On Thursday, a video clip of Chinese police evicting Africans from their homes and hotels hit the internet and stirred outrage. A good number of Africans, mostly Nigerians, were seen being escorted by the police to the streets where they were forced to spend the night. Their passports were seized and they were prohibited from using the supermarkets.

The action is believed to have been instigated by the Chinese authorities’ aim to curtail further spread of coronavirus in the country. But Africans were singled out in the discriminating exercise that has caught the attention of the African Union and governments whose citizens are involved.

In another video that surfaced online following the first one, a Nigerian consulate officer, Mr. Anozie Maduabuchi Cyril, was seen confronting the Chinese authorities upon the report of what is going on in Guangzhou.

Mr. Cyril was visibly angry as he noted with emphasis the deliberate violation of the rights of Nigerians and other Africans in Guangzhou. The alibi by the Chinese government officials has been that the victims need to be quarantined, which fell short of logic as they had all already served the stipulated 14 days quarantine but were forcibly subjected to another 14 days, and this time, outside their homes and hotels.

The discrimination became so glaring because the eviction happened only to the black community, a point Cyril highlighted as discrimination.

“In Nigeria, work and every other thing had been shut down by the government. We didn’t say that only Nigerians should go to work and other places while Chinese nationals must be quarantined. Everybody has been asked to stay at home.

“If you want your policy to work, shut down Guangzhou and let everyone including the Chinese remain indoors for 14 days. If you do that, the issue of discrimination will not be there. But if you are picking Africans, that is the highest humiliation anyone can get,” Mr. Cyril said.

The Chinese officials’ attempt to deny the incident was crushed by evidence of seized passports. Mr. Cyril who waved the retrieved passports to their faces added: “Why are they seizing Nigerian passports, you are seizing Nigeria as a whole and it is not acceptable.

“You didn’t communicate with us that you are going to all the Nigerian houses and ask people to come out for quarantine. If you want to do your policy, shut down the entire city, don’t discriminate.”

In Nigeria, we have a lot of Chinese, I don’t think you have ever received any information that the government of Nigeria goes to their various houses and picks them for quarantine, so why are Africans and indeed Nigerians being targeted in China”? Mr. Cyril asked.

The events of the last few days in Guangzhou have also captured the attention of Nigerian government. In Abuja, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has on Friday, summoned the Chinese ambassador to Nigeria, Zhou Pingjian to provide answers to the why questions surrounding the incident.

Gbajabiamila who registered his displeasure over the incident with Pingjian said that such incidents would not be tolerated and must be addressed forthwith.

“If the diplomatic relationships between our two countries are for the mutual benefits of our citizens, then there must be respect for our citizens, and we should not compromise it.

“As a government, we will not allow Chinese or other nationals to be maltreated just as we will not allow Nigerians to be maltreated in other countries. The way you treat your citizens, we expect that’s how you’ll treat others; we will not tolerate our citizens breaking your laws, but the crime of one citizen cannot be used to stigmatize the whole country.

“It appears that is what happened in this case; you cannot use one brush to smear the whole wall. Whatever the reason, it cannot be used and taken out on the entire community,” the Speaker said.

The Chinese Ambassador, however, promised to get to the root of matter. He said although he has been briefed about the development, he needs to establish it with the Chinese government as such incidents don’t represent what the government back home stands for.

“We take our relationship with Nigeria very seriously, we receive a full report from back home, I cannot act, but I can assure you it is not a policy issue. We treat everybody equally, but during the implementation of COVID-19 measures in China, it is possible for incidents; all I will do is to take it back home, today I will,” Ambassador Pingjian said.

In response to the development, Kenyans have reportedly adopted a jungle justice approach to register their displeasure by chasing Chinese workers in Kenya out of their fields of work.

The Chairman of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat has invited the Chinese Ambassador to the AU, Mr. Liu Yuxi, to express extreme concern of the Union over the maltreatment of Africans in China. The African group in Beijing is also engaging the Chinese government, as the push for immediate remedial measures to address the issue continues.

In the wake of coronavirus in the United States, President Donald Trump has been criticized for calling the disease “Chinese virus,” a remark that didn’t go well with many, mainly the Chinese people, as it denotes racial discrimination.

Therefore, the rest of the world was least expecting China to get caught in any act of discrimination as it unfolded in Guangzhou.

In the latest opposition to Chinese telecommunication service in the United States, a number of executive agencies are pushing the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) to terminate China’s Telecom’s license, citing security risks.

It is the first time since China and the U.S. reached a deal to minimize their trade conflict in January. Ever since then; there has been relaxed tension between the two countries until now.

State-owned China Telecom is one of the country’s largest mobile networks and broadband providers. In this renewed bid to oust them, the Trump administration is pointing at the usual excuse – national security.

Based on “unacceptable security risks,” federal agencies like the State Department and Department of Justice are asking the FCC to revoke the communication company’s license and stop it from offering international communication services in the U.S.

