Capitalism and infectious diseases spread? Narratives of COVID-19 in Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria

Abstract This study investigates the narratives surrounding COVID-19 in Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria. It assesses whether the narratives contained knowledge about the relationship between capitalist accumulation and expansion (CAnE) and the spread of COVID-19. Political ecologists argue that CAnE is associated with the spread of infectious zoonotic diseases like COVID-19. While studies on COVID-19 are growing, there has yet to be an exploration of ordinary people’s knowledge of the relationship between CAnE and COVID-19 spread, especially in Africa. Thus, this paper examines the narratives of COVID-19 in Nsukka to see whether they contain information about how COVID-19 spreads through CAnE. The findings revealed a significant evolution in the narratives of COVID-19 in Nsukka over time, reflecting changing perceptions and attitudes within the community. At the pandemic’s start, the dominant narratives centred around religious interpretations and scepticism about the virus’s reality. However, these initial religious and sceptical narratives gradually gave way to a different perspective, termed spatial othering, as the pandemic continued, suggesting that while acknowledging the virus as real, they believed it could not thrive in Nsukka or Nigeria. This shift was accompanied by the belief that the virus did not originate in the region and thus lacked agency to thrive there. The official government narrative, as observed in public health messages, primarily focused on hygiene and sanitation measures to curb the spread of the virus. Thus, it argues that political ecology knowledge about the pandemic is not acknowledged or endorsed in the ordinary people and government narratives, highlighting the need for diversified sources of knowledge, including non-conventional forms, to reach and educate local communities effectively. Hence, the central argument in the study is that even though CAnE can contribute to the spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19 as formulated by political ecologists; this idea is absent in the narratives surrounding the pandemic in Nsukka. Whilst not discounting other sources of the pandemics and alternative perspectives, the study called for resistance against practices associated with capitalist expansion, highlighting the role of education in raising awareness, resistance and activism to address the vulnerabilities associated with capitalist expansion in the context of public health crises.