STRATEGIES APPLIED BY THE GOVERNMENT TO MITIGATE THE EFFECTS OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON NIGERIA’S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

The unprecedented pandemic and the jostle to curtail its spread created major disruptions in the nation’s economy. One major challenge was starvation because the Federal and states Government ordered a compulsory lockdown of most economic and social activities in order to mitigate the spread of the dreaded virus. In the light of that, people were restricted assessing their normal means of livelihood, which posed enormous challenge to the satisfaction of their basic needs. The study examines the strategies applied by the government to mitigate effects of Covid-19 pandemic on Nigeria’s economic development. System theory was employed as theoretical framework. Both primary and secondary data were used. Primary data involved obtaining information by means of interview and questionnaire. On the other hand, secondary data involves the collection and examination of available data of relevance via textbooks, journals and periodicals, reports and internet. The study revealed that Nigeria government implements specific safety measures such as lockdowns, self-isolation or quarantine and social distancing. Evidence shows that these measures, especially the lockdown order, exacerbate crises that hurt household food security. Evidence indicates that lockdowns reduced not only the purchasing power of some households, but also led to loss of income sources and all other economic activities. This by implication lead to hunger, skipping of food and food shortage at the household level and the economy of the country in general. The study also revealed that the challenges confronted by Nigeria government in combating Covid-19 pandemic hamper the development of Nigeria’s economic development. The study recommended that there is a need for policy makers to begin to recognize that health is wealth and thus give the health sector the attention that it deserves through adequate budgetary allocation and monitoring to ensure that adequate facilities and equipment are provided to ensure that the health system is up and doing.