A lot of parents are agonising over their children. They are in pain because the bad behaviour of the children is terribly weighing them down. The bible in Proverbs 22:6 enjoins parents to train children in the way of the Lord, assuring that they would not depart from that path. The scripture may look very simple but it is very deep. It requires all parents to train, direct, give instructions, be positive and do their best for the child to be spiritually, emotionally and sustainably equipped in life.
But seeing what is happening today, it appears that this scripture is not getting full effect in most homes. Despite the push of parents to give expression to the scripture, the more it appears that children are not imbibing the training – going by what they do. It is as if the children are listening more to the devil than their parents.
Recently, I got into a discussion with a colleague on current teenage tendencies. My colleague said: “My mother of late has turned the rhetoric and keeps saying that gone are the days when people look at a child and say, your mother did not train you. The acceptable norm today is ‘Are children allowing their parents to train them?’ Put another way, if this generation of teenagers are obedient ones, are they paying attention to words of wisdom their parents tell. Or have they decided to ignore the admonition of parents and embrace vices?
How did the spirit of Get-Rich-Quick syndrome become part of the societal norm, especially among teenagers and youths? They want to be seen with exotic cars, have the most expensive phones; wear the best designer outfits and costly perfumes, jewelleries and more. In the quest to get these things, the boys go into money making rituals while teenage girls go into pure prostitution.
The social media was wash with the viral story about two teenagers who allegedly killed over 70 girls. Recounting how they did it, one of them said: “All we need is to rent fancy cars and spend money.” What a life! What is the way out, youths of this country? Who told you that shedding innocent blood is the only way to make it big and be happy in life? Teenagers, I tell you one can make it positively because first class brains do not look for work, rather they are sought after. Are you allowing your parents to train you or you now consider them to be old school and know nothing anymore. Are you now smarter than your parents?
Do you talk about the shocking case of Rofiat Kehinde who was killed by her boyfriend, Soliu Majekodunmi and three others at Oke Aregba area of Abeokuta in Ogun State recently? The teenage boys are 17-year-old Wariz Oladeinde, Abdulgafar 19, and Mustakeem Balogun 20. Soliu had sexual intercourse with Rofiat and afterwards strangled her with the aid of his friends; cut off her head and burnt same in a local pot, supposedly for money ritual, but nemesis caught up with them a local community guard sighted what they were doing and reported to the police at Adatan. The teenagers were all arrested. In police custody they described the sordid details of how they cut of the victim’s head. Poor girl in unexpected painful death! “We wanted to use just her head for money ritual,” one of them further said. How did this get-rich-quick demon take so deep hold on our children?
Now zoom to Owerri, Imo State, from where another an unsightly video showed some suspected internet fraudsters eating bread at a popular junction close to the Imo State University. The two men could be seen allegedly defecating publicly in a plastic bowl and using their own excreta as margarine to eat their bread. Who had ever heard of this kind of thing before? But driven by the devil, these young ones chose to do so, all in the inordinate quest to make money. How on earth can one do such unimaginable thing? When in the 90’s fraudsters were alleged to have pounded new born babies in the mortar for rituals, the mere mention of it made the blood curdle. After the video went viral, the two men took to the social media to explain that that what happened at the location was a mere a caricature. Why would one go to such extend to make a skit?
With the way things are going, the unfolding crisis may consume all because no one knows who would be the next victim of ritual killing.
Without a doubt politicians who loot public treasury and constituency project funds, to finance their opulent lifestyles are part of the problem, because teenagers and youths see as their role models. Biut in reality, such politicians are ‘robbery role models.’ Role models used to be accomplished men and women who were upright in character, had integrity and had no blemish.
In some sense the artiste who sang the song, ‘If you no get money, hide your face’ clearly lit the fuse that set off the bomb. He partly bears responsibility for what we are seeing now. That song fired up misguided youths to make money by any means, to buy good cars and live in state-of-the-art houses. As a result, they do not want to hide their faces. Instead they want to showcase their faces by making money anyhow.
Again, are some celebrities really qualified to be so regarded? When most of the ladies borrow designer clothes known as ‘wear and return’, bone-straight hair and exotic cars just to show off on social media, some advertise that they have a million followers, yet they are wretched. Most of you so celebrities subjecting yourselves liposuction surgeries, who are you trying to attract? When you are invited to events, you ask for appearance fee. That is the manifestation of your wretchedness and greed, which you are spreading for the young ones to learn. Which young one’s hand are you holding to lift up or is that all do is to wear clothes and shoes? What do you think you are teaching the younger generation? How to borrow to look big and live a fake life? Too bad! The seed you sowed has germinated and growing rapidly.
I suppose the prosperity preachers are seeing the extent of damage they have caused this nation. Every message is about wealth with or without any means of livelihood. Members who have no job would not be encouraged to sit up and start something small and see how God would prosper the venture. One hardly hears genuine heavenly messages of the old that leads to sober reflection. Most of the men on the pulpit chose to be the biggest criminals of our time; little wonder, a good number of them are seen as mere beggars who feed on women as their cheap prey. Pastors of such ilk engage in ungodly relationships with opposite gender, aid and abate crimes, worship rich men and women in their churches and neglect the poor ones. These are shameless preachers who often end up in police custody. You are not free from the ills of the society because the messages you pour out from the pulpit are not pure.
As with prosperity preachers so it is with the battalion of motivation speakers, men and women who do not repeat clothes by choice, are you normal? Speakers who deviate from encouraging others to work hard, instead, tell them how to move a mountain to make money cunningly thereby empowering them to steal.
My dear teenagers, though it has been rough and tough, but you can turn a new leaf after reading this piece. Those who have shed blood already for ritual purposes your case is in the hand of God. Those who are nursing and considering committing such crimes, desist from it because when the long arm of the law catches up with you, you will live in shame and regret all the days of your life. There is nothing as good as keeping your hands clean. An adage says, ‘good name is better that wealth.’ Do not be proud of what you know, because there are things that others know which you do not know. More importantly, allow your parents to train you for the glory of God. That way you will be a blessing to your parents, community and the general society.