Coronavirus in Nigeria: List of the Best and the Worst Performing Governors So Far
Nigeria confirmed its first COVID-19 case on Thursday, February 27, via an Italian who tested positive in Lagos. Since then, Nigeria’s total confirmed cases have been steadily increasing.
According to the data from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Nigeria has 210 confirmed cases, including 25 who have recovered from the infection and four deaths, at the time of filing this report.
So far, 13 out of the 36 states in Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja) have recorded COVID-19 cases.
The states are: Lagos (109), FCT (41), Osun (22), Oyo (8), Akwa Ibom (5), Ogun (4), Edo (7), Kaduna (4), Bauchi (3), Enugu (2), Ekiti (2), Rivers (1), Benue (1), and Ondo (1).
As I have stated in an earlier article, Nigeria and other African countries had the chance to protect the continent from the deadly infection. But African leaders chose the economy over human lives, opening the continent’s borders while Africans and non-Africans imported the virus.
Now, as of Friday, April 3, there are 6,860 cases on the African continent, with 269 reported deaths, according to the data from the WHO African Region.
Nevertheless, Africa may still be considered to be fairing better, compared to the rest of the world.
Also, though Nigeria had a shaky start in terms of managing the pandemic, it appears the Federal Government and the state governments have finally realised the enormity of the situation and are now taking adequate measures to contain the spread.
Nevertheless, as this analysis will soon show, the response to the pandemic in Nigeria varies state by state. While some states are relatively doing well in terms of measures put in place to prevent and manage the pandemic, some appear very unprepared and uncoordinated.
This piece rates the governors’ handling of the pandemic so far, particularly the states who have confirmed cases.
The parameters used to rate the state governors include facilities (that is, the quality and capacity of the isolation centres), patients’ welfare, accessibility (social media, website, phone numbers), active involvement, relief packages (for citizens under lockdown), etc.
THE BEST GOVERNORS
1. Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos)
Governor Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State occupies the first spot in this ranking. Though the state had a shaky start to managing the pandemic, it has since grown its capacity to managing the pandemic, even better than the Federal Government.
Lagos State has better Isolation Centres and is still proactively increasing its capacity by building makeshift centres to accommodate more patients.
From the account of some of the COVID-19 patients who have recovered, it is evident that the patients are getting satisfactory care.
Lagos State also has the highest number of recovered patients in the country, though it also has the highest number of confirmed cases; which is quite understandable.
Since the index case was confirmed, Lagos has been the most accessible in terms of information regarding the pandemic. Both Governor Sanwo-Olu and the health commissioner, Akin Abayomi, harmoniously give regular updates on the pandemic.
Since the state has been on lockdown to prevent the spread of the virus, Governor Sanwo-Olu has also been making efforts to provide relief packages for the less privileged in the state. Though this aspect is not yet really successful in terms of reach, the effort is commendable.
2. Dapo Abiodun
One of the key reasons why Governor Dapo occupied the second spot was how the Ogun state government led by him harmoniously worked together when the index case was confirmed.
The index case, the Italian, who has now been discharged, had visited a company in Ogun state before he was confirmed COVID-19 positive in Lagos.
Commendably, the Ogun state government swung into action, traced the contacts of the Italian and quarantined the company he visited, thereby ensuring more people were not infected.
Ogun State also three Isolation Centres while Nigeria’s former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, has equally donated his former residence to be used if the situation demands.
Relatively, Governor Abiodun has been actively involved in the anti-COVID-19 efforts while the state also has a responsive channel to reach for updates and enquiries.
3. Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna)
Governor El-Rufai has been very proactive in his approach to managing the pandemic. Though he has equally tested positive for the virus, the state is doing well in handling the crisis. His deputy, Dr. Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe, is handling the crisis while he is in self-isolation.
Balarabe gives regular updates on the management of the pandemic while the state government has very high accessibility, especially online.
Governor El-Rufai is also providing relief packages for the less privileged who will bear the brunt of the restrictions imposed on the state in the bid to curb the spread of the virus.
The Good
4. Kayode Fayemi
Since the confirmation of the index case, Governor Fayemi has also been very proactive. He is actively involved in the process and regularly briefs the state’s indigenes and residents.
The state is also very responsive and accessible as regards the management of the pandemic.
The state also boasts of a nice Isolation Centre and other relevant facilities. Like Lagos, one of the confirmed cases in the state has also been discharged.
