Decolonizing engineering education in Nigerian higher education

Manifestation of western views above the culturally accepted standards in the society has been a major topical issue and over the year’s African countries have been heavily influenced by western cultures which permeated their religion by the early missionaries and the Trans-Atlantic slave trade that was predominant then. These western influence is prevalent in engineering education and it affects the discipline. Engineering education is important for national development and competitiveness and it is vital in terms of supply of electricity, water, roads, telecommunication, transportation, factories, machineries. This paper explores decolonization as a concept and a panacea to the challenges of engineering education in Nigeria, stressing the need to decolonize the discipline. The research was a theoretical study as it relied on relevant literature to address the topic under consideration. The findings of the study revealed that engineering education in Nigeria is constrained by lots of challenges which include fallen standards, obsolete curriculum, poor funding, inadequate infrastructure which affect the conduct of the discipline. It was also revealed that the engineering legacy the British bequeathed to Nigeria has continued without much change to it and there is therefore a need to decolonize engineering education in Nigeria. There is therefore the need to decolonize the curriculum, the teaching and learning approach, the language. The ministry of education must also coordinate with other engineering bodies to ensure that the curriculum is reviewed to suit the culture of the country.