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Kaigama charges Nigerian govt to be proactive in tackling coronavirus
The Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Most Revd. Ignatius Kaigama, on Sunday, urged the Federal Government to prevent the corrupt use of resources in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the country.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) had said the country needs at least N1.6billion to fight the scourge.
In a statement he personally signed, Kaigama urged the government to avoid dilly-dallying on measures required to halt the spread of the disease that had killed 3, 000 and infected 100, 000 others in 17 countries including Nigeria.
The statement read: “The sudden outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic can be likened to a raging fire with a very vicious and destructive force or a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
“Statistics from different parts of the world presently show that the epidemic is spreading and will continue to spread! We must be on the red alert.
“There is a saying in Africa that ‘when your brother’s beard catches fire, douse your own with some water to avoid having a similar misfortune’.
Read also: Ongoing operation in North East not conventional warfare – Buratai
“The virus does not discriminate between the poor and the rich, inhabitants of the north or south; the first world or third world’; black or white, etc. It is a world concern which calls for a common world action.
“We must take appropriate proactive and concrete precautionary measures to stop the virus. While personal hygiene is imperative, governments must not wait until thousands of people are infected or many lives lost before they engage in a panic reaction.
“The time for a calculated response to the spreading and increasing attack by the coronavirus is now. Our authorities should create structures, deploy personnel and resources promptly and effectively.
“This is no time for dilly-dallying or the corrupt use of resources in an attempt to curb the menace. There must be an honest and consistent effort and a unity of purpose to fight and defeat the coronavirus invasion with the same zeal and the determination as the Ebola virus was defeated.”
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