THE pan-Yoruba socio-political organization, Afenifere, has described the killing of Sylvester Oromoni, the 12-year-old student of Dowen College, Lekki, allegedly beaten to death by some of his mates, and the rampage at a secondary school in Edo State, as ugly signs of how governments in Nigeria have failed the people.
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Afenifere, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Jare Ajayi, said how adolescents die in Nigeria and the increasing banditry among children in schools are “clear indications that the country’s present has not only been jeopardized, its future has also been imperiled.”
The statement reads: “In this respect, both the Federal and the state governments are culpable. We have not mentioned the local governments because the state governments have emasculated that tier of governance, in flagrant violation of the Constitution and democratic ethos which those running governments at Federal and state levels swore to protect.
“Cases of such unruly behaviour are now very rampant in the country. These are in addition to the banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery and terrorism occurring in different parts of Nigeria. Situations that have made the country one of the riskiest to live in across the globe.
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“The collapse of discipline and orderliness in our schools is reflective of the collapse of these virtues in the larger society. Until very recently, every adult in the society was respected by the young ones while teachers were revered very highly. No student would think of ambushing a teacher not to talk of having the temerity to attack teachers in the school as happened in the Edo and Delta States cases. But they now do such with impunity having observed the adults behaving unruly in the open society.
“State governments should remove their stranglehold on local governments so that the third tier can, along with the communities they serve, pay more attention to the educational institutions in their respective areas. Parents and guardians too should be more alive to their responsibility as their failure at home is reflecting on undisciplined behaviour of their children.”
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