On Wednesday, the Nigerian Senate, while deliberating on the issue of coronavirus in Nigeria, suggested that many measures should be taken by governments and health bodies in the country to reflect international best practices, in accordance with directives from the World Health Organization (WHO). Among the many suggestions given by the 9th Senate is that President Muhammadu Buhari needs to address the nation.

“Countries worldwide and big country like the United States of America is taking drastic measures to either contain or prevent coronavirus from entering their country. Even countries without incident are taking measures. Even African countries like Senegal, Rwanda, Ghana, South Africa and Kenya are taking serious measures to protect their countries.

“Even religious bodies are also taking steps. Countries like Saudi Arabia that has no single case of infection and even Kaaba which we all know as Muslims. Vatican has announced that we would celebrate Easter without a full congregation and I believe as a country, we should do something very drastic.

“This thing starts gradually. Like in the United States, it starts from one to two and as at this morning, it has extended to fifty states. Even though we think we don’t have the problem here, we have contacts in Lagos, it will not end there, it will go to Oyo, Sokoto, Borno, and other places.

“In view of this, Mr. President, I want this Chamber to urge President Muhammadu Buhari to address the nation on coronavirus. Other presidents have been doing that, even bigger countries like the United States of America,” remarked Senator Danjuma Goje.

Senate’s encouragement to the president to address the nation over coronavirus was received by Nigerians as slap in the face, not because the upper chamber of the National Assembly erred, but because it’s widely viewed as appalling that the president has to be urged to address the nation in time of global health crisis like this.

Worldwide, leaders have been on the podium week in week out, telling their citizens the plans and measures that the government has in store to remedy the situation, urging them to remain calm that the storm will surely pass.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled the country’s austerity measures with a touching address.

“No matter whom you are or what you do, right now you should be focused on your health – and not about whether you will lose your job or run out of money for things like groceries or medicine. So today, we announced our plan that will help you and your family.

“As COVID-19 continues to spread, we are taking every precaution to minimize the health, economic, and social impacts of the virus in Canada. And today, we announced a billion-dollar COVID-19 Response Fund to address the impacts of the virus in our country and to keep you safe.

“This fund will provide money to the provinces and territories to support our health care system. That’s more money for surgical masks, face shields, testing, and equipment they need to address the outbreak. It will also help fund vaccine development and support clinical trials,” said Trudeau.

The clamor for Buhari to address the nation has been on high volume even before the Senate added their voice. His inability to do so has been described as utter disregard for people he swore to serve, especially in trying time of pestilence.

“I strongly believe we need a state of the nation address. We need detailed information from relevant authorities as to the level of preparedness for the days ahead,” said Actress kate Henshaw. “I just left a major supermarket in Lekki and the buying of stuff is astronomical. Nigerians are worried.”

With the news of school closure and limited religious gathering in many states, Nigerians have been thrown into panic and restlessness, amidst the worrisome silence from the authorities. The increasing number of confirmed cases has also added to the worry that needs assurance from the Nigerian authorities, especially the president to be calmed.

But in a surprising response on Thursday, the 36 state governors who made up the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), said on Thursday that Buhari does not need to address the nation on coronavirus outbreak. The governors said that the Presidential Taskforce and the updates from the Ministries of Health is enough.

“On the addressing of the nation on COVID-19, every day, I notice that we receive an address. There is a COVID-19 taskforce that has been put together by President Muhammadu Buhari, and the taskforce addresses the country on almost a daily basis.

“We see the honorable minister of health; we see the Secretary to the State Government of the Federation that briefs the nation. What the nation needs is information that is regularly delivered in order to keep the citizens well informed about steps to take,” the governors said.

The presidency also rebuked the Senate for calling on Buhari to address the nation. In a statement issued by presidential spokesman,  Garba Shehu, on Thursday, he described it as cheap politics.

“In this regard, populist advocacies such as the one accusing the President of ‘complacency’ simply because he has not made a television address by ranking members of our respected parliament are cheap and sensational. These are not the times for populism and cheap politics.”

These statements attracted unprecedented backlash from Nigerians, who say that other countries like Ghana, South Africa and Zimbabwe that their presidents have addressed put even more measures in place than Nigeria, and they also have kept their countries informed about every necessary step the governments are taking.

