DRESS CODE AND NIGERIAN CAMPUSES

A lawless society is one without codes of conduct. Nigerian campuses as a mini society have witnessed some level of lawlessness in the area of dressing. It is without doubt that certificates are supposed to be awarded in character and learning but it’s appalling how those who give out these degrees close an eye to character while dishing out the ‘prized papers’.

Dressing or our dress code is that aspect of our character that we show to a stranger on first encounter; it is the first descriptive power we hand an outsider regards to our character. Dressing alone speaks volume of a person's personality because every dress has an accompanying interpretation. I presume this is why bankers adopt dress codes as means of identifying them wherever they go.

Nigerian campuses in present times have turned into a runway for 'models' to show off their clothes or sexy body as the case may be. Besides those faculties that have issued a strict dress code adherence, it is not uncommon to walk into a lecture hall and not find a dude putting on shorts or another brandishing chest hair and ill looking braids or a damsel putting on strap gowns showing cleavages that should otherwise be left hidden. Those that feign to dress properly end up putting on tight fitted clothing that projects their curves. It is obvious that most students have failed to understand how the human minds wander on certain sights.

There is a quote that says, ‘the way you dress is the way you are addressed’, and how do you expect people not to confuse you with what your appearance tells of you? The rising tide of rape and sexual harassment in campuses is one of those crimes that have a strong bond with the mode of dressing among Nigerian students because it is the colourful display of the petals of flowers that attracts flies to the nectar. Ladies expose too much that they tend to draw visitors to ‘explore’. In this case, unwanted visitors. Youths of today simply copy everything portrayed on the media without asking the basic question, ‘WHY’. This is made evident when a guy or a lady puts on a party wear to lecture halls.

Casting back to when I was in school, there was this incident that won’t easily be forgotten with time. Some terror gang robed a shop in the campus close to where we sat. When the police arrived, they took my friend because he was dressed from head to toe in black leather wears. This is one of the numerous cases of mistaken identity which most students often find themselves because of their attire.

As a student, I was often preoccupied during lectures from watching the dress some of my female colleagues brought to class. Some were just so bad a sight to behold but it’s so unfortunate the eyes are the hardest part of the body to control. I am sure the lecturers also had a feel of the distraction to some degree.

  Campuses are now centres for fashion contests. Most students walk the extra mile to meet up with the current trend in campus showbiz. In the process, some fabricate lies to squeeze out money from their innocent parents, instilling in them the horrible notion that cost of education is on the high side. It is often based on these erroneous ideologies that most unenlightened parents beat their chest in market places that it is very expensive to train a child through campus. Other students will prefer to do it the hard way by going into crime to fund their dream looks which in turn sky-rockets the crime wave in campuses.

The main problem here is that those at the top of affairs who are supposed to act as guide to these young minds shy away from their responsibilities with the vague excuse and assumption that someone in a higher institution of learning is mature enough to know the dos and don’ts. This is a total fallacy as they tend to forget in a hurry that learning never ends.

If dressing truly depicts character and identity, what stops our campuses from having a good identity? Why won’t one walk into a Nigerian campus and at a glance differentiate the students from the visitors? Why should students’ mode of dressing in our campuses be an eye sore? The time is ripe for some of the 'whys' to be answered and the right answer in this case should begin with the introduction of dress code in all Nigerian campuses.

Every action sparks up a corresponding chain reaction. In this light, assuming dress code is introduced and implemented; crimes in the form of rape will have been cut down. Theft will also witness a downward adjustment to some extent because most of the campus robbers use their loot to upgrade their looks. If we spend so much time molding great minds, why can’t character follow simultaneously?