By DAYO ADESULU

Stakeholders in education sector have reacted to a call by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar during a public presentation of the book “Ile-Ife: The source of yoruba civilization,” that  History should be  made a compulsory  subject like English Language and Mathematics in our primary and junior secondary schools.

He said, “I wish to call upon the Federal Government, especially our educational agencies to re-introduce the teaching of history as a compulsory subject in our primary and junior secondary schools. A situation whereby the majority of our school age population is totally disconnected with its past and the cultural norms and values it embodies, is not only counter productive but portends great danger to the development of the country.

“Our future leaders must be imbued with a clear understanding of the history of our diverse people, their character and identity and the value systems which mediated their social life. We can only ignore this vital aspect of nation building at our own peril.”

Reacting to this recommendation, the Vice Chancellor, Caleb University, Professor Olukoju Ayodeji stated that the issue of making History a compulsory subject has been on the table of the Federal Government long time ago.

He said, “I once drew the attention of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo to it during his tenor as the President of Nigeria that History has been taken away from our syllabus. Obasanjo did not do anything about it.”

The Professor of History noted that the issue making History a compulsory subject is long over due and  not fresh to our decision makers, but the political will to implement it is the issue adding, “a nation that ignores its history is walking in the dark. Even the United States of America will subject every student to take a course about America before he can graduate in any discipline.”

In Olukoju’s argument, history serves as a reliable guide to public policy. It can also be argued that the country would be better served by a recourse to published and unpublished material emanating from institutions of higher learning, where relevant policy-oriented research still goes on.

Adding, “There is no alternative, to making the study of History compulsory in the Universities, as is done in the United States of America, and restoring the subject to the junior secondary school curriculum.”

On his part, the Assistant Chief Education Officer, Lagos SUBEB said that making History a compulsory subject for primary and JSS students is a welcome suggestion, but however added, “It should be compulsory to Art students so that the culture, legacy and historic background be made known to our children. History is good to life. Without history, the past will be forgotten, the present will be affected and the future eroded.”

The education Chief pointed out that Government as a subject has gradually replace History noting that History as a subject goes beyond studying government.

According to Fagbamila, history is an in depth study of the past as it goes to the root of tradition or culture of a place. “Time may change, one government will come and go, but history does not change. With history, you will know where you are coming from and where you are going,” he said.

Throwing his weight behind the Sultan, the Vice Chancellor, Bells University, Professor Adeyemi Isaac said, “I will not only recommend History for primary and junior secondary schools as compulsory, but also to senior secondary schools and tertiary institutions.  We live and excel through history, without history we cannot survive. History cuts across all human endeavours.

For example, as somebody aspiring to become an engineer, you need to know the history of engineering. The same thing applicable to any student who wants to study agriculture or government, he needs to acquaint him self with the past in order to understand the present and prepare for the future. If not, we will be dancing in a circle.”

Explaining the impact of history to students, Adeyemi reiterated, “ History helps you to project into the future and help you to know what was wrong in the past.  It was the help of history we knew and read about great men like Aristotle, Abraham Lincoln and other great philosophers  whose lives have challenged us to aspire to be what we are today. I mean, history is the stepping stone to the future success.

In technology, he maintained that it was through history man discovered the evolution of how  technology civilization emerged and progresses.

The professor noted, “Those who ever went to the moon got the courage because of what they either hear or read about other great men, did more to even surpass their predecessors. Before the emergence of Information Communication Technology, students  looked back to what the past was and built on it to get a better future.”