“First blame yourselves before motorcycle boys.” Phat Ojikeya.
3 min read
Mr Josephat Ojikeya, a motivational speaker and a frontline Akalite has called on Nigerian parents, especially those in Umuaka to stop blaming motorcycle boys on their antisocial and criminal behaviour towards the society at large. Ojikeya who lives in St Martin in West Indies disclosed this to Umuaka Times in a voice message he sent last week over the fast rising cases of crime and violence in the community.
Ojikeya whose tone in the message was very sad, blamed the parents and the elder brothers and sisters of the youths in Umuaka today for not giving them the adequate trainings they needed from their infancies. Ojikeya pointedly told Umuaka Times that the motorcycle boys in Umuaka of today should be seen as victims and not as offenders. “The motorcycle boys who engage in various activities and behaviuors unknown to the original Umuaka sociology represent how far we as a society have failed on our duties to groom the younger ones properly.”
To drive home his message, Ojikeya questioned the integrity of some royal fathers in the society who confer chieftaincy titles to people of questionable character and financial credentials. “What Chief Akajiugo said last week in Umuaka Times that we should go back to our old values is nice but who will take us there? It is our traditional institutions that are killing us or who else? I remember in the 80s, after church service at St Mary’s Church, we would wait outside to listen to people like Chief EOC Durugbor, Akajiaku, Obinna Duruji and JOL Ezeala discuss issues. We would just go and be listening to them because they were they role models then. Who is the role model of today?”
On those doing business in the 80s, Ojikeya told Umuaka Times that there were people like Chef Eddy Chukwu, Sam Udeagwu and others who played important roles in the development of Umuaka then. “They visited home almost every weekend and they inspired others who liked business to go into business then.”
When Umuaka Times sought his reaction to the slogan in Umuaka today among motorcycle boys that “education is a scam,” Ojikeya shouted and sadly called on all Akalites to come out and cover their faces in shame on the grounds that this stone-age slogan will find an expression in Umuaka in today’s present world.”You seen what I am telling you, it is the entire society that will take this blame for the ill-thinking and behaviour of these youths. The society at large has tailored itself towards that thinking and younger ones are bound to emulate.”
On the panacea the community needs to end the antisocial behaviour of the wild younger Akalites, Ojikeya strongly advocated the need for an urgent behavioural change from top to bottom. He called on community leaders, headmasters and headmistresses, principals of various post primary schools in Umuaka and religious leaders to urgently institute socio-cultural orientation and reintegration programs for motorcycle boys in Umuaka, and stop passing the blame for their failures to properly train their children. He ended up by saying, “As it stands now, I have sympathy for motorcycle boys and their “left wing” activities. They are the direct victims of our carefree attitude.”
