Omicron: Confirmation of international conspiracy against Nigeria

“TURNING and turning in the widening gyre; the falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold: Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world-WB Yeats-1865-1939.

This is the best way to describe the dramas playing out with another wave of COVID-19 variant popularly coined as Omicron by scientists.

Prior to the outbreak of the Omicron variant, the entire world was first jolted by the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 in far away Wuhan, an unknown town in China.

It is no longer news that the virus which started in Wuhan spread like a wildfire around the world killing millions of people without respect to any colour, and devastating economies of the world.

Yet to recover from the effect, which particularly targeted air travels, there came the news that Omicron has reared its head at a critical period when people around the world are preparing to travel to celebrate the Yuletide with their loved ones.

Ordinarily, in view of the experiences of the different countries since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020, curtailing this latest Omicron variant should have followed the same pattern.

It is however sad that rather than focus on how to prevent the spread, some foreign countries have decided to use the situation to achieve some political and diplomatic gains.

From the body language of many of the foreign countries, it has only point to the fact that they play double standard game in anything that affects Africa and downplay such when it affects them in their clime.

Or how can one explain their open hostilities towards the continent this time when South Africa was magnanimous to announce how scientists discover the Omicron variant.

Rather than joining with the country to research on the new COVID-variant, the best way the foreign powers believe they can deny Africa is to clamp down on not only South Africa but many other African countries that even have a cleaner bill of health than many countries from their own domain.

Before one could say Jack, Africa has been bombarded with barrage of travel bans and unreasonable conditions to be met before their citizens can be allowed to travel into and out of their countries which was not the case in Wuhan and the Delta variant.

As if they had been waiting for an opportunity to once again flex their muscles over the poor continent, each of the foreign countries who have recorded the highest number of Omicron variant started dragging countries of their target under their red list countries.

It was therefore no surprise when countries like Canada, UK,  Hongkong and Indonesia added Nigeria on the red list and at the same time banned foreign travels from the country.

It is on record that many of these foreign countries who enjoy good business transactions in Nigeria never hid their hatred for the largest black country at the slightest provocation for mostly economic purposes.

It can still be recalled the role played by Canada in particular in frustrating Nigeria at the initial outbreak of the pandemic with the country stopping Nigerian airline from operating into the country.

This international gang up against Nigeria is obvious as presently seen in the exclusion of smaller countries that do not measure up to Nigeria from the selective banning.

Unfortunately, Nigeria’s government officials cannot exonerate themselves from the injustice as they do not have the liver to tackle these countries because of the huge skeletons they have in their cupboards which the foreign countries may expose in the face of any confrontation with the officials.

Perhaps, if the government had been challenging this hatred as it did with the case of UAE, they would have been treating Nigeria with more respect.

Presently, Nigerians across the world are in for a tougher time in the coming weeks in view of the sudden confusion created by the actions of the foreign countries as many of them will be stranded while the few who will be able to travel will do so at extra cost.

Already, many Nigerian passengers are getting stranded and frustrated across airports.

While the confusion continues, it is hoped that the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) will respond to this action by the British government and the likes of Canada to correct this unwarranted injustice.

YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents

In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state.