fantasies/the tiny virus dreaded by both rich and poor/is not enough to quarantine men’s desires/for your thunder thighs, tremulous hip and bouncy boobs…/or we will invite the mobile court/to try you for violating this lockdown”.

    Not many people were aware that as Covid-19 raged on, prostitutes were on rampage in most corners of the cities, spreading their own inner thighs and tentacles for men who were on duty and some others. But as a poet, Denja sniffed around. He had his eyes and ears to the ground observing such uncouth situations and what they portended. These are formed the basis of this intriguing rendition where love is totally exposed and explored and even exploited. Even then many roads lead to that river between. It is the river that either kills, plunders or captures. But again in the midst of all these, Covid-19 era also threw up what the poet describes in the VII stanza as Covid preneurs. But who wants to dispute this? “Manufacturers and hawkers of face masks/real and quack chemists, makers of hand sanitizers/ 419ners hushpuppying and ambushing donor funds/palliatives announced grandly at press conferences/disappear after leaving warehouses/while the poor wait endlessly for the Godot that will never come…/the lock-down sugar daddies wiring small sums to their array of side chicks/ that is the traffic of the Coronavirus economy”.

    Come to think of it, the poet is a gossip. How come he knows about all these? Did he shadow people all over? Whatever, he has shown that no one can hide from his sharp investigative eyes or the pen that is ever poised to write. Through this book, the society will see the best sides of Covid-19 and all the intriguing razzmatazz that played out. Funny, and dubious government officials are exposed. Randy husbands and crunchy headache-infested wives played cat and dog games in different moods and styles. More women became pregnant, whether wanted or unwanted as more side chicks became either enraged or enlarged depending on whose side they were.

    An entertaining chapbook that needs to be read, Love-Songs in a Pandemic is comic; it is hilarious. It is also surprisingly serious as well as provocative. It conforms with the tales of a journeyman who meets a madman also on a long journey with series of acrobatic dances to smoothen the journey. Denja is a poetic journeyman through and through and this collection is a justification that cannot be taken for granted or easily ignored. Now, “Let us go virtual/ bad network, high cost of data or half-awake children/will not stop me for flattening this curve/or ramping up my hunger for your ample bosom and hip”. And the poet signs out with an impeccable aura that can even excite a eunuch. If you doubt, a read will also excite you and put you on.

  • New Coronavirus: Nigeria not at risk, FG insists

    New Coronavirus: Nigeria not at risk, FG insists

    The federal government has reassured the public of its preparedness to address any potential outbreak of Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) in the country. 

    The government emphasized that necessary precautionary measures have been put in place, with continuous improvements to health infrastructure. 

    The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Adekunle Salako, reassured Nigerians not to panic, emphasizing that the virus is not novel while urging the public to prioritize hygiene, especially as the season linked to the virus begins.

    This comes as the World Health Organization (WHO), in a report on Tuesday, was quoted by a foreign newspaper stating that HMPV does not currently pose a threat to public health.

    Saying that the HMPV is not new to Nigeria , Salako noted that it has been identified as a cause of lower respiratory tract and severe acute respiratory infections especially among children, older adults and individuals with weak immune systems.

    Salako, who spoke with The Nation on Monday assured that the Federal Government of Nigeria through the relevant agencies of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare especially the Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and the Port Health Services has scaled up its surveillance activities.

    “This is to ensure that the entry of the respiratory infection suspected to be caused by the HMPV being seen at a higher rate in some parts of China is prevented. 

    “Measures, including quarantine and collection of samples from people entering our country from China have been put in place to detect any carrier of HMPV. 

    “Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Nigeria has significantly ramped up its ability to prevent, detect and respond to infectious disease outbreaks as validated by the last Joint External Evaluation conducted in 2023,” he said.

    However, The Washington Post, quoted Anadolu Agency, EFE that reported that the World Health Organization (WHO) clarified on Tuesday that the rising circulation of respiratory viruses, HMPV, in China aligns with typical winter patterns, with no emergency declarations amid growing attention to the matter,

    A common respiratory virus called human metapneumovirus, or HMPV, has been spreading in some countries in Asia, including China, India, Malaysia and Kazakhstan, Scientific American reported.

    Read Also: FG commissions state-of-the-art 20-bed healthcare centre in Lagos

    An uptick of a routine virus in China ignited dire headlines and social media posts, but public health experts caution that the human metapneumovirus cases are part of the typical ebb and flow of respiratory virus seasons and are no reason to be alarmed.

    Similarly, The New York Times on Monday claimed that the WHO has not expressed concern, stating, “Dr. Margaret Harris, a spokeswoman for the organization, cited weekly reports from the Chinese authorities that showed a predictable rise in cases.

    “As expected for this time of year, the Northern Hemisphere winter, there is a month-over-month increase of acute respiratory infections, including seasonal influenza, R.S.V. and human metapneumovirus,” she said by email. 

