We Are Only As Strong As The Weakest In Our World

By Olowogboyega Oyebade

Are you aware that this is war? Have you heard that the Nigeria’s High Military Command has recalled many retired medical officers for the war against COVID-19? While the renowned human-rights lawyer, Femi Falana, is advising that we solicit help from Cuba for potent drugs to treat patients infected with the virus, do you know that China is showing beacons of hope to arrive in Nigeria to lend a helping hand? Can you see how a virus, a micro-organism,  is firing the world with invisible yet invincible missiles with devastating payloads? Can you see how the great United States and Russia are retreating from the fields of war to their closets to escape from the terror machine of coronavirus?  Can you see the humiliation of great Italy and Spain, seeking for help lest they are vanquished? Can you see the Prime Minister of Britain, locked up in isolation by the virus and scores of British citizens are dying daily of the infections of the virus, helplessly. including soldiers who showed gallantry in real way campaigns?

        Can you see Cuban medics, whose country was derided and sanctioned economically by major world political order since 1960, , now coming out to teach the world a new lesson in gratuitous  volunteerism  in medical missions to save millions of people in some countries that are in distress?   Cant  you see how many medical consultants of high-sounding pedigrees are retreating from the fields for fear of infections and death?  Can you imagine the great United States that boasts of the highest gun-per capita in the world and a reserve of ten laser bullets to wipe out each person on earth,  not having enough ventilators in its hospitals to save its people from mass death?  Can you imagine Italy and Germany importing drugs from Cuba as a war-time strategy?  

Are you aware that Russia’s top coronavirus doctor, Denis Protsenko, on 24thMarch, 2020 met with the Russian leader who inspected the Kommunarka new hospital treating coronavirus  patients? Do you know that the doctor shook hands with President Putin at the occasion and a week later when the news escaped to space that the doctor tested positive to the virus, the entire Russia shook to its foundation, despite their nuclear armament and the submarine launchers all around the place? Do you know that calmness only returned when the test revealed that the 67-year-old Putin tested negative to the virus? We are all acting afraid!

         Do you know that the countdown to  the Dubai Expo 2020 started last October, 2019 and scheduled to come up in October,  2020? Do you know that the Expo is set to showcase the talent, potential and creativity that the UAE and the Middle East have to offer to the world and also to bring the best that the rest of the world has to offer to the region, making it an unprecedented opportunity in the Middle East to celebrate global collaboration and shared humanity? Do you know that Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi once described the event as great opportunities for the region?  Do you know that the event has been cancelled and shifted to 2021?   Can you see that this war is not a joke and hates  artificialdistinction?

Do you know that any war campaign must have its strategies?  Do you know that the United Nations has made these strategies handy and  prescribes  three general-purpose strategies for this campaign? Can you believe that we have been asked to forget political games and understand that it is humankind that is at stake? According to the UN, do you know that the first strategy is that this war needs a war-time plan to fight it? Do you know that the second  strategy is that we must work together to minimize the social and economic impact?  Are you aware that the third strategy is that we must work together now to set the stage for a recovery that builds a more sustainable, inclusive and equitable economy, guided by our shared promise?   Sikena!

Do you know that Nigeria must key in to the strategies as part of the shared promise to the global community?  Do you know that each State must key in,  too? Do you know that the State of Osun has keyed in? You care to know? Enjoy this time-out. President Lyndon B. Johnson of the US  cuts in:“The guns and the bombs, the rockets and the warships, are all symbols of human failure.”

Hurray! Are you aware that on 31 March, 2020, the State Governor of Osun, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, put together a 21-man Food and Relief Committee of Eminent Nigerians to cushion the effect of restrictions on movement of goods and services in the State?  Do you know that the committee members are AsiwajuTunde Badmus, Chief Adebayo Jimoh, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, Pastor Matthew Asimolowo, Oonirisa EnitanOgunwusi Ojaja I, General Alani Akinrinade (retd), Chief Tunde  Ponle, Rt. Hon. Patricia Etteh, Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi, Sir Demola Aladekomo, Rt. Hon. LasunYusuff, Dr. Wale Babalakin and Dr. Segun Aina, Mallam Yussuf Alli (SAN), Folorunsho Alakija, AbdulKabir Aliyu, Dr. Deji Adeleke, Otunba IyiolaOmisore and three former governors of the state: Chief Bisi Akande, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola and OgbeniRauf  Aregbesola?   Do you know that this composition is a reflection of the sagacity of Governor Oyetola and  reflects the tenets of what the Secretary General of the United Nations recently preached to all the leaders of the world?  Do you know that the composition teaches three lessons:

–​That a whole State can lean on the shoulders of these 21 ​people to bring hope to the hopeless,

–​That war against adversity does not need to wear any ​colour, creed, religion, sex, politics and beliefs and

–​That  we are only as strong as the weakest health system in ​our interconnected world”?

