RE: AS LALONG AND CITIZENS OVER COVID 19 STIGMATISATION (RIGHT OF REPLY)

RE: AS LALONG AND CITIZENS OVER COVID 19 STIGMATISATION (RIGHT OF REPLY) 

By Dr. Makut Simon Macham

The attention of the Plateau State Government has been drawn to a feature article published on page 20 of Blueprint Newspaper No. 288 of Wednesday June 3, 2020 in which several allegations, insinuations, innuendos, aspersions and outright misinformation were raised against the Government of Plateau State and the person of His Excellency, Governor Simon Bako Lalong.

But for the need to debunk the wrong assertions of the feature and puncture the high dose of innuendos aimed at ridiculing the peace loving, compassionate and all-inclusive Governor of Plateau State, as well as the need to deflate the desperate attempt to exploit religion and create disharmony among the good people of Plateau State, the said feature would not have been glorified with a response.

However, we are constrained to put the record straight before this jaundiced article is embraced by the gullible and becomes a source of igniting unnecessary bitterness, rancour and threat to the peace of the State. Moreover, this could be a source of literature and a reference material in the future which will not only mislead, but also lead to wrong conclusions.

Without prejudice to the right of the writer to compile the “allegations” of some aggrieved citizens of Plateau State against the Government in its handling of the fight against COVID-19, the one-sided feature seems to be targeted at embarrassing the person of the Governor and rubbishing the proactive and well-articulated efforts of his administration in dealing with the Corona Virus Pandemic. This is so because nowhere did the writer present the flip side of the allegations nor capture the response of the Governor or any of its agents, many who have been in constant relations with him.

First, the feature is captioned “AS LALONG AND CITIZENS BICKER OVER COVID 19 STIGMATISATION”. From the surface, the headline suggests that there is an argument, squabble or quarrel between Plateau State Government and the “citizens”. However, throughout the write-up, one is confronted with one-sided accusations and castigation of the Government and the Governor which is highly embellished with underlying ulterior motives that clearly seem to be leading towards creating disharmony in the State.

First, the writer speaks about the leak of the COVID-19 index case result in the State, which found its way to the social media thereby causing huge embarrassment not only to the NVRI Vom where the test was carried out, but also to the State Government.

The Governor immediately condemned the unfortunate leak through a Press Statement issued on 25th April 2020 by the Hon. Commissioner for Information and Communication, Dan Manjang (which was made available to journalists including the writer) and directed for a thorough investigation into the leak.

In addition, the Governor condemned the unprofessional conduct in his statewide broadcast of 30th April, 2020 where he said “This unprofessional conduct is being investigated thoroughly and anyone found culpable will be dealt with accordingly. We have equally reached out to the affected persons and their families to reassure them and mitigate the situation”. 

The Governor subsequently dispatched a high powered delegation led by the Secretary to the Government of the State, Prof. Danladi Atu, Chief of Staff, Noel Dongjur, Commissioner for Health Dr. Nimkong Lar and others to Dogon Karfe to meet with the family of the index case and the Community leaders to reassure them that such unfortunate action will not be allowed to happen nor go unpunished. The Governor’s delegation was well received and his appeal highly appreciated which facilitated further contact tracing of contacts within the community. Subsequently, preliminary disciplinary measures were taken on the officers involved while investigations continued. 

In that same broadcast like others before it, Governor Lalong repeated his call against stigmatization when he said “Like I have said repeatedly, Corona Virus is not a death sentence and scientific evidence suggests that there is high survival rate among those infected. I appeal to citizens to avoid stigmatizing people who are either quarantined, suspected or confirmed to have the disease. While we take all necessary measures to remain safe, we must not subject people to psychological torture, which has devastating effects on their health and capable of discouraging future tests”.

For the feature to now assert that “The group said with Lalong’s statements of stigmatization, they may equally assume that the earlier unprofessional leaked results of an index case and the stigmatization statements made by his appointees MIGHT BE DIRECTIVES FROM HIM which they consider as insensitive, if perhaps is actually from him”, is most uncharitable and to say the least, disrespectful to his person and office.

This is a Governor who has continued to take different measures in consultation with stakeholders in combating the pandemic as well as ensuring that a thorough investigation and punishment is meted out to those found culpable in the leak of the result. How then can he be the one directing such action? Is the Office of the Governor that low in the eyes of those making these allegations? What a pity!

The other issue contained in the said feature relates to the invectives poured on the DG ICT who allegedly re-tweeted a message warning citizens to avoid certain areas because of the high number of COVID-19 cases in the areas.  The writer went ahead to continue his allegation that Governor Lalong “took sides with his aides and …repeated similar allegations” during a live radio programme in Jos, a development which in his words “seems to many as an attempt to PROMOTE HATE SPEECH AND STIGMATIZATION against members of these communities”. What a disingenuous, sad and inciting trajectory coming from someone who has been following the fight against COVID-19 by the Government of Simon Lalong.

