By Onyewuchi Ojinnaka
A non-governmental organisation and human rights defender, the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), has posited that the proposed extension of the anti-Coronavirus Lockdown nationwide by the federal government without genuine, verifiable adequate provision of foodstuffs and other reasonable palliatives/security for all Nigerians will be tantamount to passing a death sentence verdict on the citizens.
CLO gathered that the federal government, in collaboration with the state governments, has resolved to extend the two week lockdown across Nigeria.
It noted that just on Wednesday, the Presidential TaskForce on COVID -19 alerted that the federal government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari will impose a total lockdown on the entire country by this weekend.
Chairman of the Taskforce, Boss Mustapha who made the disclosure, said the essence of the alert was to advise Nigerians to immediately make adequate arrangements for their families.
Mustapha who said that Nigeria is going to experience turbulent times caused by the coronavirus pandemic, however accused the government of failure to take proactive measures from the onset to attack COVID-19 on time, adding that government is now ready barely three months after the terror disease started, to put adequate coordinated actions to address the coronavirus scourge in Nigeria.
Expressing the position of Civil Liberties Organisation on the extension, its Executive Director Comrade Ibuchukwu Ohabuenyi Ezike said that CLO is not against the extension of lockdown on the country in her fight to contain the coronavirus pandemic but “we are totally against doing so without putting adequate mechanisms on the ground that would cushion the killer effects of the lockdown”.
He insisted that it will be needless extending the imprisonment of Nigerians if enough foodstuffs, money, security and other essential household goods are not provided for all Nigerians who are in need.
“We have witnessed a complete corrupt dispensing of insufficient palliatives provided by government in the last four weeks as well as gross mismanagement of money and foodstuffs donated by patriotic Nigerians and organisations who, till date, have not been probed by the government despite public outcries across Nigeria.
“CLO will, therefore, view government’s intransigence in extending the lockdown without fulfilling these credible conditions and providing organised security protection for the people as passing death sentence verdict on Nigerians.
“The last four weeks have been characterised by hunger, armed robbery attacks, invasion of homes at night and raping of women. We make bold to say that there will be no difference between keeping Nigerians at home without adequate security protection and enough food and letting them to be attacked by coronavirus.
“Various countries of the world which are imposing lockdown on their societies also make good provisions for their citizens. For instance, in Qatar, special hotline numbers are provided for citizens who are in need to contact agencies responsible for handling the amenities to them.
“Also, South Africa has approved the payment of 350 Rands to adults and 750 Rands to children for the period the lockdown will last in their country. In Finland, not only that adequate palliatives are provided, they do not make public the statistics of those affected, discharged and who have passed on. We can go on.”
According to Ezike, CLO is optimistic and certain that Coronavirus like any other epidemic virus diseases that had existed in the past, will come and go and Nigerians will still live.
The organisation condemns the way and manner our government is handling the coronavirus pandemic, especially with respect to locking the citizens at home like the Trans-Atlantic slaves without addressing their socio-economic needs, arguing that locking people at home is not the only solution.
“We are not aware of any efforts by the government to fund serious research on the COVID-19 as other nations of the world are doing, or making provisions to test people on the way as it is done in some countries, such as China. People move freely in China today, even in Wuham, where the pandemic started.”
Finally, CLO is asking for transparency in the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, including adequate welfare for the citizens.