On Monday, Buhari set up a 12-man taskforce and saddle them with the responsibility to oversee and forestall modalities that will ensure that the outbreak is contained. Upon the inauguration of the taskforce, it is believed that Buhari has exempted himself from the task of oversight and decision making on matters of COVID-19, and that has become unacceptable to Nigerians.

The first time the Coronavirus alert came up, it was just given that name, “Coronavirus”. The only reference made to Wuhan was that it was first reported there. Days later, some people started referring to it as “Wuhan Virus”. But obviously that didn’t go down with the Chinese authority so that name died down shortly after it emerged. Or rather, it went into dormancy, waiting for the right time to resurrect. But all these were before the large exportation of this disease from its main domain.

As the death toll of this deadly ailment rises to above 1000, WHO decided to give it another name that will prevent its connection to any geographic location, animal or individual, as well as to differentiate the virus from other strands. For that, they gave it the name – COVID-19. This name is going to help to prevent any form of stigmatisation on any individual, race, animal or country. The WHO decision goes in line with what the organisation stated in 2015, where they declared that diseases should not be named according to their originating locations in order to avoid stigmatisation.

However, this change of name did not stop the spread of the disease, nor reduce its death rate. This means that the more people contracted this disease, the angrier they become. Truth is that people started asking questions concerning the origination of this disease and learnt that it came, one way or the other, through contact with wild animals. This seemed to anger them the more because they started accusing the Chinese of contracting the disease through their queer diets; in fact everyone was blaming China for COVID-19.

Just some days ago, Donald Trump, the United States President, made a public speech, where he referred to COVID-19 as “Chinese Virus”. This brought uproar from many people, who saw his comments and reference as prejudicial. They called him a racist and accused him of stigmatising the Chinese. Despite the uproar, Trump unapologetically used that term (Chinese Virus) severally in his Twitter posts within that day. He later said that he had to use the term so as to remind everyone of where the killer-disease came from since the Chinese government was already circulating false information, claiming that the virus was brought to Wuhan by the US military. So it looks like China threw the first stone without remembering how fragile its glass house was.

But Trump wasn’t the only one reminding the Chinese that they were to blame for COVID-19. A peep into Wikipedia on the discrimination of the Orients as a result of COVID-19 will show you that different parts of the world have been discriminating against these people since January. From the statistics Wikipedia gathered from several reports, the Chinese, South Korean, Japanese and even the Indian citizens face stigmatisation and xenophobic attacks in several countries of the world. Some Chinese businesses, especially restaurants, in these countries have shut down because of lower patronage. Some schools were reported to have evicted Asian students, even those that have not visited China for some years. There was the case of an Asian that collapsed in front of a restaurant and died of suspected cardiac arrest because none of the people standing by wanted to perform a CPR on him since they were afraid he might be infected with coronavirus.

So today, anyone with Orient features is at risk of being blamed by people for COVID-19, most especially as it is believed that they didn’t warn the world before the virus started spreading.

But then, these ugly monsters known as stigmatisation, discrimination and xenophobia are not only reserved for the Asians. Anyone that coughs, sneezes or clears his throat receives immediate queer look and distancing from the people around him. Just recently, a young man was beaten to death in Kenya because they suspected him of having the virus. This is to show how deep this illness has damaged the peace and tranquillity in our societies.

It will be hard to stop the natural reactions people have towards this disease because, as my people say, only a tree will hear that it will be killed the next day and still maintain its position. The fear caused by COVID-19 is affecting more than the economy; it’s affecting our social lives too. No one can socialise in peace these days. People are uncomfortable staying in the midst of others. So it is just natural for people to want to distance themselves from those suspected of being infected by the virus.

However, blaming and attacking people are way out of line. Yes, it is in human nature to be angry; but acting out of anger is what needs to be discouraged.

Branding COVID-19 as “Wuhan Virus” or as “Chinese Virus” should be discouraged too, because it will not end well. But then, the Chinese government should also stop their blame game because it will only increase aggravation against their people. Where the COVID-19 originated from shouldn’t be the concern of the leaders today, but how to curb it.

NB: Since WHO has declared that names of diseases should not refer to geographic location, individual or animal of origin, why do we still have “Lassa Fever” and “Ebola”? How come WHO has not given them other names just as it did COVID-19?