Social studies education classroom: A starting point for governance and security matters in Nigeria

Nigeria holds a strategic place on the African continent and the global community. This is not unconnected with the fact that Nigeria is a diplomatic force in West Africa and a major player in African politics. Nigeria surpassed South Africa as the continent largest economy in 2014. Nigeria ranks as Africa largest producer of oil and the sixth largest oil producing nation in the world. However in recent years, the democratization process and the stability of the country are highly jeopardized by the high level violence resulting from political, ethnic and religious conflicts as well as by organized violent crimes in almost all states of the federation. This paper shows that this is an intricate link between governance, democratization and security matters in the country. There is evidence of correlation between democratic governance and state of security in the country. Social Studies is a subject in the curriculum that offers hope on how good governance and security matters can be brought to bear on the citizenry but must start in the Social Studies classroom. The knowledge, skills and attitudes that is needed for this requirement can be taught to the students in the classroom who are our future leaders. The Social studies teacher can help to handle issues related to governance, democratic ideals and security matter using the work of Lawrence Kolberg which focuses on moral values such as fairness, justice, equity and governance and human dignity. The Social Studies teachers should be properly trained, while the classroom should be made conducive. The needed infrastructure should be provided so that students imbibe the practice of good governance and security in their classes to be transferred to later life.