Some clerics and other Nigerians on Sunday expressed worry at underage gambling, saying it had made some young people lazy and unwilling to develop their potential.
They expressed the worry in interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
NAN reports that underage gambling is the use of gaming and betting services by minors.
A Christian cleric, Bishop Charles Ighale, described underage gambling as a societal deformity which must be addressed urgently.
Ighale, the General Superintendent of Holy Spirit Mission, Lagos, said that adult gambling, though condemned by the Bible, was socially permissible on past-time basis.
He said that underage gambling was a destroyer and should be totally condemned.
According to him, people have been gambling all over the world but it becomes disturbing when a huge population of underage takes to gambling as a means of living.
“When the people who are supposed to be the leaders of tomorrow become gamblers of today, it is a cause for concern,” he said.
He said that Nigerian teenagers and youths should be interested in spiritual, intellectual, emotionally and moral development rather than gambling so they could prepare well for leadership in the future.
He added that Nigerian students should be interested in innovative ideas and acquiring more education rather then gambling.
According to him, gambling encourages laziness and promotes get-rich-quick syndrome.
He urged the three tiers of government to have more co-ordinated structures for all-round quality development of the youth.
Mr Adefaloju Olisa-Ademola, an Assistant Pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God at Somolu, Lagos, said that governments should urgently restrain underage people from all forms of gambling.
He also urged adequate regulation of gambling generally in the country.
The cleric said that existence of gambling shops on most streets and unrestricted access to online gambling platforms exposed underage to gambling.
Olisa-Ademola added that promoters of gambling should ensure discouragement of young people from participating.
He urged priority attention to human capital development.
“The development of the human being is the most important form of development.
According to him, public office holders and other leaders must follow God’s pattern and make human beings the centre of nation building.
Mrs Ishaq Anifowose, a Muslim scholar, noted that Islam regarded gambling as forbidden.
According to her, Islamic scholars and jurists agree that gambling is prohibited due to its harmful effects on individuals and the society.
Anifowose said that underage gambling must be tackled urgently to redirect young people to the part of self-discovery, talent development and hard work. (NAN)
