How time flies! It was around the month of December 2019 that planet earth was invaded by a deadly and highly contagious virus which reportedly originated from Wuhan in China and ultimately claimed the lives of millions of people globally. The sheer horror of that episode has remained indelible in the minds of most of us. Our TV screens were awash with videos and pictures of coffins upon coffins containing the dead bodies of its victims being committed to mother earth. The lockdown that was imposed by most governments on their citizens as an emergency and precautionary measure to avert the massive spread, dealt a serious blow on the masses, even moreso to the people of third world countries like Nigeria where palliatives were not distributed or poorly distributed to cushion the severe economic effects of the lockdown.

Who would easily forget the laws enacted to make the the use of facemasks and hand sanitizers compulsory, which inadvertently made the production of these items a booming business at the time? What about the restrictions or outright ban placed on public gatherings, which affected places of worship, people organizing parties, funerals, etc?

The most frustrating impact of these restrictions was the dire effect they had on our banks. We had to wait in very long queues to enter the banking halls for our transactions and stand at least 3 feet apart. It was pure nightmare!

It was in that period that most of us became acquainted with words that were hitherto unknown to most of us, such 'quarantine', 'lockdown', 'palliatives', 'hand sanitizer', etc. That was indeed a trying time for most of us as we can all recount what we suffered in that period of uncertainty.

The immediate aftermath of that period saw the massive influx of COVID-19 vaccines to every country of the world, including Nigeria where it was mandatory for everyone to get vaccinated or face the unpalatable consequences. Civil servants without proof of having received their vaccination risked not receiving their salaries, while those traveling out of the country were denied visas without the vaccination, etc. Although the vaccines were not enough to go round, we were all assured that they will eventually be enough for everyone. I still remember how many people who didn't trust the vaccines paid money to acquire the vaccination certificates illegally in order to evade the repercussions which included non-payment of their salaries. The president and other government officials supposedly took the vaccines on live TV to allay the fears of Nigerians about the vaccine. That did not in any way produce the needed effect as most people were adamant in their stance about not taking the vaccines for fear that the vaccines were laced with substances inimical to the health of humans. Videos flying around on social media purportedly showing the adverse effects of the vaccines on humans did not help matters at all.

It's funny how nobody talks about these anymore. In fact, all of these are now consigned to the dustbin of history. The world has emerged triumphantly from that dark period and is trudging ever forward. It is indeed a lesson to all of us that a tough time in our lives will run it's course and pass. It is a testament to man's resilience. Man with the intelligence bestowed on him fought the deadly virus to a standstill and now we can safely assume that COVID-19 is a thing of the past.

Please share your worst experience of that COVID-19 peak period in the comments section below.