THE IMPACT OF CHRISTIAN WOMEN IN CURBING MORAL DECADENCE AMONG THE YOUTHS
ABSTRACT
Government at all levels, non-governmental organizations, traditional leaders and religious organizations have been trying to curb gross immorality in the Nigerian society, but despite their unrelenting effort, it is very sad to note that immorality still persists. To this end the researcher assessed the roles of Christian women in the development of moral behaviour of youths in Kaduna State. To achieve this purpose a questionnaire containing five sections was developed and standardized. The information thus received was statistically analyzed using mean, standard deviation and t-test. The result revealed the following: first, the study revealed that parental negligence, broken relationship between God and man, disobedience to sound Christian teachings on moral issues, joblessness and greed are causes of immorality among the youths in Kaduna State. Second, it revealed that immorality has some negative influence on the lives and development of youths in Kaduna State such as sexually transmitted diseases, lung and brain cancer due to alcoholic drinks and drug abuse. Third it revealed that some programmes and activities such as Seminars and workshops, Bible quiz and debates and prayer meetings are being put in place by Christian women to curb immorality among the youths in Kaduna State. Fourth, the study revealed that Christian mothers have great impact on the lives of the youth because, they contribute to the physical, mental, moral and social training of the youths. Christian mothers also teach the youths faith that leads to achievement of their goals in life through hard work. This study concluded that Christian women have a lot to contribute to the curbing of immorality among the youths in Kaduna State as they spend more time with these youths and with the help of different
programmes of events and activities being put in place by them (Christian women) on moral issues. Finally some useful recommendations were made.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Cover Page Fly Page
Title Page – – – – – – – – i
Declaration – – – – – – – – ii
Certification – – – – – – – – iii
Acknowledgement – – – – – – – iv
Abstract – – – – – – – – v
Table of Contents – – – – – – – vi
List of Tables – – – – – – – – vii
List of Appendices – – – – – – – viii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Background to the study – – – – – 1
Statement of the Problem – – – – – 3
Objectives of the Study – – – – – 4
Significance of the Study – – – – – 5
Research Questions – – – – – – 6
Research Hypotheses – – – – – – 6
Scope and Delimitation of the Study – – – – 7
1.8. Basic Assumptions – – – – – – 7
CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Introduction – – – – – – – 8
Concept of Youth – – – – – – 8
Concept of Morality – – – – – – 11
Moral Decadence among Nigerian Youths – – – 16
Causes of Moral Decadence among
Nigerian Youths- – – – – – – 16
Influence of Immorality on the Lives and Development of
the Nigerian Youths – – – – – – 21
Moral Models of Development – – – – 23
2.7.1 Moral Judgement and Behaviour – – – – 25
Role of Women in the Development of Moral
behaviour of Youths – – – – – – – 26
Dimensional Roles of Christian Women – – – 28
Women Organizations and their Functions – – – 36
Moral Education and National Development- – – 38
2.12 Summary – – – – – – – 41
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction – – – – – – – – 44
Research Design – – – – – – 44
Population of the Study – – – – – 45
Sample and Sampling Procedure – – – – 45
Sampling of Local Government Areas – – – 45
Sampling of Churches – – – – – 46
Sampling of Christian Youths and Women – – – 47
Instrumentation – – – – – – 47
Validity and Reliability of the Instrument – – – 48
Pilot Study – – – – – – – 48
Administration of the Instruments – – – – 49
Method of Data Analysis – – – – – 49
3.10 Summary – – – – – – – 50
Chapter 4: Results and Discussions
Introduction – – – – – – – 51
Demographic data – – – – – – 51
4.2.1 Sex – – – – – – – – 51
4.2.2 Age – – – – – – – – 52
Marital Status – – – – – – – 52
Perceived causes of moral decadence among youths in Kaduna
State – – – – – – – – 53
Negative influences of immorality on the lives and
Development of the youths in Kaduna State – – – 55
Programmes of events and activities put in place by Christian
Women in Kaduna State to curb moral crises- – – 57
Impact of Christian women/mothers on lives of
the young ones – – – – – – 60
Hypotheses Testing – – – – – – 62
4.4 Findings – – – – – – – – 65
4.5 Discussion of findings – – – – – – 66
Chapter 5: Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations
5.1 Summary – – – – – – – 69
Conclusion – – – – – – – 71
Recommendation – – – – – – 72
5.3.1 Suggestion for further research – – – – 73
References – – – – – – – 74
Letter to the Respondents – – – – – 79
Questionnaire – – – – – – – 80
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
Morality has to do with the attitude or behavior of man. Attitude can be cultivated; its cultivation could be personal, corporate, structural or cultural. Our perceptions, values, beliefs, lifestyles, cultural and religious practices that are deep-rooted and longstanding could be held tenaciously and easily translated into attitude that may either enhance or impede development.
