Dissecting the government’s policy on the COVID-19 Pandemic is important to understanding the significance of the impact of COVID-19 on our socio-economic sphere.
Suffice it to say that the importance of such dissection cannot be overemphasised.
The emergence of the deadly Coronavirus and its eventual ascension to pandemic status, have triggered both spontaneous and measured public policy reactions and responses from various governments across the globe, Nigerian government inclusive.
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It is therefore important that we discuss the various public policy responses of these governments vis-à-vis Covid-19.
In this instance, the focus will be on the public policy responses of the Nigerian Government while discussing the unfolding executions of the public policy responses of the Nigerian Government to the COVID-19 pandemic and its fallout.
For better understanding, Rhodes (1997) described public policy could be described as “the process by which governments translate their political vision into programmes and actions to deliver ‘outcomes — desired changes in the real world.”
This aligns with Peter and Zittoun (2016) who described the policy as a “set of proactive and responsive activities which government engages in to change their economy and society”.
Suffice it to say that, public policy could be legislation brought in, to benefit or impact the electorate in some ways.
Permit me to present a coherent content analysis of the above definition concerning the Covid-19 lockdown in Nigeria.
How it All Started
On the 13th of December 2019, the Chinese-Government controlled China Global Television Network (CGTN) first reported the first case of COVID-19 in the city of Wuhan, but to our surprise, leaders across the world never took the disease outbreak as a potentially serious global threat.
It was only weeks to Christmas, just about December 12, 2019, that America reported the case of the virus outbreak, and the virus eventually spread like wide-fire across Japan, South Korea and into Europe, and eventually caught up with Africa (CNN,2019).
The Coronavirus was code-named COVID-19 by The World Health Organization (WHO) earlier this year, implying that the Coronavirus Disease broke out in the year 2019.
The outbreak of the disease has since been designated as a global pandemic by WHO (Al-Jazeera, January 12, 2020).
Aside from the humanitarian, health and psychosocial inconveniences brought about by the emergence of COVID-19, it has also relatively facilitated the reshaping of the world order in a way that has not been since in the last 100 years, which was about the time we had the last major global public health disaster (NCDC 2020).
Here I would like to look into the policy responses of the Federal and State governments of Nigeria in the quest to combat COVID-19.
Nigeria has 36 states and the FCT. The most affected states hit by this pandemic are Lagos, Ogun and the FCT (Abuja). Hence, I would juxtapose the analysis of the content definitions viz-a-viz COVID-19 lockdown.
Relative Policy Analytical Discourse – Abuja -, Lagos, the Ogun States as a Case Study:
Education:
In Lagos State, the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in his March 27th address announced the immediate closure of all educational institutions in the state. Conversely, the West African Examination Council postponed the WAEC 2020 Examination earlier scheduled to COVID-19 on the 6th of April, 2020 (WAEC.COM, 2020).
This was done as the second term examination of all the primary and secondary schools was about to commence, and was eventually affected. This corroborates the position of Peter and Zittoun (2016) who construed public policy as a “set of proactive or responsive activities which government engages in to change the economy and society”.
In the case of Lagos State, the response of the people was to comply, all establishments were closed down with immediate effect, and students were told to learn from home and most private schools took advantage of online lecture platforms such as the Thinkific, and Learnworld, among others.
Dissecting The Government’s Policy On The Covid-19 Pandemic
Special Executive Powers to State Governors and the Impact of the Lockdown:
Lockdown Policy in Ogun State
The Ogun State Governor, Oladapo Abiodun at the opening ceremony of one of the state-of-the-art hospitals at Ijebu-Ode, proposed that he was going to crave the indulgence of the Federal Government to postpone the lockdown policy in Ogun state (OGTV News March 2020).
President Mohammadu Buhari obliged, and Ogun State proceeded to relax on its lockdown a week after Lagos. It should be understood thoroughly that from the geographical map of Ogun state, it’s not only an international border state with the Benin Republic but also a state border with Oyo, Lagos and Ondo state, hence the lockdown was imperative, for the sustenance of economic activities.
The government policy was to pursue a lockdown while exempting the sellers and vendors of essential commodities such as foods, drugs, medical and petroleum supplies.
The lockdown was in effect as the popular Lagos/Abeokuta Expressway was deserted, aside from the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway which is always busy.
The Ogun and Lagos State House of Assemblies hurriedly passed into law, the COVID-19 bill involving such new terms into the legal lexicon words that have never been heard in State laws;
The policy under the lockdown has gone to buttress the points raised by Rhodes (1997) who argued that public policy implies “the process by which governments translate their political vision into programmes and actions to deliver ‘outcomes — desired changes in the real world.”
