COVID-19: Delta Monarch Urges Government To Be More Proactive (INTERVIEW)

…Cancels 8th Coronation Celebration
…Advises Citizens To Follow Government’s Directives
…Distributes Food Items As Palliative
The Ovie of Umiaghwa-Abraka Kingdom, HRM Lucky Ochuko Ararile, AVM (rtd), Avwaeke 1, has blamed the Federal Government for the spread of the Coronavirus disease in Nigeria, which he says is still low because little tests are done at the moment.
Despite the fact that the present situation has led to a lockdown in several states of the country and stopped him from organizing his 8th coronation anniversary as king, he still went ahead to make provision for food items to be shared to his subjects.
While he expressed dissatisfaction at the poor interface between the state government and traditional rulers over the COVID-19 pandemic, he assumed that these lapses could be blamed on the social distancing method adopted to curb the spread of the disease.
Oasis Magazine (OM) recently conducted an exclusive interview with him in his palace at Oria-Abraka in Ethiope East of the state.
Read on!

Sir, Coronavirus is here and everybody is hoping that it becomes a thing of the past. As a traditional ruler, you are at the grassroots leading certain persons. What is your reaction to this happening all over the world?
Well, I have been like every other person watching events unfold, particularly from China and then it migrated from China to Italy. I think the current epicenter is Spain and the United States. In fact most of Europe is now under lockdown. So for us in Africa, I think we are the last recipient. We saw things unfold and we saw it coming so that we had sufficient time to actually prepare. But, like everything African, we took things for granted and we believed that it is not an African disease and it will not affect Africa. But, that was a wrong mindset. Suddenly, it is here with us. If we had followed the development, we would have seen the pattern of its movement and would have preempted its impact. Although, to some degree we could say that in Nigeria, given our experience with Ebola, we seem to have some structures in place that dealt with it. But issues of lockdown, ban of flights and movement would have been dealt with much earlier because if you look at it, most of the positive cases were expatriates that brought it from abroad or some Nigerians returning home or our elites going abroad like the legislators and business men. So, we saw the pattern. Most of them were coming from Europe, some China, from Italy and then if we had stopped flights earlier on proactively not reactively, we would have done very well. But so far, I don’t know if the system we have in place is working because quite honestly without testing we would not know the degree because the key recommendation of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in dealing with this pandemic is test, test and test. Unfortunately, we don’t have the capacity to do so and most of the cases you are hearing that have been tested positive are elites. We don’t know the degree to which the ordinary man has the disease. So, we may suddenly just wake up to see that the whole place is taking over…. We just pray like typical Nigerians or Africans that it doesn’t go that way. But the prognosis suggests that it is going to go that way. Sadly, we don’t have the resources and we have never had the resources to do anything because it always filtered away. You can imagine a country as small as Ghana announced a budget support of a Hundred Million Dollars specifically to fight the Coronavirus. But in the case of Nigeria, Thirty Million Dollars was announced. So, if you take the per capital, you can see that financially we are behind. We cannot cope. So it’s a terrible situation and then with all this lockdown, there are consequences for the economy and individuals especially people who are into daily paid type of job such as petty traders, hair dressers, barbers and those classes of workers that are daily paid. If you lock them in their houses for a month how would they feed? They cannot, so there are certain social consequences that we are going to face aside of the economy and hazards of Coronavirus.

Apart from the lock down measures, although it is coming late, is there an alternative to tackle this?
Well I am not a public health specialist but what one can see from what others have done like the Chinese is not easy. The model of self-isolation, tracing and what have you seems to have produced some level of result. They identified their epicenter and straight away the whole city was put on total lockdown. That is their own model. The European model, in fact the British model was even more dangerous because they had the belief that the best strategy is to allow all the citizens to be exposed to it and after sometime people will generate their own immunity, some will die, you know naturally people die from disease so after some time those who are dead will be dead and those who are alive will continue with their business. But, they later realized that that was foolhardy and later went the other way which is the system of tracing, lock down and social distancing that we are having now. So, that appears to be the model that is working for now although the experience from Italy, Spain, England and then UK suggest that the casualties will be high and these are areas where they already have the human capacity and the infrastructure such as sufficient hospital beds per capital. Unlike us, apart from even the human development per capital, the level of corruption is a big issue. There, if you put 30 million dollars or pounds in England you will get value for that investment but in the case of Nigeria if you put 30 million dollars down you are likely to get Three million dollars because some people have taken some cut off and their own cut. So, we have a lot of problems here. So, as it is typical with Nigeria we will resort to prayers.

