Citizenship education and the bane of national growth

Nigeria, as a country with incredible potential and inestimable manpower, has remained an enigma as to why it has failed to develop. Considering that countries without as much resources have advanced, Nigeria’s situation has continued to be pondered over by experts and commentators alike.Esteemed writer Chinua Achebe famously put this down to the failure of […]

Nigeria, as a country with incredible potential and inestimable manpower, has remained an enigma as to why it has failed to develop. Considering that countries without as much resources have advanced, Nigeria’s situation has continued to be pondered over by experts and commentators alike.
Esteemed writer Chinua Achebe famously put this down to the failure of leadership in his seminal essay, The Problem With Nigeria. In a way BF Aimola’s book, Citizenship Education for National Re-orientation, (Joyce Graphics Printers and Publishers, Kaduna, 2013, 177 pages) is trying to address the issues Achebe did not focus on, the problem of citizenship responsibility and combating the decadence in the Nigerian mind.
Her book is in five chapters. It is practical, it is direct and makes no pretension to couch what needs to be done in propaganda. It is prescriptive, and that is the way it should be considering that there is a major ailment with the Nigerian mindset that has hindered the growth of the country and, to a large extent, the well being of its citizens.
“The conduct of most Nigerian citizens is a total disarray, as majority has a lax approach towards their responsibility,” Aimola posits. And this is the major problem; an unawareness or total disregard for ones responsibility as a citizen and a leader.
Her approach is to create the needed awareness as to what the duties and responsibility of citizens and leaders are and how they can go about discharging these. This is a fundamental issue that should be addressed in the educational system and the failure of the school system to impart this much needed knowledge effectively has created a vacuum in the system. It is this vacuum that Aimola tries to address in this book.
Her approach is simple and direct and makes this book accessible to people of different level of education, from the semi-literate trader to the academic.
In chapter two of the book, Aimola addresses the issue of national symbols, those things that the Nigerian pride is invested in, or more precisely, supposed to be invested in, like the national flag, the bank notes, the coat of arms and the rest. She provides basic information about these symbols and how the Nigerian should relate with them. This is vital considering how many people, out of ignorance or total disregard, abuse these symbols of national pride.
The fundamental problem of discipline is addressed in chapter five of the book where the author notes that “indiscipline in all its ramifications has become a way of life to numerous Nigerians who consider it as the accepted way of life.” It is that big a problem and the author recognise and address it as such. The author does not presume to make recommendations as to how this problem should e solved other than challenging those responsible, like the family, the cleric, and the authorities to sit up and do their duties. While this is pragmatic, one would have expected something more specific.
Essentially, Aimola has succeeded in writing a book that every Nigerian should read and this is where the onus falls on agencies responsible for national orientation such as NOA and the ministry of information to ensure that the book is widely circulated to the Nigerian populace and all those wishing to be citizens of this country.
It will also serve as a vital tool in the education system if it is adopted as a study text for students in senior secondary schools or schools of advanced learning. This important facet of education should be made a prerequisite to the attainment of all professional qualification.