This is why at the centre of most public policy is the common good of the State populace.
Implementation of the Lockdown Policy and Claims of Human Right Violations
In April 2020, the Television Continental reported cases of possible violations of human rights by some state governors during her popular government policy programme, The Journalist Hangout.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu was challenged by the renowned Human Rights Activist, Femi Falana (SAN) who argued that the Governor cannot summarily, and by fiat, invoke a lockdown order, and insist that Lagos residents stay indoors, without any recourse from the Lagos State House of Assembly.
Femi Falana (SAN) further asserted that, it is only the Lagos State House of Assembly that can grant the Lagos government power to invoke such restriction of movement, and that it is only when the country and consequently, the state is at war and heightened insecurity could such lockdown be justified.
This goes a long way to show how powerful, government policies can be, in the determination of the social, cultural and economic activities of the people.
On April 6th, TVCNews.com (2020) reported that the Rivers State governor, Governor Nyesom Wike illegally arrested two pilots of Carveton Helicopters, charging them for the crime of conveying Coronavirus patients to Rivers State, Port Harcourt precisely.
The NCDC and the Minister of Health Dr Osagie debunked this claim and requested that Nyesom Wike release the pilots with immediate effect.
On April 9th, Nyesom Wike was also seen in the company of security operations supervising, monitoring and implementing the effective arrest of these individuals.
Religious outfits especially churches and mosques have also challenged the government to the lockdown policy stating it’s a violation of their freedom of religion.
A particular Islamic Shiite in Kano on Kumar day attacked security operatives and some churches defied the stay-at-home order but the Pastor was later apprehended.
Asserting Citizenship’s Rights
The African Independent Television (AIT) News Online (2020) reported repeatedly the case of maltreatment and discrimination of African Immigrants in the Chinese Province of Guangdong.
The Chinese authorities were accused of chasing Nigerians out of their accommodations, seizing their passports and abandoning them in isolation.
The Nigerian Ambassador to China, H.E. Mr Aminu Bashir Wali, insisted that no one has the right to seize a Nigerian Passport, going by the Viennese Convention of 1963. This is to show that policies (both public and foreign) have an impact on the peoples, citizens, foreign and/or nationals of such political space.
Having said that, it is important to also point out that in Europe, according to BBC News (2020), Chinese Nationals were discriminated against.
Dissecting The Government’s Policy On The Covid-19 Pandemic
COVID-19 Lockdown Policy and Theory of Conspiracy
Sahara Reporters (2020) published an interview with a popular Nigerian Pastor, Chris Oyakhilome PhD, The General Overseer of Christ Embassy Church International. In this interview, the pastor of the church claims that the reason for the Federal Government’s lockdown is to enable the Chinese Companies to install the 5G network.
He further asserted that the 5G Network is the cause of the coronavirus and that the lockdown policy is to facilitate installation in Lagos, Ogun and Abuja. BBC News (2020) debunked and refuted this claim stating that the lockdown policy was for social distancing aimed at preventing the disease and that on the other hand,5G had no connection whatsoever with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Another conspiracy theory from the religionists claims that the lockdown policy and 5G are to make sure everybody gets the mark of the Beast 666.
The richest man in the world Bill Gates is at the centre of this furore. It is claimed that he intends to insert a microchip into patients to administer vaccines and also administer 666 pari passu.
However, this has also been debunked by the Bill and Melinda Gates Fund.
The Negroid race which populates Africa has also been said to be immune to this virus.
This is because conspiracy theorists state that the temperature of Africa is very hot and unpleasant for the survival of the virus, some claim especially in Nigeria that it is the disease of the affluent while others say that it can’t infect the poor.
These are conspiracy theories making the rave.
This is a pointer that any matter of global interest WILL always create different assertions, perceptions and perspectives, hence this makes government policy very important to channel the public towards such public policy.
The conspiracy theory did not stop at that, it went to the point of administration. The President of the Western Hemisphere Countries claimed chloroquine tablets could cure it in its early stage.
The United States of America President, Donald Trump once acclaimed that chloroquine could cure COVID-19 in its symptomatic stages. This was later found to be false. (CNN, 2020).
The African Traditional Medicine Practitioner was not left out, they claimed that if lemon and ginger are boiled together, the extracts are potent medicine against the virus.
The health policy of COVID-19 went a long way to orientate the people by broadcasting on television that chloroquine cannot cure coronavirus, and neither can onions, ginger, garlic, turmeric, lemon and lemongrass.
The policy is very integral in the running of the affairs of government.
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/16/world/coronavirus-newsletter-05-16-20/index.html
Dissecting The Government’s Policy On The Covid-19 Pandemic