Legal luminary, Chief Adeniyi Akintola (SAN), has tasked governments at all levels as well as all Nigerians to do more in the fight against the Coronavirus pandemic with a view to curtaining its spread in the country and also work out modalities that would minimize the effect of the global crisis on the overall economy of the nation at the end of it all.
Nigeria, like most sovereign nations across the globe, is currently facing the stark reality of the COVID-19 pandemic with skyrocketing record of new cases and fatalities on daily basis just as the federal government and most states of the federation are struggling to cope with the attendant socio-economic and political challenges.
Akintola, in a statement issued today and made available to journalists by his media aide, Prince Olumuyiwa Akinbiyi, opined that he was aware of ongoing painstaking efforts by the global community to produce cure and vaccines for the virus “but while we are trusting God for the timely realization of this particular goal, Nigeria and Nigerians must brace up for the challenges ahead especially in terms of getting our economy back on the right track during and after this pandemic era.
“Nigeria, no doubt, is a monolithic economy as our foreign exchange earnings largely come from crude oil export. Now that the amount which a barrel of oil sells in the global market is not up to the cost of production and transportation on the sea, we are in for a big trouble. This manifested last week when money available as allocations to all tiers of government was only a quarter of what was expected to be shared for the month of March. The implication is that we gradually approaching an era of zero allocation.
“While we urging the federal government and state governors to be proactive in tackling the looming socio-economic danger, it is essential that the current war against COVID-19 is intensified by all stakeholders in view of the fact that the rate at which new cases are being recorded is unacceptable. Furthermore, Nigerians should prioritize strict adherence to global standard of combating Coronavirus as this concerns social distancing, frequent hand washing with soap, use of hand sanitizers among others.” Akintola stated.
However, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria who was also a gubernatorial aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State in the 2019 general election called on Muslim faithful in the state to use the opportunity of this year’s fast in the holy month of Ramadan to rededicate themselves to the cause of Allah and humanity.
“Ramadan came at a very critical time of a global pandemic this year and as Muslim faithful observe their fasts without an opportunity to observe certain usual activities which associated with the sacred month, it is imperative for all us to engage in sober reflection and also use the occasion to pray fervently for divine intervention as the whole world needs God (Allah) to save humanity from this pandemic and all other challenges facing us as human beings.” The statement concluded.
