Pan-Yoruba sociopolitical group, Afenifere, has frowned on the order issued by President Muhammadu Buhari locking down the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states due to coronavirus pandemic without due notice to the citizens, saying such order shouldn’t have been handled as if a barrack was being shut down under 24 hours.
Afenifere said while it agreed that a lockdown was necessary at this point, it should not have been done to a whole country, adding that the people should have been given a few days’ notice to enable them to prepare for the lockdown.
The group stated this position in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Mr Yinka Odumakin, even as it said it had taken note of what it termed “the overdue presidential broadcast on COVID-19” by the president and could not understand why it took so long for such to come.
“While we agree that a lockdown is necessary at this point, it should not have been done as if we were shutting down a barrack under 24 hours.
“The people should have been given a few days notice before now so they could get themselves prepared for a shutdown.
“Afenifere has taken note of the overdue presidential broadcast on COVID-19. We honestly cannot fathom why it took so long for such to come as the only thing new in it was locking down FCT, Lagos and Ogun states.
“The rest of the broadcast is about washing hands and sneezing on elbows and handkerchiefs which can only still be useful to the senator removing his face mask to sneeze for the consumption of his colleagues at this point,ā€¯ Afenifere said.
Tribune Online he pan-Yoruba group said it was also a shame that a rich country like Nigeria had been so badly run over the years that it could not afford any serious stimulus package for its citizens beyond moratorium for NPower earners, concerning the coronavirus pandemic.
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This was just as Afenifere, while still encouraging the citizens to cooperate with the government to enable it to curtail the spread of the pandemic, said it could not understand where President Buhari was asking the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs to go and get students to be feeding with School Feeding Programme when all students in the country were at home.
“It is also a big shame that a rich country like Nigeria has been badly run over the years and up till the time we issued this that it cannot afford any serious stimulus package for its citizens beyond moratorium for N-Power earners.
“By the way, we do not understand where the president was asking the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs to go and get students to be feeding with School Feeding Programme when all students in the country are at home. Nonetheless, we encourage our people to cooperate with the government to curtail the spread of this pandemic,” the group said.