Nigerian Family Living In Wuhan, China Shares Emotional Video Of How They Are Surviving In Wuhan (Video)

By Edna Wande Last updated Mar 5, 2020

Photo of Ayodeji Idowu who has been living with wife, Olufunke Idowu and his two kids in Wuhan, China for over a decade

As many Nigerians are still stuck in Wuhan, China, a Nigerian family living in China has shared an emotional video on how they survive as residents of Wuhan.

In the video shared by Channels Television via its Instagram page, it shows how the living condition of a Nigerian mother, Olufunke Idowu with her husband, Ayodeji idowu and their two kids, after the city was shutdown by the Chinese government to limit the spread of the virus.

Ayodeji Idowu was already thinking of returning to Nigeria with his wife and two kids when the coronavirus broke out in Wuhan in December, 2019.

Idowu said;

It was the Spring Festival holiday (China’s biggest festival) and I was supposed to travel the following week. But my plans had to be cancelled as the Chinese government started to take measures to contain the deadly virus.

For food, initially we used to be able to buy things that we wanted at big malls such as Walmart. But as the case became more and more severe, with the number of infection cases skyrocketing, they restricted the movement of people to one person per family for three to four days. So when you want to go out, they tick, like a register, to show that you are the only person who has gone out from your family in the last four days.

He further narrated that;

Then it became more severe and even Walmart was not allowed to entertain individual customers. We were not allowed to leave our residencies. For example, I have not been able to step out of my estate’s gate since the newer restrictions came into being about two weeks ago.

What we then do is to use Wechat groups; and then we have coordinators on the group who collect our orders. Whatever it is that you want to buy, you post it in the group and it would be delivered the next day.

Idowu, who completed his doctorate studies in 2018, explained that;

To receive your order, you come to the gate, stand about ten metres away, have your temperature checked, and then they hand over your items and you return to your apartment.

My wife is . . . quite worried because of getting food for our children. Since the new restrictions, we have not been able to get them the kind of food that they normally eat. Now we are forced to take whatever is available in the group purchase, which is basically catering to Chinese tastes, not foreigners.

On February 18, the Nigerian Students Association in Wuhan released a statement seeking to “dispel the notion” that Nigerians in China didn’t want to return home in the wake of the coronavirus’ spread.

Days before the statement went public, members of the House of Representatives had flatly rejected the idea of evacuation. According to the lawmakers, China has better facilities to handle the situation than Nigeria.

After the lawmakers rejected the motion, the Nigerian ambassador to China, made a personal donation of 20,000 RMB (over N1m) to Nigerians in Wuhan to assist in procuring foodstuffs and medical supplies. Then on February 27, the federal government made a donation of 235,000 RMB (N12m).

See video below:

Source: Channels Television