My problem with some of the current artists
in the entertainment industry is that they
don’ t possess the necessary depth needed to
model the Nigerian youth . Most of them are
so shallow, worldly, materialistic and devoid
of necessary values needed to build the next
generation.

It is appalling to know that the artists that
many of our youths are looking up to do not
possess the virtues and values sacrosanct to
youth development . Who would then teach
the youngsters values ? Is it the Nigerian
artists, with the evolution of morally
bankrupt and deficit songs ? I doubt it !


The rave of the moment among the Nigerian
youths is singer , Azeez Adeshina Fashola ,
popularly known as Naira Marley , who has
always been in the news for the wrong
reasons. The Nigerian tabloids are always
awash with degrading news about this artist
that has held the Nigerian youths spell
bound .

We keep waking up to news such as “ EFCC,
slams 11 fraud charges against Naira
Marley ;” “Nigerian pastor says Naira Marley
is a demon;” “ EFCC to arraign Naira Marley
for Yahoo Yahoo ;” “ Naira Marley Introduces
New Dance Moves , Calls It ‘ Tesumole ;” “ Naira
Marley Was Once Wanted For Robbery and
Sexual Assault In The UK ”… . the list is
endless .

He is creating an army of youths called
Marlians. His songs and dance steps are
inspiring a new generation of morally deficit
youths, and it seems the youth would be in
his grip for a long time, except something
serious is done .

From the dance step , ‘ soapy, ’ that has
popularised the habit of masturbation to his
off and on life inside prison to his recent
dance step called ‘ Tesumole, ’ Naira Marley
has continuously been a source of
controversy and confusion in the
entertainment industry .

Some few days ago , a Nigerian mother cried
out on social media after her teenage
daughter was suspended from school for
being part of a Marlian cult. According to the
woman, the school caught over 25 girls who
were members of the cult , including her
daughter .

A teacher had found underwear in one of the
girls ’ bags and when she was questioned , she
revealed that she was part of a cult whose
members do not wear underwear to school on
certain days.

From thorough investigation, it was
ascertained that the girls don ’ t wear pants ,
while the Marlian boys don ’ t wear belts .

Imagine young girls and boys joining cults in
junior secondary school level . This is actually
the level that the ‘ Marlian ’ fever has driven
many youths to .

A Nigerian pastor, Chris Omashola , claimed
that he received a revelation from God that
Naira Marley is a demon designed by hell to
wreck the future of Nigerian youths.

The clergyman took to his Twitter page on
Tuesday , January 7, this year , where he
shared a series of prophecies concerning
Nigeria , specifically warning that Naira
Marley ’ s music is demonically inspired to
destroy the youths in Nigeria .

He tweeted : “In 2020, God told me Naira
Marley is a demon . He is satanic and should
repent before it’ s too late . His songs are
demonically inspired to destroy the destiny of
the youth of this generation. Nigerian youths
should desist from calling themselves
Marlians. ”

There are questions that every ‘ Marlian’
should ask him /herself before he/she loses
him/herself in the journey : Who is Naira
Marley ’ s mentor ? What values does he
represent? What is the spirit and motivation
behind his songs ? What message is he
preaching?

If you want to destroy a generation of youths,
lower their role models and references .
When the standards that youths and children
look up to are lowered , they would
undoubtedly grow up to live inferior lives .

The Nigerian artists must begin to
communicate to the youth with clarity and
intellectual depth . Most artistes have thrown
caution to the wind , as the content of their
songs now revolve around nudities , quick
wealth, violence , drugs and a false sense of
utopia .

There are various questions to ask before
artistes release their songs , these include:
What is the moral lesson in the song? What
positive message is being preached ? What
kind of value is being projected ? What
message of hope and legacy are we leaving
behind? What kind of virtue can the youth
pick from the song ?

It is appalling to know that most of the
Nigerian artistes are promoting a generation
of valueless youths. I want to specially reach
out to parents to get seriously involved in the
kind of message their children /wards are
getting from the entertainment industry .

Today, we have many youths with
‘ entertainment value , ’ but no intellectual
value . We cannot shy away from the fact that
the fastest way of getting any message to the
youth is through the entertainment industry .
The youth of nowadays would rather be
entertained than to be educated .

This is the more reason why parents must
keep a diagnostic eye on the kind of
messages their children /wards are gleaning
from the entertainment industry .

We must face the fact that the youth of
nowadays learn mostly from the
entertainment industry , which is why I have
decided to be a non - apologetic alarmist on
the content and messages that the Nigerians
artistes are ‘ feeding ’ the youth .

My sympathy goes out to parents of youths
that see Naira Marley as their role model .

Naira Marley ’ s grip on the youth would
become stronger until parents take their
place and position to speak to their children /
wards on the danger of the ‘ Marlian’ spirit
presently everywhere in the country .

Every organisation and stakeholders to whom
the future of the youth is paramount must
come out boldly to speak against any form of
entertainment that encourages crime , nudity ,
materialism and demented dancing steps.

It was so appalling in December last year to
see one of the banks with great investment
in the Nigerian youth doling out N 60 million
to Naira Marley for a week performance at a
concert sponsored by the bank.

My conclusion is this : The ‘ soapy ’ singer has
nothing tangible to offer the Nigerian youth .

His style of music has done more damages
than intervention to youth empowerment in
Nigeria . He should be called to order to use
his grip to nurture his army of youths and
revive the lost values that have eluded the
entertainment industry for long .

I believe strongly that there is no man that is
beyond redemption . What Naira Marley
needs is not condemnation or vituperation,
but a prompt realisation of the platform that
God has given him to impact the youth . If
famed rapper, Kanye West , can make a total
‘ U- turn ’ to now impart his fans in a Godly
way , then there is great hope for the Marlian
king.


https://m.guardian.ng/saturday-magazine/naira-marley-an-inspiration-or-source-of-deterioration-to-nigerian-youths/

lalasticlala please move this to front page let the youth see the TRUTH

If u did nt bother reading....just know.. U r nt alone.