If 2020 managed to etch one thing on the back of our minds, then it has to be the Covid-19 pandemic. For the length of my essay, I would like to take this from the perspective of the African continent. It was and still, a sad one for the African continent as over 2.7 million Africans have been infected with over 65,000 death cases, But if there is one thing that holds, then it has to be the fact that the current second wave is threatening to even take more lives and to record more cases. With the second wave in full flow and it poses to be an even severe one with the additional conundrum of a new variant, The African health system seemingly has their work cut out for them. Despite the bold and heroic efforts of doctors on the continent of Africa, infections have been growing and the capacity of the system to treat them is dwindling. One might want to argue that since the cases in Africa is a little less than 3 million cases, it shouldn’t be blown out of proportion more than it is, but with the developing state of the countries on the continent, it is only logical for one to believe that the figures published do not paint the total picture.   And if this was just a yarn on the logical thread, then it certainly has become even more concrete as it has been corroborated by the WHO Facts and figures. Over the last few weeks, countries such as Egypt and South Africa have recorded a high increase in the number of cases as they account for the few countries in Africa that were initially affected by the new covid-19 variant. Between them, they have had over a million cases and such figures are more than alarming. With all the facts and figures thrown our way, it further buttresses the fact that if covid is to end, then there has to be a vaccine. As other pandemics in history, vaccines and modes of treatment have come into place that has either eradicated them or stemmed them out considerably; keyword- Considerably. Early research by doctors from all over the world has brought about the Pfizer vaccine but then it seems to have its pros and cons which seemingly the African continent is finding hard to grapple with. Firstly in terms of its cost… According to the south African government, they labeled the cost of Pfizer’s vaccines as prohibitive. Pfizer in a subsequent statement has communicated their resolve to supplying vaccines and making them affordable in conjunction with governments from across the continent of Africa. “We have allocated doses for supply to low- and lower-middle-income countries at a not-for-profit price and we are actively working with governments all around the world,” the emailed statement said. Since there was so much excitement when it was announced last year by Pfizer,  that after their interim analysis had been carried out, it shows that the vaccine candidate is 90% effective in protecting people from Covid-19, I guess that excitement has been stemmed down when they realized the constraints that come with the importation and other modalities that come with it. This then brings us down to the sacrosanct topic of developing a homegrown solution, one that will be proven and tested to ensure that covid is a thing of the past sooner rather than later but how willing are our government to invest in research and then, production of the vaccines here in Nigeria and the continent of ca. Though over 24 million covid-19 vaccines have been administered over the world, Africans are always skeptical as to how they will fare when administered and that notion was further strengthened last year when two French doctors namely Jean-Paul Mira and Camille Locht made racial remarks about Africa being somewhat of a testing ground for vaccines In his exact words, Jean-Paul Mira, head of intensive care at Cochin hospital in Paris, said: “If I can be provocative, shouldn’t we be doing this study in Africa, where there are no masks, no treatments, no resuscitation?” “A bit like as it is done elsewhere for some studies on Aids. In prostitutes, we try things because we know that they are highly exposed and that they do not protect themselves.” Dr. Mira had earlier questioned whether the study would work as planned on healthcare workers in Europe and Australia because they had access to personal protective equipment to prevent them from catching the virus. Even though these remarks were swiftly met with apologies all in the act of saving face, it doesn’t help to dispel the strong notion that most Africans have that vaccines brought here could do more harm than good. After all, there was a significant jolt of excitement when capsules containing extracts of a local Malagasy plant artemisia with proven anti-malarial properties and other indigenous herbs such as ravintsara inspired by a national herbal infusionnn  was believed to be effective in curing and treating coronavirus infections during the first Covid-19 pandemic. Although the initial wave of expectancy has dwindled out due to some improper handling of the vaccine by the Malagasy government, it still stands as a ray of hope that indeed homegrown solutions can offer a way out of the pandemic. After all is said and done, we would agree with the cliche that says that a bird at hand is worth two in the bush. With cases skyrocketing, one luxury we don’t have is time as with every second, Lives are at risk. A homegrown solution will be a stitch that will save even more than nine… Amoye Favour is A Poet and also a copywriter. He is A Student of Obafemi Awolowo University. His poetry has been published in literary magazines including Literatus issue amongst many others. He wrote in via amoyefavourtoluwalase@gmail.com

