Who is a Hoodlum?

A hoodlum is someone born in abject poverty in a rural or urban setting, who could never afford a 3 square meal. At age 5, was already hawking on the streets and trying to earn his keep. A hoodlum was probably abused and exposed to constant threats in his neighbourhood. A hoodlum saw violence earlier than probably anyone would hope to. A hoodlum attended a public school once in a while when not on the streets hawking but had no teacher to teach him or was flogged for coming late to school. A Hoodlum had no books in school and his home and school looked very much alike. A hoodlum hardly saw the walls of a secondary school and if he did probably dropped out without getting anything from it. He became your house girl house boy, gate man driver. Or the children became Hoodlums because of the poor salary you pay that one can not properly raise a child with.

 A hoodlum had no mentors, got no words of encouragement, had no dreams and was unable to aspire to become a doctor, Lawyer or Banker. A hoodlum has had to be his own father and mother from a young age and fend for himself, resulting from time to time to crime sometimes as a means of survival.

A hoodlum is the son of a hoodlum and his greatest fear is that his children too will be hoodlums. A hoodlum is either in prison or his brother, father or son is in prison.

A hoodlum is Yoruba, Ibo, Hausa, Fulani, and every tribe in Nigeria you can think of.

A hoodlum is Muslim, Christian or without a religion. A hoodlum is a product of an uncaring society that watches children roam around disenfranchised and without hope but refuse to accept that they will grow up to become hoodlums.

A hoodlum is a creation of bad, uncaring and ungodly leadership. A hoodlum is a Nigerian. When you see a hoodlum today, show him some love. You may have contributed to making him/ he who he/she is. Especially those of us paying below subsistence salaries, Politicians, (local, state and federal), lawyers , judges,( courts) police, banks and other financial institutions etc. amongst others we have been the conduit pipe housing and facilitating corruption.

The Hoodlums are societal creation.