Man is a social creature; a modified statement by the famous philosopher Aristotle has remained ever relevant even till day. Though man can be alone and be very productive, this doesn’t deny the fact that man belongs to one group or the other.
Man is not a creation that isolates itself from the community; he breathes the air of communal freedom with which he expresses himself and lives to fulfill life.
As much as man has always projected himself and proven true the statement of Aristotle, man’s right to be a social creature is now threatened. Though many glimpse the light far away, others are swimming in the deep recesses of gloom.
There are many questions. Though not literal, but such questions project the ideas behind the following questions: Can man return to the way he was? Is humanity utterly altered? The freedom of physical communal association, can it still be revived?
These are many questions which all over the world rest on the lips of humanity. Is humanity on a brink of global catastrophic collapse, this question probably must have come to the mind of some elements of the global human community.
Today, humanity is faced with a global threat. A threat that does not discriminate by race, academic and political might, military strength etc. a threat which seeks to undermine the way of life. The threat is the novel Coronavirus also known as COVID-19.
Since the virus was declared a pandemic by the W.H.O, nations of the world have gone on high alert with the aim of assessing, containing and preventing the spread of the virus.
In Nigeria, being the most populous black nation on the planet, the virus has as of today taken the lives of over 20 persons amongst whom is the Nigerian Chief of Staff, with over 600 confirmed cases though above 100 persons have recovered.
In order to contain the spread of the virus, the Federal Government of Nigerian announced the shutdown of the Federal Capital Territory and Lagos and Ogun states.
This shutdown was also responded to by other states of the federation who deem it fit to prevent the spread of the virus. Citizens were asked to stay at home and not go out for their daily activities.
However the good measures taken by the government to contain the virus, good policies also do have an unwanted effect in the negative. The directive to stay at home however noble has greatly impacted the Nigerian community.
With no source of financial resources to finance their daily living, and inability to go out to work for their daily bread, there is a concern among the populace which revolves around the idea that the hunger in the country will likely kill people even before the virus.
The nation is in dire need of help. A famous singer once said, a hungry man is an angry man. Will the hunger push Nigerians out to go about their commercial activities thereby flouting presidential directives and probably endanger their lives and that of others especially their families? This is indeed a delima.
Seeing the inconceivable lack and want which abounds in the nation, the government has already ordered a financial package to be delivered to Nigerians. Individuals are also helping out, feeding those who have not.
The government ordered relief to be given to the populace; this though may not be enough to cater for the population for the term of the lockdown if equally shared to everyone has also brought concerns as citizens have complained of not receiving these relief packages.
For those who received, social media is filled with complaints of aggrieved citizens who vent their anger and frustration over the entire endeavour. It’s no doubt, there is a deep problem which if not taken care of, the Nigerian state and spirit will be greatly affected.
With these challenges abounding nationwide, some leaders in the Cryptocurrency and Blockchain industry in Africa have taken it upon themselves to come together to extend a helping hand to the some members of the Nigerian community via the Blockchain4COVID-19 project.
The project seeks to ease the difficulties of members of the Nigerian community through donation which shall be received through cryptocurrencies.
The goal of the project is “to provide aid to at least 500 poor families around the city of Lagos during the lockdown and isolation period where people are required to stay at home with almost no alternative source of income.”
It’s no doubt, the current economic situation of the nation is one that calls for urgent and radical measures to preserve and promote post COVID-19, yet, for the Today, steps have to be taken to protect, preserve and promote our way of life as man, as humanity. This is the idea behind Blockchain4COVID-19
As Mahatma Gandhi famously said, “be the change you wish to see in the world”. Let’s be that change we push to help others.
