Nigeria’s evolving security challenges and increasing environmental risks have renewed calls for a major overhaul of the country’s education system, with experts advocating the inclusion of combat and survival sports as essential components of school learning.

Beyond achieving academic success, education should equip children with practical skills that prepare them for real-life emergencies. Advocates argue that introducing martial arts and survival training into the national curriculum would help students develop the confidence, discipline, and practical abilities needed to respond effectively in dangerous situations.

For years, education and sports experts have recommended that schools adopt martial arts such as Karate, Taekwondo, and Judo alongside survival-focused training, including swimming, first aid, basic driving, navigation, and emergency response. Although these measures cannot eliminate Nigeria’s security concerns, supporters believe they can provide young people with valuable life-saving skills when faced with emergencies.

International experience also reinforces the argument. Several Asian countries have successfully incorporated martial arts into their education systems, with studies consistently associating such training with improved academic achievement, stronger self-discipline, higher self-confidence, better emotional regulation, and increased respect for others. Supporters say Nigeria should draw lessons from these established models rather than continuing to overlook youth development and school sports.

The proposal also calls for a broader transformation of physical education, shifting it from a largely recreational subject to a comprehensive life-skills programme. Introducing these activities from primary school would help children build resilience, mental toughness, teamwork, leadership abilities, crisis-management skills, and adaptability that would remain valuable throughout their lives.

England’s education system offers another example of how practical survival skills can be embedded in school learning. Swimming is a compulsory element of the primary school curriculum, and by the end of Key Stage 2, pupils are expected to swim at least 25 metres without assistance while demonstrating basic self-rescue techniques. Although swimming is no longer compulsory during secondary education, every child completes primary school with an important life-saving skill.

Despite recognising Physical Education in the National Policy on Education, Nigeria has struggled to prioritise school sports. Years of inadequate funding and neglect have left many public schools without functional sporting facilities, while numerous playgrounds have been converted into classrooms. This has weakened grassroots sports development and deprived millions of pupils of opportunities to acquire critical physical and survival skills.

Amid these challenges, the Lagos State Sports Trust Fund (LSSTF) has been recognised for its sustained efforts to promote grassroots sports and expand sporting infrastructure across public schools in Lagos State.

As Nigeria continues to confront changing security threats and environmental realities, education stakeholders argue that physical education should be redefined to include combat and survival sports as a core part of the curriculum. They maintain that these skills are no longer optional but essential for preparing future generations to navigate emergencies safely and confidently.

Source: The Nation