‘I don’t even eat pònmó’: COVID-19, hunger and social action

There have been some fascinating videos on social media showing the response of Nigerians to the Covid-19 outbreak, the lockdown in several states and reaction to governmental action and palliatives. Hunger is a worker of anti-miracles. One of the videos showed food being distributed to people in what seemed like a private initiative. Some of the recipients complained about what they received. One particular recipient displayed the food to the camera and said “see, they’re giving us pònmó; I don’t even eat pònmó”. One man could be heard asking that his pictures not be taken by someone outside the lens of the camera. Perhaps individuals from the social problem industry were behind the food distribution. People did not wish to be exploited in attempts to obtain another grant from donors.

My favourite though was the home video of a man displaying the food items he received from the Lagos state government. He complained that the food was too small for his two wives and eight children. There were two issues involved. On one hand, the man had a great point — the quantity of the food was ridiculous. The government of Lagos — arguably Nigeria’s top performing state — was probably swindled by some of those entrusted to distribute food at the local level. On the other hand, the man’s responsibilities were enormous. I wished I had a way to reach out and respectfully tell him that no government anywhere in the world could satisfactorily feed a family of 11 in an emergency. Even if there were no racketeering, the man’s family was unlikely to be satisfied. Such is the nature of emergencies in the developing world. Ask those being taken care of by the UN or (and this is a terrible example) those in the Northeast who have been turned into a money machine, according to the former Borno state governor. Governor Kashim Shettima was quoted in a 17 January 2017 report by Premium Times that some NGOs would “construct five toilets in Gwoza and fly in helicopters more than seven times to inspect the toilets”. 

It is the nature of the beast. Social problems are huge businesses. There are NGOs doing a lot of good but when NGOs take over basic functions of government, then that society is in trouble.

The “headlines” are already being shared on social media. Many people are waiting for confirmation of embezzlement of the funds contributed by the private sector to tackle covid-19 and its social effects. Others already assume the funds are gone and the Accountant General’s Office in Abuja was set on fire on 8 April 2020 to cover it up. None of this has been established. If the funds do indeed go missing, it would be definitive proof of what we already know. Given Nigeria’s history, that’s the easy part. The difficult part is what will the people do about it? I have been stating this for a while: You cannot fully enjoy the rights you have not fought for. Democracy only works when the people are actively engaged in the political process. Without public engagement, public offices become retirement benefits.

Impassioned videos about lack of electricity, water, food, etc. are a first step. That may not lead to any changes. The real change will come when people become fed up. Covid-19 will probably bring Nigerians closer to mass mobilization. Hunger does not respect ethnic or religious affiliation. We all pay a huge price for corruption and incompetence. This is not a peculiar African problem. Several countries in Latin America, particularly Ecuador, are also in dire situations due to Covid-19. Social media activism rarely translates to change without offline mobilization unless the aim is simply to create awareness. 

Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, in a rare moment of candour, told legislators “I never knew that our entire healthcare infrastructure was in the state in which it is”. I am not sure why he was criticized for being honest. Did anyone seriously think he patronized public hospitals? There was a pair of pictures which was widely circulated on social media early this month purportedly from a hospital room in Kebbi state. It was a scandalous piece of reality: A stick was used to hold a drip for conveyance to a patient! It is the society we have built. No surprise there. What annoyed me was a big lie on the wall of the shambolic hospital room: “Your health is our priority”. No, it’s not!

Cuba has proven that you can institute quality healthcare with meagre resources. This is remarkable for a poor communist country. Cuba has “the healthiest longest living black population in the world”, according to Mark Sawyer, a professor of political science and African-American studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. The expertise of Cubans is being sought around the world to fight covid-19. That could and should be Nigerians given the number of medical professionals we have been exporting in the last three decades or thereabouts. 

Security agents have killed more people than covid-19 while enforcing the lockdown. While innocent civilians are being shot on the streets or ordered to swim in gutters, criminals are filling the vacuum left by gaps in security. For instance, a group called “One million boys” has reportedly been writing to residents of Lagos ahead of robbery incidents. I have heard stories of home invasions in which chickens, goats and pigs are stolen in large numbers by robbers. Killings of scores of people in the Northwest no longer make headline news. We are sadly desensitized to such news.

Covid-19 has put a mirror right in front of our country. This is us! The money people collected to vote is being recouped in multiple fold. If we are honest with ourselves, the legitimacy to demand that elected leaders perform their duty is blunted when people are regularly bribed before casting their votes or busy on their computer devices on Election Day. 

One of the main lessons from Omoyele Sowore’s experience in activist mobilization is that you need a critical mass of people. Outside the confines of political power, it is tough to make people ready for change. There has to be an organic mass mobilization. Only those who are being oppressed by the system can catalyze that. Anyone else does so at a huge risk to life and limb. Sowore would likely be in prison right now but for his social and cultural capital as well as international pressure. Sowore did his best. It is time for the people to fight for their rights.

ADDENDUM: ON ABBA KYARI’S EULOGIES

I am surprised by the “debate” and superficial complexity of the matter. While I was a student at the University of Abuja (I withdrew to take up a scholarship in Canada), I met two persons who knew the IBB family. Ms Babangida was “aunty Maryam” to them. The IBB family took care of them after they lost their father. One of the IBB government’s signature programs was Better Life for Rural Women. Empowering women was supposedly its key mission. Maryam Babangida died at a Los Angeles hospital in 2009 while going through cancer treatment. There was no first-rate cancer treatment facility in Nigeria despite the eight years the IBBs spent empowering women and no doubt, many people who knew them. And by the way, cancer was already a huge problem before they got to power. Were the IBBs good for Nigeria despite their kindness to my two friends?

My point? We should not confuse friendship (and its perks) with performance in public service. They are two different things. I like to remind people that slave owners in the Americas were church-going Christians. That does not diminish the tragedy and evil of slavery. This has been an eye-opening episode on the depth of the issues in Nigeria. Finally, whatever side of the debate you may be, do not give pònmó to anyone who does not like it.

Tope Oriola teaches criminology and terrorism studies at the University of Alberta, Canada. Follow Oriola on Twitter: @topeoriola