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By Francis Ewherido
Until 1984, students in higher institutions in Nigeria ate subsidised meals at 50k (not N50.00 o, younger generation!) per meal. For three meals per day, that came to N45 monthly. When the government removed the subsidy, some students from poor homes began to struggle. Their N45 meal money could only take them midway every month. To stretch the money to a whole month, they had to eat “without.” When they went to the cafeteria and the person attending to them asked, “anu ka-obu azu” (meat or fish) after serving the stew or soup, they would respond, “onweghi” (none).
They ate rice or eba without fish or/and meat, thereby spending only 50k, instead of N1, per meal.
Tomorrow, I am going to celebrate Easter without “meat” and “fish;” an Easter without a soul. I cannot recall the last time I spent Easter vigil at home. Easter Sundays always met me in church. I just love the Easter Vigil Mass. It starts in a very solemn mode. Then by midnight, there is a deafening rejoicing accompanied by the song, “Christ Arose.” I am not going to experience any of that tonight. This period is my favourite in the Catholic Church calendar. It started with Ash Wednesday, which was very humbling. Then weekly Stations of the Cross, which were very spiritually enriching. Then they were stopped. Sunday Masses/Church services were also stopped. Tomorrow, Easter Mass/church services will be the next victim. Last Sunday actually gave me a foretaste of tomorrow. No Palm Sunday procession and blessing and distribution of palm fronds. Some people might dismiss them as mere ceremonies; that true worship is in spirit and in truth. I beg I no get power for argument. I just love these ceremonies. They are very spiritually fulfilling and uplifting for me.
Also, tomorrow, many Christians will not eat Easter rice and chicken. The challenge before many Nigerians now is just to get food, any food, on the table or even floor. So, Easter rice and chicken is not a priority. Never mind that lady, who does not eat pomo (may foolish pride and inferiority complex not destroy some people). Meanwhile, COVID-19 or not, some other Nigerians are going to enjoy their Easter rice and chicken in its usual form. Now, there is this Easter tradition of sharing cooked food to neighbours, especially those who are less financially endowed. With many people currently spending and not earning, they are rationing what they have. Will they remember their less financially endowed neighbours and pass on some food to them tomorrow? We shall see. I am talking neighbourhoods where life is still communal, not plastic and highbrow neighbourhoods like Maitama, Asokoro, Banana Island, Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Lekki, etc., where neighbours might not even know or see one another in a whole year. Oh, sorry, the well-heeled also have less financially endowed people around: their drivers and other domestic staff. I am confident they will share Easter food to them.
COVID-19, aka, Corona Virus, is a reality check. I have not had a haircut in a month and it is not an issue any more. Without COVID-19, I would have had a haircut for Easter. But now, it is not even every day I remember to comb my hair. And I go out like that sometimes during my daily routine to buy newspapers nearby. I have not put on trousers since the stay at home started. Of what use? Official and traditional dresses have, all of a sudden, become superfluous. I have not worn shoes, either, since the lockdown. No church, no office, no outings, so of what use are they? Beyond personal hygiene, grooming and looks are no longer priority to me. Our basic needs are really few indeed: food, shelter and clothing. The main issue for many Nigerians now is food. Everybody is home and some people have no money to buy food and it has become an issue. Shelter is not an issue right now because everyone, rich and poor, are home, whatever the home is.
The only clothes we need right now are the basic ones, not suits or party clothes.
When we say after God, family comes next, some people question it. Who are you with right now? Family. Those children who used to storm out of the house to hang out with their friends because mum or dad “is getting on my nerves,” how far? Go and hang out with your friends now? Those men, who used to pick their car keys and leave for the club or to hang out with the boys, how far? Small disagreement and you leave the house, complaining that your wife is nagging too much. So how have you been coping since the lockdown started? What about wives, who would rather be with their friends to gossip and laze about, instead of being home to perform their duties? COVID-19 has thrust forth the importance of the family and we all must now get our priorities right moving forward.
There are too many arrogant Christian leaders. A lot of the time, I wonder if they remember who the church is. COVID-19 has reminded them that the people, the congregations, are the church. Take people out of the equation and what you have are buildings and auditoriums, which can easily be converted to cinema halls, event centres, warehouses and even night clubs. All of a sudden, we do not have to go to “Jerusalem” any longer, even on Sundays, to worship God. Christians now worship God in the comfort of their homes even on Sundays. Christian leaders must learn to humble themselves.
Without their congregations, they are shepherds without sheep, generals without troops and football coaches without teams. The glory of a leader are the people. Christian leaders should treat their congregations well. The welfare of their congregations should also be paramount, not building of palaces, acquiring of the state of the art vehicles, and adorning of designer suits and wristwatches, etc. Without church activities, the vehicles are now idle in garages and the designer clothes and accessories are idling away in their wardrobes. Christian leaders should get their priorities right.
When the lockdown became apparent, many Nigerians, who travelled abroad, were desperate to be back home. By home, I mean this “sh*t hole” called Nigeria. They were rushing from their favourite holiday destinations all over the world. It also confirms the cliché that east, west, north or south, home is the best. Apart from the few Nigerians with dual citizenship (like the Nigerian-Americans who recently flooded Murtala Mohammed International Airport and outnumbered the white Americans by a ratio of over 10:1), the vast majority of us have no other country but Nigeria. We have our work cut out for us. Everyone must now begin to play his/her part in lifting Nigeria from quagmire.
Since COVID-19 became widespread, no Nigerian has flown abroad for medical treatment. It is either your medical case can be handled here or you die. Our leaders in the three arms of government now know better. I spent a cumulative of two months over three trips to India for medical reasons some years ago. I used that time to look at their health sector closely. We can replicate what they have done there and stop medical tourism. The turnaround in India’s health sector was achieved partly with the return of their health professionals from Europe, America and even Australia.
Some of our best brains are scattered all over the world. Many of them want to come home, but there are impediments: insecurity, decadent and unreliable infrastructure, a system that refuses to work, uncertainty, among others. It is not every time you will have the opportunity to run abroad for medical attention even with all the money in the world. I once tasted the bitter pill. Let us fix our health sector