The year 2020 has been a great year, marked by unprecedented events, sad stories of deaths and trembling of powerful nations. Never in history has such a ravenous pandemic ushered in a new decade as we have seen in the year 2020.

 

The year which had been touted around as the year of hope and realisation of global development goals (Vision 2020) looked very bleak with the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic which has ravaged almost every part of the world.

There is no part of the globe that has not been hit hard by this pandemic. Its ripple effects cuts across the economic, political, religious, health, educational and social aspects of life. Every facet of the society has not been left out.

Furthermore, the lockdown measure put in place to combat this pandemic has equally put on hold so many economic, social and educational activities.

It is no myth that the imposition of the lock down measures in the country and the world at large, have rendered a lot of teenagers idle, and this has brought a plethora of effects, both negative and positive into play.

It is against this backdrop that this article seeks to unravel the ripple effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the academic and social lives of teenagers in Nigeria.

 

COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN NIGERIA: THE EXPERIENCE SO FAR

 

As the whole world was hit by this pandemic, Nigeria being an entity within the global enclave was not left out.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2). It was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, more than 8 million cases has been reported and more than 436,000 deaths have been recorded globally.

The first confirmed case in Nigeria was announced on 27 February 2020 when an Italian citizen in Lagos tested positive for the virus. With the outbreak, the president Muhammadu Buhari established a Presidential Task Force for the control of the virus which will work in close collaboration with Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

The pandemic put on hold a whole lot of activities. The National Youth Service Corps suspended the 2020 Batch A stream one orientation exercise indefinitely. The Federal Government placed a travel ban on more than 13 countries with high cases of the virus. As a follow up, many state governments banned all religious gatherings and public gatherings, announced the indefinite closure of their public and private schools. The Federal Government announced the closure of tertiary institutions, secondary and primary schools. The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) suspended all their activities. The National Examination Council announced the indefinite postponement of the 2020 common entrance examination into 104 unity schools in Nigeria. So many states announced the closure of their air and land borders and major markets too allowing only for essential commodities. On 30 march, the Federal Government announced the locking down of Lagos state, Ogun and the FCT, for a period of two weeks which was which consecutively extended, ordering its citizens to stay in their homes, banning interstate travels and announcing the shutting down of businesses and offices.

These measures stifled the socio-economic activities and no doubt have effects on the youths and teenagers.

As at 23rd July 2020, the total number of confirmed cases in Nigeria is 38,344 while active cases are 21,716. The recovered cases are 15,815 while the recorded deaths are 813. 

 

THE POSITIVE EFFECTS OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON NIGERIAN STUDENTS/TEENAGERS

 

 

1. Creativity: Necessity they say is the mother of invention and it is usually unpleasant conditions that often spur creativity. As a result of the lockdown, a lot of students have been able to be creative and some began “side hustles”. Many have been able to acquire different skills online, both related and outside their field of study. Many have always had interest in one skill or the other, but because of school activities, they couldn't combine both.  Now they were able to do so as the pandemic has afforded them ample time by freeing them from some academic activities. 

 

2. It has brought unity among family members: This Covid-19 pandemic has reunited many families and created a fraternal bond among family members. Before the pandemic many students and teenagers alike, due to the distance of their schools from home, do not get to return home often. Even those that live with their parents, but due to the nature of their parent's work, hardly spend quality time with their parents. So since schools were closed, and everyone was forced to return to their homes, ample opportunity of spending quality time with loved ones was created. Families now sit together to eat, to talk, to watch movies and to play. It also made them interested in family affairs, as many have no idea of what is happening in the family.

 

3. It has helped students discover meaningful ways of earning income:  Many teenagers have been able to discover meaningful means of income earning as some had their allowances suspended. During this pandemic period, we were advised to use hand sanitizers and face mask as means of protection, and because of this, some were able to apply the concept of demand, "the willingness to pay for a specific good or service". Some were able to learn how to make face mask and hand sanitizers, then sell it and get small money, likewise other products too.

