By The decision to ban flights from the United Kingdom (UK), Canada and Saudi Arabia over Omicron variant of COVID-19 has been described as a welcomed development.
Chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and former Delta State governorship aspirant, Chief Sunny Onuesoke, gave the verdict in a statement on Monday.
He hailed the Federal Government’s retaliatory measures of placing the three countries on Covid-19 Omicron red list and banning of flights from the countries.
Stonix News recalls that the Nigerian Government had earlier stated that it would place the UK Canada and Saudi Arabia on a red list over the outbreak and spread of Coronavirus’ Omicron variant.
The President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration had also threatened to stop airlines from those countries coming into Nigeria in retaliation for the three nations banning travels from Nigeria over the new COVID-19 variant.
Reacting to the retaliatory measures by the FG, Onuesoke said that although he didn’t agree with some things the Buhari government did, the action was appropriate in this instance.
He stressed that despite the fact that Nigeria is in a bad situation at the moment, the country is still a sovereign nation that must not be toyed with or played around with.
“The point I find very interesting and satisfying is that Nigeria has taken a retaliatory action.
“They don’t want Nigerians and Nigerian airlines in their countries, yet they fly theirs in and out.
“This sort of one sided and insult used to be the order of the day before and Nigerian government just went along.
“It must be tit for tat for those countries to take you seriously in future,” he averred.
The PDP Chieftain wondered why the United Kingdom would quickly ban Nigeria because of six or seven persons diagnosed of Covid-19 Omicron virus in Nigeria, while the United Kingdom, itself, is a reservoir of the virus.
“I don’t want to talk about Canada because that country is outside the usual radar of Nigeria.
“Nigeria merely relates to Canada via the Commonwealth of Nations. Nigeria knows the relevant and important country on the North American Continent and in the Americas generally; and definitely not Canada.
“That of Saudi Arabia against Nigeria is something abominable and unconscionable.
“If the Nigerian Muslim Ummah would accept that nonsense from Saudi Arabia, then good luck to them.
“If not for the hajj, who would even look in the direction of Saudi Arabia?” Onuesoke stated.
He stressed that it would have been better Nigeria government announced the ban outright instead of giving a notice.
While enjoining Nigerian Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika to keep up the good work, Onuesoke stated that although individuals might have to bear the pain of the hard-line measures, he advised Nigerians to stay at home and develop their land for once because Nigeria, as a sovereign nation, demands some dignified treatments.
“The action of the Federal Government is fair to me because what is good for the goose is equally good for the gander.
“Western nations treat Black Africans as if we are still in the times of slavery,” he noted.
