A family of hoodlums

The figures below are about the descendants of Jonathan Edwards and Max Jukes. These are two families that really lived. Jonathan Edwards was a gentleman, who married a very responsible lady. They had a stable marriage and a good family life.

They did all that was necessary to give their children the best that they could afford, in terms of education. Because Jonathan Edwards’ family believed in the prosperity of their children and grandchildren and invested in their prosperity, no hoodlum or thug or area boy came through their family bloodline.

Jonathan Edwards had 1394 descendants:
• 13 were university presidents. (Vice Chancellors)
• 65 were professors.
• 60 were prominent lawyers.
• 30 were noted authors.
• 90 were medical doctors.
• 200 were ministers of the gospel.
• 300 were wealthy farmers.

On the other hand, Max Jukes and his wife was a careless couple, who did not take time to properly mould their children to be of good character and also to have good education. The result was that, his children and his grandchildren in different generations constituted the thugs, the hoodlums, the area boys, the criminals and the prostitutes of each generation.

Max Jukes had 903 descendants:
• 145 were confirmed drunkards.
• 300 were delinquents. (Area boys and girls)
• 90 were prostitutes.
• 185 had evil diseases.
• Over 100 spent time in prison.

What a contrast!
I would like to ask a question. If a couple has six children and out of those six children only one grows up to be a little responsible and prosperous, would you say the couple did great parenting? Certainly not. Who will you hold responsible, parents or children?

As for me, in as much as I know that a bad child can also come from a well-parented family of six children, I will hold the parents responsible for poor parenting, if only one good child manages to come out of a family of six children.

Now, that is how it is also about nations. As at the last count, statistics has it that about half of Nigeria’s population (102million) live in extreme poverty. Statistics also has it that fifteen per cent of the world’s extremely poor people live in Nigeria. During the ENDSARS protest, I heard government officials saying that hoodlums hijacked the protest.

Who produced these hoodlums? Nigeria produced them. While countries such as South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Great Britain and USA, among others, are busy producing citizens after the order of Jonathan Edwards’ family bloodline, Nigeria has put up political and economic structures that has produced fifteen out of every hundred poorest people in the world, after the order of Mark Jukes’ family.

Let us, therefore, stop calling those who looted or vandalised properties during the ENDSARS protest hoodlums. One of the placards a demonstrator held some days ago during the ENDSARS protest had the inscription: “We are the monsters you made.” Let us stop calling them hoodlums. Society made them so. Parents who did not care about their children’s educational wellbeing, welfare and prosperity of should not be angry with such children and call them good-for-nothing children. That is why I also believe that a nation like Nigeria that has not cared about the welfare of its huge population of youths should not be angry with such youths and call them hoodlums. They are “made in Nigeria by Nigeria.” If we do not like the products, then we should change the machines, I mean the institutions that produced them. If nothing is done now, a majority of the population of Nigeria’s families and Nigeria will be made up of hoodlums! God forbid. Love you.