 

4. Pull free from bad habits: It has helped teenagers pull free from bad habits such as clubbing, drinking and smoking which might have been as a result of peer influence. Owing to the lockdown measures in many states, many are now under the close watch of their parents and as such, do not have the temerity to engage in these habits they learnt while they were far from home. 

 

5. Opening new ways of learning

The closure of schools during this period opened a new way of learning using the internet facility. Many students were able to adjust to the online distant learning using platforms like Google classroom, Zoom meeting or even WhatsApp. As a result, many of their academic activities were not interrupted. Some were able to learn through Webinars organised using the social media platforms. The ample time also afforded the serious students enough time to read and research on their areas of interest.

 

THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF PANDEMIC ON NIGERIAN STUDENTS/TEENAGERS

 

1. Interruption in Academic Learning: Every Tom, Dick, and Harry knows that the pandemic has truncated the growth of academic learning by closing down schools in Nigeria. Although, there has been an introduction of online distant learning, a greater percentage of Nigerian students have low financial capacity to access such online education(e-learning) and so, the absence of virtual classrooms, libraries, and school laboratories have deprived many the opportunity to improve their academic learning. Also, some students do not have parents that are well educated, who can put them through and motivate them, as the classroom serves as a huge motivation, where students are inspired by what others are doing, how they are able to think so fast, and do excellently in their works. The competition in the classroom encourages a lot of students to work even harder. Again, many institutions of learning and universities do not have the facilities needed to enhance learning through internet. As a result, many of the educational institutions could not continue with their learning process.

 

2. Absence of Physical and Social Interaction: Social interaction is an integral part of human development. Interacting with other people has proven to be quite effective in assisting the learner to organize their thoughts, reflect on their understanding, and find gaps in their reasoning. However, the recent pandemic has restricted the means of such physical and social interaction, thereby affecting social development and at the same time leading to psychological crisis –anxiety, worries, etc. 

3. May increase the rate of school dropout in Nigeria: with the closure of schools, many of the children trooped into the streets and market places to hawk for the means of daily sustenance for their family. There is always a high risk that children who engage in commercial activities may be swayed off by the lure of gains that they abandon their education in pursuit of financial gains. Many have neglected their school work and this has encouraged procrastination. Some have the will to read their books, but since they aren't sure of when the lockdown would be resolved, they close their books, return to their phones and the interest is lost. Many have even lost the zeal to read or study.

 

4. Increase in the rate of crime in Nigeria: an idle mind they say is the Devil’s workshop. Since these students are forced to stay at home a lot of them return back to the streets and engage in juvenile delinquencies. Some, who lack proper parental guidance, engage in various crimes ranging from theft, prostitution, violence and substance abuse. A lot of teenagers now get to visit online site and hack into different systems, what we know as "Yahoo" and some visit adult porn sites too.

5. Sexual violence and offences: it is no doubt that the pandemic and its lockdown measures have made some young persons and teenagers victims of sexual crimes like rape, sexual molestation or violence. The closure of schools and businesses brought vulnerable teenagers together under the same roof with a sexual predator making them easily vulnerable to these crimes. For instance one can talk about uncles who molest their house-helps and parents who molest their children sexually. There is no doubt that the recent upsurge in the cases of rape within the last few months is as a result of this pandemic. 


Sadly, it's been a lot within a few months.

Nigeria celebrates her 60th independence anniversary. Judging from recent times we could say that there is nothing to celebrate, but looking at the past and how our heroes fought for this day(Independence) then we can say there is something to celebrate. 

We all have a role to play in the growth of this great country but now, everyone fights for power. Ethnicism, nepotism, and tribalism have divided the Nigeria that we were. We keep criticizing the government forgetting that government is of the people for the people and by the people. We only elected leaders to rule us, we must not wait to be told the right thing to do. 

Nigeria is blessed with a fertile soil, rich in natural and mineral resources but statistics shows that 50% of the Nigerian population are wallowing in extreme poverty and hunger. 

Let us make a Nigeria where COME as Wa, Zo or Bia will not really matter. Love, peace and tolerance should be the common language we speak.

Long live NIGERIA!

Long live NIGERIANS!!

Happy Independence Day.