Citizens’ Lack of Trust in State Management of COVID-19 Pandemic: How does the Legislature bridge the Gap?

Abstract

Government’s ability to harness public trust is crucial for managing the COVID-19 pandemic and finding ways out of the crisis. This brief takes a look at what drives the widespread skepticism about government's coronavirus response and messaging in Nigeria. More than eighty-nine million (89 Million) confirmed cases of COVID-19 with about one million, nine hundred and twenty-eight thousand (1,928,000) deaths and still counting have been reported from 191 countries and regions of the world. As the world contends with this health crisis, the yawning gap in trust and accountability between Nigerians and the Nigerian state have made mockery of the efforts of the government to mitigate the spread of the pandemic in the country. Many citizens considered the pandemic a hoax, some describing it as a ‘rich man’s disease’, while others see it as another conspiracy by politicians to loot the treasury. During the height of the pandemic, Nigerians are consistently playing 5-aside football, going to clubs, worshiping in congregation, doing businesses in the markets and elsewhere with little or no adherence to the NCDC Protocols. At initial stage, Nigerians questioned the governance of the various donations and palliative programme of the federal government. Many seek for transparent account on how the funds and other materials donated by Nigerians, corporate organisations and international community have been utilized by the State and its agencies. Unfortunately, the hoarding scandal of the palliatives by the state governments that resulted into lootings of the palliatives during the #Endsars Protest attests to the distrust and allegations of mismanagements and misappropriations. Citizens’ trust in the affairs of the state has remained the major setback in the state management of COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, as reviewed. Essentially, the pandemic and its management by the machineries of the state dusted decades of public trust questions on the handlers of state institutions. Bridging the gap on such trust, the legislature as the major representative of the citizen has a critical role to play. Therefore, as the country expects the Vaccine by the end of January, 2021, there is an urgent need to manage the crises of citizens-state trust issue using the actions of the legislature