A WELCOME ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, NIGERIAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, PROF. OLUKAYODE AFOLABI, FNPA, AT THE 2022 NATIONAL CONGRESS AND SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE OF THE ASSOCIATION HELD BETWEEN AUGUST 24 – 26, 2022 AT LAGOS STATE UNIVERSITY, OJO, LAGOS STATE
PROTOCOL,
It is with great joy and sense of satisfaction that I welcome you all the 2022 National Congress and Scientific Conference of the Nigerian Psychological Association. Let me appreciate the Almighty God who has granted us the privilege of life and the enablement to see this day, while mourning those of our very outstanding colleagues who have departed this life within the past one year. I sincerely thank the chairman and members of the planning committee of this year’s conference for their efforts and commitments to ensuring the successful hosting of this year’s Conference. It has come at a very trying moment for the academic system in Nigeria and indeed for the entire Nigerian citizenry. Whilst thanking God for journey mercies granted us to be here, I appreciate all for the huge sacrifices made to come. The economic reality in our country is saddening and disheartening.
Our theme for this year’s National Congress and Scientific Conference is “Psychology, Security, and Sustainable Development”. To my mind, this theme has come in its most appropriate time; a time when our dear country-Nigeria is facing her greatest security challenges in the history of its existence. A time when our security apparatuses and facilities are easily, frequently and successfully attacked and the culprits go free, a time when our security personnel are looking for who can secure them, a time the Commander-in-Chief’s convey and secuty guards are being attacked and killed, a time when thousands of citizens are being kidnapped and tortured on daily basis with the perpetrators making videos without being confronted, a time when citizens are kidnapped and huge amounts paid as ransoms yet victims are killed, a time when sales of human parts have become a lucrative business and the dealers appear untouchable, and in deed, a time when government appears helpless in protecting lives and properties. It is a time when murder and other forms of violent crimes have almost become the norm. It started as militancy, followed by insurgency, and now metamorphosed into banditry. We cannot tell what the next name and form it will take!
At the moment, the human, educational, economic, social, and infrastructural developments of our country have been thwarted. The already existing structures have been destroyed, some Nigerians who could have continued with more developments have been killed or maimed, and the expatriates who could have come in to help in developing the country will not think of coming because of the security risks in the country. Every facet of the Nigerian existence has been negatively affected and sustainable development is far. Yet Nigeria exists in a community of nations who are making daily progress and development. The nations of the world are not waiting; Nigeria may be left behind in terms of development majorly because of the current situation in the country.
However, ladies and gentlemen, to say the governments of Nigeria have not done anything to remedy the security situation of the country especially in about the past 12 years will be unfair and a disservice to the governments. They appear to have done their best! It is just that “their best” does not seem to have yielded the desired results. The security challenges happen to get worse by the day; more precious lives are being wasted. This reality points to the fact that there is something lacking in the approach of our government in tackling the security challenges of the Nigerian State. It is suggestible that one major thing lacking is the application of psychological principles in the tackling of our security challenges. This conference is therefore designed to set the stage for the promulgation of psychology and psychological principles as a panacea for the security challenges facing Nigeria at the moment. It is intended to provide the platform for cross fertilization of ideas by Nigerian psychologists and other experts to proffer lasting solutions to the security problems facing Nigeria presently. So far, Nigeria is Psychology deficit! Most of the security outfits are managed without professional psychologists. To continue with the present arrangement is like doing the same over and over yet expecting a different result. There is need to try something different, namely, introducing and injecting psychology into the Nigerian security battle.
Fellow Nigerians, there is an urgent need to involve psychologists in the recruitment, selection, training, deployment, placement, retraining, promotion, retirement, and disengagement of our security personnel. There is also a need for a higher level of sincerity on the part of government functionaries and the leadership of the military and paramilitary in the fight against violent and non-violent criminals in Nigeria. Persons with perceived, suspected, and/or proven dubious characters should be shown the way out of the system. Moreover, there is need to raise a military and paramilitary which is void of tribalism, nepotism, god-fatherism, and religious sentiments. There is need to rework the intelligence units of our military and paramilitary outfits to meet the present-day challenges, whilst ensuring that the acquisition of weapons is not politicized but done by men who value the interest of the country above all else. In all, psychologists can be of help!
May I use this opportunity to remind the honourable members of our National and State Assemblies and the President of our country, of the Psychology Bill which is before them now and call on them to ensure its speedy transmission to the President for his assent. The import of the Psychology Bill to the security and other sectors of the Nigerian State cannot be over-emphasized. We cannot afford to continue to run Nigeria without Psychology. It is this Bill that will establish the Council for Psychologists in Nigeria, regulate the practice of the profession, check quackery which the profession is suffering at the moment, and also provides legal backing for psychologists in Nigeria to perform their professional duties. Without the passage of this Bill into law, it will be difficult for psychologist in Nigeria to function maximally.
Distinguished psychologists, while calling on government to give a thought and place Psychology and Psychologists where they actually belong, I want to call on us as psychologists to become battle-ready. To achieve this, I want to call on Departments of Psychology in our institutions of learning to review their curricular to meet the present-day security realities and other challenges in the country. Those who are already teaching and/or practising should be willing to undertake refresher courses to becoming more relevant in the scheme. The current leadership is working on how to achieve this. In addition, the training of psychologists at undergraduate and postgraduate levels should be done with excellence in focus.
Finally, let me appreciate our distinguished invitees for choosing to honour our invitation and make this occasion great. Particularly, I thank His Excellency, the Governor of Lagos State-Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, our Honourable Guess Speaker-Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, our Lead Paper Presenter and Nigeria’s Inspector-General of Police-IGP Alkali Usman, President, Pan African Psychology Union (PAPU) -Prof. Saths Cooper, our distinguished Chief Host and Vice Chancellor, Lagos State University-Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, for her support in all ways including our Host and Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences-Prof. Olufunsho Omobitan. I cannot forget to appreciate our representative on the Local Organising Committee, LOC, Dr Mrs Deborah Temidayo Asake Adewuyi and all her team for the success of this conference. I wish to specially thank the Chairman of this occasion, a former President of the Association and President-Elect, PAPU-Prof. Andrew Zamani for making out time to attend this occasion. We do not take your presence for granted sir. On behalf the National Executive Council and members of the Association, I say: thank you. It is our earnest desire and prayer that in your different capacities, you will help us to complete the process of signing the Psychology Bill into law.
Lastly, I thank the members of Board of Trustees led by Prof Tunde Makanju, our Fellows and leaders, the National Executive Council, our DISTINGUISHED members, all our dear students and every participant at this conference and wish you all a rewarding participation. I welcome you all and thank you for your attention.
