Dear Baba Kadiri,
I just read a piece which begins with this rather ominous sentence:
"The COVID-19 crisis is functioning everywhere as a referendum on the quality of our leadership."
In this regard we ought not to judge Nigeria to be an exception.
We could also suspend disbelief and any final judgement on Nigeria's commander-in-chief Muhammadu Buhari and his performance in the battle against the coronavirus until we see the beginnings of some concerted effort that could rise to the Coronavirus challenge as it begins to reap is deadly harvest throughout the Federation.
Even at the risk of sounding a little controversial when I say this – and it's not meant to be a putdown, indeed some Sierra Leoneans who are not even half as clever or intelligent etc and whatever than Nigerians, tend to be exactly like their Nigerian poetic and journalistic/ media counterparts and experts, quite often, horrifically hyperbolic in diction in addition to being volatile and sometimes vile and aggressive by temperament. In most cases, they are acting in the public interest or promoting either themselves, their tribe, region, religion or the interests of their political paymasters.
In this regard, you could have it in your heart to forgive those who so consistently trespass against you in thought, word, and deed. I understand that in this regard too, Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju a gentleman and lover in other areas of life is no exception as his wordy opinion at the start of this thread and elsewhere testify. Nor must we deny the Honourable Don Farooq Kperogi the distinction of being crowned Nigeria's King of the putdown and King of the anti-Buhari hyperbole. We could arrange the coronation ceremony at his earliest convenience, although that would have to take place over there in Georgia because as he has confessed to all of us, it's not just a case of paranoia when he says that back home some people are out for his blood, are planning to do him in. That's how it is in some places. If you are not a praise singer, journalism can prove to be a dangerous business, livelihood. In many places in the world journalists are an endangered species. Over there in the United States, worst-case scenario Trump can accuse those who don't sing his praises as being purveyors of fake news. The purveyors of fake news don't find their names on the lists of those Wanted Dead or Alive…
About the media that is fanning some of the worldwide hysteria, well, here are a few facts to consider: As you yourself must have read in today's Dagens Nyheter, in the opinion piece titled "Coronahysterin är farligare än själva viruset" (The corona hysteria is more dangerous than the virus itself) "according to WHO statistics, In 2017, 56 million people died in the world. The most common cause of death was cardiovascular disease (17, 8 million), and then cancer (9.6 million). Further down the list, for example, traffic accidents (1.2 million), suicide (793, 823) , murder (405, 306) and drowning (295,210). Wars and conflicts came as the cause of death in the 26th place, with "only" 129, 720 dead " (WHO: main causes of death in the world )
These statistics in no way belittle the Coronavirus threat to mankind or lessen the urgency with which we must act, in Nigeria and everywhere else. The hysteria has succeeded in raising the level of fear even in the lionhearted.
Here are some words of encouragement/ wisdom about overcoming that fear: Stay healthy. Do not fear. The two go hand in hand.
--Honestly, Mr. Adepoju's contribution is not a doomsday prophecy rather, it is a clear case of propagating unintelligent fake news. Coronavirus pandemic is serious but Nigerian intellectual pimps and prostitutes at home, and some abroad, are turning it into partisan politics. Educated parasites whose education are the real source of economic and industrial backwardness of Nigeria continue to dominate debates. Hence, the swamp pretending to be lagoon could write, "I spoke with the consultant of the Infectious Diseases Unit, LTH yesterday and he told me clearly not to listen to a single thing spoken by the government." Why should the identity of a consultant in the infectious diseases unit of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LTH), projecting a catastrophic prognosis about the explosion of Coronavirus in Nigeria be anonymous? However, the intellectual pimp pretending to be well connected has been exposed. https://www.premiumtimesng.com/coronavirus/383369-coronavirus-luth-denies-gloomy-prediction-for-nigeria.html
Från: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> för K. Gozie Ifesinachukwu <kgifesi@austin.rr.com>
Skickat: den 23 mars 2020 19:25
Till: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Ämne: RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Anonymous Whatsapp Message Alleges Concealed COVID-19 Explosion in Lagos, NigeriaVictor,
Oluwatoyin's contribution is no doomsday scenario. It is no different than Dr. Fauci's comments and competent leadership should have advanced these warnings several weeks (maybe even months) ago. We cannot avoid this pandemic by burying our hands in sand.
