There’s a growing trend that is worrying. A new generation of young people have stumbled on money. Loads of it. Some legitimately; many, not so legitimate(ly).
With money comes wisdom or folly. With hard earned money comes wisdom. Mostly! But ill gotten wealth engenders folly. Mostly!
Recently, I stumbled on a short video that went viral on social media. Some young boys were sexually molesting a young lady on camera.
Someone was foolish enough to molest a young lady, and another was even more foolish to have had the entire scenario documented.
The video was so barbaric, I couldn’t bear to see it all. After my research, I discovered that the event took place in March 2019.
Some boys (allegedly Yahoo boys) had taken a certain young lady to a native doctor when they discovered an iPhone belonging to one of them had gone missing.
And after the native doctor confirmed that the girl had actually stolen the iPhone, the boys took it upon themselves to make her confess to the crime by beating her and inserting pepper in her private part. Thank God the suspects were caught and arrested afterwards (see video of the ITV report on this https://youtu.be/T8mOQAa4LHY).
These boys were people of means. They had money, and they felt they could do whatever they wanted to another human being because of that.
An elderly man once said to me, “Fada Ose, choose your friends wisely”. I say the same to my dear young friends today. Please choose your friends wisely.
Having lived in the midst of many of these young folks who suddenly stumbled on wealth, I know firsthand that many of them are ticking time bombs.
They drive their insanely expensive cars recklessly, have little or no regard for moral codes, and spit words that make civil minds recoil.
It is true that ‘Nigeria’ has turned us to sitting ducks. In our economically comatose state, dreams die before they are born, ideas never take flight, and life itself is “nasty, brutish and short”.
But this isn’t enough reason to cut corners. I have a dream that one day our government will rise to her responsibilities and provide jobs for the teeming population of talented young Nigerians.
I have a dream that the many young people who are making money through legitimate means will one day inspire a new generation of responsible youth who won’t kill, maim, kidnap, defraud or resort to robbery to make ends meet.
I have a dream that many of our young men will one day learn to respect women as equals, treat them fairly, and not see them as mere means to ends; objects to be used and dumped.
I have a dream that one day our young ladies will pay more attention to self development, exploit legitimate business opportunities and stay at the cutting edge of development in their various fields, without depending on some boy to make their lives work.
I have a dream that someday, we will rise beyond defining ourselves with the size of our bank accounts, but with the value we’ve been able to impact on those around us and our society at large.
I have a DREAM!
Oselumhense Anetor, 2021.
