KOLA MUHAMMED and FUNMILAYO AREMU report that cultural values across all facets of the society are becoming eroded, especially in the face of technology and COVID-19 surge.
Growing up, Oladeji customarily greeted his parents by prostrating while his sisters would kneel. He dared not question his father’s words nor even try look at him in the face. A few decades after, Oladeji could not enjoy such gestures from his own children. His children hardly bend, much less prostrate while greeting him. During weekends, his sonsmock him when the English premiership clubhe supports loses.
But Oladeji has to come to terms with the reality. He remembers his own youthfuldays and how he dared not engage in some acts. He has however come to the acknowledgment that times have indeed changed. The cultural values that were once sacrosanct have more or less become eroded.
The situation with Oladeji is not isolated; interactions with people across the country by Sunday Tribunerevealed that the aforementioned development is the apparent norm in recent times.
From culture, education, toreligion and employment, the passage of time, among numerous other factors, has heaped wholesome changes that have left many people wondering whether societal values are merely shifting or experiencing serious decline.
Cultural experts also believe that the global incursion of the COVID-19 pandemic has affected societies on a grand scale such that a new era appears to have arisen after the surge.
Language
One aspect in which the Nigerian society has been experiencing changes over the years is the popularity of the mother tongue.Investigations by Sunday Tribune revealed that the new generation of parents prefer their kids to speak English while the older generation raised children with preference for the mother tongue, depending on their ethnic background.
Abiona Jayeoba, a father of one, spoke with Sunday Tribune on why he mandated it for his daughter to speak only English.
“During my younger years, my siblings and I attended public school and as such spoke Yoruba most of the time. Then, it was easy to cope without any knowledge of English. Pidgin came in handy when we wanted to interact with people from other tribes.
“But nowadays, you can’t compare he different scenarios. Hardly can you turn any corner without having to speak English. I struggled a lot. In fact, I still struggle; just that it’s reduced now.
“I do not want my children to struggle before speaking English. My daughter dare not speak Yoruba to me, it must be English always. Let’s face the truth, the emphasis on our local language is reducing by the day.
“If you go to schools, churches, malls or banks, you find them speaking English and even rate people based on their command of English. So, it is English over my own local language for me,” Jayeoba further stated.
Corroborating the words of Jayeoba is Toyin Adekunle. As a young parent, she has her linguistic preference, with English having the edge over her local tongue, Yoruba.
“We speak of more of English in my house than Yoruba. Even though there is no formal rule of which language to speak, it just happened naturally and the kids relate to us, the parents, in English.
“They are only allowed to speak English at school where they spend most of the time nowadays. And with the way things are, English definitely has more value than any of our indigenous languages,” Adekunle added.
Another parent, Adewale Noah, who is in his early thirties and resides in Lagos, said he speaks both his mother tongue, Yoruba, and English to his children but their proficiency and preference is up to them.
“I do not enforce any language on my children. Even though they are young, they know that no one will bark at them to stop using this language or stop using that language. My wife and I speak the two languages we understand to them.
“They also respond in either language, depending on what they feel like speaking, as they are proficient in the two. I am not the type to enforce one language or the other, no matter the cultural or foreign origin,” Noah added.
A sexagenarian, Akanni Bello, told Sunday Tribune that he raised his children solely on Yoruba culture as it was a thing of the pride to have children who could understand not just the language but the inherent complex structures such as proverbs, rituals and customs.
“I am educated and all my children are but I wasn’t blind to my own culture in which I was raised. My children were brought up in the language of their parents. I am of the belief that if a child can perfectly understand their mother tongue, it would be easy to acquire any other language, including English.
“Some of my peers did not subscribe to my idea but there were those of us who maintained that cultural stance, and now, even though that’s a long time ago, those kids then didn’t necessarily speak better English.
“The norm nowadays is English, English, at every turn. It’s somehow. Things were not this way,” the grandparent added.
Eroding cultural values
It is apparent that the growing neglect of indigenous languages tells on the overall cultural values that appear to now be overlooked.
Veteran actor and Nollywood act, Lere Paimo, shed light on the cultural values that have been overlooked.
