Coronavirus: Huriwa Applauds Buhari For Suspending National Sports Tournament; Shutting Nysc Camps:

“President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration deserves immense applause for suspending the scheduled national sports tournament in Edo state and also shutting down all camps of the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) across the country as precautionary steps to contain the expanding frontiers of coronavirus pandemic.”

With the above positive note, the prominent Civil Rights Advocacy Group – HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) commended the initial steps adopted after a prolonged delay and lack of political will to drive the process of fighting off the grave threats posed to millions of Nigerians by the rapidly rampaging pandemic of coronavirus.

In a statement by the National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko the Rights group however carpeted the Federal government and most of the 36 state governments and the minister of Federal Capital Territory for foot-dragging and wilful failures to put in place effective proactive measures to stave off the widening spectres of coronavirus which is beginning to spread like wild fire unless sporadic and coordinated measures are implemented to halt the menace. HURIWA reminded the pilitical administrators that Europe and America are on lockdown and therefore there is no refuge for political elite to travel abroad for medical tourism which should make it even more imperative that all hands must be on deck to eradicate corruption from the health sector and to concretely set up qiality medical infrastructures to combat and contain the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic. "The Federal Government should declare a State of national health emergency and introduce Marshall plans to fix the collapsed national and regional public health facilities all over Nigeria and to motivate the medical and health workers to be ready to fa e and confront the emerhing health emergency caused by CORONAVIRUS.

In the light of the above inertia on the part of the central and state governments to take measures to counter the spread of coronavirus, HURIWA has asked the Federal Ministry of Education and States to shut down all public and private schools for two weeks even as the National Centre for Disease Control must never be downgraded in the government’s effort to combat coronavirus. Health experts and not political bureaucrats should coordinate the response of Nigeria to the pandemic. The Presidential task force should be headed by the NATIONAL CENTRE FOR DISEASE CONTROL; the Federal ministries of Health and Science/Technology and not the Secretary to the government of the federation who is a neophyte in the global health issues.

Similarly, the Rights group asked the authority of the Abia state university, Uturu, near Okigwe, to immediately postpone till a later date the scheduled 27^th convocation ceremony billed to start from 23^rd– 27^th March 2020. “We urge the state governors to get their state assemblies to pass a law stipulating death penalty for any official theft of allocations meant for the health and education sectors. Enugu state government officials beginning from the governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to close their eyes in shame for not preparing a decent self isolation centre in Enugu just as the group has urged Enugu state governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to stop playing dangerous propaganda with the well being of the good people of Enugu state and hasten to put in place decent and adequately equipped isolation centres in Enugu state; same with all the state governments all over the country who must be put under intensive pressure to enforce concrete measures to check the spread of coronavirus immediately.

“We totally condemn the lack lustre approach of all the state governors to the issue of the health of their citizens even amidst the threats posed to all citizens irrespective of class or states by the speedily emerging pandemic of coronavirus.Most public health centres in the south east of Nigeria, especially are in very deplorable conditions just as allocations meant for the health sector are looted by governors. Yet governors are busy coming to Abuja to play politics without staying in their states to head the fight against CORONAVIRUS which is eahing war on humanity. "