Perspectives on the History of Education in Nigeria, 2008
INDIGENOUS AFRICAN EDUCATION
Dr. (Mrs.) A. A. Jekayinfa
General Principles of Education
Education is a universal process occurring in all human societies involving
a society passed on its culture, that is the social, ethical, intellectual, artistic and
industrial attainments of the group by which it can be differentiated from another
group. It therefore goes on informally and has deep roots in the environment in
which it takes place.
No study of the history of education is complete without adequate
knowledge of the traditional or indigenous education system prevalent in Africa
before the introduction of Islam and Christianity. Every society whether simple or
complex, has its own system for training its youth. When a society develops a
process related to its environment and passes it on from generation to generation.
It becomes peculiar to the members and the environment (Fafunwa, 1974) and
may then be safely referred to as indigenous. Thus arises the term indigenous
education.
Some of the underlying principles of education in different societies may be
dissimilar, but in all cases they are worked out to give every individual the
opportunity of growing normally in his society, of acquiring skills with which he
can feed himself and his family and of contributing usefully to the common weal.
Some societies emphasise some attributes more than the others in the process of
achieving this standard aim of education. Thus, while most of the developing
societies kill curiosity in their children by restricting their desire to question
adults, the more advanced societies encourage their own children to be inquisitive.
People believe that this is partly responsible for most of the inventions.
From the study of systems of education in different societies, we know that
the environment, the circumstances of the people and what they are struggling to
achieve, have effects on the principles of indigenous education. Thus in the
ancient world, the Athenians and the Spartans formulated different principles for
bringing up their children. In the same way, societies of the third world such as
Nigeria and other African countries, where indigenous education is struggling for
survival against imported systems of education, had formulated different
principles for educating their young ones. Such societies exist throughout the
world but out attention here is focused on those in Africa generally and in
particular in Nigeria as practical examples for our present purpose. Broadly
speaking, they can be said to be homogeneous of the fact that their environment
Perspectives on the History of Education in Nigeria, 2008
and certain body characteristics and also their social organization are not too
dissimilar.
African traditional education is the type of education that was prevalent in
African societies before the introduction of the western European type of
education. It was a kind of informal education in which all the members of the
community were involved. Generally, the youth learn by imitating the ways of life
and activities of the elderly members of the society. For example, the young boys
learnt the art of farming by following their fathers and other male elders to the
farm and watching how these leaders cleared the land, planted, nurtured and
harvested the crops. Later the young ones participated in these activities.
Similarly, the girls learnt domestic work by watching and imitating how their
mothers and other female elders in the community carried out their domestic
chores; for example, how mothers took care of babies and children-bathing and
feeding the baby, putting him on her back and rocking him to sleep.
As Fafunwa (1974) observed; functionalism’ is the guiding principle of
African traditional education. This is true of the early Greek education particularly
Spartan education which also emphasized functionalism. In other words, Africa
traditional education, like Spartan education is aimed at making the individual a
useful member of the community. This may explain why traditional African
Society regarded education as a means to an end, rather than an end in itself.
Education was therefore intended to be a gradual process of induction, into the
society and a preparation for adult life and responsibility. It was sometimes a
preparation for a peaceful death or a happy end. The principle of functionalism,
goes along with the principle of self development.
The principle of self-development is characteristic of African indigenous
education. The child is given every opportunity to do things by himself under the
direction and protection of the adult. It is believed that each child has his own
talents which he must develop but not until he has found out and experienced what
happens in the society into which he is born. It is after this that he can take up
innovations without embarrassing himself and the members of his family. Before
and during adolescence, he has to go through the a series of initiation ceremonies
to make sure that he understands the ways and wherefores of what happens within
his society and also that he makes use of all the opportunities available as required
by the society.
Communalism was another principle characteristic of African traditional
education. Members of the community shared what they had and did things in
common. They had their common markets, play-grounds and shrines. They as one,
were involved in participation education through various kinds of ceremonies and
local festivals. They also together hunted for animals, went fishing sold products
of their farms, drummed and danced, wrestled and sometimes, together engaged in
some kinds of acrobatic or intellectual activities. The education of the African
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Perspectives on the History of Education in Nigeria, 2008
child or adult was therefore a continuous activity and every member of the society
was involved in it by passing on and/or learning what needs to be learnt in the
society.
It is a time-honoured principles and practice in almost all African societies
that no individual has the right to exist unto himself alone. (Fafunwa, 1974).
