On January 14, 2021, the Federal ministry of education, through its Director of Press and Public Relations, Ben Bem Goong, maintained that the January 18 resumption date for public and private primary and secondary schools in the country stands. He said the decision was anchored on the consensus opinions of relevant stakeholders after wide consultations.
However, as the January 18 2021 resumption date crawls up on us, there have been skepticisms among parents and the general public over the safety of the kids considering the surge in the number of COVID-19 positive cases. Just on Saturday, January 16, the National Centre for Disease Control [NCDC] recorded1598 new cases, with Lagos having 461 cases. This result brings the total number of confirmed cases in Nigeria to 108,943.
The surge has prompted the House of Representatives to fault the Federal Government’s resumption plan, citing non-preparedness.
The House subsequently demanded for a three-month postponement of resumption, by which time, it hoped, necessary safety measures would have been put in place.
The House’s position was made public by the Chairman, Committee on Education, Professor Julius Ihonvbere during an interview with newsmen on Saturday, January 16.
On their parts, on-air personalities, Jimi Disu and Ifedayo Olarinde [Daddy Freeze] have opined that they would rather have their wards lose a few years of the academic calendar than lose them to the COVID-19. They wandered what would be expected of the children if the much touted safety protocols canvassed for by the authorities are hardly kept by adults.
They also added that although children are less vulnerable to to the virus, they can contract it and then spread to their more vulnerable elderly family members.
A cross section of Nigerians also shared similar sentiments. They wandered why the government was speaking from both sides of the mouth. They said if the second  wave was considered more vicious than the first, it would be illogical for the government to herd the kids back to school yet. This, they said, tends to water down the enormity of the danger at hand.
Apparently, the resumption will only add to the list of super-spreader events inadvertently facilitated by the government, the other being the on-going National Identity Number [NIN] registration exercise that continues to pull large crowds of COVID-19 protocols non-adulterants.
However, with the directive that Public Service workers in Lagos State on Grade Levels 14 and below should work from home till February 1, 2021, it is unclear whether public school teachers  in Lagos State will join the January 18 resumption date.