It is an undisputable fact that the coronavirus also known as the Novel COVID – 19 has gravely impacted our world. Although, the accurate severity of the negative effects of the global pandemic has not been ascertained, there is no doubt that it is widespread and virulent.
Right from the beginning of the fight aimed at containing the virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) has been at the frontline and I must say that it has done a good job so far. It is also clear that a definite cure has not been found for the virus thus WHO, has essentially provided advisories for the containment of the virus to date.
It is imperative to state that the global adherence to WHO’s advisories has been quite impressive, particularly the ones relating to social distancing which states that people must maintain at least one meter (3 feet) distance between each other, avoid going to crowded places and that anyone with minor symptoms such as cough, headache, mild fever, must stay home as well as self-isolate until he or she recovers. In my opinion, it is in the compliance with these advisories that most countries around the world took the far-reaching measures such as full lockdowns, shutting down airports, impositions of travel restrictions and completely sealing their borders.
The reactions of people globally to the varying experiences they have had since the ‘global social distancing’ that was suddenly thrust on us in the wake of the pandemic have been very intriguing; there have been a lot of clamour for the re-evaluation of all the ‘global partnerships’ that had been consummated at all levels pre-Covid-19, as well partnerships that are still in the works. The proponents of this clamour argue that the ‘global social distancing’ has shown that countries all over the world can and should look inwards and find ways of meeting their needs as well as satisfy their wants locally, instead of going abroad to consummating unnecessary partnerships and alliances.
In late May this year, President Donald Trump of the United States of America declared that the US will be withdrawing from the World Health Organization (WHO), accusing it of being under China’s control in the wake of the pandemic, the source and until recently formerly the epic centre of the ravaging virus.
Political observers are also worried that with the EU-UK talks on ‘Brexit’ trade deals still hanging in the balance,that Prime Minister Boris Johnson is likely to use the mayhem and economic chaos caused by the pandemic as a cover to crash out of the European Union.
I completely agree that all countries must and should do everything within their powers to be self-sufficient; ironically, it has been proven beyond reasonable doubt that the way the world is made, no country no matter how hard they try, can really be self-sufficient, countries will always need something from others no matter how small or insignificant the thing may be.
Therefore, my humble submission on this matter is that ‘global partnership’ is unavoidable and would be very beneficial to all parties when entered into with painstaking consideration and equity. Microsoft Encarta defines Partnership as an association of two or more persons who have agreed to combine their labor, property, and skill, or some or all of them for the purpose of engaging in lawful business and sharing profits and losses between them. in this definition, the term business includes every trade, occupation, and profession.
Going by this definition and the fact that the successes or failures of partnerships always have far-reaching effects on countries, countries should always ensure that only very skillful people with very high integrity are the ones allowed to consummate partnerships on their behalf.
I can never get tired of restating our resolve to always serve you with the best from our stable in every edition of IWA. This edition is no exception; brace up for yet another very enjoyable reading experience. The cover story is on the President of African Development Bank, Nigeria’s Dr Akinwunmi Adesina and I assure you of some very exciting stories inside this edition as produced by our newsroom. Do enjoy!