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Tag: history

  • When history beckons

    When history beckons

    Title: The Ijaw in Warri – A study in Ethnography
    Author: J.O.S Ayomike
    No. of pages: 146
    Reviewer: Edozie Udeze

    Who owns the land?  Does any piece of land ever exist in a vacuum?  Or put more succinctly, is there ever any settlement anywhere in the world where you do not have the original owners of the place?  These are the recurrent issues raised in this book – The Ijaw in Warri.

    Written by J. O. S. Ayomike, a seasoned author and an authority in the Niger-Delta history, the book is simply and precisely a work based on the fact that the piece of land known as Warri today has been an ancestral home of the Itsekiris.

    This is a study in ethnography, showing with facts, evidences and figures that Warri had been and will continue to be the original home to the Itsekiris.  This is why Ayomike noted that this issue is the homeland of the Itsekiri.  “Each nationality, that is, an ethnic group, in a given polity has a homeland; others live in it with them and it is known by all and sundry as the group’s homeland…  Therefore, this book, like its forerunner, seeks to describe the Itsekiri people in relation to their neighbour – and this time, the Ijaw – and show their symbiotic relationship.”

    Quoting relevant sources and documents and based on oral accounts where it is imperative Ayomike clearly stated at what point the Ijaw converged in Warri to become bona fide members of the society.  It is not to be argued further who owns the land.  It should not be a matter of dispute, because even based on the pattern of settlement, even previous census carried out in Nigeria, the Itsekiri have been known and proved to be the rightful owners of Warriland.

    In chapter one entitled: The Ijaw and Itsekiri Homeland, the author quoted what he referred to as the authoritative sources to back his story and clear the air on this matter.  “The position of the Ijaw within the homeland of the Itsekiri has been aptly described by Dr. P. C. Lloyd in his work on the Itsekiri people in these words.  “The Administrative Unit known as the Warri Division of Delta Province, whose area is 1,520 square miles is approximately co-terminus with the territory of the Itsekiri though it includes groups of Ijaw settlements in the extreme north and south…”

    Sources such as this are replete with historical facts and presented by world-acclaimed historians like J. C. Anene, J. F. A. Ade-Ajayi, John Hatch and more, who relied on water-tight evidences to situate facts.  Even though the Ijaws have been more in population and scattered in more areas in the Niger Delta, other historical happenings in the area tended to necessitate their closer movement towards the Itsekiri portions of the land.

    On page 23, it is clearly stated thus: “The principal peoples of the Delta are the Itsekiri and the coastal dwelling Sobo in the west, the Ijo in the centre, the coastal Ibibio and the Efik of old Calabar who live in the eastern Delta.  The Ijo, Ibibio and Efik have many similar institutions.  But the Itsekiri who founded the Kingdom of Warri in the Western Delta do not really resemble the central and Eastern Delta peoples.  In fact, the Itsekiri of Warri have much more in common with the Edo of Benin and their Yoruba neighbours.”

    Also quoting Professor Obaro Ikimi, renowned world historian and activist, it says: “The Itsekiri inhabit the North-western extremity of the Niger Delta…  Their neighbours are the Bini to the north, the Ijo to the south, the Urbobo to the east and the Yoruba of Ondo Province to the northwest…  Itsekiriland is watered by three large rivers, the Benin, the Escravos and the Forcados.”

    In his own account too, K. B. C. Onwubiko, one of Nigeria’s foremost historians stated:  “Thus arose such city-states as Warri and Sapele inhabited by the Itsekiri and Urhobo…  Bonny for example had its trading empire along the Imo River hinterland, Kalabari along the Sombreiro River interior; and the Itsekiri Kingdom with its capital as Warri controlled the Benin River hinterland.”

    Evidently, Ayomike resorted to these historical elements so as to give the public an authentic proof to show who the original owners have been.  This book arose essentially due to the nagging dispute over who owns the land.  For many years, wars had raged on among the many tribes in Warri over this matter.  And so when Ayomike chose to dwell on the issue, his intentions were made clearer and more distinctive.

    This is why each chapter delved into those knotty issues that have disturbed the flow of harmony in the region.  This is why this book is one to be taken with seriousness.  The facts are there to show history as it really is.”

  • Neither grazing reserves nor ranches: let history be our guide

     It is a lie to claim arrogantly that government has a monopoly of violence and one would have thought that Boko Haram has proved that beyond all doubt.

    “Nobody can stop the government from acquiring land anywhere. Government is government. If anybody thinks that he is violent, government has a monopoly of violence”. –Senator Abdullahi Adamu –Chairman, Senate/House Joint Public Hearing Committee. 

