COVID-19 & LESSONS TO BE LEARNED...(2)

VIROLOGISTS & EPIDEMIOLOGISTS: while many of us may have before the Covid-19 Pandemic heard or known of the existence of virologists and epidemiologists, it is more likely, few of us paid any serious attention to who they are and what they do. With the global devastation that Covid-19 is wrecking however, more of us are beginning to realize their importance with regards to the study of the virus and how it can be defeated. According to chron.com, Virologists are microbiologists who study microorganisms that quickly duplicate, resulting in the rapid spreading of viruses. Their primary work is to figure out how diseases like AIDS, SARS and hepatitis spread (I guess you can now safely add Covid-19 to the list), in order to prevent more rampant development and to assist in vaccine development. Virologists’ core duties involve researching, preparing, conducting and overseeing studies of microorganisms so as to better discern what contributes to their growth and spread of the virus in the bacteria and thus better predict the evolution of the virus in populations. Epidemiologists on the other hand, are involved in the study of epidemics and their spread over a defined period of time.

Because of Covid-19, we are now seeing epidemiologists and virologists more often on our TVs and paying attention to what they have to say about how to contain or stop the spread. In a country like Nigeria where certain fields are not very valued, some of us will, going forward, now learn to appreciate the importance of these fields and the difference the work they do, can make to whether we live or die.

VIRTUAL CLASSROOMS: one of the first things done in many countries was directing the closure of schools in order to both protect the children and contain the spread of the pandemic. The need to keep the children engaged and to ensure their education does not suffer as a result of school closure, necessitated a move from the 4 walls of the school classroom to virtual classrooms enabled by the use of video conferencing apps. Of course, online education and webinar classes were not uncommon for tertiary level education pre-Covid-19. What may be relatively new is the younger ones at the primary and secondary school levels receiving educational instructions online. Many are even already considering taking the virtual classroom for the younger ones beyond the Covid-19 era. It is of course, a whole different thing whether parents, who have had to work extra hard to keep their children engaged during this lockdown will be in support of any such move.

AREA BOYS, UNEMPLOYED YOUTHS; LEGACY OF CIVIL RULE?: this is more peculiar to Lagos State though it can also be found in other parts of the country to a smaller extent. The Covid-19 induced lockdown brought along its security challenges. While increase in domestic violence, cybercrimes and petty thefts had largely been anticipated, it is doubtful that a resurgence in armed robbery operations were expected. However, that was the situation some days before the end of the initial 2 weeks Federal Government lockdown in both Ogun and Lagos States. While officials of the Police Force tried to play down the resurgence of house to house robbery attacks even after parading some 200 or so suspects they arrested, the fact that most neighbourhoods drafted their men into some sort of emergency vigilante to ward off the criminals added to the hardships foisted by the lockdown.

There is no doubt that hunger became even more of a problem with many who could barely afford to feed well even at the best of times. However, it is my belief that a good majority of the boys/young men who terrorized hapless people during the period were guys who never had any real employment before the lockdown and a number of them most likely form part of the army of young men armed by our politicians during election periods and who afterwards use the weapons, including guns, that they were given by politicians, to commit crimes against ordinary folks.

If the army of young unemployed men who spend most of their days doing nothing but who have the desire to wear designer clothes and use expensive gadgets, did not give people of the South-West and particularly those in Lagos, much cause for concern before, what happened during the lockdown should make us sit down, or perhaps stand up and take action on how this ticking time bomb should best be safely defused.