By Kayode Okunade
The pandemic disease, COVID-19, has helped in the disruption of economic, social, political, educational, agricultural and other notable events which has eventually strangulated people in all spheres of life in the global community.
In this wise, what this has portend for the people is the inability of the people to go about their daily routine of getting their daily bread.
Nigeria following in the footstep of some advanced countries of the world, like Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, United States of America, Germany and some others which announced ‘lockdowns’ in their countries, also went ahead to announce a ‘lockdown’ not in the entire country, but in the states of Lagos, Ogun and the Federal Capital Territory.
Some more states have since joined in the ‘lockdowns’. In announcing the ‘lockdown’, the governors of Lagos and Ogun states promised to distribute palliatives to the citizenry to cushion the effects.
It is to be noted that the governors in their announcements of the distribution of palliatives did not qualify who the recipients of such would be.
However, it was well assumed by the people that all those termed vulnerable would benefit of the government largesse.
In the first instance, there is no proper and adequate database upon which the governments could work with in their ‘assumed’ distribution.
Second, the level of sincerity of government in this kind of exercise have always been suspect. Third, the functionaries to whom the duty of distributing the palliatives fall cannot always be fully trusted as the likelihood of partisanship, selfish interest which is common with most Nigerians at the slightest opportunity can never be ruled out.
The announcement of the governors and the president targeting the vulnerable group was sketchy as government failed to factually delineate who the vulnerable groups are. To government, the vulnerable group are the assumed poor masses in the country.
In the thinking of government, the poor class are most probably the artisans, old people and probably, some jobless persons.
Governments are not working based on any statistical formula as none exist and therefore, the basis for which a documented position on what the population is, regarding each state or area, is missing.
In announcing that palliatives will be given to the people, government failed to realize that the following set of people actually form or belong to the vulnerable groups being talked about: artisans in varied field (welders, auto-mechanics, auto-electricians, bricklayers, panel beaters, etc.), traders –male and female – (dealing in all classes and manner of goods) whose shops have been mandated to shut down, transporters, pregnant women, nursing mothers and youths (whose ages range between 17 – 30 years) and are not presently employed and not just people who are 60 years and above that the government, especially in Lagos and Ogun States have been targeting for the palliatives.
The next important vulnerable group which the government had failed to take cognizance of because they have the wrong notion that they are comfortable are majorly professionals whose businesses have now been seriously affected owing to the ‘lockdown’.
These classes of people who are self-employed are lawyers, accountants, public relations practitioners, businessmen, contractors, and the like whose welfare and existence are majorly dependent on their daily working.
The welfare of the people is the rationale of any government. In announcing the ‘lockdowns’, governments in Nigeria can be seen to have only copied (hook, line and sinker) the advanced countries of the world whose mode of operation is based on standard database.
This is saying that because Nigeria had never had any standardized database, an entirely new model of palliatives distribution should have been thought of and the entire idea of complete ‘lockdowns’ should not have arisen.
Palliatives distribution in Lagos State which has 20 Local Government Councils and 37 Local Council Development Areas had met with hiccups considering reports emanating from citizens in Lagos State.
There have been allegations of government functionaries saddled with the distribution being either partisan by targeting members of the ruling party in the state or giving a large chunk of the palliatives to party chieftains and traditional rulers.
Palliatives are to ensure that the effect of the ‘lockdowns’ on citizens which governments in Nigeria had decided to copy from the more organized societies cushion the economic effect on the people especially as it regards their welfare (well-being), but so far, four weeks or more into the ‘lockdowns’, it had been cries of woes from the citizens.
Because a very important segment of the vulnerable group had not been taken care of based on the promise of government, the states of Lagos and Ogun States have had to contend with activities of hoodlums who have resorted to acts of theft and burglaries.
These hoodlums even attacked vehicles conveying foodstuffs from the market to some other areas in the state of Lagos.
The hoodlums have resorted to breaking into shops and attacking individuals even during the day-time to collect their phones which they plan to hawk, albeit, to raise money to either feed themselves or their extended family members.
As a result, the victims have now resorted to taking care of their own welfare. Indigenes of the two states have now resorted to ensuring their own safety through vigilante groups that now man their security in the nights since it seems the police apparatus now seem unable to do same.
A larger percentage of the vulnerable groups are not in any paid employment. Even those in paid employment are now in dire need of the palliatives as organizations they work for have either failed to pay them due to non-activity in the past couple of weeks or have had to make do with cuts in their salaries/wages.
Majority of the people that earn their wages on daily basis have now been locked down hence, no income is coming from any other source.
Whereas, the countries which we are copying have database and have since the ‘lockdowns’ continually given their citizens steady supply of food items as at when requested and even went ahead to send money into the accounts of deserving citizens (tax-payers and those on social security), Nigeria’s position had not been the same.
Palliatives in terms of supply of foodstuffs are not likely to go around based on the kind of environment we operate in whereby people are not really trustworthy with such.
As has been done in the countries that we have copied, it would not have been out place to send a minimum amount of N20,000 (not actually enough considering inflation in our country) to all account holders using their BVN as a source of payment.
Most probably, this singular action would have guided against the activities of the hoodlums which took a turn of event after the aftermath of the ‘lockdowns’ whereby the promised palliatives did not really get to people deserving of such.
Further on the welfare of the citizens, there should be a proactive action to mitigate the impending economic downturn that would most probably affect both individuals and organizations as the pandemic is not likely to ease off immediately.
- Dr Okunade writes from Caleb University, Imota, Lagos.
The Nation
