By Ummi Ismaeel,
Minna
Niger State residents and stakeholders have given conditions, which the government must met before they could comply with the directive on second lockdown on coronavirus (COVID-19).
They insisted that for full compliance with lockdown against the new wave of COVID-19, the government and stakeholders must sit on a roundtable and agree on the modalities and formalities for the distribution and sharing of the palliatives.
They also said that there was the possibility that more Nigerians were dying of the pandemic considering the unpleasant manner the government managed the palliatives during the first phase of the lockdown.
The stakeholders alleged poor management of the palliatives by the relevant agencies in the first phase of the lockdown.
The stakeholders – religious leaders, health workers, representatives of traditional institutions, market leaders and the media –
voiced their opinion at a one-day joint COVID-19 Awareness and Prevention seminar organized by Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN), Niger USAID E-WASH in Minna.
During the interactive session, the Ward Head of Fadikpe (Minna metropolis), Alhaji Danladi Musa Jibrin, who expressed fears of apathy on citizens, called on the government to ensure that the second wave of the disease did not get out of hand.
The participants complained that during the first phase of COVID-19, many Nigerians suffered hunger and hardship as a result of lockdown.
According to the stakeholders, “Local Government Council, States and the Federal government hid the palliatives meant for the masses and allowed many of us to suffer and die of hunger and now they are coming up with another trick to make us suffer hunger and deprivation again”.
While calling on all three tiers of governments to act fast by evolving a more holistic means of tackling the virus to save the poor from the impact of the Second Wave of COVID-19, the speakers said Nigerians were wiser now and would not want to be deceived for a second time.
“The second wave of COVID-19 will consume us, especially we, the poor masses, hence the government must act fast to ensure that the disease does not escalate beyond what we already heard by ensuring that what happened during the first wave should be avoided.
“As religious and traditional leaders, we are telling the local, state and federal government to reach out to the genuine needy and poorest of the poor in the society and as well avoid politicizing anything to favour a particular political party against others”.
Another participant, Hajiya Hadiza Mohammed Saba, said that it would be quite difficult for people to listen to the government by adhering to the directives to stay at home without evidence proved agreement when they have no food to eat.
She argued, “The government is not sensitive to the sufferings of the people. Why should they expect the Nigerian masses to comply with the directive to stay at home with what they have experienced in the past when they have no food at home?”
Also, the Director Niger State Primary Health Care Development Agency, (NPHCDA), Dr. Hauwa Kolo, had urged citizens of Niger State to adhere strictly with COVID-19 regulations as a way of preventing the spread of the second wave of the disease.