Everybody has to develop within the society and interact with others for the well
being of the society in general. This is why communalism forms the basic
philosophy on ownership of property, defence and other aspects of social life.
Right from birth, the child is made to realize that his lot is tied on to that of the
community which includes himself, his mates, the elders, the souls of the departed
and generations unborn. Consequently, if he happens to default, he would realize
the full implications of it, that it does not end with those whom he sees and talks to
but also those he cannot see but who see him and follow his actions in details.. The
principle allows one to own property and to be individualistic to a certain extent
but not all the time. You are trained to share your property, even clothes, with
others.’ This sounds unhygienic but there are. safeguards to control this, theft and
abuse of such privileges.
Under this, same principle, land and landed property were not individually
owned but held in trust for the community by the acknowledged head through
whom heads of families also held them in trust for individuals who could use them
at will but were not allowed by personal claims.
In the African indigenous educational system, a child is made to appreciate
his role as a member of this immediate and extended family as well as that of the
community at large. The early education of an African child is the responsibility of
everyone in his immediate environment. When he is old to learn a specific trade,
particularly in the field that is not an hereditary profession, he is sent out as an
apprentice to a master tradesman who mayor may not be a friend of the family
(Fafunwa, 1974).
According to Fafunwa (1974), age - groups are generally engaged in
communal work.. They may help other members in clearing, planning and
harvesting or ‘help the community at large in road-building, or the chief of the
community in performing a given task or assignment. Under this same principle of
communalism, people learnt thrift through the ‘Esusu’ system, otherwise known as
the Thrift Societies. The thrift system is modernized today in the form of different
co-operative and thrift societies. The principle of communalism helped in
educating the Nigerian youth to assist their relatives or neighbours when they are
in difficulty. They do this by making contribution levied by their age groups, chief
or any other adult member of the society or extended family in the traditional
society, each household is a socio-economic entity. Everybody is his brother’s
keeper. Moments of joy or sorrow are shared by everyone. One person’s ceremony
is everybody’s ceremony.
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Perspectives on the History of Education in Nigeria, 2008
The third principle or characteristic of African traditional education is the basic
acceptance of the existence of a Supreme Being who co-ordinates all natural
phenomena as they affect man. This is infact the origin of religion everywhere. It
cannot therefore be lumped up with a characteristic like communalism because it
is universal in essence. In almost all African societies it is believed that the
Supreme Being should be reached through some intermediary such as Jesus in
Christianity, Mohammed in Islam or Buddha in Buddhism. This is made to form
the basis of authority in domestic and public relationships and helps to maintain
justice, probity and mutual trust in society generally.
Therefore, the duty of anyone educating children for the society is to lay
emphasis on this. It is religious as it affects relationships and social interactions.
The inclusion of these three principles along with the need for the acquisition of
basic skills to earn a living makes the full complement of traditional African
education. The skills and method of learning of course differ from place to place
as these depend on the climatic and geographical conditions.
In African indigenous education, the family is the first school of every child
and the mother is the first and principal teacher for the first-five or six years. From
about six years, some educational work is passed on to older members of the
nuclear and extended family. From about that age, a boy is ‘usually ‘passed to an
uncle rather than the father to begin his apprenticeship as a farmer, fisherman or
craft man. The girl stays with a woman where she learns ho to obey and pay
special attention to house-keeping.
The duration of apprenticeship is only broadly uniform. In the case of
farming, it lasts until the young man is about to marry. A full traditional African
education and up-bringing is not completed, until the late twenties or early thirties.
By that time, one would have had opportunity, for satisfactory home training,
acquisition of practical skills to earn a living, development of moral composure as
well as respectable and reliable knowledge of one’s environment.
In all cultures, education is a long, and often trial and error process towards
the improvement of the individual status. Where it is systematized, it needs
constant refurbishing to make it cater adequately for all its citizen. Where it is not
systematized, it relies on oral tradition and the elders of the society to pass on the
culture, an don the co-operation of the family heads to keep up the tradition. Each
culture has formulated procedures to suit its environment for growth and
development (Fafunwa, 1974).
Fafunwa also claimed that the aim of indigenous African education is
multilateral and the end objective is to produce an individual who is honest,
respectable, skilled, co-operative and conforms .to the social order of the. day.