After Huawei became a victim of the antitrust politics between the U.S. and China last year, many other tech companies of Chinese origin have fallen into the way including Tiktok.

China’s Telecom (Americas) was licensed in 2007 by the FCC and has been operating on the U.S soil until now. The Department of Justice said the company has failed to live up to the agreement it had with the department and it spells security risk.

“Today, more than ever, the life of the nation and its people runs on our telecommunications network. The security of our government and professional communications, as well as of our most private data, depends on our use of trusted partners from nations that share our values and our aspirations for humanity.

“Today’s action is but our next step in ensuring the integrity of America’s telecommunications system,” said John Demers, assistant attorney general for national security.

There has been heightened opposition to tech companies from China since last year, spurred by Trump’s administration’s suspicion of espionage. The Chinese government has been linked to a series of cyber-attacks targeting the United States, an excuse, among others; the U.S. government is basing its actions on.

After Huawei’s expulsion, the U.S government has been warning its allies around the world not to accept the Chinese company’s 5G roll out, as it poses a security risk that will be detrimental to their partnership.

In December 2019, the U.S. Secretary of States Mike Pompei warned the UK government that there will be no sharing of intelligence if London allows Huawei to continue with the 5G roll out.

The U.S. has been concerned that China will at any time force Huawei to provide data about countries where it is operational. And with a lot of countries under its 5G coverage, Huawei will have a mass of critical information to deliver to Beijing. Huawei’s push to lead the 5G roll out globally is therefore a potential threat that the U.S. government is fighting to contain.

The Chinese telecom company (Americas) however, has a different case. The federal agencies laid out a number of issues they had with China Telecom including the “evolving national security environment since 2007” and “increased knowledge of the People’s Republic of China (PRC)’s role in malicious cyber activity targeting the United States.” Just as it is a matter of concern with other tech companies; China Telecom is perceived as “vulnerable to exploitation, influence, and control by the PRC government.”

Also, the Trump administration claims that China Telecom could offer an opportunity for the country’s state actors to “engage in malicious cyber activities enabling economic espionage and disruption and misrouting of U.S. communications.”

But as these events unfold, it is becoming clearer that the U.S. is not only concerned about cyber activities etc. it is also wary that China, through Huawei, will dominate the world – and it doesn’t want that to happen.

On Friday, the U.S. government has accused Huawei of trying to win favor from many countries, including Canada and France, for the 5G roll out, by donating masks and health gadgets to them for their fight against coronavirus. Though Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the donation will not influence the decision whether to accept Huawei’s 5G or not, the U.S. is worried that like the UK, Canada may yield and accept Huawei’s offer.

Somehow, Nigerian public office holders have lost the trust of the masses. Nothing they (the office holders) do is seen as good enough and whatever they offer to the masses is viewed with suspicion. As far as many Nigerians are concerned, there is nothing done by the government that has no ulterior motives. This is the same way the federal government Coronavirus palliative has received distrustful reactions and negative analysis from the masses.

The moment President Muhammadu Buhari announced that the FG will disburse money to the most vulnerable in the society Nigerians took to their Twitter pages to express their distrust on how the FG will handle and achieve that. It was obvious that many people did not expect that the exercise would be transparently carried out. The reactions of Nigerians showed that the federal government needed to do a lot to win back the trust of the citizens. But unfortunately, the FG gave them more reasons to say, “I told you so”.

The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development (FMHDSD) is indeed overburdened with the task of disbursing the Conditional Cash Transfer (aka Coronavirus Palliatives) to the poorest among the poor Nigerians. It is obvious that the ministry already has a list of people that fell into its descriptions of the poor in the National Social Register, which will make it easier for the distribution of the money within a short time and notice. But Nigerians are not satisfied with the exercise, especially when there seemed to be no evidence of the ministry disbursing the money.

FMHDSD should have realised that the following mistakes made by the ministry will increase the mistrust of Nigerians:

Paying Cash to Beneficiaries: This seems to be the greatest issue people have with this exercise. When Mr. President announced that money will be shared, everyone expected that it would be done through bank transactions. Some hoped that the FG would use the Bank Verification Number (BVN) as the data source for payment and management of the transaction. The argument laid here was that since no one has more than one BVN it will be easy for FG to control the payment since nobody can receive two or more payments from the FG if it is done through bank transfer. However, Nigerians were disappointed when they learnt that the mode of payment was by cash.

FMHDSD could have averted this concern by insisting that the beneficiaries open bank accounts before they are paid. We are made to understand that the ministry will make use of the data in the National Social Register in disbursing this money and that these people were among those that benefitted from Abacha’s loot. Since the ministry has been in contact with them before, it should have insisted that they opened bank accounts and then submit their details long before now so that there wouldn’t be a hitch when there is an urgent need to help them out.

Hopefully, this error will be corrected before the next batch of the #20k palliative purse.

