Before the index case of COVID-19 was recorded in Nigeria, I had been to Ibadan in Oyo State, twice. I know what pre-COVID-19 was like. Last Sunday, I visited the ancient city, again.
Two hours from Ibadan, in Lagos, the government struggles to ensure that the enforcement — at least during the day — of measures, including the use of masks by residents and restricting the number of passenger commercial motorists commute.
Many times, the police raid bus parks and markets arresting people who violate guidelines to COVID-19 spread. Security agencies, especially the police, have been accused by residents of exploiting the situation. Some say persons arrested are asked to pay at least N5,000. These monies are not likely to go to the coffers of the government.
The Lagos to Sagamu road is not only bad but the driver of the vehicle I boarded also had to deal with over fifteen roadblocks mounted by different security agencies, including the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), police and the vigilante group of Nigeria. The driver had to part with as much as N500 in order to get each roadblock.
“Park. Are you aware that there is lockdown?” personnel of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN) told the driver at one of the checkpoints in Ogun State, as he scanned passengers in the vehicle, looking for a COVID-19 violation offense to pin on anyone.
The driver responded by telling the VGN officer that he had a pass.
Absent-mindedly, he inspected the document. Then with a grin, he asked: “Paper na food? Anything for the boys?”
The federal government has relaxed inter-state movement, the Ogun State government restricts movement on weekends, excluding weekdays.
Although it is clear that the presence of security men on the Lagos to Sagamu route – a federal road — is extortionate, their presence helps to check many drivers and passengers. The driver cited fear of being arrested and extorted by security officials as the reason he adheres to government’s directive of two passengers on a seat and carries extra nose masks for passengers who do not have.
A woman, one of the passengers, had to borrow one of the nose masks but remarked that “I don’t know who used this last, I pray I don’t contract corona (COVID-19).”
While Lagos and Ogun States seem strict about ensuring their residents adhere to measures aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19, in Oyo State, nobody seems to care.
The first shock came when the driver of the taxi I boarded to Challenge in Ibadan, told a man to sit beside me at the front. While three people sat at the back, three people – including the driver – sat at the front in a rickety vehicle that is of the same size as a mini cooper. Hands, shoulders and elbows touched. Faces were few inches apart. I was the only one with a nose mask.
I asked the driver if he was worried that coronavirus would spread faster with passengers sitting closely. “Young one, there is no coronavirus in Nigeria. The government is using the disease to embezzle funds,” the man told me in Yoruba language.
Two other passengers agreed with the middle-aged man. They said they had not seen anyone who contracted the disease.
As of July 13, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Oyo ranks fourth among states with the highest cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria. The State has recorded 1,726 cases, 699 patients still being treated, 1008 people discharged and nineteen people dead.
As I went about my purpose for going to Ibadan and interacting with people, I was bewildered as I observed the nonchalance and ignorance of many people. Only a hand full of people wore nose masks and observed social and physical distancing. A trader from the Eastern part of Nigeria told me he would eat Amala and drink herbs like Governor Seyi Makinde if he contracts COVID-19.
As governments strive to stop the spread of the virus, little progress will be achieved if they believe that the pandemic is unreal or a guise to steal public persists among citizens. Cases of COVID-19 will also continue to rise if policymakers are unwilling to implement policies – no matter how difficult — that will limit chances of the virus spreading.
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