Why take issues out of context and take to inciting the people against the Governor? Without prejudice to the tweet by the DG ICT (which was not originated by him), but simply drawing attention to the prevalence in that area for people to take more caution to cut community transmission and also avoid the spread, the Governor simply responded to an enquiry by a listener on that programme where he spoke about the community tracing in those areas to curb the virus.

What the writer failed to report is the fact that the Governor immediately warned against any form of discrimination to people in that area or any person infected with the disease. Despite this, the feature used unsavory words against the Governor for “promoting hate speech”. This is a joke taken too far!

Assuming for theory sake that the allegation has any iota of truth, what the feature failed to address is whether or not the cases of COVID-19 in the areas mentioned are false. Is it better to hide it and more people innocently contact the virus and further spread it or is it better to let people know so that they can make right choices and stay safe in order to reduce the risk to the immediate community and the State? Why make it sound as if the Governor is responsible for the infection in the areas? What if it was in other areas? Would they have raised these wild allegations?

Maybe it is those making these spurious and inciting allegations that should be rightly tagged “promoters of hate speech” for the simple reason that they are giving a purely health emergency political and religious connotation and exploiting one of the fault lines of the State and Nigeria, instead of supporting the Governor to bring an end to the pandemic.

Perhaps they are not aware that the States like Katsina quarantined whole Local Governments when they discovered cases in the areas just to safeguard the people. Many epicenters in Countries like China and Italy cordoned off entire cities and districts for weeks to be able to contain the virus. What would they have said if Governor Lalong took this step which is well within his powers as Chief Executive of the State? We should never play politics or perpetuate religious and ethnic bigotry with the lives of people!

The most dangerous and scary assertion relating contained in the feature is the religious card projected where it said “Governor Lalong and his appointees are very much aware that for the past seven weeks, no Jumma’at congressional prayers were held in compliance with the State Government directives of not having more than 50 persons in a congregation …Therefore, did the spread get its roots from Masalachin Juma’a Street which is more of business occupied shops than residential? If not, does the Government and its officials have ulterior motives against out people?”. Goodness me!

When did COVID-19 become a religious matter? Despite this fruitless dissipation of energy by those alleging, they did not cite a single incident where anyone in Government, nor His Excellency the Governor infer religious bias in the fight against COVID-19. Was the directive for gathering of not more than 50 people only for one religion? No! It was for Churches, Mosques, Synagogues, Shrines or any place of religious gathering, period! If only they knew the bullets that the Governor took when he announced lockdowns during Easter and Eid-el-Ftr.

What ulterior motive would Governor Lalong have against “our people”? (As if they are not citizens of Plateau State). Apparently the originators of this write up clearly have a set agenda and are constituting themselves to a government of sorts with their claim of “our people” posture.

In case they do not know, the Governor has taken every action in the best interest of safety and security of the lives of the entire people of Plateau State, and in accordance with his oath of office as Governor to protect and stand for them at all times.

It is okay for people to disagree with the Governor or even criticize his actions, but it is dangerous for anyone to descend into the arena of inciting a particular group of people against the Governor based on ethnic, religious, tribal or political affiliations. The good people of Plateau State and discerning people of Nigeria and elsewhere know that he is one person that is humble, peaceful, respectful and tolerant of all manner of people irrespective of their backgrounds. To accuse this man who has been widely recognized as a peace lover and conciliator with such baseless claims, is to say the least most dishonourable and unfortunate.

To even buttress how petty, ill-informed and prejudiced the alarmists cited in the feature are, they went ahead to castigate the citing of 100 bed Isolation Centre donated by the Dangote Foundation in Shendam, claiming that it should have been cited in Jos North which has more cases. Haba! Even with the goodwill of a philanthropic Nigerian who chose to voluntarily heap the State? 

This is crass ignorance and sheer mischief because in Jos city alone, there are 3 Isolation Centres at all the tertiary health institutions in Plateau State. They are located at the Jos University Teaching Hospital, Bingham University Teaching Hospital and Plateau State Specialist Hospital. Should everything be cited in Jos alone before people know that Governor Lalong is fair? What happens to other senatorial districts? A true patriot considers the interest of others!

The conclusion is that Plateau State Governor Simon Bako Lalong has put up a robust fight against COVID-19 which has reduced the likely escalation of the disease. He does not need to be distracted from protecting all people in the State. Were it not for the proactive steps taken by his administration, there would perhaps be more cases than witnessed today and the State will be in serious danger.

He is showing courage, purposeful leadership and inclusivity that are hallmarks of a true leader and making Plateau State more attractive for all Nigerians and foreigners who despite the lockdown and border closures, have been making frantic efforts to come into the State. The best we can do is to continue to support and encourage him. Should anyone not be obliged to supporting him, such person should at least not seek to bring him down with false, injurious and misleading incitements. Let us always THINK Plateau and ACT Plateau!

Dr. Makut Simon Macham, 

ANIPR is the Director of Press and Public Affairs to the Governor of Plateau State.