DECOLONISATION OF THE NIGERIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM
When the colonial masters came into Nigeria, they made use of our land and us, unwilling subjects of their fading empire in a bid to still assert their relevance in the international arena. Now fifty-five years after their departure, the unwanted legacies of their rule still remain with us as a result of the strong hold their culture has on one of the most important institutions of the Nigerian society – the Educational system.
Education existed way before the advent of colonialism. However, our colonizers brought a new set of formal education which partly supplemented and replaced those which existed before. The whole essence of education as explained by Martin Luther King Jr. which is to teach one to think critically was lost. We were taught to read and write, calculate, read Shakespearean literature and our fathers were offered the position of clerks.
The implementation of the new education, rather than unlock the golden door of freedom, left us with lack of identity and limited sense of the past.
Education, they say is the bedrock of the society, but of what use is an educational system that alienates the very people it seeks to educate from their roots or what use is the education that demands that we embrace another culture- one that would never accept us no matter how civilized we become. Famous African writer Ngugi W’athingo says :
“ colonization annihilates a people of belief in their names, language, environment, heritage of struggle, unities, capacities and ultimately in themselves”
We all are aware of the saying that a man who does not know where he is coming from will never know where he’ll end up regardless of his intelligence. Little wonder Plato, the great philosopher also said:
“ the direction in which education stirs a man will determine his future in life”
It is therefore expedient that Nigerian students, for the love of ourselves and the future generation reverse this trend because as long as our minds are still under the thrall of colonial system, October 1st every passing year will be nothing more than a colonial parade in the history of Nigeria.
The first step in decolonizing Nigerian educational system is to embrace the use of indigenous languages in teaching in our institutions of learning. Our languages are rich in colorful expressions, erudite proverbs and an extensive vocabulary, thus making it preferable to the English Language. There is no better way to decolonize the minds of the people than to teach them in their native language.
Another step that can be taken towards decolonizing the educational system is to reinforce the study of history as a subject in Nigerian schools. An African language translated in English says : until the tale of the hunt is told by the lion, the stories of the hunt will always glorify the hunter. In the same vein, until Nigerians learn our history from Nigerian sources, we would continue to view ourselves as a marginalized people who revile their master for putting them in chains. But thank them for the occasional pieces of meat they throw at them. To be ignorant of the political and cultural history of a people is also to be ignorant of their contribution to all areas of intellectual activity. It is indeed appalling that the teaching of history as a subject no, longer holds importance in the eyes of our policy makers. In learning the history of our land, we would come to appreciate and accept our rich cultural heritage and in doing so, free ourselves from the stronghold of British culture.
Furthermore, to decolonize our educational system, it is important that we embrace the diversity of Nigeria. By this, it is meant that teaching in institutions should be based on experiences students can relate to. For instance, an Igbo student would relate to a question in Social studies in a different way an Hausa man would, this is because the experiences they can relate to are different in entirety. We therefore need to restructure our educational system in a way that the various ethnic groups can be accommodated.
Therefore, if Nigeria can have an educational system geared towards creating a sense of national pride, consciousness and awareness, she may indeed begin to reap the long awaited fruits of her independence.
