I shut my office door and wept.
That raw confession sets the stage for a truth many would rather ignore. It’s not the tears that are alarming—it’s what provoked them. It wasn’t poverty. It wasn’t violence in the streets. It wasn’t an orphaned child struggling to survive. No, it was a hostel room filled with young girls—many still children—whose pain was hidden beneath the veneer of comfort and parental presence. Girls not rescued from the gutters, but brought in by their own parents. Boys from stable homes found with drug paraphernalia. Teenagers entangled in crime, fraud, addiction, and ritualism.
This is not an isolated incident. This is a pandemic.
And it is time we called it what it truly is: a full-blown crisis of identity, values, and parental responsibility.
The Faces of Today’s Youth: Broken Behind the Selfies
We live in a time when external appearances deceive. A youth can post motivational quotes on Instagram while spiraling in secret addiction. A girl can wear her Sunday best while sneaking substances into the hostel. A boy from a middle-class family can borrow ₦500,000 to buy “ritual soap” and deal drugs—not out of need, but from a deep void that no money can fill.
We are losing our young people to a mindset—a hunger for fast wealth without work, visibility without value, and freedom without responsibility. This is not about poverty. It’s not just about peer pressure. It’s about a foundational collapse of values, guidance, and purpose—beginning, unfortunately, at home.
Why Are Our Youths in Crisis?
There’s no single answer, but there are undeniable truths.
1. The Culture of Quick Wealth
The glamorization of wealth without origin has taken root. Yahoo fraud, ritualism, “hookups,” and online scams have become normalized, even glorified. Social media shows the cars, the trips, the gadgets—but never the handcuffs, the shame, the emptiness. Our youth are caught in a lie: that your worth is measured by your display, not your values.
2. The Escape Through Substances
Addiction is no longer a street problem—it’s in our schools, our hostels, our homes. Drugs and alcohol are not just companions of crime—they’re the escape routes for internal battles: loneliness, pressure, trauma, and insecurity.
3. The Erosion of Work Ethic
Trades and skills are now seen as beneath dignity. We import artisans, masons, and carpenters because our own young people are chasing online illusions. They want wealth, but not the learning. They want success, but not the sweat. They want platforms, not preparation.
4. The Breakdown of Parenting
This is perhaps the most painful and avoidable part of the equation. Parenting has become outsourcing—handing children phones, gadgets, and data instead of time, discipline, and direction. The truth? Many parents are funding their children’s destruction, not out of malice, but out of neglect.
It Starts at Home
Yes, influencers play a role.
Yes, society is more dangerous and complex than ever before.
But the first line of defense is not the school, the police, or the government—it is the home.
Parents, let’s ask the hard questions:
When was the last time you had a deep, honest conversation with your child?
Do you know their friends? Their fears? Their habits?
Have you checked their bags—not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually?
Are you modeling what you expect? Are you showing them that values are not just taught—they are lived?
Children don’t just need comfort—they need conviction. They don’t just need freedom—they need boundaries. They don’t just need money—they need meaning.
What Must We Do—Now?
1. Be Present.
Show up emotionally, mentally, spiritually. Don’t just pay school fees—invest in your child’s soul. Ask hard questions. Be persistent, even when they push back. They may not show it, but they’re listening.
2. Rebuild Value Systems.
Teach integrity. Applaud effort, not just results. Celebrate contentment and hard work. Remind them that purpose trumps popularity.
3. Create Safe Spaces.
If you don’t listen, someone else will—and the world is loud with lies. Be the place your child can run to, not hide from. Let them confess without fear, and correct with love, not condemnation.
4. Check the Culture.
Monitor the media they consume, the apps they download, the accounts they follow. Culture is a powerful teacher. We must curate it carefully.
5. Lead by Example.
Children rarely do what we say—they imitate what we do. Be the kind of adult you want your child to become.
Hope Is Not Lost
No, not all hope is lost. But the window is closing. And silence is no longer an option. We may not be able to save everyone—but we are accountable for the ones within our reach.
Let’s rise up and fight for this generation. Not with judgment, but with truth. Not with passivity, but with passion. Let’s talk. Let’s listen. Let’s guide. Let’s pray.
Our youth are not just the future—they are our now. And if we do not reach them today, tomorrow will be too late.
Let’s not lose them.