Materialism, Fraud, and It’s Danger to Nigeria’s Tomorrow

*Materialism, Fraud, and It’s Danger to Nigeria’s Tomorrow*

By Idowu Ephraim Faleye +2348132100608

Nigeria is a country full of young people with strength, ideas, and big dreams. Yet it is also a place where many youths grow up under heavy pressure to prove success very early in life. From a young age, they are made to believe that money is the loudest proof of relevance. If you do not have money, you are ignored. If you are not rich, your voice does not matter. Slowly, this thinking enters the mind and begins to shape decisions in dangerous ways.

Today, success is no longer measured by character, skill, or contribution to society. It is measured by cars, houses, designer clothes, and social media display. Many young Nigerians wake up every day scrolling through phones, watching people their age living flashy lives. Nobody explains the process. Nobody explains the source. What is celebrated is the result. This constant comparison makes patience look like weakness and hard work look like suffering without reward.

In this environment, the idea of getting rich quickly becomes attractive. Many youths are not chasing wealth because they love money too much. They are chasing it because they are tired of struggling. They see parents who worked hard all their lives yet remained poor. They see graduates roaming the streets without jobs. They see corruption rewarded and honesty punished. So when shortcuts appear, they feel like wisdom, not danger.

This is how internet fraud, rituals, and other illegal activities enter the picture. They are presented as smart moves, as survival tactics. Words are changed to make evil look normal. Fraud becomes “Yahoo.” Stealing becomes “hustle.” Crime becomes “sharp guy.” Once language changes, conscience weakens. When conscience weakens, destruction follows.

Materialism has deeply damaged the value system of Nigerian society. Today, many people no longer ask how money is made. They only ask how much was made. A young person can suddenly become rich without a clear source, and instead of questions, they receive praise. Instead of concern, they receive respect. This is one of the strongest messages society sends to its youths: wealth matters more than truth.

The Bible warns against this kind of wealth. It says money gotten through wrong means is like a bird sitting on eggs that never hatch. You may gather it, but it will not produce life. It will not bring peace. It will leave suddenly. This warning is not only spiritual. It is visible everywhere. Many who chased fast money ended in prison, madness, fear, or early death.

Across Nigeria, painful stories continue to surface. One of the most disturbing is that of a 14-year-old boy caught attempting to carry out a money ritual. Fourteen years old, an age meant for learning and growth. When asked why he did it, he said he had endured a lot of suffering. In his young mind, money was the only escape. Not education. Not help. Money, at any cost.

Another boy caught in a similar act said he was being oppressed. He felt powerless. He felt life had cheated him. Instead of seeing money as a tool to be earned over time, he saw it as a weapon to fight pain. These answers should disturb every Nigerian. They show that many children are not evil; they are desperate. Sadly, desperation without guidance leads to disaster.

What makes the situation worse is that many adults now support this dangerous path, openly or silently. In modern Nigeria, some mothers have come to accept Yahoo as a legitimate job for their children. This is a painful truth. These mothers no longer ask questions when sudden wealth appears. They only care that money is coming in. They enjoy the comfort, the respect, and the benefits.

Some of these mothers openly defend their children’s fraudulent lifestyle. They say things like, “Everybody is doing it,” or “The government is corrupt too,” or “At least my child is not stealing physically.” Some even mock mothers whose children are poor but honest. In some places, there are strong social circles made up of these women, often called Yahoo mothers. They attend events together. They enjoy status together. They protect each other. They have fully accepted fraud as a normal career path.

This acceptance is one of the biggest dangers facing Nigerian youths today. When crime is supported at home, children lose their moral compass early. When parents enjoy stolen wealth, children learn that values are optional. A child who grows up seeing fraud celebrated will never see honesty as important. This is how a society slowly destroys itself from within.

Many of these mothers were once victims of hardship themselves. They struggled. They suffered. They felt ignored by society. When money finally enters their homes, even through wrong means, they hold on to it tightly. But comfort built on destruction does not last. It always demands a price, sooner or later.

The truth is simple. Any wealth that brings fear, secrecy, and violence is not a blessing. Any success that destroys others is not success. Many youths living flashy lives today cannot sleep well at night. They live in fear of arrest, betrayal, or spiritual consequences. Some end up dead. Some end up mentally broken. Yet these endings are rarely celebrated online.

Social media only shows enjoyment, not consequences. Young people see the parties, not the prison cells. They see the cars, not the graves. They see the money, not the blood. This one-sided picture continues to mislead thousands.

It must be said clearly: suffering is real. Oppression is real. The Nigerian system is hard. But choosing destruction as a response to hardship only creates more pain. It does not fix injustice. It multiplies it. A country cannot heal by normalizing crime.

There are many Nigerian youths who chose the slow and honest path. They learned skills. They started small businesses. They failed and tried again. Their stories may not trend, but their lives have peace. They may not be rich yet, but they are free. These are the examples society should celebrate.

Parents must return to their role as moral guides, not beneficiaries of crime. A good name is still better than money. Teaching a child integrity may delay comfort, but it secures the future. Teaching a child shortcuts may bring fast money, but it invites destruction.

Leaders and institutions also have work to do. When opportunities are limited and justice is selective, frustration grows. Young people need hope, not just lectures. But even while demanding reform, crime must never be justified.

Success must be redefined. Success is not speed. It is stability. It is peace of mind. It is being able to sleep without fear. It is building something that will not collapse suddenly.

The story of the 14-year-old boy is a warning. A warning that society is failing its children. When teenagers see rituals as solutions, values have collapsed. When mothers celebrate fraud, morality has been traded for comfort.

Nigeria must wake up. Wealth without values is empty. Fast money without integrity is dangerous. A society that worships material things will eventually sacrifice its children to greed. If Nigerian youths must survive, success must once again be tied to character, patience, and purpose.

These children and youths are not just individuals making poor choices; they are the future of this country, the ones who will sit in offices, control institutions, manage resources, and make decisions for millions tomorrow, and when we look honestly at the evidence before us, it raises a painful question about where Nigeria is heading. If a generation is raised to believe that money is more important than life, that fraud is intelligence, and that ritual blood or human sacrifice is a shortcut to success, then what kind of leaders are we preparing? How can a nation confidently hand the key to its treasury, its security, and its destiny to people whose rise was built on fear, blood, lies, and deception? A society that refuses to correct this path is quietly digging its own grave, because a future led by conscienceless wealth seekers is not just uncertain, it is dangerous, and unless values are restored urgently, the cost will be paid not only by this generation, but by many generations yet unborn.

*@2025 EphraimHill DataBlog.* This article may be shared freely on social media, messaging platforms, and offline, provided it is not altered. Republishing on blogs or websites without written permission is not permitted.

*Idowu Ephraim Faleye* is a freelance writer and the publisher of EphraimHill DataBlog, where he consistently publishes political analytics and policy commentary.