5. Rotimi Akeredolu
Almost everything written about Governor Fayemi also applies to Governor Akeredolu.
The state has just confirmed its first case which has been excellently managed without having possible exposure to other people.
6. Godwin Obaseki
Governor Obaseki not only has an Isolation Centre put in place but also has ventilators and other necessary facilities available. Obaseki is also visibly active in the state’s anti-COVID-19 efforts.
7. Gboyega Oyetola
Though not one of the most talked-about governors, Oyetola has been managing the COVID-19 crisis relatively well.
Governor Oyetola took proactive steps to ensure returnees to the state are quarantined before mingling with the people to avoid an outbreak.
Though Osun state has 22 cases at the moment, the situation could have been worse if the infected patients had been allowed to mix with the residents before testing them.
8. Nyesom Wike (Rivers)
Governor Wike tried hard not to record any confirmed case. Sadly, the state now has one case. However, the Rivers State governor has also shown averagely good efforts.
The patient is being taken care of while efforts are still ongoing to extend the state’s Isolation Centres.
9. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu)
Governor Ugwuanyi has also put in place Isolation Centres to ensure patients are well taken care of.
However, the state is ranked low due to difficult accessibility. In my previous article where I collected contact details of all the states of the federation, I couldn’t find any phone numbers or social media accounts the states made available for updates and enquiries. The governor appears not actively involved.
10. Seyi Makinde
Hitherto hailed as one of the best Nigerian governors, Seyi Makinde woefully failed in terms of taking proactive measures in preventing COVID-19 in Oyo state. As a close neighbour to Lagos state, Governor Makinde ought to have started putting relevant measures in place the moment the first index case was confirmed.
Sadly, he didn’t. Worse still, he went ahead to hold a mega rally of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) amid the pandemic. He also hosted one of Nigeria’s popular musician, Davido, who had just returned to Nigeria from the US and refused to self-isolate for 14 days in line with the directive of the NCDC.
He has since picked up by putting in place Isolation Centres and movement restrictions to contain the spread, but his very poor start informed his low rating.
WORST PERFORMING GOVERNORS
11. Bala Mohammed
Governors Mohammed is basically ranked low because of the poor status of the state’s Isolation Centre.
According to a report by Daily Trust, a 62-year-old COVID-19 patient rejected the isolation center because of its poor state and returned home.
Though there are reports that a better place has been assigned as the state’s Isolation Centre, the incident showed a lack of adequate preparation on the part of Governor Mohammed.
The state’s accessibility and response level are also below satisfactory.
12. Governor Samuel Ortom
Apart from unsatisfactory accessibility to information, the governor of Benue ranked among the worst because the state also has a poor isolation center.
The COVID-19 patient in the state, Susan Okpe, has reportedly been moved to Abuja after complaining about the poor state of the isolation center.
It is equally shameful that it was the Benue state government that requested that the patient be moved to Abuja.
Governor Ortom is notorious for not taking responsibility for anything that goes wrong in Benue state. So, it’s not surprising that he could not handle just one patient when his counterpart in Lagos and other states are handling more cases.
Imagine the calamity that would befall Nigeria if all the state governors had to transfer their patients to Abuja.
13. Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom)
For playing dangerous politics with COVID-19, Governor Emmanuel conveniently sits at the bottom of this ranking.
Apart from being slow in putting in place adequate measures to prevent the spread of the virus, Governor Emmanuel rejected the results of the five people who tested positive for the virus in the state. As if it was an election result!
Though there have been reports globally that the results are not always 100 percent accurate (a woman was reportedly tested up to five times before an accurate result was gotten in the US), the appropriate thing the governor should have done was to quarantine the infected patients and request for retest after few days.
Meanwhile, Governor Emmanuel’s response to the pandemic has been so lackadaisical that it took the private efforts of a young man named Editti Effiong before some residents in the state having COVID-19 symptoms after getting exposed to some doctors from the US got tested by the NCDC.
Extra: FCT, Abuja
Muhammad Bello, the Minister of the FCT, is not doing bad in terms of his approach to contain the COVID-19 spread.
Aside from the University Teaching Hospital Gwagwalada currently being used as the isolation center, the minister has indicated readiness to expand the capacity.
In terms of accessibility, the FCT state minister, Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, has also been very responsive to enquiries and give regular updates, particularly on social media.
SOURCE: DAILY POST
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