By Oluwole Osagie – Jacobs JP, FCA
In recent years, the teaching of History in Nigerian schools has suffered a lot of bufettings. Out of ignorance, a vicious canard emerged that History is no more relevant in a modern and technology-driven world. The study of History became loathsome and students who had interest in pursuing a degree course in History started looking for other options. This sentiment was given a legitimate baptism by the government with the withdrawal of History from the school curriculum.
However, this has been reversed by government after what I would call a lucid interval. It was realised that the decision to expunge History from the school curriculum was not well thought out. This cold attitude towards History has extended to its cousins; Archaeology, Anthropology, Philosophy, Psychology and Classics. Classics is now considered a dead subject. Whereas, the early generation of those who read Classics in Nigeria like, Chief Bola Ige and Dr. Gamaliel Onosode, were fantastic intellectuals with enormous contribution to the growth of the country. This tendency is noticeable in the sciences. Single honours degrees in the sciences are looked down upon.
This attitude is an index of underdevelopment. In developed countries, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology, which are the building blocks of science and technology, attract the best brains. Imagine science without scientists like Copernicus, Newton, Einstein, Planck, Faraday, Mendel, Darwin etc. Imagine the Arts without Socrates, Aristotle, Herodotus, Shakespeare, Milton, Tosloy, Goethe, Mozart, Beethoven, Handel, Senghor, Achebe, Soyinka etc. The post-graduation financial reward of subjects studied is now the major determinant of their choice and not the love for them. In terms of financial reward, History is considered a poor player.
Many people don’t see History beyond a record of inter-tribal wars and the rise and fall of empires. This is wrong. History has a majestic scope and it is integral to every discipline.
History has been aptly defined as “the systematic study of past events, focusing on change and its impact on the present and future”. It shapes our values, beliefs and prospects. It guides policy decisions and enhance the understanding of global dynamics. It is important to emphasise that any course of study is aimed at building the intellect and the knowledge acquired is for multidisciplinary applications. That is to say every subject of study is as important as the other in as much as it enriches the intellect. Spencer H. Lewis, a worthy leader of the Rosicrucian Order, classified knowledge into three: Mysticism, Science and the Arts. These are expounded in the monographs studied by members. To downplay any aspect of knowledge is to be uncultivated and ignorant. History Professors: Onwuka Dike, Ade Ajayi, Emmanuel Ayandele, Tekena Tamuno and Olayemi Akinwunmi have put up a diligent service in university administration as Vice – Chancellors. Prof. Akinwunmi, the vice – chancellor of the Federal University, Lokoja, has taken great and unprecedented strides in promoting excellence in the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Science. He has raised the standard of study and made medicine and the sciences an attraction to the best brains all over the country. Prof. Akinwunmi is a historian and not a scientist. Currently, in the Nigerian Civil Service, there are medical doctors who are Permanent Secretaries in Ministries other than the Ministry of Health. They have an outstanding record of service.
It is crass ignorance to localise the relevance of the historian to the recording of past events. We should look at relevance beyond areas of study. A Personal Assistant to a boisterous minister recently told my in-law, Dele Momodu, he could not speak for journalism because he possessed no certificate in journalism. Dele Momodu has contributed more to journalism as a brilliant writer and publisher than himself who with his certificate in journalism is hibernating under a minister.
Some years ago, two Professors of English Literature at the University of Lagos said the legend Chinua Achebe could not speak for Literature because he possessed only a first degree. These Professors would shout down Shakespeare from discussing Drama for the reason that he didn’t go beyond secondary school. Whereas, a thousand of these Professors cannot produce Hamlet, one of Shakespeare’s masterpieces.
History is the foundation of knowledge. It affords us the opportunity of knowing the past, learn from it and correct mistakes.
In my university, students who read Economics took “History of Economic Thought” as a compulsory course. Similarly, those who read Geography took “History of Geographical Thought” as a compulsory course. It is the same for most degree courses in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. We were acquainted with how the subject of study evolved. Historical records are useful and indispensable. You cannot teach Jewish History well without the Talmud – a compendium of Jewish tradition. Teaching Law and Jurisprudence would be enriched with the knowledge of the most ancient Law Codes of Ur Naumu and Hammurabi. The Bornu Chronicle is central to the history of the Kanem Bornu Empire. Our societies have benefited immensely from the Griots and minstrels of yore whose works have survived till this day. To live without history is to live without memory. This can be likened to the Markov Chain in Mathematics – a stochastic process where the occurrence of future events depends on what is happening now and not what has happened in the past. It is a memoryless process. The Arab – Israeli war is rooted in history.
