Nigeria is in deep trouble and urgent action is needed to pull the youths out of certain doom; there is need to pull them out of cultism, drug abuse and sexual rascality.
To attempt the task, church leaders came together in Port Harcourt last weekend and condemned the ugly trend of mass recruitment of children into cultism and bloody clashes, saying most killings are now carried out by very young children.
The clerics therefore, declared in unison; “Never again shall parents bury their young ones in our land! Never again shall the lives and destinies of our young ones be cut down in their prime”.
The declaration was led by the Bishop of Evo Diocese (Anglican Communion), Innocent U Ordu. This was the highlight of a keynote address at the school hall meeting organised by the Directorate of Civic and Political Affairs of the church.
Speaking on the theme of the school hall meeting held at the Bishop Crowther Memorial Boys Secondary School (BCMBSS) opposite Shell headquarters in Rumubiakani in Port Harcourt, the bishop said: “No more shall our young be cast. No more shall young ones in our midst allow themselves to be deceived and be destroyed. The time to act is now”.
The signs parents should look out for include: physical marks/sears, increased spending, sudden new friends, utmost secrecy, security consciousness, violent disposition, lies, and keeping late nights.
Ordu, who narrated how his roommate in his university years was found to be a cultist when a gleaming sword was discovered in his box, said cultists did their best to hide their membership those good days. Now, he said, little young pupils even in primary schools in parts of the Niger Delta boldly proclaim their membership and openly hack people down. He said cult-related violence has been spiking in the national dailies to unprecedented levels, saying law enforcement agencies could hardly cope anymore.
Ordu named campus prostitution or ‘Aristos’ as new trend that has taken over the universities, which simply means supplying young girls to rich men. He regretted that when government dignitaries visit a city, it is university girls that are supplied to the VIPs as ‘gifts’.
Enumerating factors boosting cult membership and prostitution, the bishop named ego and the hunger for relevance. “You don’t need to be a cultist or armed robber to be relevant,” he said. He also said peer-group pressure was another factor, greed for material benefits, loneliness, laziness with ignorance, unfounded promises, threats, and influence of cultist parents were other causes.
For blames, the cleric said everyone was guilty. He however, traced the upsurge to the return of politics in 1999. He laid the blame squarely at the doorsteps of families. “Today, many parents do not have time for their children; they are careless about their development, what they do and the kind of friends they move with. They do not look for the initial signs. Instead, they pamper and pet their children even when what they are doing is wrong”.
He said: “Our dear country is in deep trouble if urgent attention is not taken to safeguard the future of our youths. Who provides the platform for such reforms to start, when it is the same politicians, schools, and churches, parents and society that are responsible for the waste that ravages our youths today?”
He urged the youths to shun violence and evil acts. “Because of the enormous fetish practices involved, especially during initiation, cultists do irreversible spiritual harm to themselves including madness.
Some resource persons who spoke on drug addiction said about 50 percent of Nigerian youths were now into one form of drug addiction or the other, saying some parts of the north post over 70 percent. They said drugs as chemical substances alter the balance of opinion of the addicts, especially the youth. They said the role of ego between id and super-ego is diminished such that addicts no longer exercise caution but see danger as normal. Drug abuse was mentioned as the mother of all evils. Some join the ring as addicts seeking to take a draw or as pushers seeking wealth fast.
Drugs experts revealed troubling statistics, saying whereas sexually transmitted diseases claimed 1.5 percent of the youths in Nigeria, HIV/AIDS claimed 5.2 percent whereas drugs swallowed between 40 and 50 percent of the over 100 million youths in Nigeria.
The experts mentioned courage and recklessness on the part of youths who they said were already enthusiastic and often reckless in conduct and could go through the roof if drugs were added. It was mentioned that the US had long ago warned Nigeria to beware of its citizens become couriers, saying it was a prelude to turning the country into a consumption society.
It was further revealed that drugs business and the Rivers State political violence had a connection. Experts said drugs took the centre stage before political thuggery feasted on it only for militancy and bunkering to absorb them. Now, they said, the drugs people and cultists of yesterday are transforming into the new political and traditional rulers of today.
Many solutions were suggested but it was made clear that the future actually belonged to the few youths that would stay away from drugs, shun cultism, and refrain from sexual rascality.
“These will allow ego to do its job and help them think with balance. These will take over the next generation. But they may have many problems on their hands burying those who will destroy themselves and destroy others”.
On sexual rascality among the youths, Uchenna Nduka, a resource person, described it as banana peel of the youth, but said wise youths escape from the temptation. She gave tips on how the youths can escape from being raped. She warned youths against joining cult groups, saying; “If you belong, you won’t live long”.
An engineer, Paul Amen, speaking on challenges of new trends in cult activities, said: “Cultism makes you lose your identity. That is their mission.”
In his opening remarks, the head of the Directorate, Chuka Opara, a canon, lamented that precious children were daily going down out of ignorance and that a lot of water was passing under the bridge. “Many young ones now follow the wrong way. So, we want to open their eyes to reality”.
Ignatius Chukwu
