The past 45 days or more that Nigerians were forced indoors as a result of the ravaging coronavirus pandemic have been a different thing to different people. In this piece by ELEOJO IDACHABA, Nigerians relive their experiences.
It is said that in every situation, there is a lesson; that is why the saying that ‘experience is the best teacher’ holds sway when the events of the last few months are placed side-by-side, especially the Covid-19 pandemic that is ravaging every part of the world, including Nigeria. Since the first index case of the pandemic was discovered in Nigeria in March through an Italian, everything has taken a dramatic turn such that lives and ways of doing things are no longer the same. Many Nigerians in their characteristic manner though devised comic relief of varying sorts in videos and cartoons from the pandemic as a form of entertainment, but then many others equally have unpleasant tales to tell about the pandemic.
Like a thunderbolt, Nigerians woke up and discovered that they could no longer go to work as if to say going to work had become an anathema. For others, their social lives suddenly came to an end as the compulsory social distancing enforced by the government all over the place restricted any form of unnecessary movements and social gathering. Worse still, market places that were known for bubbling crowds suddenly became dry on account of the lockdown. Academic programmes in every institution at all levels came to a sudden halt. Life generally came to a standstill. Meanwhile, telecommunication companies and prepaid TV stations smiled to the banks because online transactions suddenly got a boost even as data service providers equally cashed in on the spur of the moment to make huge gains. Until May 4, 2020, when the lockdown in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states was partially lifted by President Muhammadu Buhari, life was at a standstill for many citizens and residents.
Like a tale of two cities
Investigations by Blueprint Weekend have revealed that with most Nigerians, it’s like the literary tale of two cities. “It took me by surprise even though the rumour was so strong,” said Madam Ibukun Oluwa, a school proprietress. According to her, “Many parents had not paid the second term school fees of their wards before the lockdown. Ours is a relatively smaller school comprising only pre-nursery and nursery school pupils; it is what you call crèche. So, it was difficult for me to ask pupils to stay at home considering their ages. I had promises from parents who agreed to pay at the end of March, unfortunately the lockdown started before many of them could pay up. Up till now, they are yet to pay. This affected the payment of March salary, not to talk of April. My staffers have been calling for their salary and I have been explaining to them about the problem. Some understand but others don’t. My brother, it’s not a good experience because I feel the pains too.” Madam Ibukun wants the authorities of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to consider re-opening schools, especially private ones, with a strict warning on how to avoid further spread of the virus.
However, while school owners like Madam Ibukun are counting their losses, it’s not the same with Malam Hashim Ibrahim who runs a small cabin business where he sells recharge cards, does prepaid TV subscription services and money transfers through POS in Dawaki, a suburb of the FCT. In a chat with this reporter, he admitted that the lockdown was for him a sort of blessing as he was barely idle since March 30. He said, “The sit-at-home order made everyone to buy cards everyday because nobody wanted to be out of data especially as some private schools introduced online lessons for their pupils and students. Also, many families that would have crossed over into Gwarimpa or the city centre to load their DStv, GOtv and Star Times now do it here for a fee. I transacted in money transfers and credit services. The interest per deal was usually not much, but since the lockdown, with the number of persons who make withdrawals and transfers, the business has greatly improved. I wish the lockdown could continue.’
Lamentations
Further investigations showed that many Nigerians who thought the government would come to their aid in the form of liberal financial palliatives are not happy. While voicing their disappointment to Blueprint Weekend, one of them, a plywood seller in Dutse, Sunday Gobina, took a swipe at the government over its alleged failure to assist every Nigerian with financial palliative. He said, “I can’t explain how we are surviving through this lockdown. My shop has been closed since March. It is from here that I eat, but since the end of March, no business again. We heard some people donated money to be given to Nigerians as palliative, but government has not given us the money or we not human beings? In other countries, we see video clips of how they donate money and foodstuff to their people, but here, it’s all man to himself. It has been a very bitter experience for me.”
