The sex scandal involving six pupils of the Federal Government College (FGC), Ijanikin, Lagos, has underscored the need for a moral renaissance among youths. DAMOLA KOLA-DARE and Victoria Amadi report.
Six pupils of the Federal Government College, Ijanikin, Lagos, who were expected to be the much-vaunted “leaders of tomorrow”, recently had the bravery to jump the school’s fence, went to lodge in a hotel to satisfy their fleshly lust.
The discovery was made when a roll call was done by the school officials, and to their chagrin, some pupils were missing in their hostels. Further investigation has shown that the six pupils went for a sexual jamboree.
It was not the first time this untoward act would be happening in schools. Last year, some pupils of Chrisland School, a private institution, engaged in sexual misconduct in a viral video. They had gone to Dubai for the World School Games, when they engaged in the filthy show.
The Federal Government College, Ijanikin Principal, Mrs. Tofunmi Akamo, noted that the pupils had been suspended while debunking claims that one of the girls was pregnant. According to her, the incident happened only once and there were no attempts to do any cover-up.
Akamo, in a telephone chat with The Nation, said the pupils remain suspended and that the Federal Ministry of Education would wade into the matter. She said any additional punishment for the pupils would come from the ministry, having reported the matter. She said the ministry has guidelines on how to deal with such an issue.
When asked if the suspension would be the end of the issue, she said: “I don’t want to over-flog the issue. The Ministry of Education is aware and if there is any further thing to do, it is at its discretion. They have the guidelines to address such issues; it is not only in my school.”
As at the time The Nation visited the college, last week, the school gate was locked and no activity was ongoing around the vicinity.
NAPTAN: it is saddening and unfortunate
Expectedly, the act has drawn flak from the public. In an interview, the National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN) condemned the act. Its Deputy National President, Chief Adeolu Ogunbanjo, described the incident as “saddening and unfortunate”.
He blamed social media for moral decadence among youths. He noted that social media use should be controlled and regulated.
Ogunbanjo admonished the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) to promulgate policies to regulate social media use.
He said: “It is saddening. Something like this happened when some Chrisland pupils went to Dubai last year. Though Chrisland is a private school, it is rather unfortunate this has happened again in a government school. Since the pupils jumped the fence, the school management should introduce stricter disciplinary measures to avoid a recurrence.
“Then, every night, the school should do roll calls to know those who are in the hostel and those who are not. The housemasters and mistresses have a lot to do also.
“The principal should also supervise them on a regular basis.There should be regular updates on the pupils daily, too. Unfortunately, social media has contributed to moral decadence among our children and youths. When pupils are given android devices, they use them for something else. Social media use should be regulated or controlled. It has really exposed children to a lot of dirty stuff. Phone manufacturers should find a way to produce Android phones for pupils and block them from visiting certain X-rated sites or websites. The NCC should also look into that. The counsellors in their school should regularly counsel them.
Ogunbanjo also urged parents not to leave teachers alone to discipline their wards.
“Parents also have much to do. They should not leave everything in the hands of teachers. They should not spare the children in terms of morals. They should create time for their wards.”
‘Teachers, schools should be allowed to train children’
Principal of Kings College, Lagos, Mr. Andrew Ali Agada, said: “Youths are an integral part of society, but some of them tend to follow the wrong road. It appears to be the right road for them. The way the youth are going, the teenagers and all, that is why we have a lot of criminal tendencies in the society. Apart from not wanting to go to school, the craze to get rich quickly is also an issue that is behind a lot of crimes we are experiencing. For instance, a young boy would like to go and buy Lamborghini without a means of livelihood. Then our society tends to worship those who are rich. And everyone wants to be rich at all costs. Technology and social media too are not helping matters. These children visit sites they are not supposed to visit. Whatever they see from these sites, they want to practise. These cause a lot of upheavals in the society. We need good parenting. Poor parenting is the basis of the problem we have. Many parents do not have enough time for their children. Parents believe the school should do everything for their children. They leave everything to the school and teachers. The bond between parents and children is no longer there like before. So, parents need to have enough time for their wards and teach them morals. Essentially, the word of God matters, whether you are a Christian or a Muslim.
“We need to go back to the basics and look inwards and teach the right values and African culture. In our growing years, children belonged to the community. If you misbehave, people around will correct you, they may even beat you and tell you they would report you to your parents. But these days, as a teacher, if you beat a pupil, the father would come and rain insults on the teacher just for correcting that pupil. So, parents need to have a change of heart concerning all that. Parents bringing a child to school should have trust in the school to train the child well. These days, teachers are afraid to correct students. Then, we have abandoned our culture for Western culture. It is a major issue. They tell you about the rights of children. Of course, one should not maltreat children, but there are basic training as Africans that we need to give to our children. They will not die. Some of us fetched water and firewood for our teachers when we were young. But then, the school should be allowed to do its work; to train children.
“Sometimes, when a child commits an offence and you invite the parents, they would tell you their child cannot do such. They don’t trust the teachers and the school. They trust only their children. Then, when their child begins to confess, they begin to plead. These things will not help children. Discipline moulds a child; it doesn’t kill. A child that is not allowed to take responsibility will become a liability in the future. Parents want to write exams for their children; they want to do everything for them. We need to be good parents to our children. Let’s tell them what is good and bad, the consequences and all, then the society will be better for it.”
