A Historical Analysis of the Introduction, Spread and Impact of Western Education in Southern Taraba Area, 1905 to 2018 (Published)
Education can be construed as a pattern of awareness which determines and influences the behavioural pattern of any given society. It encompasses societal civilization, values, norms and traditions. It is a people’s belief system, system of thought, an instrument through which a society produces and reproduces its kind in the light of what makes one a representation of his/her society. Every society therefore has its own system of education through which cultural transmission and socialization are anchored. Unfortunately, former colonies erroneously consider western education as the only best alternative for all-round development. It is viewed as the basic instrument for civilization, gainful employment, socialization, economic prosperity and development. This conventional assumptions has resulted in the eventual neglect of the traditional education by African societies, Southern Taraba inclusive. This paper therefore examine the process of introduction and spread of western education in Southern Taraba Area. The paper captures issues like the agencies and individuals involved, the impact, challenges encountered and how the challenges can be remedied. Thus, using a multi-disciplinary methodological approach, the study came to the realization that western education has impacted tremendously on the peoples of Southern Taraba Area in the spheres of human, infrastructural, political and socio-economic development.
Keywords: Challenges, Development, Education, Impact, Influence, history, western education
Cross River Tourism, History and Environment: A Marriage Contracted In the Womb of Time (Published)
Today, it can be safely argued that Cross River State is noted more for its tourism enterprise than for anything else. Since 1999 to date, there have been sustained efforts by successive administrations to re-engineer and rebrand the State as a tourism spectacle and hub not just in the Cross River Region but in Nigeria and indeed, the West Africa Sub-region at large. This paper seeks to show that there is an organic and inescapable relationship between Cross River’s current tourism efforts and its history and environment. Put differently, we would attempt to demonstrate that the foundation of Cross River tourism is embedded in its history and environment and it is from these pristine bowels that the current initiatives can truly find rhythm, momentum and relevance.
Keywords: Cross River, Environment, Nigeria, Tourism, history
The Artistic Functions and Symbolism in History: Reconfiguring History through Unconventional Sources of Artistic and Historical Works in Upper Ngemba, Bamenda Grasslands of Cameroon in the Pre-Colonial Era (Published)
The conventional sources of History include recorded data, tape-recorded information and oral tradition where information is handed down from one generation to the other by word of mouth. Historians in trying to constitute and reconstitute the colonial history of Africa have largely depended on these sources. Some scholars on African History have relied on intelligence and assessment reports that were left behind by the colonialists. One of the major contentions of this paper is that the artistic functions and symbolism have played an integral role in the re-configuring and recording African historical facts. The scarcity of indigenous sources of historical recordings made some European scholars to argue from a Eurocentric perspective that African history started with the coming of the Europeans to the Continent. This paper debunks this parochial contention and argues that African History existed long before European contact and that the people had alternative ways of recording their own history. History was transmitted through works of art which included carved objects, clay productions, weaved items, songs, legends and myths. All these are artistic and symbolic sources of historical facts. Recorded data also has a history and their history can be reconfigured through alternative sources like works of art that constitute an important way of recovering a people’s history. A typical example of this kind of society is upper Ngemba where their rich artistic background portrays a rich history
Keywords: Artistic Functions and Symbolism, Artistic and Historical Works, Bamenda, Cameroon, Ngemba, Pre-Colonial Era, Unconventional Sources, history