CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Background of the Study
This research study attempts an examination of societal values, and conformity by the youth, relating it to the situation in contemporary Nigerian society. Moral standard and values have been the gamut which the society is built upon. The youth who are the leaders of tomorrow are to be inculcated with these values that will enhance and encourage them to carry on from generation to generation. Moral value has continued to remain a problem to every generation when disobeyed or when not pr operly mentored or taught in the family or schools. This problem has caught the attention of scholars over the years. There are the golden value system and the corrupted value system. The golden value system is original, uncorrupted, uncontaminated and unadulterated value system which rightly guides the conducts of the members of the society while the corrupted value system is the direct opposite of the former. It is the distorted value system that confuses and hurts the people in several ways directly or indirectly, consciously and unconsciously. These problems would be briefly examined.
There was a time when Nigerian society had a good value system which was well known nationally and internationally. The value system of Nigeria at independence was quite good and gave the nation a sense of identity and pride in the comity of Nations. However about the mid 70s particularly from mid 80s, the value system of Nigeria began to fall and Nigerians started to go against the well-known and established values that were once held sacrosanct by the people. Today, abominable become appealing to them and a subject of open discussion and practice in churches, schools, political institutions and government etc. People are being made to admit that corrupted values are part and parcel of their make-up and the society as a whole.
The common vices in our society among women, men, youths and children call for serious concern such vices are armed robbery,
adultery, abortion, bribery, backbiting cultism, covetousness, deception, divorce, envy, fornication, fraud, hatred gossiping, homosexually, hired-killing idolatry, immorality, jealousy, kidnapping, looting, lesbianism, malignity, murder, lewd-dressing, occultism, pornography, prostitutions, quarrelling, resentment, smoking, stargazing, trafficking, use of hard drug among the youths both in secondary school and higher institutions.
Unfortunately, the Religious Institutions which suppose to teach and educate positive moral value are not totally free from corrupt practices as compromise, carnal comparison, disobedience to God and parents, falsehood, Emulation, Luke warmness prayerlessness, spiritual dryness; self-will. The proliferation of so many church today in the society is due to the corrupt practices and the love of money.
Furthermore, leadership style in Nigeria has been debased values but due to seminal absence of intellectual regour in the political thought of our founding fathers; a tendency to pious materialistic worldness and self-centered pedestrianism. A perceptive student of Nigerian politics James Booth, has drawn attention to the poverty of thought exhibited in the biographies of Dr. Azikiwe and Awolowo in contrast to the expression of ideology to be found even in the more informal works of Mboya, Nyerere and Nkurumah. In a solemn vow in 1937 Azikwe he pledged. That henceforth I shall utilize my earned income to secure my enjoyment of a high standard of living and also to give a helping hand to the needy. Obafemi Awolowo was even more forth right about his ambition: I was going to make myself formidable intellectually, morally invulnerably, to make all the money that is possible for a man with my brains and brawn to make in Nigeria. Thoughts and values such as these are more likely to produce aggressive millionaires than selfless leaders of their people. An absence of objectivity and intellectual regour at the critical moment of nation’s formation is more than academic matter. It inclines the fledgling state to disorderly growth and mental deficiency.
The greatest act of leadership is mentoring. No matter how much a leader may achieve, learn, accumulate or accomplish it all die with him, He is a generation of failure. The act and art of inculcating moral values, honesty, attitude, respect, truth, hospitality, accountability, faithfulness trust, confidence and justice etc. are the manifestations of the highest level of maturity and self-confidence. The most important responsibility of leadership is to prepare for succession. The most valuable goal of leadership is not to succeed in only in the present, but to secure the future. You are truly successful in leadership if your accomplishments and achievement are preserved and perpetuated for posterity. It is not what leaders achieve that counts. It is what they transfer. Building people to protect and preserve our institution is more important than building institutions.
Today, there are problems in Nigeria-which youths are the most contributing factor, due to inadequate socialization and proper education in the society. Disobedience to rules and regulations in schools, colleges, and to parents and the institutions that could give proper training to the youth. In senior secondary school in western Annang about 5% of the students dating are found living together without the benefit of marriage ceremony. About 95% of students enjoy stealing. 20% lateness to school. About 15 disobedience to the parents and club houses are on the increase. Female students also have the knowledge of cheating in examinations and the knowledge of stealing books and biros. The observation of these problems among the people creates the interest in the writer of this research project. We try to survey the background to value and youths conformity to rules and regulations to see how practicable the teaching of values in the family, education, Religions and Political Institutions in Nigeria can enhance the development of the society.