Youth

Worried by the ugly fashion trend among youths, both public and private higher institutions in the country map out strategies to control what they wear

|  By Anayo Ezugwu  |  Apr. 8, 2013 @ 01:00 GMT

INDECENT dressing has become fashionable in Nigeria. For this reason, there is no desire among youths to look decent and presentable. Investigations have revealed that some higher institutions of learning which are uncomfortable with this trend of madness in the country have mapped out strategies to control what the youths wear. One of their strategies is through inculcating in them moral virtues.

For instance, the University of Lagos, University of Benin, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, ESUT, and some private and public universities in the country have prohibited students from wearing crazy dresses on campuses. These institutions have threatened to expel any student caught with such wears.

Meanwhile, some Nigerians have shared their views on the effect of this fashion craze among the youths in the society. Oyindamola Ojuolape, a student of the University of Lagos, said that indecent dressing particularly among the youths has created a negative trademark. According to Ojuolape, indecent dressing is a mark of irresponsibility and radicalism that is common in the campus. “You lose your decency when you dress indecently, it makes you look cheap. These days you can no longer walk down a street without seeing someone who dresses in a stupid manner and this is particularly common among young ladies especially the undergraduates like me,” she said.

Nkechi Eloka, a teacher, is not impressed with such sense of fashion. Her disapproval stems from the fact that it exposes the person of the woman. It would be good, she said, if they wear something that would cover their critical body parts. But it is doubtful if many youths would heed such advice. “I visited a saloon recently and there were about six girls inside before I came in. They were all backing me, I didn’t see their faces immediately, but I could tell the colours of their under wears. With this trend, there is a problem in the society which needs to be tackled urgently before it influences the younger generations,” she said.

Sanni Omobamidele, a fashion designer in Lagos, said that fashion is a good thing because it makes an individual unique and classy. According to him, fashion has been abused in Nigeria by the youths especially by celebrities, young ladies and even married women. “It is good to look good but when your look has a negative influence on other people around you, it becomes evil. We youths have abused fashion to the extent that we don’t even consider what fits us anymore,” he said, adding that parents should be able to monitor what their children wear in order to help fight this ugly trend in the society.

Austine Okechukwu, pastor of the Ambassadors of Christ Ministries, Lagos, said that religious leaders have a role to play to arrest the ugly trend of indecent dressing among the youths. He believes that religious leaders must come together to preach against indecent dressing and to enforce dress codes among their congregations. “Whether we realise it or not, it’s only the religious bodies that would enable us to reduce this trend in our society. If we don’t stop people dressing in an improper way from entering the church, others will not change. I believe that our daily decisions as to what we wear are shaped, at least to a larger extent, by the fashion in vogue, but we can change this perception through enforcement of a dress code among our congregations,” he said.

Steven Alumona, a sociologist, said the increase in rape cases in the country was as a result of indecent dressing among the youths. He explained that there was no reason why a child from a good home should dress crazily, keep dreadlocks and pierce his or her ears all in the name of fashion. “Nowadays, different styles of dressing are in vogue such as low waist, hot bosom and sagging among others. It’s now a habit embraced by all ages in our society. It has been inculcated by both the young and the old. But it’s mainly common among celebrities, particularly among artistes. This set of people, while on stage, will want to look unique and in the process turned themselves into lunatics. They wear tattered jeans with holes, tight fitting shirt, some even go to the extent of wearing ordinary pant while on stage. All this is the outcome of juvenile delinquency. Most of the under-aged children engage in early sex as a result of what they watch on television as well as what they see among their older siblings. Sadly, most ladies have been sexually abused because of their mode of dressing,” he said.

He lamented the effect of this crazy style of dressing on the culture and tradition of Nigeria. He said that if nothing is done, local attires would go into extinction. “In a nation that is endowed with varieties of culture and tradition, it is annoying to see our culture and tradition going into extinction. Nigerians find it difficult to dress in their local attire as this is regarded as old and archaic.”

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