COVID-19 MANAGEMENT IN AUCHI SACRED KINGDOM:
CHALLENGES AND RECOMMENDATIONS
By: Jeremiah Enaholo Kadiri
The novel coronal virus pandemic
otherwise known as COVID-19, is a respiratory disease that has shutdown virtually
every aspect of man’s activities. It is a blow whose excruciating pain will
echo through what is left off time.
Having drowned over a hundred
thousand persons with a steady hike in its tide of death waves globally,
individual countries have collectively resorted to collaborate on the
international front, national, state, local government down to community levels
in view of breaking its spiraling spread with more of precautionary measures
and concerted efforts at developing a vaccine. The former though more
conspicuous than the latter (at least to the layman).
When Nigeria recorded its first
index case of an Italian who flew into the country through the Muritala
Muhammed Airport, drove to Ogun and back to Lagos as a result of his health, there
were calls by the vast majority of Nigerians on government to shut all entry
points into the country. These calls together with the urgency they demanded
fell on the deaf lobs of our leaders’ ears and so, more and more cases where
imported into a country whose health system was already near dead.
Away from the foregoing narrative, Auchi
stands out in all spheres as the nodal town in Edo north given its strategic
geographical location and more so, its geometric
progression and sustained transformation from the yesteryears to its current
glory. It is safe to call her a mother of the Afenmai people being that its
position as the commercial hub and jugular of Edo north’s Political and
Socio-economic sectors can neither be downplayed nor overemphasized.
She
sneezes, Afenmai freezes!
Safe for now she is, as no covid-19
confirmed case has been recorded in and around Auchi Sacred Kingdom. However,
being the heart of its region, she takes no chances and has come all out to
help spread the awareness, promote WHO’s precautionary measures and personal
hygiene guidelines as well as enforce government’s stay-at-home directives. Her
collaboration with partners of progress is at par with her fear for losing its
people to the dreaded disease.
The cosmopolitan town was the first
to enforce a lockdown after Benin as soon as Edo state government gave the
order, banning crowded places and activities like fellowshipping in worship
centers (closing down churches and Mosques), sensitizing her citizens,
distributing face masks cum hand sanitizers as well as the creation of a
special trust fund from which essential items like food, medications and other
relief materials are bought and distributed to the most vulnerable in the
community. All closely supervised by Alhaji H.A. Momoh the Ikelebe III, Otaru
of Auchi and managed by a carefully constituted committee in the Palace.
Auchi sons and daughters in the
Diaspora have in no small measure drove home palliatives under numenclatures
such as the Akhira Foundation, Auchi Allied, Concerned Youths of Auchi Sacred
Kingdom, Concerned Sons and Daughters, The Auchi Forum to mention but a few.
All with one intent, to cushion the adverse effects of hunger (a fallout from
the lockdown order by the government).
However, pockets of factors
militate against the overall success of Auchi’s resolve to manage the situation
and possibly forestall any incidence of the viral infection being recorded in
her territory though the scourge currently rears its grotesque head in nearby
Ekperi and Fugar.
These challenges are not
farfetched. Chief Sule Yusuf, Daudu of Aibotse village in Auchi states
emphatically that, “Apathy, unbelief,
undue obstinacy, religious fanaticism, lack of proper sensitization, in some
cases crass stupidity, crowded and unsanitized markets, government’s inertia at
local government level…” are some of the challenges facing the onerous task
of curtailing and containing the covid-19 pandemic and all its adverse effects.
To corroborate the above assertion, cultural
factors, religious inclination mixed with fanaticism, education cum orientation,
the health system and that which is referred to as ‘Oga kpata-kpata’ of them all, the Government,
will be discussed .
Culture as a militating factor against concerted efforts at
managing the covid-19 pandemic manifests in the people’s social interaction,
cohesion, family system and more. All of which form the social structure of the
Auchi Community. Everyone is related and this singular reason is cohesive
enough to flout the social distancing rule. The people of Auchi Sacred Kingdom
have a bond that is as blind as love and so, getting everyone to stay at home
and not fraternize as a result of a disease that is alien to their belief is a
hectic task to carry out. A vast majority including supposedly educated elites
do not believe in the reality of covid-19. This, though not peculiar to the
Auchi people is one cultural factor that has aggravated the damage done by the
novel viral infection. The culture of believing after having firsthand
experience is posing an imminent dawning doom.
Being the opium of the people as
opined by a school of thought, Religion
as practiced by followers of varying faiths poses a far worrying antagonism in
the war being waged against covid-19 not just in Auchi but Nigeria at large. While
some religious leaders emphasize that the Supreme Being will not allow any
infectious infection infect His faithfuls as they continue to have faith and
observe congregational fellowship, the believing believers are stupefied by
cunningly crafted messages aimed most times at making them path with their hard
earned monies under the guises of tithes/offerings.
