Since the first major case of the novel coronavirus was confirmed in Lagos; critics, interest groups and Nigerians in general saw and predicted the slow as well as rash actions being taken by the Federal government of Nigeria.

A lot of us were certain the borders wouldn’t be closed as soon as possible, many more knew the possibility of a hastily thought out but badly planned lockdown would happen. Above all, we knew and never stopped speaking out on how all of this would affect the average Nigerian. The masses living below the poverty line. Nigerians (young, old and in between) who depend on a daily or monthly income to survive.

Even when the wheels of our society still ran with some grinding smoothness, these sources of income were not exactly sufficient, and with the lockdown cutting off primal means of income for many people living in Lagos, Abuja and Ogun State, it is even worse. It explains the unrest. The ongoing cases of robberies that has forced residents to resort to self-help in protecting their streets and homes.

Furthermore, with President Muhammadu Buhari extending the shutdown period in Lagos, Abuja and Ogun to two more weeks and no interventions made yet to Nigerians, #PayuswithBVN has begun to trend. For many, the country’s COVID-19 relief fund which has received up to 127 billion naira, seems like a good place to assist the unimaginable number of Nigerians who wouldn’t be able to survive for another two weeks. This is even more complicated for many who lost their jobs as soon as the lockdown began or those who have had their salaries cut or stuck due to the increasingly low percentage of business activities.

#PayUsWithBVN is seeing Nigerians call for help, for consideration and to have our realities in focus, using a procedure that can easily determine who needs money the most and how to get it to us so as to help us survive this period and potentially reduce crime wave.

But like many outcries on social media, it is curious to know if the federal government would respond or not. It would be interesting to record for posterity, how our governors, lawmakers and the president himself, treated us when we needed them most.