I have witnessed many decades in my lifetime… as a kid, teenager and now an adult. But no year was as unpredictable and horrible as the year 2020. I’m not in the habit of making New Year resolutions. In fact, I don’t wait for an old year to negotiate the final bend before resolving what to package for the coming year. Every day is a resolution day for me, guided by the dynamism of life.
We all looked forward to a better 2020 as the December of the previous year glided to a close. Then as we were preparing for the Christmas, what appeared to be an isolated flu emerged from a community called Wuhan in faraway China. Initially, we were told that the flu was caused by some locals that consumed uncooked animals, a primordial habit which is the stock-in-trade of most Chinese folks.
It is said that one man’s food is another man’s poison. Watching an average Chinese tearing live rodents, frogs, bats, snakes and even lizards asunder with their teeth sickens me. I remember the day a very close friend of mine from Ngas land served me peppered dog meat during one Christmas season. I did not suspect it was 404 that I was relishing. He watched me as I washed down the meat with chilled fruit wine.
Then came a shocker when he asked: “Clem, do you know you are relishing dog meat?”
I felt an instant urge to throw up as my tummy began to quake.
“Dog what?!” I screamed.
“What you call 404!” he said, feeling great. “At least, I have won you to my side.”
I sprang to my feet and raced to the toilet with the speed of bullet. I ran so fast you would think my feet were not hitting the ground. Thrusting my index finger into my mouth as an emetic, I tried to disgorge the content but nothing came out. I pushed from the depth of my belly with my eyes almost popping out of their sockets but no success. My host was reeling with laughter as the sound from my throat reverberated across his palatial mansion. I felt sick for a couple of days. After that experience, I made sure I scrutinised any munch-able stuffs he served me.
I love snails a lot. There was a party hosted by the same friend for his family that came visiting from the United States. After loading my plate with assorted chewables, a namesake, who happened to be an Ngas, came and sat near me and was pinching the stuffs. When I discovered the “heist”, I submerged the fish under the snails which I knew was like poison to him. He cringed in disgust and left me to enjoy my meal.
Back to Wuhan. As it turned out, what looked like an isolated endemic infection ab initio soon snowballed into an epidemic in China. And before we knew what calamity the Chinese had brought upon themselves, the global community had been caught up in what the World Health Organisation (WHO) classified as a pandemic… welcome to the reincarnation of SARS flu pandemic of the early 20th Century that claimed millions of lives!
On a lighter note, many of us detested the year 2020, inclusive of me. It was the year most of our expectations were dashed… New Year resolutions, looking like the Apple of Sodom that appears attractive but goes up in smoke when bitten!
But should we heap all the blame on Covid-19? The virus was conceived towards the end of 2019, hence it is called Covid-19 and not Covid-20. The year 2020 inevitably carried the pregnancy and delivered the disasters as witnessed all over the globe. Was the pregnancy abortable? Herein lies the question. The world did nothing to abort the pregnancy, given the benefit of the SARS hindsight. If we had fought the flu with the venom and anger with which we went after our own version of SARS or Special Anti-Robbery Squad, maybe the pandemic would not have brought us and our economy down to our knees.
We fought the first wave of the pandemic hammer and tongs, leaving thousands sickened and hundreds hurried to their early graves, including the mighty ones. Now the second wave is here, in tow with a new variant deadlier than the version that originated from Wuhan. Consequently, the government has again reeled out safety measures that included wearing of masks, social distancing, regular hand washing, avoiding crowded places, etc. Adhering to these rules will help to abort the pregnancy that has stretched to the year 2021. It is not just enough to wish away the pandemic in this Season 2.
We must all secure ourselves. But not everyone is obeying the order to go behind the mask in public. Many still do not believe that the pandemic is real, especially in Abuja. They go about with their faces unmasked. “E no dey kill black man!” you will hear them say, as they hurl caution to the wind. The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has done well by criminalizing going about in public places with bare faces and with reckless abandon. Arrests are being made across the city.
Those monitoring compliance should be ruthless in their “divine” assignment. They should tackle violators very hard irrespective of their status.
As for me and my entire household, we have never lowered our masks even before the Season 2 began. I will advise that anyone who bluntly refuses to obey the Covid-19 pandemic protocols should be regarded not only as public enemy number one but also treated as an accomplice of the pandemic… or a murderer. Period!
Happy New Year, folks!
