Moral Obligations of

Citizens and Re-orientation

of National Values
 Introduction
• The import of this topic is to reveal those
values that unite Nigerian peoples in shared
understanding and direction of purpose while
providing clarity for the challenges ahead.
Major Western theorists who stress the
importance of values in sociological studies
include Max Weber, Talcott Parsons and
Jurgen Habermas. Issues of morality also
feature prominently in the works and writing
of Emilie Durkheim - “Sociology of morality”.
• It is important to establish that national
values have the power to elevate, enrich
and fulfill human hearts and minds. It is
aimed at making the citizens of any
nation loyal, patriotic, altruistic and
honest. Our people by expectation
should love this land and its esteemed
heritage. They should display their
allegiance at home and abroad, in the
office and in public.
• They should deal with utmost care and
attention the nation’s property ranging
from roads and buildings to all
educational, medical, research and other
social amenities built by tax payers’
money for which the government and
the people are answerable.
• At the end of this lecture, students
should be able to understand clearly
the concept of moral obligation and
national values. They would be able
to better appreciate Nigeria as their
country and have a richer
understanding of what is expected of
them as citizens of Nigeria.
 Moral Obligation
• To have a clearer understanding of the
concept of “moral obligation” there is a
need to first of all understand each of
the word that makes up the concept.
One of the words is “moral”. Many
people make use of the term “moral”
without really understanding what it
really meant.
• The word moral was derived from an
old French word moral and the Latin
word moralis which is translated to
mean “proper behavior of a person
in society”. Issues of morality and
moral principles should occupy the
center stage in any attempt at the
value reorientation of Nigerian
citizens.
• Morality is a word that refers to
proper behavior or manners. It has
been viewed as the ability to
differentiate between right and
wrong or what may be termed
acceptable and unacceptable
behavior in society.
• Turner (2010) conceived of morality as
“cultural codes that specify what is right
or wrong, good or bad, or acceptable or
unacceptable in a society”.In Durkheim’s
“Sociology of morality”, much emphasis
was laid on the moral bind that brings
about social cohesion, collective
consciousness and a sense of
brotherliness.
• People are bound together through a
common system of rules and regulations
during interactions. Durkheim was of the
view that morality controls and integrates
members of a society thereby generating
what he refers to as “social solidarity”
(Durkheim, 1961). Morals therefore can be
taken to mean conforming to a standard of
right behavior sanctioned by one’s
conscience or ethical judgment.
• Obligation on the other hand
literally connotes some form
of expectation or what a
person is bound or obliged to
do. It can also be referred to
as one’s duty or responsibility
towards something.
• These two terms (moral obligation) taken
together therefore may simply be viewed as
an act or duty arising out of consideration
of right and wrong. It conveys a sense of
commitment to something. It can also be
viewed as a set of code by which a person
lives. As Nigeria’s citizens, moral obligations
should be viewed as a duty that one owes
the country.
 
