THE PROBLEMS OF UNCONTROLLED JUVENILES IN OUR SOCIETY
THE PROBLEMS OF UNCONTROLLED JUVENILES IN OUR SOCIETY
Good day people. My name is Yomi-Olugbodi Eyimofe. And as you can see, I am a juvenile. Maybe I should tell you what a juvenile really means or should I just take it as a fact that we already know what it means? No. I will say it for those who don’t really know the definition. Okay. So a juvenile was defined by the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary as a young person who is not yet fully an adult. We might be thinking that the definition is similar to that of a child. Yes. It is. But it’s a little more different. I want to liken a juvenile to a youth. I don’t mean 30-40-50 year old youth, but teenagers and sometimes adults still in their twenties.
My elder brother right there in the front row is twenty-three, and please permit me to say that he is still juvenile. As most of us here know already, I am here to speak with you on the problems of uncontrolled juveniles in the society. Please note that I said “with” you and not “to” you. So I want this to be a two-way talk. I just can’t do all the talking. Can any one tell me what they think uncontrollable or better yet what uncontrolled means? Any one? What about the lady in blue? Can you give it a try? Bless you. Yes. It means without restrictions. No limits.
Let me give us an exercise. I want us to imagine a world with no controlled whatsoever. I want us to view with the eyes of our minds, a world where everyone is free to do what he wants. Are you getting me? What do you see? Terrible! Exactly. Wait. That world is even unimaginable for some people. Oui, c’est impossible. But not that impossible. Do you know what the world will be like in the next century? You don’t? Well, I have an idea. I think the world would be that unimaginable place that we can’t imagine right now.
The leaders of today, say that we youths are the leaders of tomorrow. But are we really the leaders of that tomorrow? If we really are, why are they not channeling us towards that supposed goal? Why do they leave us to do whatever we want and be destroyed altogether? Do they not care about our country? Do they not care about leaving a heritage for the ones to come? Do they not care that we might follow in their steps and do even worse than they are doing now? My fellow juveniles, these are a few of the questions we should be asking ourselves.
Having said that, I want to concentrate the rest of our talk mostly on the real adults that are listening to this. Hey, the bigger ladies and gentlemen. Are you getting me? I’ll ask you a question, and I want you to answer truthfully. Here goes. What do you see when you look at your child, what do you want to see? A delinquent or an addict? None right? That’s good. It shows that we are getting along. Another question. Do we want to see responsible citizens that veer the future of our country towards greatness? Yes. We do. We all do. But I doubt if we or our generations to come will be able to see even an iota of that greatness.
Let’s listen please. You get back home after a tiring few days at work and meet the whole house turned upside down. What were you expecting to see when you left a teenager home alone for that period of time? You give them liberty, and that is just in our individual homes. Let’s try that in the world at large and see what happens. It will be disastrous.
My time is almost up, so I will quickly run through the other minor effects of uncontrolled juveniles in the society. Juveniles abuse excess liberty given to them and engage in many vices that mar their lives as well as turn the fate of the society to the negative sides. Some teenagers, youths abuse drugs and become addicts, some engage in theft and robbery that when caught, end up in prisons. Others involve in sexual immorality whose punishment is from above.
Nobody in their right senses will want this outlook to be the fate dished out to our beloved country in the nearest future. Everyone should work hard to make FRN a better place. Parents, teachers, guardians, and responsible adults in general, I admonish you to keep a watchful eye over the children of nowadays before they turn into something incomprehensible.
-- Written by A VERBATIM OF A SPEECH GIVEN BY YOMI-OLUGBODI EYIMOFE DURING THE LAUNCH OF THE BOOK ‘CHANGE BEGINS On 08/11/2016 1169 Views