By Gabriel Ewepu – Abuja

Following confirmation of the third coronavirus case in Lagos on Tuesday, 21 Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, have expressed worry and made six demands on control measures to avoid unnecessary death of Nigerians.

This was contained in a statement signed by their leaders including Policy and Legislative Advocacy Centre, PLAC; Centre for Liberty, CL; Stakeholders Democracy Network, SDN; Silverchip Fox, SF; TechHer; Butterfly Effect Empowerment Initiative, BEEI; YIAGA Africa; Concerned Nigerians, CN; Free Nigeria Movement, FMN; Adopt A Goal Initiative, AGI; Dinidari Foundation, DF; Rule of Law Development Foundation, RLDF; Education as a Vaccine, EV; Stand to End Rape Initiative, STER; Centre for Democracy Development, CDD; Girl Child Africa, GCA; Tap Initiative; Centre for Impact Advocacy, CIA; Raising New Voices Initiative, RNV; Global Rights; and Connected Development, CODE.

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The statement reads in part, “The Civil Society groups in Nigeria are deeply worried that Nigeria continues to be exposed to both visitors and returning Nigerians traveling from areas heavily exposed to coronavirus. The recent announcement that a third case has been diagnosed in Lagos calls for a more stringent measure in protecting our borders and managing movement in and out of Nigeria.

“We cannot and should not contemplate banning Nigerians from returning home in these difficult times, but it is obvious that it is time for drastic measures to protect our country and a fragile health system that has been neglected for too many years.

“The Federal Government and States must recognize like other countries that this is the most urgent of national security matters

“We call for the following steps immediately;  Restriction to only essential travelers coming from any country overseas that has an on-going outbreak of Coronavirus; For both Nigerians returning home and any travelers deemed essential by the Nigerian government there must be mandatory and closely monitored self-isolation or quarantine measures for at least two weeks; NCDC should immediately receive funds that will be adequate for it to radically scale activities and make a major urgent investment in testing for coronavirus; State Governments should move immediately to provide their own technical teams with adequate resources for an effective response to a health emergency and any state that has not acted yet should be pressured to do so immediately, and Effort should be put in place to closely monitor our land borders and ensure basic health protocols for prevention of coronavirus spread; Governments at all levels (Federal, state and local) should consider immediate measures to limit public gatherings and promote safe social contacts amongst citizens.

“We make these positions known conscious of the tireless efforts of frontline workers of NCDC, State, and Federal ministries. These teams must be better resourced immediately, and adequate life insurance policies put in place for them. We need both the Federal Government and State Governors to act to forestall unnecessary losses of life.”

The group also advised that the only way forward to tackle the COVID-19 outbreak in the country is to act boldly and decisively to contain and curtail the spread of the virus.

“Delay or inadequate responses are disastrous. Vigilance will be vital, and we must understand that Nigerians returning to our shores need to be as vigilantly monitored and assisted as any visitors.

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“We are aware that a number of capacities in Nigeria need to improve – such as resources for testing widely for coronavirus should an outbreak occur. Making such resources available should be a national priority for all appropriate levels of government.”

The group also urged Nigerians to strictly adhere to measures advised by the NCDC to contain the spread of the virus.

“Finally, we call on Nigerians to note the advice that has just been issued by NCDC on social events, given that the moment of coronavirus not entering Africa has passed. By being cautious early we can protect our country from undetected outbreaks spreading dramatically.

“We will need to work together as a society, and we will need to work with our neighbouring countries to protect each other in this time of danger.

This risk will not pass swiftly so we must already prepare ourselves for a long year ahead but one where we can sustain each other through mutual support and open dialogue as we face each challenge”, it added.

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