COVID-19: All hands on deck

 

PRIOR to President Muhammadu Buhari’s national broadcast on March 29, some proactive and pragmatic governors had taken steps to systematically lock down their territories to curtail the spread of coronavirus.

We all agree with President Buhari that it is a matter of “life and death” because COVID-19 is real and the earlier we face it holistically the better for every one of us. We got a wake-up call in Lagos on February 27 but this was followed up with little or no coordinated action.

“On no soul doth Allah place a burden greater than it can bear. It gets every good that it earns and it suffers every ill that it earns” (Qur’an 2: 286). The COVID-19 pandemic is transient and with time it will be over. But the timeline is to be determined by Almighty Allah. The incubation period of the virus is between two and 14 days, depending on the initial state of health. But we should note that the world was already sick spiritually and physically before the arrival of COVID-19.

Anybody with a sense of crisis should know that the situation will get worse before it gets better. It is a bitter pill we have to swallow. Globally, we have about 800,000 cases, 35,000-plus deaths and 15,000-plus recoveries from the COVID-19 pandemic and the world is still counting. Ironically, the developing nations in Africa have the least figures in the world. For now, in Nigeria, we have no less than 254 cases with two fatalities. We are still counting. But based on the present level of awareness and epidemiology, there is silver lining. With aggressive methodology in implementing the present strategies, we can flatten the curve.

President Buhari’s awareness of the national health psychology is not in doubt, so the presidency’s pragmatic actions will produce positive results. However, the presidency needs to apply stricter containment measures backed up with adequate welfare packages for the masses and stomach infrastructure management chain for the 774 local governments in the country through ALGON. It will ameliorate the food crisis that the lockdown will create. This should be additional financial palliative to those already announced by Mr President in his address to the nation. It should be reiterated that the COVID-19 pandemic is spreading faster than we thought and because of its unique nature, we need coordinated action on the outbreak.

Obviously, we need to fast track the process and the measures on ground should be backed up with additional financial palliative for a real pushdown by all.

The present strategies should reduce human toll and the economic and financial consequences. It is a fact that a third of the global population is now in lockdown with the world economy in shambles.

The presidency must plan for a stimulus package for our economic survival, including a request for a rescue package from the G-20 to cancel Africa’s debts. The COVID-19 pandemic cuts across nations and the effects are stranger than fiction both on lives and businesses.

The need for modern science and medicine to discover appropriate and efficient drug for the virus cannot be overemphasised. Where will it come from and when? Time will tell. We have to be disciplined and exercise personal hygiene, including constant washing of hands with soap and use of sanitiser at all times. We should note that social distancing of about one meter is still essential until we are out of the woods.

MUSWEN, being the umbrella for Muslims in the South-West, needs to use its platform to annex resources from individuals and corporate bodies to complement government efforts. The Executive Secretary of the organization, Professor Musliu Yahya, can facilitate this strategy. Other areas are the effective use of their network to distribute flyers and handbills on the advantages of stay-at-home advice for the Ummah. Also, jingles and not-for-sale food packages can be developed for communities under their portfolio.

On the part of the presidency, there is the need for the fumigation of towns, cities and villages. A comprehensive disinfection of all states, including the Federal Capital Territory, is crucial.

So far, the isolation centres established to take care of victims are good for us. It takes the grace of Allah to do the right things at the right moments. All hands should be on deck.

Sheikh Nojimudeen, an author, is the Chief Imam of Challenge Central Mosque, Ibadan.

 

 

 

 

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