Education and Nation Building in Nigeria, 1960-1999

Student: Elijah Kysha Alada (Project, 2025)
Department of History and International Studies
University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State

Abstract

Education is universally acknowledged as a potent tool for socio-economic and political development of individuals and nations. It is an investment in human resources which results in transforming the lives of individuals and societies. This paper examined education and its contribution to nation building in Nigeria within the time frame of 1960-1999. It thus examined education and moral development, education and cultural/social development, education and economic development, education and political development of the Nigerian child. Education is a crucial sector in any nation. Being a major investment in human capital development, it played a crucial role in the long-term productivity and growth at both micro and macro levels in Nigeria. This explains why the state of education in Nigeria within the time frame of the study a national discourse at all levels. Consequently, the implication of the declining quality of education at all levels during that time had far reaching negative impact on the nation’s moral, civic, cultural and economic sustainability. The study heavily depended upon the secondary source of data where data from books, projects, journals and other related documents were consulted. Nevertheless, the work being a historical work made use of oral sources such as Oral History.

Keywords
Education Nation building Nigeria 1960-1999
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