COVID-19 Management: Yahaya Bello, The Leader With Foresight »

The ravaging COVID-19 pandemic disrupted activities across the globe as it spread like wild fire from China to every country. Unfortunately, nobody including the super powers saw it coming. It mesmerised all the world leaders despite their advancement in technology and sophisticated healthcare system. The earlier stage of Coronavirus outbreak before World Health Organization (WHO) categorized it as pandemic terrified the world and bring leaders to their knees.

Consequently, majority of leaders started adopting copy and paste strategy to tackle COVID-19 without thinking critical about peculiarities of their countries or states. Although, precautionary measures such as wearing of face mask, minimizing social gathering, observing social distancing, frequent hand wash with soap/water and hand sanitizer are necessary to curtail spread of COVID-19 but some restrictions introduced to flatten curve of the pandemic turn out to be counter productive.

In Nigeria, some states and federal government agencies while adopting copy and paste strategy devoted their energy as well as resources towards marketing COVID-19 rather than educating the populace about how to curtail spread of the virus.

However, Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi state adopted unique approach that is suitable his domain to manage COVID-19 pandemic inspite sponsored blackmail, name calling and cyber bully against his stance by people using the ravaging crisis threatening humanity for selfish reasons. The Governor at different fora warned that lack in notation and localization of strategy for COVID-19 pandemic management would hurt us as a nation, bring hardship to the people and affect economic activities negatively.

For records, Kogi state set up befitting Containment Centre (Isolation Centre), procured test kits, PPEs and overall takes enlightenment campaign about coronavirus to grassroots with the viewer’s of preventing Community Spread. All the efforts of Governor Yahaya Bello and Kogi COVID-19 Squadron led by his deputy, Chief Edward Onoja resulting to no case status. Yes! Kogi has no confirmed case of COVID-19 on it soil.

Furthermore, the foresight leader also advised people adopting total lockdown to think twice due to multifaceted effect on their respective states and citizens. Are all that Yahaya Bello while engaging Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) directed all their delegates to observe 14 days quarantine after shaking hand with Government House DG Protocols. Is that not interesting? Your guess is good as mine. Some politicians suffering from post-election defeat syndrome were busy spreading falsehood to dent Bello’s image while other queried the governor for not introducing lockdown in earlier days of the pandemic in this country.

Besides, Kogi State Governor also encouraged farmers to go about their normal business in order to ensure food security amidst the pandemic. Here we are; the reality is done on everybody that Yahaya Bello is right by adopting unique approach.

Frankly speaking, all the ideas suggested by Yahaya Bello are NOW being incorporated into national COVID-19 management strategy. People are appreciating the governor for daring to standout amidst the pandemic. Kogi state economy is moving forward, people are going about their normal businesses, the state spending less on COVID-19 management, no strange deaths or high traffic in the hospitals.

Evidently, the unique strategy of the youthful, progressive minded and useful governor saved Kogi from unnecessary drama and gave the new direction administration opportunity of delivering dividends of democracy to Kogites inspite ravaging pandemic as indicated in Progressives Governors’ Forum Performance rating for August. Kogi State emerged second on the rating with 22 strides covering healthcare, infrastructural development, water, youth empowerment, Agriculture, Economic development, digitalization of land administration among others.

Indeed Yahaya Bello’s magic works wonder and NCDC might need to understudy the state to aid effective and efficient management of coronavirus in Nigeria.

It’s therefore pertinent for Nigerians to give Yahaya Bello accolades for seeing future when some people turned COVID-19 pandemic to veritable business channels for cool cash.