Reconceptualising Technology Transfer in Nigerian IT Education: A Decolonial Framework for Curriculum Design

Information technology curricula in Nigerian universities are characterised by a profound structural dependence on knowledge frameworks, textbooks, and industry certification standards developed in the Global North, raising fundamental questions about the extent to which Nigerian IT education serves the knowledge and development needs of Nigerian society and economy. This study reconceptualises technology transfer in Nigerian IT education through a decolonial theoretical lens, constructing an original Afrocentric IT Curriculum Design Framework that centres indigenous knowledge practices, Nigerian technological priorities, and African problem contexts. The research employs a critical-interpretive methodology combining discourse analysis of 120 IT degree programme curricula from Nigerian universities with focus group discussions involving 74 IT academics, industry practitioners, and final-year students across six geopolitical zones. Theoretical grounding draws on decolonial theory, indigenous knowledge systems scholarship, and the African philosophy of Ubuntu as applied to technology epistemology. Empirical findings document the systematic marginalisation of Nigerian technology contexts in course content, the uncritical adoption of Silicon Valley professional paradigms in IT programme outcomes, and student alienation from curricula that do not reflect their operational realities. The proposed framework prescribes three curriculum transformation pillars: contextual relevance, epistemic plurality, and community-centred project-based learning. The study contributes an original decolonial framework to IT education scholarship and addresses a critical gap in Nigerian higher education reform discourse. Keywords: technology transfer, IT curriculum, decolonial theory, Nigerian universities, Afrocentric education.