    History, it has been said, repeats itself as tragedy.  This we must try to avoid as Nigerians but since successive Nigerian governments had only been toying with the idea of having a genuine, and honest, national conference where we would tell ourselves the truth, and nothing but the truth, I think it behoves concerned individuals to try their humble best to help the country out of this conundrum. Resolving the naughty issue of the herdsmen is one issue on which we must allow history to guide us lest we further complicate our problems. Some of these truths have been coming out at the ongoing Joint National Assembly Public Hearing where the representatives from Benue and Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief Edward Ujege, President General of Mdzough U Tiv and Dr Paddy Njoku , respectively, as well as that  of Southern  Zaria,  vehemently objected to the Grazing Reserve Bill. Beyond the public hearing, at least two governors from the Southwest have equally voiced their opposition. These objections are the result of the sad experiences Fulani herdsmen had inflicted on people in various parts of the country, the most recent being the Enugu killing of about 40 persons and the Agatu blood feast which accounted for about 500 deaths but which Sale Bayari, Secretary-General of  Gan Allah Fulani Development Association (GAFDAN),  rhapsodised as the consequence of the Fulani’s unforgiving spirit – if they kill 10, we kill 100 in return, he enthused in Sunday Punch  interview. All the opposition is asking for, is simply that whoever armed these herdsmen should please disarm them.

    Given the above circumstances, the time has come for the government to read the riot act to these murderous herdsmen and their employers who operate behind the mask. It is a lie to claim arrogantly that government has a monopoly of violence and one would have thought that Boko Haram has proved that beyond all doubt.  Let me, therefore, suggest two ways in which the big men who own the businesses, and are arming these dangerous herdsmen can, in the interim, do their business unmolested in spite of the massive objections from the other geo-political zones. First, they should blow their cover and come out into the open. They should then submit a list of their herdsmen to government, disarm them completely and promptly enter into an agreement with the various governments, affirming their vicarious liability for any of their employers’ transgressions. Secondly, and  for the  long term,  given  the  business’s contribution  to the country’s growth and development , the business owners  should look to the north for  both  their grazing reserves  and ranches. The north should be turned, essentially, to the country’s grazing zone. As to whether constraints, science and countries like Israel have proved copiously that grass can luxuriate anywhere under the sun.  And to effectively do this, they should approach either their banks for long term loans or their state governments for partnership. They should then exploit the entire value chain by establishing meat processing companies with incredible, and foreseeable possibility of a quantum economic leap. Not only would their animals be more productive and fetch more money,  massive employment opportunities will open up for all Nigerians and  many of our currently  under utilised airports doting the entire country could be reconfigured for  cargo  haulage as the entire West African sub region could readily become their market.  Nor would there be a shortage of buyers coming from the South to buy cows, as well as processed meat just like they come to the north today, to buy yams, tomatoes etc.

    I assure any doubting Thomas that these are things I have thought over very well. Sometime in the 80s, I seriously considered exporting raw foodstuffs abroad, especially to both the U.S and the U.K where my children were then studying. Once I did the feasibility study, the very first practical step I undertook was to go to Kuta in Niger State, where my inquiries had shown was my best source for yam. Rather than go in a car, the gentleman who accompanied me, Mr Omole, and I went by public transport to properly understand what I was getting into. After discussions with some  yam  sellers right in the market and  speaking  to one or two farmers introduced to me, we bought yams which my partner then brought to a Medoya at  Mile 12, Lagos, with whom I had agreed to help sell on commission basis. At Kuta, I noticed that unlike in the south, farmers do not have to make big heaps to harvest huge yams. I narrated this personal story to show that buyers from the south will continue to come up north to buy cows which will no longer have to be taken, months, through hundreds of kilometres from the north.

    There is, however, another very fundamental reason which makes one believe that as a united country, under God, desirous of peace, and disavowing of all these unnecessary bloodletting, we should allow history to guide us in these very dangerous times. That brings me to the following Whats app message that has been trending for some time now. Titled: “WHY ANY GRAZING BILL MUST BE STOPPED”, the story is told of how King Yunfa, the Hausa Sarkin in Gobir (now called Sokoto) hosted a Fulani immigrant called Usman Dan Fodiyo and his group in February 1804.  As a result of that act of hospitality, and the subsequent killing of Yunfa in 1808 by the immigrants, the entire Hausa kingdom has become lost, a booty to the Fulanis which has since become the Sokoto Caliphate; a venture that happened simply because the Fulanis were given access to grazing land as a result of the hospitality of their hosts (though they claimed to have been fighting syncretism -additions mine.) Nor did the Fulanis stop there. In Ilorin, they killed Afonja who had colluded with them and, in his place, installed the Alimis as kings over a predominantly Yoruba kingdom till today.  And had the Yoruba not defeated them in Osogbo in 1840, there would most probably be Fulani emirs all over Yoruba land today. Continued the story:  It is the descendants of these same Fulanis who are now angling for grazing reserves and a corridor through the entire federation. Such grazing reserves, if ever allowed, will see history repeat itself as tragedy because Fulani settlements,vlater,  communities and, finally local government areas with their own  elected officials will spring up all over Nigeria”. Concluding, the author wrote: “The grazing bill is a subtle continuation of the 1804 Fulani jihad by today’s  fully-armed, and well- protected, Fulani herdsmen with the age-old agenda to overrun and Islamise Nigeria. The grazing bill is not an attempt to solve the problem, it’s a subterfuge to progress the agenda. It is an age-old political strategy: create a problem, come up with a “solution” that advances the cause, and then give it a legal backing to make it look like a win-win situation”. Those interested in this story should Google WIKIPEDIA -the free encyclopedia for more information.

