Covid-19 pandemic has had and continues to have its toll on many of us. Not that we contracted the disease but in the prevention bid, our lifestyles have been disrupted, both publicly and privately.
One area of our lives affected is movement. How funny that though movement is the first characteristic of living things, yet it is the first taken away from us as the main measure to contain the disease.
Office and business operations are halted. We now work remotely and have meetings using the now popular Zoom application. The paycheck has been reduced by various percentages while those employees whose services no longer fit in are laid off or told to sit at home with no salary until the lockdown is over. Businesses that are not offering essential services remain closed while the food market is open, but consumers’ purchasing power and choices are drastically reduced.
Though we are bored and tired of staying indoors but on careful scrutiny, the lockdown has some positive angles to it. The first is that I personally have more time to spend with my family. And those who have kids are able to really know who and what they are. Another is that I am now more health-conscious and the first thing that I and any visitor stepping into my house do is to wash our hands.
Also, I noticed that Lagos state is cleaner now than ever. The roads, the market, the drainage, etc, all are very clean. This is to show us again that humans are the chief littering agents. Even the air is clear, free from dust, noise, harmful carbon gases, and resultantly, our depleted ozone layer will either begin to replete or deplete no further.
Philosophically, many have come to see that life, health and family are more important than money and possessions. One might have cars, shoes, and clothes but can’t wear or use them at least not in a lockdown or curfew. The amount of money you can even spend is limited. Almost like a foretaste of death.
Finally, worship and devotion have also been impacted positively. Though church buildings are closed, house fellowships, cell groups, and online fellowships are still thriving. Personally, I now have time for my devotion with God, which I am thankful for.
However though it seems the advantages outnumber the disadvantages but the truth is if the lockdown lingers, the nation would enter an economically induced coma where nothing would be working and we would need heavy foreign financial aid to get us out. From countries that are themselves struggling to keep afloat! We need to return to a busy economy.