By Abu Maigoro
The expectation of the year 2020 by all as at the end of 2019 was one full of great packages of attainments. But as individuals and countries begin to adjust with the close of the first quarter came the pandemic that all thought was only an epidemic related to China when it started its devastation in Wuhan. The disease in its transmission crossed continents hitting Nation-states in Asia across Europe, then to North- Latin America and then to Africa. The tears of the year 2020 can be analysed with incidences, quarantining, preventive safety protocols and lockdowns of cities which took everyone by surprise and by implication aggravated the challenges of livelihoods as most businesses and means of survival were truncated and gave rise to serious ambiguities.
The entrapment of the world in this situation was as a result of lack of planning, the politics associated with this pandemic, the mismanagement of the disease and the conspiracies across levels by leaders to cover for their incompetence from the global to the local levels in relative terms. The disease centres in various countries identified it as a tiny invisible pathogen called Coronavirus in which no one foresaw its coming neither its devastation to humanity within the shortest possible time.
This has made all of us to be victims living in the fear of the known-because the Virus (COVID-19) appears as the eighth in the Corona series but in its novel nature is without cure and thus we all live in fear.
The world’s focus had to turn to the health care window in which all efforts became geared towards innovations and discoveries for a cure or atleast a vaccine that will keep the human body immune from this viral disease. This has brought negativity in the world economic growth. And the shutting down of the world economy, it has also made every country shutting down which has heavily impacted negatively on the global economy and up the speed of all to the social window of survival with the use of the online/virtual window. The pandemic of 2020, has clearly presented a picture to all that no country, no matter how big or small can stand alone in this global village.
In defense of the year 2020, should not always reside with the blame game but also with the window of opportunities that the pandemic also created for the world through the youths with hands-on skills who were hitherto unemployed but have now filled in the space of experience and employable in countries.
I see it as a year of trials and exhilaration that has come to divulge the devilish nature in humanbeings especially in my country Nigeria where the incompetence, shameless and wanton penchant of leaders in lavishness and rent seeking at the pain of the downtrodden in society. It has also sadly created a new class of conflict merchants, bad citizens as followers, ungodly preachers, fake news peddlers, brutality, fake activists, the social media warriors, the unpatriotic elements, hypocrites, hoarders, the looters and food-ters amongst the gullible youth.
The year 2020 came to reveal to us that Nigeria as a country has never been ready, so also is the clear gap in the ability of our leaders to manage systems. It is on record that in all the visions we had in the past set for ourselves in 1996 against “vision2010” by Head of state General Sani Abacha, was clearly abandoned by successive governments i.e first by Abdulsalam in 1998, Obasanjo in 1999 and Yar’adua who came with similar epic of vision of his projected Seven(7) points agenda in 2007 to be accomplished in the year 2020. This time I asked myself, what happened to vision 2010 of late Abacha? Was it not feasible or did President Obasanjo shred the documents? It was then obvious in 2007 we wasted 11 years and yet we couldn’t achieve anything. We had another vision “Vision 2020” and here we are today Nigeria is perhaps craving for another vision. Nigeria my country, where governance is all about “Dis-Continuum-Discontinuity”
I am also glad with the year 2020 for families as it brought most them together interms of quality time with children and spouses because of the lockdown.Glory be to God for this wonderful opportunity.
It was also a good year for our health system like in many other countries that have suffered neglect over the years. The improvement in our health care system due to Covid 19 is in positive light because of the pandemic.
The world suddenly became “Digitally literate” computers became the main tool/equiptment used by people who ordinarily will not do so but because of virtual meetings.
We witnessed the true meaning of what is known as global village in its vituallity in the year 2020
This year actually came with lot of lessons, everyone seems to have learned one or the other lesson of life. Our Planning, Patience, Tolerance and Perseverance skills allbeit in relative terms have been developed.
The year 2020 unveiled the clear challenge of health as an additional one to education to the national discourse. We can not pretend anymore, we must take drastic actions to address these challenges and tribulations that bedeviled us in the year 2020 by understanding the importance of planning and managing unforeseen issues.
My thoughts fall within the thinking that we first of all need reforms that must precisely start with self-reform and national reforms on issues. I believe by so doing the years ahead would be great if we keep in the presence of our minds lessons learned from the global challenges of the pandemic-COVID-19. That despite the unstained projections in resolutions by individuals and countries, the year 2020 is like any other year and cannot be wiped as it has the same number of days and weeks like all other years. Our task is to use this year to set plans of short, mid and long term projections of between three and ten years. If you don’t learn something in 2020 you won’t learn anything forever
Abu Maigoro writes from Jos