A cleric’s grieve
For Pastor Ekundayo who lost his father in-law in Abuja since February 2020, it has not been a good experience for him because the burial which was originally slated for April has been unavoidably shifted as a result of the lockdown. In what seems like a lamentation, he told Blueprint Weekend that, “My wife is the eldest daughter of the Pa Adeseye who died in February here in Abuja. Being the first daughter, my wife brought her father to Abuja for treatment, but Papa has gone to be with the Lord a few weeks after he was brought to the capital city. We can’t bury him in Abuja, so we have been waiting for the lockdown to be relaxed so that we can take the corpse to his hometown for burial. Apart from the lockdown, the social distancing order too would prevent us from travelling for the burial until this pandemic is over. Over there in Ilesha, they are waiting for us to return his corpse, but we can’t travel right now.”
‘I’ve developed new skills’
For 40-year-old Gabriel Okayi, a public servant based in Abuja, the lockdown inadvertently offered him the opportunity to embark on new skills acquisition like early morning exercise which he had always yearned to do, but could not “until now.”
“Immediately the lockdown was announced, I joined other jolly-good fellows at the Papal Ground along Kubwa Expressway to exercise myself. Since there was no need to rush out for work and school, that has been my major past time in the morning. And it has been a lot of fun. Recently, my wife joined. Back home, we sit together to peel the melon seeds my mother in-law brought for us since December. My brother, Covid-19 has a lot of experiences.”
‘No social welfare scheme’
In his recent thesis about the experiences of Nigerians during this pandemic, a Nigerian, Peterson Ozili of the University of Essex, said Nigerians had always suffered from lack of welfare at every stratum, so the sudden breakdown resulting from the pandemic was not different from what life had meant to an average Nigerian.
He said, “Before the Covid-19 outbreak, there were major social problems in Nigeria which include child abandonment, armed robbery, homelessness, mental health problems, divorce and problems of single parenting. These social problems can only be addressed with serious social welfare policy and programme. But, currently, social welfare activities in Nigeria is under-developed, poorly funded and is unavailable to the majority of those who need them. Nigeria does not have a national social welfare programme that offers assistance to all individuals and families in need such as health care assistance, food stamps, unemployment compensation, disaster relief and educational assistance. The consequence of not having a national social welfare programme has become evident in this present outbreak. In the midst of the pandemic, people had little to rely on; poor citizens did not have welfare relief that could help them cope with the economic hardship at the time. There were no housing subsidies, energy and utilities subsidies, and assistance for other basic services to individuals that were most affected by the coronavirus outbreak. There are debates on the benefit of using social welfare programmes to alleviate poverty and to help citizens cope with disasters.”
He noted that during the 2016 recession in the country, the monetary authorities defended the local currency from forced devaluation against the dollar and adopted a managed float foreign exchange system which worked well from 2016 to 2019. He, however, said in 2020, nobody thought that a public health crisis could trigger economic crisis in the country.
“What made the 2020 economic crisis different from other economic crises or recessions in Nigeria was that most economic agents who should have helped to revive the economy were unable to engage in economic activities due to fear of contracting the Covid-19 disease while other economic agents did not engage in economic activities when the government imposed and enforced its social distancing policy and movement lockdown in Abuja, Lagos, and Ogun states on March 30, 2020.”
Poet on FG
As Nigerians lament their situation from Covid-19, a poet based in Obosi, Anambra state, Chiedu Uche Okoye, said, “Responsive and responsible government prioritises the overall well-being of citizens above other considerations. Governments exist, we are told, to guarantee the safety of life and property and assist the citizens to live meaningful lives. But here, the insensitivity of our governments at different levels to our plight is obvious to us. Instead of building modern hospitals and equipping them with modern pieces of medical equipment, our political leaders divert public money into their private accounts. That’s why they would travel to foreign countries for medical treatments.
“As Covid-19 pandemic continues its deathly march through the continents, our government should see the need to build good hospitals and equip them with pieces of modern medical equipment, improve the welfare conditions of medical practitioners and approve periodic refresher courses and trainings for them.
“Again, Covid-19 pandemic has underlined the importance of our having a robust and prosperous economy which is not dependent solely on proceeds realised from crude oil sale to survive. If Nigeria were an economically prosperous country, our leaders could dish out economic stimulus, welfare package and other financial handouts to millions of poor people who are caught in the web and quagmire of the national lockdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.”
