Editorial: Life And Living In Nigeria; Before And During Coronavirus Pandemic
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Nigeria and her people surely have a life dealing with, certainly busy making other plans. Relating and interacting, such a means of daily survivor. Human have the responsibilities to take, not only to himself but nature at large to balance its existence. In the bid to do this, various thoughts and activities lead from one to another. Although it was said that a man of valour is known in the time of crisis but this we linger over in preparation for.
Life in Nigeria before pandemic cannot be hash out without pulling the strings on living status of Nigerians. Having living most of my life in city, witnessing the hustle and bustle nailing at the survival for the fittest, time where people stood next to each other mostly all the time, sharing body contact sometimes as a way of greetings, or rather doing things together in troop. Stepping into the world of livelihood, the means of survival of individuals splashing in different directions. The ways of market men and women, getting up as early as 7am-9am, getting ready for work with unlimited hours, buying and selling, listening to various types of advert and negotiation. The life of a civil workers starting his daily activities as early as 9am, journeying through the day to close by 4:30pm or the life of a teacher who strives to keep his or her home and yet must resume work by 7:30am ending classes least by 2pm. The struggles of the street hawkers cannot be forgotten, trying their utmost best to earn till late in the night. Indeed, they all have to earn, spending most of their time with friends and co-workers trying to build a financial standard. As it is being known “An hungry man is an angry man” and also to balance other areas of life.
Furthermore, dashing through the snow of Education, every single kid schooling has to wake up, get dressed as early as possible to get either the mother or father goodbye kiss if not, the trounce of their teachers as a gift of coming late. This defines the primary and secondary School children struggles daily. The tertiary level on the other hand struggles to balance education with their social lives, as the aluta continues, getting ready for lectures, struggles of “no nonsense” lecturers and all sorts. It should be noted that all these are basically physical contact learning. Both the tutor and the students need to be confined in the same room for learning to take place.
Dashing through the snow of religious life of Nigerians, various practicing religions and beliefs has given a chance for every single believer to come together in their various places of worship to praise and pray to their creator. Sunday schools and Bible study every Sunday for Christians in their various churches, congregation for the Jumat service every Friday in mosques and also weekly fellowships. Not only these two but also the traditional [herbalist] on their diverse ways and days. With every religion having its special days for special celebrations which brings together families and friends from every nooks and crannies.
Shall we then proceed to the judgement of being Nigerian during this pandemic? It turns to be like a crescendo. We expected a change but our action seems adamant. The ways of life in Nigeria took it drastic turn with the first case of corona virus confirmed In Lagos. At first, people were advised to sanitize and wash hands with soap and running water frequently, the use of face masks, avoiding close contact with anyone who shows symptoms, covering mouth and nose with a disposable tissue when coughing or sneezing but all this only help a little as fewer people heed the advice. With this, Government was forced to imposed a two weeks total lockdown in some states such as, [Lagos, Abuja, and Ogun]. Also interstate movements were restricted, schools were shutdown, public places were forced to close, social gatherings and events were put to stop, offices and market places are not left out. Nigerians on the “other side” of obedience violated the laid down rules and instead aid the increase in the number of cases. The disobedience of the majority had generated general punishment for the whole masses, increasing the lockdown from two to four weeks and then “general market” till further notice with only foodstuffs stalls and pharmacy allowed to open for they are major needs.
Education sector was not left out unaffected, as schools and tertiary institutions were also instructed to shutdown leaving students at home with terminal classes bearing the major burden, private school teachers and daily earners receive more of the lashes, as they were left behind with zero penny to live on. The school curriculum was disrupted. Although, most private owned institutions and few federal institutes had vowed not to allow the pandemic to stop their lecture thereby moving the physical class to virtual and online classes [on Zoom and Moodle]. This, not in favor of the less privilege, thereby affecting the knowledge intended to be acquired. On the other hand, brain drain turns to be order of the day, among the students as they remain outdated. It seems like daydreaming.
In addition, with the security agents and challenges adding salts to the wound, life indeed had taken it turn. Despite the pain and uneasy encounter during the pandemic, some security agents had decided to take their own pound of flesh, extorting the fewer road users with recent lift of lockdown, changed to curfew[10pm-5am], instead to enforce the lockdown rules in lawful way. The increase in crime rate cannot be over looked as the pandemic give ways to evil perpetrators to carry out their evil plans with ease. Not only them, but people who had lost their means of livelihood due to the pandemic. House to house robbery becomes a regular routine, ritualists and kidnappers got the root of this situation to develop their branch in, people become less and less secure on daily basis as fear and panic dives through the system.
In conclusion, the emergence of the pandemic had really stained the whole sector, creating an avenue for regression and modernising our daily routine entirely. Then, why not staying a bit and rethink that what if it happens again?
