A History Teacher at Albidayatu Jameelah International School in Kaduna, Mr. Fred Daniel, says for Nigeria to develop in every aspect of endeavor, it must appreciate its history.
The teacher said that this would give clearer view for the present and prediction of the future while it will help the students appreciate our history
Daniel said this at a History day he organised for the students, to dramatise positive historic events in Nigeria, how the country was named and other anticidents that happened before Independence in 1960.
He said the idea of the history day performance was born out of his observations during teachings in classroom, where he discovered facts which did not only add value to students offering history as a subject, but to the students entirely.
He exemplified that China as an economic giant had before now struggled even to feed as a nation, but developed a sustainable programme which included consumption and production of their own local contents for some duration of years.
He noted that Nigeria as a nation could also look inward at some things it could do deliberately to grow economically even if it was painstaking.
“If we can study and reminisce the history of all the developed countries and how they transformed to what they are today, we will derive logic and some senses on how we can also develop economically,” Daniel said.
He noted that the world needed to know that it doesn’t matter one’s professional, there are facts which should be known irrespective of profession.
He urged the students not to shy away from reading history books.
“The students must not take that saying which says if you want to hide something from an African, put it in a book; we must encourage them to read vast, including history of our continent and country,” Daniel said.
Earlier, Principal of the School, Mr. Ismaila Abubakar, reminded the students of the saying that ‘If you dont know your history, you wouldn’t know where you are going to’.
Abubakar said they organised the event to ensure that their students did not lose track of history.
“If you ask many politicians questions, they only know what is happening currently but cannot trace back to history, and that is why we lost our glory and potential.
“If we had kept tracks of history, we would have known where we came from and where we are going which will give a proper guidance in every aspect of our endeavors,” Abubakar said.
He called on students to keep in tune with their histories to enable them progress in life.
Mr. Abubakar Bardi, also a history teacher, in the school, said history, being embedded in everything, could be specifically useful by learning from the mistakes of the past of our leaders, families, and communities, among others to better it in the present and plan for the future.
According to him, the biggest challenge of Nigeria is unemployment, which, he said, tracing back to history would reveal how opportunities were created in the past.
“After the Nigerian civil war in 1967 to 1970, where Yakubu Gowon was the Head of State, he bought about many programmes which were beneficial to the country as a whole, like the NYSC which provided many employment opportunities for Nigerians.
“We can also use case studies from other countries like Ghana, South Africa and Egypt who used their histories in understanding their Issues and adjusted their current challenges and planning for their future,” Bardi said.
The News Agency Nigeria (NAN), reports the students performed dramas on slave trade, Herbert Macauley, Flora Shaw and Mary Slessor who stopped the killing of twins in Nigeria.
The students also performed a drama on Mesopotamia, a historical region which included present-day Iraq and Kuwait, and parts of present-day Iran, Syria and Turkey.
NAN also reports that the students made presentations of historical events, stating accurately their dates of occurrence, begging and end, respectively.
We must appreciate our history…
