The race to be socially accepted is leading many people to their downfall. Young people who should ordinarily be at peace with themselves are deeply troubled by the needless, self -inflcited pressure they impose on themselves.
A man in his forties sees himself as a failure because he hasn’t acquired luxury cars, purchased a lavish mansion, or reached a point of extravagant spending. To him, he has failed – forgetting that no time is ever too late for a man to succeed.
Crime records reveal that young people between the ages of 17 and 40 dominate the ranks of criminal offenders. Rarely do individuals beyond this age group engage in violent crimes. Heinous acts have now become the desperate resolve of many young people who are frighteningly in a rush to become wealthy.
They hide behind Internet scams to perpetuate crimes. They wear the mask of content creators to carry out illegal activities. They even find cover in music and movie production to harm and kill- all in a relentless bid to get rich.
The race isn’t even for greatness but merely to showcase to the world that they have “arrived”- to become the latest point of reference, cruising in flashy cars and parading their villages with police escorts.
Those who truly survive the struggles of life are not those who sell their conscience for worldly gains, but those who patiently wait for time to define their greatness. No one ever escapes the consequences of crime; there is a always a day of reckoning.
Imagine the horrifying scene at Orozo yesterday: the lifeless, dangling head of Ele – a young woman with a promising future, fresh from the university, perhaps the only child or the first graduate in her family.and who held that severed head? Timilehin, her boyfriend!
This young man, blinded by greed, forgot the good times he shared with Eke- the memories they built together – and did the unthinkable.he pinned her to the ground, used a sharp knife to slit her throat, and, not satisfied, he decapitated her. Blood gushing, he wrapped her remains in a sack, and just like that, the bright journey of Ele, an innocent young lady, was cut short by one man’s senseless quest to become rich at all costs.
For the fleeting things of this world, Ele now lies dead, while Timileyin faces the full weight of the law- signaling the tragic end of two promising young lives who have been a source of comfort to their families.
Sadly musing
*Abdullahi O Haruna Haruspice writes from Abuja
