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ABUJA, Nigeria (CHATNEWSTV) — Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has announced that President Bola Tinubu has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to reintroducing history as a core subject in the country’s basic school curriculum.
History was removed from the curriculum in 2007, a decision that sparked widespread criticism. Since then, historical topics were only briefly addressed within social studies, leaving many students with limited knowledge of Nigeria’s past.
In 2018, the federal government ordered the reinstatement of history as a standalone subject in primary and junior secondary schools. Adamu Adamu, the then Minister of Education, said the Nigerian Education Research and Development Council (NERDC) would first need to extract history from the social studies curriculum.
At the time, Adamu emphasized that the new curriculum would focus on history as a tool for national integration and nation-building. He also announced the selection of 3,700 history teachers for the initial phase of training.
Education ministries in various states, including Lagos and Taraba, have begun implementing the federal policy.
Speaking on a Channels TV program, Alausa underscored the significance of reconnecting Nigeria’s youth with their history. “Let me go to basic education, the curriculum is good. What has been missing in the past is Nigerian history. We now have people of 30 years disconnected from our history. It doesn’t happen in any part of the world,” Alausa said.
He further added, “President Bola Tinubu has mandated that we put that back in our curriculum and that is back. From 2025, our students in primary and secondary schools will have that as part of their studies.”
Former Education Minister Adamu Adamu had previously cited the absence of history as a factor in the decline of morals, erosion of civic values, and the disconnection of Nigerians from their heritage.
With the reintroduction of history, stakeholders hope to foster a deeper understanding of Nigeria’s past among the younger generation.
