Prior to the coronavirus lockdown, people were accustomed to various life routines, of which includes handclasps, visits, hugs and social gatherings among others. However, with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, people no longer exhibit their usual lifestyle. Daily Trust Saturday samples the opinion of some Nigerians who shared their thoughts about what they miss about life.
Hajiya Surayya Yahaya (Event Manager)
Life has never been the same with this pandemic, everything is at standstill. I miss going to social gatherings that has been part of me. ( E.g. weddings, naming ceremonies etc.) mingling with people during events and of course the fun and excitement that comes with. I miss Anchoring events. Socially and financially, life has taken a new dimension. We are just praying and hoping that very soon we all go back to our normal lives.
Olabisi Alausa, 44, Media Practitioner, Lagos
Life generally stopped, when COVID-19 came into our lives because we have started to do things differently. I miss the hustling and bustling, which is no longer there because of the social distancing. To the extent that the last Easter and Eid celebrations families could not visit each other.
As a parent, I miss the normal school stuff, though we are trying to conform to online learning, it is taking most of my time because I have to monitor the children.
It is not easy because the usual office scenario is no longer there. I miss the normal office life where we work closely to achieve the company’s goal but the required 60 per cent staff now is not enough and working from home has a lot of distraction.
Most especially, I missed my family, which I have not seen for some time. I missed my friends; I missed colleagues and social life generally.
Nasiru Bello Sani (Kannywood Actor and producer)
As a film producer, I must say I miss a lot. You know Sallah period used to be the time we market our films through cinemas and other public places, but because of this lockdown we could not do that this year.
Ifeanyi Julian Etuokwu-Oludumila, 45, Banker, Lagos
I miss meeting people in some unique places such as work, networking events and church. I love hugging people and I miss that a lot!
Sola Abe, 28, Journalist, Lagos
Before the lockdown, I wasn’t an outgoing person, but it was one of my plans in 2020 to go out, meet people, travel and do something about my social life but COVID-19 really disrupted my plan. I actually miss going out to cinemas, meeting friends. I also missed going to church to worship God together with other people, I truly miss that. I think it’s more about my social life, I miss not being able to go to weddings and travel as planned.
Susan Onanuga, 31, Customer service representative, Oshodi, Lagos
I miss going out. I am just confined in my room, even though I am still doing my work. I am used to transporting myself to the Island (for work) on a daily basis, I really miss that a lot.
Isiyaku Ahmad (Human rights Activist)
Given the situation of what has caused the lockdown, the virus has remained very controversial looking inwards and outwards. Inwards meaning how to manage it and outward meaning how to live with it.
I have missed a lot of things, first, economically it has affected my business because my business for now is dependent on physical contact and so economically the lockdown has affected it. You have to close shop and then you have to work from home and not everybody likes attending to people at home, especially when you have a home that you don’t live alone. Moving away from the economy to social life, it has affected everything about life, every social aspect of life is deserted, you hardly see people and even when they are there people are being careful. It affected my psyche, my reasoning my psychology and you begin to see everybody as a suspect, everyone, even a friend becomes an alien because you do not know where he has been. You then trust only yourself. So, I will say the virus has broken trust among people.
Amina Omoike, 30, Media Practitioner, Lagos
I guess I miss is really just being free to socialize. Even simple things as handshakes, hugs are now ‘rare occurrences’. Of course, the fact that our children can’t go back to school for now and can’t even play with their friends. For me, it’s really just the freedom we took for granted pre-COVID-19
Emem Idio, Journalist, 35, Yenagoa
Generally, life has been restricted and teleguided. I also missed football particularly the Premiership, Champions League, and other European and local league, weekly football matches are no more. I am eagerly waiting for life to return to normalcy. Many young men that planned for their weddings have cancelled it, look, God created humanity to be sociable, but now, you cannot even shake hand with your brother, everybody is living a suspicious life now. We prayed that God return the world to normal.
Pastor Mike Tayose, Clergy, 50, Yenagoa
The effect of the COVID-19 has made us miss social life, religious activities, family visit and reduce closeness to the loved ones. It has become difficult to move freely and associate with one another. In fact, life has become so boring that one can no longer as of now enjoy the normal day to day of those things that life affords us. One cannot travel freely and inside vehicles or any means of transportation, everybody sees each other as a suspect, hugging and handshake is like a taboo simply because everyone is afraid of who might have been infected.
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