Acts of indiscipline seem to have become a normal phsenomenon in our everyday lives. For some people,the act of indiscipline is a sign of modernity, fashion or masculinity. Indiscipline in our world today does not reflect only in our way of dressing, but also our attitude towards life and our way of doing things. The Encarta Dictionary defines indiscipline, as the lack of practice or methods of teaching, and enforcing acceptable patterns of behaviour.
The major problem confronting our nation Nigeria, today is the general decline in the level of discipline and morality. Gone are the days when morality and discipline used to be virtures. Today it is the exact opposite. We now live in a decadent society where morality and discipline are thrown overboard. It is a pity our society which was once upright and which moral values were standard can become decadent.
Though technology and modernity can be termed as the main determinant of development in a country, discipline also counts. It must be put into consideration that it only takes discipline to rise to the heights of civilization.
Who could have thought that Egypt, in Africa, could be the first nation in the world to attain a level of civilization? Looking back at the history of Egypt, one can say emphatically that their adoption or practice or methods of teaching, and enforcing acceptable patterns of behaviour, led to their early attainment of civilisation.
In Nigeria, and many parts of Africa, acts of indiscipline have been the main incitements to the destabilization of the development of the continent. It is the desire of many Nigerians, and the people of Africa, to arrive at a level of development, to ease their pain and sufferings, just like in the developed world. However the problem is, people are not, if the truth be told, putting their shoulders to the wheel, in order to bring this dream into reality, with a part being attributed to acts of indiscipline. No wonder many Africans consider the western world a paradise, since they do not foresee their continent achieving that same level of development.
The problem is not limited to the secular aspect of our society, even the religious circle. Imagine a situation where a church pastor puts a female member of the church in the family way and calls for extravagant ceremony when she gives birth to a baby! What about a school teacher who puts his own sixteen-year old female student in the family way because of undue assistance sought by her in a promotion examination? Bank loans are not granted to customers with good intention but the bad ones whose aim is to borrow and never pay back. However, the bank managers aid and abet such cases because such loans ‘are shared’ equally between the borrowers and the managers even without any physical collateral. The managers themselves use fictitious names and documents to steal millions of Nigeria from our banks.
Today it is an open secret that the JAMB and SSCE are fought with malpractices, as university graduates write the examinations as expert mercenaries for the candidates who are born with silver spoon in their mouth. The joint matriculation examination is worse. The candidates atimes see the questions days to the examination itself. The question is who are those responsible for such examination malpractices? No doubt, it is the highly placed officials, examination supervisors and invigilators. The story is the same regarding employment. Jobs are not given to deserving and competent applicants, but to those who offer large bribes and women who can sleep with those in charge.
The reason for acts of indiscipline, cannot be attributed solely to the individual the act is coming from, but also to the environment/society the individual is coming from. Though from a tender stage one is influenced by society and the environment, parental responsibility is the major influence in one’s life, given the fact that parents have the major responsibility of nurturing the child. This is so because, to the child, the guardian or parents are the only people to be trusted. “Train a child in way he should grow and when he is old, he will never depart from it,” says a Bible verse.
Society can be partially blamed for the decline in standards of discipline, and its citizens are to be blamed and have to carry the fight against it. Moral and spiritual values have been shunned by society all in the name of modernity and technology. Society seems to have lost track of the essence of a disciplined life. Gone are the days when every elderly person could put a child or adolescent right, when he or she is going against the values of society.
This has made the youth of nowadays very undisciplined. How about this generation? Woe betides any adult who tries to put a child right. Also another general problem is poverty. A university graduate-teacher in Yobe state earns just 2,200. He is married with three children apart from large number of dependant relations. His salary alone can hardly take care of transportation and accommodation. The only way open to a poor man is to look elsewhere to make ends meet. That is why most civil servants now augment their meagre salaries with trading. At times some of the female teachers sell on credit even to their students. Tell me how such teachers will not accept bribes from their students if tempted.
Extravagant lifestyles of the rich in our society have not helped the situation either. Majority of them acquire their riches illegally, and turn around to engage in wasteful spending. That is why most school leavers or jobless adults now go into fraudulent means of gathering money.
For a nation to have a society full of disciplined and well-mannered people, it is important to start from the home. Charity they say, begins at home, the responsibility of parents or guardians does not only refer to providing the material needs of the child, but also learning how to nurture the child into a well- disciplined adult, by inculcating in the child good morals. A well-disciplined adult will not have the courage to defecate along roadsides, in the gutters or throw litter around.
The problem can also be tackled by provision of employment opportunities for all school leavers. Also, there should be mass education of the citizens through the media about the dangers inherent in indiscipline and immorality in our society. Moreover salaries and wages of public servants should be reviewed like those in the private sector. Extravagant parties, particularly, night parties should be banned outright. Our educational and religious institutions should preach moral values not acquisition of material wealth. Above all, there should be ethics and moral codes for all and those who fall short of required standard should be made to face the music.
In conclusion For a nation to develop, it depends on the attitude of the citizen towards their daily activity, the environment and their fellow men. A disciplined nation, with principled values, can assist to bring about a well-developed and civilized people. It is the duty of society and all respectable bodies/organisation and institutions to help inculcate the attitude of discipline in its people.
Tom is an intern with The Tide.