Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari has appealed to its citizens to bear the pains of restriction of movement as a result of the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic, saying that the lockdown will last as long as necessary in order to contain the virus.
President Buhari in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Saturday said that the defeat of the Coronavirus in Nigeria rested squarely in the hands of Nigerians.
Mallam Shehu in the statement did not mention where and what occasion the President made statements.
Buhari in the statement said, “But at this darkest hour, it remains our duty to offer you the full and unvarnished truth: This is a global pandemic. 210 countries and territories across the globe are affected. We cannot expect others to come to our assistance. No one is coming to defeat this virus for us.
“Instead, the defeat of the virus in our country will be in our hands, alone. We cannot wait for others. We can only depend on ourselves now. And so we must – and we will – end this outbreak ourselves as Nigerians, together”.
President Buhari thanked Nigerians for their patience, resolve and strong determination to defeat the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak.
He said, “We realize that today, there will be sons and daughters unable to visit their parents, and elders that are isolated from young ones. And there will be those who live day-to-day, eating as they earn, who face real and present suffering.
“No elected government could ask more of the citizens of the country that elected them than today we ask of you. But we must ask you – once more – to observe restrictions on movement where they are in place, and follow the instructions of our scientists and medical advisers: stay home, wash your hands, save lives.
“The freedoms we ask you to willingly forsake today will only last as long as our scientific advisers declare they are necessary. But they are essential – world over – to halt and defeat the spread of this virus.
