The impact of coronavirus on Nigeria's academic activities, by Dennis Ekwemnachukwu O.

Getting the news that academic activities won't be resuming soon (next year, speculative, tho..) came as an overwhelming shock. Indeed, Nigeria never plans for just-in-case. Hers has always been just-in-time, sometimes😭.










 

This is having a formidable impact on her educational sector. Having dealt a heavy blow to this sector in question,  the pandemic has made the value of formal education to become questioned by most. You can't imagine the revolution! To this end, the role of planning for just-in-case cannot be overemphasized, as it will help forestall the negative consequences with unpreparedness, globally. 

We need to be fortified if we must contain further unprecedented risks. I hope we all learn our lessons from this. 

I am not writing all of this to be applauded as one firebrand writer or motivator. I want to be burden-free. For that reason, I took to sharing the burden with you. Even with the caliber of researchers we have today in the world, this common-enemy seems to be winning the battle. 

Therefore, as one who loves his nation and won't watch his nation suffer without considering to help, I decided to take a bold step. It's been two weeks since I started working as a volunteer at the COVID-19 Protocol and Safety Enforcement Unit at GUO Transport Company, in one of her busiest terminals, in Anambra State, Nigeria. People have been traveling masssively and I volunteered to ensure that they are safe at the point of entry and exit respectively. 

Trust me, you can't find this painstaking measures elsewhere.  It has been quite a taxing one, as it called for my leadership skills, public relations skills, a good command of both the Igbo language and the English language,  as well as rhetorics. If you are a communication scholar, you would understand my points better. I have learnt a lot in this short period and surprisingly, the compliance rate is overwhelmingly high. 

All hope is not lost if we do the bid of the NCDC officials, pray for our nation and the world respectively, particularly assist, with the little we can, those who are suffering beyond what they are used to as a result of the pandemic.

Namaste 🙏