By Stephen Ubanna
Aware that the re is no medical solution in sight to the Wuhan Town in Hebei Province of the Asian country of China, emerged, coronavirus, popular, COVID 19, which had ravaged over 214 member nations of the United Nations, UN, President Muhammadu Buhari, at the instance of Boss Mustapha, Chairman, Presidential Task Force on COVID 19, and Secretary to the government of the Federation has moved to open up the country’s economy in the third phase of the lockdown from, July1,2020.
The presidential decision came to many as a surprise . This is because the news making the rounds , particular, in Lagos state , was that Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the state governor would address the state to formally extend the lockdown because of the rising cases of the pandemic. Many people were said to have remained glued to their Television –set between 7.00 PM and 9.00 PM, on Monday, June 29,2020, but were disappointed . instead of Sanwo-Olu, the Lagos state governor coming out to address the zt\te, it was Mustapha, the Chairman , of the Presidential Task Force, on COVID 19, who was said to have come out to read the approved prepared script by the the Katsina state born Nigerian President on the next step to the Lockdown.
Not many people had expected anything good to come out from the Pesidency because of the rising cases of the COVID 19, particular, in Lagos, the nation’s Commercial nerve center.Mustapha, described in political circles as the alternate President, may have shocked Nigerians when he disclosed that the President has given approval for opening of inter-state travels across the country from July 1, 2020. He may have dampened the enthusiasm of travellers when he disclosed that such trip must be conducted within the hours of curfew in the country, which had been extended to 10.00PM.
The government was said to have also approved domestic resumption of flights to compliment vehicular movemenst’ as soon as soon practicable’. The good news which family members had looked forward to getting from the Presidency over the last two months was when the Primary, secondary and tertiary Institutions which had been under lock and key in order, to curb the spread of the dangerous would be re-opened .
An elated Mustapha had may have proved bookmakers right when he confirmed the Presidential decisof the reopening of the closed schools across the country. The decision may have truncated plans by some state governors to throw the doors of the schools including tertiary Institutions in their respective states open. Recall, that Seyi Makinde, governor of the south west state of Oyo, was one of those that had concluded arrangements for resumption of schools in the state.
Medical experts believe that the government may have been encouraged to take the bold initiatives of further throwing the economy open for business because of reports from the World Health Organisation, WHO, a health agency of the UN, that all efforts to find the drugs and vaccines for the treatment of the disease has failed, an in indication, that the global economy could not be locked down for too long. The WHO, officials, were said to have made it clear to those that cares to listen that the ‘pandemic is’ not even close to being over’, as the number of afflicted patients had hit 10,426,070, since the outbreak of the disease on December 31,1919.
In spite of the fact that no drug or vaccine had been discovered for the cure of the deadly disease, the WHO officials had said that no fewer that 5,681,547, had been healed , leaving a 4,236,008 active cases across the world as at Tuesday, June 29, 2020. The agency was said to have also recorded over 500,000 deaths from the COVID 19 . There are fears in both official and unofficial circles that the blanket decision by the government to throw the schools and inter-state borders open to encourage inter –state travels travels may worsen the case in Nigeria. The industrialised nations of the North American country of the United States, the Asian countries of China, Korea and European countries of the United Kingdom, UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, were said to be doing everything within their powers to contain the pandemic , but that could be said of Nigeria, which do not have the resources to do so.
A day after, Mustapha, had announced of government plans to allow inter-state travels but within the hours of curfew that had had earlier been approved, the number of infected patients in the country were said to have hit the over the 25,000 mark. Lagos, alone ,was said to have top the list with 166 cases and Oyo, Makinde’s home state, fueling speculations that it may worse in the months ahead if proper medical arrangement are not made to control the spread in the schools and other public places .
A day after, Mustapha, had announced of government plans to allow inter-state travels but within the hours of curfew that had had earlier been approved, the number of infected patients in the country were said to have hit the over the 25,000 mark. Lagos, alone ,was said to have top the list with 166 cases and Oyo, Makinde’s home state 66, fueling speculations that it may worse in the months ahead if proper medical arrangement are not made to control the spread in the schools and other public places .
