INCULCATING ISLAMIC EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION: A CATHOLICON TOWARDS RESTORATION OF PEACE AMONG THE MUSLIM YOUTHS IN LAGOS STATE

Abstrak

The serial degrees of youth involvement in criminal-violent cases in the Lagos state metropolis, through kidnapping, political thuggery, ritual killings for getting rich quick syndrome, vandalization of public properties at violent outbreak such as the case of #end-sars# saga, cultism among others, is highly condemnable. This situation has drawn the attention of concern individuals and corporate organizations within the state on the loss lives and other innocent citizens could not only be protected but also be guaranteed. Hence, since one of the fundamental objectives of including Islamic education in the Nigerian national curriculum is to inculcate religious beliefs and acceptable cultural behavior in the minds of the learners which is termed to mean tarbiyyah in Arabic language (nurturing or educating morally) regardless of level of their individual learner’s socio-cultural background. It is on this basis that this paper set to investigate the cases of youth violent in Lagos society, its causes and effects. Further, it examines the efficacy of Islamic early childhood education and its impact on Muslim youths towards reducing the menace of youth violence in Lagos State. The paper employs a survey and meta-analysis of relevant literature including Qur’an and traditions of the noble Prophet (saw). It also x-rayed the potential of Islamic principles in curbing the problem of youth violence. The study used a survey design with a questionnaire distributed among a hundred (100) randomly sampled size that comprises of the twenty (20) teachers and eighty (80) students. The investigation carried out revealed the scriptural strength of both Qur’an and hadith as tools for managing insecurity when the ideals of Islamic teachings is inculcated early. Thus the study recommends that, teaching of Islamic ideals at early stage of a child is key in promoting a peaceful and violence-free society.