There are fears that the second phase of the dreaded global pandemic is making the rounds again. It is feared too that the intensity and ferocity is much more than the first phase. In Nigeria, the government appears confused on the actual approach to adopt. Little wonder the government will announce and still cancel reopening dates of schools. Some state governments shunned federal government’s dates to reopen schools.
At the moment there are discordant tunes from various agencies arising from suspected risks on the use of the vaccine. While the government is in the effort to take delivery of the vaccine many groups and individuals are campaigning against it based on the fear that it is the white man’s trick to decimate the blacks. The argument has been hinged on a very strong suspicion that Bill Gates is leading the challenge to reduce world population.
Motivational speakers tell us that there is usually opportunity in every adversity. So what is in there for us as people of the black world? One sad reality which sticks out like a sore thumb is still our over dependence on foreign nations for survival. We carry on as if we were never endowed by creation with resources to grapple with our challenges. Even when we claim to be independent nations it all appears to be on paper and far from the reality. Agreed the world by virtue of technology has made its use imperative but does that mean we should surrender our creativity.
Our present predicament no doubt is a fall out of the disorientation by the colonialists through the instrumentality of religion which made us no longer look within as it subdued our pristine culture. We now weigh and measure the correctness of our lives from the indices and standards set by the Oyibo. We appear not to have any set standards for others to look up to. What it can be interpreted to mean is that we are lacking in creativity and nothing original to contribute to the world. We are only consumers of products of other nations.
There is so much media hype on the much trumpeted Covid-19 to the extent that fear has overwhelmed everybody including the leadership. We have been so intimidated that we cannot think of possible way of resolving the challenge for our people except resorting to what the oyibo countries are doing. We copy them sheepishly whether or not the measure suits our environment. To us everything they do is right. Assuming that there are no white people on planet earth and we become so challenged does it mean we cannot find our way out of the words?
It is not difficult to observe that we have the capacity to overwhelm this disease by virtue of our natural endowments and make up. There is no need for us to panic as we are doing. Truth is that some people in power have leveraged on this to loot the government one way or another. The Chinese medicines are doing great today because they never allowed the colonialists into their soil who may have disoriented them as we were by the British colonialists.
The Chinese herbs are what has been transformed into varieties of teas and dumped on us whereas we have so many herbs and herbalists who can do better. Our government should focus in this area to improve not just to improve our healthcare but also earn foreign exchange.
The country at present is seriously challenged with insecurity, poor productivity, recession, low income, inflation, poor infrastructure etc and does not require more pressure. The handling of the Covid-19 issue it is alleged provided opportunity for many to line their pockets. It is reported that the government is expected to expend a whooping N540 billion for the importation of the vaccine which may be delicate to handle given the intensity of power required to provide its cooling effect.
So far it has been learnt that the government has spent about 3.5 trillion naira on Covid-19 and Covid related matters. The 36 state governments were at point given 1 billion naira each to support the fight against the scourge. How were this humongous sums accounted for or expended? Now that we are confronted with another round of the scourge it means that we are going to spend more.
News Echo frowns at this level of expenditure and wish to state that a fraction of this outlay can invent home grown cure. The federal government should sustain the effort it originated sometime ago to get our alternative medical practitioners and any group to explore the chances of producing our remedies. All the stakeholders in the nation’s healthcare should be dragged and encouraged to manufacture our own cure.
