The inconveniences and even death caused by imposed lockdown as a result of the brutal and rampaging novel coronavirus aka COVID-19 is no longer news, but what is new and alarming now is the growing suffering of the general masses. Over five hundred people beseech the Igala chief palace for Palliative meant for thirty people today, May 1, 2020.

Some people were crying, cursing just to get one and a half mudu of rice, while others got one mudu of rice. Some got two spaghetti, two semovita, three to five sachet of tomatoes and one sachet of oil. It was pathetic!

Alhaji Muhammed Saliu said, “according to what government is saying about lockdown, we agreed it is for our own interest because by associating with different different people, you can easily contract the virus.

“So by staying at home is for our safety. I think government should do the right thing to give people tangible palliative because people are hungry, people are really hungry.

“Like what this our royal highness is doing now, you can see the people that troop here. Even if they say one-one bag of semo, if it reach everybody at least peoples mind will go down, compared to what they are giving out today. What they are giving out today is not in order at all, honestly speaking. You too can see what is going on here now.

“With this hunger, you invite people here to give them; how many cups of gari, one mudu of gari and one semo and people have being staying indoor for over six weeks, it is not proper, honestly.

“We agreed that staying at home is for our own safety but the people are suffering because government is not doing well and the people they are fronting to share the thing are not doing well as well, honestly speaking people are suffering. That is just it.

The pandemic has thrown a lot of issue to the front burner. If the government must be effective in it social responsibility, accurate and up to date data of the inhabitant of the FCT must be maintained at all time.

Chairman, Igala Cultural Development Association, ICDA, Karu-Jikwoyi, Comrade Kabir Ebiojo Shuaib said, “We thank God as it is not very easy and it is not easy and we pray this thing should not affect our members, and you know the lockdown has affected everybody, not even the widows alone but it affect everybody. But with the wisdom of our chief, he tried his own possible best to get little thing to share for priviledge people and that is what we are doing. We thank God at least one or two person has little thing to take home at least for a day.

“I hereby implore the federal government that this thing they are sharing is a welcome development but we still need more. The one they are sharing is too meagre and cannot even go round everybody because people have sit down at home for the past one month. It is not easy, no work, no food, no money, so we need the federal government to add more. They have tried a lot. The FCT minister have tried and we need the federal government to add more.

“As at around twelve o clock, we have over five hundred people here and the food items giving to us is only seventy. We have to share the seventy so that it can go round everybody. Those who have semo would not have rice, those who have rice would not have maggi.

“We have to share it for everybody so that everybody would have to take one or two things home; so that they would not be disappointed.”, he concluded.

HRH. Alhaji Abdulsalam Tijani Musa the Ogah Attah of Igala, and the Onu of Igala, Karu Jikwoyi, FCT., said, “Truly, I am also a COVID-19 Palliative Committee member in AMAC, precisely Karu Ward.

“We were partially part of the people that were distributing the palliative materials that was donated to the vulnerable people of FCT by the honourable minister of FCT, Honourable Musa Muhammad Bello. And it happened to be that the number of the items given were too small to the number of the vulnerable people that came out for collection.

“But by and large, we have to still thank the government for what they have done but we are still expecting more because some of us could be able to scratch up and down to be able to satisfy people a little which we know we can never satisfy them in totality.

“Even the government himself said that we should start, may be as time goes on, more may come on the way and that is how I have been able to go up and down to see how I can be able to reach out to people.

“Though in my own ward, the palliative was distributed through the traditional ruler; that is tribal community leader, and Dagachi as well as Hakimi of the community.

“So, what came to me as the tribal chief of Igala people, Karu-jikwoyi was a condiment, thirty pieces and rice thirty pieces. That is just thirty pieces, let me call it thirty pieces because one condiment and one rice (goes together) is to be given to one person.

“Invariably, people that gathered in my palace are over two hundred. I don’t have a choice than to go extra mile to make sure I give the little I can do which is still not yet okay and I have to equally beg others to go and wait when next have been provided or I have made by myself, I would still call on them, I would still give to them again.

“That is how I was able to manage. But that is the material that was given to me as confirmed by Esu of Jikwoyi whom I collected the material from.

HRH Abdulsallam confirmed that people are really suffering under the hammering head of the lockdown.

He said, “The HungerVirus is more serious in Jikwoyi than the Coronavirus. That is the reality, the hungervirus is more serious in Jikwoyi, Karu ward, in fact in AMAC as a whole in FCT more than the COVID-19, the coronavirus that we are talking about.

“That is the reality. Because if person has to come out just for the purpose of two and half mudu of rice to trek from a long distance which amounted to, even if you enter Okada (bike) is about twho hundred to three hundred naira and they don’t even have. They have to trek to come and take this palliative. You can imagine what it is. So, people are suffering, that is the reality, people are suffering.” he concluded.

The authority at all levels must do something urgently serious to tackle the looming hunger as we continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, as the threat of starvation is also around the corner.

Author Profile

Abdulrahman Obaje

Prince Abdulrahman Obaje is a Media and ICT Consultant, Journalist, online marketer, social media strategist, Mathematician and Computer Scientist based in Abuja, Nigeria. He is the Founder and the Publisher of The Informavores!. You can reach me on +234 805 939 5252 or send i-witness report directly to me on news@informavores.com.ng.

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