The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) on Thursday condemned the federal government’s decision to relax the lockdown in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, Ogun and Lagos states.
The students’ body in a statement by its National Public Relations Officer, Comrade Azeez Adeyemi in Abeokuta, berated the Federal government for relaxing the lockdown order, insisting the government was not fully prepared to fight the spread of the deadly pandemic.
NANS said the directive that markets selling food stuffs be opened between 10a.m to 2p.m in Ogun, Lagos and Abuja has further exposed the government’s “unpreparedness and lack of policy directive in the fight against the spread of the virus.”
The statement reads in parts:, “Radical problems require radical solutions. The federal government cannot relax the lockdown by opening market and there won’t be vehicular and mass human movement.
“This new development will do no good but to further increase the risk of more people contracting the virus. The government’s decision will further expose innocent Nigerians to the risk of contracting virus even on a large scale.
“The government has done nothing good but to further promote the spread of Coronavirus by opening markets. And as concerned and responsible body of students in Nigeria, we call on the federal government to immediately reverse the decision.
“If we want to really defeat the evil plaguing this country called COVID-19, we must be ready to pay the price no matter the cost. The number of victims is drastically increasing every day and we must not allow the virus to get out of control.
“It is a shame that the federal government is not considering COVID-19 a dangerous pandemic that consume the entire nation if not properly managed otherwise what else can we call this un-seriousness and deliberate carelessness on the part of the Federal government.”
NANS also called on the federal and state governments that have promised to support Nigerians with relief materials like food stuffs and stipends to focus on the vulnerable people.
The students’ body specifically wants the government to focus on people with daily income whose sources of livelihood would be cut off following the lockdown.
According to NANS, this category of people include: petty traders, widows, aged, artisans, orphans, students and the unemployed, among others.