    All these may be hogwash, but my Yoruba people have a saying to the effect that: ina esunsun ki jo ni le e meji, meaning, you don’t make the same mistake twice. In reaction to the Whats app  story, I have heard people say it is an attempt to dip the Quran in the Atlantic Ocean as the revered Alhaji Ahmadu Bello was rumoured to have once promised. It was further argued that whether  it is a grazing reserve or a ranch, Fulani settlements would emerge everywhere in the country and given the Hausa/Fulani culture to always have a radio transistor on them, somebody, somewhere would one day just give the command or a fatwa to over run, and that would be all.

    If, therefore, there is no such ulterior motive behind the quest for a grazing bill, which, ab initio, presumes that the federal government immorally wants to fund some peoples’ private business, I would like to repeat that the suggestions earlier made in this article should prove reasonable and viable; indeed, it should be a silver bullet to the herdsman’s palaver.

  • Okotie-Eboh in the eye of history

    Okotie-Eboh in the eye of history

    Title: Okotie-Eboh: In time and space in our history.
    Edited: Prof. Akinjide Osuntokun
    Year of Publication: 2016
    Number of Pages: 409
    Reviewer: Nurudeen Badejo

    The chapter one of this book aptly titled A Short Panoramic View of Nigeria’s Political Evolution is a deep historical development of Nigeria from when cities were conquered by the rampaging British forces, the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Nigeria, the administration of Nigeria during the colonial era, rallying for independence, eventual independent with the high hope of a bright future (which unfortunately was dashed or mis-managed), the crisis of political consolidation and the legendary military intervention in our politics culminating in our present democratic practice. The author, an eminent historian and professor emeritus in this chapter dwelt extensively on the historical development of Nigeria that should give everyone a re-think if really our dear country would achieve the aims and aspirations of its founding fathers. Lack of political tolerance, improper management of opposing views, deployment of state’s facilities for political purposes, greed, avarice and corruption are some of the issues highlighted bedevilling the development of Nigeria. Hopefully, we will get it right in the present dispensation with a new government.

    The life and times of Chief Festus Samuel Okotie-Eboh, CMG, M.P, is the thrust of chapter 3. Born on July 18th, 1912 in Bateren, present day Warri North Local Government, Delta State. He grew up with his mother, an Urhobo woman from Orogun. This made him bilingual in both Urhobo and Itsekiri languages. Popularly referred to as Omimi Ejo, Okotie-Eboh, voluble and ebullient was a self-taught man who after his primary school education, taught in his Alma Mater (Sapele Baptist Primary School) thereafter he joined Bata Shoe Company as an accounting clerk where he built a career culminating in becoming the first Nigerian manager of this company. After being sent for further training in Prague in Czechoslovakia in 1947 and obtaining a Diploma in Business Administration and Chiropody. As expected, he left Bata Shoe Company to set-up chains of companies; Afro-Nigerian Export and Import Company involved in timber and rubber business, Omimishoe factory (arguably the most popular among his companies), Omimi Plastics factory and other strings of schools set-up in Sapele, e.g. Sapele Boy’s Academy, Zik College of Commerce and Sapele Academy Secondary School. These schools were founded together with his wife, Victoria, whom he married in 1942.

    Clearly, he had become wealthy and extremely popular in Warri division, it was at this time that he joined the National Council of Nigeria and Cameroon (NCNC) under the leadership of Herbert Macaulay and Nnamdi Azikiwe. He won election into the Western House in 1951, but by 1954 he had become a member of the Federal Parliament in Lagos and one of the prominent leaders of NCNC. He was thereafter elected party treasurer largely because he was a man of means. He was subsequently nominated as the Minster of Labour and Social Welfare in January 1955, where he formalised labour relations with Spanish authorities in Equatorial Guinea where a large number of Nigerians were working as labourers.And because of his raising national profile he became the Minister of Finance in 1957.

    As Nigeria’s longest serving Minister of Finance till date (he was Minister of Finance from 1957-1966, a period of 10 years), his achievements and financial acumen are well documented for the first time in our national history in this book. Chiefly among these are the establishment of Central Bank of Nigeria and the mint company, the inauguration of the first national currency, the establishment of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, creation of the first Nigerian investment and development bank in the 1950’s and 1960’s, putting in place financial institutions such as the customs department to be part of the finance ministry, the securities commission and an efficient tax regime (He introduced pay as you earn tax system in Nigeria). After establishing these institutions, he won many friends for Nigeria using his long standing business contacts in Europe and America, many international institutions including World Bank, The Commonwealth, International Labour Organization and others which became critical partners of Nigeria in national planning for economic and social development. They all offered their services to Nigeria. With a tremendous capacity for hard work, he is a practical man with firm believe in Nigeria playing an important role in the international community.

    His larger than life image coupled with flamboyance created much attractions and perhaps enmity for him from those who accused him of flaunting affluence. His influence in the creation of mid-west state from the existing western region is a story of concern, political bickering and manovering particularly concerning the interest of his Itshekiri people. His influence in the NCNC was so pervading that he could get almost anything he wanted from federal government. In spite of his Itshekiri background he grew up in Sapele, and had all his investments in Sapele. Okotie-Eboh’s impact in many areas of national endeavour was monumental. He was a remarkable contributor to nation building before his unfortunate assassination in 1966.