Are you aware that the United Nations was founded at the end of the Second World War in 1945 and has 193 member States? Do you know that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the launch of a new fund to help developing countries appealing for donations for poor and conflict-hit nations, said on Tuesday 1st April, 2020 that the coronavirus pandemic is the worst global crisis since World War II and that the scale of the crisis was due to “a disease that represents a threat to everybody in the world and… an economic impact that will bring a recession that probably has no parallel in the recent past”?

Do you know that this initiative is a new plan to counter the potentially devastating socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, calling on everyone to “act together to lessen the blow to people”, pointing out that the potential longer-term effects on the global economy and individual countries are “dire”? Do you know that if we are able to surmount this pandemic, the world needs to scale up  the 2030 Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to build inclusive and sustainable economies that are more resilient in facing pandemics, climate change, and the many other global challenges? The voice of the Secretary General cuts in:

“The combination of the two facts and the risk that it contributes to enhanced instability, enhanced unrest, and enhanced conflict are things that make us believe that this is the most challenging crisis we have faced since the Second World War. This human crisis demands coordinated, decisive, inclusive and innovative policy action from the world’s leading economies – and maximum financial and technical support for the poorest and most vulnerable people and countries.

        A stronger and more effective response… is only possible in solidarity if everybody comes together and if we forget political games and understand that it is humankind that is at stake. We are far from having a global package to help the developing world to create the conditions both to suppress the disease and to address the dramatic consequences. We are slowly moving in the right direction, but we need to speed up, and we need to do much more if we want to defeat the virus. We need to have innovative financial instruments so that developing nations are able to respond to the crisis because the coronavirus outbreak could return from poorer countries, especially in Africa, to hit wealthy countries again, and that millions could die.Letus remember that we are only as strong as the weakest health system in our interconnected world”.

Do you know that this is war by all definitions and resolutions?  Are you aware that we are already having grim 2020 socio-economic estimates as released by the UN International Labour Organization (ILO) to the effect that  5  to 25 million jobs will be eradicated in the world  and the world will lose $860 billion to $3.4 trillion in labour income? Do you know that the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) projected a 30 to 40 per cent downward pressure on global foreign direct investment flows while the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) saw a 20–30 per cent decline in international arrivals?  Have you heard that the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) anticipated that 3.6 billion people will be offline and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) forecast that 1.5 billion students out of school will emerge, leading possibly to more crimes in the society? Do you now see why the UN advised that we must make a large-scale, coordinated, comprehensive multilateral response that amounts to at least 10 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP) and warns that there is no time to lose in mounting the most robust, cooperative health response the world has ever seen? The voice of Mr. Guterres cuts in:

“This is a defining moment for modern society. History will judge the efficacy of the response not by the actions of any single set of government actors taken in isolation, but by the degree to which the response is coordinated globally across all sectors for the benefit of our human family”.

Do you know that the war is a double-edged sword?  Have you not heard of some practitioners of herbal medicine and some ludicrous emergency poets and singers, denouncing the incident cases of coronavirusin Nigeria?  Have you not read it in the social media that it is a calculated biological weapon released for pecuniary gains by a particular country to gain the highest economic ascendancy in the new world economic order?  Can you now see that as the world is fighting the pandemic, the world is equally battling with ‘infodemic‘? Do you know that the UN continues to tackle ‘infodemic‘ of misinformation and cybercrime in COVID-19 crisis ranging from selling fake coronavirus cures online to claiming the advent of a potent vaccine that has been clinically tested and  to cyber-attacks on hospitals’ critical information systems?  Do you know that cyber-criminals are exploiting the COVID-19 crisis to wage a new war on the world? The statement of  Ghebreyesus of WHO, cuts in: “We’re not just fighting an epidemic; we’re fighting an infodemic”.