According to him, seven main objectives of indigenous African education can be
identified as follows:

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Perspectives on the History of Education in Nigeria, 2008








To develop the child’s. latent physical skills
To develop character
To inculcate respect for elders and those in position of authority
To develop intellectual skills
To acquire specific vocational training and to develop a healthy attitude
towards honest labour.
To develop a sense of belonging and to participate in family and
community affairs
To understand, appreciate and promote the cultural heritage of the
community at large. (Fafunwa, 1974, p.20)
Physical Training
The African child likes to explore his immediate environment, observe
adults when doing their activities and imitate them. Through games, dancing and
the like, the African child develops physically. He is always eager to try new
things.
Character Training
One of the hallmarks of indigenous African education is character training.
Fafunwa (1974) was of the opinion that it is the cornerstone of African education.
Majasan (1967) believed that the two main objectives of Yoruba education are
character training and religious education. He was of the opinion that all
objectives are subsumed in them.
All the members of the family are responsible for training the younger ones
to be honest, humble, persevering and of good report at all times. The child was
taught directly by telling him what to do on certain occasions and by correcting
him when he goes wrong. The child can also be taught indirectly by learning from
the punishment given to other people that were non-conformists.
There are proverbs and folktales in Nigeria on moral and ethical behaviour.
Severe punishment is inflicted on young offenders to serve as a deterrent to others
on acts likely to bring disrepute to the family. The young ones are taught about
hospitality, etiquette, endurance and other good behaviours.
Respect for Elders
Respect for elders is closely related to character training African society
attaches great importance to respect for those that are older than one, to those who
are in authority, particularly the Obas, Chiefs Old neighbours and relatives. One
aspect of respect is the complicated greeting systems and methods for categories
of people. There are various greeting systems for people and among different
ethnic groups in Nigeria.
There are peculiar ways of greeting the Chiefs, Obas, father, mother and
relatives. Drummers dancer, singers etc. signal greetings to important
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Perspectives on the History of Education in Nigeria, 2008
personalities, friends and even enemies through their respective media. According
to Fafunwa (1974), the Africans have the most complicated verbal and physical
communication system and the child must master the various salutations of his
own ethnic group before reached maturity.
Other aspects of African indigenous education are intellectual training,
vocational training and promotion of the cultural heritage. These and other training
are geared to meeting the basic needs of the child within the society. Fafunwa
(1974) was of the opinion that traditional education is not any more conservative
than any other system. He concluded that the strength and weaknesses of any
system can best be judged by the relative’ happiness of the masses of people who
go through it.
There are lots of merits and demands of African traditional education.
Below are some of them.
Merits of Indigenous African Education:
1. It promotes transfer of culture, traditions and experiences from one
generation to another.
2. It makes children learn how to establish relationship with other people and
to exercise control over their emotions in line with accepted norms of the
society.
3. It inculcates respect for the Supreme Being and Elders.
Demerits of Indigenous African Education:
1. It is a rigid system in the sense that it is not easily adapted to change. The
same body of experience and knowledge is’ passed on from generation to
generation without critical appraisal.
2. The training is unquestionable. Children can neither discuss nor argue
about anything but have to accept whatever the elders say without question.
3. Too much secrecy surrounds the contents of traditional education.
Knowledge is by no means held in common, and knowledge, like the curing
,of a disease which could be of benefit to the whole community, may be
jealously guarded.
4. The system instills fear in the children because they are threatened with
dangerous repercussion should they violate any of the underlying custom.
5. The vocational training is time-wasting Le it takes unnecessarily too long a
time to learn a particular trade like drumming and dyeing.
6. Technical or technological change is not likely to develop quickly.
7. It tends to be a closed system. It is anti-scientific i.e anything novel is
mysterious, either to be feared or worshipped. Scientific innovations,
machines etc. are viewed with admiration and awe.
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Perspectives on the History of Education in Nigeria, 2008
8. The effects of traditional education cannot be accurately assessed or
evaluated. Since there are no schools, teachers, syllabuses etc., in the sense
that we know them, Le. it is not possible to measure comprehensively the
progress of the individual pupil.
Tutorial Questions
1. Discuss the nature and objectives of the Traditional African Education
2. What are the merits and demerits of the indigenous African Education
3. Can the Indigenous African Education be modified? Give suggestions for
the modification
References
Fafunwa, A. B. (1974): History of Education in Nigeria London. George Allen
and Unwin Ltd.
Majasan, J. A. (1974): Yoruba Education: Its Principles, Practices and Relevance
to Current Development. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, University of Ibadan.
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