Happenings

The issue of education cuts across the home and the school, while the products still remain as raw materials for the houses of God to process into refined elements thoroughly reformed and guided by knowledge, wisdom and the power of discerning mind, if and only if due process is taken into an environment of love, morality and discipline.

Graduates of these institutions are expected to feed the society through services in their various specializations, guided by ethics of practices for the right value orientation to be employed in achieving the much desired value, quality and standard expected to be in line with global best practices.

Almost all the nations of the world, Nigeria in particular, have failed in this respect because of the breakdown of the agents of socialization in the hostile environment of poverty, Timocracy and kleptocracy.

The underling factors for the restoration of values is to work on the attitudinal challenges emanating from the breakdown of the core values in all spheres of life, as there are no longer role models for the youths to emulate in the present ugly environment of rhetoric.

What is correct is obvious, but who to correct it, is now the question on every lip. However, for humanity not to go into extinction through ravaging pandemic diseases such as the coronavirus, borne out of human frivolities and waywardness, there is a need to restrategize on the way we impact on the society, the teaching and learning value in the schools and the home through the curriculum that must be practically touched with role modelling illustrations and demonstrations for correct learning that will perfect the ways of the people and the change into fortune the destiny of the society.

In this respect, everybody is a stakeholder just as religion is all encompassing with universal applications to regulate and control moderately the affairs of the people with overall advantages of the spiritual energy to articulate human social activities into full realization and actualization, there is a need to return to God through the chosen faith based houses of God for unseasoned divine intervention to nurture to fruition human efforts for development.

References to the scriptures that must be implemented without seizing the advantages of the people’s areas of weaknesses and needs will ever solve our attitudinal challenges on institutional discipline, moral decadence and frictions for corruption against peace and development. 

Prov. 25 : 28 ‘’ A person that can’t control himself(discipline) is like a city without walls to protect it.’’

From the sayings of Prophet Mohammed this submission is confirmed to be true, ‘’ the best of Jihad is that of self-discipline.’’

Suffice now to say that parents, teachers and school heads who are leaders in other areas of functions that are direct to the people and the society, must see themselves as primary stakeholders who must not only teach the creed, but role model the ideals for people to be able to follow without restrictions or any reservations.

However, the following values must be used as weapons of instructions by the parents and the society and various places of work to benefit because after all, the products of the home are the working class as well as leaders for governance.

The Holy Quaran 31 : 17 refers, :

1. The establishment of regular prayers as must be demonstrated by parents who must teach and monitor their children on its importance to be close to their creator and to develop the culture of the fear of God and due process in doing things.
2. Parents must demonstrate the exemplary lifestyle to be able to admonish their children on the essence of been just with all sincerity of purpose in any place they may find themselves.
3. Much as we realize that we live in a filthy environment fraught with corruption, transgressions, sins and crimes, parents must not be found wanting or be soaked in the mess, but rather live exemplary lifestyles worthy of emulation by children and others to be able to effect a paradigm shift.
4. Patience and forbearance in goal getting is highly important for elderly ones to demonstrate and live by, for the younger ones to have a positive mindset of correcting bad situations.

The society must be able to see this as a culture of child rearing through a counseling strategy that will nurture the nature of the children right from the impressionable age through the adolescent stage to the period of adulthood with all consistency. This will in every way restore us into a state of discipline and value laden exemplary lifestyles free of fraud, but justice based. 

Prof. Sabitu Olagoke

Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide,Wakajaiye, Ibadan, Nigeria

The failure of laying emphasis of the affective domain of education regarding the attitudinal values for the pupils and students in our schools has led to the deterioration of the system of disciplines of our various graduates with the fatal consequence of moral decadence in the society.

For example, during our own days tales from the folklore, where the animal kingdom are animated into the human society, with emphasis on the moral values for the children’s consciousness plays a significant role in synergising the informal education from the home and the formal education, obtained in various schools by the children.

