By Yakubu Bayambe.
When the novel Coronavirus Pandemic began creeping into Nigeria, Governor Mohammed Inuwa Yahaya wasted no time in putting every relevant machinery in place to ensure that the virus does get into the State let alone gain a foothold in the State.
To begin with, the Gombe State Governor constituted the State Taskforce committee on covid 19 under the chairmanship of Idris Mohammed a renowned Professor of Epidemiology to among other areas of interest advise and recommend to government a systematic way of not only preventing the virus from getting into the State but to prepare should there be any eventuality.
As if that was not enough, the Governor also inaugurated a Taskforce committee on inter-state travels to curtail the influx of commuters particularly those coming from states considered to be high risk States in the Country. Through the resilience of these committees, the Coronavirus was kept at bay from the State for almost a month.
However, things took a different turn when on the 21st of April, the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control NCDC announced that Gombe State had a record of five index cases of the Coronavirus. The announcement by the NCDC was trailed by uneasy calm in the State leading many to effectively conclude that the Gombe State Governor will declare a total lockdown.
But the Governor in his usual style of carrying everyone along on issues that mattered most, declined taking a unilateral decision of closing down the State but instead invited relevant stakeholders to discuss on how best to mitigate the spread of the Coronavirus Pandamic.
From having meetings with traditional and religious leaders in the State, to organising same with security agencies all in one effort to accommodate all shades of opinion for better approach to the Coronavirus Pandamic.
These series of meetings which eventually led to Governor Mohammed Inuwa Yahaya announcing a dusk to dawn curfew as well as suspending intra-state travels and gatherings among other far reaching measures to curb the spread of the virus in the State is no doubt a display of democratic values which always seeks to promote and uphold the yearnings and aspirations of the people.
As seen in other climbs, Governor Mohammed Inuwa Yahaya has the constitutional powers to unilaterally close down the State particularly in situations such as the one presented by the Coronavirus Pandamic but for the respect he has for the people coupled with his clear understanding of the tenets democracy made him to always seek for wise counsel from not only his Executive Council members but also opinion leaders across the State.
Even though Gombe State now has thirty confirm Coronavirus cases and one death the believe across board was that the human face approach so far adopted by Governor Mohammed Inuwa Yahaya is just a subtle call for everyone in the State to take responsibility lest the partial lockdown may just turn into a total lockdown.
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