sociological utility and shortcomings

THE UTILITIES AND SHORTCOMINGS OF SOCIOLOGY IN CONTEMPORARY NIGERIA SOCIETY

Nigeria is one of the most important countries in Africa. Our population is very high and that is one of the attractions but then, blessed with natural resources. We are an oil producing nation who supply to other countries but Nigeria at her 50s is still a developing country.

So many problems are facing our Nigerian society today which are yet to be solved. First and foremost, looking at the leaders and leadership of the country. Our country, Nigeria is in a political and economical instabilization due to the fact that our leaders are yet to be serious about governance and they practice politics without ethics.

Nigeria is one of the richest countries in Africa but still crawling on her belly. Petroleum which is a product of the Nigerian soil is sold costly. Fuel subsidy is now a problem because the cost for it has increased double with regards to the normal price, and it has brought about problems like impending showdown on our minimum wage. Non-implementation of newly approved national minimum wage by the three tiers of government in the country has put Nigerian workers and their employers on war paths as the worker’s umbrella body, the Nigerian labour congress (N.L.C) has concluded  plans for workers to clown tools nationwide any time from now.

Initially, only a few states like Lagos, Rivers and Akwa Ibom expressed readiness to pay the new wage while all other attributed inability to implement the new wage to paucity of funds. Some governors even argued that their states would grind to a halt if there are no additional handouts from the Federal purse to fund the increases. This has lead to the fact that workers at Federal and state levels have vowed to stick to there guns until government implements the new structure of payment. For instance, some agitated workers of Federal Capital Territory (F.C.T), Abuja has communicated to the authorities that the new payment of the new wage is not negotiable, meanwhile the N.L.C has directed all her affiliates, the 36 states councils and F.C.T to prepare for a major shutdown that would shake the country on account of the non-implementation of the new structure of payment, only for the governors agreeing to pay the new wage lay hands on the condition that the extent revenue sharing formula would be reviewed and fuel subsidy removed. But the question is, “why must the increase of wages lead to the removal of fuel subsidy? Where did our oil go?  Was it not supposed to be sold on cheaper rate?” We could not have consumed so much oil unless we export it or are we smuggling it out? If exporting, the money would be seen and be of importance but if smuggling, the cost of fuel keeps increasing because the money is in the pocket of the smugglers.

With exception of the subsidy problem, the ground issue now is the Boko harams. Of all the recent development in the polity, one major issue stands out as seriously deserving of attention. It is the Boko Haram’s riddles. This is a problem that is claiming so many lives and property yet, no matter how hard Nigerians wish the problem to the religious fundamentalist sect which believed education is a sin, would go away; this becomes more serious day by day. Hardly any day passes without reports of bombs being detonated in one part of the northern Nigeria or the other. When Nigerians thought that the bomb explosions at the Nigerian Police headquarters, Abuja on June 16th 2011 was the climax of the saga that would force a prompt resolution of the authorities, the bombings had continued unabated. Allowing that trend to continue, this nation is about to be divided. What has given us importance or relevance is our size, population and resources which we have not managed very well. This country is about to disintegrate, where would you put the central Nigeria which is not really following the trend with the northern situations? Precisely, I am talking about the Plateau, Benue, Kogi etc whereby boundary plans would even cause a problem if nothing is done. The southerners are having the worth because of the fear of attack especially the Christians, with regard to NYSC, no body would want to go to that area because anything can happen at anytime. All these bring about the destruction of NYSC and those things that bind us together as a nation. That is what is supposed to be arrested.

Another case is bribery; it is our daily greed. There is no office in our Nigerian society that you look into that you will not find unqualified personnel because such person has somebody at the head of a particular department. To get appointment, you must bribe them with money or otherwise sacrifice your body for one thing or the other (Fallacious). The most painful part of it is that when a student passes his/her Jamb or Post UME, he or she must pay bribe which is best referred to as “working” presently, before getting admission. In the course of this, one of the state governors in an interview said that education is meant for the rich and even went ahead to make an increase in the school fees of the students of his state doubled as it was. Therefore, the poor should all remain poor and the rich continues to grow richer. In addition, the issue of election is not to elect the winner but to select the person “they” want. Many incredible things do happen before and after elections in Nigeria. Bribing will start going right on, kidnapping and assassinations here and there. Our so called politicians took it as a shortcut for winning their opponents. The truth is even an abomination now in our society because once one says the truth, the objects of your truth would terminate your life. Some of the religious priests were assassinated because they stood for and said the truth. The politicians employ people; rascals and people like that, to use them during campaigns and later dump them. These are the people who took to all kinds of things or pick up against government. But the government that does not know, that a child that would be a bad one starts to manifest at the early stage or age.

Veins of corruption have joined itself in our nation and these make it very easy for it to flow all over the nation. Come to talk of it, 419 is taking control of everything. An individual can claim a whole nation or state it is no more a game of secret; our billionaires did it openly in spite of the constitutional restrictions of it simply because they thought they are above the law.

Corruption has gained more grounds especially among our youths. In the case of indecent dressing among youths, in most of the cities in our country today, one can see girls wearing a year old female cloth and skimpy skirts all in the name of fashion thereby exposing their bodies. What is the essence of wearing cloths then? Is it not to cover our nakedness? Yet some of the so called big girls among youths dress indecently and move freely, shamelessly and still feel normal in their abnormal dresses. Men who are suppose to be pace setters, ends up adding salt to injuries. You can see responsible men wearing ear-rings and plaiting their hairs (fallacious). At times it is very difficult to differentiate a boy from a girl, a man from a woman. Some parents are not even helping matters in this case, they se and allow their children to dress indecently and not even showing any regard to their parental works.

I would not forget to talk of abortion which is one of the most evil deeds done in the society. Some times it happens among parents but mostly among youths. Fornication is what our youths today regard as love in friendship and as the most enjoyable thing in life not even thinking of the consequences it is likely to bring about in their nearby futures. Prostitution is going right on, that is why some girls do kill their unborn child in the course of unwanted pregnancy. If you go to the motherless babies homes, you will see the abandoned children, it is clear that 95% of their mothers are still alive. Where are they? It is also clear that even doctors, well trained ones do conduct abortions. Some girls do carry theirs secretly and after delivery they go and dump them at the way side. It is ridiculous. It is annoying because they don’t know the value of a child.

Last and not the least in the problems facing the contemporary Nigerian society is Examination malpractice. It has increased immensely in the country. There is no external examination taken by students that will not involve examination malpractice; it has become a pure blood in our country which makes students to hardly read their books and depend on expos given to them in the examination various halls. Teachers and invigilators are paid or rather collect money from students to give them expo. This is commonly found in WAEC both for senior and junior students (Faulty). One of the friends of mine who was to sit for a WAEC exam was always playing football. I later asked him why he was always seen at the football field and not studying his books? He proudly said that even if he study his book or not he will still pass his WAEC because already he has paid for it. That means even some principals of the schools advices malpractice in external exams all in the name of helping the students to pass, just to bring good name to the school not knowing that he is destroying the academic future of those students and of the country. Bribery and corruption has dug a grave for our society.