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The increase in crime especially amongst the youths is quite disturbing. Everyday we hear lots of stories on the news of the crimes these youths commit. It is either Kidnapping, rituals, robbery or killing. I don't think a day hardly goes by without hearing of these news. And the big question is, why is it like that? Why is there so much immorality portrayed by our youths?
As a child, I knew there were crimes. But the rate at which it is going now, cannot be compared to what it was in the years past. In fact these days young people of 16 and 17 years of age, are now into ritual killing. They even engage in what we call Yahoo (cybercrime). How did we even get here? It is very alarming.
How did we get here?
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Like I said, crime rate wasn't this much before now. In fact, the people who were known for their notorious acts were old men. But these days, teenagers now parade their crimes with pride. First of all, I would say that one of the major reasons for the increase of crime amongst youths is social media. Have you ever been on Instagram for a full day? Do you see the show of affluence? From the cars, to the clothes, to the houses and all of the show is just on the rise. And if you don't hold yourself, you will definitely indulge in whatever means to be able to show off that way. I haven't been active on Instagram for a long while. Not because I don't have the data to, but because of my mental health. On Instagram, everybody is wealthy and to keep up, you have to also follow the trend. I deliberately, uninstalled my Instagram app so that I can go slowly at my own pace.
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Apart from social media, another thing I would point out is the pressure from the family. I was listening to a radio station when the newscaster mentioned that some young boys were arrested for ritual killing. When one of the boys was interviewed, he said it was his mummy that pushed him into looking for money the hard way. He explained that he needed money to feed his family. Now you will ask, how old is this boy? He is just 21 years of age. At 21 years of age, shouldn't he be thinking of being in the university? A lot of our parents have put unnecessary pressure on these young persons. Why would a mother or father tell their children to go and do what others are doing to get money to feed them. Besides why will a parent have a child that he or she cannot take care of? Is it not even the responsibility of the parents to take care of their children? Why forcing them to take care of you as a parent at a very young age?.
Societal pressure too cannot be ruled out of this discussion. The society has set a standard of giving honor to whom honor is due.
Let's look at this scenario: if a young boy of 25 years lives in a big house and rides a big car, how does the society see him?. What value does the society place on him?. You will agree with me that people will respect him. Wherever he goes, he will be placed on a very high position. Without even knowing what he does for a living, you will see people hailing him up and down and calling him chairman here and there.
With this attitude, you will realize that people who do not have will want to do anything illegal to have such respect accorded to them too.
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Peer pressure too is another factor to consider. Because of the upbringing of some persons, the environment they find themselves, they are naturally accustomed to illegality and immortality. So they don't see it as anything. However, when they get friends who do not know or haven't been indulging in such immortality, they look for a way to make them join them. Peer pressure kicks in. If you don't hold yourself and stand on your ground, you may join and start doing illegal things.
How can these increase in crime stop?
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Well, I wouldn't say it can be completely stopped. But I can say that it can reduce to its minimum if parents stand up and take their responsibilities in guiding their children properly. Parents should stop pressurising their children to cater for them when they know that these young people are not old enough to.
Youths should be thought to be contented with what they have and not look at other person's belongings. This will help them curb and defeat the urge to steal from people and kill for rituals in order to make money.
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Whatever that will affect your mental health, should be discarded. I realized that Instagram wasn't good for me. And so I stopped visiting Instagram and allowed myself to work and move at my own time without any feeling of wanting to do the things that I have seen on social media.
The government should also step in. Okay so someone will say, are the government officials not also indulging in such acts?. I understand that a lot of these young men who carry ammunitions are given to them by these government officials. In fact a lot of the assignments these young people carry out, are being organized by these people on top. So if the government officials understand that they need to stop patronizing the youths, crime rate will reduce.
If they diligently arrest anyone they see committing these crimes without fear or favor, it would stop and at least reduce to its barest minimum.
The church should also know that they have a part to play here too. The church is known for saying the truth and preaching against immortality. The church should continuously preach hard against immortality and stop endorsing and praying for thieves.
What other way do you think can help curb this menace? I will love to hear from you
