I can't write
anything about the most popular phrase on earth, “novel Coronavirus pandemic”
without sending my special greetings to those medical teams and caregivers home
and abroad as well as journalists who have also been on the frontline of
reporting day and night activities of how the deadly virus has affected many homes,
sports, religious and the global economy among others.
Many Nigerians since
the first confirmed case of an Italian man, who came into the country from
Italy via Istanbul, Turkey, on Thursday, 27 February 2020, believe COVID-19 in
Nigeria is fake due to the saying that the virus can’t survive in warmer
weather and immune system of black people to malaria and typhoid. But the
deadly COVID-19 is obviously not ‘fake news’.
Due to corrupt
nature of many Nigerian politicians and the poverty rate in the country, the
citizens believe the virus has become a money-making venture for Nigerian
Government because of the relief fund from governments of the United States,
European Union and the United Kingdom as well as support from International
Monetary Fund and World Health Organisation.
Before the European
Union donated N21bn to Nigerian Government as part of its contribution to
boosting the country’s COVID-19 response, the highest daily figure the country
recorded was 20 cases that was confirmed by the Nigeria Centre for Disease
Control as at 9:50pm on Monday, 13th April 2020.
‘The Day’ Nigerian
Government cash out contribution fund from EU, 19 new cases were reported as at
9:20pm Tuesday,14th April, 2020 with 14 in Lagos, 2 in Federal Capital
Territory, 1 Kano, Akwa Ibom and Edo states respectively, raised the total
number of confirmed cases to 362 while 99 were discharged and 11 deaths. Same
day at around 11:00pm, NCDC reported an additional 11 new cases in Lagos,
totalling 373 confirmed cases, 99 discharged and 11 deaths. Who is deceiving
who?
A day after Nigeria
received the donation, the country’s reported cases shot up to 34, Lagos
recorded 18, Kano with 12, 2 in President Muhammadu Buhari’s state, Katsina and
1 in Delta and Niger states respectively, that was confirmed at exactly 11:20pm
on Wednesday, 15th April.
As at 11:20 pm on
Thursday, 16th April, NCDC confirmed another 35 new cases with 19 in Lagos, 9
in FCT, 5 in Kano and 2 in Oyo states which brought the total confirmed cases
to 442, 152 persons discharged and 13 deaths recorded.
Aside from EU
contribution, notable Nigerians and many corporate organisations donated
billions of naira to support the Federal Government of Nigeria and state
governments in the fight to combat the deadly virus. The funds include $13m
(N5bn) donation by the United Bank for Africa. Herbert Wigwe, Segun Agbaje,
Abdulsamad Rabiu, Keystone Bank, Femi Otedola, Jim Ovia and Africa’s richest
man, Aliko Dangote all donated N1bn each to support the government in
curtailing the pandemic in the country https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/03/27/africa/coronavirus-nigeria-fund/index.html
Away from the above
figures or statistics, many Nigerians accused FG of siphoning the donations and
not focusing it to the right channels.
Meanwhile, during
the five weeks of lockdown in FCT, Lagos and Ogun states, millions of Nigerians
most especially those in South-West region of the country faulted President
Buhari's type of palliatives as being biased and not sincere with the
distribution of the fund.
A lot of Nigerians
took to social media platforms to express their bitterness and asked Mr
President to approach the Central Bank of Nigeria to distribute palliative for
them through their respective Bank Verification Number. Instead of doing this,
Nigeria's Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social
Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, contracted it to two payment service providers
and distributed the Conditional Cash Transfer to poor Nigerians in some parts
of the country.
Sadiya Farouq, in a
statement on Tuesday, 14th April, 2020 named Zamfara, Akwa Ibom, Abia and
Bayelsa among states where the delay in payment due to the inefficiency of the
contractors.
She said, “The
Federal Government cannot accept delays in the current payment round of N20,000
stipends to beneficiaries in poor and vulnerable households under any excuse in
the four states or any other state of the federation.
“The failure of any
payment service providers to meet their contractual agreement is unacceptable.
“The Federal
Government through the ministry cannot allow contractors to derail the
immediate CCT to the poor and the vulnerable.”
