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The deadly coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has claimed the life of Gian Saro-Wiwa, the only surviving son of the late environmentalist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, in the United Kingdom.
His sister, Noo Saro-Wiwa, announced the death on her Facebook page.
“We said goodbye to my brother, Gian, on Monday. He had COVID-19 combined with underlying health conditions. He was the smartest and most talented of all of us: a champion sprinter at school, a poet, an artist, budding engineer, a self-taught guitarist and pianist. But mental health issues limited his life from age 16 onwards.
Gian, who was born in 1970, left behind a son, Louis.
Factional president of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), Fegalo Nsuke, described the death as a big shock to the Ogoni people, who were yet to recover from the 1995 hanging of his father by the military.
The convener, Ogoni Solidary Forum, Celestine Akpobari, described the death of Gian as huge lost of the Ogoni people.
Akpobari explained that the death cast a dark cloud of mourning over Ogoni because “whatever affects Ken Saro-Wiwa affects the entire Ogoni ethnic nationality.”
Meanwhile, Rivers State Government has charged hoteliers to report any guest with any coronavirus disease symptoms to officials of the health ministry or the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
The Commissioner for Information and Communications, Paulinus Nsirim, gave this charge during a sensitisation programme on COVID-19 prevention organised by the Hoteliers Association, Rivers chapter, in Port Harcourt yesterday.
According to Nsirim, it has become imperative for those in the hospitality business, particularly hotels, to take the fight against the virus serious.
“It is our collective business to ensure that Rivers State is safe. For you in the hospitality industry, don’t allow your hotels to be used as hideouts for people who may have the symptoms. So, for every hotel manager here, if somebody comes into your hotel and you notice some of these symptoms, it is your patriotic duty to report it to the Ministry of Health,” he said.
The commissioner observed that hotels were crucial in the fight against COVID-19 because they were places where different people from different walks of life visit regularly.
“Let me say that those of you in the hospitality industry have a very critical role to play in the prevention of coronavirus in the state. A lot of people come to your hotels for one transaction or another, sometimes to lodge as guests.
“In this season, nobody knows who is who, and the health status of individuals that would come to your hotels. That is why it’s important that you understand how to begin to engage your customers to ensure that they don’t come and then spread the virus in your hotels,” he added.
Nsirim explained that the state and the world were in a very challenging time, adversely affecting their businesses, hence Governor Nyesom Wike charged everyone to make sacrifice to successfully prevent the spread of the disease in the state.
“We will not compromise the health of our people because we want to make money. It’s a sacrifice that will soon end, and our businesses will come to normal,” Nsirim said.
He expressed optimism that the state, which has already recorded two COVID-19 cases, won’t record more cases. To this end, he stressed that containing the virus was everybody’s business.
Chairman of association, Eugene Nwauzi, explained that the sensitisation was held to educate hotel managers and workers, knowing how vulnerable hotels were as key part of the hospitality industry.
