From ojuelegba to mushin Lagos Nigeria, the stories and life style seems identical, every ghetto around the world have unique or common issues and all of it are like agents that conspire's to keep its inhabitants grounded. First off is the common element called poverty, it is even the main agent that warrants such an unfair but lively habitation in the first place. Growing up in akinikun street, Bolade oshodi Lagos, mushin was 20 naira away from my own humble but rowdy abode. To receive a breaking street bulletins about one of our own getting shot with the same story of engaging the police in a shootout, while attempting to rub business women returning from ojuwoye market in the evening is not much of a big deal, over a bottle of shnaps or ogogoro we pray for his troubled soul to rest in peace while we blame nothing not even the police for our conditions, their case is not any better. If some times we here of scenarios where the bad guys came out of the shoot out victorious living multitude of police dead bodies in their wake, what is the life of one street kid trying to run his illegality on a solo worth compared to a police officer who's wife is widowed and kids orphaned for trying to do his job? We don't grieve for too long, it is a certain end for all, good or bad we'll all die one day. We don't dwell on our life's moving in slomo, we used the help of other system lightner to fasten it to a pace we deemed alright, loosing control some times is not a choice, what you inhale or drink determines if that happen or not. Its a jungle in mushin and my guys in ojuelegba, agege, iyana-ipaja to abule-egba all the way to the Lagos island are my witnesses, Ghetto kids are products of broken promises, government failure and parental recklessness. At the sharp opposite of our misery lies how we get together, we don't spend too much to get owambe (party) underway, our low quality drinks such as the local shnaps and the one we called sapele-water AKA ogogro can be supplied without a lucrative budget. The spate of violence and killings that results from issues such as family against another family feud or disagreement, it gets messy when we decide not to snitch to the police about our discontent and threats to our life's, we let the street take its course, all other things like buerial and respect can get resolved later. Any Ghetto survivor would recall those days as dark days full of terrors, the days where life was having its back on you, the days the government were your enemies, and the days where the fortunates can't sneeze close to you without living you burning with paranoia. Ghetto kids are meant to triple their efforts if they are to succeed in life. I grow up to never hear some of my mates talk about their parents because they don't have one, the streets became their shelter and scavenging became their livelihood. How can a kid see self through school when to eat twice a day is a major issue. Subsidised schools and orphanages to give this forgottenand lost children some parental feel and hope is not a bad idea under their circumstance, Show some kindness, the real charity should be directed to the ghetto, no matter where you are.
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