By Abdu Rafiu
For the faint-hearted, having to receive a report of a rise in the cases of the coronavirus pandemic is enough to dampen the spirit and for one to throw up his arms in resignation. For Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the young man in the saddle in Lagos State, there is no discouragement. The governor has rolled up his sleeves, determined to defeat the world’s enemy No.1 today, Mr. COVID-19, of no known or fixed address. My heart goes out to our able and committed governor every day, wondering: How does this man sleep? Look at the figures: On Tuesday, of the 241 new cases distributed across 14 states announced by the NCDC, the share for Lagos is 142, clearly more than half. The previous day, Monday, of the 416 new cases reported, Lagos alone had 192, followed by Edo, 41; Rivers, 33; Kaduna, 30; Kwara 23; Nasarawa, 18; Borno, 17; FCT, 14; and Oyo, 10. Other states had fewer than 10 cases. On Sunday, 307 cases were announced; the share for Lagos was 188; FCT, 44; Ogun, 19; Kaduna, 14 and Oyo, 12. The states with the least figures were Kwara and Plateau, one case each. As of that Sunday, the total number of the cases had just climbed 10,000 mark. The cases had risen to 10,162, the discharged, 3,007 patients and deaths, 287.
Since the index case on 27 February, the number of those confirmed as afflicted totals 5,277, those on admission, 4,352 and the discharged 858. Lagos is followed by Kano with laboratory-confirmed cases put at 970, those on admission, 639 and the discharged, 286. FCT comes next with 687, on admission: 465 and discharged 202. Katsina is next with 371 confirmed cases, 253 on admission and the discharged, 99. Edo follows with altogether 371 confirmed cases, those on admission, 245 and the discharged, 77. After Edo comes Oyo with 317 confirmed; 212 on admission and 98 discharged. Kaduna: 297 infected out of whom 114 are on admission as I write and 175 discharged. We have Borno, 296 affected, 95 on admission and 175 let home. Ogun has recorded 280 cases, 111 on admission; and 160 discharged. Jigawa 274 cases confirmed, 131 on admission and 138 discharged; Rivers 248 confirmed, 159 and 73 discharged and Bauchi 241, 11 on admission and 222 discharged. For the rest of the states, the figures fall under 200. Gombe for instance has 164 confirmed cases, 36 on admission and 122 allowed home, discharged. Sokoto has 116 confirmed cases, five on admission while 97 have been discharged. Kwara has been burdened by 111 laboratory confirmed cases, 73 on admission and 37 discharged. Plateau has 108 to date as confirmed cases, 37 on admission and 69 discharged. All other states fall below 100 confirmed cases. Delta is 98 confirmed, 67 on admission and the discharged 23 persons. Kogi carries the rear position with only two laboratory-confirmed cases and they are the only two on admission. The zone most affected is South West followed by North West Zone. The least affected zone is South East. In the South West the least state affected is Ekiti. Lagos is thus the unrivalled epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria. It should go without saying that the figure in Lagos is high because the testing of people is extensive and thorough.
For Sanwo-Olu, the battle against coronavirus is one that must be won. It is so self-evident that the indefatigable governor is committed to getting rid of it from the state completely. He is putting in a huge chunk of the resources of the state into it as well. We must all rise to salute his courage and determination, and give him all the support and best wishes to overcome in the tough battle for the sake of all of us. Fortunately, he has a knowledgeable and committed man who serves as his general officer commanding, Professor Abayomi who heeded the call of duty to come home from South Africa to help save his people and his fatherland. Professor Abayomi is Commissioner for Health. What is more as is the custom in the South West, there is the recourse to the arts, the most effective way of pushing a campaign or message in the battle of this nature.
As it is revealed in higher knowledge available today on the face of the earth, the arts remain the channel of expression that is uncorrupted on earth. It is the only medium that is wholesome. It paints pictures as the expression of the spirit. Is there anyone who does not move or shake even in his chair if he is unable to get up to dance at the sound of music? Which is why music is called the universal language. Whether the lyric is understood or not everyone shakes his body. The soul laps up the tones in the lyric. The spirit picks the content and transmits it to the solar plexus which in turn sends it to the heart and then to the cerebellum, the hind brain which is the spiritually receptive part of our brains, in a picture form. The hind brain sends the same to the frontal brain which decodes it and institutes action, and dancing begins. At a wedding reception, what are we greeted with as the latest couple in town dance their way into the hall? “Ayanfe mi; Ololufe mi…” And everyone gets up shaking his body. Many dance away. It is the power of music; it is the power of the arts. The processes occur at a great speed, that we say it is simultaneous. Kudos, therefore, to the Ministry of Information and Strategy for resorting to the language of the arts, the language that arrests. It is evidence that Sanwo-Olu’s team is working collaboratively.
