Nigeria Coronavirus (COVID-19) 25 April 2020 – an update from Barnabas Coronavirus Emergency Network

Kwara State

From the provost of a theological college

“In NAME OF THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE some staff and students engaged in farming to support themselves. The areas in which the farmers have been negatively impacted by the lockdown are three: first, they have been unable to go to the farm; second, what had been planted are being destroyed by Fulani herdsmen and their cows. This leads to conflicts whenever the farmers have the opportunity of vi, siting their farms. So far, we have not lost any of our staff or students, but some have lost their farming products. But, thirdly, some other plantings that need to be done with the arrival of the raining season have not been done.

“[Food security] is an area in which all our students and staff have been negatively impacted. This is because the lockdown has led to scarcity of food items. The fact that farmer cannot go to farm because movement is restricted severely led to inflation of the cost of available food…

“The lockdown resulting from the virus has made it impossible for us to fellowship together and even for us pastors to do visitation. We try to make up for this by streaming some services through Facebook and you tube, but many of our members cannot participate in this, due to cost of data and lack of knowledge on how to join such programs. We pastors try to keep in contact with them through regular phone calls. Another challenge is that the students of the College and our own Chapel had been unable to go for the mission outreaches that we always go at this time of the year.

“Despite the fact that Kwara State has a large population of Christians, it is considered as a Muslim State, because it is considered part of Northern Nigeria. This means that in appointment, opportunity, amenities and even admission to state educational institutions, Christians and Christian-populated communities are being discriminated against. This has been the usual practice before the advent of corona virus. The advent of the virus accentuated this discrimination, so that when food items are distributed, Christians know that they will not get and they do not.”