NOA mulls mandatory nationalism study in schools

National Orientation Agency (NOA) is planning to introduce nationalism study as a compulsory subject into the curriculum from primary, secondary and university levels to inculcate positive values in the coming generations.

Director General of NOA, Lanre Onilu, gave the hint while interacting with newsmen during his familiarisation visit to the Niger State Directorate of the agency in Minna, yesterday.

Onilu, who lamented children’s exposure to foreign content through cartoons, said the agency would soon call for entries from professionals to produce cartoons that promote local values.

The NOA boss disclosed that in theno-distant future, the agency would launch a mobile app containing indigenous cartoons, and those promoting local contents, national values, and cultural heritage.

According to him, foreign culture has negatively impacted the ethics and values of indigenous cultures, regretting that children have been corrupted by foreign culture right from their homes.

The DG revealed that the effort was to change the narrative of how Nigerians were being negatively portrayed across the world.

He further stated that the agency had brought all its activities under the acronym, CLHEEAN, to clean the society of all bad behaviours.

CLHEEAN stands for Criminality, Lawlessness, Health, Education, and Environment among others.

He also said the agency would soon introduce 37,000 citizen brigades across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to promote moral and national values at the primary school level.

The brigades, he explained, would be trained on positive leadership values and nurtured to become models to others.

Noting that people who are 35 years and below constitute 70 per cent of Nigeria’s population, Onilu said any policy design must target the demography.

The mandate of NOA is to bring about positive change in the society, he said, adding that part of the agency’s efforts is to inculcate positive values in the youths to become model citizens.

He commended President Bola Tinubu for providing enable environment for him to discharge his responsibilities, while seeking the cooperation and support of NOA staff in carrying out these activities and promised that their welfare would be given utmost priority.