In Nigeria, for every 1 million people, 5,737 tests have been conducted, while in Hungary, for the same number of people, they have conducted 311,000 tests. I wondered why testing was so challenging in Nigeria, and from my observation, probably the biggest reason is that the tests are very expensive, almost N40,000in some places, while I paid less than half of that before I started coming back to Nigeria.
I SPENT Christmas and New Year in Nigeria! First time I had done so in almost eight years. It was a very tedious journey which lasted about 31 hours with stops in Frankfurt and Addis Ababa. God, that was a long trip.
Never again!
Let me start with how people have treated the pandemic in Hungary.
Generally speaking, Hungary is a country where adherence to laid down instruction is not hard for the people. If the government says something, and introduces it into law, then most likely, people are going to obey it. This is most likely because of their communist past, where the word of the government was absolute, non-negotiable law. So when the government and indeed the entire economic apparatus went into lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic, obedience was given, borne especially out of an abundance of caution and fear of this novel coronavirus epidemic.
Fast forward to the end of 2020 and in spite of the second, more fatal wave of the pandemic, more people were accustomed to the situation, and had accepted it as norm, even though at this time, the government had instilled some more stringent rules including using a mask in all public places, ssentially, once you leave your house, you had to be wearing a mask; and social distancing was implemented everywhere, as well as a curfew from 8pm to 5am, except for essential workers. Now, because people had gotten used to the new normal, there was less fear and compliance, but it was still there generally speaking.
Then I got on a plane and traveled to the Frankfurt airport, and again, strict coronavirus guidelines were continually being announced, observed and implemented. I had a 12-hour layover there, and I had to wear a face mask during the entire trip. It was horrible, but as part of a community effort to prevent the spread of the virus, I understand the necessity for such measures.
I landed in Abuja airport, and to my surprise and happiness, I saw that the airport had also implemented protocols to follow, especially with social distancing. Then we were packed into a room for post-arrival Covid test registration procedures, but I was still okay with how things were going. I was not happy that they insisted on a post-arrival test that I had to pay so much for, and at some pre-selected clinics, but it is part of the effort for the government to protect its citizens, so it was fine.
Then, I got out of the airport, and I was no longer impressed.
OUTSIDE the airport, almost NOBODY was wearing a face mask, and social distancing was a concept for those that went to school to study in their spare time. There were some chin masks, and then masks hanging from one ear, as well as masks in hands and pockets, where they were clearly enjoying their time off work. At some point my brother, who had come to pick me up even told me to take off my mask, joking that there was no coronavirus in Nigeria. I was so surprised, but then being a Nigerian in Nigeria, I soon got over the shock and adapted to what I was seeing.
The theory of ‘no coronavirus in Nigeria’’ was even further validated by the fact that Nigeria had consistently lower reported infection and mortality rates than most countries in Europe. Nigeria has verifiably lower health standards, and prevailing high levels of illiteracy; it has a problem in enforcing any public health guidelines over a long period of time.
In the whole of Abuja, there are less than 15 ventilators, and most likely in the entirety of Nigeria, there would be less than 100 of these! And this is in a country with a population of at least 200 million people!!! In contrast, Hungary, with an official population of 10 million people had, at the beginning of the pandemic, 2500 ventilators, and once it became clear to them that the pandemic would get worse, bought an additional 16,000 ventilators. They apparently over-purchased, and now the government has tasked their embassies with trying to sell half of those ventilators, because they are not needed.
If we may make another comparison between both countries, the number of reported cases of this virus in Nigeria and Hungary are 115,000 and 354,000 respectively since the beginning of the outbreak, while the mortality rates are 1,478 and 11,615 respectively. There was a huge upsurge of cases over the holiday period in Nigeria, most likely attributed to the usual increase of trips made during that period. Call me skeptical, but I am going to go out on a limb and say that the figures for Nigeria are not correct, and I will explain why.
MY first reason is receiving first-person accounts from friends who are doctors in Nigeria, who were complaining of being overwhelmed by cases every single day, while officially it was reported that Nigeria would go days at a time without recording a single new case or fatality. A second reason is that not enough tests have been done in Nigeria to diagnose this disease.
In Nigeria, for every 1 million people, 5,737 tests have been conducted, while in Hungary, for the same number of people, they have conducted 311,000 tests. I wondered why testing was so challenging in Nigeria, and from my observation, probably the biggest reason is that the tests are very expensive, almost N40,000 in some places, while I paid less than half of that before I started coming back to Nigeria.
Another reason that I observed first hand is that doctors do not report up to a tenth of the Covid cases they come across because once someone comes to the hospital with symptoms similar to the ones in a Covid diagnosis, they begin a course of antibiotics or some other anti-parasitic medication, which they hope will cure the symptoms, and in effect, the disease.
Let this not be seen as another Nigeria-bashing piece, but instead a little insight into the prevailing situations that we find ourselves in in this country. When you talk to people about it, they will say the numbers are low because God has been protecting us, but a lot of people know of others in this country who have died of this disease, especially those of a sensitive health group or health disposition.
Hungary is by no means a better or richer country than Nigeria, not even close, but in comparison, they have done a very commendable job of dealing with this pandemic, and I believe a lot can be learned. Again, I do understand that it is easier to take care of 10 million people than 200 million, in a country that is about half the size of Niger state in Nigeria, but then I want to see more effort, I want to see more done in an effort to contain this virus, as well as reduce the number of infections and deaths as a result of this.
Surely, that is not too much to ask for, right?
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