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By Tunde Uchegbuo
Amidst the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the International Monetary Fund says global economic growth was negative for 2020.
IMF’s managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, explained that the global economy was “sluggish and precarious”, adding that the body reviewed 2020 economic outlook down from 3.6% to 3.5%.
On April 14, 2020, the IMF forecast a dire outlook for a coronavirus-ravaged world economy.
In its World Economic Outlook, titled ‘The Great Lockdown,’ IMF Chief Economist, Gita Gopinath, painted a gloomy picture for the economy of the world.
“It is very likely that this year the global economy will experience its worst recession since the Great Depression, surpassing that seen during the financial crisis a decade ago,” Gopinath declared.
She added that “there is extreme uncertainty around the global growth forecast”, and observed that the economic fallout would depend on factors that interact in many unpredictable ways.
With crude oil at below $20 for the first time since 2002 as OPEC+ Production deal failed to lift prices, this significant financial landslide will have profound consequences on the economy of nations that depend solely on oil for revenue.
“Advanced economies are generally in a better position to respond to the crisis, but many emerging markets and low-income countries will face significant challenges”, the IMF chief economist submitted.
The depth and severity of this global calamity remains unclear, but the advanced economies can easily come out of the social and economic upheavals this coronavirus pandemic will cause to the economy of the world.
One way for the advanced economies is through their universities and research institutions. A 2012 Annual Report of Universities in the US showed that the North Carolina State University added $6.5 billion to the economy and created 6,800 jobs, while the university researchers have spun off over 100 startup companies that have attracted more than $1.5 billion in investment capital.
Affirming that research and innovation can fast-track development, Professor Joseph Ajienka, former vice-chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, and Emmanuel Egbogah, chair of Petroleum Engineering in the university, noted that a triple helix concept where government will partner with the academia and the industries will catalyze Nigeria’s economy.
He said this in a paper titled ‘Blessed Are the Teachers,’ at the 37th Convocation Lecture of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, in Port Harcourt.
“Creating entrepreneurial universities that are rooted in creativity, innovation, commercialization and entrepreneurial culture and ecosystem will create a vibrant innovation landscape,” he posited.
He explained that Pakistan and India earns approximately $1billion and $142 billion respectively annually from IT, while Nigeria earns less than $25 billion from oil annually.
To diversify into a knowledge economy, Nigeria has to strengthen its universities and research institutions to focus on innovation based researches that could be commoditized through patents and other forms of intellectual property licensing.
This will reduce dependence on oil, which is already being threatened by technological advancements and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The nation’s education system is shut down, but students in the US, UK, Brazil, and some Asian tiger countries are leveraging technology to carry on with their studies amidst the lockdown. Although educators say there is no learning system that will surpass the gains of face-to-face learning, this is the time to rethink how future education will be carried out because of future uncertainty.
As the World Economic Forum predicts that 65% of children entering primary schools today will work in completely new jobs that don’t yet exist, the ability to prepare for future skills requirements and job content, the forum observed, have become crucial for businesses, governments and individuals to fully seize the opportunities presented by these trends.
As a matter of necessity, Nigeria should begin to create the infrastructure, templates and tools, as well as train resource persons on crucial skills that will facilitate transition from the traditional face-to-face learning to an online space leveraging technology.