  • New coronavirus strain: NCDC alerts states, public

    New coronavirus strain: NCDC alerts states, public

    The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has urged state governments across the country to strengthen public health systems in response to the emergence of a new strain of the coronavirus in parts of the world.

    Though no evidence of the new strain has been found in Nigeria, according to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in a statement on Saturday, NCDC, however, explained that while the JN.1 variant, classified as a Variant of Interest (VOI), has been reported in Nigeria since January 2024, the XEC sub-variant, a descendant of JN.1, has not been detected in the country.

    In its public health advisory on Sunday, the agency emphasized the importance of ensuring that public health infrastructure remains responsive and resilient to address evolving health concerns effectively.

    It advised States to allocate resources to support laboratories and healthcare facilities, improve surveillance and diagnostic capabilities, and ensure that treatment centers are fully prepared.

    In addition to providing support, it encouraged the State governments to launch public health campaigns to educate communities on preventive measures and the importance of seeking prompt medical attention.

    The advisory follows concerns raised by reports of the SARS-CoV-2 XEC sub-variant, a descendant of the Omicron lineage, which has been detected in several countries, including Australia.

    The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, in a statement on Saturday, assured Nigerians that there is no evidence of this variant in the country and urged the public to remain calm while adopting necessary preventive measures.

    Read Also: Nigeria spent N5.14tn on mineral fuels import in Q3, says NBS

    In a statement on Sunday, the NCDC highlighted the ongoing evolution of the virus and reaffirmed its commitment to monitoring and analyzing both local and international surveillance data to guide public health responses.

    The agency stated that it has continuously upgraded its emergency preparedness and response strategies, including surveillance, detection, stockpiling, and training, to ensure a swift and effective response.

    A dynamic risk and readiness assessment is also being conducted to develop actionable plans, it assured.

    The NCDC called on all health facilities, public and private, to increase COVID-19 testing among suspected cases and to send all positive samples to its laboratories or other accredited public health laboratories for genomic sequencing.

    The agency also urged citizens to share only verified information to prevent unnecessary panic or anxiety.

    The NCDC stressed that COVID-19 remains a significant risk, particularly for the elderly, individuals with chronic illnesses, cancer patients, organ transplant recipients, and those with weakened immune systems.

    It encouraged the public to adhere to basic safety measures, including maintaining good personal hygiene, washing hands regularly, using hand sanitizers, and wearing masks in high-risk situations.

    It also encouraged physical distancing, proper ventilation, and prompt medical attention for symptoms such as fever, cough, and difficulty breathing.

    Healthcare workers were advised to test patients presenting with respiratory or febrile symptoms and to promptly submit SARS-CoV-2 positive samples for sequencing to support national monitoring efforts.

    The agency emphasized the importance of hand hygiene, the use of personal protective equipment, and adherence to infection prevention and control measures in healthcare settings.

    The NCDC assured the public that it is closely monitoring the global situation and will continue to provide evidence-based updates on any developments related to SARS-CoV-2 that may pose public health risks.

    The agency explained that, globally, the XEC variant has been identified in 43 countries across Europe, Asia, North America, and Africa, with Botswana being the most recent African country to report its presence.

    Although the XEC sub-variant has shown higher transmissibility compared to other variants, there is no evidence of increased severity.

    The NCDC reiterated that the JN.1 and XEC sub-variants remain under monitoring and do not currently pose significant risks.

    The agency urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and proactive in protecting themselves and their communities, emphasizing the importance of full vaccination and booster doses where applicable.

  • Rising Coronavirus infections, falling immunisation rates worry WHO

    Rising Coronavirus infections, falling immunisation rates worry WHO

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) is calling for vaccination campaigns for risk groups in view of increasing Coronavirus infections and falling immunisation rates.

    “We have seen an alarming decline in vaccine coverage,” WHO expert Maria Van Kerkhove said in Geneva, referring to lower rates in the last two years. This is especially true for older people and healthcare workers.

    “This urgently needs to be turned around,” she said.

    Among all Coronavirus tests, the proportion of positive results has been rising for several weeks and is over 10 per cent, the WHO reported, based on data from 84 countries. In Europe, the rate is over 20 per cent.

    Wastewater analyses shows that the virus is much more widespread than the infection statistics suggest, said Van Kerkhove.

    Read Also: FULL LIST: Varsities who have received NELFUND’s N20,000 monthly stipends

    She also pointed out that more than 40 athletes had tested positive at the Olympic Games in Paris.

    However, the epidemiologist emphasised that the current situation is not comparable to the pandemic phase, as more people are now protected from severe courses of the disease by vaccinations and infections they had.

    Van Kerkhove also pointed out that the WHO only receives data on the number of Coronavirus treatments in hospitals and intensive care units from very few countries.

    She said the WHO is “blind” when it comes to understanding the extent of the disease.