The Menace of Moral Degenerations in Nigeria’s Tertiary Institutions: Islamic Universities to the Rescue

It is not an overstatement to say that things continue to degenerate everyday in all aspects of human life, especially the social aspect. This social life of man is full of transgression and corruption which have led to moral degeneration in the society. These societal evils have extended their tentacles to educational life of man, the Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria especially the Universities, which are to provide the needed man power, acquisition of skills and refinement of moral for the future leaders of the country, have become the breeding grounds for ignoramus, hoodlums, cheaters, rapists, prostitutes, etc. The study adopted historical, descriptive and phenomenological methods in carrying out the research. The paper revealed some notable immoralities which are the order of the day in the Nigerian Tertiary Institutions and are posing threats to educational developments in the nation. The paper concluded that religious universities are alternatives in controlling the rate at which the immoralities are growing. Thus, it recommended that Islamic Universities should be given licenses as the lasting solution to the menace through their series of programmer which are in consonance with the tenets of Islam.


A. Introduction
Undoubtedly, the statement of Thomas More which says: "One of the greatest problems of ours is that many are schooled but a few are educated" (as quoted by Brain Quote 2012), can be justified by the purity which has lost its esteem in the lives of some students in today's tertiary institutions. The moral values of student in today's tertiary institution have degenerated to the extent that righteousness and goodness are now being judged among them by their material profitability. The majority of them have rejected ethical values and spiritual sanctities. They have substituted their excellent moral for lusts which appear in life like bubbles appear sparkling on the surface of the water (Mujtaba Musari, 2012).
It is a known fact that the building of a nation depends on the good charisma in the future leaders which majority of the students are lacking and according to the laws of balance and equality, this can lead to the destruction and extinction of a nation (Mujtaba Musari, 2012). This may be due to the nonchalant attitude of the lecturers, the management of the Universities, the parents as well as the students themselves towards education which supposed to develop individual's cognitive, psychomotor and affective domain for the betterment of individual in particular and the society in general.
The Nigeria's universities, according to Ogunkunle (2010:5) are filled up with lots of immoralities such as drug abuse, rape, cultism, examination malpractices, disruption of academic calendar, hooliganism and wanton destruction of lives and properties. In the opinion of Atanda et al (1989: 28), these immoralities have become the order of the day among the youths in various campuses. Unfortunately, these have made the institutions and the society uncondusive and stressful for learning and living which has resulted into incompetent and low quality of Nigeria graduates (Saint et al, 2004). They have also caused and are still posing threats and dangers to selfactualization and nation building (Ashiru, 2012: 4).
It is however disheartened to note that the measures put in place by the government, Universities and even some parents to ameliorate the deviant behaviors of the Nigerian graduates have not been effective. Rather, these immoralities continue to increase and spread even among the innocent ones. Thus, this paper is presenting Islamic Universities as another alternative in molding the characters of the future leaders of the nations.
To accomplish this, the paper is divided into six sections; the abstract, the introduction, the Conceptual Analysis, the Causes and Effects of Moral Decadence, the Modus-Operandi of Islamic Universities in curbing Immoralities and lastly the Conclusion.

B. Conceptual analysis
At this juncture, it is relevant to briefly examine some concepts which are integral to this discourse for the purpose of proper understanding of them in the way they are being used in the context as well as knowing their interconnectivity. These concepts are Menace, Moral, Degeneration, Moral Degeneration and Tertiary Institution.
Menace: is a person or things that possess serious threat, harm or damage to another person or thing. It also refers to an atmosphere that makes an individual feel threatened or frightened (Hornby, 2000: 736). It can also be seen as a possible source of danger or cause of danger.
Moral: is a concept being introduced so as to make life peaceful and rewarding to man and whenever it is distorted or violated, it leads to disturbance in the society. According to Mariaye (2006: 22), this concept is used in different ways at different times by different people. However, it is all about an individual's view or a society's view of what is perceived to be good which brings about happiness or sense of well-being (Jaysveree, 2009: 34). It is synonymous to ethics, according to Americana Encyclopedia, which deals with conduct either right or wrong, good or bad. It entails praising what is good and rebuking what is evil (Aiken, 2004, in Jaysveree, 2009. Degeneration: is the state or process of being or becoming degenerated; declined or deteriorated. Moral Degeneration thereof, according to Benon Talemwa, literally means the total breakdown of the values and norms in our society (Newtimes.co.rw). It also refers to the process of declining from a higher to a lower level of morality (Daniel, 2009). It may also mean declination in the way man interacts with his immediate environment which includes human, animals, plants and so on. In the view of Oyebisi (2011:55), it is the backwardness in the standard of behaviors of man socially, politically, economically and intellectually. In a nutshell, Moral Degeneration is a decline in the conducts, values, norms and cultures of an individual or a given society which threatens lives and properties. Tertiary Institutions: Refer to post-secondary educational and training institutions which include the Universities, the Polytechnics, the Monotechnics, Institutes of Technology, Colleges of Education and Professionally Specialized Institution (IAU, 2000 andNational Policy on Education, 1998). The Universities can further be categorized into State or Federal Universities as well as first, Second and Third Generation Universities. (Saint et 'al, 2004:1). All these institutions are meant to provide the nation with potential leaders of tomorrow with the aim of bringing together students form different parts of the country to achieve a common goal of academic and moral per excellence.

