Okei-Odumakin, President of Centre for Change, who questioned the efficacy of the lockdown policy by federal and state governments, said the intervention in place was insufficient.
With the flagrant disregard of the presidential lockdown order in Lagos, Federal Capital Territory and some other states, rights activist, Joe Okei-Odumakin, has said that the country was almost in a state of total civil collapse.
Okei-Odumakin, President of Centre for Change, who questioned the efficacy of the lockdown policy by federal and state governments, said the intervention in place was insufficient.
She added that while the Federal Government was considering decentralisation of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, a total collapse of civil order should be avoided.
Okei-Odumakin said, “The incidence definitely would not reduce anytime soon, yet citizens are being constrained for reasons they do not totally understand.
“The task force are opportunistically misbehaving and we are almost in the view of total civil collapse.
“So also the various reckless infractions of lockdown by the authorities themselves and the embarrassing way all manner of governmental and non-governmental persons and organisations have gone about distributing palliatives in ways that breach social distancing while helping the spread of the virus.
“With a restive population agitating for the suspension of lockdown to stem widespread hunger and a sharp rise in criminal activities, figures that point in the direction that community transmission is on the rise is evidence enough that we are not yet out of the woods.”
Okei-Odumakin commended the Lagos State Government for the introduction of the compulsory usage of face masks.
She also called for mass enlightenment of the uneducated and most vulnerable in order to prevent them from contracting the virus.
She added, “What is most recommended as stated by the Lagos State Government is a splendid idea, which is a compulsory use of face masks, regular hand washing and use of alcohol-based sanitisers, physical distancing and cleansing of all surfaces with alternate day-market visits.
“The recommendation of a functional system with a health system with researching epidemiologists should be a consideration of personal hygiene, use of face masks, physical distancing and, most importantly, education of the most vulnerable (which are the remotely uneducated).
“Also important is monitoring and education of the task force for them to see and treat most individuals as victims and not criminals.”
Okei-Odumakin urged the government to quickly find an effective vaccine against the virus.