Renowned historian, Prof. Bolanle Awe, has said for the country to get out of economic hardship, it needs History as a discipline to strategise action plans for transformation.
She spoke with The Nation at the weekend in Oyo town after visiting the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi 111.
Awe said to come out of recession, Nigeria must embrace the benefits and hopes offered by History, not only to learn what those countries did to overcome their problems and become super powers, but must cultivate the character required for transformation.
She said History should not only be made compulsory, but government functionaries should be made to appreciate and understand its essence.
‘’Their good grasp of History will afford them the needed foresight to manoeuvre the rigours of governance. It will also enable them to understand their environment, the people and the happenings around them.
‘’The recovery methods and tactics are embedded in History books. It is free knowledge. Ideas alone are not enough. Nigeria has experienced recession before; our history is replete with stories of how our progenitors recalibrated the economies of their kingdoms and chiefdoms, especially after the abolition of slave trade,’’ the don said.
Awe, the pioneer director, Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, said History offers a storehouse of information about how people and societies behave.
Oba Adeyemi described her as ‘’an academic giant, whose life and achievements have distinguished her as an outstanding and highly principled individual, who has contributed to the development of her fatherland.” - The Nation
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