RETHINKING CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION IN NIGERIA: A PATH WAY FOR SUSTAINING SECURITY AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE 21 CENTURY

Nigeria is witnessing a prevailing lack of national consciousness that can best be described as a “breeding ground” for national insecurity and under-development in st the 21 century. Citizenship education which is a viable tool that trains the mind of the citizen towards national consciousness is narrowed down to merely an implicit subject that ends within certain level of education or to a mere transmission of knowledge. Therefore, it can be said that citizenship education when properly imparted into citizens, can be transformed into an agent of promotional development. It is the position of this paper that the following can be adopted to reinvigorate citizenship education: citizenship education through conscientization of the citizens, deployment of the social media/mass media, effective communication and inclusion of citizenship education at all levels of education. The study employed content analysis method (desk study) which is concerned with the review and critique of relevant literature. The study recommended that Nigerian citizenship education should be reinforced to give the citizens at all levels the ingredients that will positively reconstruct their minds and equip them to co-exist as an integral entity.