The Fate Of The Nigerian Youth In Today’s Insecurity Crisis
By Idowu Precious (Babosha)
In Nigeria, the pursuit of education seems to prove itself to be a rather perilous journey, with unfortunate incidents threatening the very essence of learning. Students, the supposed torchbearers of the nation's future, find themselves ensnared in a web of insecurity they have trouble navigating. The recent series of events underscore a pressing need for immediate and decisive action from the government.
Consider the case of robbery recently recorded in Ile-Ife, Osun State at Moremi Estate. It happened during the wee hours of the morning, marking the third such attack in the area in just a few weeks. This attack was not exempt from injuries. A fourth year student of Obafemi Awolowo University, in the Department of Material Science, was left severely injured, sustaining a machete cut to the head. Other hostels and areas which include Oduduwa, Ede Road, Asherifa, and Parakin have also been attacked. In each of these places, students live in constant fear, making use of memes and comedic videos to ease the tension and seriousness of the unfortunate situation they've found themselves in.
Now, we ask, how did we get here? How did Nigeria become a country where students have to go to bed wondering who is next? Where hostel robberies are beginning to seem like the new trend?
However, robbery is not the only insecurity issue we are plagued with in this country. In the city of Ibadan, Kehinde Alade, a young schoolboy, had his life cut short by a stray bullet. He was in his father’s car with his twin while on the way to write a WAEC paper. Reports say the police were chasing them after the father allegedly refused to stop over a one-way traffic violation. A one-way lane violation, a trigger happy officer, a bullet and a promising young life lost. Just like that! Who answers for his death? Who will look his twin in the eye and explain why his brother,who had done nothing except prepare for his future, has had his light blown out untimely? Why have we been made to bury a teenager who had done nothing wrong except try to write his exams? Why has the country failed Kehinde Alade? Where is the value for life in this country?
Still, it doesn’t end there.
In states like Taraba, Ogun, and a few others, WAEC students were forced to resit an exam late at night because the original paper had supposedly been leaked. Instead of fixing the root of the problem, the solution was once again to punish the innocent.
These were teenagers writing a national exam at an hour they were all meant to be safely tucked in bed. They were made to write this paper in the dark, under the supervision of no one other than their tired teachers and parents, with no added security detail. They used torchlights, not because it was a creative challenge, but because there was simply no electricity provided. No generators. No security. Just young children subjected to such inhumane, unsafe and traumatic conditions. Yet again, we ask, what kind of country does this?
Would this have been the case if those affected were not just children of the poor and average citizen? If it had happened to the children of commissioners, ministers, or governors, there would have been swift answers, action, and genuine apologies. But because these were “ordinary” Nigerian children, no one blinked. Very few cared so much as to make tangible moves. The government carried on as usual while these young students suffered.
And now, we have questions to ask! Questions that are deserving of answers from the rightful authorities: Are Nigerian students not worth protecting? Why has the burden of a broken system been placed on children who are just trying to survive it? How many more Kehindes will have to die before someone is held accountable? Why are we always being told to “hold on,” “endure,” and “manage,” when those in power live completely different lives from us? When would the struggle of the youths be finally seen and attended to? Is our presence even recognized? Why have our supposed protectors completely deserted us? When will all these end?
We are told constantly that we are the leaders of tomorrow. But what is tomorrow in a country where young people are being systematically broken today? What is tomorrow in a country where insecurity has become part of our syllabus?
Pain is now a subject we all take and silence has been made the price of survival.
There is a saying that when the youth of a nation live in fear, the nation is already defeated. Nigerian youths are living that reality. They've been robbed in their homes, shot on their streets, and stripped of their dignity in their schools.
And what do we hear in response? Nothing but recycled statements, empty condolences, and press releases written with the same lifeless copy-and-paste urgency that says: “We are aware and investigating.” “We are shocked and deeply saddened by this occurrence."
However, what we want is not awareness. We want protection.
We don’t want condolences. We want answers.
We don’t want another candlelight post on social media. We are tired of all that, we want to live long enough to graduate. We want to live long enough to see our dreams manifest into reality. We want to live long enough to lead the tomorrow we've been promised is ours.
The truth is bitter, but it must be said.
This country does not care enough about its young people. If it did, a student would not have his skull cracked open with a machete. A teenager would not be murdered over a traffic violation. Our younh ones would not be writing midnight exams by torchlight.
As such, we ask again, and we won’t stop asking until we are provided with satisfactory answers. Is Nigeria at war with its own children? Are we really considered to be leaders of tomorrow or just seen as extras?
Remember, if things continue this way, the tomorrow we are meant to lead may come but there would be no one to lead it.
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