The Lagos Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) on Friday called on the state government to champion reintroduction of history in primary and secondary school curricula.
The Chairman of the council, Mr Deji Elumoye, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
He spoke at the maiden edition of the Herbert Macaulay Gold Lecture held in Ikeja on Thursday.
Elumoye told NAN that history would offer an opportunity for the younger generation to prepare for a greater future and be equipped with information about their cultural, political and social heritage.
The chairman regretted that many Nigerian youths relied on information in the Internet and some other sources which might not be accurate about the nation.
According to him, they rely on such sources to form their opinions about the past, present and future of the country.
Elumoye said that there was the need to correct the anomaly.
He appealed to the Lagos State Government to set the pace for other states.
“It is unfortunate that, in the first instance, History was removed from the curriculum.
“Lagos is a trail blazer, a pace setter; I believe it can champion this campaign.
“I call on the Ambode administration to reintroduce it in Lagos so that our children can have knowledge about what is happening around them and across the globe,’’ he said.
The NUJ chairman called for proper documentation of achievement of past heroes and their immortalisation including of Herbert Macaulay.
Earlier, while delivering an address, the Chairman of the occasion, Mr Gbemiga Ogunleye, Director, Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), said that the nation sacrificed history due to politics.
“If we do not know our history and learn from it, we cannot solve our problems,” he said.
Ogunleye extolled the virtues of late Herbert Macaulay who, he said, deployed skills to serve his country.
He described Macaulay as a first class nationalist, regretting that the younger generation did not know much about him.
