Africanization of Music Education in Nigeria within the Context of Globalization: A Critical Appraisal

Abstract

This paper investigates why culturally sensible music education which integrates the study of music into a larger social, cultural and historical framework has not taken place in Nigeria. It traces, historically, how music educators in Nigeria have come to present a monolithic, homogenous view of music education. It uses critical pedagogy to examine the relationship between knowledge and power, question the status quo and investigate “whose music” is/should be important in the Nigeria curriculum. It argues that, even in the context of globalization, the indigenous African musical way of being, thinking and generating knowledge should have the strongest emphasis.