My eyes were glued to the disturbing scene even as I watched from my seat beside the window. I watched as the angry mob in fury, descended on the innocent looking boy for an act he had just perpetuated few minutes ago. He begged and cried for mercy, pleading that it was his first time and actually blamed the devil for leading him into the act, yet the blows and punches kept on landing on him like heavy balls of snow. What was his crime?! He snatched an old woman’s phone.
I was moved to tears as I watched the angry mob transfer their age-long frustration on him, and believe me, I was already alighting from the bus to see if I could dissuade some members of the mob from causing more harm. Luckily for him, some concerned onlookers beat me to it and started pleading on his behalf. Few drops of tears escaped my eyelids as I thought about what must have pushed this young man who was barely 20 years old to be a pick pocket. I wonder whose fault it was, who was to blame for him being on the streets. As I thought about all these, my worry took a different turn.
They say we are who we are today because of the choices we made yesterday; but I ask, who influences this choice most?
The family is the first unit/institution responsible for a child’s upbringing and not the school, but as I write this, I can’t vouch that the ‘family sector’ has been up to task in this present dispensation. We watch our parents fight in front of us, exchange blows as if we aren’t even there, we watch as our fathers come home drunk and spent; as our mothers insult the living daylights out of our fathers in the street. We bear the brunt, the heat at home whenever there’s friction between our parents. We are now pressured and cajoled into being as productive as our peers who flaunt their latest collection of clothes, accessories and rides around the neighbourhood. While trying to sort out their own differences, our parents most times pay less attention to how we go about this struggle. The society expects us to be productive and responsible, but like I said, little attention is paid to how we do that.
Walking through the streets in the night, I see different girls or would I call them ladies standing by posts and piers whistling at passers-by with the intention of marketing/selling their wares, and this leaves me wondering, how did it get this bad? Were our mothers too busy in the kitchen that they forgot to keep an eye on their daughters? What were they doing when these daughters left the house for the life on the streets? Was there no longer a “house” or a “home” to shield them? Or was it the only choice left?
I also observe the movement of some boys/men whose eyes continue to dart around parks and shady corners of the street looking for their next victim; so I get myself thinking, is this the way forward to being better fathers of tomorrow?
You know, fathers have refused to man up, to take up the responsibility of making better sons; mothers have refused to take the bull by the horns squarely and make better ladies out of their daughters and keep them off the street; sons have refused to take the hustle slow, choosing the fastest and shortest way off the street, daughters have gone haywire trying to keep up with the latest trend such that they’ve forgotten they were made to be mothers. At this crossroad, I’m asking a question that is begging for an answer: “who are we to blame”? If we blame our parents for today, when tomorrow comes, and we start having issues with absent fatherhood and overbearing motherhood, who do we blame then?
#ThoughtForTodayFoodForTomorrow
#IChooseToBeResponsible
#Gen. Sam
About the author: Sam Arua, popularly known as General Sam, is a data analyst and project management coordinator and has a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Also the Director of LOVE A CHILD Foundation, he’s very passionate about issues that affect teens and the youths. He blogs at http://www.deepthoughtspenneddown.wordpress.com and www.facebook.com/sarua007
