After much thought, I came up with recommendations for the ever-growing problems related to food scarcity, poverty, insurgency, etc we face as a nation. The suggestion was a welcomed idea based on the engagement and reactions I got on social media. I had suggested that Agriculture, History and Geography be made compulsory just like Mathematics and English Language in the school curriculum. This was to ‘catch them young’ starting from as little as Nursery school pupils.
As a pupil, I never got that opportunity, the historical knowledge of my country was learnt through Social Studies and Civic Education. As I proceeded to Secondary School, I had to drop these teachings since they became an option. Thankfully, I was opportune to learn more about Agriculture and since Geography was my major, there was some form of balance. But my knowledge of what was obtainable in the past had to be intentional. Nobody was going to teach me what happened to past fallen heroes.
How did Nigeria get to where it is? What went wrong? Who is responsible for her woes? Other raging questions that needed answers pushed me to read books on history. At least, I got grips of the Biafra War after reading from the prolific writer, Chinua Achebe’s account of the civilian war in his book-‘There was a country’. He gave a detailed narration of his childhood experience, schooling to how he met his wife, his role in the Biafra war, the struggles, betrayals, the defeat, and the woes.
Other authors have also shared their accounts of Nigeria’s history. This is a good way of knowing about one’s history. It does not have to be within the confines of a classroom. From literature books, there is the information of all that happened, the mistakes of past leaders and how we can move forward as a country, The annoying thing is that all that they pointed as problems have aggravated and nothing seemed to have changed. This is because it has been the same cycle of poverty and leaders.
I particularly highlighted Agriculture because a hungry man has no conscience. Man would think of food first before clothing and shelter. Truth is, nothing makes sense on a hungry stomach. Have you tried reading with an empty stomach? It is an abortive mission. No wonder, people sell their votes for ‘a cup of garri’. Politicians use this strategy to manipulate voters. They capitalise on poverty to use people for selfish ambitions.
Agriculture solves the problem of food scarcity. It was our mainstay before the oil boom. The sad part is that Nigerian youths don’t want to go into agriculture. They would rather prefer white-collar jobs. However, agriculture does not have to be on the farm, it can be done in an office space based on the supply chain. Individuals and the government need to go back to Agriculture and make it enticing for the populace so we can solve food scarcity and inflation.
Geography is another important subject for schools. This is because it challenges a man to make good use of his environment and its opportunities. It also helps the man in decision making with the understanding of ‘What’, ‘When’, ‘Why’, ‘How and Where’. Man can not be tied to a place, he needs to explore to be better informed and exposed. This is where knowledge of Geography comes to play.
The Nigerian school curriculum needs a total overhaul. Education is the bedrock of any society. If we still rely on old systems and outdated modules, how do we expect to develop especially in this modern age? Here is calling all stakeholders to revisit the school curriculum and make the necessary changes so that we don’t train a generation of children on theory without the ability to critically think and proffer workable solutions to raging and complicated national issues.
Written by Patricia Uyeh