HISTORICAL STUDIES AND SUSTAINABLE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

Few decades ago, historical studies or history as a discipline earned special treatment especially during the years of independence struggle, politics, diplomacy and other related matters. Regrettably, the current condition of history and historical studies in Nigeria do not appear to have been accorded with an assured position of significance in our national life and anything to do with development process. The low priority placed on history as a discipline, rendered it to be entirely seen of little or no significance in the process of sustainable national development. This unwanted tendency could be linked with the nature of the colonial historiography and the global resurgence in science and technology. On national development however, the dream is always been suffocated by institutional corruption, bad leadership, uncultured attitudes and lingered insecurity challenge. This paper is an attempt to explore what a country like Nigeria stands to benefit from a discipline such as history. In doing so, the paper examines what history is and some of the problems faced by historical studies and proffer possible solutions. It discusses the link between history and sustainable national development and the relevance of this link especially in the era of science and technology against the misinterpretation placed on history.