Dr Ben. Ajayi has many reasons to be angry about contemporary Nigeria. But I’m angrier. If biometric engineers had designed an “angrimeter” to quantify and measure anger, I would probably have scored twice as many marks as he would. In his article, ‘Big brother, Small brother – the random thoughts of an angry man’ on 10th October, 2019 he diverted the attention of Nigerians from his usual concerns on eye care and related matters to the very serious socio-political problem affecting our youths and, by implication, ‘You and Eye.’
The increasing rate of crime, particularly among the youth in Nigeria, is clearly a product of a rotten system. An environment characterized prominently by bogus and ostentatious life-style and arrogant display of mostly ill-gotten. wealth, that has brought out the big monster, called CORRUPTION, including the popular business fraud, locally code-named Four-One-Nine (419) of which ‘Yahooism’ is one of its offshoots.
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The inadequacies of both the government, the governed and the law enforcement agencies, all combined to generate apathy or some sort of negative attitude on the part of Nigeria’s policymakers, resulting in total neglect of the youths and their positive sides. They have had devastating consequences, among which is the present high rate of crime. For stability in the polity, it is essential for the government of the country to do much to prevent the anger of the youths. For one thing, the fear of the anger of the youths is the beginning of good governance.
For example, one of the priorities of the country’s annual budget should be the development and empowerment of the youths through the development of the industrial (manufacturing) sub-sector of the economy. This is in order to create more employment opportunities, particularly for the youths. Unfortunately, the 2020 budget has not really reflected this, despite its being tagged ‘budget of sustaining growth and job creation’. What will enhance the growth? What will create the jobs? How does the government expect to create jobs without first of all developing the relevant industries that will make this achievable? Government is expected to mention its plan on resuscitating the heavy engineering industries through its decisive and higher level of involvement in the MACHINE TOOL and the IRON & STEEL development and manufacturing industries. Two main objectives of these industries, particularly the MACHINE TOOL MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY are generation of downstream industries to create more employment and to enhance the diversification of the mono-source revenue of the country’s economy in oil. But nothing is mentioned of all these.
The sporadic efforts by the relevant law enforcement agencies, through clamping down on the ‘yahoo boys’ like the one done recently at Osogbo, believed to be largely prompted by Dr. Ben’s article, is not at all a solution to the problem of our youths living the life of crime. The problems must, first of all, have to be correctly identified, in order to enable the government to find the correct and permanent solutions to them.
I believe that the typical Nigerian youth is brilliant, hardworking, resourceful, innovative and adventurous. Unfortunately, he is a victim of circumstances – Nigeria’s ugly socio-political system. If all that it takes him to perfectly organize the negative yahoo business is properly tapped and harnessed, the talented Nigeria youth could be used for a positive purpose in national development.
It is the Nigerian system and the unfriendly environment that encourage crime. In many cases, mere peer influence, all of unemployment, poverty and hunger that are rampant in our society at present, may lead one to a life of crime. For the avoidance of doubt, the life of crime is absolutely antisocial and totally objectionable. It is not, at all, an acceptable alternative way of escaping from poverty and hunger. But despite the war of indiscipline and corruption, the stack reality of life in Nigeria today, is the desperation of the Nigerian youth to get rich quickly. Thus many embrace yahooism unmindful or just damning the consequences, as their own way out to economic emancipation and freedom in a society where, virtually, ‘money is everything’.
The good and consolatory news for Nigerians about our youths, are the reports often received about a good number of them, given the opportunity, are blazing trails in foreign countries, particularly in very sensitive aspects of their socio-economic life. Nigerian youths have proven relevant, dependable and indispensable in areas of Design, Research (social and technological) and Development, relevant to the plans for development and growth of those countries. Certainly, the environments in these countries have produced and encouraged the lucky Nigerian youths over there. Man is a large product of his environment and societal values.
With the talents of the Nigerian youth, a conducive environment, relevant educational system, regular and stable supply of electricity, adequate infrastructure, adequate security to life and property, good socio-political system, Nigeria too can bring out the genius in our youths. By providing a conducive work environment, the positive sides of our youth can move our nation to the next level of technological advancement. To treat them as criminals without rehabilitation of is to increase the numbers of jobless youth who will continue to drag us backwards.
Adepoju Adegite is a retired Chartered Mechanical Engineer. He writes from Osogbo
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