It is indeed a trying time for developing countries and also a revelation of unpreparedness, particularly in the areas of healthcare delivery, food security, and civil orderliness. Statistics revealed that in Nigeria, the rate of unemployment is alarming and it is a topical national issue. So many out-of-school children, the homeless, and people who must struggle on the streets daily for survival, constitute a chunk majority of the country’s population.

The government restrictions and lockdowns hindered easy access to goods and commodities and resultantly amounted to scarcity and a hike in the prices of consumer goods needed for upkeep.

The government of my state made efforts and distributed palliatives in order to cushion the effects of the pandemic but only a few people could get the food items. Meanwhile, I did not benefit from any of the distributions. In my family, we could not feed as we wanted but had to ration individual food portions and had to eat what is available.

The pandemic also negatively affected my work because the nature of my job does not permit a work-from-home approach. Shortly before the restrictions, I was part of a team working on a construction project. And the project has been on hold. I have exhausted almost all my saved earnings in the course of taking care of my family and amongst other personal expenses.

This has been a very difficult situation for me and my family. We believe and hope that this war against COVID-19 ends soon. And equally hope that normalcy is restored in the global economy.