Types of immoralities in Nigeria's Tertiary Institutions
As said earlier that moral degeneration is all about low moral standards which lead to state of immorality, corruption of different kinds and debauchery. This decline in moral values has crept into the Nigerian educational sector and has made her tertiary institutions, especially the universities, to be clouded with varieties of immoralities from both the students and staffs. Thus, the universities are becoming unbearable for the innocent students and staffs. In his own observation, Wole Soyinka (1985 as quoted in Emcomp Digital Library, 2012:9) lamented that: Moral decadence amongst the youths is growing at an alarming rate and probably there will be a time when student will start to slap their teachers. The youth in tertiary institutions today are disrespectful, truants, manner less, etc.
It should, however, be noted that these immoralities may not easily be identified by human reasoning due to its fallibility and different perception of issues. This is because; an act that a person perceives to be good morally may be viewed by another person as immoral. Likewise, culture and society may not be able to identify them because of the reason mentioned above. Hence, the identification of these immoral acts will be done in this paper through the divine guidance of both the Qur'ān and Sunnah of the noble Prophet (S.A.W), since their perceptions are the same, unique and universal.
Furthermore, some of these immoralities are accepted generally regardless of any societies or individual's norms, cultures or values. Some have become part and parcel of the educational system on campuses as no one raises eyebrow against them all in the name of modern civilization and enlightenment. The following are some notable immoralities that are common in Nigeria's tertiary institution:

a. Cultism
The word cultism was taken out of the noun "cult" which means, according to Hornby (2000), a way of life, an attitude, an idea etc. It can also be used for a small group of people who have extreme religious beliefs and who are not part of any established religion. According to Adegoke (2006), cult means devotion to a person, especially a deity god or goddess or to a certain practice. It is also an institution to express a belief in a divine power (Thesaurus, 2012). Thus, cultism is an act of involving oneself in cultic practices which is known in educational institution as secret cultism.
According to Orukpe (1998), secret cults are group of people who share and propagate peculiar secret beliefs revealed only to the members of the group. They are usually students in universities (particularly) and other tertiary institutions in general who form themselves as a member and hold their meeting as well as operations at nights. Their activities range from initiation ceremony to raping, drugging, robberies, revenge mission and so on. These Secret cults usually make use of various dangerous weapons such as guns, daggers, cutlasses, acid and magic which makes other students afraid of them.
The origin of this immoral act in Nigerian tertiary institution can be traced back to the formation of Pirates Confraternity also known as  (Chuks, 2006:1-2) According to Adigwu (1999), this group was formed to kick against any form of injustice and oppression being perpetrated by either the University Management or the Students' Union. Based on this, some other students formed the secret cults to cater for their own interest which according to Nwadike (in Oto, 2006) they were up to 45 in number such as Sea Dogs, Buccaneers, Black Cat etc. Thus, if the number of the secret cults were up to forty-five (45) in ten years back nationwide, then how many would they be as at now? This is a critical problem that has led to insecurity of lives and properties all over the campuses and even the society. As at September 2003, 5000 students and Lecturers have died on campuses due to clashes among the secret cults. The Universities' Calendar has been disrupted by the cultrelated violent clashes (New Age, 2003).
The cultists easily cause troubles on campuses due to either the expulsion of any of their members from the universities, or because of ladies which in most cases lead to loss of lives and vandalization of properties. They are fond of other immoralities as their features.

b. Corruption
This involves the giving of some undue benefit to others so as to get an undeserved benefit. In Nigeria of today, corruption has crept into all the sectors including education. Both the staffs and the students of the Nigerian universities are corrupt except a few. The level of admission of fraud either by the student, staff or parent is at an alarming rate. This made the Fix Nigeria initiative (nd: 23) to say: Corruption has adversely affected the educational sector… parents and guardians do everything possible to ensure that their children and wards get admitted to choice schools whether they are qualified or not.
Some lecturers are using their position to corrupt the female students sexually while some students are the ones corrupting the lecturers sexually through their provocative dress, big cars and money. but favoritism (Muhammad, 2007), tribalism and nepotism.

