The politicisation of the fight against the spread of Coronavirus has brought to the fore the deadly application of exclusive list by officials of the Federal Government when it comes to issues that relate to Rivers State and the safety of its people.
\nThis morning (April 12, 2020) as I perused through the newspapers, one report published by Punch Newspaper caught my attention.\u00a0This report exposed the deadly double standards against Rivers State and her people.\u00a0It also exposes the underlying deliberate plot to undermine the health security system of the state.
\nThe report: \u201cChinese doctors\u2019 flight:\u00a0 How three airline crew members \u2018disappeared\u2019 from Lagos quarantine centre\u201d highlighted how the Federal Government is collaborating with the Lagos State Government to quarantine pilots and crew members of Air Peace who flew in\u00a0 Chinese doctors into the country. These pilots and crew members will be isolated from the rest of the Lagos community for 14 days to ascertain\u00a0their Coronavirus status.
\nPlease click this link to read the full report: https:\/\/punchng.com\/chinese-doctors-flight-how-three-airline-crew-members-disappeared-from-lagos-quarantine-centre\/
\nFrom the report, the Lagos State Government has quarantined 17 personnel of Air Peace who went on that national assignment on behalf of the Federal Government, operators of the ALMIGHTY EXCLUSIVE LIST.\u00a0Amongst these 17 personnel are pilots and flight attendants.
\nReading through the report,\u00a0it is clear that the quarantine procedure is mandatory,\u00a0especially when such crew members have entered a Coronavirus impacted territory.\u00a0In the case of Nigeria,\u00a0Lagos State is a Coronavirus-impacted territory.
\nThe Commissioner for Health, Lagos State, declared that community transmission of Coronavirus is in full swing in the state. With this public declaration, it is necessary that precautionary measures be taken as long as the persons are coming from that location.
\nPlease read this report for the confirmation of community transmission of Coronavirus in Lagos:\u00a0https:\/\/businessday.ng\/exclusives\/article\/rising-community-transmission-of-covid-19-strengthens-case-for-social-distancing\/
\nRecall that the Federal Government has quarantined the Chinese doctors that are in the country to carry out medical outreach on behalf of the Federal Government.
\nThis brings me to the main point that I have set out to make. The Federal Government that has emphasised EXCLUSIVE LIST every step of the way in relation to interactions\u00a0with pilots and AVIATION,\u00a0has willingly allowed the LAGOS STATE GOVERNMENT to quarantine 17 Air Peace pilots and crew to stem the spread of Coronavirus.
\nIn fact, three crew members that escaped from quarantine were located by the joint team of the Federal and Lagos State Governments to apprehend them for the overall safety of Lagos State.
\nAir Peace did not raise alarm. The Federal Government did not raise alarm to warn the Lagos State Government that it has touched the ALMIGHTY EXCLUSIVE LIST.
\nThe quarantine of the 17 Air Peace personnel who were on National Service was never programmed to be an issue during the daily press conferences at Abuja. Therefore,\u00a0the Minister of Aviation, Alhaji Hadi Sirika,\u00a0the chief advocate of EXCLUSIVE LIST had no reason to insult the Lagos State Governor\u00a0the way he insulted Governor Wike for defending the people of Rivers State and the health security system of the state.
\nIf you read through the report of Punch on the issue, it was programmed to present Lagos State Government as caring for her people.\u00a0Several Pro-APC Media will replicate this report.\u00a0Pro-Lagos Editorials will be written about the proactive isolation of these Air Peace personnel on National Service.
\nI will also throw up another point highlighted in the Pro-APC Report on the quarantine of the Air Peace personnel by the Lagos State Government.\u00a0There is a standing order of the Federal Ministry of Health that persons flying from Coronavirus-impacted territories be quarantined to check the virus.
\nLet me quote a paragraph from the said Sunday Punch report of April 12, 2020\u00a0that underlines the preferential treatment accorded Lagos\u00a0State and the unfortunate politicisation of the fight against Coronavirus by the agencies of the Federal Government,\u00a0operators of the EXCLUSIVE LIST.
\n\u201cThe 17 pilots and flight attendants later on Wednesday proceeded to Lagos to be quarantined by the Lagos State Government in line with an agreement the Ministry of Health reached with the carrier\u2019s management.\u00a0The Chinese medical personnel were quarantined in Abuja,\u201d Sunday Punch wrote.
\nThe above paragraph indicates that each time a flight leaves and returns, necessary precautionary measures must be taken to check the spread of Coronavirus and the general transmission of the virus. In Lagos State and Abuja,\u00a0the Federal Government is ever ready to observe the established health protocols to check the spread of Coronavirus.
