PRAYERS and unity are essential if Nigeria must end the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Muhammad Bello has said.
The Minister, noted this while urging Christians in the territory to use the occasion of the celebration of Easter to pray fervently for the end of the COVID 19 pandemic which has so far claimed thousands of lives across the world.
In a press statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Minister, Anthony Ogunleye, Bello said ” history has shown that when people turn to God in true supplication, in times of distress, the Almighty indeed answers prayers”.
According to him, Easter, as one of the holiest celebrations for Christians provided a great opportunity to pray to God to heal the sick and prevent a further spread of the disease across the Territory.
He equally encouraged residents to use the Easter celebrations to imbibe the spirit of unity which the FCT symbolises.
“I urge you to use this season to reflect on the significance of the FCT as the Center of Unity of our country. This is the season to show true neighborliness and reach out to the needy and the less privileged who have been impacted negatively by COVID 19,” the Minister said in the statement.
He disclosed that “the disease is such that it does not discriminate between the haves and the haves-not and is no respecter of age or religious beliefs. We must, therefore, come together as communities to fight it together.”
While advising residents to follow all the health protocols of constant hand-washing, the Minister also called on them to constantly use of alcohol-based sanitizer, and observing social distancing.
“The best way to beat this disease is not to contract it. This is one time where prevention is most certainly better than cure. You must, therefore, be disciplined and maintain personal hygiene by observing to the letter, prevention protocols of constant hand washing, use of alcohol-based sanitizers and observance of social distancing,” he added.
He also charged residents to observe the stay-at-home directives of the government, saying that it was the one way to curtail the spread of the virus and allow for contact tracing by the health authorities.
Nigeria has witnessed over 300 cases as at the time of this report.
Samad Uthman is a multimedia journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. He tweets @sarmerdk2 and can be shot through suthman@icirnigeria.org