Survey reveals that nearly one fifth of all Nigerians do not believe that the Covid-19 virus is real

NEARLY one fifth of all Nigerians do not believe that the Covid-19 virus is real according to the findings of a recent survey conducted by research firm SBM Intel across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

According to the results of the poll just published, only 68.8% of Nigerians believe that the virus is real. Shocking statistics revealed that 14.4% of Nigerians were not sure that Covid-19 is real, while 16.7% did not believe it is real.

Also, the survey revealed that less than 50% of respondents in Ekiti, Enugu, Kogi, Nasarawa and Sokoto States thought the virus was real. The survey, titled Covid in Nigeria – The second wave, X-rayed people’s perceptions about the existence of the virus as well as their reactions to the existing guidelines meant to curb its spread and the vaccines discovery and their acceptance.

Of 36 states surveyed, the report noted that in 23 states, a large majority of respondents did not think that people were taking the right measures to prevent Covid-19 in their states. It was only in Bauchi, Delta and Osun that more respondents believed that people were taking the right measures to curb the spread of the virus.

According to the report, only 39.9% of the respondents said they would take a Covid-19 vaccine, while almost equal proportion of respondents (35.9%) said they would not. The majority of the respondents were between 28 and 40 years (36.7%) followed by those between 18 and 27 years (24.0%) and then 41 and 55 years (22.2%).

Some 9.5% of the respondents were older than 55 years and a smaller percentage, 7.7% were younger than 18 years. In addition, the report said sceptics cited the low death rate in the country as the reason for their disbelief.

“Some believe that the vaccines are a tool to depopulate Nigeria, while others expressed concern about the effectiveness ratio and the side-effects that the vaccine might have,” the report said. Also, the survey said 63.3% of Nigerians were opposed to another lockdown.

It was only in Abia and Gombe where a slim majority agreed that another lockdown would be necessary if the cases continue to rise. Nigeria was hit hard by the last lockdown, as the economies of many of its major cities are dominated by small artisans who their income on a daily basis.