Nigerians no longer want a lockdown even though they had supported the idea of a total lock-down to curb the spread of COVID-19.
A recent poll by BusinessDay showed that Nigerians no longer want the lock-down to continue, with 40% of participants voting for “Freedom” compared to 32% for “Food” and 28% “Power”.
Since the Lockdown began April 1 to curb the spread of Coronavirus in Nigeria, which of the following have you needed the most?#LockDownNigeria #BDpoll
— BusinessDay (@BusinessDayNg) April 9, 2020
In an earlier poll 57.7% of the respondents wanted the government to totally lock-down the country compared to 3.1% that wanted partial lock-down and 6.2% voting for no lock-down.
The latest poll result shows that Nigerians are frustrated over the low quality of livelihood and lack of sustenance during the lock-down.
Read also: Millions of SMEs pushed to the brink amid lockdown
There have also been reports about a rise in crime rate across Lagos and Ogun state during the first 14-days of the lock-down.
While there have been palliatives from state government in Lagos, residents have complained that the reliefs have been too little compared to their needs.
The FG has commenced disbursement of small cash in some states of the country to alleviate hardship of citizens.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday announced a 14-day extension of the total lockdown on Lagos, Ogun and Abuja, asking Nigerians to endure the hardship caused by the lockdown.
He said that “such sacrifices are needed to limit the spread of COVID-19 in our country”. “They were necessary to save lives.”
Earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned countries against lifting the lockdown too soon.
Countries like South Africa, India and Italy are among those that have extended their lockdowns to ensure that the virus is completely eliminated from their countries.
Nigeria reported 20 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday bringing total confirmed cases to 343 in the country with 91 recoveries and 10 deaths.,
