“And Leadership Failed Mankind”

By A. Abeku Haywood-Dadzie

“All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated... As therefore the bell that rings to a sermon, calls not upon the preacher only, but upon the congregation to come: so this bell calls us all”- John Donne

The week had been very hectic, but today is Friday, so I say, "Thank God is Friday." However,?before you get too excited as to what my plans for tonight will be like, this is not an ordinary Friday; it's Friday the 13th; a day after the World Health Organization declared the worldwide outbreak of the new coronavirus a pandemic; a day after what sounds like the beginning of Armageddon was announced in my homeland Ghana by the health authorities. So, though the week has been chaotic and I am in bed trying to catch some sleep, sleep is eluding me and fear is forcing me to watch live updates and listen to the opinions of the experts on how the coronavirus is sweeping across the world on CNN.

For the life of me, I have read only about pandemics in my history books and other medical journals. None, however, has been as close and devastating as this one, which has "affected 149 countries and territories worldwide and counting."According to information available, the last time the World Health Organization declared a pandemic was during the H1N1 outbreak in 2009, which infected nearly a quarter of the world’s population. However, that decision was criticised for creating unnecessary panic. Despite affecting people in 26 countries, SARS was not considered a pandemic, and neither was MERS. ". This coronavirus has not given any expert the chance to criticise the World Health Organization.

One thing the coronavirus outbreak has done is that it has brought to the fore the cracks and weaknesses in leadership across the world. For one reason or another, most world leaders stood by and watched for weeks as the epidemic unfolded in China, and then in other parts of Asia, as if it was none of their concern.

They forgot that in today’s world, technological innovations have smashed physical and geographic barriers that once existed and separated nations. They overlooked the fact that technology has brought people together like never before and is making the world smaller and more accessible each day. These leaders never saw things from this angle.

Most of the write-ups I have reviewed on the virus indicate that the majority of these leaders saw China’s challenges with the COVID-19 virus as uniquely their own and assured themselves that China is far away, and an epidemic over there surely couldn’t spread so far and so fast over their countries. Again, I believe the rivalry and race to "superpower?status " kicked in and some leaders became fixated with the country China and its political system. They questioned the possible value and relevance of China’s fight and decisions to the rest of the world as I read in an article. We all ended up believing that China couldn’t possibly be relevant to the rest of the world, much less provide any lessons. Each for himself, God, and all of us became the mantra.

As if that was not enough, the powerful media houses around the world went into overdrive and the storyline was that the epidemic they called the "China Virus" spiraled out of control because the authorities in China cracked down on early whistle-blowers in late December, allowing the virus to spread.

But in all these, we all failed to appreciate that we were supposed to be each other’s keeper as emphasized in the poem by John Donne." No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, the "world" is the less, … " He continued "any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind." And therefore, never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." We allowed our differences to push us part.

Make no mistake, today, unless there is a miracle, which I believe there will be, The humanitarian crisis about to unfold will be "cataclysmically catastrophic" and will consume what’s left of this world if care is not taken. Currently, the virus is gradually succeeding in altering our way of life and shutting down the backbone of every economic and political system. If this continues and the virus gets a hold on the world's economy, all economic activities will come to a halt, as it has begun in some countries. This will lead to a recession. Stocking-up or hoarding will naturally kick in, and the resulting effect will be a shortage. Rioting will be next, then a state of anarchy, and countries will declare a state of emergency.?Mankind will then be reduced to a level that will be unimaginable. Disclaimer: I am not a prophet of doom.

"Today, none of us are strangers. Today, we are one family stepping into the darkness together. This is everyone’s calamity, and it is teaching us that "we are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us." Unfortunately, we all failed to appreciate that from the beginning, and there will be no escape from the "failure that seeps through every unmade decision." For the next few months, stock markets will experience freefall, shopping malls will experience shortages and be deserted, there will be travel bans, sporting events will be cancelled and mass gatherings prohibited. We should be getting ready for the COVID-19 global recession. The COVID-19 is scary, and it’s made even scarier because mankind failed to appreciate that "No man is an island."

But I still have hope, and to reiterate the words of President Thomas Whitmore in the movie "Independence Day," "We will not go quietly into the night!" We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive! " "Mankind." That word should have a new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. and will once again be fighting for our freedom... Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution... but from annihilation. We are fighting for our right to live. to exist.

But wait.

This too shall pass and we shall overcome. We have been used to fighting against one another, but we must learn to fight for one another going forward.