Mr. COVID-19 has put the whole world under house arrest, indeed in a huge prison yard and instructed his warder to throw away the keys. Scientists are saying that the pandemic will be with the world for a long time. There is grumbling everywhere. There are attempts at jailbreak. Mr. Trump is pushing the jailbreak campaign in the United States, wanting to dare Mr. COVID-19. He is at a loggerhead with the governors and mayors. Doctors and scientists who have occupied with the pandemic are warning not to dare it. Mr. Moris Johnson, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is not sold on it, nor is Angela Mikel, the chancellor of Germany. What has muddled waters for him is what senator and until recently presidential candidate Bernie Sanders described as the vicious murder of George Floyd, the black man cruelly killed by the American police. Sanders said the murder strikes at the heart of the American society. “It callously devalues the lives of the black people.” The murder has outraged the whole world, and turned 30 states upside down. There have been protest marches across the world. As if this is not enough, Mr. Trump has ignited anger in Africa in the attempt by his administration to hit at African Development Bank by putting down Dr. Akinwumi Adesina. It is confusion and chaos everywhere. Whether Mr. COVID-19 is moved by the upheavals remains to be seen. Meanwhile, flight schedule is out for airlines. Everyone is saying to hell with Mr. COVID-19.
Everywhere all over the globe, it is harvest time. Mankind is reaping the consequences of its sowing of the past. The seeds germinated, they flower and now bear fruits. The fruits have ripened leading to the emergence of Coronavirus. Without sowing there is no reaping. The harvest is connected to the harvest through what is called ethereal threads. Everyone seems to be sensing that the way we have lived our lives cannot be as it is willed by the Creator. But how much of the working of this Will do we know or are we familiar with? This is the problem. Scarcely does the world comprising 7.6billion human beings realise that the world, nay, the seven universes and the whole of Creation are governed. This column has dropped hints on this observation a few times. It cannot but amaze any reflecting person to think that the Almighty Creator about Whom all agree is perfection personified would construct His Creation and there would be no rules for all the inhabitants that shelter under its folds—animate and inanimate—whether they are aware of the rules and regulations or not—the Laws of Creation. These laws are perfect because they issue from the perfect hands of God. They are inflexible, incorruptible and self-acting. Only last week He sent His Power through the Holy Spirit to renew the entire Creation, thus reanimating, intensifying and accelerating –good or bad. Those who were aware of this supreme Grace sat quietly, gave thanks and gratitude for his Love that made it possible. The Laws are the expression of the Will of the Creator which is itself the manifestation of Truth. Mankind has searched for this Truth since time immemorial. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy says Truth is one of the central subjects in philosophy. It has been the topic of discussion in its own right for thousands of years. Philosophers, therefore, talk about truth conditions and truth values. Philosopher Pierce, said to be a pragmatist theorist of truth, is remembered to be often understood to believe that “Truth is the end of enquiry.”
That so much has been said and written about Truth even after the Lord has said it in plain language that He is the Truth is proof how far mankind has moved away from recognizing truth and is removed from Truth. And without the recognition, then there can be no way of recognizing the universal measure and by extension, a universal standard gauge to separate right from wrong. If truth is truth it will not lend itself to any disputations. Truth will be seen as absolute. Truth values thus can only be clarity, simplicity, coherence and logic. It will not depend on truth conditions. What is true in Beijing must be true in Rio de Janeiro and what is true in London must be true in Moscow and Brazzaville. It must have an inherent power that makes standstill impossible. What has such an inherent power is the Law of Creation which is self-acting. The Law of Creation defines Truth and is the Truth and Power of the Most High God. Truth being absolute, It is God the Father Himself as are the Lord Christ and the Holy Spirit that is Justice Arm of the Trinity. From this also we can understand the statement by the Lord Christ when He said: “I am the way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father but through me.” From this we can understand when it said “it is a law in Creation that what a man sows that shall he reap. This applies not only to agricultural seeds, but to words and deed. Everything is accurately recorded for each human being. You have the free will to decide what to think and do. Then you are irrevocably bound to the consequences.”
All men have sinned as the scripture has stated, and the truth is not in us. In other words, we have paved the way for the coming of coronavirus about which no one has been able to speak coherently and authoritatively. The sure and permanent way out of its grip is to recognise the Laws of Creation. We can only heed the laws if we know them. The first duty of man, therefore, is to seek the knowledge of these laws, recognise them and abide by them. Whatever is applied now to keep coronavirus away can only be palliatives. Otherwise what is worse than coronavirus would be in the offing! There are hidden connections in the affairs of man, all linked to the Laws.
The Guardian
