Be good role models to children ―Don charges parents

To stem the rot in the Nigerian society, a Professor of Guidance and Counselling at the University of Ilorin, Lasiele Alabi Yahaya, has called on parents to re-prioritise their activities by imbibing good values that will make them role models to their children.

Delivering the 166th Inaugural Lecture of the University at the weekend, the head of the department of Counsellor Education, Professor Yahaya, said that “parents should de-emphasise excessive pursuit of material wealth and be good role models to their children”.

In the lecture, titled, “School Counselling: Key to Unlocking golden opportunities in life”, the don said, “Money cannot perform the roles of parents; therefore parents and guardians should give more time to the nurturing of their children”.

“Where necessary, parents should also seek assistance of professional counsellors in ensuring that their children become responsible members of the society, instead of allowing the management of deviant children degenerate to family and community embarrassment.”

The lecturer, who has authored several books and mobilised funds in support of indigent students to stem unruly behaviour arising from poverty, also made several recommendations for the students, institutions, professional counsellors and governments at all levels.

Prof Yahaya counselled the students to set achievable life goals and work hard to achieve them, pointing out the need for them to develop good interpersonal relationship skills, acquire effective study and survival skills, avoid distractions but seek positive use of the social media, and above all, act responsibly and be prayerful.

The inaugural lecturer, who is a former Director of Unilorin Counselling and Human Development Centre (UCHDC), listed the challenges facing the development of counselling in the country to include inconsistent government policies, inadequate funding and facilities, insufficient counsellors in schools, cultural barriers, ignorance, negative attitudes of other professionals to counselling, negative attitude of counsellors to their calling and lack of professional counselling board.

He therefore called on his colleagues to use “media discussions, seminars, workshops and conferences to enlighten members of the society about their roles because, according to him, only few Nigerians appreciate the importance of counselling.

Prof Yahaya, who disclosed that he had been providing free guidance and counselling services to several schools in Kwara State, urged his professional colleagues to “uphold discipline, dignity and integrity in their formal and informal activities”.

“Counsellors are expected to be role models and mentors; therefore, a lot is expected of professional counsellors”, he further said, calling on professional counselling associations to host international conferences and workshops to ensure that their members are kept abreast of new trends since counselling is a highly dynamic discipline.

Such programmes, according to Prof. Yahaya, should also provide opportunities to members to share experiences and adopt best practices thereby enriching professional counselling in Nigeria. “Trained counsellors should work together and ensure that counselling is professionalised in Nigeria”, he further stressed, adding that “It is only when this is done that counselling practices can be insulated from quacks”.

The don said, “Counsellors should equally focus on total development of students rather than mere preparation of students for examinations. Thus, an integrated and all-encompassing intervention comprising vocational and career counselling, pre-marital counselling, religious counselling, health counselling, rehabilitation counselling, personal-social counselling and financial counselling should be made available to all students”.

The scholar also suggested the upgrade of UCHDC to world class, saying if this is done, it will enhance the quality of graduates from the University.

Prof Yahaya also canvassed the provision of well-equipped counselling laboratories for the departments offering counselling in Nigerian universities in order to facilitate researches in areas of education, socio-personal rehabilitation and vocational counselling. He also appealed to school administrators and proprietors to give adequate attention to the provision of guidance and counselling services, saying that “counsellors should be provided with the needed facilities and support in order for them to assist students to adjust effectively”.

Prof Yahaya also suggested that the provision of guidance and counselling services should be made mandatory in all institutions of learning, saying that “an educational act of parliament” would be needed to achieve this.

“Counselling should also be given adequate consideration in the National Policy on Education”, he said, adding that government should ensure that school counsellors practice on full-time basis.

According to him, counselling is a job that demands total commitment and dedication; it cannot be done as a part-time venture. It requires full-time, all day attention, pointing out that “Ideally, a counsellor is required to handle not more than 250 students in order to be effective and efficient”.