This pandemic is testing three major aspects of all nations:
(i). The quality of the nation’s healthcare systems
(ii). The quality of its governance and
(iii). The quality of its human capital investment in healthcare.
Any nation with a weakness in any of these tripod will suffer the ravages of this virus.
I worry a great deal about Nigeria where, everybody, from the people and the leadership (political, religious and traditional) are fully aware of the mortal danger that this virus presents to our survival but we continue to either deny, ignore or downplay these dangers.
I said as much in an article I wrote on 6th April 2020 titled: “Nigerians are not taking the mortal danger of Covid-19 pandemic seriously”.
These concerns were borne out during the recently concluded Eid-el Fitr. Muslim holiday as people all over Northern Nigeria except in a State or two trooped out in droves to prayer grounds, visiting relatives, neighbors, markets and gathering for celebrations without a care in the world.
No social distancing, hand sanitizers or face masks. I wondered how long we can continue tempting fate without eventually getting scorched by it.
Today, I write about the importance of State Governors and the leadership they bring to Nigeria’s efforts in controlling this pandemic.
As the saying goes in the old cliché, credit should be given where it is due. Governors Nasiru El-Rufa’i of Kaduna, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos and Nyesom Wike of Rivers States have performed creditably well in spite of all the challenges and they need to be acknowledged and applauded for their efforts.
On the other hand, three Governors stand out as the Covid-19 denying Governors of Nigeria: Umar Ganduje of Kano, Yahaya Bello of Kogi and Ben Ayade of Cross River States. They need to change their ways and do better for the sake of their people.
My attention was recently drawn to the NCDC daily statistics of 3rd June 2020 that reported three hundred and twenty eight (328) new Coronavirus infections nationwide but not a single case from any of the seven states in Nigeria’s North Western Geopolitical Zone and the day before on 2nd June 2020, only three (3) new cases were reported from Kano.
I immediately questioned the credibility of the data from Kano, a State that only a few weeks previously was recording high death rates daily and where at one time, 80% of the samples collected from residents in the city were reported as being positive for the virus could not possibly be reporting these low numbers.
The three NCDC certified testing centres in Kano City also serve the neighboring States of Katsina and Jigawa. These two states are also curiously reporting very low or no numbers of infections recently. It is as if there is an unwritten pact to under test or under report from these states.
I asked what magic did Kano perform to achieve this success that no other nation on earth with this high disease burden has achieved in so short a time?
In a self congratulatory statement put out by the Kano State Government (KNSG), the Governor said this; “The reduction of Covid-19 infections in the State is due to measures taken by Kano State Health Authorities and fervent prayers of the Ulamas (Islamic Scholars) and the people”.
As a follow through, the Coordinator of the Kano state Technical Committee on COVID-19 and the State’s Chief Epidemiologist Dr Tijjani Hussein, declared on Thursday 4th June 2020 during the daily briefing on Covid-19 in Kano that in a matter of a few weeks the state would be declared COVID-19 free.
It is shocking to read this type of statement credited to a Medical Doctor, especially the Chief Epidemiologist of the State. It shows either a lack of understanding of the epidemiology of this virus and the disease it causes (Covid-19) or he is outrightly disingenuous or both.
It is scary to think that the Governor relies on the advice of people like him to make life and death decisions affecting millions of people at this time of national emergency.
We know that all over the world, the only measures that have been proven to reduce the spread of Coronavirus are social distancing, wearing of face mask and frequent hand washing. It is also no secret that Kano has been one of the States in the country where these measures were neither obeyed nor enforced.
Investigations have shown that the real reasons and purpose for the fictitiously low numbers of Coronavirus infections recently reported from Kano are: it is the government’s way of deflecting national attention from its disastrous handling of the pandemic in the State and a way to reduce the heat on the Governor, also, to yield to the demands of powerful religious interest groups who have been pressuring the government to open up places of worship.
Consequently, the government deliberately resorted to the following measures:
(I). To stop taking and testing enough samples
(ii). To test samples from predominantly children that they know will be negative.
(iii). Close down the testing Centre donated by Aliko Dangote that was recently launched with great fanfare and publicity.
(iv). Transmit these low positive results to the NCDC in Abuja for National publication.
(v). Embark on Intensive media campaign propagating the false narrative that Coronavirus has been controlled in the State.
These are the dangers of these deliberate measures.
(i). They pose a serious clear and present danger to people’s lives.
(ii). People are lulled into a false sense of security that the virus is controlled so they have now gone back to their old ways further spreading the virus.
(iii). It reinforces the hands of the doubters and deniers of this disease in the communities.
(iv). It makes controlling this pandemic impossible not only in Kano but the whole nation.
(v). It pushes the day of reckoning just a little bit further.
(vi). It will further exacerbate the mistrust already existing between the people and the leaders once things start unraveling.
This pandemic can not be controlled by fiddling with the data. This Coronavirus is a lethal and formidable foe that is very good at what it does. People living in countries like Brazil and Nicaragua whose leaders denied the existence of the virus and tried to hide the data are now paying dearly for it with alarming death rates.
Every discerning person knows that the figures being reported from Kano are far from the reality on the ground. I therefore call on the The Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 and the NCDC in particular to please distance themselves from these figures, ask the right questions and search for the truth.
Continuing to publish these figures will only heighten the conspiratorial whispers of complicity. The lives of our people are at stake here and the International Community is very closely watching Nigeria’s numbers and it’s efforts towards controlling this pandemic.
To all our State Governors, this time more than ever before, is the time to honour the oath you took and show the leadership that will save the lives of your people. This is no time for denial or fiddling with the data for doing that is like playing Russian Roulette with the lives of your people.
The truth is that this virus has spread into all our communities and will be with us for a long time to come until a viable vaccine is developed and widely distributed.
Our responsibilities as citizens is to play our part in the fight against this pandemic by doing what the authorities directed. We should also as citizens continue to hold our leaders responsible to do that which is right and just.
We should look out for each other particularly our elderly, neighbors, the poor and those among us who are vulnerable to this virus. May God Almighty make it easy on us all, Ameen.
Professor Usman Yusuf is a
Professor of Haematology-Oncology
and Bone Marrow Transplantation
