Covid-19 and the crisis of Civilization in Nigeria

By

Emordi Promise Jude

Contact: judeokonji024@gmail.com or +2347037923560

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1809-7958

The advent of Covid-19 is actually a threat towards the further expansionism of civilization. The world have never experience such a global health pandemic in the same way the coronavirus is fast spreading. This virus is indeed the only force that has crippled the wheels of neo-liberal globalization round the world. Currently, there is yet, no cure in terms of medication for the covid-19 pandemic since it advent in Wuhan- China late 2019.

The World Health Organization has further made some clarifications that the world should learn to live with covid-19 just like we have done so far with HIV/AIDS.

In line with the above, the covid-19 pandemic tends to be more deadly and dreaded than HIV/AIDS. This is because; the later can be contacted through blood, body fluids and through intimate affairs. Other aspects like blood transfusions and sharing of sharp objects with those who has the virus are also noticeable. Whereas, the coronavirus is not only sexually transmitted but even body contact like hugging, kissing and handshakes puts such persons engaging in these non social and physical distancing activities at a great risk, hence, there is a physical and social distancing public policies put in place around the world with the aim of curtailing the further spread of the virus.

For months, many businesses, schools and some if not all sectors of the economies around the worlds experienced some shocks of mighty due to the lockdown policies. While, others tried to perform through the use of technology for example, various governments around the world resorted to the utilization of education technologies in order to bridge the devastating effects of the lockdown on the over 1.6 billion students around the world. Although, the role of the teacher as a curriculum facilitator through a face to face teaching and learning process can not be overemphasized. This is because every learner has their own special needs and want and likewise, there are variations in terms of teaching and learning techniques to be adopted for every learner.

It should be noted that the gradual slipping of the global economy into a redundant state due to the global public policies against covid-19, capitalism may face another crisis since wealth accumulation which is its life wire is gradually affected by the redundant situation of the global economy.

The lockdown policies around the world are likely to widen unemployment, poverty, crimes, sexual abuses and abuse of powers by state operators around the world. In Nigeria, for example, the population growth has surpassed what the economy can accommodate and this can be clearly seen from the performances per out-put of critical sectors like; education, health, power, agriculture etc. Thus, the number of youth unemployment is already skyrocketing from 26 million in 2019 to between 35-40 million. Likewise, the rate of poverty will also increase since most of the palliatives that was released ended up in the hands of few powerful elites known as palliative hijackers. Inflation in terms of the prices of transportation and food stuffs has made living more painful for the poor in Nigeria. This is because, many of them rely on the unregulated informal economy in order to earn a living and the lockdown does not permit for such activities due to the stay at home poliicies that lasted for some months before a partial re-openining of the economy was reached . Although, the time frame in which the Nigerian economy will remain open is not yet ascertained since the number of new infection on daily basis is increasing rather than decreasing and the crisis in some State health sector which culminated in doctors going on strike or some hospitals not having enough spaces to be used as isolation center. All these, means that Nigeria may have a hard time fighting the virus.

Can Nigeria survive under the current dispensation with her weak institutions and government undercurrents? The population of Nigeria keeps exploding while her economy is either stagnant or yielding a negative economic growth coupled with sectoral failures most especially the critical sectors such as; health, education, power and agriculture. If nothing is done to address government profligacy in form of refined fuel importation and her lip-services in massive investment in infrastructures, education, health, power and agriculture then this maybe the end of the civilization agenda in Nigeria.

Mankind survival maybe a thing of gamble in the hands of fate, if the virus is not decisively tamed, the likelihood of civilization crash is inevitable.