Lagos lockdown sake of coronavirus: ‘How my children go survive?’

Street scene for Lagos

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Lagos na di biggest city for sub-Saharan Africa

As more than 25 million pipo dey for two-week lockdown for some part of Nigeria make dem for fit stop di spread of coronavirus, poor pipo wey dey for congested neighborhood dey worried ontop how dem go cope.

“From wia we go get di extra water to wash di hand wey una dey tok,” 36 year old Debby Ogunsola, ask BBC Nduka Orjinmo from di commercial capital Lagos, as she lead am go di dark corridor to her room for Alapere area of Lagos state.

Lockdown for Lagos – di commercial hub of Nigeria, and di neighbouring state of Ogun and di capital Abuja – start on Monday night, after President Muhammadu Buhari announce say di fight against COVID-19 na “mata of life and death”.

For Ms Ogunsola e go dey hard to stay inside house. She and her family dey live for one room inside one block of 20 wey dem dey call wey face-me-I-face-you because of di way di rooms dey near each oda.

Electricity no dey, and when I visit, light bin dey enta through wia door suppose dey stand. Outside two toilets and bathrooms wey all di families wey dey live for di 20 rooms dey.

BBC Pidgin Covid 19 graphics

BBC

‘Fear dey for hunger, no be di virus’

Pipe-borne water noe dey Alapare too, Ms Ogunsola dey waka more dan 50 metres to one public water pipe wey don break to go fetch.

“Na di hunger I dey worry about, no be di virus. I even hear say e no dey kill pipo,” Ms Ogunsola tell di BBC.

“Na my children I dey worried about,” she tok.

All four of them dey lie down for floor as e dey rain for outside. One single window na di only of air wey dey enta di room and di room dey hot for night.

“If I no fit go outside go sell, how my children go survive?”Ms Ogunsola wey dey earn moni from selling fruit and vegetables for roadside dey ask.

A girl washes her hands in Abuja on 20 March

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Keeping hands clean is vital to prevent infections

No money to stockpile

Across one open drain from Mrs Ogunsola house e get more rows of house wey dey di same like her ow. E get one wey e get big veranda and two old women dey siddon dey tal

E dey common for urban families families for Nigeria to live with older relatives who go also dey take care of dia pikin.

And di concern be say dis old pipo fit dey at risk if di virus spread.

Dem don restrict travel for di Africa state wey get ogbonge population

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“Dem dey for house and dem still gather for wia plenti pipo dey . If you get pesin wey get di viru for dia di chance say e go spread dey fast,” Dr Oyewale Odubanjo, one public health expert tok.

For Italy, plenti multi-generational families dey live together and dis na one of di reason why many pipo die from coronavirus for di kontri pass any oda kontri.

Dem don ban all non-essential travel for most states and dem don tell many workers, including civil servants, to work from home.

But electricity no dey reliable plus poor internet connections, e dey hard to see how most people go fit work.

Long queues dey for supermarkets afta President Buhari announce di lockdown, with many pipo dey rush to go stock up on di essentials.

But many Nigerians dey live hand-to-mouth, many times on less dan a $1 and dem no fit stock up on food or oda essentials.