Topic: ASSESSMENT OF THE INFLUENCE OF CITIZENSHIP AND LEADERSHIP TRAINING ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF YOUTHS IN NIGERIA

Chapter One

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

The purpose of this study was to assess the extent to which citizenship and leadership training programmes influenced the physical fitness, social, emotional and adventure skills development of youths in Nigeria. The instrument used for data collection was the self-developed questionnaire. It consist of six sections on each the variable of youths development in physical fitness development, social fitness development, emotional fitness qualities, mental fitness attributes of youths development and adventure skills development of youths in Nigeria. This population for this study was drawn from students in secondary schools, Colleges of Education and Universities during the 2013/2014 academic session and the ex-post facto research design was used for this study. The purposive sampling technique was used to select the respondents according to their institutions and time of training at the centre. Using the random sampling technique, a total of 800 respondents were administered the questionnaire and only 707 representing 88.3% were duly filled and returned. The descriptive statistics of mean, standard deviation, percentage and the cumulative means were calculated for each item in each section of the questionnaire. The Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) statistic was used to analyze the data. The findings in the analysis revealed significant influence of citizenship and leadership training programmes on the indices of physical fitness attributes of youths who participated in the programme (p = 0. 000). The analysis also revealed that citizenship and leadership training programmes significantly influenced social behaviour patterns of youths (p = 0.000) Furthermore the results showed significant influenced of the training programmes on the emotional behaviour development, moral development and adventure skills development of youths in Nigeria (p = .000). Based on the results of this study, it was concluded that Citizenship and Leadership training programmes enhanced the development of physical fitness attributes of youths that included strength, muscular endurance, stamina and flexibility. It also improved social behaviour pattern of youths which was revealed by their enhanced self-confidence, patience and the ability to handle challenging tasks requiring emotional stability appropriately. It was further concluded that Citizenship and Leadership training programmes enabled the youths acquired critical thinking skills and knowledge for intellectual interaction. It was recommended that adequate provision should be made to stimulate and encourage researches on Citizenship and Leadership Training on youth development in Nigeria. Citizenship and Leadership Training should be made mandatory for all students in Secondary Schools and Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria.

1.2 Statement of Problem

The Nigerian Youths are faced with high level of socio – economic uncertainty and volatility thereby becoming the most vulnerable segment of the population. It has been observed that the youths of this country no longer have physical competencies to explore the talents and abilities in them through community and group activities in the scout and the Man O? War as it used to be in the 1970 and 1980s. They are observed to be low in most indices of physical fitness as compared to their counterpart of the 1970s for group and community productive social engagements. They are also observed to lack of initiative and adventure experiences that will foster true appreciation and concern for personal and communal developments. They lack social citizenship competencies; they show lack of compassion, lack of self-discipline, lack of desire to build relationship with peers/colleague, stressful relationship among others. Youths in Nigeria have continued to show lack of interest in National values, they lack spirit of hard work, lack patriotism and shows disloyalty to National symbols and anthem. It is no longer news that youths in Nigeria lack Health and physical competences which is exhibited through evidence of low attitudes to personal hygiene. They also observed to be engaged in undesirable behaviours like drugs abuse, political thug grey, kidnapping and other anti-social behaviours. They are also engaged in corruption and other indices of bad leadership practices that are inimical to the development initiatives of Nigeria. Recently, youths are found to be the tools mobilized for ethnic violence and religion conflicts. The youths often show evidence of lack of emotional competencies by their inability to trust, act appropriately in difficult situations. It is evidence that youth are audience in street violence, mob action, demonstrations, truancy in schools, examination malpractices, poor academic performance, reluctant to conform to societal norms and values. They are also involved in deviant behaviours, like absenteeism in class, sleeping in class, membership of cultism with accompanying behaviour of killing and murdering, excessive drinking of alcohol, hemp smoking, rape, unwanted pregnancies and abortion among many others. Generally, youths have been found to be audiences to most social problem of this Nation. These problems and many other must have necessitated the establishment of Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre in Nigeria where the focus is on the development of the physical, social, mental, emotional, moral and adventure development which are indices of responsible citizenship and effective leadership practices.

1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Study

The purpose of this study is to assess the influence of citizenship and leadership training influenced the physical fitness, social behaviours, moral development and adventure skill development of youth in Nigeria. More specifically the study intends: 1. To find out the extent to which Citizenship and Leadership Training programmes influence the physical attributes of youths in Nigeria. 2. To find out the extent to which Citizenship and Leadership Training programmes influence the development of social qualities of youths in Nigeria. 3. To find out the extent to which Citizenship and Leadership Training programmes influence the development of mental abilities of youths in Nigeria. 4. To find out the extent to which Citizenship and Leadership Training programmes influence the moral development qualities of youths in Nigeria. 5. To find out the extent to which Citizenship and Leadership Training programmes influence the emotional development qualities of youths in Nigeria. 6. To find out the extent to which Citizenship and Leadership Training programmes influence adventure skills development of youths in Nigeria.

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