Methods Of Restoring The National Value System
Introduction: In one of Nigerian Student Orientation Study books titled: “Building Your Future And The Nation Now”, Nigerian youths are assured that the wealth of a nation is not in its financial, natural or other resources but rather in the attitudes of citizens of that country. This is the reason many nations which are not as blessed as Nigeria in natural, material and manpower resources are making more progress. Therefore, there is need to focus on the people instead of the natural and other resources.
Plutarch said, “the richest soil, uncultivated produces the rankest weeds.” This explains reasons behind rich soil (natural and other resources) in Nigeria producing the rankest weeds in the form of vices and crimes.
A secondary school teacher told his students that they should not expect him to cooperate with them in their involvements in examination malpractice. So they must come to him for extra coaching if they want to pass his papers. No one heeded his offer. His colleagues asked him if he really expected the students to go through tough way instead of easy way of passing the exams. In return, the teacher asked them of the hope of raising future teachers who would teach coming generation if the present students are not learning anything to write home about and yet they still pass their exams. The question of this teacher, if it is given a profound thought, is very disturbing, especially when we consider how it relates to and affects other professions.
To address the question of where things really began to go wrong in Nigeria, let us consider what John F. Kennedy said. He said, “The greater our knowledge increases, the more our ignorance unfold.” Abraham Lincoln also has this to say, “you cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” Thus we must first conquer our ignorance about the sources of our problems, identify our responsibilities and then live up to expectations of God of creation. If we carry out our responsibilities as patriotic Nigerians, the coming generations will at least understand that we did our best to put things right. To live up to our responsibilities, through education method at homes and in schools, we need to begin to restore the National Value System which is clearly shutting down.
The Value Systems:
Value Systems in this context can be defined as the set of beliefs that forms the norms and cultures of a particular group of people, handed over by one generation to another. They are usually built up when couples come together and raise families, which later grow into groups of families known as descendants. The descendants later grow into communities. Groups of communities grow into a state.
There are many influences that are destroying the frameworks of these value systems, coming from within and outside Nigeria. These influences which would be discussed may be strange to those who do not know how they come into being. But first let us discuss at least four different values which are: (1) Family Values: They are sets of the beliefs within a nuclear or extended family, enforced by the family head (2) Traditional Values: They are sets of norms and cultures that are peculiar to a community or ethnic group or tribe, often times enforced by the king or the community leaders (3) Moral/ Religious Values: They are sets of beliefs guarded by religious or other leaders (4) National Values: They are embedded in the National Anthem and The Pledge to Nigeria.
What most, if not all of these values have in common are: (i) Respect for the leaders like the family heads or kings or other leaders (ii) Preservation of lives and properties (iii) Promotion of peace, unity and good relationship.
Just as the society is regulated by the law, there is no way these value systems can work without sanctions or punishments, which are usually spelt out in the regulations.
There some influences which make citizens to lose respects for these norms, culture and laws; eroding the frameworks of the entire systems. The near extinctions of these, especially moral values are what causes vices and crimes, making many youths to pose threats to the future of the nation. These influences need to be identified before vices and crimes can be curbed.
Entertainments, Media And Publications: Experiments conducted by researcher Herbert Krugman reveals that when a person watches television, brain activity switches from the left to the right hemisphere. The left hemisphere is the seat of logical thought. This is where information is broken down into its component parts and critically analyzed. The right brain, however, treats incoming data uncritically, processing information in wholes, leading to emotional, rather than logical responses. The shift from left to right brain activity also causes the release of endorphin, body’s natural opiates – thus it is possible to become physically addicted to watching television, a hypothesis borne out of numerous studies which has shown that very few people are able to kick the television habit. It is no longer an overstatement to note that most youths today that are raised and taught through network television are intellectually dead by their early teens. If you watch some movies, music and tv programmes that appeal to young minds, you will note that most of them are full of subliminal messages that are designed to destroy their moral values, making vices and crimes like cultism or ritualism look like part of normal life. For instance, any story that celebrates the use of magic or witchcraft to fulfill dreams is actually encouraging people to seek for evil powers.
Educational Systems: According to the results of various research works, the educational systems all over the world had been restructured to fit into global vision with little or no regards to any country’s value systems. In the basic goal of UNESCO’s worldwide program for “Life Long Learning”, and summarized in “Our Creative Diversity”, the 1995 book-sized report from the United Nation Commission on Culture And Development, it says, “The challenge of humanity to adopt new ways of thinking, new ways of acting, new ways of living.” The implication of this, according to the findings in the book: Insanity Of Humanity by Dipo Toby Alakija, is to wash away through education method whatever form of culture, religions, values or beliefs of any individuals or group of people or the society. The result of that is what we experience now in the form of vices and crimes.
Influence Of Bad Politics: Lenin, A Russian dictator who caused the deaths of millions of people in his country said, “the best revolutionists are youths devoid of morals.” To analyze this statement in line with his activities before he died, it means any idea, however good or bad, which did not agree with any of his ideas must be changed or revolutionized.
Methods Of Impacting The Society:
Going by the results of the CEMS research works, the easiest way to restore National Values is to impact the society through the followings:
Teaching Method: This is the use of both formal and informal ways of passing knowledge either in schools or at homes or other places.
Conduct Method: This method is done through what a child observes in the environment that is created by adults. As human beings, they have eyes to watch the conduct of parents or teachers.
Entertainment Method: This method is a way of passing a message in form of entertainment like music, movies, story books etc. CEMS designs some materials, including edutainment dramas that boost moral value of all categories of people.
Information Method: This method is a way of sharing facts that is often backed with proofs. CEMS always proposes during seminars like this in schools that students, especially the unruly ones must be compelled to go on excursion to prisons. This will compel them to appreciate the need to shun vices which often lead crimes.
The above are the methods which can be used to restore the Value System Of Nigeria.