Follow Us on Google
Livinus Ukah
Under a scheme of interdependence, sharing helps to reduce problems. A country with a sense of sharing reduces poverty in its midst. The same principle applies to communities, societies, age-groups and families. In this critical time of lockdown due to the corona virus pandemic, we need to share what we have with others. We have many displaced persons in our midst. We have husbands who used to be breadwinners, but are now jobless. Some businesses have collapsed even before corona virus, making people financially distressed. Many people have become sick because of the stressful conditions they have found themselves in life and inability to make daily income.
Many homes have broken down because of lack of coping mechanisms. The economic, political and health crises have shattered many people’s values when they do not know how to re-root themselves in God and rely on him for better conditions. What has Nigerians not experienced and endured? Sharing is needed today in families and neighborhoods with this new strange disease ravaging the whole world. When a man who used to be rich loses his job because of economic problems in the country, the other partner should understand that it is not the end of life. In such circumstances, couples need espirit de corps to wait patiently on the Lord.
What people are experiencing now due to the sit-at-home directives from the government is unbearable. When an okada rider who lives on daily earnings is told not to go out it looks somehow to him. Where will he get the bread of today? A person who opens his or her store to sell something to somebody who didn’t buy it yesterday is bitten by the law. We hear police intimidating people and breaking down their wares for them to comply with the directives. The police should know in this period how to enforce the laws issued by the government and avoid the brutalization of the people.
The police are supposed to have enough psychology of the poor and stubborn people. Going ahead to beat them does not make things better. We cannot throw the law on people without understanding human conditions because Nigeria’s structure and situation is quite different from that of America and Europe. Life is give and take. The people have agreed to sit at home but what will they eat especially the poor, homeless, marginalized and unemployed? What stimulus package does the government have for them to prevent them from contravening the Law of sitting at home? We can’t thank the Lagos State government enough for ordering the arrest of the overzealous policemen that destroyed the wares of a Restaurant operator in an online viral video. Law enforcement agents at this time should not create excitement that would gather onlookers and create a tragedy of errors.
We were struggling to beat down poverty, hunger and diseases before this other strange corona virus pandemic broke out. Any hope for the poor again? What is happening in Nigeria today is horrible, it needs a reduction of anxiety and coping mechanism to survive, otherwise one dies in vain waiting for the government that will come immediately to solve our numerous problems.
Sharing is spiritual. It makes us feel a part of each other. Sharing fosters healthy climate and promotes family cohesion and development. A family that shares is a healthy family. A nation that shares is a healthy nation. In summary, whoever has should be ready to help those who “have not.” In these difficult and stressful times, the government that is the servant of the people should show concerns for the people by ameliorating their sufferings by finding a way of regulating prices of consumable items in the market and giving some cash incentives to households and individuals as palliative measures to sustain them in this difficult period.
The role of rich men or money bags in Nigeria is calling for attention. The rich cannot be comfortable with their wealth if the nation is plunged into a serious economic recession without their cooperative supports. Today we have meaningful Nigerians with abundant wealth, some buy private jets, some are even richer than their states. This is the time they are to act and use their wealth to cushion the current harsh effects we may face. Many of them are responding. Nigerians who have made it in life can take the bulls by the horn especially in a drastic situation when one feels that the end has come. They come out in competitive spirits to solve a problem that seems unimaginable. Nobody can downplay the Nigerian spirit in a difficult situation. The only thing is how the government would handle their donations and use it to achieve the objectives so they can respond whenever called upon next time. Being rich is no longer fashionable, if it cannot be used for human development. Nigeria recently received international donation of items from Jack Ma; the founder of Alibaba to contain the corona virus. Other cash donations have been rolling in. The major challenge we may face is the distribution procedures and knowing how to use good patriotic Nigerian professionals to ensure that the items are used for the intended purposes. We thank Alhaji Atiku Abubakar for remembering the downtrodden by donating and advocating the amount to be given to the poor to enable them buy food items. How far can his donation go? Even though his donation cannot cover, other cash donations from others when used judiciously can go a long way.
Many Nigerians argue that we do not have a database of the citizens through which financial benefits can be given like other countries have planned out. However, even though we may not have accurate data, various forms of identifications like the BVN, National Identity Card, Voter’s Card, Driving License or an International passport could be used by Citizens to claim their stimulus or “sit-at-home” package to enable them feed and caution the effects of not getting any income within this period. When will this be done judging the bureaucracy and the way things are done in Nigeria? We may end up waiting like Nigerian Pensioners who may not get their benefits till they die.
Knowing the possible delays of the government caused by administrative bottlenecks, individuals can share the little they have with others especially the have-nots. We should show concerns to our brothers and sisters who can’t make ends meet in this lockdown. Organizations manufacturing the daily needs products in Nigeria can start giving handouts of the products free at intervals instead of allowing traders to exploit the citizens with high prices on them. This is the time they are to exercise their Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) aside sponsored awareness advertisements on the Corona Virus.
The Church and other religious bodies at this period should be responsible to whoever comes to them irrespective of their religious affiliations. Aside prayers, they should bring the body and soul together by giving them relief materials and food that can sustain them this period. This is the time for real caritas! This is the time to fulfill their call to make sacrifice to their flock who are financially tight at the moment and unable to come to their churches or mosques to fulfill their financial obligations. As we comply with the lockdown and stay-at-home directive to mitigate the transmission of the virus, we shall continue praying for God’s intervention while pleading with the government to channel resources to equip isolation centres to take care of the infected persons and preventing newer outbreaks.
Rev. Msgr Ukah writes from Lagos
