Life Seems Better for the Poor After Lockdown -By Yahaya Sherifdeen Olamilekan

The first day I decided to go out after five weeks of the lockdown of the state, I boarded a taxi, on our way to the destination, it is almost half a kilometer to the central market and we have exhausted half an hour and fifteen minutes due to heavy traffic we encountered on our way, this is as a result of the recent easing of lockdown. The irresistible temptation of easing of lockdown made me passed through all these stresses when I am not traveling. As the driver itched forward and stopped and itched back and jammed his foot on the brakes, the taxi driver finally switched off the ignition again after nine times because of frustration he encountered in the traffic.

He looked far ahead just before the next big bend in the road and saw another welcome twitch of motion working its way down the line towards him. He awaited it eagerly but when it is time for him to move, he discovered that the movement of the cars will not make progress and it would lead to another switch of ignition, the driver refuse to move because of that reason. The car behind us blared its horn so loud that we fairly jumped on our seats and through his rear-view mirror, our driver looked and saw a man in great anger, his perspiring head thrust out of his yellow taxi-cab, gesticulating widely to my own driver to continue moving due to the frustration of the traffic.

The remaining cars and drivers were now joining in the blaring and shouting protest but he decided to ignore them, he made sure that he protects the precious little space ahead of him to avoid overtaken from the cars behind, the way the man protected the space ahead of him made it clear to me that he cannot allow anybody to pass; Even if the heaven would fall down. Even though, I cannot blame the man nor the taxi driver behind us because everyone is finding a way to make money after easing of lockdown.

Still, yet, It was a good day. We are being released from the bondage after five weeks in quarantine as part of efforts of the state to contain the spread of Covid-19 In our state which happens to be a metropolis of about 2.5 million inhabitants where exuberance and poverty live side by side, relief of giving the poor an opportunity to earn money for living after the cry of the masses about hunger virus. Since the last weekdays up to the moment even despite Nigeria’s COVID-19 cases are now thousands.

All shops have been opened, car parks were full of people and street hawkers are selling their goods such as cool drinks, grilled meat, and vegetables were pitching their wares on street corners as it was happening before the lockdown. Upon reaching my uncle’s place, he too had fully and finally reopened his fruits and vegetable store, carefully setting out a fine array of tomatoes. By 11 am, his customers have started coming out in massive, meeting one another with laughter like an old friend who has seen each other for almost a decade. Gestures that people were so eager for this confinement to end was what circulated the atmosphere; Minibus stations too were as busy as before the lockdown but only a few people wore their masks.

Continuation of Lockdown Will be a Threat to our Economy in Nigeria

Many people are now showing emotions and feelings clearly and openly that they are glad to be back earning their own money. 80 million out of Nigeria’s nearly 200 million population live below the poverty threshold. For those without savings or working in the informal sector, the lockdown was a cruel blow. It really set them on a big loss. But now, their bans are obviously replenishing. My thoughts during the previous weeks were not least to those who sell perishable foods, they need to open every day. So to lock the state down for weeks was quite a big challenge for them.

It’s been over one month of hunger and suffering. “I can now make money to take care of my family,” A bus driver yelled at the loudest of his voice, smiling as he braked at a bus stop to pick up passengers. With these households struggling without income during the lockdown given their dependence on small, informal businesses, the need for food and cash relief has grown critical which has left lower-income households especially vulnerable into hunger and salvation.

My second thought is that the cases of Covid-19 is still rising, and there’s no assurance that the gradual easing of the lockdown will not be stopped soon while the need for a fresh lockdown might seem inevitable in which its outcome will definitely leave these millions of low-income households to continue battling with hunger virus.

Beyond food, most people find it very difficult to pay hospital bills, and are either held up in the hospital or are being denied treatment even in government facilities. A good percentage of Nigerians are on essential daily medications which are now difficult to afford as a result of the continued lockdown. Whereas the fight against COVID-19 is germane, but what about other ailments that the poor people suffer from, in which due to restrictions, they continue to find it difficult to access and pay for health services.

The government should keep considering the easing of restrictions to save the nation’s fragile economy and prevent the vulnerable poor who rely on daily subsistence for survival in dying from hunger and starvation. Though, It is not wise enough if one doesn’t appreciate government guidelines and measures as it relates to preventing the spread of the coronavirus outbreak that is hinged on the popular parlance “health is wealth.”

As a matter of fact, the imposed extensive quarantine measures by the Nigeria Centre for Diseases Control (NCDC) and Federal Government such as inter-state travel ban, lockdown, social distance, among others, are quite commendable. At present, the imposition of a dusk to dawn curfew as a way of preventing further infection of this deadly disease is a welcome idea.

But notwithstanding, though I am not a doomsayer, but I am very sure that an extension or a lengthy lockdown will hurt our already fragile economy in a way we have never experienced and never wished to experience since the creation of Nigeria. This should be clear to you through our experience in the previous lockdown of the state. The point is that; The longer the lockdown, the more it will dilapidate our economy, which will definitely have adverse implications on the socio-economic well-being of Nigerians.

Although, I am aware of the risk of this Covid-19 but we need to develop a means where we can acclimate ourselves to this period by imposing on the people to use nose cover and encourage them to always use hand sanitizer which is one of the steps to follow to acclimatize ourselves to live without resulting to a total lockdown of states.

Therefore, the slightest reopening of restrictions at this period of time could have detrimental long-term effects on our economy, the two must work at the same time, because if not, companies will release some of their employees to survive the resultant economic downturn and this will inescapably increase the unemployment rate. The country will go into a deep recession and it will lead to serious economic crises which will definitely impact negatively on the overall well-being of Nigerians.

As for how happy and relieved I saw people on that day, If the lockdown is further extended by the government, it will cause another big devastating blow on their faces and to the country’s economy in general. So, in this regard, there will be another sharp declination of goods and services production, a very sharp drop in GDP, the collapse of businesses, collapse in the credit market, lack of access to basic health care needs, increase in criminal activities such as this sensitive gender-based violence, the rising rate of joblessness and others challenges that are too numerous to mention.

On a final note, it is my candid opinion and recommendation that the following be looked into so that the country will not be totally retrogressed, the lockdown should not be extended after this insightful idea of easing it and otherwise, criminal activities might increase and also a large percentage of people might die of starvation and hunger.

Yahaya Sherifdeen Olamilekan is a 300-Level student of Biological Science at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.