Which is more dangerous: COVID-19 or our political leaders?

BY OMOTOLU ONABOLU

From the unexplainable delay in shutting down the international airspace when the Covid-19 virus broke out to the elitist approach to tackling the pandemic in Nigeria, everything is just wrong. Big men who test positive can decide if and where they want to be isolated but the masses are carted away like lepers into hurriedly set up isolation centres some of which are not fit for the children of the elite. How do you explain the failure to quarantine and test everybody coming into the country and instead allowing them to self isolate.

Now they are having challenges Contact Tracing these same people with the risk of them spreading the virus through the country. Rather than admit that locally available testing capacity was very limited, they arrogantly said people should wait for symptoms before testing would be required even for people coming from infected countries? This misled many people into a false sense of security believing that no symptoms, no problem. They were also promoting hand washing in a country where the majority do not have access to portable water. Where washing your hands for 20 whole seconds is considered wasting of water.

What kind of example can a Government official that tested positive be setting, when he is still going about monitoring lockdown compliance. Or how do you explain government officials launching isolation centres or holding meetings with over 50 crammed people in attendance. Everything is just wrong.

Could it be that police, soldiers and other law enforcement agents are immune to Covid-19 which is why they don’t wear masks or protective clothing and even pile together like sardines in their trucks while enforcing compliance? What is the wisdom in copying the disinfecting of nicely tarred roads and beautifully paved walkways as done in developed nations only to be disinfecting dirt roads littered with refuse and sometimes human waste or stagnant gutters filled with odoriferous substances? Everything is just wrong.

Throw into this mix, a government minister openly distributing cash (a major distributor of germs) in the name of palliative measures to packed crowds of unprotected people generously sharing germs and viruses with one another at a time when the same government is instituting a lock down aimed at aiding social distancing with the hope of breaking the infection cycle. Everything is just wrong.

Let us tell ourselves the truth; even though Covid-19 is a very deadly virus, it is not as dangerous as our political leaders. If the Government was determined it would adopt an approach that is tailor made for our society and this would include the following measures.

Ramping up as quickly as possible the contact tracing and immediate testing of all the people that travelled into the country recently and those who may have been exposed to them.

Requiring that everybody (law enforcement and security) stepping out of their apartment must wear a face mask or cover even inside all vehicles. Offenders should be arrested and delayed for one hour, while security agents that fail to comply should be severely sanctioned.

No private or commercial vehicle (including security and law enforcement) should have more than a driver and 3 other occupants. Offenders should be arrested and delayed for one hour, while security agents that fail to comply should be severely sanctioned.

No Government or private function, meeting, briefing, event etc should hold with more than 5 people. This includes ministerial/NCDC press briefings. Everybody else including the media should attend such briefings via online tools. Our government officials must learn to lead by good example.

To prevent starvation and hardship, all neighbourhood kiosks, food sellers, bakeries, pharmacies, and supermarkets should open to the public on “BUY & GO” basis between 10am and 2pm on Saturday, Monday and Wednesdays while hospitals should continue to operate on 24 hour basis.

Nobody (including law enforcement and security) should be allowed into any public or private premises without wearing a mask and first making use of hand sanitizer. Anyone who refuses to comply must be refused access or service.

Staff and trucks of bottled and polythene bag water manufacturers must be allowed to move freely while their management must ensure that adequate products are available at all their existing neighbourhood outlets.

Local water vendors wearing face masks or covers shall operate between 6am and 10am on a daily basis while Local Government Authorities must provide water in storage tanks for areas with serious water shortages.

All Government palliative measures or assistance must be given in the form of money via the use of BVN verified accounts. However, those without BVN or bank accounts should apply for assistance using their phone details and multiple applications should be disqualified. People with less than one hundred thousand turnover on their largest accounts should be given a one-off sum of ten thousand naira while those without BVN should be given a one-off sum of three thousand naira via virtual bank accounts.

Onabolu lives in Abuja.