CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
The threat of indecent dressing in many Nigerian universities has got to a worrying proportion. It has come to be so pervasive that those who dress decently are considered as abnormal or uncivilised members of the university community. Some university students, particularly the female students are practically going naked all for fashion. They have invented an unusual sub-culture of nudity in public places with their desperate attempts to be fashionable. The majority of campuses are drowning in morally offensive and sexually provocative dressing. One can barely distinguish between some male and female university students and hard-core urban street thugs and prostitutes respectively.
A few of these young people that dress indecently appear not to understand the saying that "one should dress the way one would certainly wish to be addressed". Efforts by some older members of society to correct this unfavorable pattern have not just become ineffective however have likewise presented them in a very bad light as primitive, uncivilised, naive and abnormal members of society. A few of such adults have learnt to cope with the worrisome development by adopting the approach of "looking - the - other - way" and turning a blind-eye to the misadventure of the youths the majority of whom are really prepared to pounce on anybody that dares make an uncomplimentary remark on their dressing. Sadly, there are some parents that do not just dress indecently but likewise encourage their children in the university to dress indecently by either sending money to them to get such dresses or going to the market to get it for them.
Indecent dressing boils to high rates of promiscuity and immoral behaviours. Women have sold their womanhood by subjecting their womanhood parts of the body like breasts and butts. They are not handled with care. They do expose them at random. Indecent dressing comes to be apparent with increase of pornography in magazine as Sorensen (2003) specifies "this is explaining the idea that indecent dressing has turned into an advert slogan". The youths are always affected by pornography due to the fact that they develop desire and need to practice and experience whatever they see in the newspaper, videos, magazines, televisions and more.
According to Egwim (2010), mentioned that that the issue of falling academic standard is a significant one that needs immediate and serious solution since students' academic performance impacts the high quality of human resources within the society. Clothing on the other hand is just one of the three major basic needs of man. A number of cultures pay specific attention to their dressing and Nigeria is no exemption. Odeleye 2008 mentioned that appropriate dressing is a typical socio-cultural standard that requires no authority to enforce compliance. He stated further that the cultural sanctity put on acceptable societal way of dressing has been upturned and conscipicously changed by obscene habits of half nakedness and nudity by introduction of new culture or cultural diffusion from the western world. Societally acceptable dressing is adjudged to be a part of human life due to the fact that it elicits respects and protects a person's dignity (Yahaya, 2013).
Olori (2011) assumed that indecent appearances have come to characterize the dressing pattern of many female undergraduate students on the campuses of Higher learning in Nigeria. Aside from the skimpy and tight-fitting nature of these dresses, the majority of them are transparent; exposing certain parts of the bodies that under normal dressing pattern should be hidden away from the glare of individuals (Adeboye, 2012). This has generated lots of issue and concern amongst stakeholders in our institution of higher learning. It was this issue that gave birth to this research study. It has been tailored to investigate moral implications of indecent dressing in campuses of Nigeria universities.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Indecent dressing, which has hydra-headed beginning in modern society, has come to be a source of concern in Nigeria. In spite of that there are no widely approved kinds of wearing, dresses are supposed to serve specific goals (Imoh as mentioned in Akpan, 2018). The idea of revealing the important part of the body to draw attention of the opposite sex proved that our morality has considerably been devalued. Researchers have identified indecent dressing as one of the main reasons of current assaults and sexual assault in society (Oga, 2016; Omorogiuwa, 2018). This trend, usually referred to as "dress to kill," is incredibly popular among students in higher education, especially females (Omorogiuwa, 2020), who dress with the objective of appearing "sexy," "attractive," and appealing to the opposite sex as opposed to dressing responsibly. According to Odeleye (2008), good dressing is a natural socio-cultural standard that does not need enforcement. There are different styles of wearing; nonetheless, certain styles or appearances are considered obscene or unsuitable in society, which is a problem. Some of the issues are negative performances on their academics, lack of concentration of lecturers and male students. Indecent outfit, like a few of the other social vices like drug abuse, prostitution, as well as cultism, has now come to be a major moral blunder amongst undergraduates not just within the citadel of higher learning or in a specific geopolitical zone, however throughout Nigeria's higher education institutions. It is against this backdrop that this study investigates moral implications of indecent dressing in campuses of Nigeria universities.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
This study aimed at exploring moral implications of indecent dressing in campuses of Nigeria universities. Specifically, the objectives of this study include:
i) To identify the forms of indecent dressing among undergraduates in higher institutions of learning in Nigeria.
ii) To study the effects of indecent dressing on youths’ morality in the society
iii) To explore the effects of indecent dressing on dressing on students’ academic performance.
1.4 Research Questions
The followings are the research questions for this study
i) What are the forms of indecent dressing among undergraduates in higher institutions of learning in Nigeria?
ii) What are the effects of indecent dressing on youths’ morality in the society?
iii) What are the effects of indecent dressing on youths’ morality?
1.5 Significance of the Study
The study will help to bring to the fore the negative educational and sociological implications of indecent dressing in the university system. Furthermore, the study will suggest effective strategies for curbing the menace of indecent dressing in our universities. Lastly, students, scholars and researchers who may be interested in related studies will find the study handy for literature review.
1.6 Scope of the Study
This study explores moral implications of indecent dressing in campuses of Nigeria universities. This study will cover undergraduate students of University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Kwara State.
1.7 Definitions of Terms
The following terms were used in the course of this study:
Dress: A piece of clothing that cover someone’s’ body
Decent Dressing: This is proper way of dressing or the generally accepted way of dressing without exposing vital parts of the human body.
Indecent Dressing: This is an improper and provocative way of dressing relative to the society or culture in which it is being perpetrated