Withholding Vital Information: It is a fact that FMHDSD is shielding the list of beneficiaries of this palliative purse. During the disbursement of Abacha’s loot, people waited to see those that benefited from it but alas, no one came out to tell the good tale. This time again, history is repeating itself.

National Social Register should be made available to the masses, alongside the different people that have benefitted from any government intervention programmes. It is something that anyone that has interest could access easily. People need to be sure that those in that list actually deserve to be there and that the palliatives they are receiving from the government are impacting positively in their lives. There is also a need to learn the criteria for being called “vulnerable” in Nigeria and to ensure that all those that should be in the group are included.

No Evidence of Payment and Payment Exercise: One of the easiest ways of reaching the public is through the mass media. It is quite worrisome that the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajia Sadiya Umar Farouq, went to different states of the federation to oversee the disbursements of this fund and media houses could not cover the events and present them to the masses. This would not only be for the sake of record keeping, but to let the world know that something good is happening in Nigeria.

Nigerians need to see authentic pictures and videos of these events. They need to see the beneficiaries and to hear them talk to the world. They need to believe that this exercise is real and that nobody is cheating them out of their money. The minister and the ministry owe this to Nigerians.

A lot of fake news is circulating today because the peddlers saw loopholes through which they could carry out their malicious acts. All the ministry needs to do is to listen to Nigerians, find out their grievances and find ways to pacify them. Of course people are bound to complain irrespective of what the government does for them, but their complaints will not be as heated as they are right now.

President Muhammadu Buhari wholeheartedly thanks all Nigerians for their patience, resolve and strong determination to defeat the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak.

He, however, asked Nigerians to exercise more patience and stay at home as the battle continues.

The President said:

“We realize that today, there will be sons and daughters unable to visit their parents, and elders that are isolated from young ones. And there will be those who live day-to-day, eating as they earn, who face real and present suffering.

“No elected government could ask more of the citizens of the country that elected them than today we ask of you. But we must ask you – once more – to observe restrictions on movement where they are in place, and follow the instructions of our scientists and medical advisers: stay home, wash your hands, save lives.

“The freedoms we ask you to willingly forsake today will only last as long as our scientific advisers declare they are necessary. But they are essential – world over – to halt and defeat the spread of this virus.

“For those who suffer most egregiously, the Government has announced multiple measures to assist: 70,000 tonnes of grain is being released from the National Strategic Grain Reserves for distribution to those in most need; distribution of small cash payments are also being made, and will continue to be made by the federal government in the states and local government areas.

“We ask you to listen and follow public announcements via the mass media for instructions as to how to receive this government support – and learn of more public assistance in the coming days.

“All that the Government is asking you to endure is because nowhere in the world today is there any known way of defeating this pandemic. There is no vaccine. And that means there are choices to be made: between continuing as usual, or accepting the restrictions even when they come with unintended consequences.

“But at this darkest hour, it remains our duty to offer you the full and unvarnished truth: This is a global pandemic. 210 countries and territories across the globe are affected. We cannot expect others to come to our assistance. No one is coming to defeat this virus for us.

“Instead, the defeat of the virus in our country will be in our hands, alone. We cannot wait for others. We can only depend on ourselves now. And so we must – and we will – end this outbreak ourselves as Nigerians, together”.

The challenge following this statement has been the federal government’s inability to live up to expectation in making food provision for the stay-at-home. Though there have been some intervention measures like the N20,000 cash distribution to poorest Nigerians. The palliative has been marred by inconsistencies that the National Assembly had to summon the Minister of Finance.

On Saturday last week, the national assembly had faulted the method of dispatch of the fund. The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs has been tasked with the distribution of the fund and other provisions. The Ministry has embarked on cash handout to individuals, which has been widely condemned.

The Finance Minister Mrs. Zainab Ahmed said the majority of the beneficiaries are unbanked and there is no other way to send them the money except through cash.

However, Senate President Ahmed Lawan said the method is questionable and needs to be redefined.

“I think time has come for us to redefine the implementation of the Social Intervention Programme, probably going out to communities to give them N20,000 per person might not be the best way to go. It is still an effort, but I think we need a better approach that will be more efficient,” Lawan said.

The cash distribution method has been criticized, and the entire programme accused of nepotism and corruption even though the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Mrs. Maryam Uwais, said they used community leaders to identify the most vulnerable households who deserve the money.

Other measures include the strategic distribution of grain across the 36 states of Nigeria. But that is yet to take effect even though Nigerians are two weeks into the lockdown and it certainly appears that it will be extended as the cases of coronavirus keeps increasing.

There are so far, 318 confirmed cases and 10 deaths, and many contacts are yet to be traced.

The most affected state in Nigeria, Lagos, has failed to provide it residents with food to enable them stay at home. Consequently, many have been forced to leave home looking for food.

President Buhari said there will be more palliatives through the Social Intervention Programme, but the concern lies on whether the provision and sharing formula will be efficient enough to reach everyone in need.