Over the last four weeks, there has been a steady but alarming increase in new cases of Covid-19 across different states in the country especially Lagos.
No doubt, several factors have been attributed to this ticking time bomb that is about to explode in our faces despite the efforts of the Lagos State government to nib the spread and flatten the curve.
Apart from the the frontline workers who are on essential duties, the poorest of the poor who are looking for what to eat and restive youths and over fed few rich who are bored have refused to allow the lockdown to be effective in Lagos communities.
While the poorest of the poor strived and searched for means to earn a living, the the restive over fed rich stormed the streets for exercise. Apart from the food markets, street hawkers are seen moving within inner communities selling their wares just to make sales to feed their family.
Explaining while she still hawks her wares, Iya Aminat a nursing mother questioned that, “you want hunger to kill my children before Coronavirus? I obeyed the government initially when they said we should stay in the house, even though they didn’t give us anything to help us stay in the house. I have three little children, I won’t watch them die of hunger because of an insensitive government”.
In a bid to beat security operatives most commercial drivers plying Iyana Era to Agbara plied inner routes with passengers fully loaded unboarded about the spread of the virus. It is common practice to see police officers and military officials riding transporting passengers with their motorcycles from Agbara to Okoafo, Ijanikin to iyana oba.
In the evenings commercial buses ply the main roads carrying passengers too, while some private vehicle owners bought exception pass from police officers for N15, 000 to enable move around the state with ease.
In Ikorodu, Bariga and other communities, hundreds of over fed residents stormed the major roads in their clusters to engage in physical exercise. It took the timely intervention of the Lagos State police command who arrested over three hundred violators to restore normalcy.
According to the spokesperson Lagos State police command DSP Bala Elkana the suspects who are within ages 15 and 42 were arrested playing football on major streets while others were having group exercise in large number, which contradict the principles of social distancing. They were arrested along Iju, Sabo, Ikeja, Itire, Ikotun, Ogudu, Akinpelu, Maroko, Alapere, Anthony, Orile, Owode Onirin and Ilemba Hausa areas.
Lamenting the non compliance of the lockdown, Mrs Ivy Udeme an event planner, said the Lagos State government should employ the services of military officials to enforce the lockdown if they want residents to comply, otherwise this lockdown is dead on arrival.