Sir, how is the lockdown happening in your domain?
Here in Umiaghwa Abraka we were proactive because more than a month ago we started announcing some measures even before the Federal Government put it in black and white. We announced to our people that there should be no gathering of more than 20 persons and that church services should be suspended. We also suspended burial ceremonies and marriage programmes. But again at this local level, a lot of people did not believe that it is a disease for the Nigerian and particularly they thought it was a disease for the elites. So, because they didn’t believe, some of them went ahead and were congregating. We had to use the police and vigilante to stop some people who were doing marriage a few days ago. So, that equally applied to other ceremonies where people congregate.

What is your word to your people and Deltans on this matter?
Well, they should follow what the government directs as I said to my people here. Deltans and Nigerians should just obey what the government directs.

Then, like you said, many persons survive on their businesses daily. Now that there is a lock down, what are you suggesting to the government to at least lessen the plights of citizens?
Well, the key thing to do in the circumstance is the economy. The economy is definitely bleeding. It was already bleeding; oil is now less than 30 dollars you know and some are projecting that it will be as low as 10 dollars. Oil that is the major source of revenue for us is in this dire straight, so where will the resources come from. So, what other people are doing for example the UK has introduced their own quantitative easing; that is, the intervention for the economy not to collapse. Private businesses, self-employed people will be given some money up to almost 80% of what they normally get per month; those who are unemployed of course some are getting free food supply, others salaries will be paid up to a maximum of 2,500 pounds, so there are criteria for different categories of people depending on what your level of income is. In the US, they just announced a 2.2.trillion dollar intervention and it has even been said that it will be much more than that. Japan is announcing its own quantitative easing. Europe as a whole is talking about 600billion. In France, it is about 360billion. Even the troubled Italy has announced its intervention. In the case of Nigeria, I must thank the CBN Governor for playing the roles of a monetary regulator and a fiscal interventionist in place of the Ministry of Finance. But we have not heard of what the government is going to do and then we are in lockdown now but there is no announcement on what the government is going to do for anybody so it is really sad. Everybody as it were now is on their own and there are going to be serious social and economic consequences. But having said that, let me equally appreciate the way Nigerians have taken the whole thing because if you see the chaos in India, the way they handled their own lockdown, almost 120million Indians who are daily paid workers are on the move. When they heard about the lockdown they had to think “how do we survive here?” For example, you are a Deltan but lives and works in Lagos and you are a daily paid worker or labourer and it is what you are paid that day that you will use to buy bread and 7Up. Now you are to go on lockdown without income, what do you do? So you run back to Delta, meet your relatives, friends and parents for support until this wears out. That is what is happening in India. But in the case of Nigeria, we have not seen this type of reaction which is attributable probably to our communal life style. So to that extent if we compare Nigeria’s situation to that of the India, I think we are doing very well.

Sir, you have said that intervention from the government is not feasible.
It is possible; it is a question of coming out with a plan recognizing a problem, designing solutions to these problems and implementing them. So all these monies we are talking about that had been budgeted in Europe or in the United States are not monies that are available. These are monies that are going to be printed because the government is not getting money from anywhere. People are not working, so can’t be taxed. They don’t have salary so they can’t buy food, if they do not buy food they will get sick, they will die and there are other social consequences down the road, so government comes out and say come now let us forget the issues of fiscal propriety. This is survival, so you print currency, more currency called quantitative easy- that is the current term.

So you are suggesting that Nigeria should do that?
We don’t have any options. We are going to do that. It is just that there is a delay in decision making in Nigeria. We have to do that, it is just that there is no response, the government is not proactive. There is no plan there, no decision; nothing seems to be taking place to tackle this issue. Fortunately there are some institutions on ground that are responding to these issues. You see the enthusiasm you see with Donald Trump talking every day. You see in England with Johnson talking or in the case of the Italian Prime Minister, they are almost crying every day. We do not see that here.

