The decision of the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to return History as a compulsory subject to Nigeria’s primary and secondary schools is a welcome development. Announcing the decision on the last day of 2024, Tunji Alausa, our new Minister of Education confirmed that based on the express mandate of the President, “our students in primary schools, JSS and secondary schools will from 2025 have the subject as part of their studies.” According to the Minister, President Tinubu was swift at seeing the need to restore the critical subject to bridge the generational gap in historical knowledge following its erroneous removal more than two decades ago. In other words, the announcement is not as usual about a proposal but a decision already being implemented. 

Considering the immense importance of History, Alausa can be said to have successfully scored a decisive early goal in his ministership. It is only fair to commend him because his predecessor began, then procrastinated and finally stopped at the proposal stage. It will be recalled that at the 61st Meeting of the National Council on Education Ministerial Session in 2016, the former Education Minister, Adamu Adamu, had ordered the reintroduction of History as a subject in basic schools across Nigeria. Some 9 years later, another Minister is now taking urgent steps to implement the same crucial decision. The implication of this is that the quest to ensure proper growth and development in the education sector was inadvertently taken aback many years. 

If policy vacillation is distasteful, to do so with History is worse asanyone who seeks to comprehend the present must first understand yesterday so as to plan for tomorrow. This is because people’s perception of history often shapes how they view the present.  Indeed, some Nigerian scholars including this writer had many years back, argued that the best way to solve the ills of the Nigerian society especially the protracted ones is to employ the historical approach to critically examine when, where and how such ills began as well as what sustains them. In that way, one would underscore the verdict of history as enunciated by the famous Spanish-born philosopher, poet, and novelist, George Santayana (1863 – 1952) who once stated that “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” 

By electing to abandon History as a course of study, Nigeria did not only deprive its youths of the knowledge of what those before them did, it also divested the entire nation from a reliable record of societal events. For history to be authentic, it must be comprehensive and chronological. It must begin from the beginning and must incorporate records of the origin, growth, development and challenges of a given society. When related to Nigeria, the dilemma was not just about the abandonment of the study of History, even the version that was previously taught was essentially fake. All through Africa, History as a course of study was not about African events or any of the innovative initiatives of the indigenes; rather it was a distorted and jaundiced record of European activities in Africa. 

Put differently, it was a record which featured several perverse and irrational claims. For instance, for   general   knowledge   and   examination   purposes, students of   African history   learnt   and   quite   often   had   to   memorize   historical   fallacies   such   as   that   one   alien adventurer – Mungo Park discovered the River Niger.  No one bothered to rationalize that a man who was shown the River Niger by the inhabitants of its bank ought not to be credited in history with the discovery of the same river.   Even   if   the   supposed   discovery   was   helpful to adventurers and imperialists, it is still awkward for the indigenous people who lived around the river and their successors to be indoctrinated into believing that they too did not know the river until the coming of Mungo Park.

It is because of such poor sense of history that Nigerians were never able to see the fine similarities between colonial masters, military rulers and the current actors of our bogus democracy. They are all the same. In order to suppress and hush the people particularly the leaders of nationalist movements fighting for independence, the colonial masters enacted obnoxious laws such as the Newspapers Ordinance of 1903 and the Seditious Offences Ordinance of 1909. They also criminalized defamation which is akin to the effort of the military to use decrees especially numbers 2 and 4 to criminalize dissent. Notwithstanding the standard world-wide acceptance that truth is an absolute defence to defamation, today’s ‘democrats’ imprison their fellow citizens before giving them a chance to defend any alleged offensive statements. 

Our current Cybercrimes Act contains segments of the law of sedition which elevate those who claim to have been elected by the people into government to operate as emperors. Hence, we have state governors who can sue but cannot be sued and who can use the police to detain their opponents and critics for months even though the law does not provide for more than 48 hours. Our police force as a matter of fact is yet to transition from the Paramilitary Constabulary of the colonial era set up to terrorize blacks and forcefully subordinate them to the political authority. In our special type of democracy, public protests are not allowed as the repealed Public Order Act of 1979 is still being used in breach of the freedom of speech, movement and assembly guaranteed by our constitution.

Before colonial rule, Nigerian traditional institutions served as judges and dispensed credible justice. They ensured that parties involved in a case did not become enemies as the settlements were usually amicably done making those at fault to quite often voluntarily offer apologies to those wronged. Those empowered to settle disputes today abhor technical justice in their public speeches but every case before them is subjected to technicalities – a trend which neither pleases the larger society nor does it sooth the nerves of the aggrieved. There are no records of the positive aspects of our justice delivery system that ought to have been retained and modernized. As a result, the inherited colonial system is used to set criminals free without a consideration of the substance of the allegations made against such accused persons.

For our institutions to become more useful and viable, we need to attain an authentic history which among other things records stories of exemplary conduct. Perhaps leaders who are busy extorting public revenues would never have made laws that give themselves retirement benefits of official houses in their states and Abuja if they had an opportunity to read the simple and humble stories of the life and times of leaders such as Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa or even President Shehu Shagari. Credible internal democracy would probably not have been this convoluted if the relationship between party chairmen and their elected leaders of old were illuminated by historical records.

It is therefore not enough to announce the reintroduction of History as a course of study in our schools; Minister Alausa has much more to do. He must set up an arrangement that effectively and efficiently supervises the reinstated policy. The inspectorate division of the Ministry of Education must be reinvigorated to return to result-oriented business. Alausa must himself lead the venture and ensure that periodic reports on several aspects of the task are retrieved and copied to his office. As an incentive, schools that are able to show progress in adhering to the arrangement should also receive letters of commendation and awards while those lacking behind should be similarly reprimanded. The issue is therefore an Alausa goal that must not be allowed to be toyed with.

Our schools too must be assisted to comply with the arrangement. Infrastructures, books and other essentials must be provided by government. A focus on the matter is far more useful than the indiscriminate setting up of several unequipped institutions which politicians take delight in doing to gain popularity in their constituencies. Alas, their motivation has continued to complicate the situation.  It is hoped that the media would throw their searchlight on the policy as a way of ensuring that all hands are on deck to assist the success of the policy. It is indeed an understatement to seek to emphasize the need for Nigerians to get to know the history of their nation. The gap which has been created by years of abandonment of the subject must be quickly and adequately filled while jettisoning the previous versions in which aliens distorted our history.