MORALITY AND THE FUTURE OF THE NIGERIAN YOUTH: A LEADERSHIP PERSPECTIVE
Dr. Macaulay A. Kanu and Matthew Ikechukwu Akpa
Abstract
Giving the centrality of morality to good governance and the steady decline of good morals among the younger generation in Nigeria as manifested in such social vices as kidnapping, robbery, embezzlement of public funds, assassination, drug trafficking and so on, there is the fear of immoral leadership of the country when the younger generation ascend the corridors of power in Nigeria. The consequences will be backwardness and underdevelopment when compared with neighbouringcountries with good moral foundations for governance. This essay is therefore aimed at mitigating the high spate of moral decadence among the present generation of young people in Nigeria in order to set the proper moral foundation for good governance/leadership in the future. To forestall this immoral foundation and promote good morals among the younger generation for future good leadership, there should be actionable measures by the government of the day to check and prevent social vices among younger people and to ensure that those who commit these crimes are adequately punished for correction and deterrence. In addition, parents, guardians and moral instructors at all levels of education should always live exemplary lives to their younger ones. The prescriptive method has been adopted for this paper.
Key words:
Morality, Youths, Leadership, governance, Nigeria
