Youths, History And National Day Celebration

Every 1st October is Nigeria’s official Independence Day National holiday.It marks Nigeria’s proclamation of independence from British rule on 1st October, 1960.
In 1914,the Southern Nigeria Protectorate was combined with the Northern Protectorate to create the colony and Protectorate of Nigeria.By the late 1950’s the call for independence led to the country being granted independence on 1st October, 1960 as the Federation of Nigeria.The country received it’s Freedom Charter on this day.
The holiday is celebrated annually by the government and people of Nigeria.There are also celebrations across all sectors in Nigeria including the Diaspora. It is a day of celebration for the old and the young.
The Federal Republic of Nigeria, also known as the “Giant of Africa”, is a West African country bordered by Niger,Chad,Cameroon and Benin.It enjoys direct access to the Atlantic Ocean on its Southern border.
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and ranks seventh in the world with over 210 million inhabitants. It also has the third largest youth population in the world with almost half of the people being under the age of eighteen, thereby making the realisation of children rights a crucial point.
Nigeria’s uniqueness is due to having over 250 ethnic groups,speaking too distinct languages.Therefore, British legacy and practical considerations established “English” as the official language.
Nigeria which is on the Gulf of Guinea has many natural landmarks and wildlife reserves.Protected areas such as Cross River Natural Park,Port Harcourt, Bonny Nature Park and Yankari National Park,with dense rain,Savannah and rare primate habitats.One recognisable sites is the Zuma Rock,a 725m tall monolith outside the capital of Abuja.
The Nigerian economy is one of the largest in Africa. Since the 1960’s,it has been based primarily on the petroleum industry with 90% of Nigeria’s oil and gas from the Niger Delta region. A series of world oil price increased from 1973 produced rapid economic growth in transportation, construction, manufacturing and government services. This however, led to great influx of rural people into urban centres,thereby agricultural production stagnated to such a point that cash crops such as palm oil,groundnuts,cocoa,cotton were not longer export commodities. Although much of the population remained in farming, too little food was produced.
Environmental deterioration, inferior storage of facilities, poor transport system and lack of investment capital contributed to low productivity and general stagnation in agriculture.
Today,1st October, 2021 is another day of national celebration.The children and youths celebrate the day by performing ceremonial march past in their various state capitals and local government areas .
The question that agitates the mind is,what do our children and young people as future leaders of Nigeria know about their country?From investigation,most young people do not know the history of Nigeria.After reciting the Nigerian anthem and pledge,what else do our young people know about Nigeria?This is important because every Nigerian child should know the foundation of Nigeria ,our founding fathers,how Nigeria gained her indepedence,they should know our founding fathers laboured to liberate Nigeria from colonization,the consciousness behind the fight for freedom and later the love for our country Nigeria.This is important because they were born as Nigerians and they should love their country,despite the odds.
Educating and sharing basic knowledge about Nigeria to young people is key and crucial.With the world becoming a global village and the introduction of high technology,our children and young people seem to be losing touch with our history, culture and identity. Our young people now associate with western names,clothes,football etc. Our history and identity which our founding fathers fought for is gradually fading away. This is a problem that must be tackled now before it gets too late. It is a well known fact that history is an important gift which the older ones must give or pass on to the younger generation. Without history, a person may not understand his or her root. Ancient cultures had devoted much time and effort to teach their children family history . It was taught that the past helps a child understand who he or she is. However, modern trends in Nigeria has turned its back on the past,our culture and identity. We live in a time of “rush rush”.We prefer to think and embrace in terms of where we are going to, not where we come from. Our root and ancestors mean nothing to us. We see our past as outdated and meaningless.
This is worrisome because history matters. It will definitely help our young ones to understand why our society is the way It is and what can be done in future.
It is for this reason that the reintroduction of history as a teaching subject in schools by the federal government remains a welcome development . Removing history from the curriculum, was a misjudgement. it remains unthinkable why children would be raised in the dark without knowledge about their past.
A constellation of historical facts, concoetion of geography, civics (current affairs)in the name of social studies which came with the introduction of the 6-3-3-4 school system under a new National Policy in Education by the military government,lead to a gradual phasing out of history.
However,Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu , a few years ago, while addressing delegates of the 61st meeting of the National Council on Education Ministerial Session called for the disarticulation of social studies in the current curriculum of basic schools and reintroduction of history as a subject. This was as a result of persistent pressure from the Historical Society of Nigeria.
The reintroduction of history gave the Nigerian child self – identity of who he or she really is. It is only the study of history that can give meaning to our humanity. Without history,our future leaders are denied intial pieces of information and knowledge of the foundation of their country or state. This, perphaps explains why most young people ,especially from their discussions in social media show less affinity with their country. Young people can hardly defend a country they hardly know anything about .
It is believed that the experiences we are having today were likely shaped by past events we have been through. Looking at the past and working at it helps ensure that bad history does not repeat itself. The past must be looked at to learn from it.
In addition to our history,national identity and love for our nation must be symbolic in our children and young ones. From various studies,it was found that children are able to talk about their membership of their own national group by 5 years of age. Also,the importance which children attribute to their national identity increases significantly between 5 and 11 years of age,it is left for our teachers,parents and guardians to impact positively on the young ones concerning our national identity. According to Billing,1995,national identity is imbued in everyday family practice and as such is much more likely to be affiliative and centred in belonging rather than actively claimed. Barrett,2013,however argued that young people are intiated into their national identity by their parents. Through everyday activities, parents may indicate to their children what it meant to be a part of the National group. Therefore, the older Nigerians must teach the younger ones the country’s historical and cultural traditions, moral values,ideals and national soverngnity . These characteristics will help plan an important role in empowering the young ones to exercise their rights and responsibilities fairly and equitably in a modern society . The saying, “never forget where you come from ” should be the watch word for our future leaders to build on . Their origin is Nigerian,no two ways. They must love their country and make things right for the better.

By: Ibinabo Ogolo