Do you know in Chattigarh state in India, children as low in age as 5, who lost their breadwinners are allowed to work for the police force? These kids earn averagely $70 which is just #11500 to provide for their families monthly. Inspite of the hue and wails of the human rights groups, I seem to appreciate the doggedness by their mothers; who though sorrowful, encourage their children to resume work every morning. The work they do basically is to carry files and serve tea. This attitude depicts the high moral standards and responsibility assumed by that society. In my country of touts, Nigeria, the poverty rate is above average with India far below with the poverty rate of just 29.8 percent according the index mundi. However here, parents would rather take to panhandling than working to sustain their families, competent youth would prefer to engage in stealing, fraud, corruption and dependency. Our society has become so abashed that the supposed puritian educational institutions reek with such youth. The moribund Nigerian society is a dynastic chain from decayed fathers to treacherous youth and hopeless babies. One morning in the middle of May 2014, my curiosity to understand the lawlessness cascading Nigerians led to the second strange public slap I received. It was at Oshodi, my mother sent me on an errand to my sister at Egbeda in Lagos. I trotted out of my house, walked to the busstop and took a bus going to Oshodi. When I got to Oshodi, it was bustling as usual, I walked hurriedly toward the railway, as the horn of train echoed in my ears, I took a deep breath to wait to view it. It’s been a while I saw one. As I imagined seeing a neat train as shown on Lagos state television, an uncomely sight overwhelmed me, men and children stood on a moving train. Taken by the sight I decided to take pictures with my Techno F7, Click! Click! I received a sounding slap from behind. With a shock I tried to speak but the Englishes I learnt from birth was naught but in vain. The touts then held me and people begun to shout ‘’e file ooo, e je o ma lo oo, omo lo mo ti o ma kan kan’’ it means leave him ooo, let him go, someone else’s child that’s innocent. Immediately a young man told me to run, but my ego wouldn’t let me. What have I done wrong to deserve a slap? Ordinary Nigerians denying fellows their freedom? What is wrong with this country? We lack infrastructure, good transportation and stable power, yet the leftovers by the colonialists to the independent Nigeria are abused. With these thoughts ruminating in me, I walked out of the scene hurried to take a bus to Ikeja along to meet my sister who left Egbeda due to my lateness. Unanswered questions keep imploding like the heat in boiling water, is the government the problem of our country or its people? What do you think? For pictures and to post comments visit horizonia.net/what-do-you-think/
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 22:02:44 +0000
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