These viruse gradually spread across the globe. Considering the rate of spread, it became alarming and called for urgent attention by world leaders to combat the menace. In the war against COVID, health system resilience, accountability and integrity are more important than ever. The health systems of some high-income-countries have become overwhelmed as a result of the rising number of morbidity and mortality due to COVID The less resilient health systems of many low and middle-income countries Nigeria is included , are even more vulnerable.
With the high population as well as high population density in most part of the country, the risk of transmission and spread of the virus can never be overemphasized. If urgent and deliberate steps in the right direction are not taken by various stakeholders, the health system is at edge of complete collapse [ 2 Onwujekwe O, Orjiakor C, Agwu P. Among the actions taken by the Federal government of Nigeria through the ministry of health to limit the spread of coronavirus, was announced at the early stage the restriction of movement, then total lockdown in three cities, namely; Lagos, Ogun, and Abuja, this is in line with global best practice in the containment of the spread of an infectious disease.
The action was taken by the Federal Government of Nigeria via NCDC rather came when it was a bit late, as the virus had been spread and detected in various locations within the country. Despite the effort by the Federal Government of Nigeria to protect her citizen against the menace of COVID, certain factors hindered the effective management or containment of coronavirus in Nigeria.
These include but are not limited to the inability of the Federal Government to ban international flight travelling in and out of the country, as at the time when the index case was identified. On the other hand, corruption, indiscipline, poverty, insufficient testing laboratories and personnel are some of the factors that hindered the effective containment of the coronavirus COVID in Nigeria. In addition to this, some State Governments see this development as an avenue to embezzle public funds.
In recent times, some patients with coronavirus in a state within the country threatened to leave the isolation centers, accusing the state government of not giving them the needed attention and treatment, including inadequate feeding. However, this country has densities of nurses, midwives as well as doctors that are still too low to successfully deliver essential health services 1.
In the last few years, migration to foreign countries has reduced, and now the primary challenge for Nigeria is insufficient production and inequitable distribution of healthcare providers. The health manpower is concentrated in urban tertiary health care service delivery centers [ 3 World Health Organization WHO. The security personnel saddled with the responsibility of enforcing the order of restriction, which includes stay at home order, ban of inter and intra state travelling, given by the Federal Government and the various state governments to prevent the spread or transmission of the virus; however, they allow people to flout the order by collecting bribe from commuters who convey passengers from one location to another, this resulted in increasing number of incidence cases of coronavirus across the country; currently, more than confirmed cases of COVID has been reported by NCDC [ 4 Nigeria Centre for Disease Control NCDC.
Update on coronavirus in Nigeria Indiscipline: this is another factor that hindered the effective containment of coronavirus in Nigeria. Furthermore, indiscipline has been bedeviling Nigeria since time immemorial and preventing the country from moving forward.
It is no longer news that in this part of the world people took the issues of coronavirus for granted, and a lot of people refuse to adhere to instructions given by NCDC on social distancing, hand washing, use of facemask and stay at home order without cogent reasons. However, all the above are rooted as a result of indiscipline and failure to adhere to the rule of law. Research has shown that some people in some part of the country still do not believe that coronavirus exists meanwhile, indiscipline has created a huge problem in an effort to contain the spread of COVID in Nigeria.
Poverty: this remains a developmental challenge for Nigeria and a factor that is seriously affecting the fight against effective containment of the spread of coronavirus in Nigeria. Many Nigerians, however a large percentage of the Nigerian population live below the poverty line, many people survived by going out on a daily basis to look for what to sustain them for a day; therefore subjecting these categories of people to total lockdown will only translate to a potential death sentence by hunger.
However, in an effort to ameliorate the impact of COVID on the less privileged, the Federal Government of Nigeria come up with palliative measures by the disbursement of money and distribution of food items to various household identified as vulnerable in the society, this effort made by the government is a very welcome development.
However, it is on record that palliatives given by the federal government did not get into the hand of most of the needy, as those saddled with the responsibility of distribution of palliative see it as means to enrich themselves.
Furthermore, participants noted that the legal restrictions on participation remaining in some countries would have to be removed. For example, it was noted that "measures that require the registration of civic associations, such as trade unions or student movements, have been used by governments to dissolve associations on petty pretexts.
It also was suggested that civic associations become institutionalized and begin to support one another. Explicit measures to this end have been taken in Zambia since the recent presidential elections. One participant also pointed out that nongovernmental organizations in Namibia were inculcating a sense of participatory democracy in their projects, including in the schools.
In discussing the relationship between participation and efficiency, the question of what is meant by efficiency was raised. Participants suggested that "a technocratic approach to efficiency takes political issues out of the hands of the people and stifles participation. One classic example of this approach has been the imposition of structural adjustment programs, under which the entire management of the economy is removed from the realm of participatory politics.
