The spate of Nigerian young men being killed or jailed abroad for every kind of crimes is continuously on the increase. Why some one will leave his country to go to another to commit crime that carry death sentences still continue to baffle straight thinking folks the world over. The sad part of this is that most of these criminals are quite aware of the fact that these countries where they go to indulge in these criminal activities have death sentence as punishment for these crimes yet they venture there to carry out their nefarious deeds. One wonders the difference between these die hard criminals and terrorists. Some of them when asked what led them into crime use the age old excuses of poverty and lack of opportunities at home. The question therefore is, are they the only ones who are experiencing these societal inadequacies. If your brother who is in the same economically impoverished state with you decides to be a road side mechanic and the other a petty trader but you decide on a life of crime. Will an observer not arrive at the right conclusion that what you decided to do was a factor of your choice and not totally the failure of the society? The Bible tells us that we should not abhor humble beginnings.
Some folks claim that it is not the fault of the criminal that actually some people are born with criminal genes, so they can not help the way they think. This brings us to another academic question ‘is a person’s personality moulded by nature or by nurture? Is a bad person born bad or is it a factor of the influence of the society that such a one has been exposed to?
I still pitch my tent with the school of thought that insists that it is a matter of choice. The truth of the matter is that a criminal, especially those doing these wicked things outside the shores of their country are selfish. They do not bother to think that their actions have far reaching effects. It does not worry them that their actions are embarrassments to their people, especially the country. It creates a negative image for their compatriots in the Diaspora with them. They just think about how they will get rich in a hurry. Sadly when they get caught they start seeking help from those they have all the while been rubbing sooth on their faces.
The Bible further teaches us in – Mark 8.36, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul”
William Wordsworth one of the greatest English poets re-echoes the scripture when he says ‘…nothing can bring the hour of splendour in the grass, or of glory in the flower…’ This statement agrees with what Apostle Peter says when he likens man to grass and the glories of man to flowers on the grass. He further states that when the grass withers, the flowers fall off. All that we see today in the world will definitely come to an end. All the wealth, glory and splendour of Solomon came to an end. My dear youth, as you are pursuing your academic endeavours or doing something in order to make it in life, remember that nothing lasts forever. Draw closer to God in true worship and holiness so that you can book a place in heaven after your life in this world. Many kingdoms have risen and fallen. Great men, like Adolf Hitler, William Shakespeare and Nelson Mandela, all came to limelight but today they are no more. We need to get closer to God and settle all our bad ways so that we don’t regret in eternity because we lived as if everything begins and ends here or plant earth.
Another distressing point is that when these very greedy ones have become rich through their nefarious acts they still do not stop. This proves that it is neither need nor lack that drive them into these criminal activities, it is simply greed.
One can say that this high rate of criminal activities by certain base minded Nigerians outside Nigeria is a reflection of the rotten state of the leadership of the country.
