THE EPIDEMICS OF LOCKDOWN

 LOCKDOWN IS KILLING US, WHO CAN WE TELL?

The pandemic virus has brought the worst of human fallibility when dealing with each other and loved ones. It’s very disheartening to see families die without seeing their loved ones because of the lockdowns and strict admission restrictions.

There’s no doubt that everybody wants standard adjustments and the lockdown to go. The so-called slogan of “STAYING APART KEEPS US TOGETHER”, "GET VACCINATED"... seemed good idea at the time, but ultimately, attested futile and curved into a morbid impression that troubled people’s emotional states. People’s lives have been grief-stricken and colossally changed forever by the lockdown far more than the epidemic virus. Businesses collapsed, jobs diminished, families fragmented, the effects of mental illness is becoming intolerable and the freedom of living our lives to the fullest has been compromised. Like flu or any other ailments, the virus is here to linger on for some time and we can’t keep padlocking our lives forever.

Every Australian state's Premiers have been very authoritative and dictatorial in dealing with other leading bureaucrats and restricting Australian citizens to travel to and from each state without requiring entry visas (almost). It’s hard to tell who is leading the country as the states have their own leaders and very reticent to take orders and work with the country’s officially and federally elected leaders. It’s puzzling at times to identify who is in charge of Australia.

It’s time that we should get out of our business as usual comfort periods of complacency and open to changes and restrictions that are taking place permissible to save our lives.

The law enforcing authorities, generally, the police must not exercise their power to intimidate people to issue unthinkable fines at first contact and should give strict warnings to be fined if they repeat the offences.

The rules imposed were unfair, inconsistent and confusing while sporting teams, their swags and families are able to travel interstates, tested and vaccinated people have been restricted from going back to their homes after visiting other states, banned to visit their dying families while the rich and famous allowed quarantining prior to visits.

What’s the purpose of vaccination and screening people for virus free if they’re not free to meet or see their families and even other people? This system, deceptively, may appear to limit the spread of the virus, but with this here to stay virus tormenting society more than any other endemic disease, distressing businesses and some closing down, an extensive rise of mental illnesses, public isolations as we’ve never seen before even if the condition considered harmless, will continue to distress us unless other ways of preventative technique is executed.

Instead of isolating the person and lockdown the region that was detected with the virus, locking down the entire country, state, city and the rest of unaffected suburbs is an absolutely dumb founded approach and a reckless method.

Authorities, always, must use commonsense and detailed preferences in their stride before abusing their power and issuing fines to the already financially and socially anguished/deprived and isolated individuals by the epidemic virus.

We don’t want to repeat what we already know, but call for public responsiveness to change existence back to normal as people should be able to take responsibility for their own lives.

Let’s all respect the law and each other and live up to our potentials, because we’re all together in this frenzied time and we’ll come thru this only if we march together, unfortunately not in isolation.

AFRICAN UNITY MUST ENCOURAGE AND DO MORE. MUST NOT OPERATE BUSINESS AS USUAL

The ‘colonizers’ did not recognise that African culture had its own wisdom, insights and values that informed the lives of Africans. Thus, the missionaries approach to Christianise Africans was based on coercion. They required Africans to renounce everything related to their religious beliefs to be a ‘proper’ one–Christian. It is repeatedly being told that Africa is growing and prospering and has become the fastest growing economy. The change in the global narrative about Africa previously deemed as the Dark Continent may be soothing to some minds, but it is simply not true. Africa is already the most conflict ridden continent and contrary to what many may say, it is not the fastest growing economy and it is not prospering but remains to be the poorest continent and its people are displaced. The continent continues to suffer under very rapid urban growth accompanied by massive urban poverty and many other social problems. This kind of tragic situation accompanied by oppression injustice and inequality lead people to take extreme measures. African leaders have to understand that an inclusive and transparent system and a fair distribution of resources is the only way to prevent conflict and fight terror of whatever form and allow their countries to prosper in the real sense. Africa must educate, train, find ways to resolve the ongoing grievances of the past where the status quo is unsustainable and must start by rebuilding ethics-based models for leadership within the countries governments, institutions, civil society and social structures. As Obama time after time stated in several of his deliveries, “change takes time”, it’s time for us to take responsibility for our own predicaments. Obama clearly told African leaders on the future of Africans: “We must start from the simple premise that Africa’s future is up to Africans. I say this knowing full well the tragic past that has sometimes haunted this part of the world. I have the blood of Africa within me, and my family’s own story encompasses both the tragedies and triumphs of the larger African story. …” “Development depends upon good governance. That is the ingredient which has been missing in far too many places, for far too long. That is the change that can unlock Africa’s potential. And that is a responsibility that can only be met by Africans. … “Africa doesn’t need strongmen, it needs strong institutions….” Africans must begin to trade with its African Union member countries and other developing neighbours. The recent G20 summit 2020 is made up of 19 countries and the European Union will convene from 21-22 November 2020, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The meeting is overshadowed by the leaders of the free world’s 20 wealthiest leaders. The premier forum being for international economic cooperation and increasingly the central opportunity for all questions of global governance, only one country, South Africa, was there representing the whole African nations. Although, it’s a symbolic photo opportunity for the rest of attendees, the decisions will most likely be made by, business as usual, the domineering four or five powerful diplomatically astute countries. Don’t exactly know the selection’s criteria or the qualifications to attend the summit, but the country with headquarters of the African Union, Ethiopia, decently a black nation, is more deserved to represent the African nations than South Africa, if not at least two or three countries should have been invited from the continent. We hope the summit will be looking forward to future successful meetings with more inclusions of thoughts from invited leaders of developing countries, not just invitations to take photos together, with opinions considered. My message to all Africans, make no mistake, those days of until death do us part is over and look no further than the transformation of Ethiopia led by one of the new generations of brilliant and reformist young leaders, Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed. What we can do now is a change that course of exploration, annihilation, domination or association, or whatever you want to call it, with sincere appreciation and reconciliation to transform everything to create New Africa. LONG LIVE AFRICA.