Improving Nigeria’s Economy: How STEM Research Funding Can Be a Gamechanger.
The culprit behind Nigeria’s 2024 economic jeopardy is multifaceted. One party could say it is due to Naira’s devaluation against the US dollar; another could say it is due to the botched removal of petrol subsidy. And they would both be correct.
The economy is so harsh! Earlier this year, the price of rice, garri, beans and other foods was reported to have surged by over 130%. As such, solutions are actively sought and employed all over the country. Which one works? Which one would work? Going forward, this essay argues that intensive STEM research funding can provide an escape for Nigeria from her brutal economic realities.
For one, STEM research is an indisputable pipeline for innovation across modern industries. In Nigeria’s case, the petroleum and agricultural industries are what first come to mind. It is indeed a shame that a country richly endowed in both oil and soil has failed continuously to materialize its fullest potential.
Investing funds into STEM research can help alleviate Nigeria’s low agricultural productivity by equipping enthusiastic youth with the right knowledge and tools borrowed from other countries or enable them to introduce novel techniques that can make farming easier, faster and able to produce desirable results. The greatest benefit would be the gradual diversification of Nigeria into a green economy and—to some extent—a blue economy. As a consequence, Nigeria will be able to balance its international trade deficits and cut down the gargantuan importation of wheat and rice!
Beyond agriculture, the broader impact of STEM funding is recognized in national policy. According to the National Development Plan 2021-2025, STEM in Nigeria continues to suffer from limited funding for research and development. Adequate funding can be harnessed in fine-tuning the STEM curriculum from primary to tertiary levels and also in exposing researchers to opportunities lying untapped in the laboratories.
One must emphasize the impact of STEM research funding in preparing bright minds who will thereby create innovative local technological solutions. These solutions so created must pass the criteria of feasibility, scalability, value and market demand. Such feats have been achieved in the past, and by Nigerians.
Yusuf Bilesanmi is an atypical example—a man who went from dropping out of the Lagos State University (LASU) and studying in Japan to becoming the first recipient of the “One-to Watch” award at the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation Event. Yusuf is a solutionist! When local fish retailers lamented over fish wastage due to erratic power supply, he founded Eja-Ice, a cold-chain company that builds solar-powered refrigerators. When COVID-19 reached its climax in 2020, a lot of patients had breathing difficulties, so he came up with Shivent, a non-electric, non-invasive yet “low-cost” ventilator.
In retrospect, this is not just about Yusuf. Every passing year, tens of thousands of Nigerians leave the country’s shanties to seek greener “educational” pastures. How many of them return? To prevent further brain drain, Nigeria must position itself amongst other nations as an emerging powerhouse of STEM research. This can be achieved with adequate funding.
One is compelled to conclude that virtually all Indigenous trailblazer projects in Nigeria today are products of years of STEM research funding. The Dangote Petroleum Refinery is an impressive testament. Pegged at $19 billion, the expansive facility in Ibeju-Lekki is said to have employed about 30,000 Nigerians who will be involved in producing 650,000 barrels per day.
How marvellous it is, that latent local talents from Nigerian institutions, some barely 26, occupy top positions in the refinery after training in different research programs, at home and abroad. With this leap, Nigeria is tipped to save foreign exchange, recover some of Naira’s lost glory, and perhaps quit importing fuel in the near future. It is such power that STEM research funding can lend to the Nigerian economy.
Lastly and again, the culprit behind Nigeria’s 2024 economic jeopardy is multifaceted. Naira redesign. Botched policies. Sky-high transport cost. Naira’s rise. Petrol subsidy removal. Food insecurity. Of all probable solutions, this essay argues that STEM research funding is the single most crucial to Nigeria’s economic success as it is the only solution that has the potential to yield hundreds of solutions. Focusing on creative outputs, STEM research funding is capable of sharpening Nigeria’s human capital into multi-pronged innovative local technological solutions that can tackle the country’s economic crisis from unseen angles.
