"Suffer suffer suffer suffer

Suffer suffer for world

Na your fault be that."

Do you remember those lines from one of Fela Anikulapo Kuti's music—Suffering and Smiling?

If you are a Nigerian who lives in Nigeria, and have never heard that song from anywhere, then it is most likely that you're either Gen Alpha or you simply live under a rock.

Whether you are familiar with it or not, I want you to please take your mind out of this 'musical contraption' for a moment.

Now, I would love for you to put your mind into the IDP camps across Nigeria. Think about the hundred of thousands of people who are internally displaced. Sad hmm?

How about we take it up a notch? Can you put your mind into any typical Nigerian street. Think about the many people who roam them on a daily basis without a shelter to call theirs.

An unimaginable percentage of these homeless people are children between the ages of 12 and 18. These children often seen as cursed by fate or abandoned by society, serve as an important point of reference for the deep-rooted issues surrounding poverty which we are faced with as a people.

Most of these children become homeless due to many factors beyond their immediate control. Some of them include economic hardship at home, parents’ demise,, abandonment, natural disasters, and sometimes

insecurities and unrest in their hometowns.

Even at a closer look, one would discover a remarkable resilience among these children despite their challenges, forming bonds with their peers and finding ways to navigate the dangers of their environment.

For Street Priests, a non-profit organization domicile in Calabar, Cross-River, Nigeria; championing the cause for safer habitation of children living on the streets has shone the light on the many misconceptions about these young souls.

Rather than being referred to as 'Skolombos' in the local parlance of the South-southern people of Nigeria, these children also have big dreams and aspirations in life, unnurtured skills and talents yet ungroomed, some are even academic geniuses with no financial aid to get them through schools.

As at the 16th of October 2023, The Punch Newspaper reported World Population Review that Nigeria has the highest number of homeless people in the world (an estimated 24 Million human beings), and this is partly due to the fact that we are the most populous nation in Africa.

Just as Fela implied in his music, "na your fault be that". It is our collective responsibility, as well as that of our government, to ensure that we make the world a better place for these innocent humans to thrive in.

By recognizing their humanity and advocating for their rights, we can strive towards a future where no child is condemned to a life without a home or hope.

Here is an opportunity to join forces with us at Street Priests in providing for the basic needs of our children—shelter, feeding, access to education, and so on.

You can become a partner donating subsequently to support our operations as a community or you can also volunteer your time and skills to our organization to help us achieve our goals. 

Follow us on all social media platforms to learn more about our work or you can visit our website for more details: https://www.streetpriests.org

Written by Opeyemi Jayepe,

for Public Relations, Street Priests