    As an Ijebu man, Professor Itsejuwa Sagay, SAN, in an edited version of his lecture on The Itshekiri People in chapter 2 of this book, confirmed my age-long held belief that there is an element of Ijebu affinity with Itshekiri. My family grew in Lagos with an itshekiri family as our neighbour, my concern and suspicion about their language till date is that there is connection between Ijebus and the Itshekiris. In the edited version of the lecture by Sagay, an eminent Itshekiri son traced the history of modern Itshekiri from the late fifteen century when the people adopted Prince Ginuwa from Benin Kingdom as their monarch, though they have lived independently in different communities.

  • How not to engage history: Lamido Sanusi and the survival of Nigeria

    Abstract

    In November 2015, I wrote an article published on the backpage of the “Nation” focusing on the relevance of the past to the present especially in Nigeria.  In that write-up, I tried as much as possible to express my disappointment and frustrations about the poor attitude of our educational policy makers to history as a subject.  This is with a special emphasis on the removal of history from the secondary schools’ syllabus.  My frustrations derive from the fact that historical consciousness cannot be neatly separated from the emergence of a materially and spiritually robust society anywhere within the global village.  The two must necessarily dance together.

    However, there was a gap in that article.  That vacuum will hopefully be filled by this new piece.  First, there is need to remind ourselves about what history is and why we study and narrate it.  History simply put, is an intellectual engagement about past events or important activities that have occurred in relation to an individual concept, perception, person, socio-cultural and political institution, geopolity or ethnicity.  This means that all historical narratives have to be logically rigorous and constructed so as to reduce fallacies, misconceptions, misapplications and misjudgements to the barest minimum.  Therefore, history coupled with its teaching (formally or informally) can never and should never be handled by anybody who is not prepared to embrace the principles of thoroughness or meticulousness.  In this regard, the narrator of history has to create an enormous space for openness, unfettered personal integrity and uncommon intellectual rigour.  This scenario enables him to navigate the often stormy waterways of the past with relative ease.

    In other words, the narrator must go beyond the domain of description as he dives into the past on the wings of indigenous epistemologies.  This entails the application of a wide range of explanatory models and/or networked paradigms so as to determine the causes and effects of certain socio-economic and political events, their trajectories and mode(s) of change in people’s behaviour or thinking.

    It follows from the above, that history though painfully, a barbarised area of human life and living in Nigeria, is a sensitive subject.  History has the capacity to build or destroy a system, region or nation depending on the calibre of the narrator vis-à-vis his motive as well as targetted audience.

    The formal or informal teacher of history must necessarily take cognisance of these fundamentals in order not to set a nation or region ablaze.  History teaches a lot of lessons including the capacity to engender a fine-grained appreciation and understanding of humanity across time and space.  This is a pre-condition for wisdom.  Wisdom is the pillar upon which the edifice of Nigeria rests.  Nigeria can easily collapse when this pillar is removed either by design or accident.  In the African world-view, elders are a repository of history and by extension, wisdom.  I believe that this is even a bio-social universal.  However, the sensitive nature of the position a person holds in society can be used to categorise him as an elder even if he is relatively young.

    The Emir of Kano  Alhaji Lamido Sanusi is a highly respected and celebrated person and above all, a foremost traditional king in Nigeria.  This eminent citizen of Nigeria has an enviable, long pedigree that has naturally made him an elder.  Consequently, his public utterances must be well measured at all times in order not to worsen the already very unfriendly socio-economic and political atmosphere of our dear country.  The learned emir of one of the greatest African metropolises should always remember that his statements carry a lot of weight within and without Nigeria.  This is not to suggest that he should not be free to express his views on burning national issues as a Nigerian that also doubles as a socio-cultural leader of monumental stature.  As a matter of fact, Nigerians need such cerebral natural rulers/leaders more than ever before.  This gains its relevance against the background of the fact, that Nigeria at this crucial period of our collective existence as a nation, is at a crossroads.  Therefore, all major stakeholders in the Nigerian project must realise that moderation is of the essence!

    Alhaji Lamido Sanusi’s historical analysis or narrative a few days ago, where he lambasted the Yoruba ethnicity and its leadership right from the eve of Nigeria’s political independence is most unacceptable.  It is a hate campaign against the Yoruba and it cannot do anybody any good, especially at this period when the country is navigating a complex, stormy network of problems ranging from weak economy to feelings of gloom and despondency among the Nigerian masses, Boko Haram insurgency and the menace of the rampaging Fulani herdsmen.  This is in addition, to the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) otherwise known as Shiite Islamic Sect.

    The many reported cases of Fulani herdsmen attacks in Plateau and Benue states.  The near-genocide case of the Agatu community in Benue State recently as well as the subsequent killing of several Fulani herdsmen and their cattle in Nassarawa state in reprisal by certain Agatu boys.  Nigeria is now gaining in popularity as a bloodthirsty nation where the sanctity of human life has disappeared from our vocabularies of popular discourse.  This is a terrible, barbaric image we have to jointly erase from our consciousness as a people.  From Agatuland in central Nigeria to the south, the Fulani herdsmen are maiming and killing innocent people in their homes.  Farms are being destroyed at Oke-Ogun in Oyo state, Akure in Ondo state and recently in Enugu.  Are we in the Stone Age period?  Although the Nigerian security agents are trying, they need to do much more to arrest this ugly situation.  Are we a savage people?  Are we saying that Nigerians cannot manage their affairs without resorting to savage attacks?  Are we a bunch of sub-human beings?  Definitely this country is sitting on a keg of gun powder.