As we grow to become adults, we perpetually put it at the back of our minds, the children of whom we are and the essence of been good ambassadors of our homes as well as been viable and constructive alumnus of the schools from where are graduated.

We were always reminded even within our sub-conscious level of existence on the need to keep the dignity of labor through hard work as we equally continue to cut our clothes according to our sizes.

This makes us to be very fit, as diligent and productive workers in our various places of work later in life, taking the virtues of the role models in the society with aggressive thinking on how to give back to the society.

Besides this, the family values on love, togetherness spirit of give and take, care and share which are fundamental to the concept of philanthropy and Philosophy of altruism which by polarization bind the then expanded family units together, shun the evil spirit of ego centeredness, but put release into very well reared children, the spirit of charity that kept the family together for their products to benefit the society.

The solution to this for us to restore the lost values is to revive the act of god parenting as well as the teaching of the scriptures in our teaching of the scriptures in our various schools objectively and without sentiments. All scriptures agree on the essence of counseling in teaching to manage well, our wards for the society to be in peace and to have prosperity.

Prov. 11-’’A nation with weak leaders will fall, but many good advisers will make that nation safe.’’

Quaran 31 : 13–14-’’behold Lukman said to his son admonishing him ‘Oh! my son join not in worship others with Allah, for false worship is indeed the highest wrongdoing. 14-’’And we have enjoined on man to be good to his parents.’’

Let us be responsible parents, with role model virtues and teach same. Let us equally be responsible officials of government who will usually feel the pulse of the nation and take to the guides of advice from the people most especially on moral codes for us to have a well ordered society that will develop in an environment of justice for peace and equity for sustainable development. All these can only be achieved in an environment of institutional discipline and sensitivity to moral codes of life.

Prof. Sabitu Olagoke

Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide,Wakajaiye, Ibadan, Nigeria

The issue of discipline is divinely recognized to be a significant portion of the ethos of man’s existence. For example from the Islamic perspective, the Holy Prophet Mohammed emphasized that jihad would be empty and satanic if the adherents do not uphold the principle of moral discipline because jihad of self discipline would make the counselor or preacher to be credible and worthy of admonition he or she may want to give his audience or listeners.

From the Christian perspective, Proverbs 25 : 28 asserts that ‘’a person that cannot control himself or herself(that is without self discipline) is like a city without walls to protect it.''

The society equally rests its fabric of harmonious existence on the culture of the core values of integrity starting from self esteem for teachers, clerics and government officials to successfully produce for the society, reliable and dependable goal getters, in terms of successful ventures in the scheme of nation building, the equation of educational goals must be religiously pursued, that is Attitude=Aptitude+Attitude.

Academic credentials must be based on the curriculum for the course or the pursued discipline which must be rationally graded without academic fraud, examination misconduct and examination malpractice for the certificate to be worthy of the accredited grade or class. The use of this certificate would only be meaningfully enjoyed through the in built good character which always forms the basis of interpersonal relation for positive work attitude that would enhance productivity to meet up with the profit making goal of the organization bearing in mind the need for high efficiency.

The attitudinal value must therefore translate to moral discipline .

When the educational institution fails to operate upon the axis of this value, the schools produce troublesome monsters as graduates or alumni for the society. When religious institutions fail to educate, enlighten, admonish and furnish her adherents onto the path of righteousness, the moral discipline essence upon which the fabric of the fear of God rests is lost, for the society to suffer under the misguided elements, who will rather profess profanity in place of the sacredness essence of clean state of piety ; the society will now be at the mercy of wicked people in governance and bad people in business-the cabals and the cartel. Admonition based on moral values and disciplinary measures is therefore a universal tool to promoting good ideals of life, organizational and professional ethics for the society’s moral fabric to be intact, for the purpose of peaceful co-existence, good governance and well divinely sanitized society which would result in peace and development to be achieved under an environment of justice and equity.

