Covid-19 Almajiris: Reflections On Palliatives

KAYODE ODUNARO

When President Muhammadu Buhari declared a 14-day Lockdown for Abuja, Lagos and Ogun State as part of the drastic measures to stem the rising tide of Coronavirus infections, it was clear that not many Nigerians in these areas of the country can weather the challenges of stocking their households with basic necessities particularly food.

Among those expected to be negatively impacted are the teeming population of the poor, who even without COVID-19 challenge, finds daily survival a huge task.  They are closely followed by many in the informal sector particularly those whose meager incomes depend on daily patronage by customers. Of course many in paid employment at the lowest cadre both in the formal public and private sectors may equally be challenged surviving these two weeks imposed stricture.

One surmise that it is for these classes of people that the Federal and State Governments in the affected states deemed it fit to make some provisions for in the overall strategy of containing the spread of COVID -19. For the Federal Government, the channel was the Conditional Cash Transfer for hitherto identified challenged individuals who received N20,000.

Lagos State on it part identified 200,000 household for palliative of what is basically targeted at urban poor most of whom fall within the informal sector earning daily incomes now vapourised by the imposed lockdown. For Ogun State, the State Government requested and got a waiver to commence the lockdown days after the commencement in Abuja and Lagos State. The delay was to enable the Government put in place needed palliatives for the indigents as well as other measures deem important for the effectiveness of the lockdown.

However, these measures expectedly appears to be inadequate or manipulated with the effect that intended benefits are not realized leading to the concept of “hunger virus” possibly competing with the dreaded highly infectious Coronavirus.

Reports from Lagos State and now Ogun State, which commenced its lockdown on Friday, shows some serious grumblings about the quantity of what is shared  among households and indeed communities. The social media is a-washed with different ridiculous photographs and video clips of items purported for households or communities for the two weeks stay at home health exercise.

However, the issue appears not to be the paucity of what is to be distributed to a targeted as much as the mechanism of distribution, fraudulent dealings of some distributors as well as a kind of deplorable sense of entitlement exhibited by some Nigerians who see such distribution as yet another opportunity to share the proverbial national cake.

Among the later are people one will want to tag as COVID-19 Almajiris who sees the palliatives as yet another avenue to extort individuals, corporate bodies and government. At the individual levels, many, who otherwise survive the vagaries of our parlous economy, now see the COVID-19 Lockdown as a veritable and somewhat justifiable avenue to solicit for funds from individuals, particularly well to do, political office holders and other politically exposed persons. This is not a matter of being ones brothers keeper which is encouraged at this time. But some have turned it to a means of raking in quick cash or consumables. Regrettable if you ask me.

The other sects of COVID-19 Almajiris are all those entrusted with sharing the palliatives but ended up shortchanging the real beneficiaries by fraudulently keeping some for themselves. Ordinarily, being in the exalted position of a sharer presupposes that the officials, Government or communal, are able to provide for the two weeks with their resources and are working only to ensure this part of the strategy of containment of COVID-19 is successful. Alas some of them in essence joined the beggarly way of the Almajiris as if without COVID- 19 and the containment strategy, their daily survival would be compromised.

The last category of COVID- 19 Almajiris are to be seen on some video clips of able body men and women, possibly head of households that have been keeping it together with their families suddenly turning into agitators for palliatives for Lockdown. While it is agreed that some of them may be daily income workers, it is clear that even the full package of palliatives per household will not be enough to cater for them as by definition it is meant to augment whatever is available. Government in our clime cannot provide three square meals for all indigents and not so indigent citizens.

Our hope is that the scourge of COVID -19 will abate so that we can go about building our lives again with serious lessons learnt by all, citizens, Government and indeed the global community alike. The disease should not be allowed to turn us into beggars for daily bread and sustenance. It is not in our character here or in our culture. Majority of us are known to and willing to lift up ourselves from our bootstrap without the dole or similar.

– Chief Kayode Odunaro
Lockdown in Abeokuta, Ogun State.