Every crisis throws up either a hero or a villain. Most often, the person at the epicentre of the crisis, either as provocateur or solution, does not necessarily have to be the leader, be it of a nation or a group, no matter how that group is defined.
The coronavirus pandemic is one such crisis that, at the end of the day, will not only redefine socio-economic and other relations among and within nations, it is bound, by the nature of things, to determine the fate, the future of some key actors in the survival game that is playing out. If you take the United States of America, for instance, though President Donald Trump is present at every briefing, there is no doubt the person everyone wants to listen to is, a man called Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, in the United States. His authoritative responses to questions, laden with both wisdom and expertise, provide a compass for making informed judgements on the pandemic. In Britain, even before he was infected, Prime Minister Boris Johnson had been the cynosure of public attention.
In Nigeria, the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, headed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, is, unquestionably, the agency charged with the responsibility of managing the country’s COVID-19 response. Populated by very strategic office holders, the body has incorporated a daily media briefing as part of its overall strategy for keeping this enemy at bay. While questions still arise over the impact of the PTF, the fact remains that, to the extent that infections can be held down and the recovery rate of patients of the pandemic remains high, the panel will be entitled to any plaudits it demands.
But given the nature of things, neither the SGF nor any other member of the PTF has been under as much persistent scrutiny as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajia Sadiya Umar Farouq. Her relevance stems from the fact that, on her shoulders falls the critical task of bringing succour to the many homes and individuals who, even at the best of times, are unable to meet their basic needs. These are the poorest of the poor, the vulnerable and the physically challenged members of the society. This she has done as the custodian of the Social Investment Program SIP, of the government. Besides, as the manager of disasters, whatever palliative from the government to mitigate the humanitarian challenge posed by COVID-19, passes through her ministry.
A vibrant but self-effacing personality, even prior to the COVID-19 challenge, two recent tragedies ensured that the Minister would have no respite from challenges of a humanitarian nature. The mayhem by Boko Haram insurgents at Auno, in Borno State, in February in which 30 persons died and the gas pipeline explosion in March, at Abule Ado area of Lagos State that killed over 25 persons have both put her crisis management capability on overdrive. Her personal visits to the scenes coupled with immediate relief efforts amply demonstrated that she possessed the temperament and expertise demanded by the nation’s humanitarian challenges. Of course, only last October, the minister, assisted by the Nigerian Air Force, oversaw the return of about 133 Nigerians who had taken refuge in Cameroon.
Those who credit President Muhammadu Buhari with all kinds of powers have never credited him with the gift of clairvoyance. One begins to wonder if he had a premonition of the COVID-19 pandemic when he took the unprecedented step of creating the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development in 2019. But here we are. With the pandemic, Hajia Sadiya Farouq, is already in the eye of the storm. What has she done, or not done, to find herself in the eye of the storm?
