The reckless Lifestyle of Nigerian Students mostly in High Institutions, can not be attributed to any other thing other than bad friendship influence, addiction to alcohol and drugs, High party lifestyle on campus, womanizing, Runs, and internet fraud popularly known as “G or yahoo”.
Students who hitherto gained admission into these institutions with an elegant vision of becoming better Nigerian and global citizens, most times end up becoming bad eggs in a Chinese Basket while living. The versatility of the open lifestyles accorded with no checks and balances attached with students living on and off-campus makes many of them live very frivolous and reckless lifestyles.
Cohabitation
In 2016, the Former Rector of Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Dr. Mrs. Celestina Njoku released a memo warning students living off-campus who visit students living on campus around 8 PM and cohabiting within the school environment.
This lifestyle as being observed was and still a very common altitude which students indulge in. The phrase “Umuerim Marriage” is also a common word that is used to describe students who live as husband and wife in school but single at their family homes.
Womanizing at an early age has become an ill-trend among most male students in Nigerian institutions. Womanizing bastardizes their psyche and makes them see women as sex toys. This lifestyle filled with negative reckless abandon also gives room to drug abuse, when these young fellows take all forms of substance to enhance their sexual performance.
Drug Addiction and Prostitution
It is hard to see any male or female student who has not smoked or does not abuse drugs within Tertiary institutions these days.
A very clear example of this is the Case of Chidinma Blessing Egbuchu, the suspected murderer of Super TV CEO, Usiforo Utaga.
The third-year student of the University of Lagos, who is believed to have changed her name to Chidinma Ojukwu hails from Imo state. Chidinma is barely 21 years of age and is said to have started smoking at the tender age of 11 according to her mother. She took her smoking habit into school and eventually ended up joining the league of high-profile prostitutes popularly known as “Runs Girls”.
Runs is a very lucrative business for female students living in school in this 21st Century. Once it is 8 or 9 PM, the doors of “job seeking opens”, with young girls standing at different junctions within the cities of the country. There, men from different spheres of life array their cars in lines to make their choices of these students, who are dressed in the most seductive and erotic ways possible.
These female Students are paid from between N5,000 to N50,000 for one night, and this makes the business seem lucrative to morally decadent girls in our Higher Institutions. It is, unfortunately, noteworthy to outline the negative effects of this sort of lifestyle on most female students. They end up achieving nothing academically, professionally, and otherwise.
Addiction to Pornography
A foreign company with the site name “PORN HUB” known for the production of Nude Films in 2020, claimed that its African headquarters will be cited at the University of Ibadan. This comes as a result of the company’s insights finding which revealed Nigeria is among the countries that view x-rated videos on its platform. An unpublished survey carried out by Afroeden revealed that one out of every five Nigerian students has pornographic content on their phones. According to a publication by Family Research Council, exposure to pornography among many other dire consequences interferes with the normal daily behavior or responsibilities of an individual.
Drugs, Party Life Style and Internet Fraud Among Nigerian Students
The idea of “enjoy your life while you are alive”, has made so many Nigerian Students deviate from the primary aim of studying and making good grades to partying and doing drugs on campus. Every student wants to feel life when they have not made any mark in their individual lives.
They refer to schooling as a legally organized scam used by the government to suck from them and waste their years for nothing. This orientation has led to a frivolous and needless luxurious lifestyle among Nigerian students. Unfortunately, the parents of these kids are back home going through horrendous experiences to pay their bills.
Another ugly vice is the perpetration of internet scams by these students who should have focused on their education. “Yahoo or G” as these scams are popularly called, has become a business that most people are even looking for a way to legalize, even when it has yielded more moral decadence rather than a positive impact on our society.
It is common to see young Nigerian students turn into millionaires without having any legitimate source of income. What puts these millions into their bank account? It’s simple, Internet fraud. With such ill-gotten wealth, they become bullies to their fellow students who have chosen studiousness.
The reckless Lifestyles of these ‘ill-made millionaires’ are highly alarming and need to be addressed properly. Because the nation has continuously lost youths with potentials who would have helped in solving the nation’s problems.
Possible Ways to Reduce these Vices among Students
War Against Cohabitation and Sexual Abuses
There are possible ways through which students could be rescued from the negative vices that militate against their primary aim of acquiring education and good grades.
The first way is to adopt a system of checks and balances among students mostly living on campus.
Visiting hours among hostels should not exceed 7 pm. This will curb the rate of cohabitation and sexual harassment witnessed on most campuses.
There should also be a system of checks and balances among Caretakers and Landlords against students living off-campus.
Strict Regulation of Open Drug Markets
Pharmaceutical firms and Chemist shops selling around school environments should be adequately regulated to ensure that they do not sell hard drugs to students.
Any student that wants to buy drugs like Codeine, Tramadol or Viagra must first of all present doctor’s recommendation and approval before it should be sold to him or her. This will help curb the high increase of abuse of drugs that have taken many lives of students in school.
Prohibiting Indecency and Indecent Dressing
A special task force should be inaugurated to arrest and rehabilitate girls who dress indecently at loitering around junctions at odd hours. This will help scare students aware and limit the prevalence of prostitution (Runs) among students.
Free Orientation Should be Conducted on a Monthly Basis for Nigerian Students
Many students engage themselves in many negative things due to lack of orientation while entering Tertiary institutions. If proper orientations could be conducted with little entertainment provided, students will be attracted to these programs and at the same time receive some sense of direction, on important issues in life
