COVID-19: Not business as usual

By Okunuga Yewande Zainab

Late 2019, news broke about a novel virus in China. We all thought it was the problem of the Chinese and we cared less except for the fact that we couldn’t transact with them because they shut down all businesses in their country. Little did we know it would take a toll on us and change our lives forever. Fast forward to the year 2020, just when businesses started picking up, the Chinese virus (as the American President fondly calls it) has been extended to Nigeria.

We recorded the first case of Coronavirus in Nigeria on the 27th of February 2020. It was discovered from an Italian who works in Nigeria, and the case was confirmed at the virology laboratory at the Lagos Teaching Hospital.

The Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19) is a highly transmittable and pathogenic viral infection caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which emerged in China, precisely in Wuhan. The virus has spread around the world, and there are no clinically approved antiviral drugs or vaccines available to be used against COVID-19. Wuhan, an emerging business hub of China, experienced an outbreak of the novel virus that killed 1,800 and infected over 70,000 individuals within the first days of the epidemic.

How Did the Chinese People Come About the Name Covid-19?

The name “Corona” in Corona Virus came from what the virus looks like. It is said that under a microscope, the virus has these little proteins that stick out of it and look like the sun, as seen during a total solar eclipse. The name of the virus is called ‘Novel Coronavirus’, while the disease it causes is called COVID-19. ‘CO’ stands for CORONA, ‘VI’ stands for VIRUS, ‘D’ stands for DISEASE, while ‘19’ stands for 2019. The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV), gave the virus a scientific name ‘SARS-CoV-2’. In the past, viruses were named after geographical locations such as the Asian Flu in 1957, Hong Kong Flu in 1968, Spanish Flu in 1918 and the likes. This has caused people to associate them with racism and prejudice. They also come with stigma and social consequences.

Conspiracy Theories

Since the beginning and spread of the Coronavirus in China late last year, there have been different stories about its origin, its effect, and its cure which is expected. There has been misinformation that some set of people are completely immune to the virus, especially black people, or that they will recover quickly even if they contract the virus. Therefore, they are not to be bothered about the virus since they cannot be infected.

Some speculated that Covid-19 was conjured in Wuhan Lab because the US media have continued to call the disease the ‘Chinese Coronavirus’ or the ‘Wuhan Virus’. This is more likely to be believed by conservative Republicans. Nearly a third of sampled Americans said they believed this theory. Existential fears and the inconvenience of social distancing drive conspiracy theories that the virus is being overblown.

Some think the virus is an effort to force vaccines on them. Others have associated the virus with the invention of a 5G network. Conspiracy theories about 5G technology date back to before the spread of the novel coronavirus. 5G, short for Fifth Generation of wireless communication technology, is a catch-all term for suite technology, making wireless devices faster and more connected. For the average consumer, it just means better connection speeds for mobile devices. Conspiracy theories suggesting that since 5G is more powerful than previous mobile internet types, it must also be dangerous, especially to people’s immune systems. As the coronavirus began to spread, the 5G conspiracy theory shifted. Conspiracy theorists now believe the launch of 5G technology exacerbated the pandemic.

There’s also a conspiracy theory that says Jewish people have powers to manipulate these global events to their benefit. According to Oren Segel, Vice President of the anti-defamation league’s centre on extremism, ”(the theory is) that the Jews have created the coronavirus in order to try to gain power at the expense of others.” All over the world, from Iraq to the United States, people have been spreading messages suggesting that Jewish stand – INS like George Soros, the Rothschild, and Israel, are to blame for the outbreak.

Before COVID-19

The world is a global village and business cuts across the entire continent without barriers. Less developed countries like Nigeria is one of the countries that have benefited largely from these relationships before the arrival of COVID-19. The county was thriving in different sectors such as:
Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) are key players in the industrial sector and they play crucial roles in industrial development in developed and developing countries like Nigeria.

These roles cannot be underestimated. These enterprises are being given increasing policy attention as the years go by. They are the lifeline of every economy, which provides greater utilization of raw materials, generates employment, encouragement of rural development, development of entrepreneurship, mobilization of local saving linkages with bigger industries, provision of regional balance by spreading investment more evenly, provision of an avenue for self-employment, provision of opportunities for training managers and semi-skilled workers, creation of wealth and insurance policy, and many other provisions.

