TRADITIONAL EDUCATION: A VIABLE OPTION FOR CURBING MORAL DECADENCE AMONG YOUTH IN THE IKWERRE SOCIETIES OF NORTH EASTERN NIGER DELTA FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

The Ikwerre societies of North Eastern Niger Delta is threatened with an array of challenges. Paramount among the prevailing challenges is the issue of moral decadence among the youth in the locality which have resulted to an increase in societal vices such as armed robbery, assassination, kidnapping for ransom, illegal oil bunkering, cult clashes, destruction of lives and properties, displacement of people from their homes etc thus impinging on the socio-economic and infrastructural development of the area. Who is to be held accountable for the noxious attitudes of the youth? The government, parent, youth or society? How can the moral decay and societal menace occasioned by most youth in the area be curbed? This is the onus of this paper. The paper employs the descriptive and phenomenological methods and argues that traditional education which includes but not limited to physical training, character formation and promotion of cultural heritage is a viable option for curbing moral decadence among youth in the Ikwerre societies of North Eastern Niger Delta. The paper maintains that the potentials of the youth could be properly harnessed for a functional society which will then allow for sustainable development through traditional education. The paper recommends a revert to traditional education which promotes the cultures, traditions, values, customs and norms of the people. It also suggests that traditional education which were transmitted orally to descendants by voluntary observation of the elders’ activities and full participation in any traditional societal functions be reintroduced in families for a better Ikwerre society.