Almost every boy I knew joined either the Boy’s Scout or its younger cousin, the Boy’s Brigade during my primary school years. It was the thing to do and the place to belong, so we didn’t have to think too hard about it. Besides, it was also the fun thing to do. There was the camaraderie, there was the freedom, and there were the occasional boyish pranks that made the discipline of it all fun. With captive years of 7-10 years, the aim of the guilds was to teach leadership skills to the very young in a way that would make them a second nature. Many of us might not have been conscious of these lofty aims at the time, but we almost all came away with practical skills. We learnt, for example, how to lace shoes, tie scarfs, tie ropes and erect camping tents. We learnt also about collaborating with other boys to achieve set goals. Most of these practical lessons are forever etched in the memories of many of us. What I didn’t realise is that the pledge which we were all made to memorise at the time, is still edged in the memory of some of us, six decades after!!

I was recently discussing the values we had growing up with an old friend. We talked about a Nigeria where honour was more important than wealth, especially sudden wealth. We compared our time with today where almost everything is centered around money, and how people circumvent regulations these days without batting an eye. Growing up, a cheat was a cheat; a thief was a thief; it didn’t matter if they were not caught red-handed. The society in our clime lost respect for those whose lifestyle was shady. Today, only those caught are the ‘barawos.’ Today, it is not only seen as being ‘smart’ to use the system to further your own nest, you are believed to be ‘stupid’ if you can’t translate a position of authority into stupendous wealth for yourself. In our society today, those who opt for the straight and narrow have unwittingly opted for a life of poverty and possibly derision. This was the general direction of our discussion, the theme of our lamentation song, when he bought up the issue of honor and the Boy’s Scout. I asked him if he still remembered The Pledge and he unhesitatingly reeled off his school’s version of it. ‘The ‘Boy’s Scout Pledge as taught at 12th Lagos Island Troop, Holy Cross Primary School, 1959’ he said with pride. “On my honor, I promise to do my best, to do my duty to God and to my country, Nigeria. To help other people at all times and to obey the Scout law”. My friend was barely a 7 year-old kid at the time and he still remembers!

It is curious that so much premium was placed on honor, even for seven, eight year-old kids. The promise to do their best, to do their duty to God and country was premised on honor. It is curious but not really surprising because honor was the currency of the times then. The yeah and the nay in those days were premised on honor. Your word was your bond and your character your C.V. Only people of straw would do things that would put their honor into disrepute. For clarity, honor is defined as ‘the quality of knowing and doing what is morally right’. Integrity, its Siamese twin, is defined as ‘the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles’. The common key word to both is morality which is defined as ‘concerned with the principles of right and wrong behavior’. Unfortunately, it is a word that is becoming extinct in our dear country. Starting from our political leaders who believe morality in politics to be a sign of weakness and a recipe for failure, the lack of morality has permeated the entire fabric of the society. From low crimes and misdemeanors like running traffic lights, jumping queues, falsifying age documents to high crimes like transferring State funds to personal accounts, Nigerians have become so Machiavellian that nothing is too low for them as long as they can get away with it. A mentor, who carried himself so honorably during his corporate sojourn that he was variously described as Mr Integrity, once said that he believed many people would do the right thing if they knew they were being watched and would be held accountable for their actions. The difference with him was that he had always believed God watches and would hold everyone accountable for their actions. Nigeria is a very religious country. Our belief in an omnipotent, omniscient God is almost absolute. Yet, Nigerians have managed to convince themselves that no eye – heavenly or earthly – is on them, evaluating their actions. Or that a ledger for everyone with its entries of debit for bad deeds and credit for good deeds has not been opened in the heavenly realm. There is saying that even if the earthly King does not see you, the heavenly One, to whom we shall all give account is watching.

I believe Nigerians would behave differently if people, whatever their station in life, could somehow be made to realise that they would ultimately be held responsible for their actions. Or that honor, whatever is left of it in the country, could be resuscitated if we started naming and shaming public offenders. But first, we must enthrone law and order over the affairs of the country.

Speaking of law and order, I wish to conclude by using a rejoinder to an earlier article (Investments; Shouldn’t charity begin at home?) by a close friend who has given me permission to so do. “The real elephant in the room is Law and Order. We have failed to maintain Law and Order and this has had its effects on business, attitudes and everything that fosters progress. Policing is non-existent. What we have is a privatized group of enforcers ready to do the bidding of anyone with ready cash. The judiciary and unification of the country have also not been helpful. Most Nigerians are finding it difficult to manage labour under their own roofs not to talk of factories. House helps, drivers and other dependents will sell off anything you hardly use around the house to roving pawn merchants. The distrust and complete breakdown of ethics and values are among the reasons Nigerians are reluctant to invest at home. Forget whatever you cannot do by yourself for now. The President is better advised to restructure the country into manageable units that will answer to our intellectual, economic, social and cultural needs. The President himself needs to be deliberate and slow down on acts of ostentation, either by himself or members of his family. All these issues are interwoven….’ — Ayo Osunloye.

•Muyiwa Adetiba is a veteran journalist and publisher. He can be reached viatitbits2012@yahoo.com