Following the adoption of Economic Reform Program in Nigeria in 1981, there have been several decisions to switch from capital intensive and large scale industrial projects which were based on the issues of importing development to SMEs, which have better prospects for developing domestic economy, thereby generating the required goods and services that will propel the economy of Nigeria towards development.

The culture of online buying and selling to an average Nigerian, popularly called E-commerce is mostly found among the elites. A lot of Nigerians see E-commerce system as buying a pig in a poke. Over time, people have developed trust issues with buying what they cannot see or hold because the sellers tend to deliver something different from what has been ordered thereby causing individuals to have doubts when it comes to purchasing goods or items online. Sometimes, they make use of technographic manipulations to post items on websites which make them look more attractive, but they look quite different when delivered. There are even cases of internet scam where the internet is used to defraud innocent online shoppers of their hard-earned money.

Some Nigerian online stores are not real but scams. The store disappears after ordering and payment have been made, leaving the shopper in shock and disappointment. Delayed delivery of the ordered product is another aspect that creates anxiety for a shopper. This happens mostly because the majority of products displayed on the websites of online marketers are not manufactured by them. They run out of stock and it may take some time to get new stock from the manufacturer. Whereas, the buyer has already placed the order and may have transferred the purchase funds. These individuals cannot be blamed because their decision is an aftermath of trust issues with SMEs in the Nigeria market.
Talking about the Health sector in Nigeria, health policies have undergone a tremendous evolution in the past 60 years but without the desirable quality of the healthcare delivery system in place to advance the health status of Nigerians.

While successive governments have made a concerted effort to promote health equity and ensure unrestrained access to health services, the majority of the citizens are still grappling with various health challenges. These challenges are copiously reflected in the current World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics, where our maternal mortality is among the highest in the world, accounting for 19% of global maternal death. The estimate of infant mortality rate in the country is 19 deaths per 1000 births, with mortality among children under 5 at 128 per 1000.

Also, the average life expectancy of Nigerians is estimated by WHO to be 54.4years, with women having a life expectancy of 55.4years, and men, 53.7. These dismissal health indicators have necessitated the call from researchers and other stakeholders for the Nigerian government to consider creative ways of responding to healthcare issues in the country.

Do you know that health insurance is only accessible to a certain percentage of the Nigerian populace?

Going by history, health insurance in Nigeria can be applied in a few instances; Free healthcare provided and financed for all citizens: Healthcare provided by the government through a special health insurance scheme for government employees, and private firms entering contracts with private healthcare providers. However, only a few people fall within the three (only two were mentioned) instances. Since May 2009, when the government created the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to provide health care to all Nigerians through various payment systems, today, only a few Nigerians have health insurance. By now, we should know that the larger percentage of Nigerians that enjoy health insurance are the civil servants while the private workers enjoy only a small percentage of health insurance. The reason for this is not farfetched; most SMEs cannot meet the condition of the standard requirement of the Health Maintenance Organisation (HMO).

The current state of our hospitals is quite appalling; the quality of healthcare service delivered is poor and remains a huge source of concern. Most of the facilities that are supposed to meet the health needs of the poor and rural dwellers are in a poor state due to poor budgetary allocation. Health, they say is wealth. If health is wealth and we don’t have standard hospitals, there is no way we can have perfect health, makes the average Nigerian underproductive, thereby making us non-efficient to create wealth.

The major source of generating revenue in Nigeria has always been from the Petroleum sector which is only a small part of the country’s overall economy. The Oil industry being the backbone of Nigeria’s economy has shown the various ways we benefit from crude oil. Oil provides 90% of Nigeria’s foreign exchange and 80% of its budgetary revenue; the production of oil brings about a billion investments in the country’s economy as well as the development of related sectors such as infrastructure. Nigeria had the 10th largest oil reserves in the world. However, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s petroleum industry contributes less than 10% of Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Impact of the Pandemic on Nigeria’s Economy

The virus has affected most of the SMEs in Nigeria because we are not equipped to handle crises of this scale; businesses have been directly affected by the local spread of COVID-19, especially because of the partial shutdown of the Nigerian economy is battling with the virus.
SMEs are affected because we rely so much on importations, and we currently have limited movement of goods and services as we are not used to purchasing them online, which would have been the best way to remain in business amidst the present situation we face.

