"ANGLOMOZ CAR-PARK"
Now, the question is, what could have caused all of these? Well the answer is simple, FREEDOM. Yes freedom, when a student is in the university, he is no longer with his parents and as such the parent has no internal or external control over him for that particular period of time he is on campus. So therefore, the student can do anything he wants to do without any form of restriction.
Freedom, itself is good but the misuse of it is very dangerous as it has destroyed many lives in our society.
The dictionary sees Freedom as the condition of having no externally imposed restraints. In the words of M. Grundles and I quote:
“it is easy to take liberty for granted when you have never had it taken from you”
Back at home , these individuals, under the watch of their parents could not act immorally like wearing indecent cloths , attending late night parties , wearing indecent haircuts and hairstyles, indulging into boy & girl friend relationship , missing religious service (church or mosque) etc. A girl even once told me that she had missed church service for three consecutive Sundays , then I asked her if she could do that on her parents watch? , she replied NO.
This is why God didn’t give man total freedom as man would have ‘destroyed’ the world . Even with the little freedom God gave him , he has damaged the moral standards of the society with new ‘events’ such as Homosexuality , Terrorism , Bestiality, just to mention a few.
Now, I’m not saying man should be entirely restricted but he should make good use of his freedom not misusing it. They should use their freedom for tangible and benefiting programs such as reading of innovative & educative books, attending educative seminars , indulging into legal and profiting businesses etc. According to Charles Kingsley and I quote :
“There are two freedoms – the false , where a man is free to do what he likes ; the true, where he is free to do what he ought”
Individuals who misused their freedom has gone into “places of little or no return” in our society.
A case study, In oau campus, this semester, a record of 40 pregnancies were recorded to be have been tested at the school’s health centre which was the school’s highest record since its inception, those ladies might probably have dropped out of the institution due to the pregnancy or even attempted abortion which might have led to womb loss or death. Also, this semester, a student was reportedly found dead at a hotel in Mayfair off campus, he was said to have gone for a party with his friends. What a loss!.
Furthermore, my one and only advice to all OAU students is: BE YOURSELF. Be original, don’t because your friends are misusing their freedom, and misuse yours. I remember before I resumed as a student of OAU, how my father always advice me and hammer on Proverbs 1:10 which states and I quote:
”my son , if sinner entice thee , do not consent”
My dear colleagues, behave the exact way your parents trained you to be, don’t divert. Your parents didn’t tell you to dress indecently, indulge into boy – girl friend relationship, miss religious services , attend late night parties etc.
Your parents placed high hopes on you , please don’t disappoint them , some of your parents sacrifices time , money , pleasure and leisure for you to be comfortable so that you could be successful in life and make them proud , please don’t disappoint them . some of them also borrowed money to pay your school fees , send money for your semester upkeep ,please don’t disappoint them.
In addition , Always put God first. Sincerely , it is difficult to fight side distractions , I almost fell into the trap of this freedom , but God helped me. In His word , in Jer. 33:3 , it says and I quote :
”Call unto me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you don’t know.”
God is always there for you , don’t forget him ,he will help you , guide you and protect you from every danger possible .
Conclusively , if we make good and effective use of our freedom , we would all have a large bit of success and the world will be a better place to live.
SIDNEY DAVID B,
is a concern student of Obafemi Awolowo university