That is very serious sir, so where does this leave Nigeria?
Well the government has to come out with a plan and tackle the situation and know that this is an existential threat. It has to be faced; it is not a question of shying away or pretending to be an ostrich or whatever. We must come out and face this threat and come out with a plan and tackle the economy, tackle the social implications of all these. We must also focus on the health challenges which are more immediate.

How is your kingdom, partnering with the state government to see that this is tackled?
To be honest with you, as far as I am concerned there is no interface with the government on this issue so far apart from what is announced on the media. There is no interface apart from what I hear from the newspaper. But, other traditional rulers, including me, support the government on every policy. We must realize too that this is the era of social distancing. Maybe that is why we have not been called.

In terms of supporting the needy, are you doing anything in your kingdom? Because some persons are saying wealthy persons should come out and do something for the poor around?
This is where people get things wrong. Traditional rulers have no such constitutional roles. That is the work of the Federal, State and Local governments. Most of the time people mistake the job of the local government as the job of the traditional ruler. Okay that is wrong. Some of the questions you are asking me are the questions you should be asking the Chairmen of the local governments on what intervention programs they have. They are the ones that generate revenue. At the local level, for communities or kingdoms that have people of means, they can ask them to assist in some areas because as traditional rulers we just try to, as much as possible, use our influence to try to assist. So, in that regard I will not want to say, even though I am working on that, it is not something I can boast of that “yes I am going to do this”. It depends on the outcome and how generous people are. People have their own problems too.

What impression will this pandemic make on the world?
It will have a very positive effect. At least the world now knows that globalization means humanity; that we are one. There is no difference and that what happens in China can happen anywhere and what happens in Nigeria can happen anywhere. Somebody has already suggested… I think it is the Ethiopian Prime Minister that if Africa is left to its own resources that the consequences will be very dire for Africa and its going to rebound to other parts of the world. So, it is a universal problem that should be tackled properly. That is at the global level. At the local level, I hope it moderates our propensity to steal. All these stolen money that have been converted to private jets are suddenly useless. We must have to reevaluate our values.

Finally sir, what is your word to political leaders across the nation about what has happened? I heard the Health Minister say the world did not prepare for this. What must they start doing now against future disasters?
I have told you that almost the percentage of Nigeria workers that are quarantined or in isolation centres is huge. You know, it means nothing is happening, people are not producing. Look at, if this thing continues there will be no food next year. Everybody is quarantined and nobody is planting and this is the rainy season. There is not going to be food, so the consequence for food inflation is there. Right now, we still have food everywhere but because of the social dislocation, people are panicking and there is panic buying. Everything is tripled, in some cases, quadrupled. There are serious consequences down the road. As followers, we must insist that henceforth we get value for money. All this tribal politics of “let my person go there” should be jettisoned. What I have seen personally is that it is an idiotic politics when you say, “let an Urhobo go there”, “it is our turn”. But what I am seeing is that whether it is Anioma or Urhobo or Igbo that goes there, you have only exempted that person and his family from poverty. The person goes there doing nothing for Urhobo; he is just doing it for himself and his family. We must look for the best person for the job. I am not into all this zoning and tribal politics. Zoning has never been for the good of the state. Even for Nigeria has the zoning helped Nigeria in anyway? Okay in the South- South we were lucky we got Jonathan. How did that change or turn the situation of the South-South around? My take on the 2023 election in Delta State is let us get the best person who has the best idea and the best programme that we can implement. Am not in any political party, so it is for them to choose but what I am saying is that they should choose the best, even if it is an Urhobo person. They should get the best person that has the best interest of this state and that can deliver the best and that has a programme and can deliver. He must have the pedigree of performance and must be somebody with integrity.

Are you celebrating your 8th coronation anniversary this year?
It was supposed to happen from on the 10th to the 12th of April but because of what is going on now I have cancelled it. Yes it has been announced in the community that it will no more hold. Individuals, my friends and everybody have been calling me on what is happening. I said no it is cancelled.

So how is the celebration going to look like; low key?
No low key because you cannot go to church.

So no celebration this year?
No celebration this year till next year. Next year we will take the decision on that. However, we are going to, because of the social distancing, we are going to give to each ruling house some food items and cows so that they can distribute to the community.