Swathed by extreme existential threats which hunts and hounds us on every side, compounding myriads of problems that pose prodigious challenges in the offing for the youths and a peaceful harmonization of the multilateral and multifaceted ethno-religious groups, a copious amount of Nigerians especially her youths, on the 9th of February, 2022, frolicked in a bizarre and brazen celebration of depravity. These shameless youthful shenanigans joggled and jolted the individual data, consciousness, and minds of moralists, prudes and puritans to an awareness of the roving depth of depravity in Nigeria.
It was indeed discomforting and distressing to see youths appraise and assay the sexual prowess and doughtiness of A-list Nigerian artiste, Ikuforiji Olaitan Abdulrahman, popularly called Oxlade, whose scandalous, shocking, and sickening lovemaking video with an unidentified lady inundated the internet and the social media a couple of days ago. This loathsome and nasty experience ignited yet again a social media firestorm, recalling in a similar fashion the release of Tiwa Savage’s make out video with her supposed lover into the internet some months ago.
The mass hype and hysteria displayed by some UNILAG students precisely in the male hostel alongside other videos and comments which flooded the internet and the social media from Nigeria’s pullulating citizenry sent jaw-dropping messages to the proponents of gender equality. This was not far-flung as the plethora of more commendable and less condemning comments and reactions trailed social media platforms and the internet that evening. This only enlivened unwarranted and unnecessary arguments, stoking and swelling the flames of the gender problem as against the real perturbing issue of an erosion of moral values, cultures and traditions in Nigeria, devastatingly amongst her future leaders-the youths.
Without fear or favor, it should be noted unapologetically that both abominable events engendered by Tiwa and Oxlade is disgusting and distasteful. As humans we are naturally weak and flawed but we must and should not bring our private matters to the public space, needless to say endearing youngsters to pick up our vices and hoist the flag of depravity.
Celebrities must come to the terms that their lifestyle crystallize and coagulate clusters and configurations of ideas, attitudes and moods on the sensibilities of many impressionable young people in Nigeria. The ton and trend of baby mama’s, heartbreaks, divorce, single parenting, smoking, substance abuse, promiscuity, cultism, profligate living, desecration of family life with transgender and homosexual ideologies, breast and butt enlargement, and emphasis on crass materialism, by a bevy of celebrities rubs salt into the wounds of an already injured nation.
This age-long injury was created by the perfidious past of leaders and statesmen whose adulation and admiration for social-political anomalies have normalized nepotism, impunity, unaccountability, deficiency of transparency, selfishness and corruption escalating multidimensional crises of insecurity, insurgency, kidnapping, ritual killings, fraud, poverty, youthful restiveness, unemployment, inflation, barefaced injustice, amongst others.
Religious leaders also cannot be spared the rod as the excesses of erring pastors and ministers in our socio politicized circuit has scandalized many youths and Nigerians to have no justified and true belief in God nor his precepts to love one another, and treat all as you would want to be treated. These evident lacunae have led many youths to settle for superfluous and spurious atheistic and bawdy ideologies which progressively sow the seeds for a massive harvest of youthful absence in the church in the nearest future.
In the same vein, we cannot forget the excesses and extremities of examination malpractice, cultism and bullying, unholy alliances between lecturers and students, commercialization of examinations, results and degrees, and intentional failing of students, inter alia, which has wizened and wilted pursuit for education amongst the youths.
Therefore, to stave off this growing fad of depravity amongst our youths and by extension Nigerians, the first primary agent of socialization-the family has a laborious task to perform. At this level of colossal depravation and demoralization, we do not need a soothsayer to make us realize the nocuous effects effectuated by lax and lazy parenting. Parents must wake from their slumber and ingrain into the minds of our children values and virtues like hard-work, integrity, transparency, sincerity, studying and reading, balanced understanding of the human sexuality and its corresponding intricacies, and judicious use of resources. This further implies that parents must continually censor what their children learn from school, church, peer groups and the social media.
Nevertheless, the task to rebuild a morally sound nation and restore sanity to the minds of our youths still remains a task to all and sundry; celebrities, government, religious and educational institutions and the family. Yes, we may have failed but there is still time to salvage the heightened state of depravation that has catalyzed an adorable frenzy for the youths. All hands must be on deck. We cannot rest on our oars and let depravity foment.
Tobechukwu Johnpaul Nwabuisi, melchi5801@gmail.com
