An Erratic Governor And A State Beleaguered By Surreal Deaths

For weeks on end, the country has been troubled by the novel coronavirus. A pandemic which has had ripple effects on the country so much so that it is has left it writhing in a debilitating economic downturn which is occasioned by the lockdown and health emergencies necessitated by virulent infection.

Nigeria recorded its first case of Coronavirus in late February and from then on it has been wave after wave of confirmation which saw the country cases surge to 782 as of Tuesday, 21th of April. The Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, a parastatal under the ministry of health which is charged with managing the pandemic, has been relatively effective with its handling of the situation. Aside from its medical foresight, the meticulous, the restless, highly comprehensive enlightenment and hands-on approach which are seen in daily situation reports are very much commendable.

Almost a months after the country confirmed its first index case, an Italian expatriate, the NCDC announced that it had confirmed its first case in Kano, and with the space of few days, Kano witnessed a spike in the number of COVID-19 patients, edging out states who recorded cases before it and climbing the COVID-19 Toll ladder rapidly and stopping at the third rung with Lagos and Abuja occupying the first and second rung respectively.

With a population which is the largest in the country and an army of uneducated residents most of which are teenagers who have become subjugated and hapless under the distasteful almajiri system, poor welfare, and social packages and déplorable health care system, All is set for the precipitation of the COVID-19 spread in Kano. Expectedly, this postulation materialised on all fronts.

On the 21st of April, the residents of the state were inundated with news avalanche of Burial that was hitherto unheard of. This development sent a wave of trepidation across the state. Initially, this surge in death was attributed to the coronavirus, but after many probings, it was discovered that it wasn’t the virulent infection that is killing the people but strange illness.
Some of the undertakers who also doubled as grave diggers expressed dismay at the occurrence, saying they have never been besieged by a such number of burial, a sharp contrast from what obtained prior to the COVID-19 scourge.

Between 17th and 19th of April, over150 persons were buried in three different cemeteries the state, this figure of those buried in the three cemeteries excludes other people interned in dozens of burial grounds in the eight local government areas that make up Kano metropolis, though those working in such cemeteries said they did not notice anything unusual.

Also, authorities in Kano, community leaders, families of the deceased, and medical officials have given divergent views on the matter with the state ministry of health saying it was investigating the matter.

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The erratic governor.

Expectedly, the governor of the state, Abdullahi Ganduje, has appealed to the federal government to come to the aid of the state as it struggles with the twin monsters of COVID-19 and the strange ailment ravaging it. Such appeal is an overt admission and corroboration of happenings as reported in the media. The cry for help to superior components of government is nothing unusual, the federal government has the financial strength that the state does not have, so this deep pocket comes in handy when one of the federating units is in distress and dire Strait.

But in an à bizarre twist of évent which has left many people following the news coming out of Kano in the last couple of days stupefied, the governor has said there was never a mass Burial in the state, the denial is coming after a widely publicised and trenchant statement confirming the mass burial. The denial was made through the state’s ministry of health via twitter.

The Ministry urged Nigerians to disregard the rumour, describing it as ‘false and untrue’.

The Ministry said it has deployed officers to all burial grounds to count bodies brought in for burial every day.

“Kindly disregard the rumours of having mass deaths recently in Kano metropolis. The State Task Force on #COVID19 has activated community informants structure of the World Health Organization (WHO) to report deaths and cause of deaths and have also deployed officers to all burial grounds to count bodies brought in for burial every day (the workers would conduct 2 shifts).

“This particular rumour has been investigated and found to be untrue so must be dispelled.

“We appeal to you (Individuals) with massive social media followership to help in clearing the air. We cannot afford to let the good people of Kano panic and lose confidence in our response. We must state that we are more courageous than ever in a bid to contain this pandemic,” it said.

One begins to wonder what could have informed such suspicious backtracking and side-switching. This calls into question the transparency and sincerity of the government in the battle against COVID-19, This new development will have a damning impact on the fight against COVID-19 as it will have some people, many of them, who believe the government is not being forthcoming and honest with the true situation of things feel validated.

Afolabi Gbonjubola