In this post, we will look at the history of technology in Nigeria.
Technology refers to the
organization of knowledge for practical purpose. Technology helps make work and life
easier and comfortable. It solves problems and overpower challenges in relatively short
time.
Nigeria is made up of many different ethnic groups each of which have indigenously
developed usable technologies suitable for their environment and way of life. From the
riverine and coastal communities to the hinterlands, highland and the fringes of the
Sahara desert, people have developed and put into use local technologies suitable for
their transportation mode and occupations.
Nevertheless, it is not uncommon to find that these different peoples share common
technologies. For instance the hoes and classes used on farms, the palm wine tapping
procedure, the canoe water transportation, the town crier or big drum communication
means, locally made guns and bows and arrows for hunting and defence, to mention a
few.
Human existence has always been assisted by technology which though crude at the
initial stage has transformed into a celebrated phenomenon in the present age. Nigeria
has no doubt played a worthy role in the various technological discoveries which largely
influenced the global world.
From the way man perceive his environment, his means of survival or livelihood,solving
health care issues,information dissemination and retrieval system and how to defend
himself reflects the different levels of the scientific and technological approach to
solving problems and challenges.
As it is not realistic to encompass the entire history of technology in Nigeria and the
present state of its advancement in one single article, we shall break the topic down to
its various sub-units that constitutes its basics hoping to do justice to the topic.
Going forward, we cannot but make mention of the body that officially directs
technology drive in modern Nigeria; the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology.
This crucial body is the strategic ministry of government saddled with the responsibility
of facilitating the development and deployment of science, technology and innovation
to enhance the pace of socio-economic development of Nigeria.
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The Federal Ministry of science and technology was established on the 1st of January,
1980 by act Number 1 of 1980,as the successor organ of government to the National
Science and Technology Development Agency(NSTDA), which was created in 1976.By
January 1984, the ministry was merged with the Federal Ministry of Education which was
then renamed, Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
In its course of history,the ministry was again scrapped in 1992 and its research institute
and parastatals were shared among other Ministries and Agencies such as the Federal
Ministries of Industry, Agriculture, Health and National Agency for Science and
Engineering Infrastructure(NASENI).
After scrapping the Ministry in 1992, NASENI was established as an arm of government
for the formation and implementation of science and technology policies
thus,necessitating the formation of the Science and Technology Unit(STU).
The Federal Ministry of Science and Technology was again re-established on the 26TH of
August,1993 and the STU in the presidency became the nucleus of the new Ministry.
Consequently, some of its research institutes previously transferred to other Ministries
were returned to operate under its purview. The Ministry is said to be currently
supervising 17 Research and Development Institutions and interfacing with other
cognate bodies to diversify the economy.
The history of technology in Nigeria can be traced through the following purposes and
usages that technology is employed for in the country:
History of Blacksmithing Technology in Nigeria:
Blacksmiths are the manufacturers of tools,domestic utensils,agricultural
implements,religious artifacts, guns, honoric implements, decorative arts as well as
warfare weapons such as swords,bow and arrows,shields etc. They melt and refine metals
which they use to manufacture goods in their trade.
Traditional blacksmithing plays a major role in the socio-cultural, economic and religious
life of the people of Nigeria. Studies indicate that blacksmithing used to be one of the
dominant flourishing art traditions in the communities of Southern Nigeria and other
societies around the country in the past.
However due to the negative effect of colonial domination and the illiteracy of the local
blacksmiths,little or nothing was known about this unique tradition.
Various factors were found to be responsible for the declining condition of the
traditional art of blacksmithing such as modern technological advancement side by side
the influx of foreign products of metallic nature,mass movement of rural community
members to big cities, lack of government support,and the fading interest of youths in
the profession.Despite these conditions, blacksmithing still prevails in most rural
communities.
The blacksmith products remain indispensable to the people due to their sociocultural,
religious,economic and aesthetic significance to the living tradition of the society and
their cultural heritage.
The ill-fated age-long project of the Ajaokuta steel industry,which if successful should
have brought about modernization to blacksmithing is another sorry case of Nigeria.
History of Technology in Nigeria Transport System
Walking is the earliest form of movement man ever employed and we still use it till
date.However transportation technology has obviously evolved to the point that man
can now travel to outer space.
In Nigeria, beasts of burden such as donkeys,horses and camels were and are still used to
transport people and goods.Wagons with wheels are also fastened to these animals to
increase their capacities.
In the coastal and riverine areas,boats,canoes and oars are built and used for water
transportation. Sails are also attached to them to harness wind power for movement.
However the technology of automobiles have advanced transportation thus rendering
the aforementioned methods of transportation inferior and less desirable.The drastic
changes are evidenced in the bicycles,motorcycles, tricycles, high speed cars, buses,
lorries, trucks and trains which help move numerous people and massive goods across
destinations.
Many Nigerians make a living operating these machines as
drivers,conductors,mechanical engineers and an indigenous vehicle industry, Innosson
Motors today operate in the country.
The jetties(speed boats),ferries and modern ships have relegated the canoes on our
waterways.
The flying machines,aeroplanes and helicopters,the fastest means of transportation
operate today in
Nigeria.
Today Nigerians are pilots and sailors as well as technicians that help operate and
maintain these machines.
Whether through land,water or air, Nigerians import and export commodities and
services enabled by the advancements in transportation technology.
History of Technology in Nigeria Agricultural Sector
This is a vast area due to the numerous branches of agriculture practiced in Nigeria with
the various technologies employed to drive them. As we know,agriculture is majorly
divided into crop farming and animal rearing.The focus here is mainly on technology
involving crop farming.
