Tina Amanda
The Federal Government has been urged to include History studies in the school curriculum to address issues of National interest and promote peaceful coexistence amongst ethnic groups in Nigeria.
A Lecturer in the Department of History and Diplomatic Studies, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education Port Harcourt, Dr. Michael Thomas-Blessed who made the suggestion during an interview with our correspondent Tina Amanda, emphasized that any Nation that undermines the Study of History is headed towards doom.
According to him, Nigeria as a country cannot advance technologically without looking at the moral standards of Society, the Cultural heritage and development as well as the history of its people.
“Removing history in the first place from the school curriculum is the reason for the nation’s backwardness because history is a guidepost. History is like correcting the mistakes of the past.
“When a country undermines the importance and relevance of its society history, then it is headed towards darkness. For instance, in the United States of America, history is studied at all levels of their education, they do that because they understand the value of history.
“Bringing back history studies will help the development of the Nigerian society. Look at how divided we are as a nation, it is because we do not know our history, until you know your past, you can not know where you are going.
“They keep telling us about colonial history forgetting the fact that the people had a history before the Europeans came to Nigeria. We all lived as an independent and sovereign entity, we interacted without conflict, until the amalgamation that brought the bigger and smaller ethnic groups together”
He emphasized that the only way problems confronting Nigeria could be solved, is through the writing and study of its history in order to correct the mistakes of the past.
“The problems we are having is that we failed to learn from the past, we failed to understand a simple fact. Why are we killing ourselves now, why are we talking about ethnic dominance and ethnic sentiment, because one ethnic group have been empowered against the others.
“The only way the issues can be corrected is when we study and write our history, we need to develop our own history. History studies will increase the nation’s integration and ensure harmonious coexistence amongst the people”
