Opinion

On January 18, 2020, when I first read of the new coronavirus on the BBC website, my heart missed a beat because of what China means to the world. The headline was: “New virus in China ‘will have infected hundreds’.”

Mallam Abba Kyari, who died on 17th April, 2020, at the age of 67 from complications caused by the Coronavirus, was a true Nigerian patriot. My loyal friend and compatriot for the last 42 years – and latterly my Chief-of-Staff – he never wavered in his commitment to the betterment of every one of us.

The threats hanging over the African continent with regard to the spread of Covid-19 demand our individual and collective attention. The situation is critical. Yet this is not about mitigating another African humanitarian crisis, but to diffuse the potentially damaging effects of a virus that has shaken the global order and put under question the bases of our living together.

As many people are now aware, the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID–19) in China has rapidly permeated and profoundly changed the world.

Something must definitely be wrong with Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) if they would-as they did yesterday- dismiss the important national broadcast by President Muhammadu Buhari as “disappointing,” a speech for which the European Union, through their Ambassador to Nigeria, congratulated the President, describing it as ‘‘a very powerful address to the nation last night.”

The world was awoken from slumber concerning the global health challenge posed by COVID-19 pandemic not too long ago which was first reported in Wuhan in faraway China.

But I decided to write, out of the permissive will of God. The Yoruba people say if you don’t call a wicked man by his name, he will think he’s among those remaking the world, and turning it to an Eldorado.

The pandemic now referred to as ‘COVID-19’ is a very familiar situation and very little will be gained in either profiling or analyzing it.

Before the novel coronavirus pandemic hit the globe, Nigeria spent 42 per cent of her earnings on debt servicing. We have arrived at a new reality today: even if we devote 100 per cent of our income to rebuilding our economy, it still will not be enough.

There are too many theories, too many fake video and too many fake news out there- 5Gs this, 5Gs that. Please, stay out of those theories. Keep your eyes on the Lord. Do not be afraid. Do not say, “My Lord, this is the anti-Christ!”

These are very difficult days, as the world faces one of its worst challenges ever: the novel coronavirus pandemic. And it seems almost no nation is spared. As infection rates rise, so does panic across financial markets, as economies drastically slow down and supply chains are severely disrupted.

In his broadcast to the nation on Sunday, March 29, 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari declared that “in Nigeria’s fight against Covid-19, there is no such thing as an overreaction or under-reaction. It is all about the right reaction by the right agencies and trained experts.”

Nigeria announced its first COVID-19 case on February 27 – an Italian who came into the country on February 24 and displayed symptoms of the disease while visiting Lafarge Cement Company in Ewekoro, Ogun State.

The recent deposition of Emir Lamido Sanusi II has thrown up many issues both locally within the Kano metropolis and nationally and surely will be a topic for discussion for some time to come.

President Muhammadu Buhari was presidential in his address to the nation on coronavirus (COVID-19) on Sunday. He got off his accustomed armchair; stood up and spoke to Nigerians like an unfeigned commander-in-chief. I could see the sense of urgency in his cadence and grimace.

From the first signs that Coronavirus, or COVID-19 was turning into an epidemic and was officially declared a world-wide emergency, the Federal Government started planning preventive, containment and curative measures in the event the disease hits Nigeria.

Were the English Premier League, or the La Liga, or even the Olympic Games to be on somewhere in the world, staying at home for two weeks during this most challenging period in human history, to wear off the destructive power of coronavirus would have been more tolerable for a chunk of the world.

Most of our 36 States Governors have so far done well in measures to combat COVID 19 and must be commended. Most of them, are leading by example and that is good.