Residents of Lagos, Ogun, Abuja prepare for lock-down

Residents of Lagos, Ogun and Abuja on Monday scrambled to prepare for lock-down as directed by President Muhammadu Buhari to curb spread of the coronavirus.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday evening ordered a two-week “cessation of all movements” in the key cities from 22:00 GMT in a bid to ward off an explosion of cases in Africa’s most populous country.

Businesses are to be shuttered, non-food shops closed and people made to stay at home as the authorities look to track down possible carriers of the disease after reporting 111 confirmed cases and one death so far.

Enforcing the restrictions in sprawling mega city Lagos will be a mammoth challenge as millions live crammed into overcrowded slums and rely on their daily earnings to survive.

In the ramshackle outdoor markets of Lagos Island anxious locals complained they did not have the money to stock up, while at higher-end supermarkets better-off residents queued to buy supplies.

“Two weeks is too long. I don’t know how we will cope,” said student Abdul Rahim, 25, as he helped his sister sell foodstuffs from a stall in Jankarra market.

“People are hungry and they won’t be able to stock food.”

City authorities have pledged to provide basic provisions to some 200 000 households but the central government in Africa’s biggest oil producer is already facing financial strain as the price of crude has collapsed.