 National Value
Issues of value are closely related to issues of
morals and morality because it also emphasizes
what is acceptable and unacceptable. Henslin
(2006) viewed a people’s value as the standard
or yardstick by which people define what is
good and bad, beautiful and ugly. To him, the
value of a people represents their ideas of what
is desirable in life. Our values thus determine
our preferences, guides our choices and indicate
what we hold worthwhile in life (Henslin, 2006).
• Andersen and Taylor (2002) also saw
values as the abstract standards in a
society or group that define ideal
principles. For them, although values are
abstract, they provide a general outline for
behavior. Social values form an important
part of the culture of any society and it
accounts for the stability of social order
while providing a general guideline for
social conduct (Mondal, 2014).
• Such values as sacrifice, equality, patriotism,
loyalty, respect for human dignity and
fundamental rights direct our actions and
behavior in several ways. Values represent the
criteria by which our daily life is being
assessed. People from time to time assess
their behavior, set their priorities and choose
between alternative course of action using
existing social value as a standard (Mondal,
2014).
 Classification of Values
• Human values
Values are an integral part of every culture. Along
with beliefs and worldview assumptions, they
generate behavior. Being part of a culture that
shares a common core set of values creates
expectations and predictability without which a
culture would disintegrate and its members
would lose their personal identity and sense of
worth. Values tell people what is good, beneficial,
important, useful, beautiful, desirable and
appropriate.
• They answer the question of why people
do what they do. Values help people solve
common human problems for survival.
Over time, they become the roots of
traditions that groups of people find
important in their day to day lives. Values
can be positive or negative; some are
destructive. To understand people of other
cultures, we must come to understand the
values, beliefs and assumptions that
motivate their behavior.
 Cultural Values
• Groups, societies or cultures have values that are
largely shared by their members. The values
identify those objects, conditions or
characteristics that members of the society
consider important; that is, valuable. In the
United States, for example values might include
material comfort, wealth competition,
individualism or religiosity. The values of a
society can often be identified by identifying
those people who receive honor or respect as a
result of a particular feat. In the US for example,
professional athletes at the top levels in some
sports are honored (in the form of monetary
payment) more than college professors.
• Surveys show that voters in the United States
would be reluctant to elect an atheist as a
president, suggesting that belief in God is a value.
There is a difference between value clarification
and cognitive moral education. Value
clarification is “helping people clarify what their
lives are for and what is worth working for.
Students are encouraged to define their own
values and understand others values. Cognitive
moral education moral education is based on the
belief that students should learn to value things
like democracy and justice as their moral
reasoning develops.
• Values are related to the norms of a
culture , but they are more general and
abstract than norms. Norms are rules for
behavior in specific situations while
values identify what should be judged as
good or evil.
• Flying the national flag on holiday is a norm,
but it reflects the value of patriotism. Wearing
dark clothing and appearing solemn are
normative behaviors at a funeral. They reflect
the values of respect and support of friends
and family. Different cultures reflect different
values. Over the last three decades, traditional
age college students have shown an increased
interest in personal well being and a decreased
interest in the welfare of others. Values
seemed to have changed , affecting the beliefs
and attitudes of college students
• Members take part in a culture even
if each members personal values do
not entirely agree with some of the
normative values sanctioned in the
culture. This reflects an individual’s
ability to synthesize and extract
aspects valuable to them from the
multiple subcultures they belong to.
• If a group member expresses a value
that is in serious conflict with a group’s
norm, the group’s authority may carry
out various ways of encouraging
conformity or stigmatizing the non-
conforming behavior of its members.
For example, imprisonment can result
from conflict with social norms that
have been established as law.
 TYPES OF NATIONAL VALUES
National values can be divided into three and these include:
• The core values a group or society hold with the purpose of
attaining the set goals for progress, peace and harmony of the
body polity
• Protected values enshrined in the rules, standards and
certification and that which concern the societal health,
environment and safety
• And lastly, created values which include all benefits expected
by the citizenry from the social system. It involves supports
anticipated by the citizens or demands placed on the society
towards ameliorating the plight of the common man.
•
 CATEGORIES OF NATIONAL VALUES
• Nigerian personal value consists of values held
and applied by the individual only.
• Values driving national culture encompasses all
values affecting either a group/community
/society. These may be reflective of moral
code/law /constitution.
• Anticipated values for national development
directed at the future of national interest.
 NATIONAL VALUES AND CITIZENSHIP
DUTIES
National values transformed into citizenship duties , these duties as
provided by Nigeria’s constitution include:
• To abide by the constitution and respect its ideals and institutions,
the national flag and the national anthem;
• To cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national
struggle for freedom;
• To uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of Nigeria;
• To defend the country and render national service when called upon
to do so ;
• To promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood
amongst all the people of Nigeria transcending religious, linguistic
and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices
derogatory to the dignity of women;
• To value and preserve the rich heritage of our
composite culture;
• To protect and improve the natural environment
including forest, lakes, rivers and wild life, and to
have compassion for living creatures;
• To develop the scientific temper, humanism and
the spirit of inquiry and reform;
• To safeguard public property and to abjure
violence ;
• To strive towards excellence in all spheres of
individual and collective activity so that the
nation constantly rises to high levels of endeavor
and achievement
IMPORTANCE OF NATIONAL VALUES
• National values are meant to inform
government, public agencies and corporations
about what is most important to Nigerians. It is
directed at initiating policies and creating
alignment. It creates a forum where people
unanimously agree on those social ills plaguing
the nation such as the dearth of political
leadership and the question of corruption
affecting the entire politico-economic
environment.
•  
• The unanimity of purpose towards achieving
outright accountability for achieving outright
accountability forms one of the national
values of Nigerian peoples. Other national
values include:
• respect and care for the elderly
• fostering peace
• Concern for future generation
 Conclusion
• Value remains an internal driver directing
people on what is best for the smooth sail of
any country in this modern dispensation.