The coronavirus pandemic is exacting significant political, economic and social costs all over the world and Nigeria is not an exception. A little under 11,000 Nigerians have been infected with a little over 3,200 recoveries and 319 deaths. Twenty states and the Federal Capital
Territory instituted full or partial lockdowns as containment measures ramped up. While the country has brought online 81 isolation centres, testing has been the bane of the country’s response, with only 65,855 test samples taken since late February and whole regions unsupplied in terms of testing capacity, for example the Niger Delta and the North East have no testing facilities. Further compounding an already bleak situation, economic uncertainty has kicked in with growth slowing in the first quarter of the year and a recession all but inevitable. Yet in some ways, things do not appear to be changing. Nearly 68% of Nigerians surveyed by SBM Intelligence say that their normal work schedule will not be affected by the pandemic when anything resembling normality returns. This report will place in proper context, the multifarious political, social, health and economic implications of the pandemic, exploring the efforts of both the federal and state governments, identifying the spatial distribution of palliatives and examine both the government position on its pandemic management and the public perception of its efforts.
