The case for social distancing can hardly be faulted. It is now a global singsong as we confront the menace of coronavirus. The rising number of cases in Nigeria from community spread of the virus remains a thing of worry.

But on Monday, the Boys in Mushin, Oworo and Ilupeju, in Lagos, made a strong case for the ‘suspension of social distancing,’ as they trouped out on empty streets, to confront the threat of the dreaded One Million Boys.

Rather than wait inside their homes. Quarantined. As sitting ducks. For the slaughter. They surged forward as one force. Sending out a strong message. Which was well received by those to whom it was directed. And the threat fizzled away.

Thankfully, there was no bloodshed. For the police quickly moved in. And calmed frayed nerves.

Below are some important takeaways from yesterday’s incident:

• Other Boys in other localities would certainly have become emboldened by what they saw and heard on social media
• If a test were conducted on every one of those Boys who took part in the exercise yesterday and the results come out as negative, we could begin to explore the possibility that coronavirus might know something about showing solidarity and capitulating
• Our Boys might just be our best defence yet
• Our Boys might just be showing the rest of the world the best way to beat the virus
• Our governments might need to expand the scope of considerations, and find a creative way to harness the incredible energy resident in our Boys
• From the point of view of history, while ‘One Million Boys’ and coronavirus cannot be described as the same kind of enemy, one cannot escape the fact that rising to confront the enemy always works better than sitting idly by and waiting to be consumed