Therefore, resolution of the conflict would draw from historical accounts. It is the same with the resolution of tribal and border conflicts which would benefit from historical accounts. In the Holy Bible, it was the chronological reference to history by Gamaliel, a highly respected Pharisee and a teacher of the Jewish law, that saved the Apostles from being stoned to death. Are we saying future Egyptian children should not be taught the Suez Canal Crisis? Should the French Aeronautic Engineer not have knowledge of the French Revolution? Shouldn’t the blacks in America and the Caribbeans be taught history of the slave trade to enable them know how they came to be where they are?
It is history that has sustained our cultures to this day. Tourism relies heavily on history. Most tourist sites would lose relevance without historical accounts. History is at the foundation of civil rights and liberation movements. History is the foundation of law and jurisprudence. Law Reports are historical records pure and simple. A medical doctor would be severely handicapped without access to the medical history of his patient. The holy books; the Bible, Quran and the Bhagavagita, are substantially historical accounts. The Hadith, an Islamic book, is an eyewitness account of the activities and the sayings of Prophet Mohammad. I am thrilled by the intricate and elaborate succession rites to the position of the British monarch and the Pope. What you see is fidelity to history and tradition. Conversely, I am nonplussed at the cavalier attitude of Nigerians to their culture and tradition. We have found sanctuary in philistinism. It is for this reason we have thrown away the Ifa Oracle, which is one of the most precious gifts of God to humanity.
The knowledge of Ifa is primarily an oral tradition which is one of the sources of history. When I suggested that Ifa Oracle should be taught in our schools, my friend considered my suggestion as barmy, antisocial and devilish. I was in secondary school in Arigidi, Akoko, Ondo State, when I lost my father in 1971. A relation of my father he calls, Big Uncle, opted to pay the fees of my father’s nine children to the university level. For good measure, he was ready to fund our postgraduate education to the PhD level. Wonderful! My other siblings didn’t take advantage of this opportunity but I enjoyed his scholarship for two years. He was a very rich industrialist. It was when I paid him a visit in 1992 in Benin – City that he told me the reason for his decision to fund our education.
Big Uncle was admitted to Kings College, Lagos, in the early 1930s. In his second year in school, his sight failed him. All medical procedures to restore his sight failed. The school had no other option than to send him back to Benin – City. My grandfather was moved with pity and he took him to a renowned oraclist and native doctor called Baba Elijah in Idanre, Ondo State. His house was at the foot of Idanre hills. At the time in mid 1930s, Baba Elijah was already an old man. After consulting the Oracle, Baba Elijah administered on his head 120 incisions. His body was soaked with blood. Baba Elijah followed with powerful incantations on his head which lasted for about 30 minutes.
At the end of the procedure, Baba Elijah told my grandfather that if he heard that our Big Uncle is blind in the future, it would not be from this present attack. Baba Elijah knew his onions. The return to Benin – City took two days. Big Uncle had his sight fully restored within a week. He returned to Kings College, Lagos. What Baba Elijah did with incantations was a miracle which is not different from the miracle we achieve with our prayers. My question is, on the day of judgment, will the Almighty God damn Pa Elijah for the restoration of the sight of my Big Uncle?
Few years ago, I was at Idanre and after a tasking search, I located the family of Pa Elijah. I was told he died in 1951. I wanted to obtain his healing formula and come back and close all hospitals for the blind in Nigeria. It is painful that there was no record of his procedure.
My friend believes that divination is against the teachings of Christianity in spite of the fact that there were instances of divination in Bible. The choice of Saul as King was revealed by divination. Jonah’s identity was revealed by divination and he was thrown out of the boat.
The Bible records that the counsel of Ahithophel the Gilohnite was as if one consulted the Oracle of God. If there is anything crude in our culture it can be done away with. Christianity was so saved by the New Testament. Crude practices in other holy books are dying off courtesy of civilisation. What we cannot discount in religion is mysticism, which accounts for the miracles we credit to ourselves. Throwing overboard completely a piece of oral tradition like the Ifa Oracle is wrong and a serious mistake.
