All over the world, especially in underdeveloped countries such as Nigeria, the fight against the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic has basically been two-pronged.

The first is fighting and containing the spread of the virus through finding a cure, providing health care for those infected and adhering to safety measures such as social distancing, hand washing, locking down communities, states, countries, etc, among others.

The second strategy entails putting up social and economic safety nets to safeguard the welfare of the citizens affected by the measures put in place to stop the spread of the virus. This is because these measures have crippling effects on the social and economic well being of citizens, especially those on the lowest rungs of the social ladder.

In Nigeria, most citizens belong to this socio-economic strata, chiefly made up of petty traders, artisans, etc – the informal sector. The main characteristic of this class is that they must seek ways of strainously exchanging their goods and services on a daily basis in order to put food on the tables of their families. So far in Nigeria, as in most parts of the Third World, it’s this economically and socially disadvantaged class that is bearing the heaviest brunt of the effects of total lockdowns.

That’s why governments all over the world, and even some visionary governors in Nigeria, have been working round the clock to provide social and economic stimulus packages and palliatives to give their masses the much needed succour.

But in Plateau State, this group of citizens appear to have been completely forgotten in the administration’s so far haphazard and copy-and-paste anti-COVID-19 campaign.

Even before the first total lockdown was imposed on Plateau State, certain categories of businesses had been ordered to shut down. These include spare parts sellers, boutiques, traders on certain streets of the state, etc. Today, most of these businesses remain closed!!! We wonder how these citizens have been surviving all this while.

The multiplier effect of that is that countless other citizens in the informal sector have also had their livelihoods completely shattered. They now live in abject penury, not knowing what even the next day has in store for them.

Added to these are the hundreds of thousands of citizens, comprising widows, the unemployed, etc, who have been shut down in their homes all this while.

In the face of these sufferings, the Governor Lalong administration has only been fixated on continually extending the lockdown without correspondingly rolling out any practical solutions to solve the problems of these hapless, hungry, suffering citizens.

Obviously, this administration’s anti-COVID-19 strategy has been more tilted towards blindly issuing orders than giving due regards to ameliorating their attendant socio-economic consequences. This policy completely lacks compassion for those who bear the greatest brunt – ordinary Plateau citizens.

No wonder, there were massive protests along Zaria Road on Saturday where roads were blocked because the Lalong government couldn’t deliver on the palliatives he promised during his last broadcast imposing a third lockdown. Apparently, the masses are beginning to feel that the government has so far been playing on their collective intelligence. Remember that, so far, the government has not declared how much they spent on that spurious fumigation exercise.

Notwithstanding, and as we’ve pointed out before today, Plateau people showed uncommon patriotism by respeting the government’s first two lockdown orders. Sadly, the Lalong government has continuously refused to reciprocate the people’s commitment to this fight against COVID-19 by going beyond cheap rhetoric, political gamesmanship towards giving a humane, compassionate face to the campaign.

Unless Lalong and his government wake to the fact that governance is all about safeguarding the welfare of the governed, Plateau State may just be waiting for the terrible onslaught of COVID-19!!!!

count | 78

Locking Down Plateau: Need For Compassion – Chris Gyang