    However, it is gratifying to note that the National Chairman, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders’ Association, Alhaji Kiruwa Zuru and some key leaders of the group are supporting the federal government to find lasting solutions to these problems.

    As a prominent/senior Nigerian citizen, the above problems and their solutions should worry Alhaji Lamido Sanusi.  He should leave historical engagements or narration to the gurus in the field in order not to cause more havoc to the already highly traumatised/irritable Nigerian people.  Innocent Nigerians who are being harassed for nothing in their fatherland need food, electricity, jobs and security as opposed to a hate history.  Nigerians regardless of their ethnic backgrounds are free to work and/or live anywhere in the country within the ambit of the constitution of our land, but no Nigerian is free to commit crime(s) without facing the full wrath of the law.  Cattle herding should not entail destroying people’s farms at will.  This reality underscores the reason why the president of Nigeria as our overall leader needs to work harder and faster as the clock ticks.  Nigeria cannot afford to have another civil war!

    The historical narrative of AlhajiLamidoSanusi was ill-timed and he did not examine critically the issue of causality.  The first “coup” in 1962 according to him was the brain child of the Yoruba and the January 15, 1966 one (coup) led by Major Kaduna Nzeogwu was also due to the riots in the West.  This is laughable!  It was a divisive approach to serious Nigerian problems.  All Nigerians today have to focus on things that are capable of promoting national unity and/or integration as well as sustainable peace.  An average Nigerian does not need this kind of politicking.  Therefore, politicians, natural rulers and their business associates should desist from insulting our collective intelligence understandably because the Nigerian masses (from Kano to Lagos through to Enugu and Maiduguri) have a common agenda  liberation from the bondage of economic and political oppression, repression and exploitation.  It is a pity that the Nigerian leadership class continues to use circumstantialism of ethnicity and/or religion in order to maintain the status-quo.  The Nigerian masses must wake up from their slumber so as to identify their real enemies with a view to liberating themselves from the shackles of material poverty and insecurity.  I submit here that most of the Nigerian problems and challenges today are enshrined in the sphere of smelly politics by our abusers.  They (our abusers) merely use the circumstantialism of ethnicity and/or religion to deceive the impoverished and traumatised Nigerian masses.

    • Professor Ogundele is of the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.

  • History and a chief challenge to Buhari

    A few years ago, a former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, looked at history with disdain. He translated the disdain into policy.

    Barely a month ago, two key figures in our history were remembered. They were Sir Ahmadu Bello, who was the Sardauna of Sokoto, and Chief Festus Samuel Okotie-Eboh. The cerebral events took place in the north and south respectively.

    The one was the premier of northern Nigeria in the First Republic and the other was a finance minister in the same republic in the Tafawa Balewa government.

    During that Okotie-Eboh event, three-in-one minister, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), showed how our students no longer studied history. He noted that the students who studied abroad, especially in the United States, knew foreign histories more than ours. For instance, they know who Abraham Lincoln was and when he became president.

    An elder pitched in recently. He is the respectable J.O.S. Ayomike, a historian and chairman of the Itsekiri Leaders of Thought. He called for the return of history to the curriculum of schools. He made the call when he was honoured with an Exceptional Lifetime Achievement Award to mark the Golden Jubilee celebration of the Federal Government College, Warri, Delta State.

    Hear him: “I use this occasion to make a call close to my heart. It has bothered many Nigerians that history, as a formal discipline, is no longer taught in our schools up to tertiary level.”

    To demonstrate his fidelity to the past, he presented a gift of history books to the famous college.

    Chief Ayomike’s gifts, which also included several other books, were emblematic of the value of the past. We cannot know who we are without knowing who we were.

    It is ironic that Chief Obasanjo who turned our schools against history has been under the spell of history all his life. Was that not why he fought some partisans over the Owu leadership? Was that not why he wanted to reign as civilian president after his time as military leader? Was that not why he wrote books, especially a historical book about the Nigerian civil war?

    If we neglect the past, we lose the future. That was Chief Ayomike’s point. It is high time the lawmakers and the new president returned us to studying our history.

     

    • This article was first published on March 17, 2016.
  • Teaching of History

    Teaching of History

    •We must bring it back in our schools in the nation’s interest

    The removal of history from the curriculum of schools in Nigeria is a disservice to our fatherland. The government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, which promoted that disservice, clearly gave itself away as a victim of neo-colonialism. For, to be dodgy about the teaching of your past, is to say that your past is inferior to those of other peoples and cultures, and as such is not worthy of any detailed study. This sad realism was highlighted by Senator Ben Murray Bruce, during the Silverbird Extra-ordinary Man of the Year Award to the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    At the ceremony, Senator Bruce had admonished his country men and women thus: “As a nation, we have to pay attention to who we are, where we are coming from, and where we are”. Towards that he said “We need to start teaching history in Nigeria because we cannot develop or grow as a country without the concept of history.” Urging him to walk his talk, the APC leader advised the senator to sponsor a private member’s bill, to return the teaching of history to our schools, promising that his spouse, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, would support him in the endeavour.

