The System Manufactures Its Own Enemies — Then Jails Them Like Strangers to Their Pain - Abioye Tosin Lawrence

 

.......At almost every entrance, the gatekeepers lock the doors — then padlock the key

Every week in Nigeria, new faces, mostly young, bright, and barely surviving, appear online as criminals: cybercrime suspects, cultists, drug traffickers, street fighters. They're paraded before cameras like trophies of law enforcement, while the real criminal, the system that failed them, stands in the shadows untouched.

This country is an overflow of talent wasting on the streets.

In a recent article following the Super Falcons’ victory, I argued that Nigeria has enough football talent to export a full squad to any African country, and they would still be unbeatable. That wasn't a boast; it was a lament. Because the same system that refuses to invest in grassroots sports, in education, in tech hubs or art schools, is the same one quick to punish the youth when they channel their energy wrongly.

The pattern is tragic and familiar:

In Nollywood, the gatekeepers lock the doors and padlock the key.

In music, the early entrants hog the spotlight and shout down new voices.

In politics, those in power build ladders, climb up, then set the ladders on fire.

They tell the next generation to "pray about it." They leave you on the outside, asking God to open a door they welded shut.

The Blame Chain

In this country, when those at the bottom scream for justice, those in the middle say “it’s not our fault,” and those at the top hold a microphone, preach patience, and remind us that “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

But when this blame chain gets too long, it breaks. Then we see clashes, chaos, protests, revolts. Because the oppressed can only write love letters to the system for so long. One day, they stop writing, and start shouting.

In Nigeria, there’s a long queue for glory, so long that one must fight, struggle, survive, then pass the baton to their children. And not just the baton,  but a list of enemies. “Avoid this person.” “Don’t trust that uncle.” “I almost made it, but they blocked me.”

This is not legacy. This is survival trauma passed down like inheritance.

Not Woke, Just Awake

Maybe this sounds like the "woke generation" speaking. But it’s not wokeness. It’s awareness. It’s a generation tired of building a country with bleeding hands, only to be crushed by the same nation when they ask for bandages.

We don’t want to destroy Nigeria. We want to rebuild it. We want to reset the rooms of opportunity, so that the door is not just open, but the key is shared.

We want a nation where:

Hard work is rewarded before it goes viral.

Creativity is nurtured before it’s exploited.

Justice is served, not just televised.

Destinies are fulfilled, not arrested.

Final Word

Until we stop manufacturing our own enemies, until we stop parading victims of systemic failure as criminals, Nigeria will keep burying its future while boasting of greatness past.

And so, we say again:

 The system manufactures its own enemies, then jails them like strangers to their pain.

Let’s not continue that madness.

Let’s adjust. Let’s build,  not crush,  each other.

Abioye Tosin Lawrence is the publisher of Oriontimes Online Newspaper and author of the upcoming memoir Voices from the fire: My journey through a hollow empire.