Former Minister of Education Oby Ezekwesili has taken on China in an article she published in the Washington Post last month, and the People’s Republic has fired her back.
Ezekwesili told China to pay compensation to African countries over the Coronavirus pandemic because it was responsible for the pandemic which she said “ has severely injured Africa’s development prospects and worsened the conditions of the poor”.
That seems a similar narrative the US President Trump and his administration are pushing out there since the virus spread across the world.
Ezekwesili insisted Africa should not suffer more because another powerful country failed to act responsibly.
But up till now, no African leader has demanded compensation or accused China of irresponsibility as Ezwkwesili did.
Reacting, Sun Saixiong, press secretary for the embassy, said in a press release China has been open, transparent and responsible since the outbreak of the disease.
And for compensation, he responded by reeling out a ream of global calamities that originated from the US over the years.
He asked Ezekwesili if the United States offered compensations to countries for the 2009 H1N1 flu and the global meltdown triggered by the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008.
“Did anyone ask the US to offer compensation for the 2009 H1N1 flu, which was first diagnosed before breaking out on a large scale in the US and then spread to 214 countries and regions, killing nearly 200,000 people? He asked.
““AIDS was first reported in the US in the 1980s and then swept across the world, including Africa, causing untold sufferings to countless victims. And we don’t remember Mrs. Ezekwesili coming forward to ask the US to be held accountable?
The embassy insisted China has taken the most comprehensive, rigorous and thorough measures to contain its spread and conduct international cooperation.
“We hope that Mrs. Ezekwesili will respect facts, science, and international consensus, stop letting herself dance to other’s tune, stop attacking and blaming China for nothing, and stop making irresponsible remarks,” the statement read.