A country with no history

History. History. History.

What's history got to do with it? A better question: What doesn't history have to do with it?

Having lived in the US and been exposed to US history classes in high school, I have an overall sense of significant events in the country's history. What led to those events, the repercussions, their lasting effects, and so much more. Taking a US history class walks you through the country's story; a story fraught with triumphs and disappointment, a story fraught with struggle for many groups, and a country that to this day has to deal with its demons. But the country knows the source of its demons. The question is how to address them. However, ask the average Nigerian to discuss their short history. There is no written history. The country's history is often intertwined with a personal story. You only remember what you lived through. What about the rest?

Growing up in Nigeria, all I remember are the dates of certain historical events. My friends and siblings can also attest to this. History is often taught as part of a current affairs class, where we are to remember dates and names. In 1966, there was a coup led by General Aguiyi Ironsi. From 1967-1970, we had the civil war. Our country does not have a written history. Our young ones do not know their history. They do not know why the Nigerian civil war happened. They don't know why the first or second republic fell. They don't know how Buhari or Babangida led the country during their stints as military dictators. They don't know intimately about the June 12th elections and how the country unraveled back into another military dictatorship. As a university graduate, I find it disappointing that I was not taught these things. I find it inexcusable that our children grow up with no understanding of the triumphs and numerous mistakes of the past. A country with no history is sure to repeat its mistake.

One of the reasons I believe we have no written history is that history and the past are often fragile, subject to the whims of the story teller. The historians can regurgitate demons that current leaders may be reluctant to face. The current government which is telling the story can reinterpret past events to suit their motives. In essence, the past can make the present politically tense. But, that is a minute price to pay for a thorough understanding of where we have been as a country, and what our future holds. More importantly, ensure that we don't repeat past mistakes. And simply, make for a more educated and aware populace.

We need the democratically elected government (through the Ministry of Education) to commission a set of professors and historians to compile a book that can be considered the definitive story of Nigeria. In addition, Nigerian history should be mandated in secondary schools. Teaching history can foster a collective pride and show that Nigerians have a collective history, and not that the Igbos have their own history or the Yorubas have their own history etc.


If a man is bitten by a dog, and makes no mental memory of that event. When he returns another time and is bitten by the same dog, he has lost all pity. He is the definition of a fool.