Lagos State Conducts Social Media Poll on Whether to Lock Down or Not

• The Government of Lagos State, Nigeria, is conducting an opinion poll on twitter to decide whether or not the people of the state want an extension the eased lockdown
• The Lagos State Government made the move on its twitter account on Wednesday and the poll has recorded over 64,000 votes.
• It is uncertain if the state can use the data to determine whether or not to return the state to a lock-down mode. Users will have to vote to review the results of the ongoing survey, which remains one day before it closes.

The Government of Lagos State, Nigeria, is conducting an opinion poll on twitter to decide whether or not the people of the state want an extension the eased lockdown. This odd move is being made via its twitter account and on Wednesday, with over 70,000 votes being received. The state of Lagos has a population of more than 15 million.

Considering the level of compliance with government's directives on limiting the spread of Covid-19 in a Lagos State, should the State Government impose another lockdown or not? @jidesanwoolu @JokeSanwoolu @drobafemihamzat @ProfAkinAbayomi @LSMOH @gboyegaakosile @Mr_JAGss

— The Lagos State Govt (@followlasg) May 12, 2020

The poll also appeared on LASG’s Facebook page but did not produce the same views as on Twitter. It is uncertain if the state can use the data to determine whether or not to return the state to a lock-down mode. Users will have to vote to review the results of the ongoing survey, which remains one day before it closes. Most people support a lockout to help curb the spread of the virus. Around 49.6 per cent prefer another lockdown.

Twitter polls are not fully quantitative and do not offer further insights into explanations for voter behavior. It also does not publicly disclose the race , age, and demographics of the voters. Many voters don’t have to live in Lagos.

Millions of Nigerians use social media to track and express their views and thoughts on Covid-19 updates daily. According to statistics from Statcounter, the use of Facebook and Twitter by Nigerians is 47 and 30%, which are by far the preferred social networks in Nigeria. In recent weeks, however, Twitter has reported a surge, partially motivated by the Covid-19 pandemic and the need for peaceful comments.

The government of the state of Lagos threatened to return to full lockdown if there is no change in adherence to the guidelines on public health. The government reported that the previously established recommendations for health, a move that could frustrate government attempts to fight the virus, were frequently and flagrantly ignored in the first week of lock-down easing.

READ ALSO: South Africa Urged To End Lockdown Soon To Prevent Economic Crisis

“As a government elected to uphold the security of its citizens, which includes health security, we will not hesitate to review the terms of #EasingTheLockdown if we do not see an improvement in the adherence to our public health guidelines over the next couple of days,” said the governor of the state, Babajide Sanwo, in a tweet.

Recent statistics by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) show that the spread of coronavirus in Nigeria is on a rapid increase with 4,971 confirmed cases. On the 13th of May 2020, 184 new confirmed cases and 6 deaths were recorded in Nigeria. Lagos as usual lead the rate of new cases and now has a total of 2041, followed by Kano (707), Abuja at 370, Katsina (224), Bauchi (206), Borno (188), Jigawa (141), Ogun (127), Gombe (119), Kaduna (116), Sokoto (112), Edo (89), Zamfara and Oyo (73).

Kwara State has recorded 53 cases, Osun (42), Rivers (33), Kebbi (31), Nasarawa (28), Delta (22), Adamawa (21), Yobe and Plateau (20), Ondo (18), Taraba and Akwa Ibom (17), Ekiti (15), Enugu (12), Niger (10), Ebonyi (9), Bayelsa (6), Benue (4), Imo (3), Abia and Anambra have recorded 2 cases each.

Over the last 75 days since the initial case of the virus hit Lagos on February 28th, Lagos state on average had 27 cases per day. The cases have since spiked in the last 3 weeks hitting over 50 a day.