Attitudes are categorized according to Guaguano, (1996) into personal, cultural and social dimensions. If any category of these attitudes and behaviours is harmful, it cannot pave the way for development unless it is changed. In the light of this, it is obvious that when these categories of attitudes are cultivated and appropriately directed, they lead to the growth and development of the individual and the larger society.
Moral attitudes put together help people in communities to live together, settle their differences, maintain peace and harmony and have cordial relationships with their environment. In African culture, the way and manner people conduct themselves matter a lot. An African child is expected to respect and obey elders, dress decently, fear God the creator and be patriotic citizens of their respective communities. That is, the African child is expected to be disciplined in all ramifications.
For any nation to experience growth and development, the youths must not be left out as they form the workforce of any nation. These youths also do not just emerge from the sky but from families. The family is the first and most important channel through which societal norms and values are transmitted to the youths right from childhood. Every member of the family has an important role to play in the task of moral up bringing
of the child. For instance, parents have the responsibility of loving and providing for the needs of their family members. In the same way, children are expected to obey and respect their parents and elders.
The training which parents give to their youths from childhood matters a lot, because charity is said to begin at home. To a large extent, the moral disposition of the youths can be traced to their homes, as the character development of the children is the sole work of the parents especially the mother who spends more time with their children. Since Nigeria places much emphasis on the moral and character training of the child, no time is wasted in the commencement of the training programme of the youths. The youth in the first few years of life is more intimate with the mother than the father and that is why in most societies in Africa, when a child misbehaves, the mother is blamed. It therefore, becomes traditionally necessary that mothers should educate their young ones. Education is the aggregate of all the means by which human beings develop the necessary skills, attitudes and values that are socially acceptable (Akinbote, 1988).
Fafunwa (1974) opined that, traditional education which places emphasis on moral and character training is the corner stone of African education. Traditionally, the inculcation of appropriate and culturally approved behavioural patterns in the child is a joint responsibility among the parents and adult members of the community. However, despite the cooperative effort in the development of the child socially and emotionally, the immediate family members still carry the highest responsibility for the child’s moral upbringing. In Yoruba land for instance, the immediate family is usually attacked (verbally) when a child misbehaves publicly. Therefore, in order to prevent such insult or
embarrassment, every family ensures the proper and early moral upbringing of their children.
Through practical examples and moral precepts, simple courteous behaviour such as mode of greeting and respect for adults are inculcated in the child as early as possible. Any form of mis-behaviour is appropriately punished by the parents or relations Generally, Africans cherish high degree of discipline and sense of respect for one another; hence parents(especially Christian women) do everything possible to give good moral examples to their offspring.
Statement of the Problem
There are many outcries against immorality in the Nigerian society today. The level of indiscipline and crime waves among the youths has seriously escalated in geometric progression. Moral decadence in the Nigerian society today is beyond sexual perversion. From general observations, the severity of immoral actions ranges from “simple cheating” at school to drug abuse, murder and the exhibition of other anti-social behaviours. The depth of the problem has reached a point where common decency can no longer be described as common. For instance, decent people are honest and behave in a way that most people approve of, but in our society today, honesty as a virtue most especially among our youths, is not as common as it was in years past and this in one way or the other, has affected the development of the society.
