Stephen Olufemi Oni, Ilorin

The Director, Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ilorin, Professor Ibrahim Abdulganiyu Jawondo, has urged the Federal Government to rejig the nation’s academic curricula and make study of history in schools compulsory for every student to avoid distortion.

In an interview with newsmen in Ilorin, the Kwara State Capital, Jawondo advocated that history should be an independent subject on the timetable for students.

“I am begging government that they should not pair history with any other course on the timetable. Let everybody, whether you are doing science, commerce, engineering, whatever you are doing, history is very important. So, I think they make it compulsory that everybody will learn it”, he said.

Jawondo, a Professor of History and former Head of the Department of History and International Studies of the university, said those who sought to destroy the country were responsible for the removal of history from the academic curricula.

He added that the anti-history study elements did so to discourage people from knowing about the history and formation of the country and cover up their past.

He said: “You are discouraging people from knowing who you are, knowing what your community is all about, how you came about, how Nigeria is made up, how Africa is made up, what is the relationship between Africa and other continents. For those who did it, I think they meant to destroy this country. Only God saved us.

“The reason is because the governance in Nigeria shifted significantly from those that you can say are ‘born to rule’ to those who became charismatic due to Western education or through another means and they found themselves in governance, and so they want to clear that area of their history that looks to be a little bit dirty, and they feel that the only way is to stop people from studying history so that people will not know their past.”

The Don noted that another reason for the removal is an attempt to stop the emergence of ‘radicals’ who will question governmental policies due to their knowledge of histories of other countries.

“If you remember, we have too many ‘radicals’ who are historians, and what made them ‘radical’ is because they were telling the truth. They will tell the government that a policy they are bringing had failed in America, failed in Russia and failed in other countries. So, all of them, they will not keep quiet when new policies are being introduced because of their knowledge”, he said.

Jawondo also bemoaned the generational gap the years of absence have caused, noting that this has created a generation of youths who know little to nothing about the country and might be a source of problem to the country.

He said, “A generation has been left in the middle that knew nothing about Nigeria. How do we deal with that generation now. This generation that knew very little or nothing about Nigeria, they will still be a source of problem to us because whatever you say, is new to them and they have that tendency to continue to counter us”.

The Don, however, noted that individuals and civil society organisations are struggling to right the wrongs through writing of books.

While describing the reintroduction as a new opportunity to bridge the gap, Jawondo urged historians to see this as a sacrifice to save Nigeria from doom, “because, if you don’t know yourself, then, somebody will tell you another time about yourself. We need to save Nigeria by producing new crop of historians. So, we need to move back to the classroom”.

Meanwhile, the historian has called on the federal government to prioritise the welfare of families of the deceased soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the country.

He explained that the commemoration of the Armed Forces Remembrance Day should be beyond the “pomp and celebration”, saying that it should be a reminder for the government to cater for the families of the fallen soldiers.

Jawondo’s appeal came in view of the recently commemorated Armed Forces Remembrance Day.

He lamented that the present day remembrance of fallen soldiers has been mainly ceremonial with little or no respite given to the families of the deceased soldiers compared to the pre-colonial and colonial era of the country.

He said: “If you look back and see what people did in the pre-colonial time, they were not only doing the ceremony, but actually backing it up with adequate care. During the colonial time too, we saw that many of them were able to get their entitlements, even if the ceremony was very little at that time.

“But in this contemporary time, it has now become a ceremony that grew quite a lot of money. We need to continue to remember our fallen heroes but largely it is now only ceremonial.

“We have so many families who have not gotten their entitlements. I want to say that, yes, it is good that we continue to celebrate them so that people who want to take that profession will be happy to get enlisted.

“If you look at the other side too, while they are celebrating, some families are also crying because of the fact that they were not able to get their entitlements since their husbands died.

“Quite a number of people were enlisted and they knew that they were going to die, but they still felt that it is better to die to save humanity. So, if you are now saying you are celebrating fallen heroes, you can see that they deserve celebration. But what I’m saying is that that celebration should not only be on pomp and pageantry. You should back it up with a lasting welfare package”.

The Armed Forces Remembrance Day is celebrated nationwide on the 15th of January annually to commemorate and salute the selfless services of soldiers who fought gallantly to protect Nigeria’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

The don commended the government of Kwara State under the leadership of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, Chairman Nigeria Governors’ Forum for prioritizing culture as a means of development in the state.

He added that since the coming of his government, Ilorin Emirate Durbar has continued to enjoy his patronage.