His harsh voice pierced through my window seal and woke me up very early in the morning. I tried to figure out where that unexpected noise was coming from. Then I realised that it came from Alhaji Usman’s flat. The voice became intense and louder. “Can I have that phone now. Give it to me now. Do not explain or beg me; just surrender the phone immediately. You did not know I hid by the door and watched you bury yourself with the phone under duvet.”
Almost all neighbours listened attentively from their chambers but remained calm. Everyone enjoyed the early morning fight between father and son. When I thought it was over; Next was “Right under my watch, you go to sites and apps that will destroy you in life. Now, since phone has become your god, I will smash it before you.” One could hear the sounds of either slaps or smash of the phone. Alhaji Usman is a gentle and well-respected immigration officer neighbor. He has two sons Raheem and Yusuf. His job takes him outside the state at times.
Interestingly, his wife Alhaja has complained bitterly to her husband about her teenage son’s android phone addiction. There has always been phone- war between the boys and their mother. Alhaja stated how the boys cover themselves under duvet and press their phones till the wee hours of the night on a daily basis. “Yusuf and Raheem do practically nothing in this house. Ever since both vacated for the long holidays and completed their WAEC/NECO examinations, it has been one hell of phone war between them and myself. Every effort to teach them standard practice have proved abortive.
Phone usage has eaten deep into their sub-consciousness and the fabric of society. The moment their battery goes down, they must look for where to charge and continue from where they stopped. It is a war.
The upright truth is that the couple are not alone in the phone saga. So many other homes are also wailing, complaining and looking for a solution to their children’s use and activities on the android phones.
Worthy of note is the fact that the bug has bitten most children including primary school children. In fact, it has been noted that when a child is perpetually glued to the android phone, there is more to it than meets the eyes. But then, some smart parents have devised various tracking means. Dr. Nnodim said to his son Ifeanyi: “If you must use your phone in this house, you must raise the volume at all times. I want to hear the background noise of soccer competitions, games, music, film, or chatting with your friends. When you also migrate to pornographic and cyber-crime sites, it will also be known. Poor father! Making a little effort and looking for a solution against so many other parents who will conclude all children are the same. A deceitful phase I call it.
With the influx of phone usage, Mr. Ihezue made 7:00 pm-9:00pm a compulsory family time. Everyone drops phones to watch television together and talk including Daddy and Mummy.
One question runs through many free minds. “What actually is the attraction and addiction that glues them perpetually on the phone? Agreed that even adults could be distracted by phone. But the young generation’s unfathomable love for the mobile phone is scary. It has been discovered that these children lie to cover up for the desirability of phones.
It calls for parents to open their eyes. Most of the teenagers have gone deep into various illegal monetary trading businesses and transactions like forex, crypto currencies, betting and others. Most of these trades look legal on the surface, but when the chips are down, one discovers those trades are stylishly rooted in illegality. Many of them will tell you that those trades are legal and are advertised, but I know a good number of them are very illegal hiding under various names to function. There are a lot of illegalities and irregularities associated with those trades.
In all honesty, genuine business people are involved in manufacturing, production, buying and selling or providing services. If only these children will cast their minds back to the days of Ponzi schemes and MMM, they will learn from their unexpected crumble. If only they know that Ponzi scheme deals and network marketing do not favour all participants, they will sit down and follow the best legacy which is education. If they also know that illegal coded financial online trading has never stood the test of time. If they also know the sadness associated with the loss of such trade, they will run from online financial trading. Then, the teenage ‘Generation Z (GenZ)’ who most of them avoid natural genuineness like a plague will understand life better.
This GenZ wants excess free money to satisfy a certain lifestyle. Only God knows who taught them success before hard work. A class-conscious generation whose first priority is to buy expensive iPhones and showcase ill-gotten wealth through a certain lifestyle. It is this quest for ostentatious lifestyle that pushes them into bigger crimes and criminalities.
In fact, from the grapevine, I learnt that most of them are gradually becoming armed robbers and ritualists who hide under online trades.
Statistically, the average number of teenagers who are involved in illegal monetary trading on their Android phones are higher than those who are not involved. In life, when the pendulum swings stronger on the wrong side of life, it is a sign of danger. The question that should be answered by all is, for how long will this lifestyle continue?
Now, what has happened to natural skills acquisition like tailoring/fashion designing, carpentry/furniture making, shoe/slippers making. What about hairdressing, catering, photography and painting? All these skills have gone with the winds only to be replaced by social media financial recklessness. I have also considered young ones who found a skill in Point of Service (POS) only as wasting precious time. If there is a trade attached to POS, then it is different. An apprentice learning a skill is far better than a POS operator.
Again, many bank customers have fingered some new generation bankers as yahoo boys. For the fact that atrocities and irregularities reign supreme at such high places. Most of those alleged bankers are products of illegal monetary trading from their school days. They fed and are still feeding fat from banking illegality. Many of them have been found guilty and sentenced to jail for such illegality. Once I was opportune to leave a banking hall a bit late after a transaction. As I waded through the banking hall, my eyes caught a glimpse of most of the computers. Guys were busy on betting sites and converted the hall to green chambers. Even as bankers, hard work has eluded such people. They can only live on lies and illegitimate earnings.
Henceforth, let all parents, school authorities, religious organizations and the general public join hands in the fight against illegal phone activities. Do not say the child involved is not yours and you do not want to be insulted. Please let us all collectively take the insult and salvage the society. I purposely went out to make investigations and discovered that most teenagers with Zangi App on their Android phones have started mini-yahoo knowingly and unknowingly to their parents and guardians. Only God knows who taught this generation success without hard work. Mothers who roll on bed with phones in their hands perusing from one app to the other; with all celebrity gossips at their beck and call; know it that what you sow is what you reap.
Very busy business couples, watch out and shine your eyes during this long holidays. Wrong phone use has really eaten deep into the fabrics of the society. Be very careful even as you vow for your children and wards. It is that bad.
When I knew that the menace has taken another dimension was when I saw a teenager in the church busy on the phone while the homily was going on. In the same vein, a little child was disturbing his mother and other congregants, his mother offered him a toy phone, the little boy threw away the toy and was yelling for his mother’s Android phone.
Dear Nigerians, there is a call for the National Orientation Agency to create awareness on this latest trend of online financial trading.
Let all hands be on deck to salvage the nation.
Read More
