COVID-19 Second Wave: Nigerians Are Dying In Droves, While Leadership Is Absent

 Like Nero fiddling while Rome burns, so is the pathetic situation of Nigerians who are dying in droves from Second Wave of COVID-19 complications while our leaders are acting as if all is well. Like the ostrich they have buried their heads under the sand thinking that they are safe. But how could the ostrich bury its head under the sand and believe that it is safe when the rest of its body is exposed? That is how foolish the ostrich is. 

And I dare say that our leaders are not different from the ostrich. For if they are any different, they would have known that this is not the right time to gather in thousands across the country by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to embark on registration of members, an activity that is without doubt a super spreader of COVID-19. If our leaders are different from the ostrich they would have known that this is not the right time to gather Nigerians in their thousands for compulsory NIN registration, after all the National Identity Number is for the living and not the dead. 

Only God knows how many Nigerians have contracted the COVID-19 since the super spreader-compulsory NIN registration began. And if the first wave of the COVID-19 was a slap on the wrist, this second wave is the real McCoy! A sensitive leadership would have known that the country is at war with unseen enemy that staged a comeback far more formidable than before. And the leadership is not living by example. They made the law against COVID-19 violation but they violate their own law. And they create atmosphere for the law to be violated anyway. You cannot gather thousands of people in a small space and expect the protocols to be observed. 

Right now there are reports that there are no more bed spaces available in many isolation centres, and the hospitals are overwhelmed. What does the government do? It issues lame statement threatening to shut down the country if people don’t wear mask. Who is deceiving whom? As I write, the presidency has enjoined Nigerians to wear facemasks and comply with other COVID-19 protocols to avoid another lockdown. In a statement signed by Garba Shehu, senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, the presidency said it is worried by reports of non-compliance with the recently signed executive order that mandates the use of face masks and social distancing. “The Presidency is worried by reports of non-compliance with just signed executive order that makes mask-wearing and observation of social distancing in the public mandatory, appealing to Nigerians to give their maximum cooperation for the success of the policy,” the statement read. “President Muhammadu Buhari introduced the order with the best of intentions and not with any motive to punish citizens. “The Presidency appeals to state governments, traditional rulers and religious leaders to play active roles in the sensitization and enforcement of the executive order.” 

But there was nothing like social distance as the President registers at his APC ward in Daura. You could see the number of people that congregated around him as he sat to sign the register. Besides, he was photographed in many places without wearing his mask. That tells a lot about the commitment of the present leadership to confront the second wave of COVID-19. But this is a serious matter. Thousands are lying helplessly in hospitals unattended to. No space and the health workers are overwhelmed. Even the rich also cry. 

Sunmade Akin-Olugbade, brother to Bolu Akin-Olugbade, late Nigerian billionaire businessman, has revealed that N10 million was paid at Paelon Memorial Hospital in Lagos before he was admitted for COVID-19 treatment. He made the revelation in an interview with Asabe Afrika TV while reflecting on his late brother’s last moments. According to him, Bolu was doing fine until New Year’s Eve when he complained that he was feeling unwell. Sunmade said they had initially sent him bitter kola, ginger among other local herbs, but had to rush him to the hospital in an ambulance when his condition deteriorated. “He joined me here (Nigeria) in October. He was hale and hearty. Most of the Christmas period, he was attending parties and whenever l talk to him he will respond that l have my facemask as well as shield on,” he said. “During the Owu festival in Abeokuta, he went there. He attended parties over here. He made up with his old friends. On Christmas day, he was with his younger brother and his wife at Ikoyi in Lagos. “He was okay until a day before New Year when he said he was not feeling well. We sent him this bitter kola, ginger and others. He said he had already taken them but was finding it difficult to breathe. So, we arrange someone to take oxygen to him at the house. “All his friends rallied round but the situation got worse and we had to rush him to the hospital in an ambulance.” He added that upon arriving at the hospital, they could not get a bed space for Bolu despite the deceased’s personality. According to him, Bolu was considered only after they had paid the said amount. “But we couldn’t get a bed. Everywhere was filled up, in Lagos here.

The situation with this pandemic is really serious. We had to pay N10 million to get into Paelon hospital. It’s not about the money now, what I’m saying is that if someone of high network could not get a bed, what do you think will happen to ordinary citizens,” he said. Sunmade also called for holistic measures by the Nigerian government to tackle the novel disease, adding that the country is already in a crisis situation. “There are a lot of people dying that are not being reported, that is the honest truth. We are in a crisis situation in the country right now. I don’t think the government is galvanising and mobilising people to handle the situation,” he added. “It’s already getting out of hand. We are lucky that the weather is in our favour. But despite that, we still have a crisis situation.” If a billionaire like Bolu Akin-Olugbade could not get space to be treated until after spending a whopping N10million and still could not survive, it tells you the tragic situation we are in as a nation right now. Most deaths of recent times are COVID-19 related unless proven otherwise. Yet with this enormity of problem our leaders are busy chasing shadows, talking about 2023 and restructuring and all manner of talk shops when we should all concentrate energy to deal with second wave of COVID-19 and mobilize funds from public and private sectors to embark on Africa’s biggest COVID-19 vaccination. 

It is not too late for this leadership to correct itself and channel resources to address the threat posed by COVID-19 instead of burying its head in the sand hoping that the virus would just go away!