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In a bid to curb societal ills like kidnapping, banditry, armed robbery, illicit drug intake, among other menace, the federal government of Nigeria has been tasked to make scouting compulsory in primary and secondary schools.
This was the collective view of Scout Leaders and members who converged in Umuahia, the Abia State Capital on Saturday to deliberate on the way forward for scouting in the South-East, vis-à-vis why the zone is backwards and not being represented at the global scene whereas other countries in the sub-saharan African region and the continent of Africa at large are taking full advantage of the global opportunities provided through scouting.
The scout leaders and members recalled the good old days of scouts cum scouting in the country, admitting that those memories and euphoria associated with joining scouts, have gone down the drains following neglect, lackadaisical attitude and misplaced priority by Government at all levels.
One of the participants at the event, and a member of the African Scout Committee, Barr. Chidi Ihemedu, said scouting is practiced in every society but decried that key areas in Nigeria have continued to deteriorate with government at all levels paying lip service to the multiplicity of the problems which are evident for them to see and address quickly.
He reminded the Federal Government that what has made vices like kidnapping, cultism, drug abuse among others persistent, is absence of adequate scouting in primary and secondary schools in the country, adding that the Government has failed to place premium priority on scouting.
“Absence of Scouting is the opposite of what is being witnessed in the country because if you belong to the Scout, I recall those good old days, those who belonged to scout, were taught Civic Education, how to be good citizens of Nigeria, your duties to the country. During holidays, scouting were organised for members where informal education was also impacted in members as well as self reliance”.
“I bet you, if the Federal Government can give Executive Order for scouting to be made mandatory in our schools, I can assure you that you have solved half of the problems bedeviling the country while the society will be a better place where vices like kidnapping, banditry, internet fraud, armed robbery, among others, will be reduced to the barest minimum “.
Lending his voice, The Assistant Chief Commissioner, Communications and Public Affairs, Scout Association of Nigeria, Dr. Chukwujekwu Ibe, said part of the challenges confronting them as an Association that is out to impact sound morals on the Nigerian child, is getting to the hinterland and catch these kids young before they mingle with other peers who influence them negatively.
Ibe, who revealed that scouting is fun for the kids but duty for the adults, said failure to do their jobs of raising these generation of scouters, leaves a very big vacuum in the society which results in kids turning out to be menace to the society. He said in a bid to ensure that their work is made easy, they begin at the age of three to catch them young while reinforcing and impacting sound morals in them.
Ibe stated, “The job we are doing is not an easy one. The major challenge staring us in the face always is getting to the grassroots to catch kids young before they are taught the negative side of the world. That is why we call them Corps Scouts. At that age of 3, we must have impacted sound morals in them before their brains begin to be wired towards evil thoughts.”
Ibe urged the Federal Government to allow scouting to be incorporated in the Nigerian school system, saying through this, kids will be caught young and moulded properly just as he decried the activities of school heads who do not allow them to speak directly to kids in schools on the benefits of joining scout, insisting that the actions hamper their job as leaders of the Association.
Contributing, The State Scout Commissioner, Abia State, Leach Nwokocha, pointed out that scout is one of the revered associations globally but lamented that leadership problems in the Nigerian society has made the revered association lose its pride of place in the country.
He said the missing link has always been to have good leaders who know their onions very well so as to place societal priorities with the expectations of the populace, insisting that absence of these caliber of leaders is the bane of Nigeria’s problems.
Nwokocha, who emphasized that scouting is for the younger ones, informed that as someone who represented Nigeria at the Robinhood International Camp, 1971 in the United Kingdom, he has all it takes to catch them young as (Troops) mould them, promising to regularly visit schools, churches to ensure that the Scout Association is resuscitated in Abia State, South-East and Nigeria at large.
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