Six (6) Reasons for and Purposes of Establishing Unity Schools in Nigeria

INTRO: What we know today as Unity Schools or Federal Unity Colleges are the Federal Government Colleges in Nigeria, and they are one of the notable federal institutions in Nigeria. The history of Unity Schools in Nigeria is traceable to 1966 even though it was inspired by the British contrivance of schools, the Kings College, Lagos established in 1909, and Queens College, Lagos, established in 1927. Known as the first generation Unity Schools, three Unity Schools were created in 1966 across the Regions of Nigeria at Okposi for the Eastern Region, Sokoto for the Northern Region, and Warri for the Mid-Western Region, by Alhaji Sir Tafawa Balewa. It is understandable that Western Region was already having Kings, and Queens Colleges at Lagos. The second generation Unity Schools were created in 1973 by the then Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon who created 9 more Unity Schools to cover all the 12 states he created in 1967 in Nigeria. The success of the first generation Unity Schools in engendering unity in Nigeria, especially as he observed in Sokoto during a State visit to the Federal Government College, Sokoto, inspired Gowon to create some more of such schools for the wore-torn country in dire need of unity. The number of Unity Schools in Nigeria would proliferate to 102 in sum, and when added to the British Kings, and Queens Colleges, Lagos, they hit 104 Unity Schools in sum. The motto of Unity Schools is “Pro Unitatae,” a Latin phrase that means “For Unity.” Unity Schools in Nigeria today face a lot of challenges including insecurity, poor funding and management, and the emergence of better equipped private secondary schools. These have led to the call by many opinion leaders for the closure of the Unity Schools; others however call for their restructuring. In this piece, we discussed the objectives or rather the reasons for the establishment of Unity Schools in Nigeria.

Reasons for and Purposes of Establishing Unity Schools in Nigeria are as follows:

1. For Unity: Indeed, unity is the cardinal objective of the inter-tribal or what Balewa called “inter-regional” secondary schools in Nigeria. Unity has obsessed Nigeria since independence; no thanks to the ethnic and religious fault lines in the very foundation of Nigeria which were blamed on the Amalgamation of 1914 which lumped the Northern and Southern Protectorates of Nigeria for colonial administrative convenience, and in utter disregard of the social implications. The reason is simple: no progress in development can be achieved in disunity. The former President Olusegun Obasanjo shared this view quoting Amos 3:3 which asked a rhetorical question: “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” In 1957, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa addressed the House of Representatives in clear terms for unity thus: “The future of this vast country of Nigeria must depend in the main on the efforts of ourselves to help ourselves,” Balewa said. “This we cannot do if we are not working together in unity. Indeed unity today is our greatest concern and it is the duty of everyone of us to work to strengthen it,” (Balewa, 1957 in Obasanjo, 2023). For unity, Balewa established the first three Federal Government Colleges, and for unity too, Gowon established another set of Unity Schools for the 12 states. The motto of the Unity Schools, “Pro Unitatae” speaks volume in this regard. Apart from the Unity Schools, Nigeria has taken many steps for unity, even though the steps have not taken them to unity. For instance, for unity, Nigeria went to war, created states, established NYSC, and instituted Federal Character Principle and quota system.

 

2. Catching the Children Young for National Integration: The efficacy of catching the children young in training is widely known so that when you train up a child in the way he should go, when he is old, he will not depart from it. This is a way of saying that human identities are adaptable: the unique ability of the human brain allows it to learn through socialization, forming new neural connections in response to interactions (Konings, 2015). Secondary school education is largely attended by children between 11 years and early teens. They are young children that still have impressionable minds, and Unity Schools were established to begin conscientious and intentional orientation of the young minds for national integration in Nigeria. In other words, Unity Schools were established to gradually nurture the young ones over a long period of time into patriotic subjects (Gobo & Bolaji, 2023), as there was the need to get the young people to start to grow and know one another early and better in the spirit of one united Nigeria (Gowon 2023). This has actually engendered trans-tribal friendships and marriages, and Nigeria is better off for it.

 

3. Post War Reconciliation Strategy: Nigeria’s Civil War officially ended on January 15, 1970, and the war was declared a “no victor, no vanquished” by General Gowon, not because the secessionist Region was not defeated, but in sheer effort to heal the wounds in the hearts from the war. In fact, the military Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon launched a programme which has come to be known as the 3Rs: Reconciliation, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction in order to heal the wounds, mend the hearts, and clear the rubbles from the war. The establishment of the Unity Schools is domiciled within these peace-building efforts by the Federal Government. This fact makes the establishment of Unity Schools across the original 12 states of Nigeria understandable. General Gowon who went on a state visit to one of the first three Unity Schools in Sokoto relived his experience thus:

I keenly observed the sense of unity and camaraderie among the students, how they related with one another in such a joyful and cordial way regardless of their ethnic or religious backgrounds, immediately so soon after the civil war as though nothing so traumatic had happened.  I salute the courage of those young returnees and the warm welcome of their other colleagues. It taught me a long life lesson of reconciliation. My personal experience and encounter from that particular visit was what inspired the establishment of more unity schools across the then remaining 12 states of the federation.

The set of Unity Schools established in 1973 and the subsequent ones were targeted at this noble intention of putting the traumas and pains of the war behind, and also to prevent a recurrence of the war in the future.

 

4. Training Detribalized Leaders: Nigeria’s fratricidal war was powered by ethnic and tribal sentiments of the leaders, and this makes the training of the future leaders of Nigeria to outgrow such primordial sentiments imperative. Unity Schools were established to serve that purpose. In this regard, Federal Government Colleges (Unity Schools) prioritizes patriotism, collaboration, tolerance, and inter-relationship via articulated and institutionalized religious and cultural expression. The admission policy and the Federal Character of Unity Schools are quite instructive in the noble purpose of training detribalized leaders of tomorrow in Nigeria.

 

5. Quality Schools for the Best Brains: Nature and nurture give the unique personality that everyone has, and Unity Schools were established to nurture best brains from nature in Nigeria for national development. This is understandable as best brains need best nurture to attain their full potentials. In their heydays, Unity Schools had the best hands as teachers, and their products, according to Gobo and Bolaji (2023), make waves in their spheres all over the world. Selecting the best brains for training in the Unity Schools in Nigeria is based on Common Entrance examinations, and 60% merit-based admission policy.

 

6. Model for State and Private Secondary Schools in Nigeria: Unity Schools were also established to set the standard for the secondary schools established by the states of the federation and the private individuals. This is intended to elevating the standard of education in Nigeria to harnessing the benefits it holds for national growth and development. The Unity Schools are some  of  the  best  public  schools  in  Nigeria, thanks to the Federal Government funding, equipped with the best academic and administrative personnel, and educational facilities to guarantee effective productivity.