COVID-19: Lockdowns are ineffective in Africa, without sustainable economic plans for citizens – Charles Soludo, Former CBN Governor

PROFESSOR Charles Soludo, former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and a member of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Economic Advisory Council in an article has faulted Africa’s response to the Coronavirus disease(COVID-19) by issuing lockdowns without creative solutions suited for its people as an ineffective approach.

He described the lockdown/closure of the borders in Africa as ineffective posing a two-pronged problem that has the potential to worsen the continent’s health and economic challenges if not handled with creative solutions.

“All lives matter and African governments must do everything to protect or save every life from the pandemic. The challenge is how. Africa faces two unsavoury options: the conventional template, including lockdowns versus heterodox (creative local), approaches without a lockdown,” he said.

According to him, lives would be lost in both approaches as Africa has no credible exit strategy aside from the lockdowns that have no reasonable timeline which is a suicidal approach to its economy.

“The idea of a lockdown (and border closure) implies that you will continue to do so (with extensions) until such a time that you are satisfied that the spread of Covid-19 has been arrested or on the decline (with the possibility of imposing another round of lockdown if new infections surge).

“The length of time required for such lockdowns to ensure “effectiveness” in arresting the spread would make it near impossible in much of Africa. If the strategy is to lockdown until infections stop/significantly decline or so, then we would have a suicidal indefinite waiting game,” he stated.

Professor Soludo outlined the problems associated with the disease which has made it difficult for African countries to effectively address because of its economic capacity and cultural disposition to communal living.

READ MORE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/covid-19-lockdowns-are-ineffective-in-africa-without-sustainable-economic-plans-for-citizens-charles-soludo-former-cbn-governor/

in this fight against the virus, every gov has to choose whether to SAVE THE ECONOMY or SAVE THE PEOPLE...its obvious that Nigeria (just like the US) are focused on saving the economy, not the people.