As a boy in the secondary school,each time our Agricultural Science master calls for
practical sessions,he will say;”Bring your cutlasses and hoes”. Trust me,that statement
alone makes one to begin to tire out as if one is already working with those crude tools.
True, the traditional technology for agriculture in Nigeria includes cutlass, hoe and axe
for clearing and preparing land for planting and even harvesting. Other harvesters
include sickle-cell, go-to-hell and knife. All these tools, though helpful, using them is
tedious and cumbersome especially on large farms.
In northern Nigeria where cattle is reared,locally made ploughs are affixed to bulls which
are then employed to plough the land.
Improvement in agricultural technology has eased the business of farming.Today
tractors are attached to various machines like bush clearers, ploughers, harvesters,
planters, fertilizer sprinklers etc,which can be used to clear lands,prepare it for planting,
plant, apply fertilizer and harvest ripe fields in a remarkable short time with little human
effort.The Bulldozer is used to clear forests for agricultural purposes as well.
There is a machine for peeling cassava for faster job. In poultry farming,there are
incubators and hatchery to handle massive amounts of eggs instead of relying on the
natural method of hens incubating and hatching eggs.
Universities of Agriculture and Technology have been established in Nigeria to produce
experts in these areas.
History of Technology in Drilling For Underground Water
In the past people manually dug wells and drew water using ropes tied to buckets.Well
digging was done using crude tools. A pulley system was also designed to draw water
from the deep wells.
Even today in Nigeria, getting portable water can be so tasking for a lot of people due to
the non-efficiency of the water corporations. Imagine trekking long distances to a
stream, river, well or borehole tap to fetch water and bear the load all the way home.
Some people also pay water tankers vehicles and human bearers to help bring them
water.
Thanks to technology,today privately dug boreholes abound all over the country in
households,offices and complexes. In the cruder method,several men manually rotate
the driller to get to the water below and the pumping machine is lowered down in place
for installation.
However mechanically driven drilling machines have been developed.Pumping machines
are also installed in wells to bring up the water directly into pipes running through
buildings. All we need do is to open the tap and we have water.
History of Technology in Food Preservation, Processing and Storage
One major problem confronting farmers,food vendors and humans at large is the
spoilage of food caused by micro organisms. Nigerians have been traditionally
employing certain simple techniques to preserve and store foods.
Food processing often transforms foodstuffs into preservable forms which in turn
increases their shelf lives when stored. Traditional techniques employed to preserve food
include drying in the sun, smoking on fire, curing (salt application)etc. Today, there are
deep freezers and fridges for preserving a wide range of food.Ovens and microwaves
also are handful technologies.
Food processing in Nigeria in the past includes the grinding stone for grinding
pepper,melon,ginger,corn and other foodstuffs but advanced technology has built the
grinding machine which can grind a wide range of food including cassava thus saving
much time and energy.
The manual and electric blender are common gadgets in many homes now. Today, food
processing is a very large industry in Nigeria. They package tomato paste, baby foods,
assorted biscuits, sweets, fruit juice, milk, beverages, cornflakes etc. An industry that
relies heavily on food preservation,processing,and storage technology.
History of Information and Communication Technology in Nigeria
Cultural technologies employed to disseminate information in Nigeria were the town
criers,the large drums,talking drums and,whistles and bells used for calling attention or
meetings.
With the advent of the radio and television,communication was improved and changed
drastically.At a point,the television and radio transistors were the only technology for
widespread information dissemination, but the development of computers, smart
phones, the internet and social media has changed all that monopoly. Even today we
have plasma televisions, flat screens and digitally subscribed multimedia stations.
Technological development created the telephone which the Europeans introduced to us.
From my experience in the 1980s as a growing child, one can only make a phone call in
phone booths, NIPOST stations,offices or homes with land lines. Today we have mobile
phones that have been upgraded into portable computers with internet connections; I.e.,
smartphones.
Once upon a time in Nigeria,personal computers (PC) were the order of the day and
many could only access the internet if their PC is connected to the internet or when they
patronise internet cafes. Today the fanciful thing is to own a laptop, tab or smart phone
which are effective in communication and surfing the internet.Even the television and
radio stations are accessed on these smart gadgets.
No doubt the invention of the microphone and loud speakers are useful in large
gatherings and street advertisement.
History of Technology in Nigeria Military Defence
Before Europeans and Arabians imported the technology of guns down here,the various
ethnic groups and clans defended themselves with farm implements like class,axes or
even large sticks. Some more advanced tribes had blacksmiths who manufactured
swords,shields, armoured war vests,and bows and arrows.
Guns were introduced by foreigners and local blacksmiths adopted the technology of
making guns.
Having colonised Nigeria,the British formed an army which eventually became the
Nigerian Army after the country’s independence.
As we know,the Nigerian Army are in possession of sophisticated weapons employed by
the land army,navy and air force.Modern warfare has indeed advanced far above the
crude methods employed by our forefathers.
Of recent,the Nigerian Army partnered with Innosson Motors for the later to build war
vehicles for military personnel use. Efforts are also being made by the army to build its
own weapons in order to reduce reliance on foreign purchase of weapons.
The history of technology in Nigeria is an ongoing phenomenon as various innovations
and initiatives here in Nigeria and in diaspora are vigorously and continuously unleashed
to further ease our way of doing work and improve globalisation.
On my humble part I only hope this article suffices to at least show some pattern of
technology history in Nigeria.
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