Of The Three Teenage Ritualists And Prevailing Materialistic Mayhem -By Isaac Asabor

There is no denying the fact that the arrest of three teenage boys who were caught burning the head of a girl, said to be in a relationship with one of them, for money ritual in Oke Aregba area of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital on Wednesday, January 22, 2022 speaks volume about how materialistic most Nigerians, particularly the youths and teenagers have become.

The foregoing gory fact, by any measure, is quite alarming, and one can only imagine that the deep-seated people’s quest for material things have become unprecedented, and that the kind of impact the craze for wealth would have on our young people if urgent action is not taken to discourage them from their irrational sense of acquisitiveness.

It is absolutely incredible how the youths and teenagers place such a high premium on material things, on possessions and things that are ephemeral so much that they go to the length of slaughtering innocent souls, not excluding their mothers, sisters and girlfriends without remorsefully blinking their eyelids. They hardly consider the fact that the more they amass wealth is the more they seem to want, desire, and demand. What’s worse, to compound this, they put material stuff above everything else, including human life and the welfare of others.

In fact, the love of money among the youths and teenagers is brutishly unparalleled so much so that when people are involved in car crashes, for instance, the first question you would hear them ask is, “Is the car okay?” We’ve had of stories of young men and women fighting over their late father’s assets; even when their father lies in the morgue in anticipation of his burial.

It is so sad that few heed the words from the Bible that say, “What does it benefit a man if he gains the world but loses his soul.” Permit me to say that I am not in this context waxing sanctimonious and evangelical, for the last persons to kick against materialism, as we have seen in prosperity preachers, are pastors, who are perceived by not a few people to be the most materialistic people in the country.

Without any scintilla of hyperbole, prosperity preachers would appropriate every material thing acquired through the goodwill and name of the church to themselves, as the riches they acquire from the backs of their congregants overflow in abundance. They fancy jets, yachts, fleets of cars, jewelry, mansions, adding more to the materialistic mayhem of our time. Unfortunately, such pastors usually find it difficult to exegjse to the youths and teenagers under their ministration that the “Meek will inherit the earth or it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man enter Heaven”.

I am referring to ordinary folks who somehow get trapped in this vortex of materialism and lose their way. Naturally, it is the nature of humans to possess things. We all want to live in a nice house, drive a decent car, have some money in the bank, and enjoy the niceties of life.

Gone are the days when people would work and save, buy a house and be satisfied with their lot. Now they want lots of lots, plus houses with many mansions along with the fancy vehicles to park in the driveway for all to see. We are known, admired and respected not for who we are, but by what we have. Of particular concern in this piece is that when youths or teenagers suddenly becomes rich in the present generation, parents hardly make efforts to find out how their children came about such questionable height of prosperity.

In as much as the fact that everyone likes money, it is expedient to say that there are people who place so much emphasis on money and material things that it is mind-boggling. In fact, everyone like nice things too, but they all come second to people. Do you remember this joke about this lawyer who was in a bad car accident? When he looked and discovered that his arm was missing, he screamed, “Oh no, my Rolex is gone.”

This materialistic mayhem is so ignominious that people even buy things that they do not need, feeding the dragon of conspicuous consumption. This malady occurs in every part of the country, and curiously, it appears there is a demon behind it.

For some reason, youths and teenagers of today are more than willing participants in this materialistic madness. More often than not, as soon as they have one million Naira or less in their accounts, everyone has to know about it as they would go shopping spree, and would post flamboyant pictures that depict their enviable statuses on social media platforms, particularly on Facebook. They have to live in the biggest mansions, drive the fanciest cars, and adorn their bodies with the gaudiest jewelry, and embark on money spraying extravaganza at any social event; at least, if not for anything, but to impress their gullible admirers.

What is interesting is that many other races are not a party to this materialistic mayhem. The Chinese, and Indian merchants that sell textiles and electronics in Idumota, Lagos, and majorly live around Osborne Estate in Ikoyi, Ilupeju and Palmgroove Estate in Lagos possess real wealth, but you would never know. Nothing is wrong with acquiring nice things, after all, life’s creature comforts can be most satisfying. That 55” flat screen Smart TV can be a pleasure to watch and that ride can be sweet. But did you get them for yourself or because you wanted to show off on the Joneses?

That is another aspect of materialistic mayhem: people embrace it only to impress others. “My TV is bigger than yours.” “My mansion makes your apartment look like a matchbox.”

Sadly many people are sucked into this maelstrom because they think that is what defines them. After all, they would not be respected unless they drive a certain type of vehicle, or live in a certain neighborhood. So many men fall into the trap of trying to impress women with what they have and not who they really are. “That woman would never speak to him if he did not drive this fancy SUV.” Sadly that often turns out to be true.

The foregoing reprehensible way of life that has seemingly become a culture is the reason why teenagers will partner with a witch doctor who advised them to extricate the head of a young lady, and wickedly roast it in an earthen pot. That is why some men end up on the wrong side of the law, as they can’t afford the trappings to satisfy that trap and resort to nefarious means and thieving ways to accrue wealth to get women.

Small, medium and large do it, as they beg, borrow and steal to feed this monster of materialistic mayhem.

Is this what we have become with women sacrificing lunch money and school book money to buy weave-on instead? Have we lost our collective senses as we put material things on a pedestal but humanity in the basement? Can one desire too much of a good thing?

Remember, you cannot take all your material acquisitions to the grave; even six feet depth of the grave would unarguably be considered to be too shallow to contain all the material things acquired here on earth. I wonder if those materialistic youths and teenagers that have now resorted to ritual killings and Yahoo-plus or better still internet fraud are aware of that.