Something very serious is snapping in the soul of this nation. It is an emergency. This is not about the economy, which, many will argue, is collapsing. It is also not about the bandits and terrorists who waste lives, including those of our brave security agents, at will.
The matter now in the 18-yard box, as one of my neighbours would describe a very critical situation, is eating deep into our morals. Every week, the headlines bleed with fresh horror: young people — including teenagers — killing peers, siblings, or neighbours in a desperate pursuit of instant wealth.
The stories know no boundaries — North or South, East or West — and no longer respect the divide between cities and villages. Quiet communities once known for peace are being desecrated. Children barely out of secondary school now appear in police reports for ritual killings.
Just on Monday, the Bauchi State Police Command said it arrested a 17-year-old boy, Auwal Dahiru, and five accomplices for allegedly plucking out the eyes of his seven-year-old sister, Rukayya Muhammad, in a suspected money ritual attempt in Bayan Dutse Village, Ganjuwa Local Government Area of the state.
“A preliminary investigation revealed that the seven-year-old girl lost her eyesight permanently after her elder brother, Auwal, removed both eyes for a money ritual in a desperate attempt to acquire wealth,” the command’s Public Relations Officer, Ahmed Wakil, said in a statement. The father told investigators that the suspect lured his sister into the bush, where he brutally attacked her. The ages of Auwal’s accomplices were put at 19, 20, and 43.
Earlier over the weekend, a video of a female victim of a suspected ritual killing trended online. In the footage, the body of the lady was seen on the back of a police patrol van, with her private parts and some other organs missing. Those who filmed the scene concluded she was a victim of Yahoo Plus boys. Shockingly, they blamed her, suggesting she was lured by money. What an insensitive judgment!
I have been wondering lately how we got to this level of horror — this growing epidemic of ritual killings among the youth. The stories are no longer strange — and that is the real tragedy.
These acts are often linked to Yahoo Plus, social media influence, and distorted beliefs in rituals for wealth. Once upon a time, the very thought of taking a human life provoked communal outrage and lifelong stigma.
I remember my own experience with slaughtering a chicken. The last time I tried, I stopped halfway out of pity when I saw it struggle for life. Since then, it has been an unwritten rule that chickens must be slaughtered and dressed in the market before being brought home. That was just a chicken. How then can young people stand and butcher human beings? What kind of drugs do they take? Are they under a spell?
There is no doubt that moral decay is a major factor. There has been an obvious decline in values, erosion of community ethics, and weakening of parental control. There was a time in our towns and villages when elders could caution any erring child, irrespective of parentage. Back then, we believed that while a woman gives birth to a child, it takes a whole village to train that child.
That is no longer the case. Can a child who disrespects his parents respect neighbours or elders? The result is the moral decadence we now see — manifesting in different forms, including ritual killings.
Some may argue that economic pressure — unemployment, hopelessness, and poverty — is to blame. True, these may be triggers, but they can never be justifications. Poverty alone does not explain why some turn to fetish killings instead of hard work. Millions of Nigerians are poor yet remain honest.
In the case of the 17-year-old boy who removed his sister’s eyes, what kind of economic pressure could push a teenager to such a demonic act? There is also the factor of cultural distortion — a perverse misinterpretation of traditional beliefs about power and wealth. These ignorant youths would rather kill for riches than work for them.
The glorification of sudden wealth on social media and in some Nollywood movies also fuels this madness. People are influenced by what they see. When young people observe that hardworking adults live modestly while dubious youths flaunt wads of naira and foreign currency at parties, who do you think they will admire?
We also cannot ignore the role of religious compromise. Fake clerics — both Christian and Muslim — and unscrupulous herbalists exploit the desperation of youths. They promise quick wealth through rituals, often extorting the little these young people have and pushing them into unspeakable acts.
Many pulpits have been hijacked by prosperity preachers who equate godliness with opulence, and by latter-day motivational speakers who confuse the youth more than they guide them.
The social and psychological impact of these killings cannot be overstated. They spread fear and trauma, destroy families, and erode our moral image as a nation. Who will take seriously a country where human lives are butchered far away from any war zone?
All stakeholders must act — urgently. Parents must lead by example. They must revive discipline at home, monitor their children’s digital lives, and instill moral values. They should stop outsourcing parenting to smartphones. The average teenager today is being raised by TikTok, not by tradition; by influencers, not by elders.
Schools must take civic and moral education seriously. Teachers must teach not just arithmetic but empathy — not just grammar but gratitude. Religious leaders must also stop celebrating unexplained wealth. They should preach contentment and condemn ritual practices publicly — but first, they must live by example.
Governments at all levels must enforce laws and invest in youth empowerment and enlightenment. Nationwide moral reorientation campaigns, strict regulation of media content promoting ritual wealth, community policing, early detection of cult-like gatherings, and mentorship programmes promoting integrity and hard work are urgently needed.
Nigeria must begin to treat ritual killings not as isolated madness but as a national security emergency. Our laws must be sharper and faster; justice delayed is moral erosion deepened. Ritual killings should attract the same national outrage as terrorism — because in truth, they are terrorism of another kind: the terror of moral darkness.
The problem is not only criminal but also moral and spiritual. All hands must be on deck to tackle it. A nation that allows its children to believe blood brings wealth is already bleeding to death.
Nigeria must not allow that abyss to swallow it. We must stop excusing evil as “desperation”. The future we save today is our own tomorrow. If we fail, the next generation will not only inherit our poverty — they will inherit our madness.
By Olalekan Adetayo @ThePUNCH
