The rich and poor are equal before Covid-19

On Sunday, President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered the closure of all educational institutions. Even though the order was that schools could close from yesterday, most, if not all, decided to send the children home on Monday. Where I work, staff were allowed to work from home. This, of course, is a tall order considering that with the children at home, a parent is easily turned into a human toy to play with. Children love to play with their parents and any attempt to chase them away will be met with frowns and loud protests.

For them, the holiday has come too early and the presence of daddy and mummy at home is godsend. An optimist, I choose to see the sunnier side of life amid tragedy and this is one of them. There is so much bad news around us. So allow me to see things unconventionally.

The Koran seems to have predicted the coming of this plague. In one of the chapters, God refers to the digit 19 that is part of the name code for coronavirus  (Covid-19), which interpreters of the Koran say is a coded reference to mankind in a state of disbelief; the consequences of disobeying God. There is talk out there that moral decadence in the world could have invited God’s wrath.

Historically, both the Bible and Koran refer to periods when God’s anger befell rebellious communities. Is it coincidental that 2020 seems to have more than its fair share of calamities (natural and man-made) starting with locusts in the Horn of Africa, bush fires in Australia or even the typhoon that attacked Europe recently, grounding most flights?

Yet besides the devastation from the disruptions the outbreak of the coronavirus has brought on the world community, there are positive social impacts as well. Children will see both their parents together far longer than before.

Most profound is how this calamity has equalised the world. Ordinarily, society’s elites would get into a flight to get treated abroad. Since the West has not been spared, Africa’s rich or poor will be quarantined in one of the public health facilities. Because of protocol and WHO regulations, private hospitals will be a last resort. Additionally, such measures like washing hands is being religious observed by all the cadres of society. We have witnessed those at the apex of society disregard other life-saving habits like road safety, taking care of the environment, or being mindful of others. The difference between life and death for all classes has been reduced to the mundane (good) habit of washing hands regularly with soap (any soap).

And for the first time, most developed European countries gladly accept support from countries previously considered permanent receivers. Just this week, a planeload of medication and a medical team from China landed in Italy to great jubilation. Even the most powerful country in the world (the United States of America) is reacting to the Covid-19 challenge in a way never seen before. The coronavirus has proven the interdependency of countries. The assumption has always been the developing world needs the developed countries and not the other way round.

The prediction is that by the end of the year, we in Kenya will witness a baby boom. This is not a bad idea. It means the consumer market size will bulge. Those ethnic groups who felt that the population numbers were under represented in the recently released 2019 population and housing census have an opportunity to ramp up their numbers.

Back at home, the coronavirus upheaval has calmed down the political temperatures. From the look of it, things were getting heated and dangerously so. Instead of uniting the country, the only conclusion one could make is that the country was heading towards more divisions—the direct opposite of the intention of the Building Bridges Initiative. Increasingly, the political rallies organised to popularise BBI became platforms for spreading prejudice against others.

So the postponement of the rallies gives the country some breathing space. The coronavirus has conveniently reduced the impact of divisions in the last few months.

The other category of people who might benefit from the closure of offices is the corrupt, the indebted and common criminals. The courts have suspended all activities. That means those accused of stealing public funds get a reprieve from the court. It could also mean that our funds are safe since most offices will remain closed and schemes to steal and plunder will grow cold. That could be an unavoidable setback for now. Those in debt are likely to get a grace period because like all workers, most auctioneers will work from home. It might be short-lived though.

Mr Guleid is the CEO, FCDC Secretariat and former Deputy Governor of Isiolo County