Chief Celestine Agu warns “motorcycle boys”. Editor’s note.
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Editor’s note.
About two years ago, Chief Celestine Agu gave Umuaka Times an interview concerning the activities of “motorcycle boys” The interview which was titled Motorcycle obsession: Chief Celestine Agu reacts is hereby reproduced now that Orlu Owerri Road has been put in good shape.
Reactions from some certain quarters have continued to trail the Umuaka Times story a couple of weeks ago on the reckless attitude of some young Umuaka motorcycle owners of very tender ages, ranging from 14 and above. The traditional prime minister and the Onowu of Obinwanne Autonomous Community, Chief Celestine Agu (the Ekwe Mbiriba of Umuaka) has joined the league of top voices in the community who have so far reacted to the story published and titled, Motorcycle Obsession Hits Umuaka Boys. As the title depicts, there is a highly noticeable number of Umuaka boys, most of them teenagers who now have motorcycles of their own and drive recklessly on the roads in and outside Umuaka. This craze reached an alarming rate recently which prompted Umuaka Times to do a story on the ugly development.
In his sad reaction, Chief Agu told Umuaka Times that he had been fighting this ugly obsession single handedly to the extent that he sometime ago, made an advocacy to his Obinwanne community to impound all the motorcycles from the teenage owners. He expressed deep worries that the madness had already affected school enrollments in Umuaka. “My brother, I don’t know if this madness is only in Umuaka or not. Do you know that even those in primary 3, are encouraged by their parents who buy them phones and direct them to start doing businesses suspected to be yahoo yahoo?”
On his observation when asked if the activities of motorcycle boys had in anyway affected education in Umuaka Municipal Council, Chief Agu sadly noted, “Education has completely collapsed, so too is apprenticeship. I see the whole madness as a wasted generation because one day this business suspected to be yahoo yahoo will crash. Anyone whose son or daughter fails to gain admission to the university by now should forget it because the trend has changed. I fear for our community because some parents are very happy over this development.”
Chief Agu further told Umuaka Times that he had also heard that some big boys in town were said to have developed the idea of buying some big phones to some teenagers to start working for them under some serious arrangements, percentage and agreements.
On the solution to arrest this scourge, Chief Agu plainly told Umuaka Times that he personally has no solution to this problem. He advocated that royal fathers in the entire Umuaka Ebe Iri should intervene into this menace now and come up with some solutions. He described the whole situation as terrifying because some parents are very happy.”These ones who are up to 20 years and above have gone so far because they are the ones who are making money, buying cars and building houses. We should focus now on the ones who are in junior secondary schools before it becomes too late for us.”
On his last note, he raised fears of what the Umuaka society would look like in the next 5 years and prayed for God’s intervention.
