Response to COVID-19 and the need for rethink on Urban Informality in Jos, Nigeria
RESPONSE TO COVID-19 AND THE NEED FOR RETHINK ON URBAN INFORMALITY IN JOS, NIGERIA
Maren Mallo Daniel
Department of Estate Management, University of Jos, Nigeria
This writeup examines how the response to COVID-19 has been interfered with by urban informality in Jos, the administrative city of Plateau State in north-central Nigeria. Jos is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious setting with a population of over 1 million people (Plateau State Goverment, 2009 p.1) and the activities that support living for
In Jos, the response to COVID-19 pandemic has been a battle against
The authorities in Jos began the fight against COVID-19 pandemic with a state-wide fumigation across the 17 local government councils of the state. This exercise was carried out under a lockdown arrangement beginning from 9th to 15th April, 2020 as a proactive measure as no case of infection was recorded in the state yet[i]. At the end of the fumigation period, the state government decided to exten
At some point, the authorities in Jos decided to ban almajiri education[vi]. The almajiris are children who receive Islamic education and reside with their teachers. This system of education has existed for over a century in northern Nigeria[vii] but the practice remained informal. Public commentators[viii] have decried that fact almajiris often end up on the street as beggers and criminals. Some commentators[ix] have blamed leadership in the northern part of Nigeria for the bad situation of almajiri education. The experience of dealing with almajiris at the wake of COVID-19 in Jos would confirm the assertions. For instance, there is no database on almajiri schools in Jos as well as comprehensive record of the students. This was a challenge when government needed to identify and profile the almajiris in order to return them to their states and families. After weeks of
As noted
It appears that the authorities in Jos overlooked the extent to which people depend on informal activities for their livelihoods while imposing lockdown. The decision of government to lockdown the state for fumigation was abrupt and many households were not prepared. No wonder, when government decided to exten
In the distribution of palliatives, the government targeted orphanages, persons living with disabilities, widows and five vulnerable households per polling unit[xii]. It would have been more appropriate to reach the target audience in their residences. This was not as the officials saddled with palliative distribution decided to invite the target groups to assemble at designated locations for collection. As a result, other people hijacked and diverted the palliatives. More so, the distribution of palliative was politicised such that it resulted
In conclusion, the experience of fighting COVID-19 in Jos has exposed a number of problems that are deserving research consideration. Firstly, there is
[i] Lalong, S. B. (2020, April 6), ‘Talking Points for Plateau State Governor, His Excellency Rt. Hon. Simon Bako Lalong at a Media Briefing On the Progress Report on the Fight against the Corona Virus Pandemic (COVID-19)’, Media Briefing, Government House, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria.
[ii] Lalong, S. B. (2020, April 15), ‘Address by His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Plateau State, Rt. Hon. (Dr) Simon Bako Lalong, KSGG, at the End of One-Week Total Lockdown Over COVID-19 Pandemic, Government House, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria
[iii] Ibrahim, E. (2020, April 24). Coronavirus: Plateau’s index case arrived from Kano – Official. Premium Times. Retrived from https://www.premiumtimesng.com/coronavirus/389546-coronavirus-plateaus-index-case-arrived-from-kano-official.html
[iv] Lalong, S. B. (2020, April, 30),. ‘Address by His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Plateau State, Rt. Hon. (Dr) Simon Bako Lalong, KSGG, on the Continuation of Total Lockdown Over COVID-19 Pandemic’, Government House, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria.
[v] Sobechi, L. (2020, April 30). APC, PDP clash over COVID-19 palliatives in Plateau State. Guardian. Retrieved from https://guardian.ng/politics/apc-pdp-clash-over-covid-19-palliatives-in-plateau-state/.
[vi] Lalong, S. B. (2020, April, 30),. ‘Address by His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Plateau State, Rt. Hon. (Dr) Simon Bako Lalong, KSGG, on the Continuation of Total Lockdown Over COVID-19 Pandemic’, Government House, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria.
[vii] Taiwo-Hassan, A. (2020, June 10). Almajiris are ‘victims’ of Northern Muslims – Kukah. Premium Times. Retrieved from https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/396965-almajiris-are-victims-of-northern-muslim-elite-kukah.html
[viii] Ibrahim, E. (2020, April 24). Coronavirus: Plateau’s index case arrived from Kano – Official. Premium Times. Retrived from https://www.premiumtimesng.com/coronavirus/389546-coronavirus-plateaus-index-case-arrived-from-kano-official.html
[ix] Taiwo-Hassan, A. (2020, June 10). Almajiris are ‘victims’ of Northern Muslims – Kukah. Premium Times. Retrieved from https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/396965-almajiris-are-victims-of-northern-muslim-elite-kukah.html
[x] Lalong, S. B. (2020, April, 30),. ‘Address by His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Plateau State, Rt. Hon. (Dr) Simon Bako Lalong, KSGG, on the Continuation of Total Lockdown Over COVID-19 Pandemic’, Government House, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria.
[xi] Lalong, S. B. (2020, May 17), ‘Address by His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Plateau State, Rt. Hon. (Dr) Simon Bako Lalong, KSGG, on the Update of Total Lockdown Over COVID-19 Pandemic’, Government House, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria.
[xii] Lalong, S. B. (2020, June 11), ‘Press Briefing by Executive Governor of Plateau State, His Excellency Rt. Hon. (Dr) Simon Bako Lalong, Chairman of Plateau State Task Force on Covid-19 on Ease of Lockdown’, Government House, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria.
[xiii] Sobechi, L. (2020, April 30). APC, PDP clash over COVID-19 palliatives in Plateau State. Guardian. Retrieved from https://guardian.ng/politics/apc-pdp-clash-over-covid-19-palliatives-in-plateau-state/.
No 10 - This blog article is written under the auspices of the British Academy supported Critical Thinking and Writing Workshop for Urban Studies Researchers in Nigeria.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the Centre for Housing and Sustainable Development or the University of Lagos, Nigeria.
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