Buhari locking down coronavirus, locking out hunger

President Muhammadu Buhari may be alternating the hardship and devastating consequences of coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria. Events of the past 10 days of lockdown in Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, there have been total compliance with the movement restriction order pronounced by the President show that President Buhari has lockdown coronavirus but lockout hunger. Symptoms are springing up that the lockdown policy of the federal government is being grossly mismanaged, and Nigerians appeared to be deliberately punished by the government in the battle to contain the spread of coronavirus. There is obvious spread of hunger in the country, millions of citizens have been locked down to the hazards of hunger. Every conversation among citizens is on the devastating hunger afflicting their homes. The government is now pushing Nigerians to situations of making choices between the risk of dying at home of hunger or taking to the streets to die of the coronavirus. Either way, the Nigerian government does not seem to be genuinely promoting the interests of the Nigerian citizens in handling the coronavirus pandemic.

While the federal government announced  the release of 70,000 metric tonnes of grains from the natural reserves to be distributed to Nigerians, giving priority to the lockdown states of Lagos and Ogun, then the FCT, apart from gari, maize and sorghum are more of animals feeds. More so, maize and sorghum are not popular household food in Lagos and Ogun. The government did not include rice or beans, in addition to gari, which are more popular in many households across the country.

Then, the money transfer has not been transparent.

Besides, the paradigm of providing humanitarian support to the extreme poor and the vulnerable at a time the government has forced all citizens to stay at home is clear misguided policy. Dealing with national disaster does not discriminate between citizens. First, the threat of the looming epidemic does not discriminate, every citizen is vulnerable at this time, though, with exception of people in government who the state sponsor everything in their lives and households, then, the CEOs of big businesses. Secondly, the lockdown was a sudden action of government, no prior notice. Many citizens were not prepared for it and were taken unaware. More so, lockdown generally weaken the purchasing power of the low-income earners who dominate the Nigerian population. Restriction of movement is synonymous with restriction of income and access to money. In the reality of the situation, majority of Nigerians have become vulnerable in the lockdown and emergency period.

The situation is exacerbated by the high population of citizens who earn daily wages and another set who earn very low monthly salary. Greater population in Nigeria have no savings to fall back on in a time like the lockdown period. They merely live by the day. In the federal government intervention, these categories of citizens are excluded; they do not fall within the FG paradigm of extreme poor or the vulnerable.

Many Nigerians have suggested fund transfer through the Central Bank of Nigeria to account holders with registered BVN.

In the US, government transfers $1,000 monthly to citizens for staying at home, in Australia, government transfers $150 weekly to citizens, in Canada, government transfers $300 dollars to citizens in two weeks. These countries make the transfer without discrimination; the governments understand the consequences of the restriction of movement order.

The discriminatory situation in Nigeria is generating more dangerous threats that the lockdown may not be sustained if governments continue to discriminate in their humanitarian interventions.

President Buhari may have to consider a review of interventionist approach. Rich Nigerians have made voluntary donations of about N30 billion for interventions. Such funds could be disbursed to Nigerian citizens without any burden on the government. Yet, the government is also demanding approval of N500 billion intervention fund by the National Assembly. There has been wide doubt over judicious use of the fund.

The claim of N20,000 transfer by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs… has continued to be suspicious, the Nigerian government does not have precise data bank for such intervention. The BVN is the most reliable at the moment; and when adopted, people with certain amount of money in their accounts, say N100,000, could be exempted from the transfer. The random transfer can only promote corruption.

Furthermore, the Presidential Task Force established by President Buhari is becoming a liability to the government and Nigerian citizens. Some stakeholders have advocated that the President dissolve the Task Force, appoint Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to coordinate governors’ interventions across the 36 states of the Federation. The vice president could work with the Director General of the National Centre for Disease Control who has been the most active member, and only person with technical knowledge and skill of the crisis in the Presidential Task Force the Task Force should be depoliticized.

The federal government should not take the cooperation of Nigerians for granted; and should not allow the citizens to run out of patience. When hunger strikes, no one obeys order. Citizens are now be confronted by a more dangerous threat of hunger.

Nigeria already had record of high poverty rate before the outburst of the imported coronavirus. It won’t be proper for the federal government to worsen the poverty situation through discriminatory humanitarian interventions. Nigerians are hungry and are no longer scared of coronavirus. The risk of breakdown of further lockdown under current threat of hunger and starvation is becoming high; the sustainability may not be guaranteed. Nigerians are hungry.