By Senibo Chris Finebone
As Rivers State enters the second day of the total lockdown announced by Governor Nyesom Wike, many continue to question the strategic objectives of the painful and costly exercise by the government on the citizenry. Neither the governor nor his advisers seem to provide any clue as to what the benefits are derivable from the total lockdown.
Make no mistake, anyone should support lockdown that has clear strategy. COVID-19 as a virus does not move on its own, people move it.
However, good fortune seems to have smiled at the people, as Rivers State governor inadvertently gave away the lack of any imaginable strategy to benefit from the total lockdown. All that is obvious now is that it is merely the egotistic pursuit by the governor to satisfy his whimsical, capricious and imperial power cravings.
After Governor Wike made a fly-over assessment of the success of the total lockdown by helicopter on the first day, journalists asked him to rate the success, which he gleefully scored 95 per cent. Another intelligent follow-up question came, when the journalists wanted to know when the lockdown would be eased. That was when the bubble burst. That was when the Genie was let out of the bottle.
Much to the surprise of everyone present or watching from home on television or listening on radio, Rivers State governor announced that all he wanted was to see that the total lockdown was obeyed. He stated that as soon as he was convinced that the total lockdown was obeyed, he would ease it. This left me and many others aghast. Just like that? Does it mean that as soon as people obeyed the total lockdown, then COVID-19 would have taken flight and disappeared?
Many well-meaning people and residents of Rivers State believe that this latest all-round lockdown of Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor LGAs will provide opportunity for the State Government to lay out its plans to ramp up testing, outline modalities for the provision and wearing of face masks, and other measures moving forward in the next phase of the war against coronavirus pandemic. It was therefore a huge shock when Governor Wike reiterated that he would ease the total lockdown as soon as he was satisfied that people obeyed the order. Not because any real mileage is won against the marauding coronavirus, but just the satisfaction of one man’s self-delusional ego.
For now, many have sadly concluded that the total lockdown, for which many residents of Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor LGAs of Rivers State are made to scrounge through, is based on no plan, no strategic objective except the vaingloriously pursuit of one man’s egocentric hankering.
Senibo Chris Finebone,
Former State Publicity Secretary,
Rivers State