\nBut when it comes to Rivers State,\u00a0the operators of EXCLUSIVE LIST are willing to risk the lives of over six million Rivers people and Nigerians just to drill barrels of oil.\u00a0They are willing to insult the Rivers State Governor everyday on National Television and Mainstream Media for insisting on the implementation of an agreement for the observation of basic health protocols to protect the lives of Nigerians,\u00a0wherever they may be.
\nThis is what the Minister of Health,\u00a0Dr Osagie Ehanire, said about the observation of the health protocols on flights.
\nHe said, \u201cThey knew that before they came and have undergone tests before they left their country. Nevertheless, they will be in quarantine for 14 days. The Nigerian Centre for Disease Control has gone to see where they will be quarantined.\u201d
\nTo think that two leading national newspapers allowed themselves to be used to lampoon the Rivers State Governor,\u00a0Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, for insisting on the operation of the health protocols underscores the rot in the country.\u00a0The hatred for the truth is nauseating, embarrassing and unfortunate.
\nIf 17 personnel of a leading airline who flew 14 hours nonstop to China to ferry essential health equipment to tackle Coronavirus for the overall safety of Nigeria could be quarantined for 14 days in line with established health protocols,\u00a0why would anyone justify the reckless flights into Port Harcourt by Caverton Helicopters,\u00a0who consistently refused to observe health protocols?
\nIf the Federal authorities allowed the Lagos State Health Authorities to freely operate at the Murtala Mohammed Airport,\u00a0where they apprehend pilots on essential services and quarantine them for the safety of Lagos people,\u00a0why embolden CAVERTON HELICOPTERS to disregard health protocols when they fly into Rivers State?
\nThe entire world is singing from one hymn page to ensure the safety of everyone.\u00a0But in Nigeria,\u00a0the situation is different.\u00a0The Federal Government has instituted measures that frustrate the fight against Coronavirus in major opposition states. Aside encouraging private businesses to compromise the health security system of Rivers State at this critical time,\u00a0there is no federal support for Governor Wike to carry out this herculean task.
\nWith the 17 Air Peace personnel on compulsory quarantine,\u00a0nobody has heard of threats from the Airline Operators of Nigeria threatening fire and brimstone. But they issued deadlines on Rivers State Government because they were primed to do so, even though\u00a0they know of the health protocols operational at this time.
\nIt is sad that the Federal Government will engage in this needless game of double standards. Introducing politics into the fight against the spread of Coronavirus is counterproductive.\u00a0 It makes the entire country vulnerable and weakens the health defence mechanism of all the 36 states.
\nThe objective of the fight against Coronavirus is to stop the virus from decimating the Nigerian population.\u00a0In this fight, all established health protocols must be respected whether in Lagos, Abuja,\u00a0Port Harcourt or Enugu. Undermining health protocols in Port Harcourt because Rivers State is on another political path, is dangerous and would undermine\u00a0the national struggle.
\nThis double standard is deadly.\u00a0It is unnecessary and it is unfortunate.\u00a0Nobody should fuel the spread of the virus in one part of the country because of the irregular application of EXCLUSIVE LIST.\u00a0 God has exposed this aspect with the quarantine of Air Peace personnel by the\u00a0Lagos State Government.\u00a0All Nigerians should begin to reason along the safety of the population and not the falsehood of operators of\u00a0EXCLUSIVE LIST.
\nIt is in our national interest for the Federal Government to discard the politicisation of the fight against Coronavirus and enthrone national respect for the operation of the established health protocols agreed by all tiers of government. What is EXCLUSIVE LIST in the face of national ill-health?
\nI conclude with Governor Wike\u2019s advice to the Federal Government on the dangers of politicising the fight against Coronavirus.
\nHe said: \u201cIt is quite unfortunate that the containment of Coronavirus has been politicized by the Federal Government. Every state is important in the fight against the spread of Coronavirus. Therefore, no state should be singled out for special treatment. The Federal Government should prevail or its agencies that connive with Aero Contractors and Caverton Helicopters to fly in workers on essential services to the state to ensure that the health status of these individuals as it relates to COVID-19 is ascertained.\u201d
\nNwakaudu is Special Assistant to Rivers State Governor on Electronic Media<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The politicisation of the fight against the spread of Coronavirus has brought to the fore the deadly application of exclusive list by officials of the Federal Government when it comes to issues that relate to Rivers State and the safety of its people. This morning (April 12, 2020) as I perused through the newspapers, one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":233401,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[688],"class_list":["post-235427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interview","tag-front-pix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=235427"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235427\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/233401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=235427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=235427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=235427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}