The Federal Government has been charged to make policies that strengthen family values, reduce poverty, and discourage broken marriages as ways of checking the eroding cultural values among Nigerians.
Dr. Anthonymaria Odukaesieme, a character builder and a seasoned contemporary philosopher, who gave the charge while speaking exclusively with Independent on the need to check the societal moral decadence and the eroding cultural values among Nigerians, charged government at all levels to encourage local content that promotes culture and morals while discouraging harmful exposure.
Saying that tackling societal moral decadence and the eroding value system is a very important and timely issue, Odukaesieme added: “There is no better time to discuss and address it than now. The social ills must be treated in a whole gamut as observed, which when diagnosed, the cause was traced down to our collapsed value system, and the eroding character of the slogan, ’Good People, Great Nation.”
READ MORE: Character Building Panacea To Nation’s Collapsed Value System
Odukaesieme, author of “The Academic Philosophy of Wisdom” called for intensified nationwide re-orientation campaigns on moral values, ethics, and culture as ways to check the trend.
He also said that youth-driven campaigns on social media that showcase hard work, respect, and creativity should be encouraged, adding that “there should be positive role models, which highlight and celebrate people of integrity, not just celebrities and wealthy fraudsters.”
He called for value-based education, saying that schools should emphasize moral and civic education alongside academics. “Moral education for character building must be compulsory at all levels of learning, and should be seen as the foundation on which the nation is built,” he stressed.
The environmental and human health scientist also charged the government to reform curriculum to include compulsory moral education and instruction, history, and skills acquisition; create employment opportunities and youth empowerment programmes, entrepreneurship support, and scholarships; and celebrate integrity, honesty, and innovation more than wealth and power.
Among others, he called for scholarships, awards, and recognition for morally-upright and hardworking youths, encouraging traditional values like respect, greetings, communal living, and dignity of labour.
Calling for community engagement, he said that elders and leaders should actively mentor and guide youths, while encouraging skills development; vocational and entrepreneurial training to reduce idleness and dependency; more importantly, to become employable.
The character builder, who called on parents/guardians, churches/mosques, to collaborate to check the challenge, urged them to “Be role models, discipline with love, monitor children’s friends and internet use, and instill values from childhood.”
He also called on all schools and education stakeholders to integrate moral/education instruction, cultural studies, and civic education, adding: “Teachers at all levels should have a compulsory self-retraining of themselves on moral/character education, and should act as moral guides, not just academic instructors.”
“Successful professionals and elders should mentor young people,” he added.
Odukaesieme said that religious leaders should go beyond preaching prosperity; emphasize righteousness, discipline, hard work, honesty, and respect, as well as organize youth mentorship programmes.
He said that the internet exposes youths to global trends, both good and bad but lamented that “Unfortunately, many consume the negative -pornography, fraud techniques, drug culture, and rebellion.
“But the internet can also be used positively -for education, mentorship, and skill development. It depends on how it is managed,” he noted.
According to the character builder: “Youths should be taught to see discipline as strength, not weakness.
“As a matter of fact, moral decadence is not caused by technology alone – it is the result of weak family structures, poor education, poverty, and lack of cultural grounding. With combined efforts of parents, government, and youths themselves, the tide can be reversed. The nation demands good character of ourselves, and this means adding values to life, to curtail the various contagious corrupt practices and social illnesses.”
He listed the causes of moral decadence among youths as peer pressure and social influence as many young people copy what they see on social media, movies, and music without critical thinking; weak family bonds; lack of parental guidance, broken homes, and poor supervision exposing youths to negative lifestyles.
Others are materialism and get-rich-quick mentality, he said, adding that the society often measures success by wealth, not character, pushing many into fraud, drugs, and shortcuts, forgetting that character is a measure of beauty.
He also said that decline in cultural and religious values: respect for elders, honesty, and community values are seen as “old-fashioned,” which has been traced down to our collapse value system and eroded character.”
“Poor education and unemployment drive many towards crime or unhealthy lifestyles; Western lifestyles and individualism are adopted without balancing with the societal value system, and all listed are causes of moral decadence,” the environmental and human health scientist said.