The Role of Citizenship Education in the Life of Learners
Citizenship education plays a vital role by inculcating in learners the following:
The Spirit of Nationalism
Sheftritz (1988) saw nationalism as the development of national consciousness – the totality of the cultural, historical, linguistic, psychological and social forces that pull a people together with a sense of belonging and shared values. This development tends to lead to the political belief that this national community of people and interest should have their own political order, independent from and equal to all other political communities in the world (Sheftritz, 1988). It should be emphasized that nationalists like King of Jaja of Opobo, Nana Olomo of Itsekiri, Abdulraman of Sokoto, Herbert Macaulay, Tafawa Balewa, Ahmadu Bello, Nnamdi Azikiwe, and Obafemi Awolowo among many other nationalists resisted alien rule and fought for the freedom of Nigeria which must be safeguarded by the present generation.
Patriotism
This is the love and pride one has for one’s country that makes one to always defend her and contribute to her progress, peace and stability. As specified Asiegbu (1990), one has to fully identify with Nigeria as a patriot which means sacrificing personal interests for her good. A clear example of how Nigerians identify with their country is during football matches involving the national team against a foreign team. Millions of Nigerians follow the game on radio and television. They feel and talk as if they are one big family. They celebrate with one another when the national team wins.
Everyone feels very unhappy when the team loses. Patriotism also means defending democracy and social justice. It is necessary to defend democracy because it is the best condition in which people freely contribute to the development of their society. A patriot plays active roles in the political affairs of his country by joining any popular democratic organization where he can participate fully in national elections and unite with others to defend his fundamental rights. It is only through patriotism that citizens of the country can make her move forward like prompt payment of taxes, obeying rules and regulations, participating in al democratic processes, showing good examples, helping one another and shunning all sorts of vices like sabotage, dishonesty and wickedness, among others.
The Role of Citizenship Education in the Life of Learners
Fundamental Human Rights
The fundamental rights of a human being are just claims, titles whether prescriptive, legal or moral which are due to person as a human being in a given society (Obiadi, 1998). The 1999 Nigerian Constitution spells out the fundamental rights of man as the right to life where no one shall be deprived intentionally of his life, save in execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been found guilty in Nigeria; dignity where his person shall not be subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment; fair hearing within a reasonable time by a court or other tribunal established by law and constituted in such manner; privacy of citizens, their homes, correspondences, telephone conversations and telegraphic communications; freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including freedom of change religion or belief; freedom of expression, hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference; assemble freely and associate with other persons; move freely throughout the country and to reside in any part thereof; and among others, no citizen shall be discriminated against.
Responsibilities of Citizens; It is the responsibility of every Nigerian to abide by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, respect its ideals and institutions, the national flag, national anthem, national pledge, legitimate and properly constituted authorities; help enhance the power, prestige and good name of the country, defend the country and render national service as may be required; protect and preserve public property, and fight against misappropriation and squandering of public funds; respect the dignity and religion of other citizens and the rights and legitimate interests of others and live in unity and harmony in the spirit of common brotherhood; make positive and useful contributions to the advancement, progress and well-being of the community where he resides; work conscientiously in his lawful and chosen occupation and abstain from any activity detrimental to the general welfare of other citizens or the country; ensure the proper upbringing of his children; participate in and defend all democratic processes and practices; render assistance to appropriate and lawful agencies in the maintenance of law and order; and among others, declare his income honestly to appropriate and lawful agencies and pay his taxes promptly (Akude 1989).
Knowledge of the Nigerian Constitution
According to Price (1975), the Constitution is an agreed set of rules prescribing the organization of the government of a country. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria like any countries, is supreme and all its provisions have binding force on all authorities and persons throughout the Federation. The full knowledge of the Nigerian Constitution will expose the learners to the dos and don’ts of the country so that they do not run afoul of the law.
The Role of Citizenship Education in the Life of Learners
Conclusion
For meaningful development to take place in the society, citizenship education plays a very vital role as it aims at molding learners to be worthy citizens so that they can contribute the quota. With citizenship education, the country is assured of free and fair elections; a corrupt free society; love and peace in abundance; good leadership and followership leading to political stability; respect for one another’s religion, tradition and culture; achievement of national objectives; respect for the rule of law; the fear of God; entrepreneurship and hard work leading to self-reliance; conservation and good use of the environment; commitment to duty; participation in all electoral processes to choose good leaders; and among many others, respect for division and dignity of labour where everyone is proud of their profession.
Recommendations
- There should be training and retraining of teachers in the teaching of citizenship Education as the society is dynamic.
- Curriculum planers should ensure that the course content is Nigeria oriented.
- Government should encourage the teaching of citizenship education in all levels of educational institutions in Nigeria.
- Qualify teachers should handle the course.
References
Akude, I. (1989). Issues in Citizenship education in Nigeria. Enugu: New Age Publishers.
Asiegbu, N.D. (1990). Government for Senior Secondary Schools. Onitsha: Tabansi Publishers. Federal Ministry of Information (1999). The Nigerian Constitution. Lagos: Government Publishers.\
American Psychological Association, (APA). (2017). Personality. Available at http://www.apa.org/topics/ personality/. Accessed on October 15, 2017.
Aristotle, S. (1988). The Politics, Stephen Everson (ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Bagheri, K. (2000). Possibility and process civic education in Iran. Psychology and educational science magazine, 5 (1).
Bayeh, E. (2016). Role of civics and ethical education for the development of democratic governance in Ethiopia: Achievements and challenges. Pacific Science Review B: Humanities and Social Sciences, 2: 31-36.
Obiadi, G.O.A. (1998). Essentials of Citizenship education for Schools and Colleges in Nigeria. Awka: Umerah Books Publishers. Price, J.H. (1975). Comparative Government. London: Hutchinson and Co. Publishers.
Sheftritz, J.M. (1998). The Dictionary of American Government. Illinois, Chicago: The Dorsey Press. Steward, E. (1981). Sociology: The Human Science. New York: McGraw Hill Book Company
