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The Nature And Consequence Of Labeling Deviant In Nigeria
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
The security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of Government (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999). But in Nigeria today the state and citizens are subjected to violations of core values and norms, and exposed to danger even by the very governments that are maintained with their taxes. The problem of security is more disturbing because government functions have been personalized by the ruling class, and national interest and security of the nation have been equated with interest of the privileged class and elites. It is common knowledge that the security organizations have distorted views of their constitutional roles, their commitment to the people of this nation, and their tendencies to be part and parcel of different regimes’ illegalities, oppression, exploitation and extortion of the common citizens (Imobighe, 2003). Deviance or crime is concerned with the process whereby values, beliefs, norms, actions or conditions come to be viewed as deviant or criminal by others. Deviance and crime can be observed by the negative, stigmatizing social reaction of others towards these violations. Criminality, corruption, conflict, cultism, violence and terrorism, and all illegalities, oppression, exploitation and extortion of the common man, can be deviant behaviours. The issue of power cannot be divorced from a definition of deviance or crime because some groups in society can deviantize or criminalize the actions of another group by using their influence on legislations (Goode, 2004). Psychopaths and sociopaths are some of the favourite “deviants†in contemporary popular culture. From Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, to Dr. Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, to Dexter Morgan in Dexter, to Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock and Elementary, the figure of the dangerous individual who lives among us provides a fascinating fictional figure. Psychopathy and sociopathy both refer to personality disorders that involve anti-social behaviour, diminished empathy, and lack of inhibitions. In clinical analysis, these analytical categories should be distinguished from psychosis, which is a condition involving a debilitating break with reality. Psychopaths and sociopaths are often able to manage their condition and pass as “normal†citizens, although their capacity for manipulation and cruelty can have devastating consequences for people around them. The term psychopathy is often used to emphasize that the source of the disorder is internal, based on psychological, biological, or genetic factors, whereas sociopathy is used to emphasize predominant social factors in the disorder: the social or familial sources of its development and the inability to be social or abide by societal rules (Hare 1999). In this sense sociopathy would be the sociological disease par excellence. It entails an incapacity for companionship (socius), yet many accounts of sociopaths describe them as being charming, attractively confident, and outgoing (Hare 1999).
Society is made up of individuals who share common culture, and occupy a particular geographical area, (Zanden, 1996). Notwithstanding the fact that, socialization process is a powerful mechanism, that shapes the behavior of people of, and living in the same society, the distinctive, and unique nature of human personality, make individuals from the same society to behave differently. As a result, some members of one, and the same society conform to the expected patterns of behavior, as dictated by culture of that society whereas, others deviate. Deviation from norms, and rules is what is referred to as deviance, and crime respectively. Conventionally, societies do not allow deviation, and crime unchecked. They do reward comformity for re- enforcement purposes, and condemn deviation for deterrence, and corrective reasons. According to Clinard and Meier, (1998), The notion of deviance is connected to that of social control, possibly because an act that violates a group’s norm is usually followed by the group’s reaction or sanction in a negative form.Chukwukere, (undated), argued that, as long as human society comprises individuals, and the relationship between these individuals components is generally guided by cultural norms and rules of behavior, and as long as the cultural norms are never observed by all the people involved in the society, culture must take deep interest in the diverse processes of social control. Chukwukere’s argument is cogent, taking into cognizance the constituted interplay between society and culture and the influence of the culture via socialization especially, culture’s tendency to impose social sanctions, by rewarding conformity, and punishing deviance.Tanimu, (2003),maintained the ubiquitous nature of deviance. Thus, it becomes an illusion to anticipate comformity by all members of the society.
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ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]The aim of the article is to provide a theoretical nexus between social values, deviance and security in Nigeria. In Nigeria today, society at large is threatened by deviance, crime, conflict and violence which are violations of societal values and norms of security and welfare of the citizenry. People now show an increased interest in personal well-being and a decreased interest in the welfare of others. Citizens are not safe and secure on the streets, in their homes and offices. The paper posi ... Continue reading---
