When the #EndSARS protests took off in October, the lives of young Nigerians and the brutish treatment they suffer in the hands of now disbanded rogue police unit; Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) was at the centre of the conversation.

Until the Soro S’oke generation took to the streets summarily demanding their right to life in a country where human life amounts to nothing. Such tales were the regular experiences of young people in a blessed country where its best brains could be recklessly lost for lack of protection. Like children without a mother, Nigeria’s youth continue to fall to organised chaos and failing systems.

Like many before him, 22-year-old David Ntekim-Rex is the latest victim of this ugly trend, as social media was on Monday hit with the sad news of his demise. The tech guru, graduate of Systems Engineering and 2018 Co-Regional Winner of the annual Master the Mainframe competition, organised by AngelHack and IBM Z Academic Initiative lost his life to robbers around Jibowu, Yaba at about 8pm on Friday.

According to an account by a relative of the deceased, the police allegedly caused unnecessary delays as life slowly left the young man who was robbed and killed on his way home.

Described by Punch as son of Dr. Yewande Ntekim-Rex, a senior lecturer at the English Department at the University of Lagos, IBM in a 2018 statement noted that David had beaten 17,000 others from around the world, including finalists from Brazil, Germany, India, Japan, Nepal, and the United States to emerge as winner of the Master the Mainframe competition.

Nigerians across social media took to their devices in reaction to the unfortunate loss of such a bright mind and many continue to lose hope in the country.

What kind of mother cares less about the safety of its young? What kind of mother allows its youthful and vibrant population lose their lives to avoidable circumstances? What kind of mother watches while its children perishes in the Mediterranean every other month in search of greener pastures?

If you are probably unfamiliar with such a mother, here’s how the bible describes the Foolish Ostrich:

“The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, though they cannot compare with the wings and feathers of the stork.

She lays her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand unmindful that a foot may crush them, that some wild animal may trample them.

She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers; she cares not that her labor was in vain, for God did not endow her with wisdom or give her a share of good sense. Yet when she spreads her feathers to run, she laughs at horse and rider.” (Job 39:13-18)

“Even the jackals present their breasts to nurse their young; but the daughter of my people is cruel, like ostriches in the wilderness.” (Lamentations 4:3)

David’s death is one, too many and the hard questions keep coming. Can the love of these young ones be won back? It’s a tall order!

Rest in Power, David Ntekim-Rex.

Temidayo Taiwo-Sidiq

Temidayo Taiwo-Sidiq is a Journalist, Political Analyst and Satirist with major interest in Nigerian Politics, Governance and Sports.