c. Examination Malpractice
Examination malpractice could be defined as an act of wrong doing perpetuated during the examination process in the educational institution. It could be through grafting, impersonation in the examination hall, going into the examination hall with some materials like pieces of paper, lecture note, handout, prepared answer scripts, writing on the cloth, and parts of the body such as palm, thigh, and arm. Other forms are writing on seats, desks and wall in advance, exchange of papers pieces with answers by both students and lecturers, payment of large sum of money to obtain better grades, giving out new scripts to students to write examination privately etc.
Examination malpractices is one of the greatest moral degeneration affecting our tertiary institution because it has bad consequences in the lives of students perpetrating this bad conduct, the institutions of learning, societies and the country in general. The agents of this immoral act are students, lecturers, sometimes the parents, universities' authority and the government.

d. Drug Abuse and Addiction
Drug Abuse can be defined as a habit of making wrong use of biological or chemical substance which will consequently and abnormally change the person's state, cell and organic function of the body. This according to Adegoke (2006) poses a great threat to the survival of students in our tertiary institutions because it leads to disorderliness of human health and mental faculty. Oto (2006) lists some of these drugs as 1) Central Nervous System Stimulants 2) Central Nervous System Depressants 3) Hallucinage 4) Narcotic Analgesics 5) Alcohol 6) Tobacco With regards to alcoholic drinks, it has become part and parcel of the students in Nigerian universities to the extent that the female students are inclusive. Some students take drugs to relieve themselves of tensions, worries and problems as well as to avail them the opportunity of reading and assimilating. But, this is not so because these drugs rather multiply their worries and problems as well as sufferings. This wrong use of drugs is prohibited in both religion and society. Allah says in Q5:90 O ye who believe! Verily, intoxicants, gambling, idol worshiping, divinations by arrows are all abominations that are part of satanic work, neglect it in orders to be prosper.
The intoxicants in the above quoted verse entail all things that cover up one's thinking ability and lead one to a state of unconsciousness (Al-Hambali, 1996:472). The Prophet said: "every intoxicant is forbidden" (Sahih Muslim, hadith no 2003).

e. Gambling
The Arabic terminology from gambling is "Al-Maysir" which literally means a means of getting something too easily and getting a profit without working for it (Yusuf, 1411:93). Rasheed (2007) defines gambling as a game of chance by means of divinatory arrows, back gammons, chess, lottery etc. It encompasses all dealings in which people are required to make a bet. This is one of the despicable practice among the students of tertiary institutions. This without doubt is also forbidden in Islam with the evidence found in the Ch5:90 of the Glorious Qur'ān, because, it serves as a means of eating others' wealth injustly which Allah has also made forbidden according to Q2:188 that: And do not eat your properties among yourselves unjustly.
f. Sexual Promiscuity Sexual promiscuity can be defined as an indecent and unlawful sexual relationship between the people of the opposite or the same sex. This according to Adegoke (2006) could be in form of fornication, adultery, homosexualism, lesbianism, prostitution, bestialism, raping, and sexual harassment between lecturers and students or among the students themselves. Rasheed (2007) submits that, it is an act of having sexual intercourse with somebody you are not legally married to. This is another despicable practice that is common at various tertiary institutions and thus calls for serious concern. Sexual promiscuity has destroyed virtually spiritual, moral and marital lives of multiples of students. It is so sadden to mention that this ugly practice is a global phenomenon, which affect not only the Nigerian Student but also the western world. Judge Lindsey, a well-known American writer said: Forty five percent (45%) girls of high schools have had intercourse with men before they leave school. Women claiming equality with men, fall prey to passions. Love affairs unlimited and premarital cohabitation become the rule rather than the exception. The streets may be free of prostitutes by taking over their business for free! In Nigeria, however, according to Bankole A et. al (2004) researchers have confirmed that sexual promiscuity that is associated with  This practice, that is the order of the day among the students, is logically condemned and religiously rejected. Allah, the Most High, Strictly forbids illegal sexual intercourse and He even closes all the paths leading to it when He says: Do not come near unlawful sexual intercourse for it is a great sin and evil way (Q 17:32). Al-Qurtubi (1996) in his commentary on the above quoted verse remarks: There is no divergence of opinion on the fact that illegal sexual intercourse is one of the grievous sin especially if it is done with one neighbor's wife (vol. 10, 187).

