To start with, the many years of deficit in basic needs vis a vis medical facilities that the outbreak of a pandamic disease called coronavirus inadvertently brings to the fore is for every leader in the country to change their dispositions toward government and start a new era for a true nation building for the benefit of all citizens.
The best time for a new trajectory towards nation building may not be better than now that the whole world is under locked down and some of our so called highly respected leaders have been infected by a pandemic disease called coronavirus and the access to urgent medical needs outside the shore is practically impossible.
Also, it seems to me that there ought to be urgent need for sober reflection over many deficit in our basic needs vis a vis medical facilities in order to reengineer the trajectory of this country for the benefit of all.
Alas, the era of poor governance, clueless and visionless leadership ought to be over with the bitter experience of this pandemic disease called coronavirus but I honestly doubt if this would ever be the case in moving forward from this deadly disease called coronavirus.
The stay at home policy introduced by the government to mitigate against the deadly spread of Coronavirus has truly exposed the many deficit in the provision of basic needs like food, shelter and healthcare delivery to meet the demands of ever increasing population and some of the challenges of the 21st century.
How can the so called giant of Africa with more than 200 million population cope with many challenges of this digital age without adequate planning and visionary leaders? What will be the effect of a stay at home policy that the exigency of time has imposed on us when many homes in Nigeria still lack the basic needs of life like food and electricity? Will this stay at home policy not going to be counter productive and create another deadly virus called "Hungervirus"?
Yes, the Hon. Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sodiya Farouq says "the Federal Government has begun cash transfer to the poorest households in the country and according to her, the initiative is to cushion the economic impact of coronavirus pandemic".
However, the fundamental question is, how do you know the poorest households in a country that does not truly base her allocation of resources on population or on a scientific data that reflects the reality on the ground. Lagos state population is more than the population of Kano state and the local government that was created out of Kano state (44 local government council) was more than double that of Lagos state (20 local government council). Invariably, Kano state with less population is receiving far more federal government allocation than Lagos state.
Realistically, the federal government allocation of resources is not based on head count that remains the universal yardstick for a fairly distribution of wealth. If this is true, what will be the yardstick to determine the poorest households in Nigeria? Is this going to be based on head count or land space? Where is the institutional framework that will give us the accurate data of the poorest households in Nigeria? Is this not a repeat of "TraderMoni" that was poorly mismanaged under the office of Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo ahead of the 2019 general elections? Also, what will be the mechanism to distribute this money to the target group in every nun and corner of the country?
Frankly speaking, Nigeria do not have the institutional framework vis a vis infrastructural facilities that meet all of the challenges in this digital age. This to me, is one of the fundamental reasons why some of the good policies are only in face value and very difficult to implement.
Moreover, what will be the rational behind the stay at home policy when we cannot truly control the curve of this pandemic disease called coronavirus to mitigate against the wild spread of the disease? Two, how many people have been tested in Nigeria to be able to isolate those who have been exposed to the virus from others? Three, how many ventilators do we have in Nigeria to prepare for critical health conditions? Four, do we have enough testing kits? Five, do we have enough personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect all our health care givers who are the front soldiers against this pandemic disease called coronavirus? Six, do we truly have any economic package to meet the basic needs of ordinary citizens who are locked down at home to control the spread of this disease?
Suffice to say that most of these afeoremention needs are to a very large extent lacking or not available in Nigeria.
Prejudice apart, the outbreak of coronavirus has further exposed the many years of impact of poor governance, mal administration, corruptions, greediness and selfishness of our so called leaders.
In addition, how will a country that got her independence more than 60 years ago and pride herself as the giant of Africa not hit the ground on day one for a nation building if not that many of the successive leaders at the helm of affairs lack the necessary blue print, consciousness and preparedness for nation building? What is the essence of a leader when things are working in apposite direction? Is the hallmark of a leader not to accept responsibility and do the right things for her people? How come countries like Brazil, Cuba, Dubai, Hong kong, Singapore and Peru that were far behind us at independence had left us behind and most of them have joined the industrial world?
I think this pandemic disease called coronavirus is another eyes opener that when the chips are down, there may not be any sacred cow or hiding place. Today, we are all locked down and we are faced with the reality of the backwardness that had bedeviled our country since independence.
Yes, we all are facing the consequences and it is very unfortunate and painful that many innocent citizens will also bear the brunt.
Furthermore, governors and Chief of staff to the president are down with coronavirus and all the medical facilities in the western world that they often run to for their medical needs are now locked down against them.
Alas, they are now face with the reality of the deficit in our health care system and it is either they fix it or the country is doomed.
Also, while many Nigerians may be locked down in their houses with another virus called "hungervirus; and they are wailing and yelling for lack of basic needs like food and electricity, our so called government officials are not also immune or insulated from a coronavirus pandemic that does not discriminate by any means.
Yes, the invisible hands of this pandemic disease called coronavirus beat all the strong security measures inside Aso Rock and got the chief of staff to the president infected.
Hmnnmmm, Allahu Akbar!!!! (God is the most great).
Yes, we are all in this together ("orun ma wo, ki se oro enikan") and this time shall pass. Amen.
David Adenekan wrote from Chicago, Illinois. April 1st, 2020.
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