ETHICS AND VALUES EDUCATION: A PANACEA FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Ethics and moral values entail gaining the strength and independence to act in accordance with what is “moral†even if the “right†way is the more complicated one. To this end, ethics and values should be the heartthrob of any nation that desires the actualization of sustainable development. But the modern global dispensation has had its toll on the moral lives of the people and this has brought about a dwindling in the perception of people on what constitute morality. Be that as it may, for Nigeria to be safe and our environment conducive, we must not joke with ethics and values. Rather, we must hold in high esteem the moral development of our children from the age of 3 to 15. This is true because when they grow up, children constantly acquire new cognitive and motorical skills. At the same time, they get a sense of morality. Regrettably however, there have been cases of injustice, corruption, militancy, insurgencies, and other criminal groups parading themselves around the country. These show that moral laxity has become the order of the day. Even those in government are also culpable as many of them are corrupt and inept. The import of all these is that morality which should have been the parameter for controlling these vices no longer functions. This study therefore, posits that for there to be sanity in our social and moral lives as a nation, we must covet the principles enshrined in ethics and values as there cannot be development in a situation where ethics and values is not given its pride of place in the country.