Dear COVID-19,

Congratulations on taking a comfortable lead in many countries around the world. You have turned cities into cemeteries and converted hospitals into stadia to host mega finals between life and death with ventilators as referees. Your lead is puzzling many government leaders, medical personnel, pastors and even myself.

Government leaders are making decisions, medical personnel trying to save lives and pastors trying to pray for an end and myself trying to write this piece about you. I know that you have been inundated with many pleas and petitions to go on an indefinite strike and withdraw your services from wreaking havoc to many around the world. However, sources tell me that you have no ear for presidents of the great nation, attention deficit for the men of faith and simply no time for the medical fraternity. And if you have rejected the pleas of the great, how can you even listen to the petition of a common writer? All the same, I present you with a petition that is seeking to block the pleas of people who are fervently praying to continue their lifestyle of:

C- Carelessness

This has caused New York Governor Andrew Cuomo sleepless nights because the youth continue to express their carelessness by partying when cases continue to rise. In March, he described as unintelligent and reckless the attitude of young people who were still partying as cases continued to rise and on 1st April, he reiterated a similar point when he remarked, “My favourite topic – young people must get this message. And they still have not gotten the message. You still see too many situations with too much density by young people. They can get it. They’re putting their lives at risk. This can kill young people. Rare circumstances, but it can. But you get infected, you give it to someone else. So, think about somebody else. And I’ve said these 100 different ways.”

You see, they have forgotten that you have the highest appetite for careless people who won’t decide to follow social distancing protocols and stay at home just to protect themselves. But now that you are in a comfortable lead, just spare them and tell their presidents and policymakers to strictly enforce their rules to ensure that they don’t come over to you to discuss this topic again. Simply instruct them to enforce their rules without fear or favour and neither ill-will or malice. I pray this prayer request never comes to your desk again. I know that you have had enough of the episodes of careless people.

O- One sidededness

Before this outbreak, conversations around weapons, climate change and trade wars were trending but today you have taken over cabinet meeting rooms, hospital hallways, military zones and even bus stations. You have masterminded the greatest coup just from the disease that has no fighter jet or sophisticated armour.

My sources tell me that anytime CEOs of big institutions that accompany the government leaders to plea for an end to this pandemic because of job losses, you inform them to go back and tell their employees to up their game by expanding their mindset and perspectives. I understand that you have advised them to make good use of the lockdown period to open their mind to learn new skills and update themselves with the necessary skills to scale through this period. “We are definitely not in normal times and as I ponder on whether to end this onslaught sooner or later, I know that those who are one-sided in their approach to work will be in big trouble,” Corona concluded at the meeting of the Heads of State and Captains of Industry as narrated by sources.



However, I am continuing this appeal by pleading that you consider those who are one-sided in their thinking to give them a second chance to renew their minds in order to adapt to the huge change that is already happening like the staggering unemployment rates. I know you are not that wicked and thus will give them another window to lift the veil of their closed minds rather than answer this second prayer request.

V- Violation

You have always said that citizens are making it easy for you to have a field day because they are compounding their problems because of lack of non-compliance. Instead of cancelling all social gatherings, they are still silently operating in clear disregard for the rules.

Someone whispered to me that you informed the heads of security agencies and the law enforcement bodies to resolute in their efforts, otherwise more violations will mean more trouble. Please and Please COVID-19, please block the plea of individuals who want to violate the rules with impunity. You have no businesses to violate the rules.

I- Inward Looking

I know your sources have told you how the prices of essential commodities have suddenly shot up like high blood pressure. Today people are trying to profit from the lockdown to exploit people who are struggling for basic needs like gari, rice. You have expressed surprise over this attitude and have also overheard that you have warned the great leaders to tell their traders not to be inward-looking otherwise you will visit them with the wrath of increased infections in the markets where there is mad rush for these things without recourse to social distancing.

At this point, I am also extending the plea of the great leaders with my small pen and paper to caution them for the last time before you strike. I don’t know when they decided to start choosing abnormal profit over people. Please give them one last chance.

The last but one visit of the delegations for you to back down on your intense onslaught, I was reliably informed that you instructed the ruling governments to come along with representatives of the opposition parties as well as the poor accompanying the rich. You gave them an assignment to rehearse Bob Marley song One Love and consistently repeat this part, “Let’s get together and feel alright,” to remind them about their pledge of unity. However, I know they did not do it because some are trying to be political about it, forgetting that you attack any and everybody without reference to political ideology. They have forgotten that you respect no status or faith.

Once again, I plead that those who are seeking to score political points and create disunity do not see their prayers answered.



I know that I have spoken plenty and with your busy schedule and attention span I wish to reemphasize that even though you are in a comfortable lead, the petitions of individuals which they indirectly bring before you with their actions are not answered. In summary, they should not be:

C-Careless

O-One Sided

V-Violate Rules

I-Inward looking

D-Divided

In summary, they should not be COVID-19 positive.

I hope this prayer is answered.

Yours faithfully,

SIGNED

Flowonpaper

That’s what I mean.