Coronavirus: African leaders under pressure to end lockdown

Leaders in sub-Saharan Africa down the coast of the continent have come under intense pressure to lift lockdown and re-open the economy after weeks of restriction of movement and shut down of economic and social activities in the fight to contain the spread of coronavirus in the respective countries. Pressure are coming from emerging socio-economic indices and consequences of further lockdown within the African continent. The economy is near collapse, oil prices is near negative price, security crisis on the upsurge, government holding down citizens from production and commerce where palliatives are not evenly or transparently distributed, hunger is ravaging citizens in Africa, the lockdown is creating new poor, among others. Apparently, rational leaders are beginning to evaluate the journey so far and reconsidering further restrictions.

Father pressures to end lockdown in Africa are also coming from Europe where countries are making arrangements to move out of lockdown and open the economy.

In Africa, the testing capacity has been low, degenerating fear of possible epidemic outbreak. However, the fear is seemingly erased by certain indicators that Africans appear to have better survival chances than Europe and America, even with inadequate health infrastructures.

In most African countries, the lockdown is becoming counter-productive.

Ghana on Monday emerged the first African country to lift the coronavirus lockdown after three weeks of restriction order. The Ghanaian President opened Accra and Kumasi to normal business but mandated wearing of mask.

The Ghanaian President, Nana Akufo-Addo, in a national broadcast: “Update No. 7: Measures Taken Against Spread of Coronavirus”, declared: “in view of our ability to undertake aggressive contact tracing of infected persons, the enhancement of our capacity to test, the expansion in the numbers of our treatment and isolation centres, our better understanding of the dynamism of the virus, the ramping up of our domestic capacity to produce  our own personal protective equipment,  sanitizers and medicines, the modest successes chalked at containing the spread of the virus in Accra and Kumasi, and the severe impact on the poor and vulnerable,  I have taken the decision to lift the three weeks old restriction on movements in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area and Kasoa, and the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area and its contiguous districts, with effect from 1.00am on Monday…

In effect, tomorrow will see the partial lockdown in Accra and Kumasi being lifted.”

The High Court had earlier restrained the government from enforcing lockdown in Malawi.

The south African President is already considering a review of lockdown in the country after accessing the hunger that is emanating from the continuous restriction.

The economy of most African countries, essentially Nigeria, which rely preponderantly on oil revenue, is at the verge of collapse as price of crude oil in international market as at Monday drooped to $1 per dollar, while the oil benchmark in the Nigerian 2020 budget was initially put at $57 per barrel with oil revenue target of N264 trillion, later re-evaluated for downward review.  At $1 per barrel Nigeria is already in wholesome budget deficit as well as unprecedented debt burden. The price of crude oil is falling in the international market because of absence of buyers. Nigeria is also incurring further costs of hiring vessels which are floating on the shore waiting for buyers before offloading.

Such circumstances increase the risk of further lockdown of domestic economic activities in the country.

European countries are also reviewing the lockdown in member states, weighing the difficulties and potential risks.

Europe is beginning to restore socio-economic life country by country, store by store; moving towards lifting the lockdown in piecemeal.

Denmark, Germany, Austria, Norway, Switzerland, the Netherlands, beside others, are already making decisions to lift lockdown in Europe.

South Korea has begun to relax lockdown, minimizing restriction orders on social gathering and providing relief for religious and sports activities. People are returning to work; park activities are beginning to pick up.

In the US, citizens have begun to protest the continuous lockdown in their states. A few states in the US still go to work but the most coronavirus hit states, like the New Jersey, have been locked down for weeks.

Apparently, in the phase of rapidly declining economy and rising hunger and crimes, Nigeria cannot afford further lockdown, essentially, one that is not properly coordinated, and citizens not taken care off.

Nigerians are already a new philosophy of obedience to leadership. Some have declared: “if President Buhari orders me to sit at home, I will obey; if hunger orders me to go out and work, I will obey. They are both leaders.” Signal of the potential danger of further lockdown is crystal from this emerging philosophy.