Value system collapse in Nigeria and promotion of core values

Values mean different things to different people. To some people, values mean the actual worth or importance attached to something.

Values can be defined as ideas, beliefs, principles which we cherish so much that influence or determine how we behave in the society.

The values of a society is her set of beliefs in what is good or bad and they help to control behaviours, decisions, likes and dislikes of the citizens of that particular society.

There are positive values of our society like honesty and transparency, obedience and good moral life. Some negative values in our society include: idleness and laziness, fraud and disorderliness.

Likes include respect to parents, elders, constituted authorities, being law-abiding, punctuality to school/work/business, showing seriousness as it affects our academic work/job etc.

Dislikes among others include fighting, cultism, indecent dressing, telling lies, gossiping, going late to school/work, keeping bad company, engaging in sexual immorality, money-politics, election rigging, examination malpractices, stealing, kidnapping, money-ritual, etc.

When there are no values: People will do what they like to do and not what is right to do. And there will not be a nation for people to have their own world, their own local government, states and even federation. Sources from which values are obtained include: ideas in the Constitution, codes of law and religions.

The values of an Igbo man form the characters or personality trait that is found amongst them. The present Government of Anambra State has promised to promote and preserve core Igbo values.

The Government is unrelenting in her programmes of empowerment and promotion of employment opportunities for the youths.

Having eliminated ‘Touting’, a programme of One Youth, Two Skills has taken over the 21 local governments in the state. “Onye aghana nwanne ya” is an Igbo value. “Aku ezu mkpa” is an Igbo value as well. When an Igbo man celebrates ‘New Yam Festival’, he celebrates harvest, hard work, and patience.

Values bring unity, promote peace and progress in Igbo communities. Governor C.C Soludo has come for a total turnaround maintenance of the Anambra State economy and promotion of core Igbo values – we must give him our maximum support.

What an individual value will determine his character and principles. Value system therefore guides us as a people, makes us think alike, act alike, and give us a sense of responsibility and belonging as members of a nation.

The high-incidence of insecurity, terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping in Nigeria portray the values we cherish as a nation. To build a nation, values must be clear, specific and require easy understanding.

It is just few weeks for Nigerians to go to the polls and elect new set of leaders. At this point in the political history of Nigeria, it is pertinent and imminent to elect individuals and not parties with credible and cherished values.

The value system of Nigeria is collapsed. Continuous ASUU strike, examination malpractices, embezzlement of public funds, queuing up to buy fuel, queuing up to get new naira notes and other forms of dishonesty is what Nigerians experience day in day out.

National values are a representation of the paramount values upheld throughout the common cultural experience of the nation. It is the accepted principles or standards of a group of people

Many states in the South East are littered with innocent human blood. We have completely missed the mark of our individualism and communalism. Opposites may attract, but that’s not a good rule when it comes to values.

Do we share the same values? What kind of standards do they have about things like money, morals, education etc. We cannot leave out value in comparing growth. Human values affect the different aspects of society in different ways.

Whether it is political, economy, business, education, humanity, technology, ethical. Values help shape a society by suggesting what is good and bad, beautiful and ugly, to be sought or avoided.

National values are a representation of the paramount values upheld throughout the common cultural experience of the nation. It is the accepted principles or standards of a group of people.

Security and justice are among the 5 national values in Nigeria but where are we? Value system is a hierarchy of values that all moral beings have, reflected in their choices. We become valuable to the extent we value values. We remain valueless as long as we despise values. We can become a principal Nation if we become a principled people.

Therefore, it is time to vote values, vote principles, vote character, vote capacity, vote competence, vote proven track records (not just party, tribe, religion etc.). The only reason things have value is because of men who value them. Real wealth is men not things.

So many people respect just money. Some people value just money. Demonic activity and Satan worship are on the increase in all parts of the world.

The devil is at work more than at any other time. Bribery has become a social, cultural and economic epidemic in our society today. We live in a generation where bribery has eaten deep into the fabrics of our society.

Someone expects to be given money or a gift before doing their jobs, even for something as little as pushing a file. Some people give out contracts to contractors with the agreement to get certain amount of money from the contractors after the contracts are executed.

Some government officials who work with regulatory bodies usually take advantage of the organization they regulate. When they go for regular supervisory assignments, they expect the organization being supervised to give them money in order to write good reports about them.

For instance, when a school which has met all requirements for accreditation is being supervised, the supervisory team still expects the school management to bribe them before they accredit the school.

Some ladies will marry a man as old as their father provided, he has money. Some young men are ready kill just to make money.

Our beliefs about the world and our actual experiences shape our values, which in turn form our identity. What we believe is what we experience, which is why our beliefs and values have a discernible impact on our relationships and our work.

Values reflect our sense of right and wrong. They help us create the future we want. The decisions we make everyday are a reflection of our values. Your culture, childhood upbringing, and life experiences can all impact your personal values.

They can develop at any stage of life and evolve over time. Everyone has a unique set of values. Our beliefs, our background, education, and our individual and wider social networks influence our value system.

Values will enable individuals to build up enough information, attitude and basic skills that will help you to become responsible, responsive, good and disciplined members of a school, community and society at large. In life, there appears to be many valuable things without which life becomes meaningless and valueless.

We attach values to things because they serve useful purposes. Our parents, elders, relatives, teachers, friends, classmates, Priests, Imams are some of the people we attach value to, and most importantly, God is valuable to us.

Finally, when everything around you is uncertain, the key to stability is to focus on unchangeable truth. You need to focus on what never changes. God’s word and God’s character. To replace your panic with prayer, your worry with worship, and your anxiety with adoration, focus less on what social media and the news and other people are saying and more on God’s unchanging truth. A new Nigeria is Possible!