THE CHALLENGES OF HUMANITIES EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

This paper explores the possibilities for charting a new path for the Humanities in Nigeria in an age where non-Science subjects, especially, the core Humanities, are treated with disdain in tertiary institutions, the private sector and the government. It argues that the long-standing policy that privileges science-based courses in admissions, job placements, societal and governmental recognition as well as lop-sided funding has contributed to consigning the Humanities to the margins of scholarship in Nigeria. It is against this background of unwarranted and ill-informed hostility on all fronts even from fellow academics in non-Humanities disciplines that this paper tackles the issue of repositioning the Humanities in Nigeria. Essentially, the paper considers the current developments in the humanities globally and makes necessary suggestions that could chart new directions for the Humanities in Nigeria.