SIT-AT-HOME ORDER: Abeokuta Residents Consider Relocating To Rural Areas Over Hunger

Adenike Sanusi 

ABEOKUTA - Residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital may have been considering relocating to the village for fear of hunger. 

The federal government had on Sunday announced total lockdown of Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states to curtail the spread of the dreaded coronavirus disease. 

But the Ogun state governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun on Monday said he had pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari to shift the lockdown order in the state till Friday, 3rd April, 2020 to allow the state government provide food bank at the three senatorial districts of the state. 

Many social groups, NGOs, politicians have been calling on residents of the state to stockpile foodstuff at home to enable them cope with the effect of the 14-day lockdown in the state. 

However,  THE ENCOUNTER NEWS observed that, there are panic situation at major motor parks as travellers traveling out of the state capital before the Friday lockdown deadline, while some are relocating from their present residence to another place. 

Some of the travellers who spoke with our reporter claimed to be relocating for fear of hunger, envisaging that the lockdown may exceed the 14-day ultimatum. 

According to a 50year-old man simply known as Officer who was caught on camera parking out from his Totoro residence, said he was relocating to his village in Kajola to concentrate on his farmland. 

'Officer' claimed that, the price of foodstuff and other essential commodities have skyrocketed and his present income could not meet the new market price. 

The father of family of six said jokingly, "My brother it's not easy ooo. I'm a civil servant, a level 9 state worker with my take home not up to N30,000 after cooperative, tax and loan deductions, so how do you expect me to cope with N800 Congo of rice? Garri which ought to have been alternative to rice is now N400 per congo as if we also import garri from China. 

"I will rather go to my village in Kajola and concentrate on my farmland I've been nurturing in the last eight months. I still have maize, yam, banana, paw paw, Coco yam, and cassava on my farm. If I go there with these ECOMOG (referring to his family members), we will eat better in this lockdown period than to sit down here in Abeokuta and die of hunger. "