Good and Flashy Lifestyle is not a Crime
Stepping out of your house is not guaranteed a safe return back home in our country anymore. Especially if you are a youth trying to live a ‘better lifestyle’ that is hard to come by in Nigeria.
Surviving in this part of the world is a great deal, many suffer to have the basic things of life. Yet, we are still being brutalized and killed by those meant to ensure our safety.
I was shocked the reply I got when I told an elderly man that youths are afraid to go out. When they looked good and try to go on with their lives despite what we are passing through. The old man stated that “you’ll be addressed the way you dress“.
He insisted that if you lock your hair, draw tattoos on your body, and drive cars beyond your age, it is easy to pick at you as being irresponsible.
That is just what our society as turned to. Police are using young persons look to judge their way of life. SARS has extorted many hardworking young Nigerians just because they looked flashy. They have turned them to catfish that they point and kill.
What is Wrong With Our Dressing?
Just as the example given above, many has judged others by their look with society taking them as criminals.
Tattoos have been in ages past. I remember my aged grandmother having lines drawn on her hands that’s tattoo. And I have also seen throwback pictures of men and women several decades ago. They rock hairstyles like punk, afros with long chains in their necks.
So what has your hairstyle have to do with you being a criminal? It is a question our society needs to answer.
The government has looted us and still looting yet youths can’t just wear a necklace in peace. They can’t rock their Versace or Nike footwears in peace any more. This SARS guys will extort and kill if you failed to do as they want.
What Is Wrong With Living A Better Life?
Only a few percentage live a good life in Nigeria. Guess what, that percentage consists of the Political class and a minute who worked really hard for their money.
Despite all the abundance of natural resources in the country, the so-called ‘leaders’ have embezzled the treasury with the masses at the receiving end.
Those who have tried to survive by living a ‘better life’ can’t live freely due to the fear of ‘armed robbers‘ in the name of SARS extorting the young ones trying to ‘live even without living’.
Even though cyber fraud (our leaders the root cause of youths doing this)shouldn’t be allowed to stand but is it right to use our dressing and living a better life to be the judge of affairs?
It has been a taboo for a hardworking young men/women to own cars, it has been a sin to use iPhones or work with laptops. The next thing is to threaten, brutalize and end the dreams of many just because they decided to live a ‘better life’ that is not easy to come by in the country.
What Is The Way Forward?
It is important to note that all our look, dressing and lifestyle shouldn’t be tagged as being into crime. There are many young people trying their best to carve a niche for themselves even though the government has failed us.
We should be allowed to live our lives while SARS be a thing of the past with Police reform a MUST. Sane minds should be trained who looked into cyber frauds and other illegal activities using technology just as it was done by the Dubai Police to track down cyber criminals.
It is very important to let the government known that the demands for a better Nigeria are met as we protest for our human right via the #EndSars campaign.
Do share your thought on this post in the comment section.
