Winning strategy against Covid-19 is to mobilise like for any real war

The Covid-19 has revealed the vulnerability of nations and systems. The idea of globalisation has now been seen by many to be a bubble and a myth. The pandemic has thrown the world into a place where regional or economic blocs struggle to stay relevant as each nation fights its own battle.

Italy could not look to the European Union to help them. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has alluded to the fact that European solidarity was a fairy tale.

According to the Balkan Insights report on the, March 16, he said: “I sent a letter to President Xi Jinping, in which for the first time I officially called him not only a dear friend but also a brother, and not only my personal friend but also a friend and brother of this country.”

That is the reality of the new world. New alignments, new opportunities and new possibilities. Africa is faced with the same enemy that has humbled some of the most developed nations on earth.

Does a continent where most people work from hand to mouth—where the Lord's Prayer for daily bread is literal—stand a chance of survival?

A person who has worries about where food will come from will not listen to any other thing. So, the expression “food Security is more important now than at any other time”.

If we want people to stay at home, there must be a guarantee that food will come and meet them at home. Now where is the money to do this going to come from?

Unfortunately, we are a community of people who take pride in what we appear to be doing than what we actually do. This is why we spend a million to do good and then spend three million to let the world know what we did with one million.

We are always bombarded with rich lists and companies posting great profits yet in the greatest time of need, we cannot feel the impact of these people. We constantly read of the new cars that celebrities have bought but we cannot feel the impact.

Before this crisis, organisations rolled out millions to sponsor sporting events, fashion shows and concerts to promote their brands. Well, those events are gone! It is time to put the same vigour to saving lives.

When a system that people believed will work for them does not deliver for them in the hour of greatest need, they will look elsewhere.

Some organisations are still holding on to certain bureaucratic practices that make decision making processes slow. This is a state of emergency and peace time protocols will not serve war times. We are at war with an unseen enemy called Covid-19 whose only mission is to wipe us out and reset the world order.

Many in the densely populated parts of our cities still believe that Covid-19 is a rich man’s disease. They are not informed. The role of the media is to inform, educate and entertain.

The educational role of the media should come to the forefront. People need to know why they should say indoors and why they should develop new sanitation habits.
This problem we face is not a government problem. It is a human one. We cannot wait for government solutions. We all need to do our part. The threat of Covid-19 is real but also real is the possibility that if we unite in this fight and treat this like a war or an alien invasion, we are more likely to come out on top.

Wale Akinyemi is chief transformation officer, PowerTalks.