The pandemic posed a unique challenge to us in the developing world. Even though there is a claim that the developed world was not prepared to handle the pandemic, the developing world doesn’t even have a functioning health system to handle health emergencies.
It’s more than just a pandemic for us living here. While the rest of the world is battling the pandemic, the developing world is also facing a spiraling wave of hunger, lack of resources, and insecurity as well.
While Americans can file for unemployment and Canadians received a huge stimulus check, the opposite is the case in the developing world. To help you understand, I’ll describe my typical day.
In search of a giveaway
First, let me define giveaway. It’s a Nigerian term for a windfall from wealthy Nigerians on social media. To win a giveaway, you will be asked to comment on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. You may also be asked to follow the celebrity. Winners are selected randomly.
Interestingly, half of the giveaways are either fake, or it’s an effort of scammers trying to harvest bank details.
On a typical day, Nigerians with access to the internet go to their Twitter app with the hope that one of their celebrities will be holding a giveaway. It’s a show of shame, as able-bodied men and women beg celebrities for less than N5,000 naira — just about $13.07.
This is a country where many depend on daily wages to feed themselves and their families. In many developed countries, utility bills, loan payments, and taxes were suspended. Those policies never took effect here.
Citizen during the day, police by night
The lockdown has made a mess of the security structure of the developing world. Mass looting, arson, and armed robberies are common. In Lagos, the commercial capital of Nigeria, armed robbers went from street to street in the middle of the night, taking food from those who are hungry and stealing money.
The alarming part is that the armed robbers used POS machines to empty the bank accounts of their victims. I read about someone who won a giveaway during the day and lost it to the armed robbers at night.
You are probably picturing this messy situation. What are the police doing to protect the people? The police are doing their best, but they are overstretched beyond their capacity.
To protect themselves from the armed robbers during the lockdown, people have formed vigilante groups to protect their loved ones. Remember, this is a place where there is less than one policeman for every 1000 citizens.
Picture yourself standing in the middle of your street at two in the morning waiting for armed men to show up. You only have a machete or iron rod to protect yourself. Try to fathom the anxiety and fear.
The government finally responded with a stimulus
Sincerely, the government really tried. They called the stimulus package the COVID-19 Palliative, and it provided rice, bread, and tin tomatoes for the citizens. But the portions were laughable. Each street was given a loaf of bread, around half a kilo of rice, and a bit of tomato.
But think about this, on each street, there may be around 20 to 30 houses. What’s the sharing ratio that will be given to each house? How can that little bit feed everybody?
Final thoughts
In developing countries, lockdown feels like a prison. It’s a period where the government is incapable of protecting and providing for its citizens.
As we hope and wait for the pandemic to be over, life is returning back to normal as the lockdown is being eased gradually. What’s the future hold? Nobody knows, but we do know that a pandemic is not something anyone should have to experience.