Educational institutions have become comfortable dens for gangsters, cultists and prostitutes. Wearing of “decorated rags” and seductive attires has become a fad for ladies, and the virtue of virginity is becoming unthinkable and abominable. Examination
malpractice, which is aided by parents and teachers, has become common place in Nigerian schools. This entails that students rely on fraudulent means to earn certificates, thereby giving little or no regard to hard work.
However, the government at all levels, non-governmental organizations, traditional leaders and religious organizations have been unrelenting in their efforts to checkmate gross immorality in the society. Turaki (1989), has indicated that from 1975 to the present there has been an increasing national concern over the question of morality and ethics. For example,General Obasanjo’s Jaji declaration was more of a treatise on moral,political and philosophy. This declaration is a call to all Nigerians to take national morality and ethics seriously. In contrast was President Shehu Shagari Ethical Revolution, also General Buhari tried to checkmate immorality with War Against Indiscipline(WAI)but it is sad to note that this evil still persists. These moral crises have eaten deep into the fabric of the nation and pose tremendous barrier to the moral, spiritual, social and economic development of the Nigerian populace especially the youths. Kumuyi (2001) observed that the problem of immorality among the youths is mainly caused by carelessness and negligence of parents most especially the mothers.
The gravity of the issue of moral decadence has motivated the researcher to
examine the role of Christian women in addressing these moral crises among youths in Kaduna State.
Objectives of the Study
This research aims at examining the role of Christian women in curbing immoral acts prevalent among the youths in Kaduna State. Specifically, the study seeks to achieve its aims through the following objectives which are to:
- Critically examine the various perceived causes of moral decadence among the youths in Kaduna
- Determine the negative influence of immorality on the lives and development of the youths especially in Kaduna
- Critically examine and analyze some of the programmes and activities put in place by Christian women in Kaduna State to checkmate moral crises among the youths.
- Critically examine the impact of Christian mothers on the lives of the young ones.
Significance of the Study
This study is significant in the following ways:
First, moral crisis is a deadly problem in the Nigerian society and efforts are being put in place by governments and different organizations and even international organizations to checkmate the problem of moral decadence in the society. This research therefore, seeks to contribute to this aspect by taking a survey of what women especially Christian women are doing to resolve this moral crisis associated with the youths in Nigerian.
Secondly, it seeks to contribute to the pool of literature that has been generated about the role of women in the society and serve as a resource or reference material to others who may want to undertake further research in this area.
Thirdly, the research is expected to chart a path for the critical appraisal of the central role of women in the society apart from their traditional roles in the family. This
is because God created the woman to play multiple roles and imbued her with divine power of transformation.
Finally the study is expected to serve as a source of encouragement to women in the society, as this will enable them to know that their efforts, no matter how little, are not in vain.
Research Questions
This study attempts to provide answers to the following research questions:
- What are the various perceived causes of moral decadence among the youths in Kaduna State?
- What are the negative influences of immorality on the lives and development of the youths in Kaduna State?
- What are the various programmes of events and activities put in place by Christian women in Kaduna State to curb moral crises among the youths?
- What are the roles of Christian women in the lives of the youths?
Research Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses were formulated for this study:
- Immorality has no significant influence on the lives and development of the youths in Kaduna
- The various perceived causes of moral decadence in the society have no significant influence on the moral development of the
- There are no significant programmes of events and activities being put in place by Christian women in Kaduna State on immorality to curb moral crises among the youths.
- Christian women have no significant impact on the lives of the young
Scope and Delimitation of the Study
The problem of immorality cuts across the society, and Kaduna State is not an exception. This study focuses on the role of Christian women in curbing moral decadence among the youths in Kaduna State. The research work is limited to Kaduna State because it is an academic and economic center. This therefore attracts a high concentration of youths and women from different parts of the country who are pursuing various academic and economic programmes and activities. Therefore, the necessary information required for this research could be best gathered from them.
Basic Assumptions
In this study, the following assumptions were made
- It is assumed that the respondents who are Christians will sincerely respond to the questionnaire.
- It is assumed that every parent is good; however, some bad parents pretend to be good.
- It is assumed that all Christian women are Godly and capable of inculcating the right type of attitude in the
- It is assumed that since parental negligence is one of the causes of this problem, parental respondents are not free from this problem