Professor Emman Osakwe

Professor Emman Osakwe

NAVIGATING THE NATION THROUGH TODAY’S SHAME TO TOMORROW’S FAME:

SOCIAL STUDIES AS PILOT

17TH IN THE SERIES OF INAUGURAL LECTURES OF THE DELTA STATE UNIVERSITY, ABRAKA, NIGERIA.

Delivered by

Professor Emman Osakwe

B.Sc. (Nig), M.Ed. (Philadelphia), M.A. (London) Ph.D (Ibadan)

Professor of Social Studies and Dean, Postgraduate School,

Delta State University, Abraka.

On Thursday, February 26, 2009

© Copyright 2009 Delta State University, Abraka

All Rights Reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or by any means, Photocopying, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the copyright owners.

ISBN 978 – 33872 – 7 – 4 Published February, 2009 By

DELTA STATE UNIVERSITY, ABRAKA,

DELTA STATE, NIGERIA.

Printed By

Justice Jeco Press and Publishers Ltd.,

Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria.

PROLOGUE/PREFACE

This Processed Teacher is Professor+… Famous+, Nigeria Will Become

(A Love Song to My Husband and the New Nigeria)

And he said: “marry me, May!”

‘I do no such thing: marry no ‘teacher’ said May

Dreg of Professions: the teacher – disqualified

Yet, most telling, lingering voice from the classroom!- qualified

This teacher now processed, is professor, prophet and priest.

Palm oil, the broom and sponge, banga soup – processed palm

Through fire, through water, the sharp blade, agents of decay – processed

As kero, diesel, petrol, cream, jelly, this balm – processed crude

Emman Osakwe, processed teacher, a voice heard beyond

Beyond the rostrum to the nations.

Processed through pain, deprivation, denial, derided then,

Today’s lecturer mounts the rostrum, behold he comes:

My husband, my principal, mon pére

Processed through fire, through waters, denied his due

This principal teacher of teachers of teachers

Is a teacher, teaching teachers of teachers of teachers.

Promotion to peak denied for ten years!

My co-parent, persevering through the years!

Like diamond; processed from carbon, my patient prince and peace maker

This principal teacher loaded with knowledge:

Intellectual and divine, has a message:

Nigeria is processing through shame –

Shame of corruption, of grave-like greed!

Shame of maladministration and misrule

Misrule, yielding tall poverty from giant opulence

Shame of monumental wastage of resources

Shame of wickedness and religious godlessness

Processing through shame to our desired fame:

Our famous fatherland, yes our motherland;

Land of my birth, land of my pain, land of my shame

Land of your birth, land of your pain, land of your shame

Dependent too long after independence, fragile like the eaglet

For this fragile eaglet, ready to fall, unable to fly,

Will become the great eagle in flight

Famous bird; not to fly but to soar –

Land of my birth, land of your birth, land of our birth

Land of my fame, land of your fame, land of our fame –

Nigeria is your name!

Mabel Ejime Osakwe (2009)

Chair, English Language

Delta State University, Abraka

COURTESIES

The Vice-Chancellor,

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Admin.)

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic)

The Provosts, Asaba and Oleh Campuses,

The Acting Registrar,

The Bursar,

The University Librarian,

The Provost, College of Health Sciences,

Dean, Faculty of Education,

Deans of Other Faculties,

Professors and other members of Senate,

Heads of Department and other academic Colleagues,

Members of Administrative and Technical Staff,

My Lords Spiritual and Temporal,

Members of my family, Nuclear and Extended,

My In-laws,

Distinguished Invited Guests,

Gentlemen of the Press,

Great DELSUITES,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Preamble

I feel highly honoured and priviledged to be called upon to deliver the 17th Inaugural Lecture of the Delta State University, Abraka. I thank God for granting us journey mercies to this gathering and I believe He will take all of us home safely in Jesus Name – Amen.

Did you buy and read today’s papers? How many mind bugging and gory stories? What is the latest on militancy and criminality in the Niger Delta? How painful! You may try to take your mind off those depressive issues and feed your mind with the Obama big dream come true and so will ours. Yes, welcome to this forum! To this God given opportunity for us to reflect and discuss social issues akin to those raised earlier in this welcome tip. Sorry to tell you though that I have the monopoly of the floor in this discussion that is why it is called a lecture. But release your mind to travel along, as Social Studies pilots our navigation, through today’s shame to tomorrow’s fame.

INTRODUCTION

The first thing to give attention to is the nature and purpose of Social Studies and how it serves as a vehicle for responding to issues of our time. Succinctly put, Social Studies is about learning to live and participate in this world, at a particular time and place; hence we have the formula:

SSE               =      PSpt

P      =      People

S      =      Society

P      =      place

t       =      time

This lecture being an indepth discourse on an aspect of my academic expertise, and my contribution to social studies as a field of knowledge, will be guided by the SSE formula as stated and the nature of Social Studies.

Here then, P means The Nigerian People; S means The Nigerian Society; p means The geographical entity called Nigeria and t means Nigeria yesterday today and tomorrow. In this lecture, Nigeria yesterday implies pre-colonial Nigeria to the era before the 2nd Republic, while Nigeria today spans the period 2nd Republic to date.

We recognize that this audience is not only interdisciplinary “gown” but also a heterogeneous “town”. Attempts will be made then to operate within this defined perimeter.

Social Studies touches on every facet of human existence: man himself as a product of nature, and social man as a product of nurture; arising from the social, political, economic and physical environment. Social studies has therefore for long been identified as a veritable tool or avenue for reshapening society. (Lawton and Durfour 1973, Osakwe 1993) The very nature, content and scope of social studies, makes it a virile instrument for developing a new social – political order. This lecturer has professed majorly in this area of social studies and has 20 publications related to the present discourse. Four of such are listed here:

Osakwe, E.O. (1992) “Social studies and the Military in Nigerian politics” Nigerian Journal of Social Studies Review Vol. 2, No 2, pp. 89-91

Osakwe, E.O. (1993a) Citizenship Education: The Hub of Social Studies Nigerian Journal of Social Studies Review. Vol. 2, No. 3, Pp. 23-38.

Osakwe, E.O. (1994a) Citizenship Education in a Multi-ethnic Society: Some Pedagogical Insights. Studies in Education Vol. 2. No 1. April. Pp 60-64.

Osakwe, E.O. (1994b) Instructional Strategies for teaching the Social Studies: Using Exemplars and Non-Exemplars Nigerian Journal of social Studies Vol. III, No. 1 & 2 pp. 49-55.

In Nigeria, Social Studies found practical expression into the school system after the 1969 National Curriculum Conference.  The subject is geared towards building individuals and thereby building the nation (Osakwe 1993).  The potentials of Social Studies are yet to be fully exploited in our quest for a desirable socio-political and economic order.

Social Studies is concerned with human relationships.  The world is constantly undergoing changes and Social Studies remains a veritable instrument for examining these changes, whether they be positive or negative.  Social Studies revolves around humans (people) and all that impinges on them.

Areas of Emphasis in Social Studies

The knowledge included in Social Studies is related to important generalizations about human relationships, institutions and problems, together with supporting facts to ensure that these generalizations are clearly understood (Osakwe and Itedjere 1993).  Social Studies examines issues and problems from a holistic viewpoint – consequently, in resolving a problem or an issue, social studies examines the historical, cultural, sociological, economical, physical and other related dimensions.  Unlike the vertical concentration that is noticeable in most school subjects, social studies adopts a horizontal spiral approach in the analysis of it problems.  Social Studies, has strong affinity with the Social Sciences, but must not be seen as an amalgam of the social sciences.

Social

Exit mobile version