If, on the other hand, the efficiency of the government is to be measured by its ability to meet the needs of its people, then a high level of participation can only promote this end. Discussions could have helped people to be prepared for the impact of reforms.
In this manner, perhaps the reforms even could have been softened. If efficiency is measured by the government's ability to meet the needs of its people, they suggest, then "the first task of government is to make sure citizens' lives improve on a daily basis, because if citizens do not see improvement, their enthusiasm for supporting government policies wanes.
There was overwhelming agreement among participants that poor governance has adversely affected the efficient use of economic and social resources for development in African countries.
The misuse or diversion of assistance and domestic funds by corrupt officials, which was tolerated during the cold war to receive support in the international system, is being replaced by a new emphasis on good governance. In the past, said a number of participants, "aid appeared to be driven by certain political factors without a congruence of interests between givers and receivers.
Among some participants, the assumption is that such groups can act as watchdogs, serving as the best deliverers of assistance; a number of participants did not agree, arguing that newly democratic governments should receive and channel such aid. In any society, holding citizens responsible for their actions, in public service and the private sector, is significant to ensure some level of accountability.
With regard to public officials, participants pointed out that mechanisms must be devised to hold leaders responsible when they use public resources in ways that society considers unacceptable. To that end, they noted that any public accountability system should include periodic competition and a clear set of rules and expectations.
Participants emphasized the notion that the principle of accountability, essential to democracy, requires exposing the truth, with stated and enforced consequences for violating the rules, without exception, even for those in power. The lack of accountability in Africa has led to the gross misuse of public resources. For example, single-party systems in Africa do not allow for much in the way of accountability. The effect has been rampant corruption and the deterioration of socioeconomic conditions—an indication that people in Africa were governed without being able to control their governors.
One participant argued: "Besides financial and economic accountability, there is also a need for electoral accountability, for the right to recall representatives if they do not deliver on their promises and don't govern well. International financial institutions and bilateral donors have addressed their expectations of both economic and financial accountability from African countries. The economic objectives of public accountability sought by. This not only requires systems of financial accountability, but also the capacity and willingness to monitor the overall economic performance of the government.
Another challenge discussed under the rubric of good governance was to achieve transparency in government transactions. In most African countries, participants noted that it is difficult to find functioning establishments in which government accounts, external procurement procedures, and central bank operations are discussed objectively: "In examining the way the economy is managed and the structure of relationships between government and society, there is need for greater transparency.
The state must be deprivatized [from domination by the few] and a public arena must be created where there would be room for argument and discussions based on what is good for the entire society. Things should be argued in public terms so that everyone can participate on an equal basis. Several participants pointed out that government should not conceal information from its citizens.
A number of suggestions were put forward by participants regarding the ways in which transparency might be achieved in Africa.
These included freedom of the press, donors' insistence that governments make their ledgers and gazettes public knowledge, requiring declarations of assets from public officials, exposing and confronting corruption, and accountability from below.
Some participants also raised the question of whether donors genuinely verify democratic conditions in recipient countries, such as Liberia and Kenya. In the case of Liberia, participants suggested U. With regard to Kenya, participants pointed out the inconsistency in application of the good government policy advocated by the British, compared with other bilateral donors. Despite Daniel arap Moi's initial reluctance to yield to the demands for multiparty politics, Kenya received substantial British investment and was defended by both Foreign Minister Douglas Hurd and Aid Minister Lynda Chalker as having a good human rights record.
One participant argued, "Perhaps democracy is being used as a legitimation of intervention. There is a need for transparency in the advice donors give to African governments. When projects [that have been agreed on behind closed doors] fail, the onus is put on African governments. In this regard, it was suggested that donors also need to apply governance reforms to the way they conduct business. One participant stated, "Having worked for several aid agencies, I will add that the donors need to undertake governance reforms.
I hope that the progressive and democratic forces in Africa both during and after the transition will demand those reforms of the donors. For example, demand the publication of confidential reports of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
They are confidential only in lessening the level of accountability of these agencies to populations and opposition. I think there should be much more transparency in the policy-making process, especially during structural adjustment negotiations. That lack of transparency has satisfied only the donors and the governments, and it will be interesting to see, after the transition, whether newly democratic governments will open up this process to the press, and I think they should, because it will much improve the structural adjustment process.
The issue of corruption was identified as posing a profound threat to all systems of government. In most African countries, corruption constitutes an important means by which individual wants and needs, especially in patronage-ridden personal regimes, can be satisfied. Although corruption is a general problem for all governments, governments of developing countries tend to exhibit the problem in a particularly noteworthy way.
In countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Zaire, and the Central African Republic, corruption is so extensive that it is viewed as a way of life. Making or receiving bribes in most African countries is considered a practical tactic to look after one's needs and interests, achieving incomes and security far greater than provided by one's monthly salary. Because of an absence of effective structures with autonomy and strength to check corruption, the governing elites of most African countries have engaged in high and sometimes egregious levels of corruption, increasingly diverting state resources for personal gain.
In Zaire, for example, one participant mentioned that corruption has been termed a structural fact, with as much as 60 percent of the annual budget misappropriated by the governing elite. Foreign aid, noted the participants, although designed to contribute to development, also has served as an alternative source of wealth for corrupt elites.
One commented: "While many African leaders have become rent-seeking and corrupt, there is a corruptor and a corruptee. They then. It was also pointed out that, to the extent that government has been immersed in patron-client relations and in cases in which state office is granted as a means to amass personal wealth, corruption has increased in scale and proportion. One significant suggestion advanced by participants in both the Benin and Namibia workshops was that public monies siphoned off by corrupt leaders and public officials and deposited in the West must be returned.
They made a plea for donors to suggest steps that African countries could take that might help retrieve the stolen money deposited in foreign accounts by these public officials. One participant stated, "Stolen monies do not belong to the few individuals who perpetrated the thefts. The people of African countries were robbed.
If donors were to try to help get this money back, it maybe would contribute to democracy and democratization. Although participants acknowledged that corruption in Africa emanated from the lack of democracy and accountability, they emphasized that corruption is not unique to Africa and also may be found in liberal democratic systems.
Consequently, they were of the opinion that the real issue is the absence of institutions capable of tackling corruption. As one participant argued, "With regard to corruption and stolen money, my own advice is to let sleeping dogs lie and engage ourselves more in how to create institutions that will help make a repeat performance impossible.
I also think we can suggest to donors that we want a change in the form in which aid comes. For example, donors no longer should give direct monetary aid, because this can be misutilized, but could provide assistance in other ways that would ensure it is effectively utilized.
Although the discussions on corruption revolved primarily around the return of stolen money, there was general agreement that it will be difficult to achieve democracy without eradicating corruption and establishing effective measures to ensure some level of accountability and transparency in African countries.
The protection of freedom of information and human rights was identified as a means of bringing about improved governance. One person observed: "The media play a critical role in the maintenance of democracy by providing a bridge between all of the different elements in society. For example, it was stated that almost everywhere in Africa "radio and television are under direct government control.
Radio is often particularly important in rural areas, and among people not literate in European languages, whereas newspapers are expensive to run and can be subject to government censorship or indirect pressures over matters such as the supply of newsprint.
In countries like Mozambique, the media were assigned a political role as agents of mobilization. In South Africa, although restrictions have been eased, newspapers still retain a high degree of self-censorship. Participants strongly believed that the media should be free from state control and entrusted to professional journalists who, in areas such as Nigeria and southern Africa, have maintained a courageous commitment to press freedom.
It was acknowledged, however, that professional training is needed for journalists, especially in countries whose press has been under state control. One participant called for African journalists to train younger colleagues, organize themselves into associations and trade unions, and to sponsor conferences around the issue of the press and democracy.
These steps, he offered, "could contribute to the emergence of a free and independent press in Africa, with persistent reporting in turn contributing to improved governance. While supporting privatization of the media, participants recognized a danger that, in places such as South Africa, this might concentrate ownership in the hands of the wealthy: "A dispersed and variegated press is needed, including a local press, so that readers can vote with their money against inadequate reporting.
It also was pointed out that reforms of press laws will be required in a number of countries. Some participants advocated that a code of ethics for the press be instituted simultaneously with such new laws. As one participant illustrated, "ultimately, freedom of the press reflects the freedom of society itself.
In countries such as Swaziland and Zambia, the refusal of the press to be coopted was a major factor contributing to an open society. In Nigeria, there are over 50 newspapers and lots of magazines, with many of them in local languages and dialects. Skip to main content. Get the free mobile apps Get the latest news from us on our apps. Welcome to the United Nations. Toggle navigation Language:.
Africa Renewal. New barriers hinder African trade Get monthly e-newsletter. New barriers hinder African trade. From Africa Renewal:. January Gumisai Mutume. Citrus in Zimbabwe: African agricultural exports often face excessively strict health standards to enter Northern markets.
Also in this issue. Cover Story. African migration: from tensions to solutions. By Gumisai Mutume. By Ernest Harsch. Fixing the humanitarian aid system.
By Michael Fleshman.
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