COVID-19 PANDEMIC AS A THREAT TO AFRICAN SECURITY AND DEVELOPMENT: INSIGHTS FROM NIGERIA

Abstract

Disease outbreak or any form of pandemic is not strange to the global community. However, it is the management techniques and control that mostly concern the international community, especially the World Health Organization (WHO). The coronavirus (COVID-19) which began in the city of Wuhan, Hubei, China in late 2019 spread to every continent on the globe. The pandemic did not just cause disruption in the global order, it also had a profound impact on economy, peace and security across the globe. This paper seeks to examine the impact of COVID-19 on Africa’s security and development, with Nigeria as a case study. The paper argues that the outbreak of the pandemic exposed Africa’s unpreparedness in managing emergencies, which the pandemic exemplified. While most of the developed countries had in place policy measures to control the spread of the virus, Africa as a vulnerable continent with poor health sector and limited economic resources was unable to roll out effective preventive measures. Africa was initially presumed to be immune to the COVID-19, but the upsurge in the number of those who tested positive and the number of casualties became worrisome.  For Nigeria, the pandemic has impacted negatively leading to criminal activities, insecurity, economic crisis, unemployment, job cuttings, food crisis and high cost of living. The lockdown measures imposed by Nigeria further disrupted the educational system where access to virtual learning is really non-existent. The paper concludes that the COVID-19 pandemic should be a lesson for Africa, including Nigeria. Therefore, Africa needs to promote local research initiative, home grown management strategy and investment in local technology in order to combat or control future outbreak of global pandemics.   Key words: Nigeria, Covid-19 Pandemic, Africa, Security, Development