14 days extension not enough, tell Nigerians complete truth, analyst advises FG

CIA tasks government on sacrifice

A Public analyst, Bola Bolawole, yesterday said that President Muhammadu Buhari was being economical with the truth on COVID-19, urging him to tell Nigerians the “complete truth,” so that the people could steel themselves for the arduous task ahead.

According to him, it is time the government change the narrative of what they will do to what they are doing, saying: “We have heard enough of ‘we will, we will’ from Buhari. Now, it should be ‘we are already doing this, we have added this and that facility.”

He said that by now, the government ought to have been expanding the country’s medical facilities, increasing bed space in medical colleges and bringing out policies that will not only stop braindrain but also reverse the ugly trend.

“We may be in this for the long haul. It may not end in the next 14 days. This extension may not be the last. Tell our people the truth so they can steel themselves for the arduous task ahead. This Coronavirus is a hard road to travel and we still have a long way to go. Buhari shied away from telling us that. Maybe he himself did not know. Piecemeal extensions may, eventually, do us more harm than good.

“We understand that the people will still need to make more sacrifices but let us know what sacrifices those in government are making.

“Palliatives are not enough, are not getting to the right places, and monkey games are being played with them. This must be addressed squarely to keep people at home. Security situation is worsening as a result of lumped elements that are helpless and hopeless. How do we handle that?

“Mere platitudes like Buhari gave will not do. To make people stay at home, you must help them keep body and soul together, and otherwise, crime rates will overshoot the roof. Already, robbers are killing more people than Coronavirus,” he said.

On his part, President, Chartered Institute of Administration (CIA), Samson Olapade, urged government to sacrifice for its people, urging those in charge of palliatives to desist from politics and tribalism, adding that effective control measures should be enforced to ensure adequate compliance with the President’s directives on palliatives.

“Transparency must be the watchword. Those mentioned by the Federal Government, most especially the artisans and the daily paid in the society, must be reached as a matter of urgency.

“Government must also beef up security because there is increase in robbery and house breaking in Lagos and Ogun states as reported in the dailies. Banks should be mandated to find a way of paying their customers who do not operate ATM and third party customers who are finding it difficult to access funds from banks,” he said.