Sensible personal decisions will defeat coronavirus, Sam Adeyemi echoes Sanwo-Olu

Sam Adeyemi
L-R: Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Sam Adeyemi

Pastor Sam Adeyemi of the Daystar Christian Centre, Lagos, has pulled his weight behind Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State in admonishing Nigerians to be self-protective and make wise decisions in curbing the spread of coronavirus.

The federal and state governments, had, lately, come out to announce series of measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 as the national lockdown is gradually being relaxed.

However, Adeyemi, the President of Success Power International and Daystar Leadership Academy, has supported Sanwo-Olu’s warning that, “What will ultimately save us all and defeat this virus are the sensible personal decisions that we take on a daily basis.”

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Adeyemi, the Senior Pastor of Daystar Christian Centre, who has also been at the vanguard of shedding enlightenment on the COVID-19 pandemic, posted Sanwo-Olu’s comments on his Twitter page, and had earlier in messages called for caution in how people respond to government’s ease of lockdown.

“This means that, while the government maintains its responsibility to take protective decisions for the common good, what will ultimately save us all and defeat this virus are the sensible personal decisions that we take on a daily basis.

“Decisions to use masks anytime you are out of your house, to avoid non-essential travel, to stay at home when we don’t have any business being outside, to wash or sanitize our hands regularly, these are the simple but necessary steps that will save and protect us all,” Sanwo-Olu had said, when he recently rescinded the state government’s decision to reopen religious centres.

The Lagos State government, on Tuesday, announced the cancellation of the planned reopening of churches and mosques earlier slated for this weekend.

Earlier in the month, the government had announced it would allow mosques to reopen from June 19 while churches would be reopened June 21, with an instruction that they were to limit their congregational attendance to 40 per cent capacity.

Lagos State government also warned that the religious centres should strictly observe all other COVID-19 guidelines and protocols, including compulsory wearing of face masks.

However, on Tuesday, Sanwo-Olu, while giving updates on COVID-19 developments in the state, said the religious centres would no longer reopen, but to remain closed indefinitely due to the increasing cases of the coronavirus in Lagos.

A day preceding the governor’s cancellation of the reopening dates, the midnight of Monday, June 15, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), said that Lagos State had a total of 7,319 confirmed cases of COVID-19, of which it said 1,137 have fully recovered and discharged, while 82 had died, leaving 6,100 active cases under management in the state.

It said Lagos remains the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria, with about 44 per cent of the total number of confirmed cases nationwide.

It was on this backdrop, Sanwo-Olu said: “We have been closely monitoring the situation and have now concluded that we cannot proceed with any form of reopening for places of worship in Lagos State, until further notice.

“This is not a decision that we have taken lightly, it is simply in line with our ongoing evaluation of evolving scenarios regarding the course of the infection in Lagos State and the corresponding public health advisory guidelines issued by the experts.

“So, let me say this again: we are now hereby suspending, with immediate effect, the plan to reopen religious houses and places of worship in Lagos State, until further notice. We will continue to monitor the situation closely, and continue to base our decision-making on data modelling; as well as on the responsibility we have to act in a manner that ensures the protection of all of you the people of Lagos State.”

Apart from the religious centres, Sanwo-Olu also said social and events centres, likewise, social clubs, would remain closed.

“Let me make this clear, that we are now fully in the phase of personal responsibility, regarding this pandemic.

“This means that, while the government maintains its responsibility to take protective decisions for the common good, what will ultimately save us all and defeat this virus are the sensible personal decisions that we take on a daily basis.

“Decisions to use masks anytime you are out of your house, to avoid non-essential travel, to stay at home when we don’t have any business being outside, to wash or sanitize our hands regularly, these are the simple but necessary steps that will save and protect us all,” Sanwo-Olu said, calling on the citizens to take responsibility.

While observing that the steady increase in number of confirmed cases in the state was not unexpected considering the rate of infection and increased testing, the governor said, “the cheering news was that, based on the statistics emerging from Lagos State, more than 90 per cent of the people who test positive will go on to fully recover under supervision.”

Also, while thanking medical workers, rapid response teams, and support personnel like call centres workers, drivers, cleaners, and others, monitoring teams at the state and local government level, as well as security agencies, Sanwo-Olu said.

He explained that as a government, the state would continue to do everything in its power to safeguard the health and wellbeing of the people, adding, however, that this could only be effective when the people act responsibly, and do not behave in a manner that undermines public health guidelines and puts the society at risk.