CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

The present age has seen a growing level of moral decadence around the world, and Nigeria is no exception. Many people have expressed serious concern about the high level of immoral behaviour and juvenile delinquency in our time. Oyinloye and Akingbulu (2024) describe moral decadence as a decline in ethical values and in the behaviour that goes with them, showing up in substance abuse, bullying and disrespect for authority, and they note that these behaviours threaten the school environment and the development of students. In many parts of Nigerian society, laxity, disrespect for authority figures, dishonesty and general indiscipline have become so common that many people no longer know how to deal with them.

Youths pass through different crises at different stages of life. They face conflicts of values, questions of sexual identity, problems of dependency, conflict with constituted authority and difficulties of self-discipline. Adolescence is a delicate period of life, a time of confusion and decision-making that can either build or mar a person’s future.

Unfortunately, many of the individuals, groups and institutions that should help young people at this critical stage fail to play their part. Youths are left uninformed by the experienced and misinformed by the inexperienced. The closeness of adults and experienced persons becomes especially important at this stage, and a genuine and sympathetic relationship with young people is needed to win their confidence and help them resolve the crises they face.

The focus of this study is therefore to challenge and mobilise individuals, groups and institutions to provide effective guidance and counselling for youths in Nigeria, in the hope that doing so will raise the moral standard of the nation. The researcher uses narrative analysis. The story and experiences of Amnon, Tamar and Jonadab in 2 Samuel 13 are used as an illustrative tool for conveying the message to the audience. A narrative and synchronic reading of the text, which examines it in its present form without being preoccupied with its historical origins, has already been applied productively to this passage in a Nigerian context (Ademiluka, 2019).

1.1 Statement of the Problem

The study addresses the following problems.

i. There is an increase in moral decadence and youth delinquency in the world, especially in Nigeria. Armed robbery, kidnapping, sexual immorality, cultism, examination malpractice, rape, child trafficking, religious violence and insurgent bombings have become everyday realities. Sexual violence is among the most serious of these. Ademiluka (2019), drawing on research in Nigeria, reports that some 4–6% of adolescent girls in south-western Nigeria experience rape, that most victims do not report the offence to the police, and that sexual offenders include juveniles.

ii. A good number of youths in the developmental stage do not receive adequate attention from their parents or from experienced adults. There is a parental gap and there are flaws in parenting, which cause serious damage to many homes and to society. Schools, churches and governments also fail to provide adequate guidance and counselling programmes and services for youths, and the youths are consequently misinformed by the inexperienced and uncultured. Ademiluka (2019) argues that the dysfunction of David’s household contributed to Amnon’s crime, and that in contemporary Nigeria the weakening of the traditional family’s role in the moral education of the child produces young men with behavioural disorders, including sexual violence. Studies of Nigerian schools point to the same weakness in support. Lasisi and Ibraheem (2024) found a significant relationship between the availability and effectiveness of guidance and counselling services and the prevalence of indiscipline among senior secondary students in Ilorin South Local Government Area, and Oyinloye and Akingbulu (2024) found it necessary to examine how far school counselling services can curb moral decadence among secondary school students in Ondo State.

1.2 Aims of the Study

Having considered the problems facing the youths and the nation, this study aims to:

i. investigate the problems facing the youths;

ii. find out the reasons behind the parental gap in parenting and behind the indifferent attitude of individuals, groups and institutions to the guidance of youths; and

iii. examine and interpret 2 Samuel 13 and use it to challenge individuals, parents, communities, schools, religious bodies, non-governmental organisations and governments at all levels to provide effective guidance and counselling services and programmes for youths in Nigeria.

1.3 Significance of the Study

It is often said that youths are the leaders of tomorrow. The study will create awareness among its readers and challenge them to see the need and urgency of a joint effort to provide guidance and counselling services for youths. Ola-Williams, Ola-Williams and Ogbaini (2024) recommend comprehensive intervention strategies, including counselling services, community-based programmes and policy changes, to address the needs of students affected by juvenile delinquency in Nigeria. Such efforts, directly or indirectly, should reduce social vices and youth delinquency and raise the moral standard of the nation, which may in turn contribute to the security of the nation.

The study will also serve as a stepping stone for other students who wish to carry out further research on guidance and counselling among youths.

