You are right Ekhator, I have not been resident in Nigeria for a while and I am shocked to hear, now from you too, that "Osun State government has a policy that officially banned" history. Is this at the elementary and or at high school level and as a subject for which students have to sit their high school leaving examination? This must be a recent development for which I still need more defined confirmation.
I remember back in the 1980s and sometime in mid 1990s there were serious discussions regarding how best to infuse civic responsibility and patriotism into Nigerian elementary school pupils at an appropriate age and whether History, Civics, or Social Studies was the best means to achieve that end. Even in the 1970s, History as a subject was not offered in many high schools in my state (Kwara) until the 3rd year. History was first offered as a senior level course in my third year of secondary school. Before then, we were taught Civics.
That our leadership does not make much of academic history nor see much usefulness for acada historians is all too obvious. Even many highly educated Nigerians do not hold nobler ideas about history as a profession than do our leadership. Back in 1982, an architect friend of an elderly cousin of mine affected so much pity and disdain for my plight when I told him, because he asked, that I had just graduated with BA History degree. He wondered what in life I could do with history in Nigeria.
That there are deficiencies and shortcoming in the scope of the history taught in our high schools cannot be doubted. But all this is a far cry from the claim of the author of the Guardian news feature reposted by Ikhide, of Nigeria "expunging history as a course of study", with "official reasons" advanced for doing so. This implies a policy statement at least, at the federal government level (or at least at the level of the state government) removing History from the nations higher education curriculum. I have not heard that this has been the case at any time - and I am not sure that I have taken your word for it yet. I need more solid evidence to be convinced that such absurdities have also committed.
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Sent: Friday, March 21, 2014 10:46:02 AM
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - History ends in Nigeria
On Wednesday, March 19, 2014 10:19:14 PM UTC+1, FJKolapo wrote:
Some baffled non-Nigerian friends of mine saw this piece last weekend and sent me emails asking whether it was true. My response to one of them was, "it cant be true.
I have not read anything official from any quarters nor any discussions regarding this anywhere. Its not unlikely that the fellow read a piece about Nigerians not learning from history and mistook that for a policy statement. I think its one of those misconceived pieces that crop up from time to time."From: "Ikhide" <xok...@yahoo.com>
To: "Toyin Falola" <USAAfric...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 1:58:58 PM
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - History ends in Nigeria--Official reasons Nigeria advances for expunging history as a course of study are that students are shunning it, as there were few jobs for history graduates, and there is dearth of history teachers. These are excuses.Nigeria's abhorrence of history is not new. There is no official account of the Civil War. When we obliterate history, we should also destroy our artifacts, burn our museums and monuments, heritage sites and archaeological activities. A generation of Nigerians without knowledge of history would not appreciate these treasures.How does a country proceed without a knowledge of it heroes and heroines? History is not just a study of events and dates, it provides analytical insights into social formations, anthropological developments, inventions and innovations that shape humanity.The roles of history in governance, conflict resolutions, diplomacy and international relations, science and medical studies, technological developments, advancement of civilisations and human relations are vital.- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/03/history-ends-nigeria/#sthash.mtXHvyYK.dpufOfficial reasons Nigeria advances for expunging history as a course of study are that students are shunning it, as there were few jobs for history graduates, and there is dearth of history teachers. These are excuses.Nigeria's abhorrence of history is not new. There is no official account of the Civil War. When we obliterate history, we should also destroy our artifacts, burn our museums and monuments, heritage sites and archaeological activities. A generation of Nigerians without knowledge of history would not appreciate these treasures.How does a country proceed without a knowledge of it heroes and heroines? History is not just a study of events and dates, it provides analytical insights into social formations, anthropological developments, inventions and innovations that shape humanity.The roles of history in governance, conflict resolutions, diplomacy and international relations, science and medical studies, technological developments, advancement of civilisations and human relations are vital.- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/03/history-ends-nigeria/#sthash.mtXHvyYK.dpuf"Official reasons Nigeria advances for expunging history as a course of study are that students are shunning it, as there were few jobs for history graduates, and there is dearth of history teachers. These are excuses.
Nigeria's abhorrence of history is not new. There is no official account of the Civil War. When we obliterate history, we should also destroy our artifacts, burn our museums and monuments, heritage sites and archaeological activities. A generation of Nigerians without knowledge of history would not appreciate these treasures.How does a country proceed without a knowledge of it heroes and heroines? History is not just a study of events and dates, it provides analytical insights into social formations, anthropological developments, inventions and innovations that shape humanity.The roles of history in governance, conflict resolutions, diplomacy and international relations, science and medical studies, technological developments, advancement of civilisations and human relations are vital."- Vanguard editorial (March 12, 2014) on the elimination of History from Nigeria's curriculum.I thought this odious act was executed a while back... Obnoxious still!Please read the rest here...Official reasons Nigeria advances for expunging history as a course of study are that students are shunning it, as there were few jobs for history graduates, and there is dearth of history teachers. These are excuses.Nigeria's abhorrence of history is not new. There is no official account of the Civil War. When we obliterate history, we should also destroy our artifacts, burn our museums and monuments, heritage sites and archaeological activities. A generation of Nigerians without knowledge of history would not appreciate these treasures.How does a country proceed without a knowledge of it heroes and heroines? History is not just a study of events and dates, it provides analytical insights into social formations, anthropological developments, inventions and innovations that shape humanity.The roles of history in governance, conflict resolutions, diplomacy and international relations, science and medical studies, technological developments, advancement of civilisations and human relations are vital.- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/03/history-ends-nigeria/#sthash.mtXHvyYK.dpuf- IkhideStalk my blog at www.xokigbo.comFollow me on Twitter: @ikhideJoin me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ikhide
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