COVID 19 Pandemic: Only The Truth Can Help Us – Adesina Tiamiyu

The death of the Chief of Staff to the President from COVID 19 has drawn the reality close to the government and the people on the need to take this matter seriously.

As painful as his death maybe, just as for other deaths too, there is now the need for government to know that the people whose mandate they took deserve more than they are presently getting from the government.

The primary essence of government is to be able to hold society in check and also to provide enabling environment for individual citizens to thrive as well as ensure equitable distribution of resources, opportunities and ensure justice is served to everybody including those who wield power.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic in Nigeria. the major casualty in this matter is the truth. Government has not come out with clean hands in handling this matter and they, of course, have the citizens who are not happy to contend with. For instance, as soon as the government know about this pandemic, why did it take them so long to shut down our borders to incoming traffic and begin screening process of all passengers?

Some have alleged that the government was waiting for some of its top officials including their families to arrive before the right things were done.

Today, some of such persons eventually brought in the virus and spread it amongst the people causing not less than 6 governors to self isolate and in fact 3 of them infected with the virus.

The truth about the allegations is lost today and the public clearly has made up its mind to believe the allegation.

Again, governments bogus claims of the humongous budget in the health sector have fallen flat in the face of the inability of our health facilities to cope.

Nigerians ask, where have all the monies gone?

Who are the operators of such budget and why are they not brought to book?

Why should it take this pandemic to occur before we realised we do not have basic equipment to handle such infections?

Am talking of ventilators and other basic tools?

Even Lagos state that is far ahead of others had to rely on the goodwill of GTB to set up their biggest isolation centre in Onikan, various sums of money donated by private individuals and company to cope.

Up till today, Lagos is still setting up isolation centres and people are worried, is there more to this than you are telling us?

Why the many numbers of such centres when figures you give us daily is far less.

Or is it that we are preparing for the mass casualty situation whereas our people are not as mobilised to know danger looms ahead?

We still see on social media and television a lot of boys playing football on the street, swarming heads of people in the markets as well as joggers doing physical exercises together without regards to social distancing.

We need to let our people know the truth no matter how hurtful it will be. They sure will not want Nigeria to experience what Italy, Spain, the United States and the United Kingdom went through to handle this pandemic.

Tell Nigerians the truth.
Government handling of information at this time has also been poor. I have worked in government and know the principles of Need to Know. However, in a time like this, the truth that is constant works better.

For example, the case of Abba Kyari was badly managed. Yes, the government may be right for not releasing the name of the facility holding him but there is no reason for the Commissioner of Health in Lagos, hardworking Prof Akin Abayomi to deny his presence in Lagos. Rather than that denial, he could have acknowledged the presence of the man in Lagos but that his location and his health condition is private to him after all Abba Kyari himself authored a statement saying he will be coming to Lagos to receive treatment and that he has made a private arrangement not to put pressure on public facilities.

So the man has said so, what is Prof Abayomi denying? We all saw British PM Boris Johnson wheeled into the ICU and all information about him are in the public domain. The man is out of ICU better and in fact, had issued a statement thanking health workers for saving his life.

Each time government withholds the truth, it comes to hit it in the face. Minister Lai Mohammed was quoted to have said corpses of COVID 19 victims will not be released to the family for burial but that of Abba was released to his family.

When the government denied that, videos of the interview granted by Garba Sheu to TVC put paid to the lies. Garba Sheu who is a Presidential Spokesman said the government brought his corpse to Abuja because Abba Kyari’s wife requested to see his body before burial. We also saw videos of prayers held at the Defence Guest House in Abuja with his family members in attendance.

Yes, we have no problem that his family could at least see his body and pray for the repose of his soul, but why deny that fact? Why also promise what you cannot keep? Why deny other families the right to so honour their own dead relations? The truth will cost us no damage. This is why the only thing Minister Lai Mohammed does at the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force is to keep denying fake news about the government. You encouraged that in the first place

Yes, Abba Kyari was buried against the NCDC protocols on social distancing but what is really annoying was the video circulating about a man, allegedly one of the NCDC officials, seen removing his Personal Protective Equipment in an unprofessional manner. With all modesty, I managed an emergency in Lagos for about three years and I can tell you that if that man was my staff, he will be jobless after.

A hazmat (hazard materials) official knows his job is delicate both to himself and the public and therefore must have received training on the standard best practices.

That man seen in that video is no more than the usual aboki with a wheelbarrow full of fruits on the street of Lagos. In an attempt to do damage control, one twitter aide in the Presidency had rushed to lie that all materials used were burnt. Realising that was not convincing enough, another tweet came to the effect that one staff later went round to pick all of the materials and fumigate the place. I ask, did they also fumigate the man and his car? Is that the standard practice?

Later in the day, NCDC was said to have announced the identification and isolation of the said staff to stop the spread of the virus. News emerged again in the social media that some aides were denied access into Aso Rock for not observing the rules of NCDC on social distancing as seen at Gudu Cemetery where Abba Kyari was buried.

The government would have saved itself these embarrassments by simpling admitting the truth and apologise with a promise to correcting such in future.

Now, let us ask ourselves why government officials tell lies to the public. While I was in government, I have opportunities to meet with Governor Ambode on my job. He never for once told me to tell lies and I never did. When rumours were flying around about the number of people that died during the tanker fire incident on Otedola bridge, Gov Ambode called me and asked me to tell him the truth and I said, 10 people.

He asked me several times if that is the truth and I maintained my claims. He, therefore, ordered me to go to the media and say the truth but that I must be prepared to face the consequences if it turned out to be lies. I did and till today, nobody has faulted our figures with facts.

Governors or even Presidents don’t tell their aides to tell lies, it is simply in our character to so do because of eye service and urge to retain our jobs. Baba Buhari’s body language is not even suggestive of asking Government officials to hide the truth. We must let the people know the truth THEY MUST KNOW so that government can always get the support and confidence of the citizens.

Finally, I want to advise that, going forward, government officials should be honest with their principals and create a confidence-building pattern of information dissemination to the public.

I know there are top professionals in government who know the right thing but the political leadership must allow professionals to have input into governance so that when transition comes, continuity becomes smooth.

Dear Nigerians, COVID 19 is real. Let us come off that believe that it is only those who are affluent that are affected, the government have information about drivers, gardeners, gatemen and other average Nigerians that have been affected by this pandemic.

A video of the isolation centre and what victims go through in treatment and test processes plus the fact that it is not a death sentence must be put into the public domain to encourage people to report suspects, willingness to run test and also be an advocate of social distancing and other protocols will help in this fight.

The government should tell the truth as this cannot in any way hurt the campaign against COVID 19. Telling lies will do worse damage.