1.4 Scope of the Study

The study does not attempt to establish that social vices and moral decadence are caused only by the actions of youths, nor does it argue that only youths need guidance and counselling. Both children and adults contribute considerably to moral decadence in the nation, and both need orientation and re-orientation through the services of guidance counsellors. This work, however, is concentrated on youths, specifically students in secondary and tertiary institutions, and it is not restricted to one local cultural zone but covers youths throughout Nigeria. Nigeria’s National Youth Policy defines a youth as a person aged 15 to 29 years (Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, 2019), and this range is taken as the working definition for the study.

1.5 Research Methodology

The researcher uses both primary and secondary methods of data collection. The primary methods are observation and questionnaires, and the secondary methods are the review of available related literature, periodicals and journals. Because the study is carried out with reference to 2 Samuel 13, the researcher adopts narrative criticism in analysing the text. In other words, the narrative of 2 Samuel 13 is used to convey the message to the audience, in the manner of earlier Nigerian applications of this passage (Ademiluka, 2014, 2019).

Definition of Terms

For the sake of clarity and to avoid ambiguity, some key terms are defined below. They may carry different connotative and denotative meanings, so they are contextualised for this work.

1. Guidance: A programme of services provided to individuals on the basis of their needs and the influence of environmental factors. It is the help or advice given to a person, especially by someone older or with more experience. Guidance is therefore a deliberate and organised service provided by the experienced to the inexperienced, to prevent them from taking wrong decisions that may mar their future and to help them to make sound decisions that will develop them into positive achievers.

2. Counselling: A learning process in which individuals learn about themselves, their relationships with others, their attitudes and values, and the behaviours and actions that help them to reach their maximum development. It is also a process in which an individual or a group with problems is led by a trained guidance counsellor to gain insight into their behaviour. Counselling may therefore be described as a professional service designed to help an individual or group to reach effective decisions and self-awareness.

3. Youth: A person in the period of life between childhood and full adulthood. Definitions differ by age. The United Nations defines youth as persons aged 15 to 24 years, and it defines adolescents as those aged 10 to 19 and young people as those aged 10 to 24, while Nigeria’s National Youth Policy of 2019 defines youth as persons aged 15 to 29 (Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, 2019). In this work, youth overlaps with adolescence.

4. Adolescent: A person who is no longer a child but not yet a full adult, aged roughly 10 to 19 years, in the period when physical development is reaching its peak.

5. Delinquency: A wrongful or illegal act, usually committed by young persons, which covers a range of violations of legal and social norms from minor offences to serious crimes.

6. Traumatic: An internally imposed crisis situation marked by extreme unpleasant emotion in a youth, which leads to confusion. It may result from disappointment, failure or the death of a loved one.

References

Ademiluka, S. O. (2014). The Deuteronomists’ accounts of the delinquencies of David’s children: Relevance for contemporary Africa. In J. Kugler, L. Togarasei, & E. S. Onomo (Eds.), The Bible and children in Africa (pp. 13–26). University of Bamberg Press.

Ademiluka, S. O. (2019). A study of 2 Samuel 13:1–22 as a solution to intimate partner violence in Nigeria. Journal for Semitics, 28(2), Article 3751. https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6573/3751

Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development. (2019). National youth policy 2019–2023: Enhancing youth development and participation in the context of sustainable development. Federal Republic of Nigeria. https://nigeria.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/nigeria-national-youth-policy-2019-2023.pdf

Lasisi, A. K., & Ibraheem, I. O. (2024). The role of guidance and counselling services in addressing indiscipline among secondary school students in Nigeria. Journal of Educational Management and Instruction, 3(2), 86–94. https://doi.org/10.22515/jemin.v3i2.8425

Ola-Williams, M. C., Ola-Williams, A., & Ogbaini, C. A. (2024). Juvenile delinquency and its effects on students’ mental health and academic performance in Nigeria. Suluh: Jurnal Bimbingan dan Konseling, 9(2), 99–108. https://doi.org/10.33084/suluh.v9i2.7115

Oyinloye, A. O., & Akingbulu, S. P. (2024). Investigating the efficacy of counselling services in curbing moral decadence among secondary school students in a period of socio-economic and political stress in Ondo State. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 8(3s), 1480–1492.