A former Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Chike Ihekweazu has recalled how the country introduced a lockdown owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, describing the decision as tough.
Ihekweazu, who is now an assistant director general of the World Health Organisation (WHO), was in charge of the agency when the pandemic hit Nigeria, crippling economic activities.
Years after the introduction of a lockdown to tame the disease, Ihekwazu narrated how that decision was taken.
“It came with a lot of responsibility and anxiety. In our country, many things are challenging for us,” he said on Channels Television’s Hard Copy which aired on Friday.
In the wake of the lockdown, businesses, schools, and other public places were shut. Then-president Muhammadu Buhari had appointed the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Boss Mustapha to lead the President Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 response.
According to Ihekwazu who featured on the programme alongside his wife Vivianne the former Nigerian leader trusted the PTF to deliver on the job, a move he said contributed to the group’s success.
“The one good thing is that we had a president that set up the PTF and allowed us to get on with it. So, he trusted the leadership that he appointed to lead the PTF,” he said on the show.
“Many other countries had very interventionist presidents who tried to micro-manage the response. So, it was great that Mr President appointed Boss Mustapha and empowered him to lead the response.”
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Despite Nigeria’s success in combating the COVID-19 pandemic, the former NCDC chief said, “When people talk about the lockdown, it was half of the story”.
He said a lot of work was put in by the PTF and other agencies to ensure Nigeria reined in on the disease.
Ihekweazu, however, admitted that it was hard convincing some state governors about certain policies during the pandemic.
On her part, Vivianne rued the level of misinformation and disinformation during the pandemic, calling for a ramp-up of media literacy.
She advised Nigeria to work on its communication systems to be able to reach people better.
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