Lockdown: Activist laments increasing hunger among Nigerians

An Akure based Human Right activists, Mr. Morakinyo Ogele, has lamented the increasing rate of hunger among Nigerians and failure of all tiers of government to address the plight of Nigerians despite the lockdown against the outbreak of coronavirus.

In an interview, Ogele noted that both the federal and state governments, have failed in their responsibilities to provide essential needs of the people during the lock down.

According to him, unless government is responsible for everyday needs of the people, the lockdown imposed by government may not achieve its desired result of promoting self-isolation and social distancing and may lead to state protest.

The legal practitioner however, noted that most of the palliative measures for the people “are insulting, provocative, primitive and sordid”

He said “most governors are locking down their states without adequate provision to take care of the people locked in.

“They go about with two bowl of rice, a bowl of beans and tomato paste that cannot last a five years old for five days.

“I watched with tears the palliative measure Ondo and Ekiti states government offered to the masses in their state.

“I want to call on our people to reject these food items called palliative and they should not be seen as beggars”

He said since the right of poor Nigerians to fend for themselves had been taken away due to the lock down, it becomes the responsibility of the government to provide reasonable palliative.

He warned the governors on the implication of ordering the masses to stay at home saying “you cannot lock down a state while hunger is in the land and expect them to keep mute.

“Not even thousand of soldiers can suppress or stand the revolution that will erupt from this stay at order, an hungry man is an angry man.

He blamed the development on President Muhammadu Buhari, over lack of measures to address the situation in spite of the huge donations to assist the government fight the pandemic in Nigeria.

He however called on President Buhari to do something urgently before the situation deteriorated, saying Nigerians were crying, dying, frustrated and hungry.