How do you think COVID-19 is here Today?

We never expected it to reach us. We never saw it coming all the way from China.

But worst of all, the whole world was not prepared.

It all started in the year 2019, the month of Christmas. Everyone was relaxing with family, sharing gifts and going for outings. Little did we know, that an outbreak had started spreading in Wuhan, China. And it would become a fight the whole world would get involved in.

Soon after, we began the year 2020. We were all excited thinking of our new year resolutions, goals, and everything we wanted to do.

No sooner had January started, that we faced a nationwide blackout. It was a bit of a scare as the Nigerian national grid experienced its first collapse. But it was fixed and power was restored.

Weeks went by, and January finally came to an end. Then the month of love began. There was a lot of anticipation and eagerness with Valentines’ day this year.

I guess it was because the day happened to be on a Friday. Valentines’ day came and went and we started hearing about it, COVID-19.

On hearing of it, we felt COVID-19 was still far. Until February 27th came, and it was announced that an Italian man who had entered Nigeria had tested positive.

It didn’t stop there. On March 9th, we found out that a Nigerian Citizen who had contact with the Italian man had also tested positive.

Now, things started to get interesting. Our governments’ slow decision to close the border only resulted in more news of people entering the country and testing positive. It looked like a temporary situation that our government and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) could handle. Or so we thought, as the Italian man recovered not soon after and others followed.

In time, due to how highly contagious the disease is, we only kept hearing the numbers increase of people testing positive. This led to the government reducing the number of people that could attend religious gatherings. Some disobeyed it but with time, we all adjusted to our reality.

The lockdown looked like our only option with the numbers still on the rise and our high-density population, a serious problem. And so, the lockdown was put in place.

Looking at the states most affected, the lockdown took place in three states: Abuja, Lagos and Ogun. At first, the lockdown was for two weeks, followed by another two weeks, and then one week. Through it all, the number of active cases kept increasing and discharges to a lesser degree.

As anticipated, the lockdown will be relaxed, but what exactly does the future hold for our country filled with hungry and stubborn people?

Recently, the dollar-to-naira rate increased which is going to have a huge impact on our economy now and afterwards.

How are people surviving and living in such a time where nothing is safe anymore and the economy is much harder?

Gone are the days when you go for your religious services, now you stream the services from your home. No longer do you get to dress up and walk into a restaurant to eat but now, it’s all about home delivery. The ambience and atmosphere are no more.

Are you the clubbing type? The times when you would go to a club to chill, listen to some music, drink with friends or even dance the night away feel so long ago.

What of the Owambe parties’ that Lagos is known so much for? I guess couples will need to exercise more patience before they can say “I DO” and guests will need to wait longer before they can wear their aso-oke.

It is interesting to find that even those who like to stay fit will have a problem coping with this period as gyms are closed. All social activities have been put on hold and for such a hustle and bustle place which is Lagos, it makes me wonder;

How are we coping?

The moment feels so surreal and time feels so fleeting. Do you feel the shift?

Schools are not open and isn’t this a dream for some kids. But then I guess not, with some schools now doing online classes. Even TV stations are having sessions to discuss topics for students and kids so they don’t stay home doing nothing.

After all these, I see us as a country being forced to use more of online services to not just communicate, buy and sell. But to push businesses to take their products and services unto an online platform to reach a wider audience.

It has also helped to bring our educational system unto online platforms which is a big step. It is way more effort than we have attempted in previous years which countries have been doing for a long time. All these are as a result of COVID-19, who could have seen it coming?

“All great changes are preceded by chaos.

-Deepak Chopra

This period has given us such a push which we never knew we needed or simply overlooked. And a lot might still happen between now and when everything settles down. But no matter what we face as a country, as Nigerians, we always push through and this is no different.

This period has brought so many hardships, deaths and losses and will be a time we will never forget. Still, we need to keep moving forward, hoping for a better future.

To do this, we need to stay safe and healthy, and see how the next few months will play out, and where it takes us as we fight COVID-19 together.