“After the war, the Israelites came to Moses, and said, we counted and NO ONE IS MISSING (Num 31v49)”. The Coronavirus (COVID-19), even though seemingly a biological warfare virus, has had approximately 11,842 deaths round the globe. And for Nigeria, a black developing nation that is handsomely over-populated, with hardly any five deaths recorded from the pandemic that is ravaging across Europe and Asia — we certainly do have a Moses in our hands, as far as managing this pandemic is concerned. I had written previously about the federal government’s border closure policy, among others, including a cap on foreign exchange available for the importation of milk, and also the ban on the importation of rice. On October 6, 2019, in my article titled, ‘Border closure: A Pulchritudinous gift for Nigeria at 59!’, I had expressed optimism over the decision by the PMB administration to shut down our borders, mainly due to the breach of Ecowas protocols by neighbouring countries, which had made our country a dumping ground for all manner of goods, much to the detriment of our ailing and comatose local industries. In the piece, I highlighted how the border closure had stared down local consumption of petrol from a whopping 60 million litres a day, to no more than the average 45 million litres, despite some leakages.
The policy suffered huge criticism, and it was questioned as a move to favour northern borders, as some insisted that borders in the north were still open for business. One thing is for sure though, and that is the unprecedented rise in government revenue from the Customs, which recorded between N5 to 9.5 billion daily, as at the time of the closure. Social media economists and other ‘egonomists’ just couldn’t come to agree that the closure, including the ban on the importation of rice and other essential commodities that we had the capacity or wherewithal to produce locally, was a good move for economic independence and our overall political and economic sovereignty. Local production of rice grew quite alright, yet, marketers just wouldnt allow the price to reflect a local production and distribution process, as against exorbitant and artificial prices of importation. This posture needs no unveiling, as it is with other criticisms — cynically laced and blighted with the uncharitable hatred for PMB and all that he does, whether positive or negative.
I came across a piece by one Fredrick Nwabufo on TheCable news website, titled, ‘Who will explain coronavirus to Buhari’? He penned that an unfiltered Buhari is a vacuously gaffing one. He alluded that to PMB’s comments beside the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, when he said his wife Aisha belonged to the other room and the kitchen; which is nothing short of the writer’s deficiency in humour, as the chancellor laughed the statement off. The Governor of Bayelsa state, Senator Douye Diri, was at the Villa recently on a courtesy visit for the first time as governor to meet with the president, and it was pristinely clear that he was rollicking in laughter from the humour mill of Mr. President almost all through. He confessed he felt at home and was confident in Mr. President’s role as father of the nation, embracing all, across party lines. A blighted IQ cannot be humorous or sarcastic as we all know. Nwabufo also drew our attention to PMB’s statements over the inherent laziness in our youth population, where he cited that young men want to have it easy and are not willing to work hard. According to Mr. Nwabufo, this statement makes Buhari a dullard and unworthy of being our president. However, just three days ago, over 60 youths, reportedly students of the University of Abuja, were arrested by locals in conjunction with the Nigeria police, as they were operating as armed robbers, masquerading as cultists, visiting mayhem upon travellers along the Gwagwalada-Kuje axis. A few months ago, quite a number of youths, almost in hundreds, were arrested over ‘yahoo-yahoo’ crimes of internet robberies and other advanced fee fraud. Mr. President’s comment in the February 2016 interview by UK Telegraph was more than apt. The Boko Haram orgy of violence had found this mentality of Nigerian youths, as a veritable tool or catalyst for their pogrom.
Corona has not found a place in Nigeria, and in most African countries as well, and we thank our stars and of course God Almighty. We thank Mr. President for those timely, fore-sighted policies that saw to a shut-down of our borders, for the promotion of our local industries and farmers, for self subsistence in food at least. China’s shutdown from the rest of the world, due to the ‘China-virus as President Trump calls it, or ‘Kung-flu’, as one of his aides called it, would have caused a rice famine in Nigeria, and that would have been our own ‘indigenous pandemic’ (as Nigerians cannot survive without rice). The way Europeans are scampering for face masks and toiletries, would be the way Nigerians would be rushing to hospitals to get ‘rice drips’! People with rice silos or ample supply in their homes would have been robbed at gun point, for the right to life, in the form of rice!
Measures taken by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) have been excellent, and have caused the NCDC to be hailed and commended, world over. The Lagos state governor, Mr. Sanwo-olu, was most proactive and within no time, quarantine centres were put in place and suspected patients were tracked adequately. Nature is on our side as far as corona is concerned and with prompt and disciplined response, we are a population that will not be cut down by this ‘whiteman’ malaria. Mr. Fredrick was angry that PMB had not addressed the nation over corona, and had ‘vacuously’ left out all the tremendous efforts that the government had taken to tackle the scourge within no time. This is such a time to be proud to be a Nigerian, and to be thankful that we have not been so ‘Nigerian’ this time around. We have flip flopped from a people that are calling for the president’s head because he closed our borders, to a people who are asking the president to shut down our borders, our international airports, our mosques, and our churches! What a time to be alive!
The federal government has cut down its spending and has initiated a N1 trillion intervention in all critical sectors. The federal government has also reduced the pump price of petrol to reflect international costs and are working on a modulation of pricing to reflect the market’s ticking. But Nwabufo still wants someone to put PMB through coronavirus? Wow! It is evident that whatever Mr. President does, so long as it is him involved, he will never get it right. The thinking of his critics is more vacuous than their supposed grading of his intellect and capacity. When their favourites had oil prices at 140 dollars per barrel and have not carved us an Eldorado, it is so much a dis-service to denigrate one who is now struggling with prices as low as 28 dollars per barrel, and still contains a corona that is giving Italy, US, UK and China sleepless nights. I look back in contentment of supporting the border closure and it is now certain that it was definitely a beautiful or Pulchritudinous gift for Nigeria at 59, otherwise, by now, it would have been a hammer house of horror and uproar! If Americans of the 21st century have a Trump as president and despite his unwitty handling of the pandemic, support and celebrate him, then by God, I celebrate PMB over this corona palaver. Dont you?Tahir is Talban Bauchi
