History
Reading the Past Honestly
A national history written only to flatter is of no use to the nation that reads it.
Commander Foluso Ajibulu (Rtd.) · 28 June 2026 · 7 min read
There is a temptation, in every young nation, to treat history as a form of public relations. The archive is mined for what is creditable and quietly closed over what is not. The result is a comfortable narrative and a poorly prepared citizenry.
Honest history is more demanding. It requires that we hold two facts at once: that a decision was understandable in its moment, and that it was nonetheless wrong in its consequence. Students of Nigerian history should be able to state the arguments of those they disagree with in terms those people would recognise.
The archives themselves are in fragile condition. Records held in state repositories are deteriorating faster than they are being digitised, and much of what is available exists only in the private papers of families who may not know what they hold. This is a quiet emergency.
What we preserve determines what the next generation is able to argue about. That is reason enough to take the work seriously.
Commander Foluso Ajibulu (Rtd.)
Retired Nigerian Navy Commander, historian and public affairs commentator.
