Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, MSSN, has cautioned Nigerians to ignore the April Fool’s Day jokes amid the Coronavirus pandemic.
The April 1 tradition sees families, web users and corporations embracing pranks.
However, MSSN, noted that April Fool’s Day prank would further cause panic among Nigerians.
MSSN’s head in Lagos State, Saheed Ashafa, cautioned that such a prank may further increase death toll as most nations are now under lockdown.
Ashafa’s warning was contained in a statement signed and sent to DAILY POST, on Wednesday.
The statement is titled, “AprilFool: Jokes Apart, Coronavirus Jokes Not!.”
He described as inappropriate the act of playing pranks on people in this “sober moment”.
According to Ashafa: “We heard of the positive status of many top government officials, celebrities and public figures, from across the globe, simply because they are news personalities.
“Many ‘unknown persons’ have also been infected with the viral disease, who were never in the news; but it remains a piece of bad news to their loved ones. Alas! They’re actually in the news of global counting of victims of the #COVID-19 pandemic.
“Superpowers have lost control and their economies are in shambles. The mighty are being humbled while developing nations are trembling.
“Coronavirus plays no hide-and-seek. It’s killing thousands and causing pandemonium across the world.
“We don’t have to make jokes about lives affected and to be affected. If you or a close relation is affected, you’ll never know of jokes and would even weep if you see others laughing.
“Let’s not do April Fool and add panic to that which is shaking the world, causing lockdown of states, halting international summits, suspending events and occasions, shutting businesses and imprisoning humans.”
Ashafa’s call is coming at a time when the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Africa CDC, had revealed that there are now 5,255 confirmed cases of Coronavirus in 47 countries across Africa.
The health agency also said that the Coronavirus death cases in Africa have increased to 172.
In Nigeria, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, had on Tuesday night, confirmed four new cases of coronavirus in the country.
The latest cases now brings the tally in Nigeria to 139.
