COVID-19And The Helplessness Of World Superpowers

By Chiemeka Adindu

As the US President praised the work of his administration since his election in 2016 during a UN General Assembly meeting, murmurs among the attendees could be heard developing into laughter as Trump spoke.

Trump said: “In less than two years, my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country.” This is just but a hint of some boastful comments from the American president. And this not just limited to Trump, as there are numerous boastful speeches from various world leaders, recounting their achievements, successes and even plans of outclassing other nations.

Recently, there seems to be silence as most powerful nuclear bombs of superpowers, the large number of missiles, sophisticated war flights, submarines, fighter jets, and all modern military weapons and technologies have become useless and powerless in front of the ‘great novel coronavirus’. The pandemic has refused to spare anyone from its havoc including Queen Elizabeth of England, Presidents and Prime Ministers of powerful countries, popular celebrities etc.

Despite the precautionary measures, no military and economic powers or even information technology can aid in overcoming this situation. Recently reports from the BBC has that Russia recorded 10,633 new coronavirus infections just within 24 hours, the highest daily rise since the outbreak began in the country. Also, The UK now has the highest number of coronavirus deaths in Europe. According to the latest government figures, there have been 29,427 deaths recorded across the UK, which keeps increasing, even as your are reading this piece.

According to the World Health Organization, WHO, as at May 7, 2020, the virus which has more than 3.5 million confirmed cases and over 250,000 deaths around the globe could claim up to 190, 000 lives in Africa if not controlled. Who can deliver the world from this deadly situation?

The entire universe is currently paralysed as a result of this bubonic plague. Neither capitalism nor communism can control it. No financial capacity or economic power, no high technology of modern era can stop it. No military superpower can challenge this unseen enemy of the entirety of humanity. The world most powerful medical professionals are more traumatized as all efforts to look for a way of escape has so far proven abortive. It has no religion, ethnicity, language, race, and region, political or economic ideologies. The so-called acclaimed greatest prophets and prophetess as well as the prayer warriors seem to be more confused as all their visions and prophetic declarations have come to a halt. It is ravaging nooks and crannies of planet earth.

There are debates and arguments on the origin of the virus among leaders of the countries, scientists and scholars. Many blame China for developing it in the laboratories of Wuhan Province to use it as a biological weapon in the future against its enemies. Recently, Donald Trump, the US president referred to it as the “Chinese Virus” in a press conference and also did not fail to justify his statement saying that he referred to it as such, as it originated in China. Its origin has also remained mysterious.

Again, the nature of its spread has become more dreadful than the virus itself. And amidst government orders on social distancing, wearing of nose masks and even lockdown, the number of confirmed cases seems to be skyrocketing every minute with no hope of decrease in the cases. No rays of hope are seen. On one hand, people are hopeless and on the other hand leaders are helpless.

Many think that the time has come to combine forces; political, religious, economic, and social to combat the noxious COVID-19. Could this be the solution? Your guess may be as strong as mine!

Now what lessons has this incident taught us? It has demonstrated that in the face of death, even the best doctors in the world have no power to heal. Material wealth and possessions have no cure for earth’s sorrows. Total cure that has no sorrowful attachment can only come from above. The situation has taught us that there is no superior power to God. And as Wale Adenuga productions will say, “We are nothing, but pencils in the hand of the Creator”. The sooner we realize this, especially the acclaimed world superpowers, the better for us.