    For us, the concern raised by Senator Bruce makes sense, much as the suggestion by Asiwaju Tinubu. History is very important to us as it is to every other race. For a people who do not know their history are bound to make similar mistake many times. History helps a people to understand their past, and through the benefit of hindsight, avoid the pitfalls of the past. History also helps a people to understand the circumstances of their past, note and promote the good aspects, and use the knowledge and wisdom gained to help chart a better future.

    Former President Obasanjo who abrogated the teaching of history during his presidency, like every other past leader, is an important relic of our history, whether for good or for bad. So, their exploits, successes, mistakes and programmes remain benchmarks, from which the present and future leaders could learn. And this can only be possible if history is taught in our schools. For us, it is erroneous to think, as the former leader may have, that the abrogation of history would help wipe from our common memory, the unpleasant parts of our past.

    What needs to be done is rather to teach the past, as a lesson for the present and the future. Like every other subject, the curriculum of the subject would be open for scrutiny, both by supervisory authorities and the general public. That way distortions and falsehood would not be allowed to prosper. In our view, it is when the facts are suppressed that a people can be fed with half-truths and lies, in place of facts and figures. Moreover, with the advancement of science, there are snippets of our history available on the go, and access to such snippets may be more dangerous, as the authors may be pursuing a different agenda from the organised proposition of our national story – history, for national development.

    If Senator Bruce truly believes that his proposition for the return of history to our national curricula makes sense, then he should join hands with those who think like him, to propose a bill to force that. Perhaps, if the present executive government at the centre thinks differently from its predecessors, it should rescind the strange decision of the past.

    We also do not appreciate why state governments have not exercised their prerogative, to encourage the teaching of history in state schools.

  • History as girl graduates with 4.0 CGPA at Lagos Poly

    History as girl graduates with 4.0 CGPA at Lagos Poly

    A girl, Omoshalewa Adenike Babalola, has made history as the first to graduate with the maximum Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.0 at the Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH). Omoshalewa, a Science Laboratory graduate, was the cynosure of all eyes at the 24th convocation of the polytechnic last Thursday.

    The valedictorian was presented with prizes at the event graced by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, Ayangburen of Ikorodu Oba Kabiru Shotobi, Ooni of Ife Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi and former Group Managing Director of Chams Plc Mr Ademola Aladekomo, among others.

    The ceremony, held at the school auditorium, started at 10am with the procession of graduands and the principal officers led by the Rector, Dr. Samuel Sogunro.

    Ambode was represented by his deputy, Dr. Oluranti Adebule.

    Sogunro said Omoshalewa is the first student to graduate with the maximum CGPA. The rector said the school would offer her a job after her National Youth Service.

    Ambode urged the graduands to be innovative and practise the entrepreneurial skills acquired from the school. He said: “There is no gainsaying the fact that we are in a challenging time, especially the current unemployment rate. It is time to bring out your innovative and entrepreneurial skills. You must look and explore other options to engage yourselves.”

    The school graduated 8,519 students. Of the number, 263 graduated with distinction.

    Oba Ogunwusi, Oba Shotobi and Aladekomo were conferred with fellowship awards in recognition of their support for the school.

    Omoshalewa, who spoke on behalf of other graduands, hailed the polytechnic staff for their guidance. She described her feat as unbelievable, saying: “I never had it so easy.”

    She said group reading and hard work were the secrets of her success.

    Yusuf Razak, a graduand, said he was happy to graduate with a set that made history in the school. “This is a great achievement for me. I am happy to be among a set that set a new an academic record in the school,” he said.

  • Chibok girls and history

    SIR: Two years ago today,   April 14, 2014, an otherwise ordinary day, mindless insurgents posing as Nigerian soldiers abducted more than 200 secondary school girls preparing for final year examinations.

    In Nigeria you need to carry some weight to get personal and family security. Without this security, you can be abducted wholesale as was the case of the Chibok girls. And you can wait for weeks for a government response entailing only a speech delivered with arrogance and disrespect by personages whose duty it is to protect you.

    People who do not carry any weight become helpless victims. Criticism directed against government personnel during emergencies for their failure to respond effectively to such events, as they had sworn to do by oath, are haughtily dismissed by government cronies and flag wavers.

    Why should we look at history only from a romantic perspective and question the abduction because our own children were not amongst the abducted and are from another geographical divide? Were we even moved to compassion for the ashen-faced parents being interviewed on television? Was the abduction only another news item for viewers to analyse and dissect?

    The paroxysm of international embarrassment wouldn’t have happened if Nigerians from all ethnic divides had risen with one voice to condemn the attitude of the government and to pressure the government to speedily pursue the abductors and find our girls for humanity’s sake.

    It was not a time to settle ethnic scores. Where were our Nigerian women – both in and out of government – to rally the cause of the girls like Corazon Aquino did in the Philippines? This was, and is not, a matter only for the BBOG group.

    The Chibok girls’ abduction has shown clearly that our lives aren’t secure in this country. We run from Scylla only to end up in the hands of Charybdis. This is scary.

