The Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, has called on the Governor of Ekiti State, Biodun Oyebanji, to ban what he described as the indecent and harmful culture of ‘sign-out parties’ among students of primary, secondary and Tertiary Institutions in the state.
Issa-Onilu, who condemned the practice, noted that sign-out celebrations had increasingly become a breeding ground for immorality, drug abuse and violence.
According to him, some students resort to taking drugs to boost their confidence on sign-out days, while others take advantage of the occasion to settle scores through violent attacks or inter-school clashes.
The DG, stated this on Wednesday in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital at a press conference to flag off the 2-week nationwide enlightenment campaign on: ‘National Value Re-Orientation for Students of Secondary Schools and Tertiary Institutions against sign-out extreme practice, National Campaign on Flood Mitigation, National Enlightenment Campaign on Government Policies and Activities, National Campaign on National Identity Project and National Symbols; and National Security Awareness Campaign’.
Issa-Onilu, represented by the National Director, NOA’s Civic Values and Democracy Education, Dr Olukemi Afolayan warned that pretending such vices do not exist would amount to doing great harm to the younger generation.
She urged Governor Oyebanji to take decisive action by banning the practice, which she described as “very common in Ekiti,” stressing that it has no cultural or moral value and must not be allowed to thrive.
Her words, “Sign-out has become a common practice among students, but the manner in which it is conducted raises serious concerns.
“It is not decent for boys to sign on sensitive parts of girls’ bodies, such as their breasts and buttocks and we strongly frown against this.
“In addition, many students resort to the use of drugs during sign-out ceremonies in order to boost their confidence.
“Some also use the day as an opportunity to carry out acts of revenge, leading to inter-school clashes and violent confrontations.
“If we continue to pretend that these issues do not exist, we will be causing long-term damage to our children. This is why we are appealing to the Ekiti State Government to place a ban on the sign-out practice, which has unfortunately become very common across the state”.
