We fear hunger, not COVID-19, Asaba, Ukwani, Ibusa residents tell Okowa

Residents of Asaba, Ukwuan and Ibusa communities in Delta state on Thursday, said that their greatest challenge and fear has been hunger, and not the deadly coronavirus pandemic.

A respondent who spoke to our correspondent in Asaba, Mrs. Alice Chukwuma, described the present situation across the state as pathetic, especially the lockdown and dusk-to- dawn curfew imposed by the state government.

“We are seriously faced with hunger worse than the coronavirus. We fear hunger and not coronavirus oandemic ravaging the world. We can no longer feed well again and our stores have been locked.

“The palliative measures the state government claimed it has been sharing have not in any way reached us that are party members. We are suffering in Delta state, the lockdown in the state is killing and every day, there is hue and cry of stealing pots of soup because of hunger,” she stated.

Another respondent, a vulcanizer, Mr. Leo Okotete said: “You need to be alive to contract the virus; you cannot contract the virus in death. I am battling with hunger and for my family to survive the hunger.

“It’s terrible. If I am not able to go out and work, how will they feed? I mean my children; we are hungry, we want food to survive.

“Without food, we cannot sleep, hunger is worse than coronavirus ravaging everywhere. Government should provide enough for us, otherwise there would be dead bodies soon on the streets.”

Another respondent in Ibusa, Emmanuel Chijindu said: “We know there is coronavirus pandemic, but the hunger here in Ibusa community is worse and we are afraid of how we will survive.

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“We are faced with the critical problem of hunger than coronavirus and we appeal to the state government to help or else there will be mass burial soon.”

Meanwhile, there was low compliance with the lockdown order in Abraka community as commercial tricycle and motorcycle operators were seen conveying passengers from one place to another for N100 per drop.

Ovie of Oruarivie Abraka Community, Akpomeyoma Majoroh, Ojeta II, on Thursday, expressed worry over the flouting of the social distancing practice as part of measures to curtail the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in designated markets.

The monarch, who spoke to journalists, noted that the crowded markets were in total disregard of the social distancing measures, adding that “my area of worry is the social distancing in markets which is not being observed.

“The allocation of space in the primary and secondary schools is well spaced, but the number of persons assessing the markets are too many and we want it reduced.”