Why Nigeria’s research institutes are passive in providing COVID-19 solutions - Professor Toyin Falola

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Abiodun Gbada

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Jul 18, 2020, 8:31:54 AM7/18/20

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As a distinguished scholar of international repute, Prof Toyin Falola needs no introduction. An Ibadan-born Chief and Professor of History, who occupies a chair in the Humanities at the University of Texas at Austin, United States, spoke on why blacks are mostly affected by COVID-19 in America, the seemingly low inputs from research institutes in Nigeria to providing solutions to the pandemic, and how the virus will change the style of living and economy. He spoke to MUYIWA ADEYEMI (Head, South West Bureau).

Blacks are said to be mostly infected with COVID-19 in the United States of America (USA), is it true? If yes, why?
Information in the United States about all things related to COVID-19 is of course still underway, but so far, the research does indicate that racial minorities – especially African Americans – are experiencing the brunt of the crisis. For instance, a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that, among patients included in the research, there were more hospitalized blacks than would have been proportionately expected for their given communities. This was not the case for other races or ethnicities, including the Latinx/Hispanic community. Moreover, scientific researchers from Emory University, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Mississippi, and Georgetown University recently conducted a study that indicated that thus far, black Americans represent about 60 percent of deaths in the United States, even though black Americans only represent about 13 percent of the population in the United States.The CDC and university researchers have hypothesized why this might be. In the United States, racial and ethnic minorities often live in densely populated housing situations due to institutionally racist policies that have existed for decades, if not centuries. Considering how immensely contagious this particular virus is, living in a densely populated area is exactly the opposite of what one would want because of frequent interactions with others and a lesser likelihood of being able to social distance. Additionally, people of colour are more likely to live in homes with multi-generational families, which means that older family members who are already more susceptible to the virus can be more easily infected. Also, these homes are usually far from reliable medical facilities and groceries, which means that household members may struggle to find the supplies and treatment that they need. Indeed, this crisis, like others, has exposed the weak and insidious structure of racism. The CDC also noted that for the case of COVID-19, people of colour are disproportionately represented in “essential service” industries, which means that while statistically more white people may have the luxury of working from home, people of colour may not be able to do so. Instead, they are more likely to be forced to put themselves at risk on a daily basis by being around more people and performing more contact-based tasks.

Some people in Nigeria still doubt the authenticity of COVID-19. Indeed, some said it is not the same virus that has killed many in America and Europe that is ravaging in this clime?
Nigerians’ skepticism is rooted in a long history of mutual suspicion having its beginning in the deceitful relationship that the Nigerian elites keep with the proletariat. Elitist arrogance is reflected in a number of social engagements that combine them with the majority where those at the echelon of power, or the middle-class, approximate the behaviour of the common man with barbarism, primitivism, and crudeness. This, therefore, is consolidated by the wide distance that exists between these two divides and it, regrettably, places the have-nots below the social pyramid. As such, the masses are poised to take their pounds of flesh at every presented chance where their protest would be well received, or registered. Apparently, the emergence of a dreadful and fearful virus is the least expected around the world, and the absence of global anticipation of such occurrence is reflected in the social relationships kept with certain demographics, who have been the twin victims of power marginalisation and objects of ridicule. Etched in people’s subconscious, the elites therefore believed the occasions where they would need cooperation of the masses are predictable; for example, election period or the need for mobilisation for any reason. And in turn, the Nigerian masses have internalised that stratification, hence, their limited expectations from the elite.

However, COVID-19 presented the masses, the majority, an unusual opportunity to feed the elite of their malicious intentions against them, which have manifested in deceit, unfulfilled promises, and empty rhetoric. Therefore, the skepticism of the masses about the existence of the deadly virus was more of sarcasm than actual disbelief. Their indifference was a message to the powerful members of the society, who had long believed that there would not arise any situation that can make them rely on the social cooperation of the masses. And when it was more than necessary that every member of the community respects the laid down instructions for the containment of the virus, they responded derisively that COVID-19 was nonexistent, knowing that their feigned indifference would raise the elites heartbeat exponentially, as it was obvious that they do not want their medical welfarism compromised.

The case is laughably complicated by the familiar deceit of some members of the government, who were, apart from adopting Western-induced coping mechanism to the containment of the virus, milking the commonwealth using the virus as the conduit pipe. It was therefore logical that they questioned the authenticity of such medical emergency knowing that it was natural that people should genuinely rise to the occasion rather than nurse thoughts of siphoning the public wealth using the virus of health to swell the virus of the pockets. Hence, that reaction.

