The argument has gone on for weeks. Should the lockdown remain or should we do things differently? While intellectuals and leaders like Chukwuma Soludo, Atedo Peterside, Dumebi Kachikwu and several others have argued against the continuation of the total lockdown imposed on several parts of the country in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic by the Muhammadu Buhari administration, opinion moulders like Reuben Abati and others have asked for the application of caution as things remain foggy.
Shall we or shall we not?
Every side holds a very strong opinion which must not be discountenanced. Chukwuma Soludo, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, made a strong argument in an article published last week in the media that the African economy cannot sustain further lockdown in view of its fragility and structural deficiencies. The economics professor opined that the African economic system is built around informal sector players who rely on daily, irregular income to meet their existential needs. When you shut down the system for far too long, argued the former central banker, you block the income channel through which millions of informal sector players earn their living thereby forcing them to exhaust their savings (if any) and fall into the rank of the poverty-pulverised masses.
Atedo Peterside, a foremost banker and financial expert, has also called attention to the dangers of stopping the continuous running of the economic wheel of the nation for longer than necessary. Like many other commentators, Peterside mentioned widespread hunger, rising crime rates and social anxieties as expected outcomes should the restriction on movement and economic activities continue beyond the present.
Dumebi Kachikwu, a serial entrepreneur and campaigner for social justice has recommended the adoption of necessary safety measures in public places such as wearing of face masks and the regular use of hand sanitisers as a more effective panacea in dealing with the crisis rather than asking hungry men and women to remain at home with their families.
It is the opinion of Kachikwu that the most effective way of halting the rising social frustration is for the government to devise a smart way of reaching the vulnerable with palliatives and providing an efficient support system for businesses and entrepreneurs who apparently would be hard hit by the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown. The chairman of Roots TV is certain that introducing a three day work week while the remainder of the week is spent in the farms would not only enable us survive the present danger but prepare us well enough to stand the famine that is bound to follow.
Those against…
However, those who are opposed to the easing the lockdown warn against community infections that could arise if we are allowed to return to our previous way of life. Commentators like Reuben Abati are cautious and wants the government to err on the side of safety. Example is made of Ghana where the easing of the lockdown in Accra and Kumasi saw the multiplication of infections within a very short period.
They are certain that in a chaotic society like Nigeria, things could go from bad to worse if we ever let our guards down so quickly. The recent series of “mysterious” deaths in Kano has also given a very strong validity to the argument of those who insist that we must resist the temptation to ease things at the moment.
What next?
Fact is that the Muhammadu Buhari led administration and the governors of the 36 states must find a middle of the road position. Continuing the lockdown could lead to social crisis; the type of which we have never seen before in our land. Already we have seen pockets of uprising in Lagos, Abuja and parts of Ogun state. We have also seen young men “kidnapping” bags of rice from a moving van in Kano. In most satellite communities in Abuja, people now knock on doors to ask for “anything” from the residents.
Evidently, majority of these people who now rely on petty robbery to eat and support their families are operators in the informal sector of the economy (bus conductors, drivers, kiosk operators, artisans and others) who have been forced to remain indoors in line with government orders. These people are not lazy, they are not professional beggars or criminals; they are hardworking men and women who have been forced to a pattern of life they are unaccustomed to.
Things to keep in view
However, we must also be mindful of the dangers of a pandemic for which there is neither a cure nor a vaccine. The importance of public safety must never be sacrificed on the altar of hunger. We need to stay alive to be able to feed, move about or pursue our dreams. We have already seen hundreds of thousands die from this virus in several parts of the world where the health system is far more sophisticated than what we have here.
If more than 50, 000 persons have died in the US where the best medical doctors and equipment are resident, imagine how many would die in Lagos, Kano, Sokoto or Onitsha where there are few motivated medical practitioners practising with less than effective tools and devices. Permit me to repeat again: we must never let down our guards. The threats are real and the dangers present.
Low hanging fruits options
What shall we do then? Simple: The media sensitisation programmes must continue. People must be kept abreast of new developments and necessary measures to adopt to keep themselves and their families safe.
Then we must consider what leaders like Soludo, Peterside and Kachikwu are saying: smart, intelligent, homegrown solutions to our problems. Emphasize social distancing in workplaces, commercial vehicles must be made to carry fewer passengers, religious programmes should be restructured in a way that lives are not endangered and standard hygienic practices observed wherever more than one person is present.
There could be some silver lining too…
Attention must be paid to the economic opportunities presented us by this pandemic. Senegal is already producing ventilators which cost just $60, testing kits which sell for just $10 and in Madagascar, there is a herbal formulation touted to be effective in the treatment of the disease. Is this something we should study further?
How can we lead the global market for face masks, hand sanitisers and disinfectants? The production of these things does not require sophisticated machineries and over the last few weeks, we have seen that if supported fully, our local entrepreneurs can create a regional boom in these sectors. What can the governments and the banks do to support our budding entrepreneurs?
Then the three day work week recommended by Kachikwu should also be looked into by the various state governments. The fact is that unless we act intelligently, we may survive coronavirus and face extinction due to hunger. This is a possibility we must avoid.
Ultimately, the government must do what is in the best interest of the Nigerian public. It makes no sense to keep a hungry man who isn’t a prisoner indoors. It is equally unwise to fail to act to keep the people safe in a period of the pandemic. Wisdom lies in finding a middle of the road position. No less is expected of the president and the governors.
