HISTORY ;THE FUTURE OF NIGERIA

In early September, it was with a heavy heart I signed a petition made by Omei
Bongos Ikwue on change.org to Keep the study of History in Nigerian
schools . Apparently, the Nigerian government decided to remove history from
school curriculums for reasons such as- there are neither jobs for graduates of
history, nor sufficient teachers for students of history . Furthermore of all their
subjects, secondary school students rank Mathematics, English and Biology highly
because these subjects are prerequisites for admission into universities and lastly,
Students rate history so low because, according to them,
Society itself does not rate history highly."
I have always wondered how its possible for alleged drug barons to become
senators, how convicted criminals become governors and why the Nigerian people
are known to have such a short memory especially when compared to societies
such as the British, where activities done by people in their teens can hunt them
when they seek political office later on in life, Or members of parliament that are
forced to retire for misappropriating five hundred pounds the equivalent of seventy
thousand naira. Ironically, Nigerians complain about their leaders, but the leaders
come from the people. Some Leaders from elite backgrounds, others grew up
without shoes, some without a formal education others with PHDs. What gives?
A people that are not taught to hold their history in esteem, will have short term
memory. It is this mental illness that sees both disgraced public officials and private
citizens blissfully active in society.
Our people forget
A people without the knowledge of their past, origin and culture are like a tree
without roots. Roots are the primary structural support of a tree, the deeper it goes
the stronger the tree. The roots are the strength behind a trees resilience when
winds come against it. If you cut a tree down, as long as its roots are unaffected, the
tree can spring up again.
The study of history is one of the most powerful tools to build a national identity, it
can also be used to teach lessons on past mistakes as well as nurture qualities that
elevate our society. Our history as taught in schools across Nigeria is an absolute
disgrace. Till tomorrow, Nigerian teachers tell their students that Mungo Park
discovered river Niger, as though all the people that lived in the area for thousands
of years came with him on his boat. Our curriculum as it stands is not built to
nurture creative minds or critical thinkers, neither is it built to empower the average
student. In a world that is becoming more and more globalized, the African child
should know his story, his place, encounters and experiences in this global world.
THATS WHERE OUR-STORY COMES IN HISTORY

Our educational system needs to be overhauled no subject more so than history.

Our students should know about empires that existed long before colonization, long
before lord Lugards consort named this geographic area Nigeria. Our children
should learn about the NOK civilization the migratory pattern from the Nile valley
and the indigenous black African pharaohs that built the pyramids.
"When the history of Negroland comes to be written in detail, it may be
found that the kingdoms lying towards the eastern end of Sudan (classical
home of Ancient Ethiopians) were the home of races who inspired, rather
than of races who received, the tradition of civilization associated for us
with the name of ancient Egypt. For they cover on either side of the Upper
Nile between the latitudes of ten degrees and seventeen degrees,
territories in which are found monuments more ancient than the oldest
Egyptian monuments. If this should prove to be the case and civilized
world be forced to recognize in a black people the fount of its original
enlightenment, it may happen that we shall have to revise entirely our
view of the black races, and regard those who now exist as the decadent
representatives of an almost forgotten era, rather than as the embryonic
possibility of an era yet to come."
Lady Lugard/Flora Shaw Lugard, Asa G. Hilliard, III, A Tropical Dependency: An
Outline of the Ancient History of the Western Sudan With an Account of the Modern
Settlement of Northern Nigeria (1906)
When a people do not know their story, they are always forced to look outside of
themselves to solve their problems a tragedy that has earned Africa the title the
wealthy beggar continent.
Our students should learn about the Songhai empire, the Oyo and Benin empires,
latter empires in Mali,Ghana, Kongo, Ethiopia. In doing so students start to see our
similarities as opposed to our differences which have been exacerbated by arbitrary
national borders drawn to serve the interest of colonial masters aka invaders.
Our students should learn about the enslavement of their people, the Kings that
fought to prevent it and those that enriched themselves from it, with an aim to
nurture citizens that are their brothers keeper. We complain that leaders
consistently sell us out for personal gain, jeopardizing the interest of the people and
betraying our trust, yet we do nothing to create better citizens. Through the study
of history we can program the mind of our citizens. History is the voice through
which society tells its story and sets its aspiration for its citizenry.
Our students should learn about colonization, they should know it by what it really
was- an invasion. They should understand that invasions, enslavement and
colonization interrupted African development it did not start it. They should
learn about Leopold in the Congo, the Germans in Namibia and the French in
francophone Africa. They should learn about all our warriors that died defending
our empires, people like Asoro n'Iyokuo (the Great Benin Warrior) who held the

