Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN
By Mike Ozekhome
Introduction
Let me here quickly warn us all that lifting the lockdown by the Federal Government of Nigeria does not mean that the coronavirus or COVID-19 has suddenly vanished into thin air. No. There is lurking around the corner a clear and present danger in celebrating the easing, with effect from Monday, May 4, of the well-advised lockdown by an ill-prepared and ill-equipped Federal Government that has been running from pillar to post to find a temporary palliative or a lasting panacea. The easing of the lockdown is an escapist route by the Federal Government to ward off sustained public attacks about its inefficiency and ineffectiveness in its handling of the ravaging pandemic, by beleaguered Nigerians gasping for existential oxygen. There will definitely be a new wave and geometrical resurgence of people testing positive to the COVID-19 pandemic because of the euphoria of sudden freedom after nearly one and half months of forced lockdown and self-quarantine.
Historical examples
I have history to fall back on in my new SOS warning that Nigerians should not embrace the easing of the lockdown as a new licence to let down their guard. The Spanish flue or influenza of 1918-1920 (H1N1), which originated from avian strain that mutated and infected human beings is one. It constituted one of the worst plagues or pandemics in history, hitting in three different waves, and killing over 50 million people in its wake; 675,000 of these were Americans. It is like the equivalent of about 300 to 500 million people in today’s world population. It happened in Boston, Massachusetts, on September 8, 1918, during the 1918-1919 influenza flu pandemic. An influenza had broken out on board a ship and infected 2,000 out of 21,000 sailors stationed in the Boston area. They were believed to be World War 1 soldiers returning from Europe during and after the war. There was no known vaccine, forcing the government to lock down churches, malls, schools, theatres, and other public gatherings. Only about 3,500 had died of the influenza by mid-October. After three weeks of lockdown, the government unlocked the city.
Jubilant residents poured out onto the streets, celebrating and back-slapping. Physical distancing was thrown into the thrash can. They wanted to recapture the immediate lost past, the fun and the celebrations. Theatres, cafes, restaurants, shopping malls, hotels, casinos, beaches, churches, trains, tunnels, sidewalks, parks and gardens, etc, were all filled to the brim. It was a new day, or so they thought. Visits to friends, relatives and loved ones immediately resumed. Everyone wanted a psychological respite from the awful deaths, mental trauma, chaos and incredible fear. Face coverings and other precautionary measures were immediately discarded. It was tumultuous celebration of life. But, as Thanksgiving day approached, new cases suddenly emerged. By the fall of 1918, Boston had lost 4,794. By the winter of 1919, Boston experienced an horrific death rate of 710 per 100,000 residents, making it one of the worst-hit cities in the the USA. Worse happened in San Francisco, California, USA, during the same period. It was actually during World War 1.
Wearing of face masks to prevent the pandemic also became a symbol of “wartime patriotism.” By the end of October of 1919, there were 20,000 cases and more than 1,000 deaths. By the end of November, the city officials felt there was a dip in the flu cases and that the city had stabilised enough. They therefore unlocked the quarantine. Soon after this misadventure, fresh cases of the flu broke out in the 1919 new year; 600 cases were reported in only one day. Soon after, 45,000 fresh cases and more than 3,000 deaths had resulted, one of the worst. Across America, city buildings, civic centres and other venues were hurriedly converted to hospitals.
Fellow countrymen and women, I pray such history is not about to repeat itself in Nigeria.
Do not be deceived that the easing of the lockdown means ‘uhuru’ or freedom or liberation. There is no such thing. Community infections will immediately start in earnest, in an even deadlier manner. Nigerian governments do not have the capacity, wherewithal, medical personnel, or equipment to tackle this ravaging plague.
Dos and don’ts
This is actually the time to self-quarantine, to be more careful and to observe more all necessary precautionary hygienic and safety measures. I am aware this is quite difficult, if not impossible, for many Nigerians, especially daily-earning artisans and small-scale industries that depend on their going out every day to eke out a living. But, be very careful not to shake hands, hug, sneeze or cough publicly. Wear face masks and hand gloves always. Carry along small sanitizers in your bag or pocket. Dispose of your clothes, head gears, socks and shoes as soon as you return home from a crowded environment, such as court rooms, banks, markets, shopping malls, construction sites, weddings, obituaries, schools, churches, mosques, football fields, clubs, hotels, hospitals, parks and gardens, bars, parties, big offices, or auditoria. COVID-19 infection does not show on a person’s face. Infected persons could look healthy and normal. However, maintain physical distance. Cough into the furrows of your elbows. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and gargle your mouth often with warm water and lemon. Clean handrails and all surfaces you touch with soap and water. These steps appear simple, but they are effective against this scourge.
