Atiku Wants FG To Ban UK Flights Over New Strain Of COVID-19

Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president, has advised the Federal Government to ban flights from United Kingdom after new strain of coronavirus was detected in the country.

In a series of tweets on Sunday, Atiku noted that Nigeria took a harder than necessary hit during the first wave of the virus because the government neglected the warnings of well-meaning Nigerians to shut down the nation’s borders at the time it was declared a pandemic.

He added that the new strain of COVID-19 in the UK and specifically, London, can add to Nigeria’s health emergency if those in charge do not act with an abundance of caution and temporarily halt all flights to and from the UK until it is brought under control.

“The reason Nigeria took a harder than necessary hit during the first wave of the #COVID19 virus is that the Federal Government failed to heed the warnings of well-meaning Nigerians, like myself and others, to shut down our borders once the virus became a pandemic,” the ex-vice president noted.

“Hindsight is 20/20. Nevertheless, we must learn from history, or we stand the risk of repeating it.

“The new strain of COVID19 that has erupted in the United Kingdom, and specifically, London, can add to Nigeria’s health emergency if we do not act with an abundance of caution and temporarily halt all flights to and from the UK until this new strain is brought under control.

“Already, prudent nations are taking prompt action, and Nigeria must take necessary precautions due to the volume of air traffic between Nigerian airports and London, where this new strain has erupted.

“We must face the reality that our health sector is not sufficiently prepared to handle a sudden and unpredictable surge of this pandemic. We have already lost lives needlessly. We need not lose more. In the case of this virus, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”