Are you aware that as the coronavirus swept through Asia, Europe and North America, medical experts are warning that it is just a matter of time before Africa would see an exponential increase in cases and the onslaught would lead to massive losses of lives and unprecedented social and economic damage? Can you imagine a small State of Osun already exposed to 20 cases in two weeks and Nigeria getting to more than 210 cases as at Saturday afternoon of 4th April, 2020?  Do you know that the world has crossed the  onemillion mark of covid-19 cases? Do you know that it was against this background that António Guterres, the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations, who took office on 1st January 2017, in his remarks at the G20 Virtual Summit on the Covid-19 Pandemic identified the three strategies to prosecute the war campaign when he said:

“This is war. This war needs a war-time plan to fight it. We are at war with a virus – and not winning it. It took the world three months to reach 100,000 confirmed cases of infection.  The next 100,000 happened in just 12 days.  The third took four days. The fourth, just one and a half. This is exponential growth and only the tip of the iceberg.  This war needs a war-time plan to fight it. Solidarity is essential. Among the G-20 – and with the developing world, including countries in conflict. That is why I appealed for a global ceasefire. We need to concentrate on people, keeping households afloat and businesses solvent, able to protect jobs.Allow me to highlight three critical areas for concerted G-20 action. First, to suppress the transmission of COVID-19 as quickly as possible. That must be our common strategy.  It requires a coordinated G-20 response mechanism guided by WHO. All countries must be able to combine systematic testing, tracing, quarantining and treatment with restrictions on movement and contact – aiming to suppress transmission of the virus.  And they have to coordinate the exit strategy to keep it suppressed until a vaccine becomes available. At the same time, we need massive support to increase the response capacity of developing countries. The United Nations system has a well-established supply chain network, and we stand ready to place it at your disposal.

Second, we must work together to minimize the social and economic impact. The G-20 came of age in the 2008 financial crisis.  The challenges before us dwarf those of 2008.  And what we face today is not a banking crisis; it is a human crisis. While the liquidity of the financial system must be assured, our emphasis must be on the human dimension.   We need to concentrate on people, keeping households afloat and businesses solvent, able to protect jobs. This will require a global response reaching double-digit percentages of the global economy. I welcome infusions of liquidity and social and economic support in developed countries — with direct transfer of resources to people and businesses. But a stimulus package to help developing countries with the same objectives also requires a massive investment. For this, we need greater resources for the International Monetary Fund and other International Financial Institutions, a meaningful emission of Special Drawing Rights, coordinated swaps between central banks and steps to alleviate debt, such as a waiver of interest payments.   I also appeal for the waving of sanctions that can undermine countries’ capacity to respond to the pandemic.

Third, we must work together now to set the stage for a recovery that builds a more sustainable, inclusive and equitable economy, guided by our shared promise — the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable/{

Have you been hearing of Food and Agricultural Organisation? Do you know that when such agency of the United Nations talks, it talks from the position of authority and facts? Are you aware that the organization emerged in the late 19th and early 20th century from the initiative of David Lubin? Do you know that the initiative led to an international conference held in Rome, Italy, between May–June 1905 which led to the creation of the International Institute of Agriculture (IIA) by the King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III?  Are you aware that this Institute  was the first intergovernmental organization to deal with the problems and challenges of agriculture on a global scale? Do you know that the institute became moribund during World War II and in 1943, the United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt called a United Nations Conference on Food and Agriculture, which brought representatives from forty-four governments to the  U.S. from 18 May to 3 June where the idea of a new IIA was birthed in Quebec City, Canada  in a conference from 16 October to 1 November 1945?  Do you know that the IIA was officially dissolved by resolution of its Permanent Committee on 27 February 1948 and its mandate were then transferred to the newly established FAO, which maintained its headquarters in Rome till date?  Do you know that in the 1960s, it joined the U.N. General Assembly in creating the U.N. World Food Programme, the largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger and promoting food security? Do you know that FAO is made up of 197-member States and composed of eight departments: Agriculture and Consumer Protection, Climate, Biodiversity, Land and Water Department, Economic and Social Development, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Forestry, Corporate Services and Technical Cooperation and Programme Management?