It was such a momentous New Year’s Eve. We were all anticipating for the year to bring into reality those numerous good things we have already drafted. Unfortunately, It got us unexpected in another dimension. I was not at first moved when the news got to me on 30th day of January 2020 on the outbreak of a severe acute respiratory syndrome in the city of Wuhan, China. The disease called coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by a virus SARS-CoV-2 was reported to have recorded its first human cases in December 2019. It was not a joke again when I heard the news of how dreadful the infection was and that it had spread to some leading countries of the world, not alone, but also killed so many lives. Well, I knew already it would not stop helping to come to my country Nigeria because I could boast of the negligence of my government. And so it did, the first case was recorded on the 27th of February 2020. The case, an Italian man who returned from Italy to Lagos thereby brought COVID-19 along. Behold, the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic began. The infection caused many companies and institutions to be closed down or practised limitations. All schools were closed down from kindergarten level to tertiary institutions. Our well-drafted plans were interrupted. We would not have expected this. But we are in it already. We can not turn back the hands of time. We were almost adapting to the new way of life — no social gathering, wearing nose masks in public places, the use of hand sanitisers and the frequent washing of hands. Yet, those could not stop the second wave from approaching. You know, in any society, the law is an illusory concept that works only when everyone voluntarily agrees to live by it. And if you can find something everyone agrees on, maybe it does not exist. It is quite understandable that humans are very tough when it comes to obeying rules especially those that will restrict them from doing what they love to do. I remember when I visited a public market around June last year, I was baffled with how people were moving headlong with almost no distancing amongst us even with few wearing their nose masks despite the news of the increasing number of people the virus has killed in some countries. Although it did not do as much here. But as humans, we prefer to rather make it worse and profer cure than preventing it. There was a day I heard the news of a Pastor in the United States who disbelieved in observing the control measures against COVID-19 died of it. Well, the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic would not mind invading us. Due to a long time restrictions caused by the infection, communities began to reopen bars, restaurants and stores during the spring and summer season of 2020 to progressively go back to the normal way of life. People were eager to go out and resume their regular activities. But it did us no good as many people failed to follow the safety precautions thereby leading to an increase in the number of cases. As at October 2020, the number of cases in the world was slightly above 490,000 but now, as at yesterday 11th of January 2021 over 9.7 million cases have been recorded with 50.2 million people recovered and 1.94 million deaths. That is a huge increase to say. At this time we need to learn and understand that our lives are paramount assets and need to be kept by adapting to the stated way of life so that we may not experience again a third wave. Nothing is more important than life. You realise the simplicity of that point only when you confront death every day. If those who died of the virus by violating the precautions were given a second chance, maybe they might choose to fight for what matters more. Anything less than a conscious commitment to the important is an unconscious commitment to the unimportant. If you may ask me if there is a better cure for the virus, I would say yes. The better solution that we can all partake in its provision is to follow precautions and adhere to instructions. I call it a homegrown solution. If we had long time followed this, we might not need to divert more funds on vaccines to cure it. While many vaccines have been issued to cure the virus, if we still fail to practise social distancing, wearing of masks, frequent washing of hands and non-involvement in crowded places, the virus may not be totally erased. Think about it, an infected man is given a vaccine and is cured, then he remembers that his birthday is in two weeks time. So, he makes preparations for his birthday party. On the day, an infected person who is his friend and yet to show symptoms attends, he would probably infect some of the people who attend the party with the virus when they make connections. Then they might need to receive vaccines to be cured. And if they still fail to stop involvement in public gatherings they may be infected again. So, there is a continuation. The virus would persist. At this point, we should realise that if we truly hunger for the total eradication of the virus, we should be consciously committed to the application of this homegrown solution. Matthew Oduola a student of Industrial Mathematics at the Federal University of Technology, Akure wrote in from matthewoduola@gmail.com

