By Solomon Adewunmi
Society is in a dilemma, the people are helpless and the authorities seem not to be perturbed over the continuous display of traits, behavior and attitude devoid of tendencies that produced great men and women of generations before the present.
Indeed, parents today, surprisingly, encourage their children, both male and female, to embrace means of livelihood considered not to be friendly with the laws of the land.
Indeed, armed robbery, kidnapping(for ransom and ritual purposes), child trafficking/sales, rape, prostitution, swindling among others is the delight of the criminally minded, in a society weighed down with the high rate of unemployment, hunger and poverty.
In Ibadan, the capital of Oyo state, women(married, single and divorced) operating beer parlours, joints, use their children, other people’s children and financially challenged ladies(adults and minors) to boost their daily revenue.
Sadly, rape and defilement of minors have continued in the ancient city unabated, despite the arrest and prosecution of offenders.
Curiously, products and students of tertiary institutions of learning are major players in the crime industry.
In the words of the Chairman of Academic Staff Union of Universities(ASUU), SegunAjiboye, the National Association of Nigerian Students(NANS) lacks focus at the national level. Prompting Nigerian students to engage in crime to move on. Perhaps.
Dr. Ajiboye stresses that educational certificates should be defended, while warning that any political organization that pursues political agenda, only becomes part of the problem and not the solution.
The ASUU Chairman argued that the union embarked on its industrial action to reverse the retrogressive nature of education in the country and win back the confidence of Nigerians in the learning process.
For the Chairman, Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities(NASU), Comrade Fatoki Olusola-Cole, trade unions have always provided solutions to the problems in the education sector, but government has always ignored such solutions.
”The problems posed by the youth today, it is not ASUU or NASU that are the problems, it is government. It is not our joy to see these students half baked. It would not be to the benefit of the nation, if we turn out half baked graduates. Education should have its own way”, Comrade Olusola- Cole declared.
The NASU Chairman appealed to government to wake up to its fundamental responsibility.
Of worry, is the fact that political office holders now equip their foot soldiers with uniforms of corpers(National Youth Service Corps) to perpetrate evil. At the Oyo state office of the NYSC, an official in the public relations office declined comments on the issue, while disclosing that the headquarters of the NYSC was in a better position to comment.
In March 2013, three teenage secondary school leavers were arraigned before a Magistrate court for allegedly raping a 17 year old girl at the Akobo area of the city.
However, the public relation office of the Polytechnic Ibadan, Alhaji Soladoye Adewole argued that the first point of socialization, when a child is born is the nuclear family.
”Here we are not concerned about politics , we are only concerned about governance. We are concerned about how we relate with the government of the day. And we are concerned about how effectively we are able to carry out government policies. Government policy in the area of training polytechnic students. And policy by regulatory bodies such as the National Board for Technical Education. We don’t do political science here”.
”And even if we do political science, they are not going to politicians for their internship. So if any student is involved in political activities,that is on his own, it doesn’t have any direct relationship with the management of this institution”.
”We cannot generalize, it is not every youth that is involved in crime, there are a lot of them, who are involved in clean activities, that bring them legitimate money or income. All the same government should be more involved in activities that would create employment” Alhaji Adewole concluded.
At the onset of the administration in Oyo state, government promised all the students’ unions of all the higher institutions in the state buses and ”patronage”. The state government has since fulfilled its promise.
Indeed, there are difficulties, when the labour force are unhappy and students are eager to learn.
To this extent, the Vice President of the Senior Staff Association of Universities(SSANU), Comrade Alfred Jimoh, says”my members are not happy, government has always handled matters unsatisfactorily. Government should adequately fund the education sector.
Howvere, Comrade Joseph Babatunde, Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers(NUT) Oyo state chapter, who seems to agree with the SSANU Vice President, lamented that Teachers, who retired in 2011/2012, had to wait for several months before they could be placed on pension.
”This is not encouraging, we are not happy, we are not comfortable. These anomalies should be put behind us. There are still a lot of grounds to cover. Rome was not built in a day. There is always room for progress. We are not the worst”, Comrade Babatunde stated.
He goes on to blame the worrisome state of moral decadence on the society,”as far as the present society is concerned, morality can go to blazes. There is nothing to show that we are ready for positive change”.
Interestingly, a considerable number of mothers bring up their female children with vulgar language, revealing and suggestive dresses and wayward attitude and lifestyle.
For the Caretaker Chairman of Ona-ara Local Government, Alhaji Ismail Oyetunde the rehabilitation of primary schools, provision of instructional materials, skills acquisition, training and economic empowerment of youths in the local government area, would redirect the thought of the youths to legitimate means of acquiring wealth, other than crime.
In the views of Akin Omolola, the General Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of Young Men’s Christian Association(YMCA)Ibadan, the future is bright for the Nigerian youth.
”As long as we continue to have young people, we have a future because, they remain the future of the nation, in whatever organization. In Nigeria we have young people, even if the elders are spoiling some of them, we still have a future. So it depends on how we take care of our present situation, that will give us a better future. So there is a future whether good or bad, depending on the way we treat our young people presently”.
