How parents are aiding youth’s involvement in crimes and criminality

By Femi Oyelola

Worried by the enormity of the growing involvement of youths and teenagers in the crime rates in the country, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC in 2021 pointed out that seventy percent of Nigerian youths could end up being ex-convicts shortly if the present high rate of their involvement in crimes was not stopped.
This ill-favoured prophecy is playing out in the country presently, considering the high rate of crimes among youths; hence the need for every stakeholder in the country to discourage the youths from embracing criminal activities.
Youth involvement in criminal activities in Nigeria has assumed a worrisome dimension in recent times. There has been an increase in the occurrence of acts of violence and lawlessness. including hostage-taking of prominent citizens and expatriate oil workers as well as oil bunkering, arms insurgence, cultism, etc., especially in the Niger Delta region.
Nigeria is among the developing Countries of the world that are experiencing a prevalence of rising crime waves, criminality, and varying degrees of delinquencies. The nature of these crimes includes armed robbery, murder, car theft, burglary, gambling, smuggling, human trafficking, kidnapping, drug trafficking, internet scams, advanced fee fraud (419), and other illegal activities.
According to the Police Public Relation Officer (PPRO) of Kaduna state police Command ASP Mansur Hassan, in a space of three months, the Command has apprehended over eight hundred youths who are between the ages of 18 to 25 for different crimes.
This, no doubt, is an indication of the worsening fall in moral values in the society, which has seriously eroded cultural values and is now infecting the youth and teens as demonstrated in their untoward behaviour.
Some Nigerians have attributed the growing involvement of youths and teenagers in criminal acts to the failure of the family unit and misplaced values.
The Acting Executive Director of Legal Awareness for Nigerian Women (LANW) Mrs. Hannatu Ahuwan, observed that youth involvement in crimes in the country can be influenced by various factors, including socioeconomic conditions, poverty, lack of access to education, and limited economic opportunities which can push some young individuals towards criminal activities as a means of survival or to attain material goods.
She added that dysfunctional families, lack of parental supervision, or exposure to violence and substance abuse within the family can also contribute to youth delinquency.
“Associating with delinquent peers who engage in criminal behaviours can influence young people to participate in unlawful activities.
“Drug and alcohol abuse can impair judgment and lead to impulsive, criminal behaviour, particularly among young individuals.
“The absence of positive role models can make it difficult for youth to make responsible choices and steer clear of crime.
“Poor school performance, truancy, and limited access to quality education can contribute to criminal involvement.
“Community factors: Living in neighbourhoods with high crime rates and limited community support can increase the risk of youth engaging in criminal activities,” she opined.
Mrs Ahuwan added that It’s important to recognize that each case is unique, and a combination of these factors may contribute to youth involvement in crime, adding that prevention and intervention programs often address these issues to help young individuals make better choices and avoid criminal behaviour.
Similarly, Hajia Hadiza Umar of Hope for Children Initiative thinks that the current economic hardship, increasing rate of unemployment, inability of salaries to sustain families and lack of vocational skill and viable business opportunities has pushed men and women, without the necessary skills to resist and negotiate for alternative self-sustaining means of livelihood, into ending in various crimes.
“Also, the poor implementation of laws and the slow judicial proceedings have made it difficult for the system to punish crimes and instill decorum in the society.
“Here, there is a case of a man who has been known to commit crimes of sexual abuse in Katsina and Kaduna State and not long he raped a girl who eventually died due to complications of his action before her death, security agents within the locality and some community members were against her family taking legal action against him.
“Unless the system and influential community members purge the negative social norms around how we react to crimes and access to justice, we will only continue to see an increase in the rate and variability of these crimes,” she said
Authenticating this the pastor in charge of the House of Purpose Ministry U/Maijero Kaduna Pastor Gabriel Elisha, said most youths, and graduates today are jobless and so in trying to make ends meet, get involved in such vices, as the saying goes, an idle man is the devil’s workshop
The clergy stressed that poverty in the country is on alarming increase so youths are easily influenced by any vices to earn a living.
“Many youths, especially those from broken homes lack parental love, and training because both parents are in search of greener pastures as the children grow in disadvantaged conditions.
“The religious bodies are busy having headlong disagreements within themselves instead of harmonizing their efforts to see the youths are helped, supported, trained, and encouraged
“Illiteracy: this cannot be over-emphasized. Government involvement, certain proactive measures, and quick response by the government are not felt by citizens so everyone thinks he can go free after committing a crime as many have godfathers who support these evil acts,” he said.
Pastor Elisha, therfore, opined that the government must be involved in creating an enabling environment for youths to work or be engaged in meaningful employment.
He also stressed that religious bodies should harmonize strategies on how youths can be helped irrespective of religion.
“Government should publicise any youth involved in such act on the national television as an example for others to learn with their godfathers, regardless of their status.
“Free education should be a measure also to support the low-income or marginalized community,” he said. In her reaction, a women community leader in Katsina, Hajia Lubabatu Hassan, said the parents of these youths involved in criminal activities should be blamed.
According to her, parents today are shifting their duties of parenting to the outside. “We are in a time where a father will be asking money from her daughter, whom he knows has nothing tangible to do.
“Parents see their children displaying wealth they cannot account for, yet they are not worried
“The only way forward is for the community to rise against these criminals and stop shielding them from the authorities.
“In my community there is a serial rapist, but the day he went into a household and raped a mother and daughter, we all in unison said enough is enough
“We supported our youths to go after him, he was caught and handed over to the police as I am talking to you he is serving a jail term of 20 years. “ She said
However, Mallam Nura Ibrahim differs on this. According to him, reporting some of these criminals to security is risky. He gave an example of drug dealers in a community that was reported to the security agency, but surprised that when he was granted bail, he went back to attack the informant.
“So our whistleblowing systems should be strengthened to protect whistleblowers because nobody will like to lose his life carelessly to save the system that will not protect him,” he stated.
In his own reaction, Comrade Abdulsalam Moh’d Kazeem, a Public Affairs Analyst based in Abuja, said population according to global economics, is a blessing to any nation and Nigeria should not be exception. He noted “that youth demography always constitutes a larger percentage just like what we have here where more than 60% of our total population is classified to be youths who are willing but unable to get a meaningful and decent job even though our Nation is blessed in all aspects.”
Most parents, according to him, have lost control over their wards and this alone is a serious threat to nation-building, where parents don’t bother to ask their kids the sources of their wealth, noting that some even encourage their kids by comparing them to others who are appear to be doing well without any visible means of livelihood.
His words: “Today we are witnessing a high rate of cybercrime, kidnapping, and betting, due to the get-rich-quick syndrome encouraged by some parents.
“Today according to statistics, in every 100 crimes recorded, 98 are perpetrated by the youths all in the name of looking good without working. This must stop, because the youths remain the trustee of this nation and they should get ready for a greater task ahead.
“The family system plays a vital role in crime control. When parents see something, they should say something and the Idea of keeping quiet or even trying to go the extra mile all to protect their children from having a date with justice must stop now, because most parents are living on drugs as a result of the pressure and criminal activities of their kids,” he said.