Immediate effect of COVID-19 in Nigeria is hunger

By Ade-Daniel

Uhmmm! Nigerians are waking up to the reality of the pandemic coronavirus in our society.

While control measures are being put in place by the federal and state governments to curtail the spread of the virus in local communities, the effect of the control measures to an ordinary citizen is hunger.

Yesterday, Lagos state announced closures of markets and other public centres to take effect from Thursday 26-03-2020. Unfortunately, the foodstuff markets are already closing up even before the deadline.

The prices of foodstuffs have increased by 50% barely within the last 24hours. Foodstuffs retailers shops are already being emptied by a few commuters who could afford to stock their food stores.

The elites have filled up their kitchen & supplementary food stuff with provisional items that could last them even for the next 3months.

The reality of hunger that will persist in the land has already kicked off its demo to a common man. Many households can not feed a day if the breadwinners do not go out that particular day.

Many young guys whose business is daily street hawking in the city of Lagos can not survive a week curfew less talk of two weeks.

While the elites are at the fear of being tested positive of the coronavirus diseases due to their exposures to people who have recent travel history. The ordinary citizen is at higher risk of dying of hunger due to economic crackdown.

Tell me how the home of the following people will be;

a taxi driver making daily installments to his car owner while he has little left to feed his family till he is able to pay off his installment.

A local market woman that must travel all the way from Lagos to Oyo market every 3-4days to buy stocks to sell.

A Hausa fruits seller that have to go to Mile 12 market to buy his fruits and have to push his wheelbarrow for 8hrs daily to sell his goods.

Oooh, is it the bulk of okada & Tricycle (Marwa) riders that were just being banned from commuting major routes in Lagos and they are still battling the survival of the fittest?

Uhmmm, the cooked food sellers across every state that have to cook and sell foods daily to survive?

The hairdresser, the tailor, the car washers, the plumbers, the electricians, the mechanics…..

Ahhhh! Ahhhh!! Ahhhh!!!!!!!
The cry of hunger will be more deadly than coronavirus.

I am not creating fear here but just projecting the reality for our leaders to see.

All leaders at the federal & state level should by now be in an emergency meeting to proffer solution to the hunger that will hit the land.

Please if foods have to be distributed, share money or just do anything possible to alleviate the hunger in the land, something should be done.

This is the time to know in whose interest our leaders are protecting, save the souls of ordinary Nigerians

May God See Us Through.