Business owners cannot pay their staff because minimal or no income has been generated. Some might even discharge employees from their duties due to lack of funds to pay workers as we have seen in the case of Arik Air that has implemented 80% pay cut for its staff, and subsequently downsizing by May.

Even when things return to normal it will take a while for the flow of business to stabilize. Patronage from consumers might below.

The other day on national TV, the Minister of Health was asked about the health benefit for staff that are currently working, and his response was that he doesn’t know (was not aware). How is that possible? COVID-19 has exposed the ill-equipped state of our hospitals. Nigeria has a large population with a high level of poverty and shortage of health workers, health infrastructure and facilities.

The coronavirus pandemic has affected educational system worldwide, leading to the near-total closure of primary and secondary schools, universities and colleges. International certificate examinations have also cancelled exams that have been scheduled by the examination bodies. The Nigerian educational system has been particularly affected because we are yet to embrace the digital teaching methods like the advanced countries that have moved to learn beyond the four walls of the classroom. The closure of schools has impacted on not only students, teachers and families but have far-reaching economic and societal consequences. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), recommended the use of distant learning programmes and open educational applications and platforms that schools and teachers can use to reach learners remotely, and limit disruption of education, but then, Nigerian schools are not adequately equipped for this distant learning to take place. Hence, the reason for the pause in educational activities.

Recommendations

It is really not rocket science to adopt international best practices. All we need is the political will. The country needs to be restructured in a way that we are prepared with various shock absorbers and we will never be caught unawares in the future. To achieve this, all the boxes must be checked. We do not need breakthrough researches to prove that this virus has come to stay. We have seen the likes of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), Severe Anti Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Ebola. We must learn to live with it and survive. This will prepare us for the future similar outbreaks.

It is obvious that Nigeria cannot afford a total lockdown of the economy like the developed countries, so we have to put in more effort on adhering to absolute hygiene and social distancing.

We need to find a solution to the problems we are facing with E-commerce and get consumers to trust the online process of purchasing items so that if we are faced with any other pandemic in the future, we can still go about our normal lives without being totally affected. All Nigerians should be enlightened and encouraged on the importance of online transactions. With hundreds of thousands of products to sell on the internet, and with great stats the market is expected to ring-in at $22 billion by 2024, the year-on-year growth rate is 10%. This shows steady growth in the business and the need for Nigerian entrepreneurs to jump in. The government also needs to support start-ups so they can easily access loans.

Let’s not forget that President Buhari’s regime has made concerted efforts on diversifying the economy towards agriculture. However, the government needs to do more for the SMEs by providing accessible loans, creating infrastructure and giving grants to those that have achieved certain goals like improving productivity or hiring additional personnel. They could also favour them with their taxing policies. The government should also improve on the infrastructure needed for the business to succeed. This includes building and maintaining roads, bridges, rail lines, airports, seaports, energy transmission lines and telecommunication systems. We shouldn’t forget they are the life wire of the economy.

In the education sector, drastic measures need to be taken to prepare the country, should another pandemic surface. The following should be considered:
Firstly, we have to embrace the 21st-century method of teaching, like learning to teach outside the four walls of a classroom. Both learners and teachers should be trained on the use of educational or academic applications that can be used to teach and learn from home. These applications include Slack, Zoom, Team Viewer, Google Classroom and even Skype.

Secondly, there should be a creation of websites with Nigeria based educational content such as videos, articles and the likes, to help schools have easy access to the curriculum.
Finally, there should be improved teacher remuneration to encourage and attract brains to the sector.

As a nation that is developing, over-reliance on the importation of finished products should be reduced as much as possible. We have to learn to produce and utilize our resources and do more of export than import, as these are factors that help a nation to be strong and independent. If local manufacturers are supported, we would have prepared ourselves for an inevitable future.

I do not want to sound like a prophet of doom but if we continue at this pace, we will find ourselves at the mercy of the developed world struggling to move above the food chain.