By Chris Otaigbe
While many Nigerians have a cursory memory of the trauma they went through during the Covid-19 lockdown, couples in Jos, Plateau State would not mind another round of the 30 harrowing days of the stay-at-home order by the Federal Government.
This was the revelation made, in a random survey conducted, by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) through some of the couples, who spoke with the nation’s News Agency.
In the report, some couples in Jos, Plateau, expressed what they loved most about the COVID-19 lockdown.
According to most of the respondents, if it were possible to have a lockdown without a pandemic, it would help build healthy family relationships.
Mrs Patience Davis, a mother of two and a restaurateur, said the lockdown gave her and her husband an enabling environment to sort out pressing issues in the family.
“I have told my husband to increase the house-keeping money but he wouldn’t budge. But he did in the month of May when he escorted me to the market,’’ Davis said.
For Mr. Brown Kelechi and his wife, Ego, the lockdown taught them how to live as retirees, as they both had a foretaste of it and were better prepared now to face it.
In the case of Mr and Mrs Bold Kehinde, the lockdown taught them tolerance in a different light.
“We have been getting on each other’s nerve and constantly arguing about trivial things. But during the lockdown, we mended all walls,’’ they said.
Mr and Mrs John Popoola said they had been putting in extra effort to direct the path of their teenage son, but during the lockdown, they plunged into the teenager’s world and made a huge success.
“We couldn’t understand why the boy was isolating himself but we later discovered what the problem was and dealt with it,’’ the Popoolas said.
Mr and Mrs Ibrahim said that the lockdown gave them the opportunity to give priority to family and relate closely like never before.
They also said the period helped in adding flavor to their relationship.
It will be recalled that as at 26th April 2020, the day before President Mohammadu Buhari was lifting the order on the lockdown, three million confirmed cases of COVID-19 had been recorded globally with about 900,000 recoveries and 200,000 deaths.
Nigeria had recorded 1,273 cases across 32 states and the FCT, with 40 deaths.
Within the same period, some Nigerians reportedly lost their lives to security Agencies.
According to Amnesty International, 19 Nigerians were killed by security operatives during the lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus.
The lockdown in Nigeria began in March in some states and in April in others, and a task force was set up to ensure compliance.
