5 Importance of Civic Education in Nigeria

Here in this post, we are going to share with you 5 importance of civic education in Nigeria. We hope this information is useful to you.

A country without proper sensitization of the citizens about its laws, culture, norms and values would never experience any meaningful development.

Such a country would be faced with the constant crippling economy, increased crime rates, disunity as well as different sociopolitical and economic problems.

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Nigeria is a country blessed with the abundance of various natural and human resources but it is with great pain in my heart to point out that we cannot record any significant sustainable development over the years.

The growing concern is that we can’t really say where we are now as a nation as things keep shifting from bad to worse. There has been a steady drop in the inculcating of values in the lead generation of Nigeria.

Good values such as honesty, patriotism, hard work, decency, obedience have been dropped while social vices such as cyber crimes, terrorism, fraud, impudence, extravagance have been exalted.

It is therefore imperative to go back to the drawing board, to fill the gap in knowledge, the knowledge of the importance of civic education in Nigeria.

In this article, I will guide you through 5 great important aspects of civic education to all Nigerian citizens and how it can impact our lives irrespective of age and status.

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Concept of Civic Education

Civic Education is seen as the bedrock of national development. It is concerned with teaching citizens their rights, responsibilities as well as duties to the country.

It is also the education of rules, standards, norms and values to uphold as citizens of a nation in order to move our nation forward. Civic education is as old as man.

In Nigeria, Civic education was taught informally before the advent of formal education in various communities. After Nigeria’s independence, it was inculcated into the elementary school curriculum and taught as a separate subject.

Over time, it changed nomenclature and has evolved from Civics to General Knowledge, Social studies, Civic education and finally Religious and National Values.

Importance of Civic Education.

The importance of Civic education in Nigeria cannot be overemphasized. They include:

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1. Total Transformation of Our World

The rally call of all political parties in our nation is woven around various proposals to bring change in our society. But the real issue is not in leadership but in the value each citizen brings to the nation.

Have you ever wondered or dreamt about a nation void of vices and ill happenings. A nation where there is no marginalization, disorder or instability.

That is a nation where every citizen see the responsibility of building the nation as his or her own and that’s what Civic education is geared at.

By instilling in every citizen, the values of leadership and responsibility irrespective of status and age, our nation can be transformed by our individual and collective good actions.

2. Peace and Equality

Civic education teaches us to respect each other’s belief and see each other as brothers or equal. One sad reoccurrence in our society today is ethnicity and religious superiority.

The belief that one’s ethnic group or tribe or religion is better than others. It has brought about nepotism, injustice, inequality, war and bloodshed in our Nation.

Citizens need to be enlightened through civic education and learn to accept everyone irrespective of language, tribe or belief.

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3. Patriotism

Through Civic education, we as citizens begin to feel love, devotion and attachment to our country. Obeying the laws of the land, promoting good values, shunning vices and active participation in the governance of the nation.

There’s also an alliance with one another as we share a common goal of making our nation better rather than indulging in unscrupulous acts that hinder national growth.

4. Sustainable Development

The curriculum of Civic education is structured to address the goals of sustainable development which are summed up into social justice, ecological sustainability, good governance and economic productivity.

Sustainable development is one which builds on developing the society today with the future in mind. Civic education buttresses on arming citizens with current trends in this age like ICT skills as we approach the 4th industrial revolution era, as well as conflict resolution strategies, solutions in health, social, economic and political problems.

It challenges individuals not only to point out threats in our present and future but also to provide solutions to these problems, thereby sustaining growth in our nation and in the world at large.

5. International Recognition

One thing that concerns me with all these bad occurrences in our nation today is how we are being projected to the global community.

Different reactions by foreigners whenever we get in contact with them.  We can’t blame them though, with all the bad news on the air.

Our dealings with the outside world is hampered. Through civic education, we can break through these barriers by dealing with these social vices and working seriously on our mindset towards success, inculcating good values to our daily living.

When we change our attitudes towards our government, our economy, our neighbours; when we learn to respect each other’s belief and bring about the change we desire in our country then we can gain good recognition in international levels.

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Conclusion

There’s no magic in national development, it doesn’t happen spontaneously in the twinkle of an eye or the flick of a wand, it’s steady and continuous and backed by the faith and values of the citizens.

Civic education is the pivot to the future development of our nation, if and only if we open our minds and hearts to its rich knowledge.

We can achieve a national transformation, peace, equality, effective citizenship, sustainable development, international recognition and the democracy of our dreams.

We can’t blame it all on our leaders, we all have a stake in developing our nation. So whether you are seven or seventy, it is time to think about what you can do as a good citizen of Nigeria.

We have to go back to our books, to civic education and start paying our dues to our nation, believe me in due time, we’ll see great results.

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