COVID-19 Pandemic in Nigeria: Lessons on Responsibility, University Leadership, and Navigating the New Normal

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic, spreading first to Europe, then to Africa has drastically shifted priorities and created a large amount of uncertainty. The question of what shape recovery from the pandemic will take and what the new normal entails is still up in the air, but there are lessons we can already glean. In Nigeria, the pandemic brought to the fore gaps occasioned by decades of negligence of social infrastructure development including healthcare (hospitals), education (schools and universities), etc. and social services. Industry was ill-prepared and were more focused on donating to the government rather than anticipating and fulfilling their responsibilities to their employees and clients. The wide indiscipline of the populace (non-compliance with rules and regulation) has continued to propagate the spread of Covid-19, while Covid-19 amplified the sharp division along professional lines. This article will be taking an introspective path, reflecting on fundamental notions of responsibility, looking at individual accountability as the essence of good corporate citizenship. We will also be exploring University leadership, local and international partnerships, and the role of stakeholders in every sector. These insights will assist in reimagining individual and corporate responsibilities, and partnerships as Nigeria navigates the pandemic-induced "new normal."