The real danger to our nation may not be COVID-19 but its handling

From Onwuasoanya FCC Jones
Banks are not opening their doors to poor civil servants and small business owners, but their doors are wide open to big men and billionaire entrepreneurs. Small businesses are struggling and their owners are getting frustrated. This frustration may eventually graduate into desperation, and no one knows what the outcome might be.

Wage earners are finding life difficult. Their daily incomes with which they depend on to feed themselves and their families have suddenly dried up and it doesn't seem that anything is being done to alleviate their pains. They are getting frustrated and their frustration may soon graduate into desperation.

Some civil servants and pensioners were sent home and locked up in their houses without their salaries. I know a State that hasn't paid its tertiary institution staff since January, yet, these people are compelled to stay at home in empty stomachs. The cries of hunger from their children alone is enough to turn such gentlemen into armed robbers and insurgents.

We have over 80 Million poor people in Nigeria, but government's palliatives have hardly reached up to two million people and these two million people are hardly satisfied with what they have been given by government.

Security agents are accused of harassing people who are legitimately out to buy food for themselves or who are on official assignments deemed essential.

There is nothing that can trigger a revolution faster than hunger, and a whole lot of our people are hungry. No one knows how long more they are going to be able to endure hunger and also watch their children cry and complain over lack of the most basic care, including, food.

Covid-19 is deadly and we must appreciate that the government is trying to protect us from dying by introducing these discomforting measures, however, the most that the Covid-19 can do to us is to kill us. I know of people who would prefer to be killed by Covid-19 than die from hunger.

Emphasis should be laid more on social distancing measures and other strategies. There is no justification for banks to close down at this time. There is no justification for the hike in the prices of food and other basic commodities.

Government can be more creative in handling this crisis to avert a more dangerous crisis. The implication of hunger induced crisis is that it would further heighten the spread of the virus and we would be in a most dire situation.

This is not the time to make the poor conscious of their misfortunes. This is the time to introduce measures to close up the gap between the poor and the rich.

Cheers to a great Nigeria. Let us survive.