By BASHIR ADEFAKA
Reacting to a purported video in circulation on social media about World Health Organisation (WHO) saying Coronavirus is a common flu and so requires no lockdown, quarantine and vaccine, some Nigerians are asking the world health agency to apologise to President Donald Trump of the United States of America.
My question: Is Trump really the god to be appeased here? And I have seen some Nigerians who, in agreement with the wishes of my heart, have argued that not Trump but the entire world should be apologised to. The slight difference is that, I do not believe only in WHO ‘s apology but that both Trump and the agency must apologise to appease the world, especially Africa. And I have my reason.
Trump did many tweets that served as revelation of how the conspiracy that put the world on stand still socio-economically was hatched. The whole scenario was clear about envy that Washington-DC under him played, which pretended not, that it escalated the virus, conventionally codenamed later as COVID/-19, to Yuan to give a supposed dog a bad name to hang it. Except in Nigeria where even those that knew the truth, and were supposed to be a shield for the truth, jumped into the bandwagon of Trumpism, selling the naked false-based propaganda of 5G as killer of people but not Coronavirus.
During the heat of the virus, while every other society of the world including its citizens was focused on proferring solution within, some men of God in Nigeria engaged in blame game working hard to convince and incite the public against the government in Abuja as responsible for the pandemic afflicting them in all spheres. That was a period in world life when the rich and poor merged in status.
Where a particular religious association leader released statements to say the virus was not the problem of the Christians in the country but those he claimed were persecutors of the Church, a jerry curl pastor was everywhere with discordant ringing tones, which sought to project the killer of people as 5G technology – just won by the People’s Republic of China – and not the acclaimed Coronavirus pandemic. The other one that once claimed he owns the keys to the gates of hell also took his own stage wrekking his own havoc on the government to say that the globally recognised lockdown, done to prevent citizens from the dangerous disease, was President Buhari’s Islamisation and Northernisation manner of stopping the Christians in Nigeria from going to Church to worship their Lord. That was despite his sending out code for members to pay their tithe via SMS.
Great to note that many as those Christians who believe those ones, there were more other pure hearted Christians, who queued behind other pastors, who were deeply engaged in creating awareness and educating all Nigerians regardless of their religious and ethnic backgrounds, about why and how neither President Buhari nor China should be made as enemies but see efforts of government in Abuja as a good direction and step to solution and must be obeyed and followed.
There were also some Muslims, who decided to see things from the extremist side thereby prompting the Sultan of Sokoto and Leader of the over 100 million Muslims of Nigeria, His Eminence Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, to do most tasking job of practically engaging stakeholders with a view to seeing the directives of government as in line with Islam being that, in situation of plague, believers of Islam are expected to stay where they are and not move from affected area to another to avoid widespread of the disease. He also condemned attitude of some Imams, who commanded their followers against the lockdown of religious centres, as capable of doing more harms than seen.
There were those among who, not only the Sultan called to order but also was invited by the Department of State Services (DSS). Although some Muslims complained about the selective caution by authorities where none of the erring pastors was so invited and condemned while the actions were taken against their own side, I have personally sighted evidence of report either directly or indirectly to show that particular church of an extremist pastor was also clamped down upon in Abuja.
Sad, however, whereas the Sheikh checked by Sultan took caution, apologized to the leadership of the Ummah, government and changed for better by now releasing videos for the education of his followers and other Nigerians, none of those erring pastors, up till today, has admitted the evils they did against the country and provocations they caused the government and infringements they committed on the rights of other religious people during the lockdown because of their unguarded utterances. One of them clearly made it known how to believe that the liver, with which its like-religious like-political-party association had acted to frustrate the President he campaigned against as Northern and Muslim agent is supplied by Donald Trump’s United States of America.
That he said when he said the problem of Christians of Nigeria is not Coronavirus but those that are persecutors of the Church and that, unfortunately, America that his group runs to for help has been brought down by the pandemic. That happened even after two years that Trump asked President Buhari a mischievous question, “Why are you killing Christians in Nigeria?” Which was solely based on untrue information supplied to him by the group based in Nigeria.
This was how much the pains and evils that Nigeria was subjected to, during the pandemic and from the hands of Trump and his sponsored agents outside America, who – as it were – were mainly in Nigeria. Some also included Nigerian media as part of the problem, helping hype those unfortunate activities putting blame of a world made socio/-economic disorder caused by the Coronavirus lockdown on President Buhari, which was escalated to the destructions and looting that the economy suffered, particularly in Lagos, Osun, Ondo, Edo, Ekiti, Kaduna and so on and so forth. That was during the #ENDSARS protests that were hijacked by people, who believe hunger is about President Buhari and not part of nature and allowed themselves to be used by enemies of the government and unity of Nigeria, to wrek havoc on the country.
To now blame WHO for saying what its officials claimed in the video, one must think twice and ask questions before reaching that conclusion. Was there a virus breakout from December 31, 2019 which impact was huge enough to be declared a pandemic? Were people truly infected in manner that was never experienced before? Did people actual die in multitude? Were there claims and counter claims over how it occurred, about which China happened to be more on the side of believable?
If the answers to all of these questions are a Yes, and now WHO has truly said this, to blame the global health agency and ask it to apologise will be unfair. Rather, all the players should be blamed and made to apologise and somebody or country must tbe made to pay for the losses while apologising to the entire world especially Africa.
My opinion – I think both the WHO and Donald Trump need to make apology to the rest of the world especially Africa, because, the US President cannot claim innocence of the conspiracy that eventually bounced more heavily on him and, unfortunately by extension, his people.
If you ask me, I will say what is more important to me now is for NIGERIANS TO SPEAK UP ASKING AMERICA TO SUPPLY THE TUCANO WAR PLANES OUR PRESIDENT ALREADY PAID FOR WHICH WERE MEANT TO BE DELIVERED IN 2020. We are in December of the year.
Most of us Nigerians don’t help our situation. We leave substance and begin to pursue the irrelevant. Military and Intelligence officers and personnel who, by Allah’s grace, protect us, we so much hate and celebrate hypocrisy of conspirators against them when we should rally support for the security forces especially the Army, DSS and Police.
All I know, don’t forget I said my opinion, is that, Nigeria will change for better the day Nigerians stop their confusionist attitude and change for better.
*WAKE UP is opinion article column of Lagos Journalist and Prince of Akure Kingdom, Bashir Adefaka. Reach him via his email: omope72@gmail.com
