Restoring Nigeria’s Weakening Norms and Values through Folktale-Based Counselling and Linguistic Renewal

Abstract

In an era of intensifying global interconnectedness, the erosion of societal norms in modern Nigeria emerges as a systemic consequence of marginalising indigenous moral frameworks amidst the destabilising friction of globalised modernity. This normative vacuum, manifested in the rise of hyper-individualistic ideologies, declining communal ethics, and a collapse in academic discipline, demands a paradigm shift from reactive Eurocentric counselling toward a proactive model where the practitioner functions as a cultural mediator. By synthesising the psychodynamics of orality with sociocultural development theories, this position paper advocates for the revitalisation of Nigerian folktales as culturally grounded therapeutic tools within an Ethical Ontogeny framework. The study proposes the Orality to Cognition O C Protocol to operationalise the aesthetic power of oral tradition across domestic, institutional and digital spheres, facilitating a strategic migration of heritage into AI-driven platforms. This approach establishes the cognitive infrastructure essential for ethical reasoning, behavioural regulation and identity formation, effectively countering digital trends that subvert traditional authority. By treating the folktale as a dynamic speech act, the counsellor bridges ancestral heritage with modern psychosocial imperatives, offering a sustainable pathway for restoring moral consciousness and ensuring that Nigerian youth emerge as ethically grounded, communicatively proficient and culturally resilient global citizens.