His words: “There has been a drastic change in the cultural values of Nigerians. Elders are no longer accorded respect as they should; in the olden days in Yoruba land, a man would prostrate while a woman would kneel while greeting an adult, but that tradition is dead. A lot of youths nowadays greet their elders while standing, some don’t even bother to greet. A young person ought to stand up for an adult where chairs are in short supply. Majority of our cultural values are lost because we want to copy the Westerners.”
Olakunle Boboye, an entrepreneur, also supported the views of Paimo, stating that the current dressing trends have promoted nudity over modesty.
“Nigerians have lost their value in the areas of dressing, mode of greeting and marriage. Before now, both men and women dressed in ways that were significant to our culture, moderately, modestly and not seductive in anyway whatsoever. I once saw a picture of models in the 80s; not a cleavage in sight and the ladies still looked gorgeous. Different cultures have or let me say had ways they greeted the elders before now that stood as a sign of respect; but now, that has stopped. Discipline has always been the way parents have brought up their children in time past, although newer measures seem effective also but the discipline part of it is gradually phasing out.
“Family values are a thing of the past, as lots of people are no longer family-oriented. Having a healthy relationship with one’s family is gradually fading off. We have totally deviated from our cultural values on marriage and embraced a foreign culture.
“Women now have children out of wedlock and it is seen as a norm. They call themselves baby mamas; young men no longer see the need to get married before having children and this was not so in the days of our parents. Divorce is now the new normal, which is wrong. The influence of western culture, peer pressure, social media and greed, have brought about these changes and have caused us to lose our values as a nation,” he said.
Education
Nigeria’s education sector is one that is believed by many to have experienced serious decline over the years, with dwindling success rate of students at national examinations while there are reports of malpractices at every round of examination,with expulsion of students seeming to become a norm, rather than the exception.
Many students have equally lamented the quality of education in the country. According to the recent ranking of universities in the world by TIME, only one Nigerian university was in the top 500 category while news of industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) continue to do rounds on news pages.
A professor at the University of Ilorin, ‘Kunle Olawepo weighed in on the matter when interviewed by Sunday Tribune.
“There has been an increase in pressure because of the number of candidates seeking admission compared to the available spaces at Nigerian universities. Less than 25 per cent of admission seekers eventually get admitted and this gives room for desperation, cutting corners and attempts at corrupting the university admission processes. Back in the day, students got their admission letters at the comfort of their homes.
“Learning is also under suboptimal conditions as availability of enough lecture rooms and spaces are inadequate in some circumstances especially in the new global order occasioned by the advent of COVID-19, not to talk about accommodation spaces too and attendant social amenities like availability of pipe borne water and steady electricity supply for classes and residences. Generally, these situations mirror what holds sway in the larger society.
“The value of relaxation via recreational activities cannot be overemphasized but its availability or time to engage in such is fast thinning out, ostensibly because of ‘survival of the fittest syndrome’; this could be a significant contributor to frequent breakdown in the mental state of students as reflected in higher rates of drug abuse and suicide attempts.
“Technology has turned out to be two sides of a coin representing the good and the bad for students. In one way, it makes studying easier by making enormous information and data available on the palms of the hands; gone are the days when one had to queue up in the library to have access to a particular textbook or having to carry heavy books around. At one’s fingertips now, one could read an encyclopedia and from the comfort of one’s residence too.
“Video recordings of practical demonstration of seemingly difficult aspects of study have also aided learning and internalising same effortlessly.
“On the other hand, however, the same technology contains all sort of social media and entertainment pages which cause distractions easily and are antithetical to studying and scholarship,” Professor Olawepo added.
Another don, Professor Flora Tobolayefa Oluwafemi, of the department of Microbiology, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta and the pioneer Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) of Nigeria Maritime University, Okerenkoko, Delta State, also spoke with Sunday Tribune.
She lamented the change-induced loss that has befallen Nigeria’s education sector, saying it is nothing to write home about.
“A lot have been lost over the years. First of all, the schools are nothing to write home about. The environment is not attractive for learning, dilapidated walls and classrooms, no teaching aids, even the teachers are not well enumerated.