”We need help, and most of the times we ae always looking up to God, whereas in our midst, we need people, who will help the situation, in order to have a better future. Young people are taking to crimes today, they must have learnt these crimes from somewhere. Some people are sponsoring them because the of hunger and poverty we are having now in the land. A young person now, is already thinking of how to get millions of naira without working, because they look at people that it appears that they are not working, they are not doing anything so spectacular and they are living like millionaires. In that situation, what are we telling the young people, we are telling them that anybody can cheat and go scot free. Anything happens and that is Nigeria, you can do whatever you like to make money and nobody is asking where the money comes from. So for the issue of hunger, we are poor in the midst of plenty. To address the poverty level, the government has to come up with a social structure, to the extent that the life of every citizen is considered important.
Omolola insists that his organization places great emphasis on the development of the youth.” Ours is 170 years of service to young people all over the world. Everything about the YMCA is about the youths. And even the elders are coming, you are coming to work so that we can have a better future for our young people. In Ibadan we concentrate on printing, we have vocational training for carpentry, in Kaduna, it is for machine tools, it is a community thing”, he concluded.
For Dr,(Mrs) Olufunke Olaleye, Chairperson Mathematics Association of Nigeria (MAN)Oyo state chapter, the future of the children remain bleak, as long as their parents fail to inculcate the right morals and values in them.
”If we don’st train them very well, this will affect their future. Education is very important, if the children know the importance of education, they will progress in life. Criminality does not pay. There is no joy in criminality. There is joy in education”, Dr. Olaleye stated.
Indeed, a sizable number of Teacher might not be qualified to impart the right knowledge, those who are qualified do not possess the technicalities to perform optimally.
This reflects in the quality of education children receive. What does the future hold for the young at heart ? Nobody knows.
”We cannot generalize, it is not every youth that is involved in crime, there are a lot of them, who are involved in clean activities, that bring them legitimate money or income. All the same government should be more involved in activities that would create employment” Alhaji Adewole concluded.
At the onset of the administration in Oyo state, government promised all the students’ unions of all the higher institutions in the state buses and ”patronage”. The state government has since fulfilled its promise.
Indeed, there are difficulties, when the labour force are unhappy and students are eager to learn.
To this extent, the Vice President of the Senior Staff Association of Universities(SSANU), Comrade Alfred Jimoh, says”my members are not happy, government has always handled matters unsatisfactorily. Government should adequately fund the education sector.
Howvere, Comrade Joseph Babatunde, Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers(NUT) Oyo state chapter, who seems to agree with the SSANU Vice President, lamented that Teachers, who retired in 2011/2012, had to wait for several months before they could be placed on pension.
”This is not encouraging, we are not happy, we are not comfortable. These anomalies should be put behind us. There are still a lot of grounds to cover. Rome was not built in a day. There is always room for progress. We are not the worst”, Comrade Babatunde stated.
He goes on to blame the worrisome state of moral decadence on the society,”as far as the present society is concerned, morality can go to blazes. There is nothing to show that we are ready for positive change”.
Interestingly, a considerable number of mothers bring up their female children with vulgar language, revealing and suggestive dresses and wayward attitude and lifestyle.
For the Caretaker Chairman of Ona-ara Local Government, Alhaji Ismail Oyetunde the rehabilitation of primary schools, provision of instructional materials, skills acquisition, training and economic empowerment of youths in the local government area, would redirect the thought of the youths to legitimate means of acquiring wealth, other than crime.
In the views of Akin Omolola, the General Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of Young Men’s Christian Association(YMCA)Ibadan, the future is bright for the Nigerian youth.
”As long as we continue to have young people, we have a future because, they remain the future of the nation, in whatever organization. In Nigeria we have young people, even if the elders are spoiling some of them, we still have a future. So it depends on how we take care of our present situation, that will give us a better future. So there is a future whether good or bad, depending on the way we treat our young people presently”.
”We need help, and most of the times we ae always looking up to God, whereas in our midst, we need people, who will help the situation, in order to have a better future. Young people are taking to crimes today, they must have learnt these crimes from somewhere. Some people are sponsoring them because the of hunger and poverty we are having now in the land. A young person now, is already thinking of how to get millions of naira without working, because they look at people that it appears that they are not working, they are not doing anything so spectacular and they are living like millionaires. In that situation, what are we telling the young people, we are telling them that anybody can cheat and go scot free. Anything happens and that is Nigeria, you can do whatever you like to make money and nobody is asking where the money comes from. So for the issue of hunger, we are poor in the midst of plenty. To address the poverty level, the government has to come up with a social structure, to the extent that the life of every citizen is considered important.
Omolola insists that his organization places great emphasis on the development of the youth.” Ours is 170 years of service to young people all over the world. Everything about the YMCA is about the youths. And even the elders are coming, you are coming to work so that we can have a better future for our young people. In Ibadan we concentrate on printing, we have vocational training for carpentry, in Kaduna, it is for machine tools, it is a community thing”, he concluded.
For Dr,(Mrs) Olufunke Olaleye, Chairperson Mathematics Association of Nigeria (MAN)Oyo state chapter, the future of the children remain bleak, as long as their parents fail to inculcate the right morals and values in them.
”If we don’st train them very well, this will affect their future. Education is very important, if the children know the importance of education, they will progress in life. Criminality does not pay. There is no joy in criminality. There is joy in education”, Dr. Olaleye stated.
Indeed, a sizable number of Teacher might not be qualified to impart the right knowledge, those who are qualified do not possess the technicalities to perform optimally.
This reflects in the quality of education children receive. What does the future hold for the young at heart ? Nobody knows.