I believe that religion is perfect.
However it’s followers are not without
flaws.
Furthermore, there is no gain in
stating the gory state of Education
as we have it today. The vast majority of the people earn degrees and get
certified having learnt nothing tangible enough to add real value to the
society. Supposedly a medium of developing capacity, a good majority of those
who have earned a degree or two have only done so to develop a CV. It’s a race
towards filling CVs more than developing capacity.
Poor Educational background when
coupled with ignorance and arrogance is militating very strongly against
attempts at stemming the tide of Covid-19 in Auchi Sacred Kingdom. Many people
believe they know enough to be authorities in things like these and as such,
they are reluctant to accept new trends and developments. Holding onto what
they already know religiously does not give room for an acceptance of what is
new and this poses a great threat during sensitization walks.
A situation where a graduate of
business administration argues that covid-19 is just another name for high
fever and that the government is only out to use this as another avenue for
siphoning funds, better explains the level of our thought processing and
orientation.
Our health system hasn’t fared well, is not faring well and
though a fire-brigade approach is being employed to quickly make better what
has been bad for decades, one sees no headway for the sector even after the
pandemic. The General Hospital in Auchi for example has been a subject of
unpopular debates stemming from its administration, non-availability of tools
of the health profession down to the overall look of the infrastructure. It has
over the years become a referral zone where doctors refer patients to their
private clinics. It has become a personal property of corrupt health workers
who extort patients for personal gains. It has been reduced to a center where
life saving is more commercial than sacred.
How well can a disease be managed
when the sector at the forefront in tackling same is as ill as it’s
patient? With a threat as overwhelming
as covid-19 comes the need for an overhauling rejuvenation of the Health system
and not these fire-brigade facelifts that will fizzle out as soon as the
pandemic is contained.
Government is the only problem most people see in the problem
posed by the covid-19 pandemic. From federal to state, down to local government
levels, government has not shown a convincing competency in tackling the
scourge. The forgoing challenges highlighted above are further compounded by
the fact that those at the helm of affairs seem to be overwhelmed.
The true picture of what’s
happening to the world has not be painted in the mind of the citizens as
there’s been no proper sensitization, orientation and political will to enforce
lockdowns and more so, provide palliatives. All efforts geared towards
executing a lockdown in view of breaking the chain of transmission are met with
kid gloves to gain cheap political points at the detriment of the people’s
lives in the face of a dare devil disease. Palliatives are provided for those
whose loyalty reside with the government of the day, law enforcement agents go
blind after collecting ‘roger’ from owners of none-essential shops/services
providers to operate, no presence of government officials at market places to
enforce the precautionary measures prescribed by WHO, there is no test center
in Auchi even though it functions as the giant of Edo north and headquarter of
Etsako west local government area. The list of complacency on the part of
government continues to expose our people to the corona virus contagion.
However, all hope is not lost.
Various bodies are beginning to rise up to the challenge by not only providing
palliatives but more so, educating the ignorant, liaising with religious and
traditional rulers, producing jingles and embarking on massive sensitization
campaigns to create the needed awareness in the people’s minds.
Worthy of note is The Auchi Forum
headed by Hon. Yakubu Musa, former Etsako West Council boss in partnership with
Auchi Allied and the Itsemhakhona crew. This mega coalition is on its way to conducting
a seven-day orientation and enlightenment in and around Auchi Sacred Kingdom.
The body of progressives have so far spoken with the founder and senior pastor
of Omega Fire Ministry, Apostle Johnson Suleman, Alhaji Suleman Momoh the Imam
II of Auchi Sacred Kingdom and the Daudu of Aibotse village on the need to
engender an actionable plan to create awareness. Many other indigenous online
outlets and social media are contributing their quota at sensitizing the public
through LIVE broadcasts, illustrations and literature with a view to achieving
desired results. Chief amongst these is
AUCHI BLOGspot with a thread of weekly sensitization activities online
to reach the people of Afenmai both home and abroad.
However, this piece will be
incomplete if it fails to recommend that government at all levels must
capitalize on the little efforts put in by the aforementioned groups to further
create the needed awareness. They must as a matter of importance and urgency
rejuvenate the health sector by massively investing in state-of-the-art health
facilities and infrastructure, provide good welfare packages for health workers
and cleanse the health sector off corrupt elements who are poised at turning
hospitals to dens of death. Markets and other public places must begin to feel
the presence of health workers from the local government council with
thermostats, mass testing should be the inn-thing with a view to detecting the
infection early, isolate positive cases and commence treatment. The police and
vigilante personnel must be trained and given strict orders to carry out their
duty free off corrupt tendencies.
Failure to do the above will
further expose our people to the scourge of covid-19 pandemic as well endanger
lives with massive avoidable losses in the wake of May 4th relaxation of the
current lockdown imposed by government at the federal level.
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