Public Trust and State Management of COVID-19 Pandemic in Nigeria

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic generated unprecedented global crises with long-lasting consequences. Among the multifarious aftermath of the pandemic is the question of trust at various levels. In this study, I examined the bi-directional nexus between public trust and the management of the pandemic in Nigeria. Using mixed research methods, the study discovered that the main reason for citizens’ resistance to major policies introduced by the government to contain the spread of the pandemic was due to an entrenched lack of trust in the government, its agencies and officials which was further fractured by the management of the pandemic. Government needs to promote public trust through being responsive and responsible, constant and consistent citizens’ engagement, institutionalising transparency and accountability, and engendering a sense of belonging for all citizens.

COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy: A Content Analysis of Nigerian YouTube Videos

“…Montagni et al [35] observed that since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, fake news has been widely disseminated, making people distrust the integrity of information from healthcare services and political authorities. In Nigeria, Abayomi [68] confirms the lack of openness and accountability in the COVID-19 pandemic's response has exacerbated the deteriorating public trust. The findings also revealed expressions of religious beliefs and biotechnology-related conspiracies dominated users' discussions about COVID-19 vaccines, for instance, some users believe, "Take the vaccine, you die or lose your fertility", while others suggest "It's mRNA Technology .…”

An epidemic model for control and possible elimination of Lassa fever

“…Having derived the sufficient conditions for the existence of local stability of nonzero equilibrium, we proceeded to establish the necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of global stability of the endemic equilibrium following the popular Lyapunov function employed in [9]. Consider a nonlinear Lyapunov function…”

“…To study a change in the model's solution with regard to a certain parameter, the derivative of the solution for the parameter is utilized [12]. We compute the sensitivity indices of the key parameters following the normalised forward sensitivity index approach [9] thus…”

“…At present, no vaccine protects against the infection of Lassa virus [3]. In case of nonexistence or inadequate access to medical interventions like treatment and vaccine, isolation is one of the major options to decrease the spread of transmittable diseases [9]. Infections can take two forms in epidemiological study.…”