“The students have lost interest in education because there are no jobs after graduation. A lot has changed and happened. Admissions used to be by merit in those days but now it’s almost lost due to geographic spread, catchment area, nepotism etc. Students are busy these days with internet, cryptocurrency, forex trading etc. Learning which involves going to the library to search, print articles and order for journals is seen as mundane.
“Fair grading to a large extent is not the norm these days. Many teachers don’t have a marking scheme. They arbitrarily award marks. This isn’t fair. Everyone should be graded on the same scale. Some students still burn the midnight candle. However, many students are dissuaded to study due to the lack of white-collar jobs.
“Examinations being conducted by the teachers are in most cases fair but there are cases of leaked questions or poorly conducted examinations which was not the case many years back,” she lamented.
She, however, expressed hope that the lost values in the education sector could be restored if significant effort was taken by all the stakeholders.
“The lost values can be restored if all hands are on deck, starting from the government, the parents who buy examination questions for their wards,” Professor Oluwafemi stated.
Employment
Findings by Sunday Tribune revealed that unemployment rate in Nigeria is the second highest in the world and was estimated to be at 33.3 per cent,as of the last quarter of the year 2020.
The unemployment rate, which reportedly remains on the rise, is believed by economic experts to be a close relative of poverty, insecurity and now fraud.
The case of Ramon Abass, who is better known as Hushpuppi, was the talk of virtually every household in the country. He currently faces charges on the account of fraud, among other crimes.
He embodies the preponderance of cybercrime among young Nigerians particularly. The constant parading of suspected internet fraudsters by the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) also lends credence to the argument.
A senior civil servant, Sesan Oyejola, believes that impatience on the part of the youth and the social media-induced pressure are responsible for the popularity of internet-related crimes.
“Unemployment is high in the country; it is no news. But I am of the opinion that youths do not have the patience that we their parents had during our time. There was no shame in not having a car in your 20s, even in your 30s.
“But today, there are young boys and girls who see their mates using expensive gadgets and they want to do the same, not minding the means through which it will come. If you tell them to have patience, they will tell you that it is in those days that people make it at 40.
“It is ridiculous how they think making it at 40 is a curse. Those achievements came for many of us in our 40s and we are doing fine till today.The impact of social media and the influence of celebrities are turning around the direction of things.
“Reckless lifestyle is the order of the dayand the only way to afford and sustain such is to engage in Yahoo Yahoo. So, like I said, it is not all about unemployment, attitude to work itself is something that we need to deal with,” Oyejola added.
Religion
On religion, Lagos-based cleric, Pastor Gbenga Ayejuyole, opined that the irony of Nigeria lies in it being religious but not having the virtue of holiness.
“Nigerians have lost the virtue of holiness. Being Christ-like, which is the core essence of being a Christian,is no longer the way of life for most Christians. People are no longer heaven-minded. Back in the day, companies would come to the church and ask pastors or leaders of the church to recommend candidates for job vacancies. Many churches are now after having multitude in their congregation.
“Civilisation has brought about this change. In the bible story, when the serpent came to Eve, it told the woman that if she ate from the tree of life, her eyes would be open. Civilization opened our eyes to a lot of new things. Years back, there was nothing like homosexuality and transgender, but now, we hear about that all around.
“Right now, if you want to talk to people in various countries or places at the same time, it is possible. Civilization has contributed to the change in our core values as Nigerians today. Civilization itself is also a sign of the end time, which I believe is the main cause of these changes. The bible says in the end time, these are the kind of things that will happen,” Pastor Adejuyole said.
The question now is given the downward trend in the importance of our cultural values, is a reawakening possible. Given the experience in other countries of the world, especially China, a cultural revolution is possible to bring back the good old days. The problem is that it may never happen here as long as people, even the elite, see foreign things as better than the indigenous ones.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents
In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state…
Selfies, video calls and Chinese documentaries: The things you’ll meet onboard Lagos-Ibadan train
The Lagos-Ibadan railway was inaugurated recently for a full paid operation by the Nigerian Railway Corporation after about a year of free test-run. Our reporter joined the train to and fro Lagos from Ibadan and tells his experience in this report…
and then