Our discourse on the political dynamics of the war against Coro is on hold today as we review some recent miscellaneous small-small Coro-related matters. Two weeks ago, the WHO Director of Emergencies advised us to see Coro as a new-normal; in effect, to get friendlier with that vicious visitor it because it was not going in a hurry, as it came with its own chair! We were aghast because we all thought that Coro would soon disappear as suddenly as it came. Just the other day, Unisa, Head of Infectious Disease Clinic at the University of Maryland said the same thing: “We may have to live with Coro for months and years. Let’s not deny it or panic and let’s not make our lives useless. Let’s learn to live with this fact.”
So, however unpleasant it is, we should get used to living with Coro, just as we have become used to living with bad roads, poor governance, Discos that generate more of darkness and charge us for the darkness, political irresponsibility and rascality and overall governance failure. And by the way, governance failure has killed and continues to kill more Nigerians than Coro will ever kill. If you doubt it, let us ask the National Bureau of Statistics.
It is heart-warming that the PTF-Coro has learnt this war is not an order from above, by-fire-by-force affair. They now have plans to engage 800,000 people for aggressive campaign of sensitisation and mobilisation across the land. However, I still wonder why they should not outsource this task to the National Orientation Agency, deploy Youth-Corpers who have all been ‘deboarded’, courtesy of the same Coro or even decentralise the matter. Anyway, they now know that it is not a matter of issuing orders from above.
It is now common knowledge that President Trump has finally severed the relationship between US and WHO because the Commander-in-Chief of the global war against Coro has “failed to make the requested and greatly needed reforms” and to punish WHO and its partner in crime, China for their “cover-up” of the coronavirus outbreak. Surely, Trump would have been a great dictator if he were from these climes. He issued a query the other day and before the WHO finished reading the query, he handed out this non-negotiable punishment. He did not even bother about what other WHO partners think about the matter or the impact this harsh decision on the other parts of the world. He is actually a dictatorial democrat. And still on Trump and the US, at times, one emergency upstages another emergency.
Despite being the world champion in Coro cases and deaths, Trump has had to keep the war against Coro in abeyance so as to face the unanticipated national outrage against the gruesome murder of Floyd. The “I can’t breathe” demonstrations, even forced the “I-don’t-care” Trump into a bunker in the White House and led to the appearance US soldiers on the streets has put Coro-related affairs on the cooler! It also led to the emergence of a new species of blacks (pure white men) who were looting under the cover of the protests. And still from yonder, a group of monkeys in India has boldly attacked a laboratory assistant on Coro duties and seized some Coro samples from the helpless fellow.
I am not surprised because in this country, we have black-market court injunctions and judgments, black-market admissions, duty waivers, ministerial nominations, electoral victories and employment letters! For those who patronise black-market test-kit market, I have only one advice: caveat emptor
The monkeys even had the audacity to enjoy their loot by publicly devouring the samples. This happened in the precincts of Meerut Medical College in Delhi. May be, we shall soon start testing the monkeys for evidences of “coronisation”! However, this shows that it is not only in Nigeria that monkeys do “great things” though in Nigeria, they would have been more interested in swallowing cash. It is also obvious that the assistant was on a “legedesbenz” (trekking) or else the monkeys could not have attacked him/her!
Back home, the NCDC has bemoaned the appearance of black-market in the test -kit market. Don’t ask me why it is called a black-market (just like we have black-mail, black-book, black-sheep black-day, black-berry et al). However, I am not surprised because in this country, we have black-market court injunctions and judgments, black-market admissions, duty waivers, ministerial nominations, electoral victories and employment letters! For those who patronise black-market test-kit market, I have only one advice: caveat emptor.
And the biggest of the small-small developments: The Government has moved on to the next level of the gradual easing of our self-imposed medical detention. “Coffee” has been reduced from 10pm-4am. (So, don’t drink coffee outside these hours…!) Why? Because people in Lagos leave their homes around 4 so as to get to work about 8 and this means circa 8 ours commuting time daily! (almost two whole days in a week).
