Containing the COVID 19 Pandemic in Nigeria A Reflection on Government Actions and Citizens Reactions

The outbreak of the COVID 19 pandemic led to the lockdown of the global economy in the early part of the year 2020. In line with the measures recommended by the World Health Organization WHO , countries also introduced further mechanisms based on their respective unique environment to contain the virus. This paper reflected on the citizens' reactions to government measures in containing the COVID 19 pandemic in Nigeria. Specifically, it reviewed the government's actions towards containing the virus and how they influenced the citizens' response. The study was qualitative and focused between March and September 2020. Relying on secondary data that were analyzed through content analysis, we triangulated the Persuasive Communication Theory and Resistance Theory to interrogate the governments actions and the citizens' reactions. We argued that the governments approach towards containing the virus contributed to i the doubt on the existence of the virus in the country held by some of the citizens, ii the lack of strict observation of precautionary measures and safety regulations, iii the seeming non co operation between the government and the citizens in containing the virus. The implications of this relationship pose challenges for future epidemics, pandemics, and development in the country and could serve as a premise for further research. Vincent Chukwukadibia Onwughalu "Containing the COVID-19 Pandemic in Nigeria: A Reflection on Government Actions and Citizens Reactions" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-4 | Issue-6 , October 2020, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd35701.pdf Paper Url: https://www.ijtsrd.com/management/other/35701/containing-the-covid19-pandemic-in-nigeria-a-reflection-on-government-actions-and-citizens-reactions/vincent-chukwukadibia-onwughalu