On March 29th, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the halting of all movements across three of the most populated states: Lagos, Ogun and the capital, Abuja. Subsequently, other states begin to implement lockdowns over the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.

The strict lockdown caught many Nigerians by surprise limiting the citizens to stay in their homes. The adverse impact of the lockdown was aggravated by the fact that the conditions of the lockdown were stringent. With the lack of consistent power supply and constant running water, many Nigerians are concerned and crying out to the government for aid.

The days when people could shop for essential products were reduced after a few days. With the people’s trust in the government hoping for relief to mitigate the effects of not working after only a few days that tens of billions of Naira had already been shared to poor families. Yet, millions of families are still in distress, crying out due to extreme hunger. The effects of the lock down inhibited angry youth to pour into the streets across so many localities, burglarizing homes, damaging and setting properties on fire and confronted law enforcement. Additionally, the crime rate has sky-rocketed resulting in most neighborhoods organizing vigilante efforts in their self-help to prevent robbers from furthering terrorizing the communities.

Nigeria has a population of approximately 180 million people and almost 100 million people are living on less than a $2 a day. Despite its vast resources, Nigeria ranks among the most unequal countries in the world, according to the UN. In Nigeria as well as most African countries, these mitigation methods that work in advanced countries simply do not work. The greater percentage of Nigerians are not able to remain indoors, many wake up as early as 3am to go out and work to earn just enough money to feed their families.