Juxtaposed with our population, Nigeria’s Coronavirus numbers are among the smallest in Africa and the world at large. With 782 confirmed cases, 197 recoveries and 25 deaths as at Wednesday, April 22, 2020, a false sense of being on top of the pandemic might be difficult to shake off, especially among politically-minded elements in government.
But those who know the potential danger we could face in a worst-case scenario were further perturbed by the situation that started unfolding in Kano State early last week when transmission moved from zero to 73 within a few days.
Worse still, 150 people were reported dead within three days, though health officials were still investigating the cause of these fatalities by the end of this week.
The Kano index case who has since died had reportedly lied about his health and travel history to health officials when he was hospitalised. Nobody explained why, but it might not be unconnected to the need to avoid being stigmatised.
Though the World Health Organisation, WHO, insists there is no approved vaccines for COVID-19, some liquid substances said to be “vaccines” had gone on sale in Kano at the same period the mystery deaths occurred. Investigations are ongoing to see if there is anything linking COVID-19, the fake vaccines and the mystery deaths.
The situation in Kano joins other factors in portraying the general lacklustre attitude of the Federal Government and some state governments for which we could pay a heavy penalty. A country of over 200 million people had not tested up to 10,000 people this week. Without adequate testing how could the pandemic be brought under control?
The Nigerian COVID-19 index case was reported in Lagos on February 24, 2020, yet the Federal Ministry of Environment waited for over a month before activating its Health Desks in the 774 local government areas of the country.
Up till today, nothing has been heard of the contribution of the National Orientation Agency, NOA, which is supposed to spearhead massive enlightenment at the grassroots.
We hope the specialists investigating the high death rate in Kano will conclude their assignment in good time to prevent any further ugly incidents. We would have preferred autopsies being carried out on the bodies before burial in the interest of the living, especially their family members.
Those peddling the fake vaccines should be arrested by law-enforcement agencies for trading on human misery. These individuals might be ignorant of the depth of their actions, but ignorance is not an excuse in law. Others can learn from their experiences.
Whoever believes he has found a “cure” for this pandemic should report to the relevant authorities for official approval to avoid endangering the lives of the public.
It seems the struggle has just begun.
