The Neoliberal State and Management of the Covid-19 Pandemic in Nigeria

Abstract

This study examines how neoliberalism affected the management of Covid-19 in Nigeria. As a result of its emphasis on privatisation and austerity, neoliberalism discouraged social investment programmes and provisioning. The privatisation of Nigeria’s health sector severely stifled health financing, which led to the collapse of public health institutions and the proliferation of private and informal health delivery systems. It limited universal access to quality healthcare, worsened the health conditions of poor Nigerians and rendered the health sector incapable of managing emergency health situations, such as Covid-19. The absence of well-coordinated social investment programmes to cushion the effects of lockdown widened social inequality and misery, making it impossible for citizens in the informal economy to adhere to the Covid-19 guidelines. The state responded with repression to enforce the rules. This study recommends overhauling the Nigerian state and its political economy as a condition for reducing citizen’s vulnerability to a pandemic.