Lagos State needs help, as the state is literally convulsing and in the worst state of disrepair. It has never been this bad, our roads are in a deplorable state, a journey from Maryland to Ikorodu which ordinarily would take less than 20 minutes now takes four to five hours.
People are dying in their large numbers certainly not from COVID-19, but stress, occasioned by bad roads that the government has neglected. It is the same situation, name it, all over Lagos.
While this is going on, the governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, is busy chasing shadows, giving daily briefings on the COVID-19 pandemic. By the way, Sanwolu-Olu is neither a medical doctor nor a scientist, one then wonders what value his appearances have made, especially for the fact that the state has a health commissioner and his deputy a medical practitioner.
The foundation of our challenge stems from the fact that our government, especially in the All Progressives Congress-controlled states, as well as the Federal Government, has the humongous challenge of conviction when they speak. Simply put, they lack credibility and believability. Lots of people in Lagos today take the issue of COVID-19 with a wave of the hand, primarily because there is no trust.
They believe that the government and its agents are falsifying figures daily, thereby enriching themselves without verifiable records and accountability.
A huge percentage of Lagosians believe therefore that there is no COVID-19 and that it is a government-owned and engineered scam. Most treat the issue like tea party even with a confirmed rate of 6,840, 82 deaths and recovered rate of 1,137 as of June 15, 2020!
For instance, the governor emphasises the need for social distancing and mask wearing, meanwhile the Lagos Rapid Transport which has a capacity of 42 passengers, recently increased its fare from N250 to N500 (a 100% increase). As if that is not bad enough, the same BRT carries a full load of 42 passengers with some of their staff standing.
Where is the place of social distancing? There is neither the enforcement of face mask wearing nor the use of sanitiser before entering their buses, even as the BRT bus stops are densely crowded always with passengers standing chest to chest. The far-reaching devastating and debilitating effects remain incomprehensible.
Finally, could this be the reason amongst others why our figures in Lagos appreciate daily like the dollar while our confidence level for the government of the day drops like the naira? Because as they say, the eagle doesn’t capture flies (Aquila non capitat muscas).
To my fellow Lagosians, despite our low trust level in our rulers, let us keep safe for there is truly COVID-19 and the sucker is a deadly killer!
•John Obi, Ikorodu, Lagos
