Nigerians Must Unite To Fight COVID-19 Pandemic, Says Seasoned Security Expert, Shina Phillips

The fight against the novel Coronavirus pandemic in the country must not be left with the governments alone, but must be a war which all Nigerians must actively take part in.

This was the submission of one Africa’s seasoned security experts, Mr. Shina Phillips while speaking on Security Watch Africa programme on African Independent Television (AIT) at the weekend.

A two-week lockdown ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari as part of measure to contain the spread of the pandemic code named COVID-19 in Abuja, Lago and Ogun states was further extended for another two weeks that will last till 27 April, 2020. This no doubt would further put more burdens on already stressed Nigerians in these three locations and other states which had imposed lockdown like the federal government.

“This is a sacrifice that I think all Nigerians should ready to make for us to get out the situation,” Phillips said.

“For me I always look at problems and proffer solutions. It is obvious that more tests need to be done and we can’t afford to look at death right on our face and accommodate it, though it is going to be tough, we just need to make the sacrifice this time. Let Nigerians abide by the rules of the lockdown and more importantly maintain social distancing. I hope the government should come so clear to explain all of this to Nigeria. The awareness should be so clear for people to understand it.

“We should stop making comparison of what is being done abroad with what our government is doing here concerning the problem of COVID-19. I think our government is doing a great job on this pandemic. The Nigeria Police are just so wonderful; while the medical workers are so great.

“Like I said concerning the problem of the insurgency, this COVID-19 is just so strange to us. We are putting in our best to tackle it.”

To the security consultant, if nationwide lockdown will be the solution to address the problem of COVID-19 in Nigeria, he would want the government to do it.

“It is possible for the government to have a total lockdown across the country. Though people are hungry and we are just trying to build an economy that can be the best in Africa and suddenly this pandemic came in. There is no doubt that our economy will be affected. This is the time for us to come together, and I believe this is what patriotism is all about. If we want to save our people and we want to save our nation, we must fight this together. We must realise that if we win this war we can come back to be self reliance and rise again. This pandemic should bring us together; we should not see it as a divide. We must use this to test the strength of our unity as a people and as a nation. I think the government just needs to find ways of explaining to the people for them to understand the nature of the problem at hand.

“We should realise that this is not a scourge for the rich alone, so I will enjoin all Nigerians to fight this war together,” said Phillips, the CEO of Matchmakers Consult International Limited

Shina Phillips is the initiator of the prestigious Nigeria Pitch Awards and an FRSC Celebrity Marshall; not many however know him as a seasoned security expert known for his professional and in-depth knowledge of security issues. His involvement in security dates back to the late 1990s. He is a regular face on Security Watch Africa Programme on the Africa Independent Television (AIT). He has served as an International Assessor for ‘Security Watch Africa’ and ‘Security Watch Africa Awards’.