Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), human rights lawyer on Tuesday said
President Muhammadu Buhari’s broadcast to Nigerians on April 27th
was uninspiring and did not address many issues pertaining to the
lockdown and steps being taken to contain the COVID-19
pandemic.
In a statement, he personally signed, titled ‘The President‘s
Broadcast Dictates Another Broadcast’, Adegboruwa said there is a
need for another presidential broadcast where Nigerians will be
briefed on solution to the economic crisis in the country, plans to
rebuild the health sector and how to address failure in complying
with lockdown directives.
The legal expert also faulted the idea of a curfew in Lagos
saying it can’t work owing to the peculiar traffic situation in the
state.
“On April 27, 2020, the President addressed Nigerians on steps
being taken to contain the ravaging COVID 19 pandemic. In content
and details, the broadcast was largely uninspiring, as it did not
address the core issues being faced by Nigerians in this COVID 19
era”.
“No doubt the broadcast attempted to reflect the minds of
Nigerians on the need to ease the lockdown given the hunger and
suffering going on across the nation, but it fell short of
providing any solution to the biting economic issues staring us
all. COVID 19 has constituted a huge distraction from the economic
catastrophe that the nation has fallen into, without a clear
blueprint from the President on his plans to take us out of the
woods”.
“Prior to COVID 19, the President had set up a Presidential
Economic Team that was to be reporting to him directly and nothing
has been heard from that Team since then. After COVID 19, the
President also set up another economic team to work out how Nigeria
will respond to the economic issues post-COVID 19. The President
did not address this in his broadcast”
“Prior to the President’s broadcast, his media aides had
informed the nation that the President had met with the Minister of
Health and the Director-General of NCDC, to take reports from them.
Both of them had earlier informed Nigerians that there were no more
testing kits and other valuable reagents. The President did not
address this critical issue”.
“There was nothing in the President’s broadcast about efforts
being made to rebuild the health system, which the head of the
COVID 19 Task Force (the SGF) admitted had become inadequate. Ghana
is building 90 world class hospitals post-COVID 19”.
“There was apparent breach of protocol as a draft speech had
been released ahead of the broadcast, containing different
contents, from the one eventually read by the President, showing
lack of coordination, which has in turn created confusion”.
“The President did not also address the issue of failure of
compliance with the lockdown directives and the measures being
taken to solve this. The broadcast was silent about international
and local flights and general movement in the air”.
“Curfew cannot work in Lagos State because of it’s peculiar
traffic situations. People are usually up and on the road by 4am
from the Mainland and from Ogun State to the Island and they close
and stay in traffic till midnight, most of the time. With
interstate lockdown and night curfew, most people working in Lagos
from Ogun and Oyo States cannot meet up. The President should have
consulted with the Governors of these States”.
“As the National Assembly is now resuming, the President should
liaise with them to have a law on COVID 19 in order to harmonize
all COVID 19 regulations, to avoid the prevailing confusion across
the land. It is urgent”.
Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), human rights lawyer on Tuesday said
President Muhammadu Buhari’s broadcast to Nigerians on April 27th
was uninspiring and did not address many issues pertaining to the
lockdown and steps being taken to contain the COVID-19
pandemic.
In a statement, he personally signed, titled ‘The President‘s
Broadcast Dictates Another Broadcast’, Adegboruwa said there is a
need for another presidential broadcast where Nigerians will be
briefed on solution to the economic crisis in the country, plans to
rebuild the health sector and how to address failure in complying
with lockdown directives.
The legal expert also faulted the idea of a curfew in Lagos
saying it can’t work owing to the peculiar traffic situation in the
state.
“On April 27, 2020, the President addressed Nigerians on steps
being taken to contain the ravaging COVID 19 pandemic. In content
and details, the broadcast was largely uninspiring, as it did not
address the core issues being faced by Nigerians in this COVID 19
era”.
“No doubt the broadcast attempted to reflect the minds of
Nigerians on the need to ease the lockdown given the hunger and
suffering going on across the nation, but it fell short of
providing any solution to the biting economic issues staring us
all. COVID 19 has constituted a huge distraction from the economic
catastrophe that the nation has fallen into, without a clear
blueprint from the President on his plans to take us out of the
woods”.
“Prior to COVID 19, the President had set up a Presidential
Economic Team that was to be reporting to him directly and nothing
has been heard from that Team since then. After COVID 19, the
President also set up another economic team to work out how Nigeria
will respond to the economic issues post-COVID 19. The President
did not address this in his broadcast”
“Prior to the President’s broadcast, his media aides had
informed the nation that the President had met with the Minister of
Health and the Director-General of NCDC, to take reports from them.
Both of them had earlier informed Nigerians that there were no more
testing kits and other valuable reagents. The President did not
address this critical issue”.
“There was nothing in the President’s broadcast about efforts
being made to rebuild the health system, which the head of the
COVID 19 Task Force (the SGF) admitted had become inadequate. Ghana
is building 90 world class hospitals post-COVID 19”.
“There was apparent breach of protocol as a draft speech had
been released ahead of the broadcast, containing different
contents, from the one eventually read by the President, showing
lack of coordination, which has in turn created confusion”.
“The President did not also address the issue of failure of
compliance with the lockdown directives and the measures being
taken to solve this. The broadcast was silent about international
and local flights and general movement in the air”.
“Curfew cannot work in Lagos State because of it’s peculiar
traffic situations. People are usually up and on the road by 4am
from the Mainland and from Ogun State to the Island and they close
and stay in traffic till midnight, most of the time. With
interstate lockdown and night curfew, most people working in Lagos
from Ogun and Oyo States cannot meet up. The President should have
consulted with the Governors of these States”.
“As the National Assembly is now resuming, the President should
liaise with them to have a law on COVID 19 in order to harmonize
all COVID 19 regulations, to avoid the prevailing confusion across
the land. It is urgent”.