Here comes a new world
Don’t be deceived that it is all over. No. Don’t just open your doors to all comers, or jump out to all places. Don’t live under any illusion or hallucination of recapturing a pre-COVID-19 era. We are surely stepping into a new world, quite different from the one we have been accustomed to and have just left behind. It is the ironic case of February 14=Valentine; March 14=Quarantine. It is a complete and absolute new world of vaccination, Bill Gates, mark of the beast (Rev 13:18), microchip, lockdown, quarantine, physical distancing, mutual suspicion, impersonal relationships, etc. COVID-19 has forever changed how we dream, plan, interact, sleep, eat, drink, celebrate, mourn, work, play, worship, travel, holiday, give birth or get born, wed, die, grow up, school, and do other things. It is a different world altogether. But, Almighty God shall see us through these trying times, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
How covid-19 is fast changing the face of the world
The scriptures
Indeed, Joshua 1:9 represents what will happen to the virus/ let us see: C=Christ; O=Over; V=Virus; D=Diseases; 19=Joshua 1:9 – “Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good course; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed; for the LORD thy God is with thee withersoever”. COVID-19, pack and go. Leave us alone.
Earlier predictions by sages
From the scriptures, you can see that COVID-19 is not new. As of fact, it was predicted by Michel Nostradamus, the 16th Century physician, who is believed to have predicted many world events. He wrote 942 quatrains, predicting the future. The 16th Century physician had accurately predicted the outbreak of World War 2 and the Great Fire of London in 1666. He is said to have predicted the coronavirus threat over 500 years ago. He said: “There will be a twin year (2020) from which will arise a queen (corona) who will come from the east (China) and who will spread a plague (virus) in the darkness of night, on a country with 7 hills (Italy) and will transform the twilight of men into dust (death), to destroy and ruin the world. It will be the end of the world economy as you know it”. Dean Koontz, at page 312 of his 1981 book, “The Eyes of Darkness,” wrote: “In around 2020, a severe pneumonia-like illness will spread throughout the globe, attacking the lungs and the bronchial tubes and resisting all known treatments. Almost more baffling than the illness itself will be the fact that it will suddenly vanish as quickly as it arrived, attack again 10 years later, and disappear completely.”
Bush and Obama
In 2005 and 2014, two American Presidents, George Bush and Barack Obama, respectively, warned of an impending dangerous pandemic that required urgent measures.
George Bush’s 2005 call
Fifteen years ago, the American President George Bush had read a book on the Spanish influenza, which caused him to summon top officials demanding the country prepared for a pandemic. The national plan drawn up at the time was said to have included, inter alia, diagrams for a global early warning system, funding to develop new, rapid vaccine technology, and a robust national stockpile of critical supplies, such as face masks and ventilators.
That plan was never used, till COVID-19 broke out like a thief in the night. A video clip of Bush speaking at the National Institute of Health in November 2005, has since resurfaced. He said, among others:
“There is no pandemic flu in our country or in the world at this time but if we wait for a pandemic to appear it will be too late to prepare and one day many lives could be needlessly lost because we failed to act today. By preparing today we can give our citizens some peace of mind knowing that our nation is ready to act at the first sign of danger. And that we have the plans in place to prevent and if necessary withstand and influence the pandemic.”
Barack Obama
Nine years later, another US President, Barack Hussein Obama, warned in 2014 (albeit, addressing the Ebola pandemic then): “We were lucky with H1N1 that it did not prove to be more deadly. We can’t say we are lucky with Ebola because obviously it’s having a devastating effect in West Africa but it is not airborne in its transmission.
“There may and likely will come a time in which we have likely both an airborne disease that is deadly. And in order for us to deal with that effectively, we have to put in place an infrastructure – not just here at home but globally – that allows us to see it quickly, isolate it quickly, respond to it quickly. So that, if and when a new strain of flu like the Spanish flu crops up five years from now, or a decade from now, we’ve made the investment and we are further along to be able to catch it. It is a smart investment for us to make”
(To be continued next week)
Thought for the week
“The virus is an enemy that the entire country underestimated from day one and we have paid the price dearly.”
– Andrew Cuomo
Ozekhome, OFR is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.