invading British army at bay for 5 days, They should learn about Queen
Nzingha, the politics of Jaja of Opobo, Queen Amina and Yaa Asantewa of Ghana.
This thread should be taught with an aim to instill in the minds of our young
ones that we were not always a helpless defeated people- that people like them
fought for freedom, were brave and were strong.
Our students should learn about the Biafran war from multiple angles, they should
learn about the mistakes on BOTH sides that led to the war. Just maybe if they
are aware of the evil that comes with war, people would not be so quick to call
for wars in the coming generation and such a devastating tragedy will not
repeat itself.
Our students should learn about the history of religion, the role the Pope and the
church played in enslaving Africans as well as the Christians (the Quakers) that
ended it. They should also learn about the enslavement of Africans by Arabs and
the Trans-Saharan slave trade. Our students should learn about the civil rights
fight in America, they should understand without that fight, they would not be
able to visit, school or live in America . It should be understood that the
freedoms they enjoy in that part of the world was paid for in the blood, sweat
and tears of their enslaved brothers and sisters.
Our students should learn about World War 2 and the many Nigerians that fought as
part of the allied forces against Hitler. Our students should learn about Thomas
Sankara, Patrice Lumumba and Steve Biko, so the next generation might shift
from the political paradigm/ aspiration of seeking power solely to accumulate
wealth to one of empowering and lifting our people up.
Our students should learn that once they step out of Africa they cease to be seen as
Yoruba or Hausa o igbo. they are seen as black and that comes with its own
challenges in the world today. They should learn the shared experiences of
Africans from Haiti, Brazil to South Africa and be familiar with Nkrumah and ziks
writings on Pan-Africanisim .
Without the study of appropriate history, we program a generation to live just for
the moment, dishonoring their past and at the detriment of their future. We create
infantile minds that can hardly grasp geo-politics in effect they continuously bicker
amongst themselves on tribal issues while being re-colonized.
Our government focuses on infrastructure without thinking much about
cultivating the mind of the population or a long term view or vision for
the country and the continent. Yet the wealthiest and most powerful
countries are the ones who tap in to the human mind not natural
resources. Numerous case studies abound that show the correlation between a
societies reverence for its history and its ability to become great. The Japanese,
British and the Chinese are prime examples. America revises its history books
every couple of years usually tweaking it based on prevailing societal
conditions.

Whoever controls the history controls the vision. Whoever controls the images
controls your self esteem, self respect and self development.
Knowing all this, it is very disconcerting that the study of history is hinged
on job acquisition, this more than anything shows the short sightedness of our
leadership. The study of history should be mandatory in schools; it should comprise
a comprehensive syllabus that spans from primary school to the final year in senior
secondary school. In fact the issuance/renewal of the Nigerian passport should be
linked to the continuous study of history. To become a British citizen, applicants sit
an exam that assesses the applicants knowledge of British history. This is important
because its not enough to call yourself a citizen of a nation without the knowledge
of what that nation stands for.
Even the President knows that to rally a people, you must remind them of who they
are, where they have been and what they have overcome. Therein lies the platform
from which said people launch to greatness.
Furthermore, we as Nigerians must remind ourselves that we are heirs to
great civilizations: Shehu Othman Dan fodios caliphate, the Kanem Borno
Empire, the Oyo Empire, the Benin Empire and King Jajas formidable domain. The
blood of those great ancestors flow in our veins. What is now required is to build on
these legacies, to modernize and uplift Nigeria. PMB