Biko Agozino

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Jul 18, 2020, 11:38:30 AM7/18/20

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The CDC warns that the reported death rates are 'provisional':

Things to know about the data

Provisional counts are not final and are subject to change. Counts from previous weeks are continually revised as more records are received and processed.

Provisional data are not yet complete. Counts will not include all deaths that occurred during a given time period, especially for more recent periods. However, we can estimate how complete our numbers are by looking at the average number of deaths reported in previous years.

Death counts should not be compared across states. Some states report deaths on a daily basis, while other states report deaths weekly or monthly. State vital record reporting may also be affected or delayed by COVID-19 related response activities.

For more detailed technical information, visit the Provisional Death Counts for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Technical Notes page.

On Saturday, 18 July 2020, 10:27:35 GMT-4, Biko Agozino <biko...@yahoo.com> wrote:

Prof Falola,

This may be wishful thinking by CDC statisticians based on those included in their surveys. There is no evidence that their convenience samples were randomly representative of the general population. I call this the fallacy of complacency or 'it does not concern me' mindset. If white people think that Corona Virus is racist and kills mainly Africans like the police, they are falling into a big hole of ignorance because the pandemic is an equal opportunities threat to all.

Thanks for warning Africans against falling into our own complacency of thinking that it is only Diaspora people who can catch the infection. Our research institutions need to attempt paradigm shifts of their own instead of only relying on CDC epidemiologists and virologists.

I refuse to believe that African Americans make up 60% of the 142,000 killed in the US by COVID so far. It may be the case that in some cities, the number of black people killed is as high as 70% of the dead but over all, the vast majority of the dead are white people just as the majority of the people killed by the police are white people.

Du Bois made this point in 1896 in The Philadelphia Negro and again in a 1912 article by explaining that African Americans were forced to live in airless basement apartments and to sit in airless stinking churches in their thousands for hours to explain the high rates of consumption or TB among them. But he also indicated that the majority of the dead from such epidemics were poor whites who probably lived under similar conditions. He was suggesting that the cause was not a biological 'racial predisposition' but social conditions and ignorance that research could help us to understand and correct.

The rates may be higher for black victims given their proportion in the wider population but the majority of the dead in the world and in the US from covid are not Africans. In fact, testing gaps not withstanding, Africa has not recorded nearly as many deaths as the wishful thinking of racist statisticians would have us expect. It may very well rise if we do not conduct our own research into prevention to understand what our people are doing differently that may have worked so far to keep the figures from exploding.

Waiting for the Godot of vaccines may be an illusion given that the virus is not one variant and that it keeps changing to such an extent that you may need to take multiple experimental vaccine shots and still need more as the virus mutates. Our indigenous knowledge systems may help us and the wider world to survive this pandemic crisis better

Biko

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OLAYINKA AGBETUYI

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Jul 18, 2020, 2:59:22 PM7/18/20

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I think you have both been highlighting the same effects of skewed data in statistical analysis and wrong inference being drawn from data.

What is important is that a holistic society- wide remedy is sought.

For me the virus is a message fron the Gods to highlight the dangers of self centered capitalism and to insist that society is in the end an indivisible entity that cannot be programmed for selfish gains.

The bottom line is that there is an irreducible minimum in terms of health provision for the bottom pile if there is to be no boomerang into the larger society.

Recent reports from India ( third largest COVID 19 global casualties) highlight how the mutual dependency of the low and high strata of society have come into bold relief because the cooks, stewards and nannies could not make the daily appointments that enable the higher placed individuals function thus compromising the larger economy.

OAA

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.

-------- Original message --------

From: 'Biko Agozino' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>

Date: 18/07/2020 16:53 (GMT+00:00)

To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com

Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Why Nigeria’s research institutes are passive in providing COVID-19 solutions - Professor Toyin Falola

The CDC warns that the reported death rates are 'provisional':

Things to know about the data

Provisional counts are not final and are subject to change. Counts from previous weeks are continually revised as more records are received and processed.

For more detailed technical information, visit the Provisional Death Counts for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Technical Notes page.

On Saturday, 18 July 2020, 10:27:35 GMT-4, Biko Agozino <biko...@yahoo.com> wrote:

Prof Falola,

Biko

On Saturday, 18 July 2020, 08:31:53 GMT-4, Abiodun Gbada <abiodun...@gmail.com> wrote:

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/usaafricadialogue/1901529036.5467140.1595083555442%40mail.yahoo.com.

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