On Monday, 13th April 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari announced the extension of the ongoing lockdown in Lagos, Abuja and Ogun states for an extra 14 days to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria.
The president expressed the urgent necessity for the extension saying that “the nation’s response to COVID-19 is a matter of ‘life and death’ and it has become necessary to extend the current restriction of movement” that was set to expire later in the day.
Currently, Nigeria has 407 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 128 of them discharged with 13 recorded deaths. Over 70 percent of the confirmed cases are in Lagos and Abuja.
Given the country’s population of over 200 million people and about 20million resident in the most affected city of Lagos, health experts have raised alarm over the impact of a major coronavirus outbreak, warning that the country’s unprepared and underfunded healthcare system could quickly become overwhelmed.
On the other hand, millions of people are expected to face untold hardship resulting from the extension of the lockdown. The president expressed his awareness of the economic implication of the lockdown on individuals especially for those who live on daily wage, but in spite of these realities, the extension is needed as the repercussions of a premature end to the lockdown are unimaginable.
To ease the hardship on Nigerians, the government pledged a series of support measures targeted to help the vulnerable as there have been complaints that not enough is being done for that demographic. With no proper structure or data to conduct an effective distribution, the relief materials earlier pledged were not evenly distributed.
With a very high percentage of Nigerians living on daily wages, the initial lockdown, spanning two weeks, was a challenging time and people looked forward to its end. However, with the current extension, a large percentage of people would have to stay home with no work and no chance of getting money.
There has also been a spike in the crime rate in the city of Lagos. 200 suspects were reportedly arrested on counts of robbing and raping young girls this past week. Private individuals have resorted to defending themselves and their neighbourhood in the absence of the police.
This is a matter of urgent concern for the government. Proper security measures should be put in place. It is bad enough that citizens are dealing with a pandemic that has kept them away from their source of livelihood. Having to now fight to protect their lives and properties is too much to bear.
