African leaders come together to fight the coronavirus

More than two dozen African presidents, prime ministers, heads of state, and Nobel laureates have put their voices to a new song urging the public to protect themselves from the coronavirus and stay indoors.

Led by musician-turned-activist, Bobi Wine, South African folk singer, Robin Auld, and Nigeria’s Amuta Stone, the song brings together leaders of past and present to express solidarity during this unprecedented time in the continent’s history.

The song, ‘Alone Together’, was written by Dr Greg Mills, who heads The Brenthurst Foundation, the Johannesburg-based think tank.

Put together over the course of a few days, the music video features cameos from the likes of FW de Klerk, the former President of South Africa, Liberia’s President George Weah, his predecessor, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and Nigeria’s Olusegun Obasanjo.

The song has proven an instant hit online, racking over 50,000 views on Wine’s Facebook page within the first 5 hours of it going live.

While the video has been showered with positive comments, social media users have been quick to point to the absence of any figures currently in the Ugandan government.

“It’s unfortunate that Uganda doesn’t have a former President [because] the former President is also the current President”, wrote one user. “But we are lucky that the future President is representing people power”.

Alone Together is Wine’s second song in as many weeks, raising the profile of the coronavirus pandemic.

While his most recent efforts focus on social distancing, urging people to stay at home, his previous song, ‘Corona Virus Alert’, spoke of the need for people to maintain high levels of personal hygiene.