Past, Present, and Future: Perspectives on the Development of an Indigenous Science Communication Agenda in Nigeria

As African countries race to cushion the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, policy makers and governments have realised the need to design new policies that cater to the immediate and future needs of their citizenry. Many of these policies, though well intentioned, have largely ignored homegrown science communication; yet science itself is not inclusive or effective without a decisive agenda that is appropriate for local contexts. This chapter examines the state of science communication in Nigeria and offers perspectives on the development of a locally relevant science communication agenda. Critical points in the development of the science, technology, and innovation agenda in Nigeria and, indeed, Africa, correspond to the occurrence of major shifts in history. The wave of pan-Africanism that swept through the continent in the period leading to independence and the period immediately after it inspired a new wave of Afrocentric policies that seemed set to put science and, by extension, science communication on a transformative path unencumbered by the age-long tendency to refract African scientific endeavour through European lenses. This chapter provides an overview of past and present developments on the Nigerian scene with regard to the casting of a national vision for science communication and highlights opportunities for deepening inclusion and relevance towards the goal of building a transformative national science communication agenda for the future.