Our children know nothing about Nigerian history - Ogbogbo
- The president of the Historical Society of Nigeria, Prof. Christopher Ogbogbo led a delegation on a courtesy visit to Senator Ali Wakili representing Bauchi South senatorial district in Abuja.
- He complained bitterly about the lack of knowledge of Nigerian history
- He also said that the Nigerian history is not taught in schools therefore leaving the young ones clueless about past heroes
The president of the Historical Society of Nigeria, Prof. Christopher Ogbogbo, has said that the development crisis in the country is because of lack of history.
Ogbogbo made this known when he led a delegation on a courtesy visit to Senator Ali Wakili representing Bauchi South senatorial district in Abuja.
He decried that the absence of history in school curriculum in the country from primary schools to junior secondary schools. According to him, this is responsible for the death of the knowledge of history.
"Since 1982 that is about 34 years ago Nigerians have not had history at the primary and at the junior secondary level and you are not going to be disposed taking it because it is optional at the senior secondary school," he said.
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He alleged that 90 per cent of the children know little or nothing about Nigerian history and "we know that history is the bedrock of a nation.
"In fact some of us have argued at the university level that our development crisis as a country and as a continent is because of lack of history.
"I give the example of a brilliant young man in secondary school, when asked who is the most popular Obafemi that he knows.
"Everybody thought naturally he was going to say Obafemi Awolowo. The truth is that our children today know little or nothing about our heroes .
"In all advanced countries, history is compulsory before you graduate, you must pass courses in history,’’ he said.
The president commended Wakili for coming up with the bill, saying it would help to make the study of the subject compulsory in order to retain our history for future generation.
"I commend Senator Wakili for proposing a Bill to make it a law. When it becomes a law it is different from being a policy. That means governments can come and go but the law remains."
On use of mother tongue, Ogbogbo encouraged parents to teach their wards indigenous languages, he said studies have shown that children from age one to 12 can comfortably assimilate seven languages.
"The more languages you are able to speak, the more advantageous you are as a human being.
"There is nothing wrong if adults speak our indigenous languages to our children,’’ he said.
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Responding, the senator appreciated the delegation for deeming it fit to pay him a visit over his effort to ensure that there was a legal provision for compulsory teaching of history in all school levels.
He promised to follow the bill to its logical conclusion to ensure that Nigeria’s history did not extinct.
However, Nigerians are forging an identity of themselves as a well educated people, but are our nation’s children suffering from a lack of knowledge about history.
Source: Legit.ng
