By Kayode Emola.
Many people around the world in the last two weeks have been worried about the latest strain of covid-19 virus and wondering if this is ever going to end. Not least because travel plans have been shattered leaving many to bear the cost of yet another disruption to our lives.
When South African scientists discovered the B.1.1.529 strain which we now know as Omicron, it was believed that this was going to be highly transmissible than the Delta variant B.1.617.2 and it has not disappointed. The good news is that, to date, not a single soul has died of the Omicron variant, which leads me to ask the question, are we ever going to get out of this covid-19 crisis?
For all intent and purposes, I am not an anti-vaxxer, neither am I against those who have been vaccinated. I only believe that there is more to the covid-19 virus than what the population are been told. To date, we still have not ascertained the true origin of the covid-19 virus; with China giving us its own version, scientist giving us their own version, and the politician also giving their own version.
All these many conflicting stories of how the virus came to be our number world topic leave one to ask; to what end was the virus and vaccine created. There have been many conspiracy theories about covid-19 already circulating and I do not want to lend my voice to that, however, I want us to look critically into what Africa can learn from the global pandemic and how we need to adapt to a more hostile world.
Firstly, Africa was the least prepared for the pandemic both economically and scientifically. No wonder African leaders looked on helplessly, while the rest of the world scampered for solutions for their populace. Not a single lab in Africa produced a single drop of vaccine and no direction on how to tackle the virus. The only succour Africans had, had been the few labs dotted around the continent to detect any new strain for European and American scientists to review.
Secondly, our subtly imposed African leaders by the westerners who do not look out for our own interests are not concerned if we all perish. They would watch us die in our millions had our body not been wired to fight off viruses such as this and our local herbs strong enough to withstand certain diseases.
I was in Nigeria early this year when the virus was battering the whole world and alas everywhere in Nigeria was bubbling as if nothing happened. I remember one nurse telling me and my friends to avoid socialising as the virus was real and deadly and many people are dying. Whatever has happened with Africa evading the worst calamity of covid-19 is nothing short of a miracle. It is as if the heavens have shielded Africa from this deadly virus that has claimed millions of lives around the world.
Just this week, the UK imposed a travel restriction on some red list countries. The UK has usually chosen its red list countries based on the country’s rate of infection and transmission and of course South Africa and Nigeria made it to that list. Not only did this anger many Nigerians across the globe as the country has never been a location of concern since the inception of the virus. Yet the speed at which it was declared a red list country left many people like Comfort Nsek, a solicitor in the UK who had planned her wedding in Nigeria this Christmas ruing what it would now cost herself and her family to make the trip.
Perhaps the irony is that, why was Nigeria truly added on the UK red list country, seeing that the Omicron cases in Nigeria is less than 50 and the rate of recovery is very high. Report has it that the UK donated a sizable amount of vaccine through the COVAX program to Nigeria to help tackle the virus and in return, the UK wants access to the live data. The access to data is still proving difficult for the UK to obtain as Nigeria is refusing to give out the necessary information hence forcing the UK government to impose travel restrictions on millions of travelers to and from Nigeria.
We can call it access for cash or whatever name we want; I know this practice is not standard and definitely unacceptable in our modern world. I am not against the sharing of information between the UK and Nigeria, what I am against is the one-sided approach this has always been. It feels like the UK has a habit of dictating the rules of engagement and Nigeria is meant to carry out the instruction without questioning.
This sort of attitude shows that Nigeria after 60 years of independence is still not ready to be an independent nation. With the UAE celebrating its 50 years of independence from Britain just this week and the numerous strides in science and technology, this small Arab nation has achieved. One would be forced to ask where actually did we get it wrong in Nigeria and Africa at large.
I know a lot of Africans are still optimistic that Africa will one day become that continent of our dream. However, with the current setup of the African continent, nothing great can actually come out of it for its population except we throw away the European setup and rebuild an indigenous Africa for Africans. An Africa where the official languages are not European languages. The big step towards this renewed optimism for a truly free continent is the clamour for an independent Yoruba nation.
With an independent Yoruba nation, we will be one of the very first countries in Africa to adopt our very own indigenous Yoruba language as our national language. It will be a very first step in true emancipation from the shackles of not just colonialism but for the many centuries of slavery. We would then in turn be able to build the many industries that can drive the desired change we desire without relying on handouts from the European colonial masters. Until we do that, Nigeria and other Africa countries will continue to be a victim of the many more plandemic that may or may not happen in the future.
