COVID-19: THANK-YOU-NOTE TO GOVERNOR BELLO, DOCTORS, RELIGIOUS AND SCHOOL LEADERS

By: David Alfred-Dogwo / June 16, 2020

Now that the world bears witness that Kogi state is Covid19 free, my "Tuesday shout-out" goes to the executive governor of Kogi state Alhaji Yahaya Bello and his trusted and capable assistant in the person of HE Chief Edward David Onoja who doubles as the Chairman Covid 19 and Lassa Fever Squadro Committee along side Dr.. Saka Haruna HC of Health, Dr Ojotule the State’s Chief Epidiomologist and other experts drawn from various fields. 

It is their sacrifices that we continue to have a well-functioning society with all of our needs being met without any out break of coronavirus in the state.

A big "shout-out" also goes those who created faceless Covid-19 Whatsapp groups and Facebook accounts in the state telling the world that Governor Yahaya Bello was not doing anything about Coronavirus. It was because of you that Yahaya Bello and his team became stronger.

As we head toward the end of June of 2020, none of us would have predicted that Governor Bello will defeat the enemies who our new decade would start out like it has — no one would have even gotten close.

Our family has been grateful for the state and local officials and the wise decisions they made early on, inspite of criticism from all sides.

Thank you to school leadership and administration in the state for not holding school and school trips. Inconvenient though it may be for us as parents, we don’t need our middle-schooler bringing something home that could affect our younger child or older family members.

    

Thank you to Kogi health care workers, police officers, grocery store workers and many other individuals during this time who continue to work so bravely without giving a second thought to their own well-being. 

    

Thank you to churches and mosques throughout the area, which then wisely moved all services and activities to online only. Thanks to you, many in our communities will not risk being exposed during their times of worship. And thanks to you for reaching out to help those who are most vulnerable.

    

Thank you to our villages, cities and state leadership, which involves hundreds of leaders who worked day and night to do everything they can to help us through this time of crisis. As we are now learning, the worst may be yet to come, so we appreciate their leadership in days ahead.

Lastly, a big thank you to the neighbors, friends, family and church/mosque family we all know and love. I believe that the worst of times has the potential to bring out the best in us. We have seen neighbors helping neighbors and those who have extra reaching out to those who do not have enough.

It is heartwarming to see the best of people coming out throughout these period. Clearly we’ve never seen a pandemic of this magnitude anywhere on earth, though none here in the state. And clearly we have a long way to go. But if early signs are any indication at all, we’re going to continue to see the best of the governor and his team, our friends and neighbors throughout.

ALFRED DOGWO is former Senior Special Assistant on Media & Strategy to Executive Governor of Kogi state and writes from Lokoja/+234803478404