In recent times, the governor of Rivers State has been taking some very
\ncontroversial decisions as far as his measures to curtail the spread of
\nthe dreaded virus called corona virus is concerned. The recent one being
\nthe pulling down of two hotels for contravening what the governor called
\nexecutive order no.6. The general understanding of the order is that it
\nprohibits the operation of hotels in the state until further notice.
\nThis opinion will not dwell on the legalese of whether the executive
\norder 6 constitutes a law under our legal jurisprudence. This write up
\nwill concentrate on the policies of the Wike\u2019s administration on the
\ncurbing of the world pandemic ravaging the entire globe.<\/p>\n
Governor Wike would want to be given an award as the first governor that
\ntook pro active step in curbing the virus in Nigeria. He claims to be
\nthe first governor that locked his state borders amidst criticisms. This
\nis not correct. If there is any governor that deserves such an award,
\nthat would be the governor of Lagos State. The governor of Lagos State
\ncould not shut some of the state borders because they are international
\nborders, and he wanted to act within the ambit of the law unlike Wike
\nwho throws the law into the winds in his self acclaimed fight against
\nthe covid-19 virus. The Rivers State governor has lost ideas and lack
\ncoherence in handling the virus in the state. This is despite the fact
\nthat the state is one of the lucky states with minimal confirmed cases
\nof the virus. On the Easter week, the governor made a statewide
\nbroadcast, and told everyone who wanted to listen that the state has
\nmade tremendous success in the curtailing of the spread of the virus,
\ntherefore, having achieved such success, both the Christian and Muslim
\ncommunities should hold Easter church services and the Friday prayers
\nwith their full congregation. People criticized this, and in just a few
\nhours, the governor recanted his decision. Since then, we have not seen
\na clear cut vision in the fight against the corona virus. The attention
\nof the government has shifted from curtailing the virus to exerting its
\nauthority on the people. The governor has been acting like a classic
\ntragic figure. If he is not taking on the federal government, he will be
\nthreatening the people of the state. He once accused journalists of not
\npositively reporting his efforts in the state, rather they down play it.
\nLike every classic tragic figure, the governor of Rivers State has
\nbecome law unto himself. He makes the law and executes the law. Curfew
\nand total lock down of the state is no longer a means of fighting the
\nvirus; rather it is now a means of punishing the people. First, it was
\nthe 24 hours curfew imposed on some areas of the state because they
\ndisobeyed government directive on public gathering. Later he imposed a
\ntotal lock down on some parts of the Port Harcourt City and Obio\\ Akpor
\nlocal government areas for refusal to adhere to government directives
\nafter repeated warning. Later, like a cannon let loose, the governor
\nplaced the entire local government areas under a 24 hours total lock
\ndown. For him, we must learn how to obey constituted authority. Before
\nthat, he had called all the traditional rulers in the state, and was
\naddressing them like school boys condescendingly, threatening to depose
\nany of them that allowed his domain to flout his government directive.
\nFor the past one month in Rivers State, sadly, the news is no longer
\nabout the virus, but about the politics of the virus. The Rivers State
\ngovernor has so much politicized this issue of corona virus that one
\nfinds it difficult to understand the policy of government if any as far
\nas curtailing the spread of the virus is concerned.<\/p>\n
For close to two months now, Rivers State has been on lock down. The
\nmarkets, schools and the streets are not being decontaminated which is
\nwhat the government should be doing. Nobody is hearing anything about
\nthe virus again. Nobody knows how many patients have been discharged.
\nWhile other states are announcing the discharge of patients, Rivers
\nState has announced the discharge of only two patients for about three
\nmonths now. Even Kano State has announced the discharge of more patients
\nthan Rivers State. Treatment of the virus started about two weeks in
\nKano. The Chief Medical Director of the University of Port Harcourt
\nTeaching Hospital put the blame on the door step of the governor. The
\nCMD noted that if the governor had corroborated with the federal
\ngovernment, more patients would have been discharged, and those who died
\nmay not have died. The governor should understand that nowhere is the
\nlock down indefinite. Let him cite anywhere in the world where the lock
\ndown was made indefinite. Governor Wike should not apply methods that
\nhave never worked anywhere in the world. His inconsistent policies have
\nthrown the people in the state into confusion. Today, the news reads
\nthat 10 new cases of the virus have been confirmed in the state. This is
\ndespite the lock down in the state for over two months now. What I
\nexpect Wike and his government to do is to study the pattern of
\ntransmission in case if all 10 of them are not index cases. If they are
\npeople who entered the state at any point, then it means that the
\nborders have to be properly monitored. If they are contacts of the index
\ncases, then prevention measures is the only solution, and not lock up,
\nlock down and what have you.<\/p>\n
The WHO has noted that the corona virus may not go away even with a
\nvaccine that can cure it. What this presupposes is that lock down may
\nnot continue for long. The purpose of lock down is to curtail the spread
\nof the virus to a point where citizens can now take personal
\nresponsibility. That personal responsibility is wearing of nose mask,
\nobserving personal hygiene- this way the virus cannot spread. But what
\nwe see in Rivers State is a show of power. It is unfortunate that some
\npeople we thought to be responsible citizens will support the despicable
\nact of the governor of demolishing people\u2019s properties. While the rest
\nof the world is opening up their economy which Nigeria has cued into,
\nthe Rivers State governor is locking down the state. Even other states
\nworst hit in Nigeria like Lagos, Kano, FCT and others states are opening
\nup their economy. The Rivers State governor in his broadcast (there are
\nso many of them coming up almost every day) claimed that Kano State is
\nunder 24 hours total lock down. That lock down has since expired before
\ngovernor Wike\u2019s speech. This shows that he is not even properly
\nappraised with the facts on ground. But despite the lock down governor
\nWike talked about, the Kano citizens were given a 3 day window to go to
\nthe markets for the purchase of food items. In Rivers State, the markets
\nhave been closed for two months now. Lives are being put in jeopardy.
\nPeople\u2019s livelihoods have been cut out. Jobs are being lost. Hunger is
\nbiting hard on the people, yet the governor after two months of fighting
\ncorona virus, will be pronouncing an indefinite lock down of the economy
\nhubs of the state. Wike has linked the fight against the corona virus to
\na war. But even in a war situation, people find way to go to the markets
\nto buy food stuffs, and hospitals still open. Governor Wike should begin
\nto cease the lock down and allow people go back to work. The only
\nsolution for now is that people must take personal responsibility- wear
\nyour nose masks, wash your hands regularly. Avoid handshake and maintain
\nsocial distancing. Go out only when it is necessary and avoid crowded
\nplaces, corona virus will be shamed.<\/p>\n
Chimezie\u00a0 Elemuo is\u00a0 a lawyer and Public affairs analyst<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In recent times, the governor of Rivers State has been taking some very controversial decisions as far as his measures to curtail the spread of the dreaded virus called corona…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":71979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n