Obaro ikime biography of christopher

Rev Obaro. Hope EdetMarch 9, November 2,Clergy0. His father was a fisherman and his mother a farmer. With the spread of western education, he was sent to school in an area which is now part of Delta State. He studied at Government College Ughelli between and before attending the University of Ibadan. He became one of the first in his area to have a PhD and to become a professor.

In his book The Fall of NigeriaIkime addressed the British conquest, emphasising the factors that caused the collapse of precolonial sovereign nations. The book was intended to remind society that some questions were left unanswered after independence and brought attention to the need to close marginalised gaps. What made the message significant was the period in which the book was published,when the nation had more time to repair the margins gradually.

This message, based in scholarship, was delivered at a time when Nigeria needed it most. The military government of Ibrahim Babangida was midwifing a transition programme. Sadly the transition culminated in the annulment of the 12 June presidential elections. He taught us all — and is still teaching us — about the need to challenge what seem to be conventional narratives of society that are largely informed by vested interests.

Works 10 Members 26 PopularityRating 4. Add to Favorites. Pictures Author Gallery. Links Wikipedia. Who's Who in Nigeria entry. Ikime was a promoter of national unity. He understood the discomfort of not being able to identify properly with people of other ethnic groups. His legacy for promoting policies that recognise diversity and embrace ethnic differences cannot be forgotten.

He also stood firmly against the self-destructive policies of Nigerian government officials who had attempted to expunge history from the school curriculum. Fearing that the teaching of history would revive the stories that led to the civil war of togovernment circles led discussions in the late s to ban the teaching of history in schools.

The emphasis on the sciences, technology and medicine undermined the humanities. Jobs became harder to find, and parents and students began to lose interest in history. Ikime warned against the marginalisation of history as a discipline. Together with others, he criticised the government policy. It was not until the presidency of Muhammadu Buhari that government brought back the teaching of history in schools in Ikime was a fine individual whose magnanimity was beyond ordinary.