    Who will pay for the damage, the lapse in security, the waste of time, embarrassment and trauma undergone by the parents and the abductees? Many have died we are told due to stress; their tender hearts couldn’t cope with the anxiety and have caved in.

    Imagine what poor Nigerians in the same situation with nobody to protect them, would be going through right now in the hands of unscrupulous villains. How can citizens work with the government to help rid society of crime, if citizens can’t count on the Nigerian state to watch their backs?

    The Sisyphean attitude of the government goes on unabated. Our intelligence strategies seem to be guided by fits and starts. The study of the pattern of crimes, what necessitates them, how to work with communities of people healthily to end them is taken for granted and this fact is shameful and painful. Why can’t we heed the warning of Franklin D. Roosevelt given in 1937 that “the nation that destroys its soul destroys itself”?

    While our poor Chibok girls are hurting, some married off for nickels, converted against their wish, routinely raped, some dead, others drugged and used as suicide bombers against their will, some Nigerians with a mercantile streak have found voice in advocacy to make money from international donors by shouting for their release but never for the sake of those poor girls.

    While they hurt, we conduct our lives as normal but we can’t wish them away however hard we try because according to Samuel Butler (poet and satirist),”to die completely, a person must not only forget but be forgotten, and he who is not forgotten is not dead”

    The Chiboks girls will forever be in our hearts and can’t die.

     

    • Simon Abah,

    Port  Harcourt, Rivers State.

  • APC and Nigeria’s dark history

    SIR: Seventeen years back, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, assumed the leadership of this country with the shared hope of leading its people to the fountain of economic, and social freedom, premised on political good.

    Sixteen years down the path, the story leaves much to be desired.

    In those sixteen years of PDP’s reign, particularly, towards the close of that era, Nigerians witnessed about their worst moments in social welfarism, economic wholeness and developmental drive, a stage many thought and hoped would be Nigeria’s lowest point under a democratic government.

    Today, the narrative has ‘changed’, as Nigeria now has a new government under the All Progressives Congress, APC. Swinging into power through its change mantra, the APC was the toast of the nation, brandishing itself as the messiah of Nigeria’s many challenges dating back to the nation’s pre- and post-independence era but more pointedly, PDP’s.

    Unfortunately, in its almost 12 months of governing Nigeria, the APC has refused to let go of the nation’s dark history, pinning its people down to it, reminding them of the past, only to sap them of today’s energy and tomorrow’s joy.

    At the moment, economic activities are at standstill owing to endless delays in the passage of the budget.

    Nigerians are battling to stay alive with(out) energy. Power generation has reached an all time low nationwide; fuel price has skyrocketed with many buying for as much as N500 per litre only after long hours of queue.

    Many businesses have gone under. Start-ups have been strangulated, medium enterprises mutilated and corporations compressed, howbeit, Nigerians have been at the receiving end.

    In all these, it is not uncommon to read and hear the APC engage in the blame-game on issues of severe concern to the citizenry. From blaming vandals for the poor power supply to recounting and plugging the days of PDP in power to the unbearable fuel situation in the country, the APC is fast becoming a league of blame pundits.

    The most distasteful thing to do by the leadership of this country is to constantly remind Nigerians of their history particularly under the PDP, without providing remedy to the situations at stake. This for me, is an unfit leadership trait — making endless allusion to the past which has nothing to be celebrated, although, with some lessons to be learnt which the APC has failed to recognise and glean from.

    While it is common knowledge that Nigeria’s challenges are deeply rooted and would require a great amount of space, time and resources, what is discomforting is the slow speed at which the APC-led government has moved the country off its brink of despair where the PDP left it to the centre of inclusive development and hopefulness, which the APC promised during the campaign era.

    The failure of the APC-led government to create and communicate a better future for Nigerians as well as deliver on electioneering promises, thus far, is a reflection of its unpreparedness to govern. If the 2015 campaign is anything to go by, we should request APC’s economic roadmap and compare with the realities on ground, just so that we find the missing dots and connect appropriately. Could we be locked in the prism of an unplanned, unscripted governance agenda?

    It’s almost a year off its four year mandate; should the blame game continue, what achievements will the APC flaunt, what future would it have created, what hope will it have delivered and what precept would it have charted?

    Moving forward, the APC-led government should brace itself for the uneasy task of governance and take it head on, stopping the blame game. To continually hold on to the past yields no reward.

    Yesterday is history, today hosts the events that will shape tomorrow.

    This government has enjoyed citizens’ goodwill, an essential commodity in politics; losing might will just be too grave a disaster.

    Nigeria’s present should not be directed from its dark past. The future is brighter than we can imagine.

     

    • Tayo Elegbede Jet,

     Lagos.

  • History populariser

    In Nigeria, the study of History isn’t dead; but that doesn’t necessarily mean it is alive. Perhaps it is in that twilight zone where life and death commingle.

    It was fitting that a concerned senior citizen seized the opportunity of a celebration of history to prompt cerebration on history. In his speech during the celebration of the 50thanniversary of the Federal Government College (FGC), Warri, Delta State, J.O.S. Ayomike said:  ”I wish to use this occasion to make a call close to my heart. It has bothered many Nigerians that ‘history’ as a formal discipline is no longer taught in our schools up to the tertiary establishment. I call on the education planners in the country to rethink and go back to teaching history.”

