EKPOMA – A professor of English Language, Isaac Elimimian has advocated for the establishment and development of an ethos-conscious society to curb rising incidence of crimes in the country.
He made the call while delivering the 74th Inaugural Lecture of the Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, Edo State, titled, “The Rhetoric of Ethos: A Weapon Against Crime” at the main campus of university in Ekpoma.
According to Prof. Elimimian, high ethical standard would engender less crime, as people with attributes of ethos were less likely to be involved in criminalities.
Elimimian opined that the cultivation and development of appropriate ethos can be far more rewarding and effective in the fight against crime than the power and the authority of the police, judiciary and other agencies and institutions of crime prevention.
He similarly suggested the promulgation of National Ethos Week (New) annually for character training, character development, character education and character building.
He added that the aim of the week would be to mobilise the citizenry in order to foster ethos awareness in all segments of the country’s populace for the purpose of inculcating moral values, as well as preventing crimes and other anti-social behaviours.
“We must establish and develop an ethos-conscious society whose mission would be to foster ethical values in the citizenry.
“I suggest that there should be a National Ethos Week (NEW), to be organised and funded by the government annually, whose primary focus would be character training, character development, character education and character building.
“The week should be an opportunity for every citizen to do something uniquely good or momentous, say, doing community work, rendering any act of kindness to a non-family member, or visiting the sick in the hospital”, he recommended.
He defined ethos as the nine cardinal virtues of justice, courage, temperance, magnificence, magnanimity, liberality, gentleness, prudence and wisdom, and concluded that anyone with good ethos was less likely to be involved in crime and criminalities.
