President Muhammadu Buhari directed Lagos state lockdown be relaxed starting from the 4th of May, 2020.

The directive issued on the 27th of April 2020 had residents of Lagos excited and anticipating things going back to normal but did normalcy return?

“Freedom at last”, many said.

But is it true freedom?

How long will it last?

A few days after, according to the Nigeria Center for Disease Control, the number of confirmed cases in Lagos stands at 1491, an increment of almost 400 since Monday, May 4.
Lagos
Image Credit: Premiumtimesng.com

Is there a possibility, we will have another lockdown after this one?

Let’s explore 3 reasons why the Lagos lockdown might be too early to be eased and why there might be another one soon.

The Instance of Ghana

President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana told Ghanaian living in the country’s two major cities, Accra and Kumasi, they can go back to their normal life and move freely; citing “severe difficulties for all across the country, especially for the poor and vulnerable” as a major reason for lifting the lockdown.

Fourteen days after; even with the President directing citizens to practice social distancing and personal hygiene, the country’s confirmed coronavirus cases have risen by at least 60% according to SaharaReporters.

As of May 3, confirmed cases have risen to 2,169 with 18 deaths.

This, as expected had people worried, and that’s including those whom – the President described as “poor and vulnerable”, because the truth remains no one wants to die.

Adwoa Nyarku, a house cleaner who averages about 36000 naira ($100) in Ghana’s capital city of Accra was interviewed by The Washington Post, she was quoted by the paper saying

“All the people l work for do not even want me around their homes, they want to be safe and l understand it, but it also means, l have nothing to feed myself and children with.”

I want you to understand me, I am not saying people are not suffering and/or shouldn’t be allowed to look for their daily bread.

My point is, easing the lockdown won’t HELP anyone in any way!

And this also applies to Lagos, many wouldn’t get their means of livelihood back; at least, not until people are certain the COVID-19 spread has been contained.

Confirmed coronavirus cases in Nigeria was 2388 (as of May 3), three days after Lagos lockdown was eased, the NCDC says Nigeria has 1138 new cases, that number includes 10 officials of the Lagos state government house.

Do you still think easing was a good idea?

My Suggestion

The government should FOCUS on making the lockdown more tolerable for people especially the poor and vulnerable by working harder to make palliatives reach “more” people.

Lagos Population and Its Peculiarities

Governor Babatunde Sanwo-Olu listed guidelines/precautionary measures everyone who falls under the sector allowed movement must follow.

People would be allowed into Open Markets and Mall from 9 am to 3 pm on selected days and everyone must follow precautionary measures.
Vehicles transporting agricultural produce and other essential goods, to and from Lagos from any part of the country are not allowed to carrying more than 7 passengers, irrespective of the size.
Schools are to remain locked and continue with the options like the e-learning already being explored.
Religious institutions should also remain closed from any form of gathering.
Transportation businesses must adhere to an overnight curfew, operations will be from 6am to 7pm.
Bus drivers and conductors as well as passengers are to wear face masks at all times and also practice the “coronavirus ritual” of handwashing and/or hand sanitizing regularly.

See that last part, where Bus Drivers, Conductors, and their passengers will have to wear a face mask, and wash or sanitize their hands – got me reeling.

Update: Information has it Lagos state government is using the Military to enforce the use of Face Masks, but what about handwashing and the use of hand sanitizers?

If you live in Lagos or you’re a regular visitor, you know that will probably not happen; these people are, in my own opinion, from a different world and they don’t care about what you or what the government tells them.

Most of them don’t believe the coronavirus is real, and how do people prevent what they feel doesn’t exist?

It gets worse when you think about the 6am – 7pm curfew.

Let me share a quick story with you.

When I started the full-time business of adulthood, I had to relocate outside Lagos because I wanted to be more productive. I made that decision after some horrible, horrible traffic experience (how else would you describe spending almost 8/9 hours on a journey that shouldn’t be more than 2 hours max).

Heavy Traffic is unique to Lagos and this is down to the population of the state.

The traffic riddle will come into play as we enter this new phase of the lockdown and believe me (you can also quote me) it will create more problems than it will solve.

My Suggestion

I don’t have any suggestions for this one, because e pass me and my technical knowledge.

I will do the Nigerian norm and pray everything goes well. �

Health Professionals don’t Support

After the President ordered the easing of the lockdown in Lagos, one of the first updates I saw on my WhatsApp status was…

https://www.amebopedia.com/lagos-lockdown/

Some people are predicting more deaths in Lagos from Monday, I cannot explain here.
Please don't go out next week if you live in Lagos and it's not necessary.

Just shut up!

OKAY
[quote author=Donaldoni post=89337351]Just shut up!