EXAMINING THE CAUSES AND IMPLICATION OF INDECENT DRESSING AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Dressing refers to the process of putting on clothing. The aim of wearing clothing on the body is to shield, beautify, or adorn it. Clothes are one of man's most important needs. In its broadest sense, it refers to a wide variety of materials that man wears or applies to his body. Dresses, shoes, jewelry, hairstyles, and make-up are all examples of clothing. Clothing is also used to demonstrate people's social status and positions in society (Obeta & Uwah, 2015), as cited in Confidence E. (2019). They went on to say that the clothing a person chooses to wear affects the opinion others have of them. It also says about the person's relatives. It can also have an effect on a person's comfort and self-esteem. An individual's dressing pattern is a type of "sign language" that communicates a complete collection of information and is typically the basis for forming immediate perceptions (Omede, 2011) cited in Confidence E. (2019). However, as essential as dressing and clothing is, youths and university students have been dragged to mud.

Indecent dressing simply means deliberate exposure of one's body to the public.This practice is contrary to the acceptable norms and values of the society. Egwim (2010) cited in Confidence E.(2019) referred to indecent dressing in a more specific term as the attitude of someone, male or female that dresses to showoff parts of the body such as the breasts, buttocks or even the underwear particularly those of the ladies that need to be covered. This exposure is obviously a deliberate act to look sensuous, tantalizing and stimulating so as to draw the attention of the opposite sex and is more prevalent among singles (unmarried women and men). This form of dressing is provocative, improper and unacceptable. These dress patterns are morally offensive and reveals the high rate of moral decadence in the society of our time.Indecent dressing is the major cause of the various assault and sexual harassment recorded in the society,over time. In  a nation like Nigeria  that is endowed with varieties of culture and traditions, it is annoying seeing this culture and traditions going into extinction.  Indecent dressing is an habit embraced by all ages in the society. It has been inculcated by both the young and the old. It is common among celebrities and among university undergraduates.

There isn't a single higher education institution in this country that isn't dealing with this revolting problem. The way students dress seductively on these campuses of learning, especially female students, leaves a lot to be desired. The skirts that the girls wear are just "one inch" longer than their pants. When they put on those dresses, they have trouble sitting down, climbing machines, crossing gutters, and picking something from the ground. Aside from the skimpy and close fitting design of these garments, they are often translucent, exposing some parts of the bodies that should be shielded away from the glare of people under usual dressing patterns. In the case of boys, their dress style differs. It makes them appear filthy and unattractive, with unkempt hair and dirty jeans with pockets of holes purposefully made around the knees and the lower part of the trousers allowed to flow on the ground because they go through their heels into their legs as socks (Omede, 2011) Confidence E.(2019). The waist of their trousers are lowered and fastened tightly at the middle of the two bottom lobes to reveal their boxers (pants). And when they are walking, they drag their legs and one of their hands particularly, the left one, cupping their invisible scrotum as if they will fall to the ground if not supported. Many of them because of how they dressed had at one time or the other become victims of rape, lured into prostitution, used for ritual purpose, unable to complete their education or training and also engaged in other ancillary social and moral problems like cultism and lying to mention these few. Therefore it is upon this premise that this study is set to examine the causes and implication of indecent dressing among undergraduate students in Nigeria.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

It is increasingly becoming obvious that indecent dressing has gradually taken over the dress pattern of students in higher institutions of learning.Research reveals that these wrongful and improper dressings of undergraduate students have a high tendency to impact negatively on their academic performance as the output of male lecturers, most especially, can be reduced when they concentrate on watching such provocative dressings during lectures. Female students, on the other hand, spend so much money on buying such useless dresses instead of spending them on their academic work. Their indecent dressing also makes them patronize discotheques, night clubs, brothels and hotels where they can have fun at the expense of their studies. There is also the possibility that some male lecturers, or even female lecturers, will fall victim to such seductive dressings, resulting in sexual favors between the lecturers on one side. This is clearly a barrier to quality education; as a result, students will be unable to perform to the expectations of their prospective employers, resulting in a loss of revenue to the state.Quite apart from that, poor performance of students as a result of indecent dressing can be linked to unemployment of half-baked graduates. This is so because students who dress indecently have divided attention to their studies and are therefore unable to receive adequate practical training, which is a prerequisite for employment (after graduation) by most companies. And because such companies are not ready to spend extra money training such partially groomed graduates, they latter find themselves joining the unemployed graduate crew. However, this is not surprising given the wide gap between policy formulation and implementation that is typical of most Nigerian administrators. Indecent dressing, even though it is not accepted as normality, is seen to be gaining ascendancy. With this increase in moral decadency, one wonders what will become of society tomorrow with the caliber of students that are being trained. If rules are made for people, they are supposed to be adequately informed about why such rules are made. It is therefore, against this backdrop that this study aimed to investigate the causes and implications of indecent dressing among undergraduate students in Nigeria.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The main objective of this study is to investigate the causes and implications of indecent dressing among undergraduate students in Nigeria. Specifically, it is set to

1. To investigate the various forms of indecent dressing among Nigerian undergraduates.
2. To determine the causes of indecent dressing among undergraduate students in Nigeria
3. To investigate if indecent dressing has any significant impact on the academic performance of undergraduates
4. To propose potential solutions to reduce the prevalence of indecent dressing among Nigerian undergraduates.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions guide the study.

1. What are the different types of indecent dressing in Nigerian universities?
2. What are the causes/motive of indecent dressing among undergraduate students in Nigeria?
3. Do you think indecent dressing has any significant impact on the academic performance of undergraduates?
4. What are the potential solutions for reducing the level of indecent dressing among Nigerian undergraduates?

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study will be significant to educational stakeholders in university communities, lecturers, and university students as a whole,. To educational stakeholders, the study will enable them to develop policies inside the student handbook that will explicitly kick against indecent dressing and set up a task force to ensure effective implementation. For lecturers, the study will enlighten them on the need to be on guard by helping the management to ensure no student dressed indecently enters their lecture. To students, the study will serve as an eye opener to them on the short and long term effects of indecent dressing. More so, this study will contribute to existing literature, serving as a reference material to both students and academia in related studies.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope of this study dwells on investigating the causes and implications of indecent dressing among undergraduate students in Nigeria. It investigates the forms of indecent dressing among undergraduates at Nigeria Universities. It will determine if indecent dressing has any significant impact on the academic performance of undergraduates. It will propose potential solutions to reduce the prevalence of indecent dressing among Nigerian undergraduates.The research is restricted to the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) in River State.

1.7 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The following factors pose a limitation during the course of this research.

Financial constraint– Insufficient funds tend to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

Time constraint– The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted to research work.

Unwillingness of Respondent: Owing to the fact that this study is a very sensitive matter, most of the respondents were unwilling to respond accept the instrument while only a few educated and enlightened people accepted the questionnaire and responded accordingly

1.8 DEFNITION OF TERMS

Decent: conforming with generally accepted standards of respectable or moral behaviour.

Dressing: Dressing is an act of covering the body with clothes. It is also known as clothing, which means items worn on the body to beautify, decorate or cover the body. 

Indecent Dressing: Indecent dressing simply means deliberate exposure of one's body to the public. This practice is contrary to the acceptable norms and values of society.

Undergraduate: An undergraduate is a college or university student who is not a graduate student.

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