LAGOS- Day one of lockdown in Lagos saw youths in Alimosho Local Government Area (LGA) of the state taking to sports, with some streets blocked, using tyres, as the youths engage themselves happily with football.
While trying to inquire from some of the youths if they did not think that playing football had negated the sit-at-home order, which aim was to contain the spread of the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic, through social distancing, one of the youths, who did not want his name in the print, told our correspondent that they were trying to make themselves happy since government had abruptly compelled them to sit at home without notice, and no palliative to support their welfare.
“What do they want us to do? We are not put on notice. President Muhammadu Buhari, has just announced on Sunday that there would be lockdown on Monday, so we are obeying the order. We are not doing our business any more and we don’t have money to even buy food and stock because the notice was short. We are only trying to make ourselves happy by playing football.”
“When you say social distancing, we know what you mean, but all the people that are here are our friends. None of them have travelled out. We have not even mixed up with those people who travelled, so we don’t have Coronavirus. The disease is for the rich. Have you heard that any poor man contacted it? God will not allow it to come near us. God is with Nigerians. Our major problem us poverty”, he said.
He said that assuming government had provided some welfare package or even made provision for food, it would help them to relax in their apartments, cook and eat, stressing that it would be more disastrous for them to sit in their rooms, hungry and counting the ceilings.
In the Idimu area of the LGA, pockets of commercial motorcycle operators, popularly called Okada were seen doing brisk business, while some other persons were observed walking around, but most shops and public offices were under lock and key.
The compliance in Isolo Local Council Development Area (LCDA) was fully observed, as no area or street was seen blocked with used tyres.