ALARMING RATE OF INDISCIPLINE AMONG THE YOUTH OF MY COUNTRY
Indiscipline is the opposite of discipline, Discipline is a situation where every citizen of a country behaves in an orderly manner, obeys the laws of the land and respects the constituted authorities anytime or anywhere. But alas, all these cannot be realized among the youth of my country, Nigeria.
The youth of my country do not respect their parents at home. The youth exhibit immoral behaviours openly, not minding their parents, or other elderly people in the society. They do not have restrain in their conduct. This is so pathetic. The youth then used to respect the elders, possibly helping them in manual and domestic works, but now the story is different. The youth rather insult, abuse and flagrantly disrespect the elderly persons in the society. The youth smoke hallucinogenic drugs like Indian hemp popularly called marijuana, tramadol and all sorts of intoxicants, that make them ruthless and indisciplined.
Another reason responsible for the alarming rate of indiscipline among the youth of my country is the incessant cases of cultism. The youth that joined cults groups believe that they are on top of the world. They feel that they are superior to any other person who is not a member of any cult group, claiming that since they have access to guns and other dangerous weapons, they can maim, injure or even kill anybody that might want to restrain them on his way.
Another factor responsible for the alarming rate of indiscipline among the youth of my county is the inducement by our politicians. The politicians used the youth to cause mayhem to political opponents during elections, by providing them with guns and other dangerous weapons. After the election, the politicians may not be able to retrieve all the weapons from these youth. The youth will in turn use these weapons for armed robbery, kidnapping and on many occasions, the youth use the weapons to attack law enforcement agents, like the police or the army. Cases abound where such youth attacked the police in their stations, killed the officers and collect AK 47 from them. In most cases the culprits are caught and detained for further investigations, only to be released by the police because some of the leading politicians have gone to the station and paid a large sum of money to bail them out of detention, One may ask, who are those supporting the indiscipline of the youth is attributed to the decay in the societal my country? The answer is the politicians.
Moreover, the indiscipline of the youth in the country can be attributed to the decay in societal norms. The traditional values like respect, honesty, humility, integrity and dignity of labour aré no longer held in high esteem. Now the youth of my country do not want to submit themselves to the traditional and cultural heritage of their fatherland, They tend to imbibe foreign culture which has affected their psychological, social and moral orientation.
Another reason for the alarming increase in the rate of indiscipline among the youth of my country is that the youth want success without hard work. They placed much premium on money without minding who is hurt or not, provided they get the money. The parents and the society do not help matters. The parents push their children into drug abuse, prostitution, smuggling. thuggery. armed robbery and other crimes just to make money. Our philosophy of hard work and honesty are thrown into the wind.
The social media is another factor that has contributed to the alarming rate of indiscipline among the youth of my country. In our schools you see students coming to school with cell phones. Some have downloaded pornographic pictures and videos and foreign materials that do not build their moral behaviours. Even they walk along the streets with ear-piece fixed in their ears. This has caused them to be partially insensitive to their immediate environment. Some even get involved in avoidable accidents as a result of careless behaviours.
The churches and the mosques do not help our youth. The youth go to church and mosques dressed like prostitutes or hooligans. They dress half-naked to the church or mosque. They dress half-naked to the church or mosque. They do not reference God in his sanctuary. Some will be busy pressing their phones while prayers and sermons are going on.. some even discuss in the church while worship is going on. This is the greatest act of indiscipline.
What can we do to reverse this ugly trend of indiscipline among the youth of my country? The answers to this question are not far-fetched, The parents have an important role to play in this regard. They must inculcate moral discipline in their children. They must show examples to their children. They must show examples in behaviour and in character. They must encourage the youth by promoting good social values that will make them better citizens of this country.
Our society should also promote values that will make every member of Our society to be disciplined. Criminal attitudes and deviant behaviours should be jettisoned. The youth should not be used as political thugs, because after their violent and criminal actions during elections, they will still remain in the society indisciplined. Again, political godfatherism should be discouraged. Any recalcitrant behaviour should be punished severly. Our education planners should include moral discipline in the school curriculum, to educate the students on sound moral attitudes in the society. Ill-gotten wealth should be investigated and the culprits be brought to book.
If all the points suggested above are strictly considered, then alarming rate of indiscipline in my country, Nigeria.
Richard Oyama.