Have you been told that large-scale lockdowns to contain the coronavirus outbreak have hurt the supply of manpower and disrupted supply chains in the agriculture industry?  Have you been told that a food crisis looms as coronavirus forces farms to stay idle and countries hoard supplies as declared by FAO on 31 March, 2020? Do you know that the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization said the world risks a “looming food crisis” unless measures are taken fast to protect the most vulnerable, keep global food supply chains alive and mitigate the pandemic’s impacts across the food system? Do you know that the coronavirusoutbreak could affect food security as the global pandemic disrupts labour availability and the supply chain?  Do you know that food crisis looms in Nigeria, too? The agency declares:

“We risk a looming food crisis unless measures are taken fast to protect the most vulnerable, keep global food supply chains alive and mitigate the pandemic’s impacts across the food system. We are already seeing, however, challenges in terms of the logistics involving the movement of food (not being able to move food from point A to point B), and the pandemic’s impact on livestock sector due to reduced access to animal feed and slaughterhouses’ diminished capacity (due to logistical constraints and labour shortages) similar to what happened in China”

Are you aware that no country is an island in this mess?  Do you know that Russia is in a full lockdown in most regions of the country, as the number of confirmed coronavirus infections continues to rise? Do you know that President Trump has warned Americans to brace for a ‘rough two-week period’ as far as casualty figures are concerned? Do you know that the figure of the dead had risen past six thousand lives and still counting?  Do you know that  President Trump had predicted a loss of about 100,000 to 240,000 American lives to the pandemic? Do you know that Trump did not minimize what has become the gravest public health crisis in decades during his remarks that stretched more than two hours last week as he  advisedAmericans that darker days are still to come?  The voice of Trump cuts in:

“I want every American to be prepared for the hard days that lie ahead. We’re going to go through a very tough two weeks. I don’t want to be negative. This is easy to be negative about but I want to give people hope too. You know, I’m a cheerleader for the country.It’s an incredibly dark topic. An incredibly horrible topic. And it’s incredibly interesting. That’s why everybody is, they’re going crazy, they can’t get enough of it.”

Are you aware that European leaders warned last week of dark days ahead as Italy’s death toll surpassed 900 in a day and France mourned Europe’s youngest victim, a 16-year girl whose family said had no pre-existent health problems? Do you know that Spain is in gloom?  Do you know that is the reason the Secretary General of the UN remarked that “we are only as strong as the weakest health system in our interconnected world”?

            Are you mindful of the second advice of the Secretary General of the UN when he said that we must work together to minimize the social and economic impact?  Do you know that two super powers are currently making use of the advice?  Are you aware that as the world locks down, a new window of rapprochement is opening between the United States and Russia? Do you remember that Russia is subject to numerous US sanctions, including for its aggression in Ukraine and its attempts to interfere in the 2016 US election? Are you aware that a Russian plane with medical  equipment which included ventilators and personal protection equipment touched down in New York City on Wednesday, 1st April, 2020 with an air traffic controller thanking the pilot “for all the assistance you are bringing in”?  Do you know that coronavirus offers a diplomatic opening and outsized PR dividends for Vladimir Putin as the Trump administration  bought supplies from Russia below market value? The voice of Morgan Ortagus, US State Department spokesperson puts it this way:

“Both countries have provided humanitarian assistance to each other in times of crisis in the past and will no doubt do so again in the future. This is a time to work together to overcome a common enemy that threatens the lives of all of us.”

Can you still recall the third agenda prescribed for us by the Secretary General of the UN that says that we must work together now to set the stage for a recovery that builds a more sustainable, inclusive and equitable economy, guided by our shared promise? Are you aware that a triumvirate,  rumbling and tumbling the world economy despite the gloom of coronavirus,  are coming to terms as counselled by the UN? Do you know that a tweet can make a difference between prosperity and recession?  Do you remember the flood of supplies that hit the market as the global oil industry faced its biggest consumption hit in history, with the coronavirus pandemic forcing lockdowns and travel bans?  

Do you remember that traders made forecasts that crude demand could fall by as much as 30million b/d in April, 2020 with some of them saying that the demand collapse would be so severe that any supply cuts from major producers would have a limited impact as global storage tanks were already filling up and producer companies could be forced to shut-in oil projects?  Do you know that the US  put pressure on Saudi Arabia to scale back its supply surge, which has contributed to a price collapse and ricocheted across the shale industry, and forced many companies to be on the brink of bankruptcy? Do you know that at this time Saudi Arabia and Russia said they backed joint efforts without considering a strategy shift?  Do you know that Saudi Arabia instructed the State energy company to prepare for a prolonged fight and Saudi Aramcoinformed oilfield services contractors to be ready to provide support as it seeks to keep production at heightened levels to hurt other minor oil producers?  Do you know that the oil power game dealt a serious blow to the 2020 Budget of Nigeria?

