COVID-19: Politics, religion and science

Thirty-six days ago, the USA had just one death from coronavirus. As at Sunday, they had recorded over 9,000! Almost all countries affected by coronavirus have experienced the same exponential increase after an initial one or two deaths. Nigeria has now had its one or two deaths. The World Health Organisation (WHO) warns that unless […]

Thirty-six days ago, the USA had just one death from coronavirus. As at Sunday, they had recorded over 9,000! Almost all countries affected by coronavirus have experienced the same exponential increase after an initial one or two deaths. Nigeria has now had its one or two deaths. The World Health Organisation (WHO) warns that unless for some reason the virus doesn’t prosper in hot climates, African nations must prepare for massive infection rates. If the virus eventually spikes in Nigeria, only part of the blame should be placed at the doorstep of government. WHO says the best way to combat coronavirus is social distancing, an efficient healthcare system, plenty of available ventilators, personal protection equipment (PPE) for all medical personnel, as well as a capacity for large scale testing.

In Nigeria, it’s no secret that teaching hospitals and the healthcare system are decrepit and underfunded and there is no capacity for large scale testing, however within this lead up time enough precautions have been suggested by government, which if observed will go a long way to mitigating its effects. The problem in Nigeria is that appeals to observe social distancing have fallen on deaf ears because Nigerians suffer from what is referred to as “over-sabi” i.e. they think they know more than they actually do. For example, in Italy which at the time had the world’s highest death rate from COVID-19, police invaded an event centre to stop Nigerians gathering for a wedding party!

Here in Nigeria, despite featuring in an awareness campaign urging Nigerians to act responsibly, Nollywood actress, Funke Akindele quite incredulously hosted a birthday party in her house risking the lives of her neighbours. Akindele is reaping the reward for her inconsideration. She should be happy she has only been arrested because police and soldiers habitually brutalise even kill citizens caught disobeying. Apart from the elite “common people” still flood the streets, proving that it was simply naïve to believe that a nation in which over 70% of the workforce live off daily income, could issue stay at home order without disobedience. It increasingly appears as if neither the consent of the governed, consideration for others, nor fundamental human rights seem to matter to those in power.

These days Nigerians are cynical about government policies because experience has taught them that government officials tend not to have their interests at heart. Consequently, they believe the COVID-19 response is simply another opportunity for treasury looting. There is no denying that distributing relief is being badly handled. Its beggars belief that after ordering the complete shutdown of Lagos State, Ogun States and Abuja the federal government proceeded to hand out palliative cash in states where no shutdown was ordered.

Nigerians are sceptical about claims that 2.6 million nameless house-holds were given N20,000. In effect, this means that despite money laundering laws limiting cash withdrawals, N52 Billion was paid out in currency notes with no explanation as to where it was sourced, how it was transported, where it was paid out, and who received it. The sight of the minister of humanitarian affairs publicly handing out cash heightened scepticism. It requires 52 million one-thousand Naira notes to pay out this amount! Cash disbursements are neither transparent nor verifiable. Nevertheless, the Minister said that not every Nigerian will receive money because she is using the “social register”, which still didn’t explain why cash was used for payment rather than bank accounts with Bank Verification Numbers (BVN).

Popular Nigerian musician and social critic, Charley Boy a.k.a “Area Fada” criticised this cash disbursement and re-opened concerns over the lack of transparency and opaqueness in the process of identification and registration of over 10,600,000 Nigerians in the selectively compiled “Social Register”, all this in a nation in which census hasn’t been carried out since 1990. Indeed, it’s a marvel how government, which for years has been unable to share 7.5 million voter’s cards, was able to share billions of Naira within 72 hours. Philanthropists and concerned citizens who donated money, equipment and materials to federal government run the risk of not getting value for their donations.

They would have done better to give out food stuffs, sanitisers, and face masks and food to state governors, or even build hospitals. It’s predictable that one day the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will prosecute out-of-favour politicians who misappropriated relief money, especially in light of the social media being awash with posts depicting the ridiculous palliative measures politicians are boasting about. The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has requested the federal government to publish details of donations received, spending in COVID-19 relief funds, the questionable school-feeding of children not in school, and cash hand-outs in Lagos, Ogun and Abuja. They also requested that the minister cease unverifiable cash payments.

Perhaps the biggest problem facing Nigeria in containing the virus is religious leaders.  African historians postulate that the colonialists who invaded Nigeria from Europe and Arabia knew they didn’t have enough armed men to keep black people in bondage, so they used their religion and culture to chain our minds. While their own cultures and religions have moved forward with the times, Africans remain firmly chained in the past. This explains why even as churches throughout the western world are shutting down, and Mecca has banned all pilgrims and mass worship, Nigerian pastors and imams continue putting lives at risk by calling for communal prayers.

Rather than advise their congregation to take all known medical precautions, they encourage them to gather and “pray” that God will not allow the virus to affect Nigeria. US Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi put the matter succinctly when condemning the reluctance of some religious houses in America to obey the lockdown. She said prayers are always good, and God has used science to answer our prayers, because through science we can understand his creations. Why then would we ignore science and concentrate on prayer as if we have learnt nothing?