g. Masturbation
Masturbation, according to Hornby (2000:726), is the act of giving oneself sexual pleasure by rubbing one's sexual organ. It can also be used to denote the act of giving sexual pleasure to others by rubbing their sexual organs. Al-Jibāly (2005) submits that it is the stimulation of one's sexual organ using one's hand or any external tool till the semen (male) is discharged. This type of sexual habit is common among the unmarried male and female students who have no access to their opposite sex. To relieve their sexual urge, both the male and female students use their hands and at times, the females may also subject themselves to candle in their various hostels.
Islam strictly abhors this immodest act for both male and female based on Q23: 5-7.
And they (the believers) are those who guard their private parts, except from their wives or those that their right hands possess, for indeed they will not be blamed. Whoever seeks beyond that, they are the transgressors.
From the above verse, it can be deduced that Allah does not allow venting one's sexual desire except with one's spouse or with one's owned female slave (and not maid). And that He, Allah, has not given masturbation as options to those who are not married.

h. Free mixing with opposite sex
One of the most rampant ugly acts in Nigerian Universities nowadays is the free mixing of both male and female students. The situation is so bad to the extent that male and female will be closed to each other face to back without them feeling remorseful; rather, some even derive illegal enjoyment from this bad conduct. This free mixing is very common in the following places of our universities: 1) Admission offices 2) ICT Centre during registration 3) Lecture rooms 4) Auditorium 5) Lecturer's offices during the signing of the course form 6) Library 7) Food Canteen, etc. Islam as a divine religion strictly frowns against this immorality because it leads to various immoralities. The prophet said: It would be better for one of you to be stabbed on the head with an iron nail than to touch a woman that is unlawful for him (Tabrani).

i. Theft and Fraud
Theft is an unlawful act of secretly taking somebody else's property while fraud is an act of deception of others with criminal intention (Adegoke 2006). Theft and fraud are at alarming rate in the universities. Students indulging in them steal other students' properties such as book, lecture note, money, library materials, mobile phones, laptops, clothes and foodstuff, to the level of yahoo-yahoo which is a means of getting money from other countries without any labour. This is nothing but fraud.
Some students are even fond of committing theft and fraud against their parents, guardians and sponsors. This act is forbidden in Islam according to Q5: 38.
As to the thief, Male or Female cut off his or her hands: a retribution for their deed and exemplary punishment from Allah. Thus, fashion has been turned to nudity to seduce anybody on campuses. It should also be noted that this obscene dressing includes abnormal hair styles of women e.g. the use of artificial hair (attachment), weave-on, etc. and men e.g. Galaxy. It also entails plucking the hair of the eyebrow, pricking one's skin with a needle and filling it with colored liquid which is known as tattoo. All these are nothing but provocative and seductive dressing that not only affect the students themselves but also the lecturers. They are all against the natural purpose of putting on dressing which is directly stated in Q7: 26.
O children of Adam! We have bestowed raiment upon you to cover your private parts and as an adornment and the raiment of righteousness, which is better. Such are among the signs of Allah, that they may remember.
With the above quoted verse, it can be said that any form of dressing that does not cover one's private part and does lead to evil is definitely an immoral dressing.
In a nutshell, these immoralities cannot all be discussed here due to time and space constraint. There are still some others such as lying and deceit, handshaking and hugging the opposite sex, music and songs, dancing, lavish spending, attending night parties and so on.

Causes of Moral Decadence among the Students in Nigerian Universities
The causes of moral decadence among the students who are leaders to be in future can be categorized under the following points.

a. Spiritual Causes
The peak of man's wisdom lies in his fear of God which brings out the good moral and character in him. The fear of Allah which is known as at-Taqwa is the bedrock of all righteousness and its absence leads to evil and calamity. Thus, lack of piety is the root of all forms of immoralities and indecencies because when Allah is not presence in something or somebody then the devil takes over whom himself is immoral, indecent and evil.
It should therefore be noted that, whoever fails to recognize Allah and discharge his duties to Him can never recognize or accord respect to any body or anything and cannot discharge his duties and responsibilities to himself not to talk of another person and the communities in general.
More so, this lack of piety shows that the law of Allah cannot be used in such environment that is devoid of Allah and in a person that does not give room fro Allah in his life. Thus, the absence of Sharīcah is also another important cause of indecencies in the tertiary institutions. This because, it is only the infallible and impartial law that gives no preference to anybody or any desire regardless of anything. The Qur'ān says: …then, whoever follows My Guidance he shall neither go astray, nor shall be distressed. But whoever turns away from My Reminder verily, for him is a life of hardship, and We shall raise him up blind on the Day of Resurrection (Q20: 124).
From the above verse it is clear that a life or community that is devoid of Allah will suffer in anguish.