On school counsellors, he said: “In Unity Schools, we have an effective counselling unit such that when pupils misbehave, they are counselled regularly. It is very important. Then, parents too should be able to open up if their child has a peculiar trait so that they will be able to help such a child. But they will conceal such trait, and by the time the child misbehaves they will come to defend him/her.”
‘Peer pressure likely, but extending hand of love crucial’
Also, the Association of Professional Counsellors in Nigeria (APROCON), Lagos State Chapter, said the act might be due to peer pressure.
Its Public Relations Officer, Mrs. Bunmi Elaboh, advised the school management and school counsellors to follow up with the pupils because some of them might be from broken homes. According to her, the suspension should not be the end of the whole issue.
She said: “The act might be due to peer pressure. It might be that they want to enjoy what their friends are enjoying. Suspension should not end the issue. As much as possible, the counsellors can do follow-up with them, even the parents. The ages of child nowadays cannot be matched with their stature. So many of them are deceived by their stature. Parents should closely monitor them.
“Counsellors should also work together with parents. The major problem starts from home. Most of these children when you trace them, they are from broken homes. They might be staying with either their mothers or fathers. When couples are together, mothers have direct access to their children first. Then, parents should be aware of the habits of their children. They (the pupils) should be examined critically. Even when suspension or punishment is being served, we can still extend hands of love to them. We can reinstate them to the normal children they are supposed to be.”
Psychologist: long term treatment needed to correct disorder
A psychologist at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Dr. Fisayo Adebimpe, lamented that society had lost its moral standing. She noted that the best approach to address the issue was “immediate referral to mental health professionals, most especially clinical psychologists for long-term treatment for conduct disorder”. She urged parents, teachers and citizens to act decisively to address society’s decline in morals.
“The society has lost the standard practice and decorum in terms of morals and values. Gone are the days discipline was being inculcated and practised. When there is too much freedom, these children are bound to take steps ahead. Parents, teachers, and every patriotic citizen must be up and doing. Most of these children do the unexpected when they are in a controlled and uncontrolled environment, what they are visualising is being put into practice.
“There has been a proliferation of the minds of these young ones since the advent of unregulated and uncensored social media contents in terms of movies – both foreign and indigenous; watching of pornography, where drugs are abused, gambling, negative music contents, which are identified with and applauded as being normal.
These so-called brand ambassadors are doing more damage with their appearances.
“Some parents now leave their responsibilities by hiding on various excuses, before such children could have engaged in such acts, they are likely to have had problems with their individual homes mostly from dysfunctional family settings, absentee parents, and poor parenting styles.
These sets of students/children will definitely have a bad influence on their counterparts.
“The best approach is an immediate referral to mental health professionals, most especially clinical psychologists for the expertise and long-term treatments for conduct disorder,” she said.
Proprietress: moral instruction crucial to curriculum
A parent, Mrs. Bola Sanusi, who is also a proprietress of a school in Lagos, decried the erosion of values, ethics, and morals among young people. She called on schools to make it a point to incorporate moral instruction into their curriculum. She said morals have gone south in our society and it does not bode well for the country, particularly as regards youths who are tagged, “leaders of tomorrow”.
Sanusi said: “The sex scandal involving pupils of Federal Government College, Ijanikin shows that we are in trouble in this country. These are the young people that we describe as leaders of tomorrow. There is a moral crisis in our society. This is not the first time something of this nature would be happening in our schools. What has happened to moral instruction as a subject? The situation calls for serious actions. Beyond suspending the pupils, there should be measures in place to stop a repeat of such.”
Secretary, Nigeria Union of Teachers, Lagos State Wing Comrade Gbenga Ayetoba, argued that parents contribute to the rate of moral decadence in society.
“The major problem there is that parents have abandoned their responsibilities and put them upon teachers. In this case, the parents have a lot to do. It is what parents give teachers that they process for them.
“Most of this decadence among students is right from home. Right from home, they have started misbehaving. Right from home, the moral value is no longer there. Right from home, they have lost it. In that situation, there is little or nothing the teacher can do. Every one of us must come together and curb some of these things.
“Children acquiring smarts phone at a young age is a big problem. We have lost our value. In the olden days in school, we had moral instructions where children were guided in the society, they knew the right thing to do. Today, we have lost it and it is from home.
“On the issue of technology, some of us think it is about civilisation. But in the actual sense of it, we are killing our moral value. Parents are the major contributor to moral decadence in society these days. You will see a child of 10 years in possession of high smartphone that exposes them to erotic sites.
“We all are parents. Even teachers are parents. Some parents find it difficult to chide their children. The foreign policy that we are pursuing also forms part of what is killing the value system. This policy that teachers must not hold cane nor punish children any longer is the thing that are killing our value system. In my time, teacher scolded us and it didn’t kill us. Citing myself, I might have been a tout if not for the drills my parents gave me. My parents made sure I was scolded at the right time. This menace is one of the end results of foreign policy. Go to our schools, children behave as they like because the teachers are not allowed to scold them anymore.
“The parents must work hard, do their job as expected right from home, and give the children moral values.
“Generally speaking, if you go through social media , the way these young ones talk about womanhood and manhood will marvel you. These are the things they are watching. They see it every day online. Peer pressure influence is also a contributor. The present world is entirely different from how we were brought up and if it continues this way, I’m afraid, we would not be able to get it right. It is not the fault of teachers. These children are the products of their homes.”
