COVID-19 Pandemic and the Imperative of Functional Technology Education in Nigeria: A Historical Analysis

Abstract

Nigeria has recorded great losses since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2019. Over-reliance on oil as source of national revenue and inadequate human capital development have impeded the country’s response to the global emergency. This study examines how technology education can stimulate a diversified economy to boost Nigeria’s capacity to withstand future crises. It employed a historical research method, comprising mainly secondary sources. The pandemic exposed the morbidity and inadequacy of Nigeria’s health facilities. In addition, a sharp drop in the global price of crude oil worsened the country’s wobbling economy during the pandemic. At the micro level, the lockdown imposed by government turned many self-employed Nigerians to idlers. The COVID-19 pandemic could have been a platform to enhance researches in medical sciences and health technology but the extant problems in the country’s higher education sector such as poor funding, lack of motivation for teaching and research, brain drain, and poor curriculum prevented meaningful innovation in that regard. The study recommends reforms in technology education to create a work force for non-oil sectors like agriculture, solid minerals, small and medium enterprises, and indigenous industries. This would stimulate self-reliance and a diversified economy to keep Nigeria unperturbed during future emergencies.