Social Work in Contemporary Nigerian Society

Challenges and Prospects

Abstract

Around the world today new and challenging issues and problems are arising within the field of social work. In contemporary Nigerian society social work is faced with increasing challenges which also affect and shape its prospects. Within the frame of these emerging issues, social workers are anticipated to bring answers to these daunting questions. To do this, social workers are called upon to develop and add certain new extras to the usual methods of doing social work. They must become innovative in their approach to tackling, solving, ameliorating and managing these new and contemporary issues and problems. Although the call for the indigenisation of social approach would help rediscover the cultural perspective of social problems of the people, there is a need to understand what is being indigenised. Social work in Nigeria today needs to adopt an intercultural and innovative approaches to solve social problems instead of relying solely on the traditional methods. Examples of innovative ways that was suggested include; professionalization of social work in Nigeria, retraining of social workers, improvement in social work training curriculum and encouraging the use of new media and ICT in social work practice and education.