WHO IS TO BLAME???

Hey peeps, its weekend again and i'm sure everyone's excited to get some rest from the busy week gone-by. While going through some blogs yesterday, i came across this story. I didn't want to blog about it but today i felt the need to and i'll explain why after you read the story -19 year old Nigerian teen found guilty of murder in the UK. 

 On 25 March 2010, 17 year old Victoria Osoteku armed a 20-strong mob who ‘hunted down’ and hacked to death a15-year-old boy at a railway and underground station in front of rush-hour commuters. Sofyen Belamouadden was punched, kicked and stabbed to death in a ‘brutal and merciless murder’ planned on Facebook after a feud between pupils from two rival schools erupted into violence. Victoria was the one who bought the knife that was used to stab Sofyen, and she was also captured on CCTV kicking Sofyen in the head before running off, leaving him to bleed to death. Victoria, now 19, has been convicted of manslaughter and conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm after a five-month trial at the Old Bailey and faces jail time. Other teens convicted of Sofyen's murder: Adonis Akra(18), Samuel Roberts(19), Femi Oderinwale(18), Obi Nwokeh(19), Christopher Omoregrie(18), Samson Odegbune(18).

Born to Nigerian parents in Peckham, South-East London, Osoteku’s upbringing was deeply troubled. At the age of two, her father Abiodun took her and her three-year-old sister away from their drug addict mother Ebunoluwa, who has serious mental health issues and has been sectioned a number of times. For a number of years, she was shunted between her aunt and a hostel before her father, a painter and decorator, remarried when she was five. Osoteku told the jury that she suffered daily beatings at the hands of her stepmother.  At the age of eight she was taken into care and placed with foster parents. Classmates described her as a bully who was always egging others on. One said: ‘Victoria was at the forefront – she was a bit of a bully.’ But the schoolgirl claimed to be a kind person. On her internet profile, she wrote in poorly spelt English: "a black indpendent women who cares for all my bedrins and all fam. but every 1 is ke fam to me. Im a joka thats loves a joka and im rely kind and fast to kick wid".

Back to my reason for blogging about this. After i read the story, i proceeded to the comments. Wow, 135 comments...what are they saying? So many people blamed the parents for bringing her up in the western society, for not training up the child the way she should go while others were very pissed with the fact these culprits are only teenagers. Not even one of them is up to 20 (smh) and most shocking they were all Nigerians except two people. It got me thinking, are parents really responsible for the violent actions their children carry out? In a bid to give their children the best education, has sending them outside the shores of their motherland made them bad parents? Is there an excuse for why a person chooses to live a bad/good life? Who is to blame? Parents or the kids?

In my honest opinion, i do not think parents are 100% guilty; yeah the bible admonishes parents to train up a child in the way he/she should go and when he is old he will not depart from it. But every individual has his own choice to make in life, no matter how your parents have brought you up. So many times you see a very good christian home where the parents have done everything possible to give their kids the best but somehow these kids still do otherwise. After the age of 16, every human being born on earth knows the difference between good and evil and whatever you choose to do will define who you'll turn out to be. Parents will do their best for you, they will send you to school but will not live in the boarding house with you, they don't go for lectures with you and don't hang out with you. The best they can do from home is to pray for you and send money when you need it. It also baffles me that most people blame the life in UK for this predicament; but i'll tell you that in this same country, i have seen teenagers who work while studying and try to be something in life for themselves and their families. Out of 10 British kids, only 4 grew up in a complete home, the rest grew up with single parents but have decided to not allow that to jeopardise their future. The location where someone grew up shouldn't be an excuse to mess up, Peckham or Kensington; ajegunle or Banana Republic; the ghetto (slum) or Buckingham Palace, golden spoon or rubber spoon...it doesn't matter. Victoria's childhood may have been rough but irrespective of all that happened to her, i think something good would have still sprang up from such a beautiful girl. When it comes to taking someone's life or inflicting pains on others, it ceases to be a situation to blame parents cos you have a choice to be good or bad. No one decides that for you.

Excuse not good enough.

To the teenagers reading this, you can be different, choose to be good and don't allow your environment influence you. Keep friends who will add value to your life and learn to walk away from the ones who don't.

To the parents reading this, pls make out time to be part and parcel of your children's life. Do all it takes to be their best friend so that they can let you in on everything that happens in their life. That way you will be able to help them take out the shaft from the grains. Don't spoil them with money, when you lavish them with so much luxury they will do anything to make sure they keep up with that standard of living.

So my dear readers, let's discuss this...who is to blame? The parents or the kids? Or the Nigerian government for not providing quality education for the citizens?