The imperative of research and development in Nigeria: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic

The advent of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) threw the world into pandemonium as most countries were unprepared for its sudden outbreak. Industrialised countries swung into action by applying technology to monitor COVID-19 cases while accentuating research and development (R&D) activities to develop COVID-19 vaccines and drugs. However, Nigeria has not significantly contributed to global research efforts aimed at addressing the challenges posed by the pandemic. This paper applied a case study approach and situational analysis to examine the state of R&D in Nigeria relative to other economies. The paper goes on to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on Nigeria's health sector and the economy at large while emphasising the imperativeness of R&D in effectively handling future outbreaks and, thus, achieving economic and technological catch-up. This study revealed that Nigeria remains a laggard in R&D spending as well as R&D activities, particularly in the health sector as exposed by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. This further reinforces the imperative for Nigeria to significantly and urgently increase its R&D spending not only to combat subsequent health challenges but also to facilitate rapid structural transformation and economic development.