Pope John Paul II Journal of Philosophy

The great Nigerian literary icon Chinua Achebe is well known to have popularized the Igbo assertion that the man who does not know where the rain began to beat him cannot say where he dried his body. The above aphorism aptly captures the vital role of history or knowledge of the past in the life of an individual or a group of people. This article, which approach is analytical, examines the role of history in nation building with a focus on the Nigerian situation. History, as knowledge of the past, not only serves as a communal memory that gives a form of identity to a given group of people but also saves human society from being lost in endless ocean of time. This partly underscores the vital function of history in nation building by capturing and interpreting the past. In a country with diverse cultures and heterogeneous population, a comparative study of the history of the different ethnic groups and their intersections is highly important for the integration of the ethnic nationalities. Furthermore, history illuminates the present as well as the future. To be able to play the above important role, there is a dire need for accuracy and guarantee of historical truth or veracity. This relates to historicity and calls for serious concern, especially in the present age where events that constitute historical data can easily be manipulated through the misuse of modern information and communication technology. Indeed, there is nothing as bad as ‘bad history’. Considering the implication of history and historicity in nation building, this paper not only decries the chequered treatment of history and history education in Nigeria which has left the country bereft of the benefits of history but also advocates that greater attention to history and historicity in the process of nation building in Nigeria.

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