COVID -19: Reasons Nigerians are still panicking

By Ijendu Iheaka

On July 20, 2014, a Liberian, Patrick Sawyer imported Ebola virus into Lagos Nigeria, raising the blood pressure of Nigerians and throwing the country off-balance.

It was not long the government of then President Goodluck Jonathan with the then Minister for Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu rallied the support of medical personnel and fought it off.

It must be noted that the bravery exhibited by the team of politicians, Nigerians and medical personnel was remarkable although it took the life of one of Nigeria’s dedicated medical doctors, Dr Stella Ameyo Adadevoh.

Six years later in 2020, the coronavirus which emanated from China’s town of Wuhan infected an unnamed Italian who became Nigeria’s index coronavirus case after reporting sick with the disease in Nigeria’s soil on February 28, 2020.

After the report of the virus’ presence triggered some fears,  government was quick to tell Nigerians not to panic because of the coronavirus presence in the country.

However, the surrounding realities, most of which were the product of the government in place did little to cushion the fears of Nigerians.

With the existing record of an unusual feat carried out by Nigerians against one of the deadliest diseases in the World, the Ebola virus, there was no reason for any Nigerian to panic about the coronavirus.

But the coronavirus has its own perculiarities and the condition Nigeria fought Ebola to a standstill had changed too.

Nigerians began to panic even more not just because of the manifestation of the index case that triggered series of infections which grew from 1 to 45 in 25 days but because of other related issues surrounding their existence and their Nigerian citizenship.

The reasons for the citizens panic may not be clear to some persons especially non Nigerian nationals but those who see through the system Nigeria operates would understand.

While Presidents and heads of governments of many affected Countries were addressing them, allaying their fears concerning the virus and outlining possible courses of action to safeguard citizens and residents, Nigeria’s President Mohammadu Buhari waited.

It took a clash between the Senators and the presidency to get Buhari to address Nigerians on the matter and when he did, what he said, did not bring much hope.

“We have the Ministry of Health and the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) working round-the-clock with several other agencies, as well as state governments, to ensure this.

“I have absolute confidence in the relevant ministers in the cabinet, the Presidential Task Force on Coronavirus which I recently established, and the officials of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), who are all providing constant updates and professional counsel”, his statement read in part.

Few days later the nut of the speech of the Nigerian President was put to test by way of manifest incapacity of his agencies to meet demands of the citizens with regards to the viral infections.

So with the reported death of an upwardly mobile former Managing Director of  Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Suleiman Achimugu who became Nigeria’s number one coronavirus victim, the fears of Nigerians increased.

Citizens raised questions like “what would be the fate of a poor Nigerian infected with this sickness if a man like Achimugu could have his blood sample taken on a Tuesday and until his case became worse on Saturday, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) could not release the result of the sample to enable treatment?.

With this scenario Nigerians asked if the president’s “absolute confidence” on the system in the country and its operators is worth the while?

It is also not news that some Nigerian lawmakers (House of Reps members)  who travelled abroad on their return to Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport in Abuja, refused to pass through basic medical checks for coronavirus infection.

Abba Kyari who is President Buhari’s Chief of Staff, first raised the alarm on this public health issue on March 23 but a day later, on March 24, 2020, he reportedly tested positive to coronavirus with two of his aides.

Remember that Kyari had gone with a Nigerian delegation to Germany in early March, when the world was crying because of the scourge, to discuss issues concerning electric power generation in Nigeria with Siemens.

Reports say it was unclear if Kyari himself had obeyed one of the safety rules put in place by the government to keep citizens safe concerning the virus which is that any Nigerian who returns from a country with the infection would self-isolate for 14 days.

Kyari’s possible refusal to follow this rule coupled with the refusal of the lawmakers to go through basic health checks at the airport resulting is increased health risks for the country has raised the fears of Nigerians too.

The impunity that is known in the Nigerian system which is the reason for the Kyari’s infection was passed to others also reared its ugly head again when one of the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar’s sons returned from France and Switzerland and refused to self-isolate.

He reportedly eventually passed the disease to the governor of Bauchi state, Balance Mohammed who later tested positive.

Again, apart from Lagos , Edo and Borno States, until now, no other state has shown with physical evidence, 25 days after the virus entered Nigeria, that it has made adequate preparation for the management of the disease in case it arrives its shores.

With the recurring decimal of financial mismanagement, misappropriation and diversion of funds that is evidently commonplace in the Nigerian system, is there no cause to fear about the coronavirus rampage?

Knowing that if funds are earmarked to fight the scourge, some unscrupulous persons would divert them into private pockets not minding that people need the application of such funds to get well, such thoughts are also nightmares to Nigerians.

Another cause for alarm is the treatment of suspected cases by some Nigerian nurses and doctors and the poor state of hospitals in the country.

You are likely not to fear about this scourge and how medical personnel would respond to an infected person in Nigeria if you have not heard the case of the first woman suspected of having the disease in Enugu state.

She was sent to a dilapidated building by medical personnel at Parklane hospital who were afraid of being infected and so more than necessarily, they distanced themselves from her and denied her Medicare which eventually killed her although she never had the disease.

What would you say of some Nigerian doctors who would start treating what they do not know for the sake of money which might result in the death of the patient before the patient’s real sickness is known? 

With hospitals that have no vehicles and no phone numbers, how many citizens who come down with the disease can survive if they needed to be taken to hospitals by NCDC staff in a case of higher levels of infection.

It will also not surprise you that Nigerians are jittery about the presence of this virus at this time when the rains are returning if you know that in many of our towns, drainages are either non-existent, covered with debris or built over by VIPs.

The result is that when it rains, storm water leaves the drainage paths to flow on the streets and guess what the situation would look like if an infected person is to have his or her body fluid enter such water.

There comes the issues of religious bigotry which is one of the biggest problems of Nigeria having given birth to a terrorist cell, Boko Haram, which the government had fought for over 10 years with attendant loss of thousands of lives.

You would also not bother if you are in Nigeria at this time and then you heard over the news that a cleric had declared that the virus will not enter Nigeria at all or that it does not exist?

Now think of the looming lockdown of all sectors excepts the essential services, and the poverty level of Nigerians which would affect the capacity of most households to stock what they need for few weeks.

Consider also that there is no elaborate credit scheme to enable people buy now and pay later in the country and in that case how would a poor family stock up food and not die of hunger during lockdown?

In a situation where citizens do not get electricity supply to pump water to keep alive and clean up for the number of days for the lockdown, why would people not worry about the presence of the virus in Nigeria?

I have heard of infected persons taken to hospitals for care and management in Nigeria.

But unlike what happens in other countries, I have not heard in Nigeria of efforts to spray the infected environments to curtail people’s contact with the virus.

With this scenario in mind, one is forced to you ask does the possibility of getting re-infected by the virus through the environment not exist in Nigeria?

The reality of the Nigerian situation honestly calls for worries for normal citizens because developments surrounding this coronavirus is very disturbing in Nigeria and leaves many hopeless in the face of the menace.

In deed a failed system the type Nigerians know is very much a cause for worry in the case of a coronavirus infection and it’s socio-economic consequences.

So it is not enough to tell citizens or expect them not to panic but for government to address their possible cause of worries for present issues and those that may appear in the future in order to see them get a bit relaxed under a situation like this outbreak.