By Aladodo Abdus-Salam
For ages, our fathers in Ilorin are known to be hardworking men who would go any length legally to bring food to their families’ table. They took the teaching path; some settled for cloth weaving (ofi ihun), others went into farming, menial jobs, petty trading, and the privileged ones had white-collar jobs to live by.
Once their children come of age, they make it a responsibility to equip them with the needed skills to earn a living for themselves. Knowing that an idle hand is the devil’s workshop, our fathers’ best option was to instill discipline in their children by making them responsible through skill acquisition.
Once their children start earning, they begin to monitor their progress. If they make any move that is considered extravagant, the source of their wealth is seriously questioned. Those who earn through dubious means are shamed and made to face the consequences of their actions.
Today, things are going south. While many dedicated youths in Ilorin are trying their best to earn a decent living with their skills and education, a sizeable part of the youth is now into cybercrimes, a.k.a Yahoo-Yahoo.
The growing rate of Cybercrime in Ilorin is alarming, and the sons and daughters of the soil are not left out. Everyone is racing to make quick money, become famous, live large and blow.
Images of an extravagant lifestyle, parties, alcohol, and canal desires have been projected into the subconsciousness of the youths. Yahoo-Yahoo guys are walking our streets without fear. They oppress the hardworking ones with their ill-gotten wealth and point fingers of threat at anyone who tries to stand in their way.
Why do they have to fear anyone when their fathers and mothers know what they do for a living and dare not speak out.
Why do they have to fear when no one is interested in questioning anybody about their source of wealth? Why do they have to worry about their ‘sudden wealth’ when no one is bothered?
Why do they have to fear when all the “Kawus” that will caution are showered with money and gifts?
Why do they have to fear anybody when some self-acclaimed Alfas are their spiritual fathers who fortify them with needed protections and even go to lengths to help them with rituals?
Why do they have to fear when their brothers/fathers/uncles, who are security agents, are their godfathers and guarantors when things go south?
Everything seems normal until society decays completely. Ask a random kid out there what he wants, and he’ll gladly tell you he wants to ‘blow.’
Is this how we will continue to be onlookers as our beloved city loses its known heritage of hard work and integrity?
Is it okay to keep silent while we have sons and daughters in Ilorin publicly taking pride in Yahoo-Yahoo and all sorts of cybercrimes?
Is this the legacy we want to leave behind for the coming generations?
وَضَرَبَ ٱللَّهُ مَثَلٗا قَرۡيَةٗ كَانَتۡ ءَامِنَةٗ مُّطۡمَئِنَّةٗ يَأۡتِيهَا رِزۡقُهَا رَغَدٗا مِّن كُلِّ مَكَانٖ فَكَفَرَتۡ بِأَنۡعُمِ ٱللَّهِ فَأَذَٰقَهَا ٱللَّهُ لِبَاسَ ٱلۡجُوعِ وَٱلۡخَوۡفِ بِمَا كَانُواْ يَصۡنَعُونَ
And Allah presents an example: a city which was safe and secure, its provision coming to it in abundance from every location, but it denied the favors of Allah. So Allah made it taste the envelopment of hunger and fear for what they had been doing. — Surah An-Nahl, verse 112
