DAVIDO’S INSENSITIVITY

The world is currently going through a very rough time as a result of the dreaded corona virus. Thousands of people have lost their lives due to the disease that started in December last year from a town called Wuhan in China.

The virus has spread to other parts of the world with Italy being the worst hit after China which has managed to control it and keep the fatality very low. For some time it wasn’t an issue in Nigeria as our policymakers weren’t proactive to shut down our borders and issue sturdy controls to avoid it from entering the country.

Dooms day is here as it is now in the country with the government running helter-skelter to curb its spread. One sector which is badly hit is the entertainment industry as many shows have been cancelled indefinitely. The sector is under siege as the government has encouraged most Nigerians to stay at home as the country is heading towards a total lock down.

It is tragic that music superstar, David Adeleke a.k.a Davido held a concert in the ancient city of Ibadan over the weekend. He was later seen with the Governor Seyi Makinde who was grinning from ear to ear. This is sad coming at a time when entertainers are using their star power to campaign against the virus. Stars the world over are using their loud voices to encourage their fans to stay indoors so that together they can fight against the pandemic. It was extremely insensitive of Davido to subject the lives of his fans to the disease especially at a time when there is still so much ignorance about it from the unlettered.

He owed it a duty to his fans to follow him on his social media handles instead of risking their lives. He was supposed to have used his clout and influence to encourage his teeming fans to comply with the government directive of the stay- athome order to curtail the spread of the virus.

Why didn’t the Oyo State government crackdown on the event? The state has now recorded a case of the virus and it lacks the capacity to curtail its spread as its healthcare facilities are overstretched. Just the other day, Governor Makinde apologized for holding a rally of his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state which had the potential of escalating the illness. Why couldn’t his government take a strong stance against the ill-conceived action? Why did he offend the public sensibilities by taking a photograph with such a bold offender? What message was he passing on to the public? Was he subtly encouraging impunity in defying the government’s orders? Tony Ademiluyi, Lagos