b. Social Causes
A society comprises two or more families which also includes father, mother and their children. Hence, whatever happens in the family affect the society because charity begins at home. The home is the first institution where a child learns either morality or immorality. Therefore, if the home is good, the child will develop good moral and character. But if it is spoilt then the child will develop corrupt character.
It should be noted that broken home and lack of parental care are the major reason that can spoil a child form home before getting to school to practice what he has been witnessing within the home.

c. Economic Causes
The immoralities of the students in tertiary institution can also be caused by financial status of the students. A student that comes from a poor family is liable to join bad gang for survival or involve in sexual promiscuity to pay his/her school fees, buy textbooks and cater fro his/her basic needs in the school such as clothing and shelter. Majority of the undergraduates who are poor want to compete with their colleagues who are from wealthy background and so, they take undesirable steps in order to get rich by all means.

d. Environmental Causes
The influence if the environment on the mode of behaviors if the students in universities cannot be over emphasized. This influence can either be positive or negative. If it is positive, it will bring about high moral standard and if otherwise, then immorality will fill up the nook and corners of the society including the institution of learning.
The adoption of western culture and civilization has brought lots of atrocities than good. For instance, alcoholism, indecent dressing, homosexualism, lesbianism, smoking, arms and ammunition, free mixing between the opposite sex e.t.c are all product of western influence on Nigerians.

C. Effects of Moral Decadence among students in Nigerian Universities
The side effects of this moral backwardness are numerous and therefore can better be discussed under the following:

Spiritual Effects
The spiritual effects of this moral decadence cannot be ignored as it has made man to be hard-hearted and stiffed to the extent that admonitions and sermons hardly penetrate into the soul. Majority of the hearts have become sermon-proof. A lot of unlawful gazing, garrulous, materialism and nudism extinguish the spiritual light of the majority.
Thus, many souls are left un-yielded to sermon which makes the purpose of admonition to be futile.

Social Effects
Among the dangers of these immoralities is the increase in the number of those suffering from Sexually Transmitted Disease (STDs). Also, there is the effect of unwanted pregnancy as a result of illegal sexual intercourse which in most cases leads the victims to abortion and may cause her death or her infertility. Similarly, the victims may be forced to marry each other without having sincere love and thus lead to broken homes.
More so, the effect has led some students to mental illness, abnormal behavior, violence and loss of life of other students as a result of hard drug such as tutolin, cocaine etc. being taken by the concerned students. More so, both lecturers and students hardly concentrate in their academic duty due to series of indecent dressing and beauty contest on our campuses today. How is it possible for teaching-learning process to take place when a lecturer is delivering lecture in front of the nudists?

Political Effects
The dropped-out or hooligans who have not allowed the education to pass through them may become future leaders who still influence the masses with their bad characters. They have godfathers who easily give them federal or state appointment at the expense of the vast number of unemployed and qualified graduates. Jurisprudence such as at-Taharah (Purification) and As-Salah (prayer).

Economic Effects
Those in 300 levels can be exposed to Islamic History and civilization and those in 400 levels can also be exposed to Islamic World today in order to know the past and present situation of Muslims in the world. Furthermore, to make this plans work very well, the administration of the university should be governed by Islamic principles, norms and culture to be able to arrest the on-going moral degeneration in the Nigerian Universities.

E. Conclusion
So far, this paper has discussed issues on the immoralities of students on campuses which are responsible for the backwardness of the nation. An evaluation of the causes of moral decadence in Nigerian Tertiary Institutions has been done by dividing them into spiritual, social, economic and environmental causes. Likewise, threats pose by these immoralities have also been mentioned and discussed. It was also mentioned that despite the measures put in place by the government, universities' authority and the parents to curb and ameliorate the immoralities on campuses, they still continue to increase day-by-day. The paper then proffers religious institutions, among which are Islamic Universities as alternative in arresting those ugly behaviors in among the contemporary youths in the universities.
In the light of the above, we strongly recommend that the Islamic universities should make the knowledge of Islam, as a general course that teaches Islamic morality, a compulsory course for all students in the institution regardless of their course of study across all levels. This will make the Islamic teachings to flourish and have impact in the lives of the students that takes it as a course in just a year or two. Also, Islamic principles and guidelines should be given priority in the administration and governance of the universities in all aspects. Conscious Muslims who understand and are aware of the teachings of their religion should be employed for both academic and non-academic staffs so as to sustain the aims and objectives of the Islamic Universities.