Nigerians lambasted
the Presidency for televised recorded 'Presidential broadcast', saying the only
way President Buhari can know their agony is through media chat where
journalists can ask questions.
These clearly show
how few opportunists who found themselves in power ripped off the masses. These
few people not limited to the arrogant President's spokesman, Femi Adesina, who
on a live radio said somebody is talking like a "Broken Record". This
is the height of irresponsible government who don't want to be held accountable
for their incompetence.
My questions to the
Presidency on contracting CCT to payment providers are: Can't CBN generate number
of BVN and disburse the same amount approved at all level, either billionaire,
millionaire, “thousandnaire or hundrednaire”?
What's President
Buhari-led administration definition of poor or vulnerable Nigerians in a
country where over 82.9 million citizens live in poverty? NBS report shows http://worldtopnewsng.com/nbs-report-shows-82-9-million-nigerians-live-in-poverty/
Mid-April, NCDC and
Kano State Government disagreed on the number of confirmed cases and announced
conflicting figures to the world. Kano published 21 cases on its twitter handle
while NCDC recorded 16 for the state in its chart.
https://twitter.com/NCDCgov/status/1250550394847203328?s=19
http://worldtopnewsng.com/ncdc-state-govt-post-conflicting-covid-19-cases-reports/
The NCDC on Sunday,
10th May, 2020 afterwards published that Nigeria recorded 15 deaths, 238 new
cases of COVID-19 and 33 persons were discharged apologized to Nigerians that
it posted an additional 32 discharged cases and 2 deaths to the figures of the
FCT. https://twitter.com/NCDCgov/status/1259618115543072778?s=19
According to the
agency, Nigeria now has 4, 641 confirmed cases with 150 deaths and 902
discharged.
Recently, one of
Nigeria's top television station, TV Continental in a special report exposed
how the Nigerian Government handle the most popular virus in the world,
COVID-19.
A TVC correspondent
was in Prof Idris Mohammed Infectious Hospital, Kwadon, Gombe State, where he
spoke with some of the patients, exposed the living condition in the hospital
where patients protested about their welfare and feeding.
The patients also
alleged that since some of them have been confined for up to two weeks they
have not been given any medication by the team, neither taken care of by the
government. They also complained of not seeing any doctor for days.
A male patient who
spoke with TV Continental said since he has been at the isolation centre he was
not given anything.
Another patient, a
female who explained her grievances said nothing like drug was given to any of
them, expressing that even if any of them feels headache they gave the hospital
their money to buy drugs. She expressed further that they don’t have any drug
neither doctor, just them and the gateman. They also complained about eating
unhealthy food.
The COVID-19
patients went out that fateful day to block the highway that links Gombe to
Borno and Adamawa states where they mingled with members of the communities
protesting alongside with them.
Some of them said
COVID-19 pandemic figures in Nigeria was fake and is just being used to make
money.
The Gombe State
COVID-19 Pandemic Response Team spokesperson, Dr. Mohammed Kwami, in a message
conveyed to me via the Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Media and
Publicity, Mr Ismaila Uba Misili, confirmed the protest by the patients and
said the government noted with dismay and disappointment then apologised for
such an incident.
The COVID-19 Task
Force explained that the truth is; one of the female patients was admitted to
the centre with a wound she got long before she came into the state. The task
force took it upon itself to treat the wound, similar to what was applied for
all the isolated patients; all those with underlying diseases are being managed
irrespective of its relation to the COVID-19 infection.
Kwami explained
further that the social implication is clearly visible. That majority of the
cases in the state were menial workers who returned from Lagos, Abuja or Kano,
after realising they could not bear the consequences of the on-going lockdowns
in those cities, as their earnings depend on a daily outing.
If truly all these
protesters as reported by the NCDC or the state government were confirmed
patients of COVID-19 imagine the number of people they would have mingled with
during the protest, hundreds of people might have been infected by now and not
showing symptoms yet. 'There's fire on the mountain'
President Buhari
should declare total lockdown in Gombe, Borno and Adamawa states and provide a
genuine and serious palliative for Nigerians. And also continue an in-depth
investigation into the causes of the death toll in Kano State.
Jumu'ah Abiodun is a
social commentator, political analyst and journalist based in Lagos.
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