The Gbagyi <i>Bayekpe</i> (Education) and Imperialism in Minna, 1928 – 1960

Abstract

This article discussed the Gbagyi Bayekpe (education) and imperialism in Minna, 1928-1960. The contact of the Gbagyi in Minna with imperialism dates back to the early part of the twentieth century. The Bayekpe (education) of the Gbagyi which was a process of preparing the children and every individual for happy and useful living and to prepare the Gbagyi individual who will be honest, responsible, skilled, cooperative and conform to the social order of the day as a result of the encounter of the Gbagyi with the imperial power was supplanted with a new system of knowledge This new order which was explicitly designed to restructure the social pattern of the Gbagyi and his society began in 1928 and by 1960 had replaced the Gbagyi Bayekpe (education). This development, the paper explained marked the starting point of the dependency syndrome which characterized the Gbagyi modernity and remains an obstacle to the growth of Gbagyi and his Minna society. The paper exposed the effect of this alien knowledge system on the Gbagyi in Minna and made a case for the redefinition of the Gbagyi knowledge system different from western tradition of education which holistically emphasizes dominance as a measure of education attainment.