Hurray! Are you aware that oil price soared nearly 50 per cent in its biggest ever one-day rally after US President Donald Trump stoked hopes in a tweet of a supply cut deal led by Saudi Arabia and Russia to alleviate a price collapse triggered by the coronavirusoutbreak?  Do you know that Mr Trump on Thursday 2ndApril, 2020 said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia and Russian President Vladimir Putin had begun talks on how to curb production by as much as 15m barrels a day — a large chunk of the world’s oil demand? Do you know that Saudi Arabia, Russia and the US together account for around a third of global oil production? Do you remember that Saudi Arabia had pushed for a deal to deepen and prolong production curbs ahead of a March meeting of oil ministers, but it was met with reluctance from Russia?  Do you know that this prompted Saudi Arabia to pursue a “pump at will” strategy to shock the market, dramatically cutting prices for its crude and raising production to a record 12m barrels a day?

Do you know that almost immediately after MrTrump’s tweet, Saudi Arabia’s started calling for an emergency meeting of OPEC and other oil producer nations, including Russia to seek to reach a “fair” supply deal, without committing to any cuts? Do you know that after the tweet, Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, rose as high as $36.29 a barrel,  arecord intra-day jump in percentage terms amounting to nearly 47 per cent? The statement of Helima Croft at RBC Capital Markets cuts in: “There is a realisation in Washington that the path to a deal runs through Moscow. Everyone knows that Saudi Arabia wants Russia at the table but there is also a recognition that the US will have to participate in some way. But there are clear questions about what the US’s involvement will look like.”

​Are you a Nigerian born in the 90s?  Can you remember the TV movie titled: “ The Rich Also Cry”? Do you know that it  was in 1993/1994 NTA Channel 10 programme from Monday to Friday at 7.30 to 8pm and was temporary stopped during the world cup in 1994? Do you know that the pandemic of coronavirusis making a replay of “The Rich Also Cry” as far as the fate of passengers in the cruise ships are concerned in most parts of the world? Do you know that cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport?  Do you know that they are often described as “balcony-laden floating condominiums” that are exclusively enjoyed by the rich and the affluent in the world?

Do you know that cruising has become a major part of the tourism industry, with an estimated market of $29.4 billion per year, and over 20 million passengers carried worldwide annually? Do you know that as of 2020, the world’s largest passenger ship is Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas? Do you know that with the advent of large passenger jet aircraft in the 1960s, intercontinental travellers switched from ships to planes sending the ocean liner trade into a terminal decline? Do you know that “Queen Elizabeth 2” was reinvented as a luxury ocean liner following the advent of the jet airliner as an attempt to shift the focus of the market from passenger travel to cruising with entertainment value? Are you aware that modern cruise ships have the following facilities: Casino, shops, spa, fitness centre, library, theatre with broadway-style shows, cinema, indoor and/or outdoor swimming pool with water slides, hot tub, buffet restaurant, lounges, clubs, pool tables, ping pong tables, infirmary and morgue, card room, observation lounge, karaoke, and teen Lounges?

Are you aware that some ships have bowling alleys, ice skating rinks, rock climbing walls, sky-diving simulators, miniature golf courses, video arcades, zip-lines, surfing simulators, basketball courts, tennis courts, chain restaurants, ropes obstacle courses, and even roller coasters? Do you know that international celebrities are hired to perform cabaret acts onboard and the crossing is advertised as a vacation in itself, providing  romantic opportunities for couples? Do you know that as most of the passengers on a cruise are affluent and have considerable ransom potential, there have been several high-profile pirate attacks on cruise ships? Do you know that modern cruise ships have high-pressure fire hoses that can be used to keep boarders at bay, and often the vessel itself can be maneuvered to ram pirate craft? Do you know that  cruise ships have small arms (usually semi-automatic pistols) stored in a safe accessible only by the captain who distributes them to authorized personnel such as security or the master-at-arms? Do you know that Norovirus outbreaks are often perceived to be associated with cruise ships and it is often easily managed? Do you know that news reports that there are outbreaks of  COVID-19  in some cruise ships on vacation voyages have brought back the scenes in the play: “The Rich Also Cry”? You care for more?  Enjoy this time-out.

Have you heard of coronavirus crisis on 9th March, 2020 when  Grand Princess Cruise Ship docked Off California Coast,  spent several days circling off the coast of California, with 3,533 rich and affluent people on board?  Do you know that out of 46 people who were in the first round of testing, at least 21 tested positive for the new coronavirus,? Do you know that the joy of vacationing in the cruise ship turned to gloom as the rich also cried as they saw themselves in  collective mess and drab of covid-19?

