Director General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Isa-Onilu, has hinted of the federal government’s plan to soon launch 37,000 Citizens Brigade in all the primary schools nationwide.
Dropping this hint in Ibadan Tuesday evening while speaking with journalists on his working visit, the NOA DG said the planned Citizens Brigade would be part of the efforts to remodel and reorient children in the country with proper Nigerian values.
According to him, “Our children have been eroded with the foreign culture right from their formative years and the development is adversely affecting the ethics and values of our indigenous culture across the country nationwide.
“We are establishing this year 37,000 Citizens Brigade in primary schools; 1, 000 in each state, including the FCT, Abuja. This Citizens Brigade is going to be like Boys Scout and Girls Guild,” he said.
Mallam Isa-Onilu maintained that NOA would also soon launch a mobile App through which a local content would be promoted through indigenous cartoons.
“When you look at the children between the ages 1 and 12, when they are back at home from school, the major content they consume is foreign contents from cartoons and movies. You have a child in your house that you think you are the ones exposing him/her to life and managing his/her information and education but you will discover that he knows far better than you think he knows.”
He stressed further, “Right from your bedroom, he understands America through cartoons. Some of the cartoons today are showing a man and a man conducting wedding”, adding: “We have been raising foreigners as Nigerians and unfortunately 72% of them below the age of 35 were raised that way.
“When you go to social media today, you will see the outcome in their lifestyle. You will be scared of the future of this country. The youth that fall within this category, (1-35) have positive and negative traits but the negative traits are scary.
“They are going to be the most educated because of the tools, technology and the exposure that the technology has brought but unfortunately they lack self esteem and when you are raising 72% of the population that lacks self esteem it becomes a problem.”
