Akwa Ibom: So many deaths

By Etim Etim

I’m really saddened by the deaths of so many Akwa Ibom citizens from Covid-19 pandemic. Dr. Uwa, Idongesit Nkanga, Ubong Mbat, Udo Ekpenyong and many others I do not know personally have been felled by this dreadful virus, and it is not abetting. I understand that the Isolation Center is getting full with new admissions, and oxygen supply is becoming scarce. This is quite ominous. I am particularly distraught by the passing of the PDP State Chairman, Mr. Udo Ekpenyong. I saw him last at the funeral of Ini Okopido, the late chairman of APC, on Saturday, December 5 at Ikot Akpan Anwa village in Ika LGA.  He was seated next to Dr. Ita Udosen, his opposite number in APC. Ekpenyong was gracious and generous in his words of comfort at the event. It is so sad and embarrassing that our people, even the well-known ones, are dying so easily! There is no other state that loses the chairman of its governing party and former governor to this illness. Surely, all is not well.  

But why does this disease seem to kill so many well-placed Akwa Ibom people? Many reasons: The initial flippant statements of Governor Udom Emmanuel that his ‘’only god’’ will not let the virus come into the state; the rampant deceptive preaching of some influential pastors like Chris Oyakhilome that the virus does not exist; the uninformed statements like ‘’COVID is a fraud’’ by many people and the superstitious belief that ‘’the God of Africa’’ will save us, have all led to the lowering of guards by the general citizens. I have noticed with concern that our people are no longer taking pre-emptive measures against this disease. Coupled with these, the mismanagement of the outbreak in the state in the early days by the former Commissioner for Health which led to the sack of Dr Aniekeme Uwah as the chief epidemiologist and the dereliction of responsibility by the COVID Taskforce led by the SSG, Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem, have resulted in rising cases of infections and deaths. Why has the taskforce discontinued its daily briefings?

Even as we grief, I have heard some persons gloat that the disease is targeting only people of means. Someone wrote recently: ‘’Looks like COVID is only killing politicians who have been stealing our money’’. Foul! COVID-19 and its new variant is  very deadly and as the doctors and scientists have told us, everybody is at risk, but persons with underlying medical conditions are particularly more susceptible to dying from it.  The fact that we are only hearing of the deaths of the prominent persons does not mean that the masses are safe or are not dying. Remember, William Shakespeare wrote centuries ago that ‘’when beggars die, the comets are not seen’’.

I am also worried by what could be the unintended consequences of the notion that God loves Africans so much so that the virus is not affecting us as the Europeans or Americans. Statements like this can easily mislead our people into thinking that we have been imbued with special or divine immunity against the disease, and so mitigation measures could be discarded. Although God loves Africa, I believe that our individual responsibilities will be more helpful in crystallising his love in our lives. Make no mistake: the fact that God loves Africans does not mean that you should not look both ways before you cross the road, or you should not wear masks and keep away from the crowds.

To stem the rising infection and death rates in the state, Governor Udom Emmanuel should urgently take the following steps:

• Declare a state of emergency and announce to the citizens that the disease is getting out of hand in the state. He should be honest and humble in his communication on this matter.
• The governor should stop pretending that his prayers or those of his ‘’Fathers of Faith’’ are enough to stop this virus. The virus will never be eliminated by prayers alone because the Almighty God has already blessed humanity with the knowledge of medical science. Why pray for what has been given to you? That our political ‘’Fathers of Faith’’ specialise in praying during elections for dubious politicians does not give them overwhelming powers over a deadly new virus that is mutating rapidly.  
• Launch an aggressive mass sensitisation on the spread of the disease and inform the people to adhere strictly to the protocols
• Drastically scale down mass gatherings for government and party events. It is a pity that throughout the Christmas season the state government and PDP officials were going about as if we are in normal times.
• Make use of face masks mandatory and enforce it stringently

Finally, I should note that the attitudes of this government, its officials and PDP stalwarts towards some citizens are unconscionable.  The state government should pray for forgiveness for its scotched-earth policies against persons who are not in the PDP. The sharing of CACOVID food items by Ephraim Inyangeyen and other PDP chieftains to only PDP members during Christmas was the meanest and most heartless action of any government. Where is the truckload of rice which the federal government sent to the state last year for distribution to the people? It was shared to PDP members only.  How many non PDP members in the state did the governor reach out to this festive season with all the millions the government spent on Christmas gifts? None. Are Akwa Ibom state’s resources for PDP members alone?

I believe that the experience of this pandemic should teach us to be far more empathetic, accommodating, humble and loving, no matter your position in life. God is on the throne!

• Etim is a communication consultant. He resides in Abuja