By Tonnie Iredia

The COVID-19 pandemic which shook the globe from the tail end of 2019 is still unsettling different communities worldwide. Although speculations by some scientists that it would be most disastrous for Africa have remained unproven, the continent has itself remained in a state of confusion as to the real nature of the pandemic.

In Nigeria, it is not uncharitable to conclude that efforts at combating the disaster were and have been essentially feeble. Daily briefings by the Presidential Task Force (PTF) set up under the leadership of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to coordinate the efforts were consistent but they made little impact on the people.

Lack of comprehension on the part of the masses, coupled by cynicism of the educated elite and failure of the political class to lead by example aptly capture the nation’s dilemma. Rather than adhering to what to do or not to do, (that is prescribed COVID-19 protocols) different groups were blaming each other thereby ratifying the stigma of the pandemic on victims and their immediate families.

Till today, the protocols are still observed more in the breach. Crowd-pulling ceremonies where the virus can spread uncontrollably have continued to hold without any repercussions. Even, the basic requirement of wearing face mask has since ended unofficially in offices, sports centres and places of worship etc.

But with the avalanche of reports on imminent danger arising from a new wave of the pandemic – Delta variant that is reportedly less visible and yet more deadly, what options are available to Nigeria to avert the greater dangers ahead? Taking a hard look at this question, we are persuaded to welcome the arrangements by Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo state to protect his people. Last week, the governor announced plans to make it compulsory for residents of the state to get vaccinated against covid and to present certification that they have done so before accessing areas of large gatherings.

Obaseki, spoke at Government House Benin City the state capital while flagging off the second phase of the COVID-19 vaccination exercise in the state. According to the governor, large public gatherings have to be controlled in view of the third wave of COVID-19 that is already causing devastating effects across the country. It is indeed, instructive that as high as 96 percent of those infected with the Delta variant are those yet to be vaccinated.

This clearly explains the determination of the Edo state government to bring no less than 60 percent of her people within the vaccinated bracket. The target looks rather over ambitious considering that so far only 1.7 of the state’s population of 4.7 million people – a mere 36 percent has been vaccinated. While the projection is commendable, implementation may not be easy especially if the plan is to rely on law enforcement agencies that were well represented at the flag off ceremony.

Apart from the fact that the high level of insecurity in the land has over-stretched our security agencies, some of them are notorious for commercializing any venture. They could as they did at beginning of the lock down last year, develop a ‘special pass’ that defaulters can buy to access every event. For this reason, we recommend only a little of law enforcement while huge reliance should be on public ownership of the project.

If the public is mobilized to appreciate the great benefits of the arrangements, many well-meaning citizens may become advocates of the vaccination policy. Luckily, Governor Obaseki has already done two of the necessary pre-implementation stages. First, he has made the arrangement public and second, he has put implementation in phases and allowed some space for people to prepare for what is coming.

From Monday, August 23 to the second week of September 2021, residents are to ensure that they take or have taken at least one dose of the vaccine. Only those who meet that deadline with proof of the vaccination cards will be allowed access to places of worship, event centres and receptions. This is therefore not one of those public policies designed to commence with immediate effect and automatic alacrity.

It is only as from the middle of September 2021, that banking will be added to the list of services that persons who have not vaccinated cannot physically access. What this suggests is that those who fail or are unable to get vaccinated during the stipulated period will be restricted to banking services through different digital platforms. This is to ensure that such persons do not infect others who had diligently performed their civic duty.

Operation get vaccinated to help yourself and your neighbour is therefore a laudable policy that deserves public support. However, the support can hardly come if the people do not get to know the details of the campaign especially its benefits and the role every citizen is to play to ensure successful implementation.

This is an immediate challenge to the team of Edo Communication officers who had just completed an intensive training on the use of communication as a strategic tool for citizen engagement on government policies and reform initiatives. Fortunately, government has made the assignment easy by allowing it to begin with internal communication.

With a mandate to all government offices to compel all their personnel to get vaccinated, it should not be difficult to mobilize the public service to function as pillars of the operation. Thereafter, the task of stakeholder engagements should subsequently follow.

Using the media to sell the programme should not be difficult for the different information officers attached to ministries, parastatals and agencies if they apply the gains of information management and simultaneous dissemination of messages and information articulated at the training sessions.

One area that must be placed at the centre of the design is the need to spend ample time on the mobilization of rural communities to embrace the programme. Those of us who served as resources persons during the training expect the mobilizers to remember that a communication strategy that has no in-built feedback mechanism would be ineffective. It is therefore not a time for compiling challenges but a time for serving as effective fillers of the traditional gap between the government and the people.

We urge Governor Obaseki to translate his initiative on the covid vaccination into a system which creates robust and healthy competition among different segments of society. It would thus be exciting to find out within the state government services, the ministry that is able to attain the highest percentage of vaccinated employees.

This should be extended to departments and agencies so as to cover the official field. At the larger societal level, it would similarly be interesting to also identify the best local government area, which immediately converts council chairpersons into flagbearers of the operation get vaccinated programme. It is expected that each of the best segments would be rewarded by the governor through a category of prizes for outstanding performances.

While commending Edo’s arrangements to other state governments, we admonish them to note that it is not enough to complain about public apathy or the reluctance of many segments of society to be part of government policy. The needed inspiration must be provided by government through the mobilization of the people to claim ownership of public policies.

All government projects are designed for the benefit of the people. Accordingly, the people ought to be in the front burner of governance by stimulating their participation in all public programmes. Government must endeavour to always lead and be foresighted to prevent all manner of societal challenges including health issues bearing in mind the plea of this column last week, that the primary purpose of government is the security and welfare of the citizenry.