If Nigeria would rebuild its nationalism values to keep a tab on its developmental course, there would be a need for more investment in historical research and studying the subject from primary to tertiary education level as a necessity and not an option"
—Toyin Falola, Distinguished Humanities Professor, University of Texas, Austin, at the Second Distinguished Lecture Series, Department of History and International Studies, Lagos State University (Wednesday, August 10, 2022)
A fortnight ago, acclaimed Humanities scholar, Oloruntoyin Falola, was a guest speaker at the Lagos State University. Organised by the Department of History and International Studies, the lecture characteristically turned out to be a memorable occasion with Falola showing in clear terms what Nigeria had missed by neglecting the study of history, opening up a path to redemption and remediation. No doubt, it is easy for a historian to discuss the value of his discipline, not just to humanity but especially to a country like Nigeria tottering in the wilderness and in search of a compass for redirection. It is a different case altogether when a mature historian of Falola's stature takes on such a subject showing bit by bit how history can help to reclaim the greatness that Nigeria once dreamed of but has since veered off.
Divided into several parts, the treatise took on such sub-themes as history and nation-building, cultural identity, history and national development as well as the value of history to national consciousness and patriotism. He discusses these subsidiary themes in clear depth, putting them in historical perspective and showing how a detailed study of them can illuminate Nigeria's search for a way out of the blues. He argues, for example, that one of the productive uses of the study of History is that it helps leaders and followers alike to think about the origin of problems, that is how they came about, what lost opportunities produced them and how they can be managed or remedied. According to him, there was a time when insecurity was not this pronounced in Nigeria and Nigerian lives were as sacred as those of any other country on the globe. Analytically, therefore, the task is to ask the question: What and what transpired to make insecurity so distinct, so pervasive and so consequential in terms of the haemorrhage of human lives? These are simple and direct questions, although the answers may not be so straightforward.
Pursuing the logic further, one can argue that insecurity climbed onto the front burner with the advent of the Boko Haram insurgency which began to torment the country from about 2009 onwards. At that point, it was not yet a full-blown terrorist onslaught but skirmishes here and there. Its development into a national crisis can be linked to the allegation that some Nigerians who were sympathetic to its causes began to sponsor, patronize and fan up its embers. Given that nobody has been arrested for sponsoring it, this meant that the sponsors, whatever their motives, have free rides. Sooner than later, cognate militant groups, some of them derivatives of Boko Haram, began to spring up in several parts of the country. This is the prelude to the current murderous excess in which the country finds itself. Although Falola does not dwell on this subject, he erects a template of historical logic and analytical method by which one can learn the lessons of history. Could it be said therefore that successive Nigerian leaders allowed Boko Haram and allied groups to build power bases within the country because they either ignored its tendency to escalate or did not prepare early enough to introduce counter-insurgency measures that would have prevented extremist groups from gaining the foothold they later did? Needless to say that the "lessons of history" are often problematic to draw because the study of history is not without contentions, propaganda, partisanship and, therefore, difficult to pin down.
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