Balogun Alabi
The Nigerian youths have been urged to do everything possible in order
to avoid getting involved in crime.
Speaking to students of Fly High College, Agility, Mile 12, Lagos
State, Juliana Francis, said that the end result of youths who take to
crimes is untimely death and prison.
The event, which is Youths Against Crime, an advocacy programme, has
been running for four weeks. The organizer of the series of events is
Francis, under the Female Journalists’ Leadership Project by Wole
Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.
Since the programme started, more than 50 students, teachers and other
staff in the school have benefited. In the first week, which was
October 6, the students were taken through a course of different youth
crimes, with emphasis on cultism.
According to Francis, Cultism has become the greatest challenge of the
Nigeria society, leading many youths being killed every day.
She said: “In Nigeria now, Nigerians no longer safe in their streets
and homes. Cultists, some still children within age range of 10 and
11, arm themselves with weapons and kill. Many of them are influenced
by older cultists. Many of these cultists are under influence of
drugs.”
The principal of the school, Sulyman Olowookere, who actively
participated in the event, told the students that cultism was wrong,
stressing that it could only make a youth from achieving a better
future.
One of the students, who gave his name as Peculiar Onukwufor,
14-year-old, said: “Government should do more sensitization programmes
by making fliers and posters, speaking against youths’ involvement in
crime.”
Francis told the students, that a blog has been created, where their
ideas and articles on youths’ involvement in crime would be shared.
They are also expected to share this blog with their friends and
encourage their friends to join the advocacy group. She urged them to
cultivate the habit of speaking to single or group of friends, even at
their worship centres.
She added: “A blog, called Youthslens, which is about youths, crime
and society, has been created to contain the contributions of
everyone. The blog is a family platform. Everyone is and should be a
contributor. I have cultivated what I call the Juliana Francis ‘Pass
Forward Theory,’ which simply means that as I’m speaking to you all to
avoid getting involved in crime, you’re also expected to speak to
other youths. Those youths, are also expected to speak to others. We
want the message to keep spreading. It wouldn’t cost you anything to
speak out against youths’ involvement in crime.”
First Published 2017