    Ayomike was honoured with ‘an award for an exceptional life-time achievement’. It is impressive that the author of historical books and Chairman of the Itsekiri Leaders of Thought did not only demonstrate history consciousness; he also made a historic donation to promote history consciousness.

    Ayomike said: “On my part, as a first step, I make a donation to your library of historical tools that are significant to our development. (Obtained from UK museums): “Two large framed photographs of: (a) Nanna’s palatial residence, out –houses and stores in Ebrohimi before the war of 1894; (b) four British warships booming cannon fire on Ebrohimi (air filled with smoke) about a week before the fall of the town; (c) a dozen copies of the Biography of Prince Ogbe Yonwuren (A potentate, whose community where he lived over 100 years ago abuts your school premises); a dozen copies of other valuable books…”

    It is relevant to highlight the story of these newsmaking pictures. A June 16, 2015, report said: “The Johnson Ayomike family of Warri, Delta State, has acquired from a museum in the United Kingdom (UK) some historic photographs taken away by colonialists from the Nanna Living Museum, Koko, Warri North Local Government Area of the state.” The  report quoted the Chairman of Warri Study Group, Edward Ekpoko, as saying that the photos were those of the  Nanna palatial residence, adjoining warehouses, stores and town, as well as four British warships, Phoebe, Widgeon, Alecto and Philomel, depicting scenes in Ebrohimi before and during the British/Nanna war of 1894.  According to the report, Ekpoko said that the family would hand over the photos to the Director General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments for the Nanna Living History Museum.

    Against this background, it is interesting that a Benin bronze sculpture known as Okukorrecently hit the headlines following its official removal from the dining hall at Jesus College, University of Cambridge, UK. The bronze cockerel was among the hundreds of treasures looted by British troops involved in a “punitive expedition” that resulted in the 1897 conquest of the old Benin Kingdom, which is now part of Nigeria. What happened in those days shouldn’t have happened.  This 19th century demonstration of the beastly aspects of humanity remains a haunting reminder of colonialism and its unflattering sins.

    It is noteworthy that the decision by the university’s authorities to take down the sculpture followed a campaign by the college’s student union in the context of increasing activism against symbols of Britain’s colonial past. The Jesus College student union had passed a motion saying that the sculpture should be formally handed over to Nigeria. The students said:  ”The contemporary political culture surrounding colonialism and social justice, combined with the university’s global agenda, offers a perfect opportunity for the college to benefit from this gesture.”

    Considering that the sculpture was a donation from the estate of a former British officer, George Neville, who died in 1929, the students argued that its continued display was a minus because it was plundered. The cockerel sculpture has been at the college since 1930 and symbolically reflects the surname of its founder, John Alcock. The college’s crest displays three cockerels’ heads.

    It is striking that the institution’s authorities reviewed the position of the sculpture after over 80 years. A university spokesperson was quoted as saying:  ”Jesus College acknowledges the contribution made by students in raising the important but complex question of the rightful location of its Benin Bronze, in response to which it has permanently removed the Okukor from its Hall.”  The spokesperson added: “The College commits to work actively with the wider University and to commit resources to new initiatives with Nigerian heritage and museum authorities to discuss and determine the best future for the Okukor, including the question of repatriation.”

    Worth mentioning is the report that the students’ “Benin Bronze Appreciation Committee” said it was in contact with a Nigerian government official who wanted the sculpture returned to Nigeria.  Since Nigeria gained independence in 1960, the country has pursued the return of hundreds of Benin bronzes looted by British expansionists as well as other artistic gems transported immorally and illegally to Western countries, especially during the colonial era.

    The drama of Okukor’s removal brings to mind the findings of art historian Philip J. C. Dark. In his work titled “Benin Bronze Heads: Styles and Chronology,” Dark said that about 6, 500 Benin artefacts could be found in an estimated 77 places across the world.  Of this number, the British Museum is believed to be in possession of 700 while the Ethnology Museum in Berlin holds over 500.

    At the heart of the looting of African artefacts by Western invaders is the question of morality. It is the same question that drove the campaign for the removal of Okukor from its pedestal in a foreign land. Hopefully, Okukor would be returned to where it belongs. Also, it is hoped that there would be an intensification of the campaign for the return of looted artefacts.

    The beauty of Ayomike’s example is that it is a lesson in history. It would appear that his concern about the teaching of history is well-founded. Listen to what columnist Kofoworola Bello-Osagie said in a December 2015 article titled “The History Curriculum question”: “I am tired of reading about the exclusion of History from the Nigerian national curriculum.  The subject is there.  It was never removed…However, while people should be glad to heave a sigh of relief that it has not been expunged from the curriculum, there are serious challenges facing the teaching of the subject in Nigerian schools.  So, the concern about the fate of the subject is in order.” She continued: “History is one the 12 subjects categorised under the Humanities department that secondary school pupils study from SS1-SS3. But one of the concerns of critics, which is worthy of attention, is that History is not taught right from primary school; and, even when it is taught at senior secondary level, it is an elective subject.”

    Johnson Oritsegbubemi Sunday Ayomike, who will be 89 on April 7, deserves to be celebrated for his services to History.  The country needs more popularisers of History like him.