By Glory Anurika Onyemelam
(08038465069/07053846499/Gloryfrancis430@gmail.com/gforreal28@yahoo.com)
Not long ago, parents felt deep shame when their children strayed into crime, whether internet fraud (“yahoo yahoo”) or prostitution. Mothers, especially, would do everything to shield their families from the stigma, quietly urging their children to change.
But today, the tide has turned. Many parents now celebrate ill-got wealth, openly comparing “successful” yahoo boys or “big girls” to hardworking children who choose honest paths.
It is no longer shocking to hear mothers in places of worship pray for their children’s “success,” even when everyone knows those children are knee-deep in fraud or prostitution.
Some even boast about the money their daughters and sons bring home, calling it “progress.”
But is this progress? What about the consequences of disease, ritual killings, exploitation, prison, or untimely death?
One dangerous trend fueling this decay is comparison. When a parent tells a struggling child, “Look at your brother… look at your sister… see how well they’re doing,” they may be pushing that child straight into crime. Desperation to prove themselves has driven many young people into fraud, hookups, and other deadly ventures.
Consider the girl whose mother demanded a car as a birthday gift. At just 22, instead of focusing on school, she was pressured into “runs” with men old enough to be her father. One day, a man lured her with promises of big money. She never returned. The same mother who asked for the car was left to bury her child.
Or take the father who refused to accept wealth from his son until he explained its source. While the mother happily moved into the boy’s new house, the father stayed in his modest rented apartment. When the boy was killed, the father did not shed a tear. The mother, who had indulged him, was inconsolable.
The lesson is simple: crime is crime. No amount of wealth makes it right. Parents who pressure their children into providing luxuries they cannot honestly afford are pushing them to early graves.
At 19 or 20, a child should be in school, learning a skill, or building a future, not buying cars and building houses. Mothers and fathers must stop glorifying quick wealth and instead guide their children toward patience, discipline, and hard work.
If we continue down this path, we will keep burying our young. True parenting is not about flaunting material gains but about raising children who live with integrity.