Financial sector and hotels are allowed to open fully while places of worship are granted restricted opening. I don’t know why disorganised markets are opened fully while churches can open on a restricted basis. Anyway, that means I will say goodbye to my online parish and parishioners (Holy Cross cathedral, Lagos). I hope I will still find the way to my Parish, Our Lady Seat of Wisdom, Okota. Now, are we opening up because the war is over or because people are observing the restrictions more in breach or because Coro is now the new normal? Well, “at-all, at-all n aim bad pass”! I am glad that we have moved to the next-level in the easing process.
Other matters: $5.513bn foreign loan? Count me out!
The micro and macro environment has been overrun by Coro and allied forces and I have been fully at home for so long to the extent that I have started mixing up the days and the weeks. On Tuesday last week (26/5/20) I sent out a message to a platform for your weekend relaxation! It was when one mischievous fellow asked me the type of calendar, I was using that it hit me: weekend on a Tuesday!
Anyway, everything has been about Coro: confirmed cases, fatalities, active cases, Isolation Centres, CACOVID, treated and discharged et al. I got baffled when suddenly, last week, a cacophony of voices started oozing out from the “Buhari boys”, how he was/is the best thing to have happened to Nigeria, how he has placed Nigeria on an irreversible path to sustainable development, how he has fulfilled all his promises and that in any case, he never promised to fulfil all his promises within 5 years! (He has fulfilled all but he never promised to fulfil all within 5 years!). It was then that I remembered that it was 29th May, our former Democracy Day. It was also around the same time that Colonel Umar wrote the president, pleading with him to belong to all of us.
The internet has made everything easy and all the information is on the public square. It is indubitable that Nigerians are poorer, more unemployed, more homeless and “enjoy” higher cost of living and poorer standard of living than in 2019 or 2015. People are not judged by what they have promised to do or for their efforts; they are judged by what they have done; by outcomes! Incidentally, the Gospel reading for that day (John, 21:16-17) emphasised that the core role a shepherd is to feed the sheep while the reward for the shepherd who fail to attend to the sheep is woe! (Jeremiah, 23:1)
But one thing this government knows how to do, do it well and do it quickly is to borrow and that is why the President celebrated his 5th Presidential anniversary by requesting for an approval from the National Assembly (which will surely be automatically granted) to borrow extra $5.5 billion. And the following day, he had the temerity to ask the world for debt cancellation for developing countries! It is like a yam-thief who is being cautioned for thievery and yet he is planning on how to go for another stealing expedition.
It is like the nominal Catholic who trivialises the sacrament of reconciliation by sinning repeatedly because he believes that the merciful God would always forgive him anytime, he confessed! Femi Adesina has also told us bold-facedly that there is nothing wrong in borrowing because we have not exhausted our capacity to borrow! So, people should do everything they can do? Alright, let Adesina drive his car at 250kmph on the Ikorodu-Ijebu-Ode road or move around the streets of Abuja naked! Yes; he CAN do both! Furthermore, he also reminded us that the global standard is debt to GDP ratio of 50 percent (and we are still at a mere 23 percent). I agree with him but also, lets follow global standard on everything including governance, accountability, rule of law, quality of education.
When I consider the absolute and relative loan figures, the loan service ratio, our repayment capability and the opacity of these loans, the only reasonable thing for me to say is COUNT ME OUT. Let the NASS, and in particular Senator Ubah and Hon Umeoji (who represent me at Abuja though I don’t know whether they are aware) take note that I object to this particular loan. I know my objection will not avail much. However, the hen whose chick the kite has captured says it is crying, not because the hawk will have a change of heart but so that the world would hear her. And in the years to come when they ask: IK, what did you do then? I will refer them to this article. I am also planning a one-man demonstration when schools resume. I know that Prof S.A Tela would support me. Please, COUNT ME OUT!
