I was on my way back from the market in one of the popular yellow buses in Lagos and the bus conductor caught my attention. He was obviously too young to be jumping buses, he had tattoos all over his arms and his skin was already bleached badly. My heart ached because i have a junior brother his age and i couldn't stop imagining. If this guy had grown up in a different environment he would have turned out better. In my previous post i talked about the need for a working child services system in our country. The dangers of children unaccounted for and growing up in bad environments cannot be over emphasised.
I kept starring at him all through the trip and i couldn't stop imagining what he would have become if he had gotten proper education and mentorship. That guy is one out of many other children that have been exposed to the harsh ways of life too early. This will definitely make them vulnerable to abuse and crimes in the society.
During the police brutality protest that happened in the country which hoodlums came in and discredited the main purpose of the protest. Ruining and causing loss of lives and properties alike. Most of them are easy to recruit because they have become hardened and indifferent to other people caring for no one but themselves and themselves alone.
Its so easy to point fingers and shame them but the truth is the truth, life has shaped them that way, a dog eat dog society.
Its quite easy to sit in our comfortable homes and call them all sort of names until you have really walked in their shoes. I am not justifying their lifestyle either but i strongly believe that with the right education and mentorship these guys would have turned out better and off course our society will be a better place.