Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, has commended the Federal Government and the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, for aligning with his position on the need to reintroduce History in the school curriculum.
Fayose had early September directed that History be reintroduced in schools in Ekiti State, noting that; “Ekiti people must learn from past events to have a better future.”
Last week Thursday, the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, while declaring open, the ministerial session of the 61st National Council on Education (NCE), in Abuja, called for disarticulation of Social Studies and reintroduction of History as a subject in the current Basic Education curriculum, adding that there was the urgent need to give the Nigerian children character.
Also on Monday, Tinubu made a strong case for the return of History as a subject in the country’s school curriculum, saying any nation which forgets its past has lost a beacon to guide its actions.
He said this in a short remark after reviewing the book, entitled Muhammadu Buhari: The Challenges of Leadership in Nigeria, at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.
In his reaction, Fayose, who spoke through his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, said he was happy that those holding power in Abuja listened to what he said on September 2, 2016 on the need to reintroduce History in our schools.
He described the removal of History as a subject from the current Education curriculum as a mistake that should be corrected without further delay.
“I have consistently maintained that democracy is about those in power listening to the people because the power of the people is greater than the power of those in power and I am glad that on this one, they listened.
“The reality we must all face is that no society can progress without reference to its pasts, and one of the reasons our value system has been so bastardised is that we no longer talk about our past. We no longer tell our children what our past leaders did either wrongly or rightly.”
Speaking further, Governor Fayose said; “When we were growing up, we were made to read about great leaders of our nation like Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Tafawa Balewa, Ahmadu Bello, Aminu Kano, King Jaja of Opobo and so on. We read what made them great and that shaped our lives.”
While admonishing those holding power at the federal level to listen more to the opposition, Fayose said: “When we speak, the impression should not always be that we hate President Mohammadu Buhari and his government. Rather, it should be about how beneficial is what we say to the country.”