"I think we should be overly aggressive and get criticized for overreacting,"…. "I think Americans should be prepared that they are going to have to hunker down significantly more than we as a country are doing."—Dr. Anthony Fauci, (US Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases).
What applies to USA applies to every country in the world—thus the WHO declaration that coronavirus is GLOBAL PANDEMIC. We cannot pray our way out of this nor go with our standard resort to "hope" as a "plan". It has to be worked at the highest levels assuming there is competent leadership in Nigeria to do so.
And here for more information on coronavirus: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/03/23/coronavirus-isnt-alive-thats-why-its-so-hard-kill/
.
Regards,
Gozie
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Victor Okafor
Sent: Monday, March 23, 2020 3:05 AM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Anonymous Whatsapp Message Alleges Concealed COVID-19 Explosion in Lagos, Nigeria
Oluwatoyin:
Why are you peddling a dooms-day scenario based on hear-say at a critical time like this that calls for responsible leadership? Who is helped by this sort of propagandist posting that seems to derive from an inner self-doubt, an apparent display of a belief in an innate African vulnerability and weakness and an apparent display of a lack of belief in an African capacity to do? What do you remember of how Nigeria responded to Ebola? What lessons can you derive from that experience?
On Mon, Mar 23, 2020 at 6:13 AM Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju <toyin.adepoju@gmail.com> wrote:
I spoke with the consultant of the Infectious Diseases Unit, LUTH yesterday and he told me clearly not to listen to a single thing spoken by the government.
A lot of people are already infected and are taking Armatem at home, meaning when the pandemic becomes full blown in Nigeria, it will likely be worse than China and Italy.
Pls tell your family and friends to stay away from needless gatherings, no matter how "important", keep your hands as clean as possible all the time, avoid touching anything outside your house, run away from anyone who sneezes or coughs around you.
Pls I have a note of warning for all of us, especially those in Lagos.
They are dealing with far more than what they are revealing and he warned that everyone should take caution as though the pandemic is already full blown in Nigeria.
He said even those who recover from COVID-19 suffer close to 50% of lungs damage permanently, which means they will be on medication forever or they may die from complications in a few years after recovery from COVID-19.
It's not a flu like China makes people believe, it's more like chronic pneumonia.
The doctor told me the NCDC is telling suspected cases to self isolate when there's no means of checking how well these people isolate. This means by the time they start showing symptoms, they would have infected others.
The virus like most viruses doesn't last long in the body after incubation. Viruses have no "cure", only the symptoms will be managed. The virus takes its course in like two weeks before the body develops antibodies to defeat it.
This is the best possible way to curb the spread. This thing is not a joke at all. It is estimated to claim at least 80million people worldwide. Do all you can not to be one of them.
Avoid people like the plague Cos asthma has weakened the lungs already and they won't survive COVID-19.
COVID-19 will almost certainly be fatal to anyone who has respiratory illness, kidney or liver disease before infection. Cos those organs are usually its target.
If you have asthma, pls treat this like someone gave your name and picture to an assassin.
This virus is not a joke whatsoever.
More advanced countries don't even have enough test kits, how much more Nigeria?
Panic now and act like the crazy one now, so you can be the sane one in the end.
It is capable of infecting every human being on earth and killing up to 10% of the human race.
If you have internet, watch "the worst hit hospital in Italy" on YouTube and see what's going on there first hand.
I don't even care what Lagos State want to tell me.
If they like they should underestimate the virus..
on our own part.. let's stay at home.
It was when I saw how free the roads were at closing time yesterday that I knew that some people are actually already at home.
Stay Safe, Everyone--
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--Sincerely,
Victor O. Okafor, Ph.D.
Professor and Head
Department of Africology and African American Studies
Eastern Michigan University
Email: vokafor@emich.edu
Tel: 734.487.9594
--
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