Editorial
Groom the youth to live responsible lives
The youth of today constitute an important asset in the sense that they are seen as the leaders of tomorrow who will take charge of affairs of the country to lift it to greater heights.
For this reason, they (the youth) must be groomed well and encouraged to live responsible lives.
Unfortunately, many of them live irresponsible lives as a result of indiscipline coupled with other factors.
Some youth have become indisciplined partly because of bad examples of their parents. These parents misbehave in society in the full glare of young people, so the youth easily become influenced in that way.
In addition to that, some of the young people also fall into bad company or bad peer groups. Such bad peer groups influence them to the point that they become disrespectful in society.
Irresponsible parenthood is another factor that influences many young people in society to become indisciplined. These parents neglect their children and do not spend quality time with them to change their lifestyles from negative to positive.
The issue of foreign films is also a factor that influences them negatively. This together with exposure to social media ends up changing their behaviour from good to bad.
As a result of all these, many young people of today have become indisciplined and do not respect the elders in society. Many of them take to hard drugs which worsen their conditions. Others also, that is the males among them, throw caution to the wind and flirt with their female counterparts to make them pregnant and perpetually rendering them dependent on society.
Furthermore, some of the youth resort to armed robbery to terrorise communities and make life difficult for the people.
To reverse this situation, good parental care is needed for all children through their teenage period and beyond, so that they can grow up to become responsible citizens.
Society must also use all means to influence young people of today to obey the laws of the country when they are in school, so that irresponsible behaviour such as the attacks on teachers and destraction of school property can stop.
School rules must be obeyed so that the young students will grow up to become responsible members of society. This is how the young ones can be influenced to turn away from acts of indiscipline to become responsible leaders for society.
It is our collective responsibility to ensure that these young people are advised from time to time to instill discipline in them.
The youth themselves must know that without discipline, they cannot make it in life and this is why we must keep to positive social values and do away with any forms of indiscipline in society.
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Dear Editor,
It is often said that a healthy nation is a wealthy nation. However, this saying becomes worrying when the health of citizens is threatened by the conditions under which the food they consume daily is sold.
In Ghana, the conditions under which food is sold is quite disturbing. Over the years, I have observed that the environments where food is prepared and sold are often unhygienic.
In many cases, containers holding food such as rice and waakye are left uncovered or not properly covered, exposing them to contamination.
While many Ghanaians paid little attention in the past to the conditions under which food was sold, the narrative seems to be changing in recent years.
I recall an incident during my days in Senior High School (S.H.S.) when my friends and I went out to buy food. At one location, some of us chose not to buy because we assumed the food would be expensive due to how neat the place looked.
Unfortunately, we ended up purchasing food from a different place that was somewhat unhygienic. We overlooked the poor conditions because we believed the quantity offered was better than at the cleaner location.
However, I am certain that my friends and I would not repeat such a mistake today, as we now understand the health implications of that decision.
While public education is important in addressing this issue, I believe it is time for regulatory and law enforcement agencies, such as the Food and Drug Authority (FDA), to crack the whip on food sellers and vendors who operate in unhygienic environments and conditions.
As citizens, we must also be mindful of where we buy our food to protect ourselves and our families from diseases and illnesses. We should choose ‘quality’ over ‘quantity’ and prioritize our health.
From Syram
Oyarifa
Dear Editor,
I write to express concern and call for improved security measures before and after every football match.
The recent robbery attack that led to the tragic death of a player, on their return from a Match day 29 game against Samartex, is both shocking and heartbreaking.
The incident, which reportedly occurred around 10:30 p.m., highlights the growing risks faced by players and team officials while traveling.
Football is meant to unite and entertain, not to expose lives to danger. It is therefore imperative that authorities, the Ghana Football Association, and security agencies put in place adequate protection for teams, especially during late-night travels.
I strongly urge all stakeholders to treat this matter with urgency to prevent such unfortunate incidents from recurring.
From Eugene Ampiaw
Accra
