Few months to my Senior Secondary School Leaving Certificate
Examination (SSCE) my landlady issued me a sudden quit notice four months ahead
of my next due date for payment, the old lady would have none of my pleas as
she handed me the one week notice. Her son was returning from the United States
and she needed to renovate the apartment for him to occupy.
I have been living alone since my family moved to Abuja. My
dad was transferred to the Supreme Court and I needed to complete my senior
secondary school (high school) before joining them.
Confused and perplexed I dressed up and headed for school,
as I approached the School gate I suddenly realized that in the midst of the
confusion I had left my school bag at home, such was my state of mind as
entered the classroom.
I spent 9 days living in an abandoned car, sneaking in at
night and rising up early to avoid any suspicion all in a bid to tell the world
am old enough to take care of myself. During that period,
I spoke to my father
several times using the public phone booth without letting him know his Son was
a homeless student. One night, as I lay on a mat inside the abandoned car, I
could hear the cry of a young girl been molested by hoodlums, as her cry echoed
through the darkness I realized I had taken a decision that could potentially
cost me my life.
With mosquitoes having filled nights draining blood from my
veins, and the bark of several rabies infected stray dogs interrupting my sleep
for nine days, I gave up and sought for help.
The sudden surge of hormones at teenage age will continue to
play an important part in the life of young people. As they struggle to come to
terms with their emerging sexuality, many will make decisions that could
significantly alter their lives forever.
So many interests compete for our young people, from drug
barons to sex traffickers who are constantly looking for ways to revive their
ageing workforce by perpetually enslaving these young minds.These recruitment
schemes have polluted the blood lines in many communities transforming
promising young men and women into lawful captives.
One of the greatest challenge facing young people today, is
the large scale availability of half-truth’s and manipulated facts. If young
people are our greatest asset in a war that must be won then we must be willing
to extricate them at whatever cost from the clutches of those who seek to
exploit their weaknesses and constructively engage them in the
conceptualization and formulation of policies and programmes geared towards
influencing behavioral patterns in
the society.
Quote
Shoving policies and programmes down the throats to young
people has
never worked and never will
—Oche Otorkpa
http://www.publichealth.com.ng/hivaids-what-is-hiv-symptoms-transmission-phases-diagnosis-treatment/