It was a fine Sunday and I thought I should spend the night at my friend’s house. Philip and I have been best friends for ages, so it was only natural that we took turns at sleepovers in each other’s house. I got to his house around eight at night and he was preparing to leave for church. I was bemused and when I asked why, he told me there was a midnight service and it was going to be probably the most superb night service they would be having since the inception of the church. “So, you people are going to probably break the COVID-19 protocols,” I pointed out, staring askance at Philip in an effort to rid of his folly. “Shut up joor. There is power in the blood of Jesus. And by the way, we will be having a sealing service in church. Once my pastor pours the anointing oil upon my head, just forget it. Corona cannot affect me again,” Philip quipped and left afterwards. On the 5th of January, 2020, popular Nigerian Comedian took to his official Instagram page to share his dreadful COVID-19 experience, urging Nigerians to observe all regulations that have been imposed to control the spread of the virus¹. I was scrolling through the comments and reactions to that post, and I came upon one particularly familiar commenter. It was Philip, my friend. He lambasted the comedian for being keen on spreading falsehood and inciting fear among the Nigerian populace. Philip said that COVID-19 in Nigeria was merely a conspiracy by the Federal Government and politicians to keep people in their grip and about their bidding. To my rudest surprise, Philip’s comment had somewhat 430 likes, and that proved that 430 Nigerians agree with Philip. It became clear that there are so many Philips in the country who would contract COVID-19 because of seemingly baseless religious and political views. The most suitable adjective for my friend, Philip, is ignorant. And while it could be said that ignorance could be Philip’s very end, I equally believe that his ignorance would be the doom of so many others around him. According to a report from United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the 12th May, 2020, 61 choristers had met for their practice in a church in Mount Vernon, Washington DC². It so happened that one of the choristers was suffering from what appeared to be a cold, but was in fact COVID-19. And after the practice, everything seemed normal. In the following weeks, 53 of the choristers that were present at the practice got down with the dreaded virus, three were hospitalized, and two died from the virus. Hence, a single carrier of this dreaded virus can affect as many persons as (s)he comes in contact with. Now, if there are 430 persons in Nigeria who, just like Philip, my friend, have reasons to believe that all sorts of anointing oils and special prayers mean that they are protected from the virus and can go ahead delving into all sorts of places, meeting all sorts of people, without the tiniest regard for the protocols stipulated by the Federal Government and/or believe that COVID-19 cases in Nigeria are merely a scam pulled by the Federal Government for the ridiculous reasons of trying to control the Nigerian populace, then, there are no arguments why Nigeria will not suffer a second and even a third wave of the dreaded virus. It was on the 17th of December, 2020, that the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, chaired by Boss Mustapha, stepped out to announce that Nigeria has gone into a second wave of the dreaded virus³. And that announcement was preceded by tons and tons of predictions by several thorough and keen medical professionals in Nigeria and the diaspora concerning the trend of the positive cases in the country. They had been studying it all along and were only giving Nigerians what seemed like prophecies. If only we had stuck to very rather simple tasks, Nigeria would probably not be facing a second wave. Data obtained from the World Health Organization (WHO) showed that Nigeria’s rate of positive COVID-19 cases skyrocketed from 4.2% to 21.3% between December, 2020 – January, 2021⁴. This implies that one person in every group of five will test positive for the dreaded virus. Sounds hugely untrue, but it is this doubt about the figures available to us that has evoked another wave. Sometime in December, Arise TV news had an interview with Pastor Ituah Ighodalo of Trinity House Church based in Lagos. The clergyman had made an open appeal to the Federal Government to close down churches and mosques as the COVID-19 positive cases were on the rise5. In his opinion, he thought that devotion to God wouldn’t be any less than it is if Christians and Muslims were ushered back into their houses until things died out. People like Philip, my friend, saw the clergy’s proposition as being one aimed at discouraging piety in the country, and there were no sorts of words that were not flung at the pastor. In a statement issued by the Chairman of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr. Emmanuel Amodu, it was reported that no less than twenty doctors had lost their lives to COVID-196. While I believe in the power of prayer and the role prayers have played in making COVID-19 cases relatively low in this part of the world, that is no excuse for fanaticism. That is nearly the most suitable word that comes to mind when I think of Philip being asked to get back into his house to avoid the spread of a killer virus and he would get out his Holy Book and begin to chant prayers and march into busy markets. In my proposition, I do not see the need of making suggestions of more solutions than have already been suggested in the past. There could be a height of truth in suggesting that the Federal