By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Residents of Lagos, from Epe to Okokomaiko down to Badagry, are feeling the pinch of the total lockdown imposed by the federal authorities to stave off the spread of coronavirus that infects and kills worldwide without discrimination.
Pretty hard hit in Nigeria’s most populous state are those who live on daily earnings – market women, bread sellers, fruit sellers, mechanics, and also middle class business people – who form the bulk of the 20 million residents.
Small shops are shut.
In some areas, you can hardly get to buy staple foods, such as bread, garri, and rice; or snacks, like fried yam and akara (beans balls) normally hawked on the roadside.
The transport system is grounded.
And in some areas, the streets are deserted. Except for some who sit in front of their homes to discuss this strange thing that robs a city that never sleeps of its vibrancy and confines a sociable people to live like hermits.
Relief not getting through
President Muhammadu Buhari says the lockdown, also imposed on Abuja and Ogun States, will last two weeks in the first instance.
But it may be extended if the threat of the disease does not abate.
Families who merely get by on daily income now fear hunger more than the virus, despite claim by Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed that the federal government has started disbursing palliatives to poor families North and South.
She spoke on March 31, a day after the lockdown began, but did not disclose the amounts being disbursed, nor the identities of recipients.
What is public is that several wealthy individuals and corporates have donated over N15 billion into the coronavirus relief fund launched by the government.
Oil mogul Emeka Ofor alone donated N12 billion on March 31.
There is also such a relief fund in the United States, where a $2 trillion stimulus for industry includes a $1,200 pay out to each family earning less than $99,000 in addition to $500 for each child.
Poor neighbourhoods
In Lagos meanwhile, poor people in congested neighbourhoods are worried about how they will cope, the BBC writes.
“From where do we get the extra water to wash the hands you are talking about,” asked Debby Ogunsola, 36, as she led the BBC reporter down a dark corridor towards her room in the Alapere area.
For Ogunsola it will be difficult to remain indoors. She and her family live in one room in a block of 20, locally called Face-me-I-face-you because of their close proximity to each other.
There is no electricity, and when the BBC reporter visited, light was coming in through where a door should have been standing. Outside there were two toilets and bathrooms shared by all the families living in the 20 rooms.
Hunger, immediate threat than coronavirus
There is no pipe-borne water either in Alapere, and Ogunsola is forced to walk more than 50 metres to a broken public water pipe for her supply.
“It’s my children I am worried about,” she said.
All four of them were lying on the floor as it rained outside. A single window was the only source of air into the room and it could get very hot at night.
“If I am not able to go out and sell, how will they [children] survive?” asked Ogunsola, who earns money by selling fruit and vegetables by the roadside.
Her husband works at an oil rig in Warri and is due to come home in a month.
But several states – including Rivers, Delta, Kano, and Bayelsa – have closed their borders, prohibiting inter-state movement. So if the lockdown is extended, it could be a while before Ogunsola is reunited with her husband.
“It is hunger I am worried about, not a virus. I even heard it doesn’t kill young people.”
Though there is a higher mortality rate among the old and those with underlying health conditions, young people are also dying of the virus – and they can transmit it if they do not act responsibly.
Poor people can’t stockpile
Across an open drain from Ogunsola’s residence are more rows of similar apartments. One has an expansive veranda where two old women were sitting and talking.
It is not uncommon for urban Nigerian families to live with older relatives, who also double up as nannies.
And the concern is that these old people could be at risk if the virus spreads.
“They are at home and they are still gathering in crowded conditions. If you were to have someone who has the virus there, the chances of spreading it is high,” said Dr Oyewale Odubanjo, a public health expert.
In Italy, many multi-generational families also live together and this is one reason why it has seen more coronavirus deaths than any other country.
All non-essential travel has been banned in most states in Nigeria and many workers, including civil servants, have been told to work from home.
But with a lack of reliable electricity supplies and poor internet connections, it is hard to see how most people will get any work done.
There were long queues at supermarkets after Buhari announced the lockdown on March 29, with people rushing to stock up on essentials.
But many Nigerians live hand-to-mouth, often on less than $1 (N400) and they cannot stock up on food or other essentials.
Many workers are also yet to be paid their salaries for March so there are deep concerns about the financial implications of a lockdown.
Buhari outlined some measures to ease the hardship, including a one-month advance payment of the monthly $13 given to the poorest of the poor, but millions of self-employed Nigerians have been left without financial aid.
“It’s only those who have money that can buy now. If you do not have what can you do?” said a taxi driver parked outside a supermarket.
There are also fears that if things get worse in the urban areas, people would ignore the ban on travel and start moving to rural areas.
They are guaranteed food from family farms in rural areas but there is a higher population of vulnerable older people and more limited health services.
“That would be bedlam, total madness, if people begin to move to their villages,” said town planner Ayobami Bamidele.
“Whatever happens, people should remain where they are. We will survive this,” he said.
Early March now seems like a long time ago, when the World Health Organisation (WHO) praised Nigeria for its handling of coronavirus after the first case was reported in the country.
Officials had swiftly identified, traced, and quarantined contacts of the Italian man they referred to as the index case.
But now there is growing concern that Nigeria has not done enough to curb the spread of the virus, and its health system is ill-equipped to cope with a major outbreak.
Struggle to survive
Nigeria has few testing kits, but many asymptomatic government officials and music stars are being tested, raising questions about the fairness of the process.
It costs N10,000 to do a test in a private hospital, former Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora disclosed on March 31. Many cannot afford it. And most government hospitals do not have testing equipment.
Despite Buhari’s promise when he took office to put an end to medical tourism, he and other government officials still go abroad for treatment. However, this is unlikely to happen if any official gets Covid-19.
“Even if you are wealthy, you will have to use the same health facilities with others, whether good or bad – nobody is going to accept a patient from abroad to treat,” Odubanjo said.
Lagos and some other states introduced restrictions on large gatherings about a fortnight ago, but many people – including some pastors – are ignoring calls to adhere to social distancing.
Some motorbike riders had their temperatures checked as they left Abuja.
Meanwhile, back at a crowded bus stop in Alapere, hawkers competed for every inch of available space to sell their wares, ignoring any thought of social distancing. Most were not concerned about the virus.
“All death is death,” a woman selling smoked fish on a tray said in Pidgin, as she nipped between two yellow buses.
“If I stay home, I will die of hunger, if I come out to hustle you say I will die of coronavirus.
“There is nothing we have not seen and we are still here, we shall survive this one,” she said, smacking her lips.