Nigerian
lawmakers on Thursday threw out a bill seeking to make history a core
learning subject in the nation’s primary and secondary schools.
The proposed legislation was rejected by
the House of Representatives after members raised concerns about the
implication of a language in it.
The bill, titled “A Bill for an Act to
Make History a Core School Subject in Nigeria’s Primary and Secondary
Schools and for other Related Matters,” was proposed by Ayodeji
Oladimeji from Oyo State.
Mr. Oladimeji said he crafted the bill
to address widespread ignorance of Nigerian history – and even major
historical events around the world – among Nigerians in primary and
secondary schools.
“I have a secretary who did not even
know anything about former Head of State, Murtala Muhammed,” Mr.
Oladimeji, an APC member, said. “Colleagues, we need to do something
about this situation because history is highly essential for nation
building.”
But Mr. Oladimeji’s proposal quickly met an opposition, first in the person of Zakari Mohammed and later from other lawmakers.
Mr. Mohammed, an APC lawmaker from
Kwara, said the word ‘core’ in the heading of the bill was problematic
and blocked it from passing a second reading.
“I know it’s important for a people to
know their history, but the word ‘core’ in the title of the bill is
somehow,” Mr. Zakari said.
His position was later echoed by a few
other lawmakers who demanded the bill be stepped down —even when they
spoke highly of its importance.
The opposing lawmakers further stated
that the parliament does not need to pass a bill strictly for the
purpose of mandating history.
They said other key subjects such as English and mathematics are being taught in schools without special legislative backing.
But Mr. Oladimeji said he proposed the
bill because he understood that history used to be in Nigeria’s early
education curriculum but had since been removed.
The Nigerian government reportedly removed history from key subjects in schools in 2009.
Mr. Oladimeji said enacting the adoption
of history into law should make it stringent for education
administrators to expunge from the curriculum.
Speaker Yakubu Dogara, nonetheless, overruled Mr. Oladimeji’s prayers and urged him to go and rework the bill.
The defeated proposal came on the heels
of relentless calls by academics for history to be restored into the
curriculum for pupils.