Of the tribe called Marlians

By Caleb Adebayo

Sir: Towards the end of 2019, a new movement began to emerge in Nigeria, primarily among the young adults. This movement was characterized by a ruthless disregard for authority, morals or acceptable behavior and a keen inclination towards taking of drugs, advanced fee fraud, societal disobedience and uncouth language. They called themselves “Marlians”, apparently in support of the popular musician, Naira Marley, who had gained remarkable fame during the year. In no time, the Marlian movement had gained ground, with students of all levels and other young people identifying themselves as Marlians.

It is also during this period that Nigeria marked 10 years of subjection to the menace of Boko Haram, counting over 37, 500 people killed since 2011. It also marked five years since the Chibok girls kidnap by the group which has at least 100 of these girls still in captivity. Things continued to escalate in the northeast, until July last year when Boko Haram unleashed terror in Nganzai and killed at least 65 people, with about 10 people hospitalized. Various other Boko Haram attacks continued throughout the year, and in December they returned to a town near Chibok to both kill and abduct.

In October, we had the Onitsha market fire from the explosion of an oil tanker. The fire which started about two hours after the oil tanker spill raged for hours and killed five persons including a mother and her baby and destroyed billions of naira worth of properties due to the ineffectiveness of fire service in the state.

There is no doubt about the widespread apathy for the country especially among youths. The average Nigerian does not care about the government or what it does. They do not believe in the integrity of elections, the independence of the judiciary or the workability of any Nigerian system. To the average Nigerian, law enforcement is a rabid dog whose leash can be held by anyone as long as the money is right. Education leaves much to be desired, healthcare is non-existent, and the young Nigerian merely wants a way out- a quick means of making money and enjoying his/her life. The rise of ‘yahoo yahoo’ and other fraudulent practices is on the rise, more young people are resorting to drugs and crime and many more are being used as political thugs. There is hardly any compassion for the country or willpower to fight for whatever remains of it. Instead, a selfish desire to live free and disregard any existing norms is what fuels the youth.

It is heartbreaking however, because, how can we lead as young people when we do not even know the problems that beset us and how to fix them; how can we hold the reins of the country when we do not care about her?

With the already crippled education system we have, the Marlian movement has further encouraged people to be school dropouts, to explore illicit sex and drugs, to engage in crime and get-rich-quick schemes and to disregard law enforcement.

It is alarming how a country with so many brilliant, talented and skilled people will continually be led by the worst coterie. This will never change as long as we choose to be Marlians rather than Nigerians-patriotic, angry Nigerians. I do not make a case for the Nigerian government or its agencies – not in the least- I make a case for Nigeria.

• Caleb Adebayo, Lagos.