And yet another drama.  Do you know that last week, the U.S. government engaged the State of Florida to help passengers of two cruise ships, stranded at sea and refused docking by the State of Florida, amid the global coronavirus scare?  Do you know that the State did not show willingness as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantismade it clear that he would not let foreign tourists endanger local residents, but said he was willing to send medical help to the ship? Do you know that after much persuasion, he only  offered to let in only citizens of Florida in the cruise ships? Can you now see how the pleasure of vacationing in cruise ships have been turned to gloom by coronavirus?  Are you not seeing the gloom in cruising now looking  like the fate of child-birth of Ekwefi in ‘Things Fall Apart’ of which Chinua writes: “Childbirth which is a woman’s crowning glory became for Ekwefi a mere physical agony devoid of promise,”?

​In a lighter mood?  Do you like burial ceremonies? Do you know that the current pandemic is set to alter our Family Law jurisprudence for now and forever? How? Have you heard the news? Do you know that the Federal Government of Nigeria has revealed that the corpses of patients who died after contracting COVID-19 will not be released to their families for final burial rites which is the usual norm? Are you aware that Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, spoke at a forum staged by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday, 3rdApril, 2020 that such corpses would be handled by the Health Ministry because they are contagious? Do you know that this will raise robust legal issues in our Family Law, Testacy and Intestacy, Probate cases and Customary Law of Inheritance, Wills Act and Codicils? Since a will is ambulatory,  if a patient is at the throes of death in an isolation centre and does not have a will, at what time will he be allowed to make one?  Will his trustees and witnesses be allowed access or denied access? At what point will he have access to legal representations? What is the validity of the dying man’s statement in an isolation room maintained for Covid-19 patients? Can a will be made on the phone and posted to Trustees, witnesses lawyers and banks from the isolation room?  Do you know that as we speak, four Nigerians are already dead as a result of the infection of the virus? The voice of the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed,cuts in:

“Coronavirus is very dangerous and contagious; there is no medicine for it yet and it is not just capable of killing, overwhelming healthcare system, it will destroy the economy.In some countries, they are putting dead bodies in big refrigerators, because the morgues have filled up. Nigerians should not forget that these are not the type of corpses that can be claimed for burial because it must be handled by the Ministry of Health.”

​Do you know that despite all odds, we are still enough good news? Have you been told that United Nations cites Nigeria’s ‘remarkable capacity’ in response to COVID-19 as an example for the world in a statement? Are you aware that as at the last count, Nigeria currently has about 210 confirmed cases of coronavirus with four deaths and  23 persons had been discharged from the hospital and isolation centres after they were given a clean bill of health by medical practitioners?  Do you know that this commendation came from the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, who spoke at a virtual news briefing in New York, the United States on Thursday, 2ndApril, 2020?  Do you know that he singled out Nigeria as one of the developing countries that have “shown a remarkable capacity to respond to the disease.” The voice of  Guterres cuts in:

“I have to say this; some of these developing countries have shown a remarkable capacity to respond.I was quite impressed to see, for instance, Nigeria putting in place and immediately establishing a hospital.And I saw difficulties in countries that are much more developed to do quickly the same.”

      Do you know that very soon mankind will overcome this pandemic?  Are you aware that on Saturday 4thApril, 2020, some Melbourne researchers in Australia declared that an anti-parasitic drug commonly used to combat head lice has been found to kill the virus that causes COVID-19 in the lab within 48 hours?  Do you know that this Monash University-led study has shown a high dose of the common drug could stop the SARS-CoV-2 virus growing in human cells? Do you know that all laboratories in the world are currently working on all leads to arrest the pandemic with  potent vaccine and drugs ?

​As the  Food and Relief Committee of Eminent Nigerians to cushion the effect of restrictions on movement of goods and services in the State of Osunsettles down to work, we plead that all the institutions and individuals that will be contacted should respond generously as events have shown that Lagos is not the only epicenter of the virus in Nigeria.  The State of Osun now has 20 cases which accounts for about 20 percent of the cases in Lagos.  We need special attention and care in all ramifications.  The voice of the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterrescuts in:

“We .. need to do much more if we want to defeat the virus. .Let us remember that we are only as strong as the weakest health system in our interconnected world”.

​