The federal government relaxes the lockdown in the FCT, Lagos and Ogun States from May 4th, 2020, life gradually returns to normal.
There is a general sigh of relief as economic and business activities are picking up but not without the strict adherence to the stipulated guidelines by health authorities
However, Chief Mike Ozekhome, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and legal luminary has warned that lifting the lockdown by the Federal government of Nigeria does not mean that the coronavirus has suddenly vanished into thin air.
He stated that, instead, there is danger lurking around the corner as it is not yet Uhuru for Nigerians to celebrate the easing up of the well-advised lockdown by an ill-prepared and ill-equipped federal government that has been running from pillar to post to find a temporary palliative or a lasting panacea.
According to him, there will definitely be a new wave and geometrical resurgence of people testing positive to the Covid-19 pandemic because of the euphoria of sudden freedom after nearly one and half months of forced lockdown and self-quarantine.
HISTORICAL EXAMPLES
Chief Ozekhome’s observation and warning is based on a historical examples and he said that Nigerians should not embrace the easing of the lockdown as a new licence to let down their guards.
The Spanish flue or influenza of 1918-1920 (H1N1) which originated from avian strain that mutated and infected human beings is one.
It constituted one the worst plagues or pandemics in history,hitting in three different waves,and killing over 50 million people in its wake.675,000 of these were Americans.
It is like the equivalentof about 300 to 500 million people in today’s world population. It happened in Boston, Massachusetts on September 8,1918, during the1918-1919 influenza flu pandemic
He recalled that an influenza had broken out on board a ship and infected 2,000 out of 21,000 sailors stationed in the Boston area.
They were believed to be world war 1 soldiers returning from Europe during and after the war.There was no known vaccine,forcing the government to lock down churches, malls,schools, thetres, and other public gatherings. Only about 3,500 had died of the influenza by mid October.
After three weeks of lockdown, the government unlocked the city. Jubilant residents poured out onto the streets celebrating and back-slapping. Physical distancing was thrown into the garbage heap or thrash can. They wanted to recapture the immediate lost past, the fun and the celebrations. Theatres, cafes, restaurants, shopping malls, hotels, casinos, beaches, churches,trains, tunnels, sidewalks, parks and gardens,etc, were all filled up to the brim.
It was a new day or so they thought.Visitations to friends, relatives and loved ones immediately resumed. Every one wanted a psychological respite from the awful deaths, mental trauma, chaos and incredible fear.
Face coverings and other precautionary measures were immediately discarded. It was tumultuous celebration of life.
But as Thanksgiving day approached, new cases suddenly emerged. By the fall of 1918, Boston had lost 4,794.By the winter of 1919. Boston experienced an horrific death rate of 710 per 100,000 residents making it one of the worst hit cities in the the USA. Worse happened in San Francisco, California, USA, during the same period.
It was actually during world war 1.Wearing of face masks to prevent the pandemic also became a symbol of “wartime patriotism”. By the end of October of 1919,there were 20,000 cases and more than 1,000 deaths.
By the end of November, the city officials felt there was a dip in the flu cases and that the city had stabilised enough. They therefore unlocked the quarantine.
Soon after this misadventure,fresh cases of the flu broke out in the 1919 new year.600 cases were reported in only one day.Soon after,45,000 fresh cases and more than 3,000 deaths had resulted,one of the worst hit.
Across America,city buildings,civic centres and other venues were hurriedly converted to hospitals.
Fellow country men and women.
I pray such history is not about to repeat itself in Nigeria.
Do not be deceived that the easing of the lockdown means ‘uhuru’ or freedom or liberation. There is no such thing.
Community infections will immediately start in ernest in a more deadly manner. Nigerian governments do not have the capacity, wherewithal, or medical personnel, or equipment to tackle this ravaging plague.
DOs AND DON’ts
Ozekhome advised that this is actually the time to self-quarantine, to be more careful and to observe more,all necessary precautionary hygienic and safety measures.
This may be quite difficul, he observed if not impossible for many Nigerians,bespecially daily-earning artisans and small scale industries that depend on their going out every day to eke out a living.
But he stressed that people will be very careful not to shake hands, hug, sneeze or cough publicly. They should wear face masks and hand gloves always.
Ozekhome also urged people to take along small sanitizers in their bags or pockets. Dispose of their clothes, head gears, socks and shoes as soon as they return home from a crowded environment such as court rooms, markets, shopping malls, construction sites, weddings, obituaries, schools, churches, mosques, football fields, clubs,hotels, hospitals, parks and gardens, bars, parties, big offices, or auditoria.
Ozekhome remarked that Covid-19 infection does not show on a person’s face. Infected persons could look healthy and normal. However, people should maintain physical distance. Cough into the furrows of their elbows. Wash their hands thoroughly with soap and gargle their mouths with warm water and lemon.
These steps appear simple, he said but are effective against this scourge.
HERE COMES A NEW WORLD
Ozekhome warned again that Nigerians should not be deceived. Don’t just open your doors to all comers or jump out to all places. Don’t live under any illusion or hallucination of recapturing a pre-covid-19 era.
He maintained that Nigerians are surely stepping into a new world quite different from the one we have been accustomed to and have just left behind. It is the ironic case of February 14=Valentine; March 14=Quarantine.
He said that it is a complete and absolute new world of vaccination, Bill Gates, mark of the beast (Rev 13:18), microchip, lockdown, quarantine, physical distancing, mutual suspicion, impersonal relationships,etc.
For him, Covid-19 has forever changed how Nigerians dream, plan, interact, sleep, eat, drink, celebrate, mourn, work, play, worship, travel, holiday, give birth or get born, wed, die, grow up, school, and do other things.
Ozekhome noted that it is a different world altogether. He prayed the Almighty God to see Nigerians through these trying times.
