Covid-20

I have carefully chosen to tag this piece as Covid-20. This is  a natural progression from Covid-19 which is simply an acronym of coronavirus in 2019. For several days, weeks and now five whole months as it were, what started like a peculiar disease in Wuhan, China, has engulfed the entire globe. In many parts, it seemed like a distant news, nightmare and at best; it provided materials for online-content-providers who used Corona as comedy short plays for entertainment. I will tried as hard as I can not to bore my readers with what virtually everyone has been reading about, namely the opportunities and lessons learned from this pandemic. However, I will be asking myself this basic question: after Covid-19 then what? I think the time has come to begin to reflect and map out strategies of surviving. The churches that we locked up in many parts of the world are gradually beginning to open their doors again albeit with caution though, nations of the world are now relaxing the ban, some are still experimenting this easing in phases.

We’re all left to wonder as to whether the world will remain the same after this pandemic. History books will have acquired many stories, our lexicons have been altered, our behaviors have been tampered with, some of our cultures have been affected. This list is endless. What many are asking is: when will all this be over and when will we return to our  ‘normal’ lives again? It’s no longer news that even the WHO has said that we will live with this virus for a long while. This means we must change the narrative now. The media have done their bits as usual, in a bit to report the news about the ailment the media spread more fears and paranoia rather than possible ways of boosting our immune system and staying alive. I wish they broadcast how to stay alive rather than the statistics of the the dead and dying.

In Tanzania , their president was quoted to have said this: Covid-19 cases are lowering, his child was infected, isolated, took lemon water and he recovered, Tanzania to open schools and resume football in two weeks; flights from abroad be allowed and tourists not to be  quarantined. He was speaking at a Church service  on 17/5/20. And I ask, when will the ‘audio’-school-feeding programme end? When will the selective palliatives sharing which is clearly riddled with fraud end? When will the endless and uninspiring reeling of statistics of Covid patients end? When will the media briefings which now seem to serve other purposes like fashion show end? When will we begin to  differentiate between malaria, common cold and Covid-19. Kidnappers and bandits are returning to trenches, the unfinished businesses are waiting by the corners, begging for solutions. Covid-20 will come in the forms of the revelations and discoveries that will trail all the lies told in this period of the pandemic. The confusion between science, religion, politics, sorcery  and sheer ignorance—all of which were in fragrant display in this pandemic.

Several conspiracy theories, myths, mysterious deaths, and manipulations of figures and persons. All these will be our Covid-20. The world will discover that we would have learnt nothing. The beds and beddings at the isolation centers would have been stolen and taken to private clinics and hospitals. Many more will tell you that they suffered malaria and not corona.  Since Covid-19 has exposed the hypocrisy of humans, the ineptitude of systems, the greed of mortals and the arrogance of the entire human race. Let’s now retrace our steps before the arrival of Covid-20.

• Omaonuh, a Catholic Priest of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, is currently the Parish Priest of St. Dominic Catholic Church Birnin Kebbi, and Dean of Kebbi Deanery.

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