Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has recalled his experience when he contracted the dreaded COVID-19 from a fellow governor in 2020.
Speaking at the seventh Ahmadu Bello Foundation lecture in Kaduna on Saturday, El-Rufai said no fewer than 50,000 people would have been killed by the virus last year if a lockdown had not been imposed.
Recall that the governor imposed a lockdown on Kaduna State on March 26, 2020, following the outbreak of the disease and partially lifted it 75 days later.
El-Rufai said he spent 26 days in isolation, during which time even his wives ran away from him.
The lecture with the topic ‘COVID-19: Way forward for Northern Nigeria economy,’ was organised by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation.
El-Rufai said, “A governor infected me with COVID-19 virus and I brought it to Kaduna. I was locked up for 26 days. My wives ran away from me. Fifty thousand people in Kaduna would have died of COVID-19 last year, but for the fact that Kaduna State was the first to lock down.
“I am happy to say because of COVID-19, we have been able to put in place infectious disease wards in our hospitals. People travel around the world so there may be ‘COVID-25’ or 30. With what is happening in India, the situation is scary. But God has been very kind to us.”
The governor emphasize the need for the North to improve on the quality of its leaders, arguing that 60 years after the demise of the late Sarduana of Sokoto and premier of the defunct Northern region, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the region had yet to have a leader like him (Sarduana).
