Lessons life taught me during 16 days of self-isolation —Ilaka, Oyo governor’s Chief of Staff

Chief Bisi Ilaka, the Chief of Staff to the Oyo State governor, speaks to DARE ADEKANMBI on his experience in self-imposed isolation from the day he arrived the country from the United Kingdom, in accordance with the directive of the Nigeria Disease Control Centre (NCDC).

Upon arrival from the United Kingdom, what did you do, given the fact that the country from which you arrived is one badly hit with COVID-19 in Europe?

On my arrival, I self-isolated for about 16 days. I stayed in the confines of my home in Lagos State and kept myself engaged and entertained over this time frame. When the time was over, I came out of self-isolation and I started to engage with others.

What was your routine like during the period? Did it change? Did u have to learn how to do new things?

In terms of what my routine was, I tried to keep myself busy. Whenever I woke up, I did my exercise, stretching, running and all that to just keep my day structured. I usually would have a to-do list, which I would run through, calling, engaging, emailing people I have to engage with. The time was well spent and far spent.

How did you cope with feeding during the period?

I have a girl who works in the house. She stays at the back. So, over that period of time, she would ask me what I wanted to eat and would prepare the food and call me on phone to tell me she has prepared the food. She would leave the food in the kitchen and I would take the food up and go to the dining room to eat. From time to time, my mum would also send food and again, this would be put in the kitchen and when I need to eat it, I would either warm or microwave it. That’s how I coped with food in the main.

What did you miss during this regime change of sort?

I missed face-to-face engagement with people. Most of the people I need to speak to, I spoke to them on the phone. Whenever your freewill is curtailed, whether you need it or not, it will always have a bearing on you. You can’t wake up and take off in whatever direction you would like.  But whilst I was self-isolating, the Federal Government imposed a lockdown on Lagos and a couple of other areas. So, I was not particularly alone in this. I spoke to other people on the phone and we exchanged experiences and people recommended films on Netflix and other items on telecast. I also found time to read some books and keep myself occupied. I mediated and contemplated and in the main, tried to use the time to reboot and reappraise priorities and direction. By and large, I tried to put the time to good use.

As a politician, you would surely miss discussing politics with people and exchange of political ideas?

Newspapers were delivered to me regular in my isolation and in fact, COVID-19 or not, I buy newspapers every day. I noticed that the newspapers have become skinnier by the day. Maybe the publishers of proprietors of newspapers managing their newsprint or there is a shortage of newsprint in the country. And most of the things in the newspapers today are usually about COVID-19 one way or the others. My allies and friends called me from time to time and got me abreast of developments, events and various occurrences, both in Oyo State and the country as a whole.

During your isolation, your boss, Governor Seyi Makinde, tested positive for the virus and withdrew into isolation before he later tested negative on two occasions. How did you receive that news of his contracting the virus?

We spoke and I told him about my arrival and he said he was self-isolating in Ibadan. We had a bit on banter. He told me how there was a lull in activities in the state. What was most important for me was that he adhered to the protocol on self-isolation. The people of Oyo State also keyed into guidelines which became part of the awareness on public health matters. Yes, I was isolated but I was not completely cut off from the world.

What lessons would you say you learnt during your isolation? Are there things that have changed in the way you live or engage with people?

There was the opportunity to reappraise and also to understand that nobody is indispensable. It was a period of introspection, not only on a personal level. I think after the whole pandemic has come and gone, the world would hopefully change for the better because everybody would have had a time to pause and think about how to make the world a better place to live in. We would hopefully also understand and appreciate the interdependence we have to one another in areas like Africa generally where there has been massive underinvestment in education and health services. The imperative will not be to put the requisite investments in these areas. This is because preparedness is the key word. Whatever we want to do, we can’t overlook the need to be prepared for any eventuality, particularly that we might have an emergency. The last time we had Ebola virus, the experience we got then will have been very useful now. Things will surely happen; we just don’t know when they will happen. If we have this in out mindset, should I call it a risk-based outlook to life itself, to say there will be issues, particularly on health-type services. Are our hospitals fit for purpose? Are they prepared to address the challenges that might come? These are some of the questions we will have to address going forward.

Did the isolation period change your body clock as it were?

Yes, being at home on my own, I did go to bed earlier than normal and I woke up early and that gave me ample time to be able to do my exercise and stretching. I got more than the daily recommended six hours of sleep. I had up to seven or eight hours. So, there was no feeling of guilt at all.

Could your body have adjusted to this life after you exited self-isolation?

I am sure my body will recalibrate. The body is a very wonderful thing. Once our ‘regime’ changes and it changes back to that which we are used to before, it will realign itself and I am sure it will be back to normal.

Whilst you were self-isolating, there were those who spoke against the curfew imposed by the state government, calling instead for the state to be entirely shut down to avoid community spread of the virus. Do you feel a lockdown would have been better?

We can’t have an approach that is one-size-fits-all. Yes, in the West where there is a very huge formal economy, lockdown might be fully appropriate. Our governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde, in his wisdom, felt since the economy of the state is by and large driven by the informal sector with a preponderance of those who work and live on daily income, the state should not be locked down. This informed the decision to instead impose a curfew or a partial lockdown policy whereby people are not comingling in clubs, bars and restaurant unnecessarily. Also, congregation limit has been reduced to 10. Governor Makinde is being proactive by trying to tinker the response to our own reality in the state and I am sure the result so far lends credence to the efficacy of this approach.

There are those who also think the donations from private sector and public-spirited individuals into the state’s relief fund have been coming in trickles unlike what obtains in Lagos where the megabucks seem to be going.

Without a shadow of doubt, Lagos is the commercial nerve centre of the country and on top of it all, their challenge of COVID-19 surpasses that of any other state. Lagos probably has 17 times the number of cases we have in Oyo State. Virtually all the economic power houses in Nigeria are domiciled in Lagos. We can’t compare ourselves to them. Our donors in Oyo State are trying, though we started a little bit late. I am sure the goodwill of our people will push us to greater heights.

After the COVID-19-inspired global holiday is over, the world, particularly Nigeria will have to brace up for the economic effects of the pandemic. Crude oil prices are not good in global market. In Oyo State, as a subnational part of the country, how is the government preparing for the coming economic downturn?

The first thing is that funds will be short in supply. As a nation, our major source of revenue is oil and oil prices have gone down. Until the global economy recovers and consumption rate increases, our challenge is that we might not get the revenue we expect. Planes are not flying anywhere now and the airline industry is badly hit. Vehicles are not moving and so on. That means a lot of countries have a huge stockpile or inventories of oil they have not put to use. One of our major intentions is to grow the economy in the state and our ability to do this might be slightly hampered. Nonetheless, the government is forging ahead with its determination to grow the economy and make it robust. It is when the economy is robust that we can actually fulfill the yearnings of our people.

What is your take on the N20, 000 conditional cash transfer the central government is giving to the vulnerable to cushion the effects of the lockdown?

The challenge is data. We have a lot of poor people in the country and I don’t think the data the federal government relied on is reliable and it has to be challenged and interrogated. The integrity of the programme is being challenged left, right and centre. Until the issue of data and other challenges are addressed, the integrity of the programme will continue to be in question.

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