From any source talks on moral discipline may come, it is imperative that the people and the society must follow to benefit the nation.

This is why , we must practically recognize and follow divine statements in the holy books to uphold virtues and progressive moves.

Let us therefore meditate on this verse of the Holy Quaran, that emphasizes self discipline as a function of promoting peaceful co-existence and fraud free society. The Holy Quaran 3 : 104 refers ‘’ let there arise out of you, a band of people inviting to all that is good enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong : they are the ones to attain felicity.’’ Let us walk the talk.

The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) has advised Government to put in place guidelines for the reopening of schools in the country.

The first lady of Zimbabwe, Auxillia Mnangagwa has asserted that sanitary wear must be made available and affordable.

The First lady also called for the continued education on menstruation for girls and women.

Mnangagwa made this known recently at an event to commemorate the Menstrual Hygiene Management Day which had 50 children in attendance drawn from disadvantaged backgrounds.

“Talking about menstruation, it is considered taboo and yet it is the biological indicator that pregnancy has not occurred,” she said.

“This silence contributes to the ignorance and illiteracy on menstrual hygiene management.

“Regressive socio-cultural norms pertaining menstruation are responsible for the silence around the issue of menstruation and this results in the use of unhygienic products to manage periods instead of much safer products.”

“The theme for this year’s commemoration is ‘It’s time for action. Indeed it is a time for all of us to take action and address the challenges that women and girls face in relation to menstrual hygiene management, especially as we also look at the challenges that we are currently facing due to the Covid-19 global lock down,” she said.

“Menstrual hygiene management is not a girls and women’s issue alone, but it is a matter that concerns all of us as communities and failure to manage menstrual hygiene may as well impact on the development of communities and the nation at large, she stated.

The first lady through her Angel of Hope Foundation, donated reusable menstrual kits to the disadvantaged women.

When impunity, lawlessness and anarchy replaces law enforcement, the military saves the situation.

Life-Existence on a Meaningful Scale of Treatment

The vision of God for mankind is best appreciated in the context of the Holy Quaran 2 : 201-’’ Our Lord ! Give us good in this world and good in the year after and save us from the torment of the fire !’’

All religions believe in the following segments of the cycle of existence-life in the womb of our mothers, medically known as gestation period for a woman, demanding for antenatal protective measures for safe delivery, the birthday, when the child enter the mother earth just as parents and their well wishers rejoice on this occasion.

The life span of a man of a woman from the cradle to the grave yard point, demands for the physiological needs as the basis for Maslow’s hierarchy of needs for even growth and development, in the regime of sustenance. This one demands for education, career-ship and divine intervention for spiritual endowment, for him or her to live a fully fulfilled life.

What follows is the grave yard final home, when all living ones will depart and desert the dead after, the burial rites, while families and friends help themselves in sharing acquired wealth !(Quaran 2 : 46/Eccle 5 : 15). All religions equally believe in resurrection starting from the repose of the soul waiting for the judgment day.

In all these the relevance of education or institutions of knowledge, career-ship and professionalism to keep soul and body alive and to satisfy the dependents’ needs, as well as the religious systems through the houses of God cannot be over emphasized.

If one is weak or deficient, the life of an individual would become thwarted, socially and spiritually to the extent that the person may not be able to be comfortable in life despite his or her wealth and the individual may eventually lose the grace of God. Janat of paradise.

Governments of nations must therefore do the needful not to sentence their people into hell right here on earth, as well as bedeviling them into hell after resurrection. All stakeholders, in molding, the lives of every person must therefore see their challenges and roles as God given assignments for humanity to avoid hell on earth and lose of heaven because death is inevitable for all : Quaran 20 : 74–75 ‘’ Verily he who come to his Lord as a sinner(at judgment),-for him is Hell : therein shall he neither die nor live, 75 But such as come to him as believers who have worked righteous deeds, for them are ranks exulted .’’

 Let us all be wholesome for the awesome God(Allah).