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The need for a paradigm shift in attitude
The mentality of our current youthful generation is that of get-rich-quick and this is very dangerous for our future, as a country. The average young person wants to have a car as soon as he finishes the university, a nice accommodation and all the luxurious things in life. They want to get immediately what took their parents many years of hard work to obtain. This is what has led to an increase in the 419 crimes involving the youth.
Society has become part of the problem because it no longer questions the source of people’s wealth anylonger. When you go to the churches you cannot find an Elder or Deacon who is poor. If you have money, the chances of being made a leader, is quite high no matter your level of spiritual maturity.
Church leadership has now become the preserve of rich people. When the church, which is supposed to be the moral compass, loses its focus, then may God help us all.
When I was growing up fetish priests did not have sign posts or bill boards advertising their trade and presence. In fact,those who tried to seek spiritual help from fetish priests and priestesses, went about it under cover of darkness (what some people term as doing it Nichodemously).
What is even more worrying is the media attention being given these spiritualists who in complete disregard for the laws of the land, go to promote the claims of these spiritualists that they can produce or is it conjure, for those who patronise their services. When somebody claims he can produce money, clearly it falls under the counterfeiting or money laundering yet I haven’t heard of even one of these so-called spiritualists being investigated for their activities which they boldly display on television.
Some even have their own TV stations meaning that the state accepts their activities. What are we teaching our youth? Are we saying it is okay to acquire wealth quickly without sweat and is it any wonder then that criminal activities involving the youth are on the rise?
Morality seems to have been thrown to the dogs and is no longer on the list of priorities of our national discourse. The number of various forms of lottery, “Chacha” as it is known in our local parlance is alarming. Very young people are so addicted to betting on soccer results and every Saturday, their whole attention is focused on the English Premier League to bet on the results of the various matches.
Is it any wonder that we are not developed as a country, when the youth instead of coming up with innovation are focused on betting? The Bible says in Joel 2:28 that “..your young men shall see visions” but how can they come out with innovative ideas to transform our economy when their whole focus is on betting for quick money? They need to be taught that in life, wealth acquisition is a process not an event.
In my early days as a child, young people were engaged in a competition to see who would come first in class. There were not many role models at the time but nobody told us to go pick up a book to study. We just knew it was the right thing to do if we were to become useful and responsible adults someday.
There are a lot of rumours of proprietors of Junior High Schools facilitating cheating during Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) to enable their pupils perform very well, to enhance the reputation of their schools. What they fail to realise is that they have by their wrong action, introduced the children to corruption and has put it in their minds that it is alright to cheat.
When any of these children, gets to the University, would you be surprised she can use her body in exchange for grades? What happens if any of them becomes the head of a financial institution or becomes the minister of Finance? Your guess is as good as mine.
Young people these days see studying like drinking of Quinine, so bitter for them yet they want to enjoy the good things of life. It does not work like that. These days when students are going to write the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE), they are thinking of how they can get “APO” (leaked papers), instead of trying to learn hard.
Rumours abound in the universities where lecturers demand sex for grades and some young girls also offer sex to lecturers in exchange for grades. I went to a barber’s shop late last year and overheard a conversation about a story of a lady, who out of shock forgot that somebody could overhear her while checking her grades on the notice board of a university and was saying to herself, “ This lecturer is wicked, having used me like this, still gave me a C.” Why should this happen? Moral decadence is on the ascendancy in this country.
These days you cannot listen to Radio and TV adverts without hearing of Bitters ”Alcoholic Herbal Concoction” being advertised and how it can empower men sexually and give them an erection for a long period. Medical personnel have attributed the death of a lot of young men to these bitters. Alcohol, we are told, poses a danger to the kidneys, yet because of these adverts and the lustful behaviour of the young men, they are hooked on it and the result is kidney problems leading to premature death.
In addition, alcohol according to research increases libido and dulls the senses. A combination that can easily lead to unprotected sex, which can result in HIV infection and can also lead to an early grave. Obituaries posted on walls show ages from 19 to 45, the most productive age group of the society and this would clearly impact the economy if not addressed.
There is an urgent need to intensify education for the youth to appreciate the need to do the right thing. Young people have to be persuaded to have a desire for right values which would gradually inculcate in them a sense of patriotism. Patriotism brings to mind the story of Stephen Akhwari, a marathon runner representing Tanzania, in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico. The story has it that he fell along the way during the marathon, wounding his knee and smashing his shoulders against the road surface.
After receiving treatment, he continued the race and came in about an hour later after the first man had crossed the finishing line. Asked later by journalists why he decided to continue the race when he knew there was no point in doing so, he said “My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race; they sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race.”
Unfortunately, the shepherds who are supposed to be a moral guide, themselves are guilty of immoral values. Their moral authority is lost so the message from the pulpit, most of the time, lacks conviction because the message is as good as the messenger.
Secular leaders are equally guilty of this moral decadence. They would like to sleep with young ladies before employing them. Promotions will have to be obtained through sex and if you do not want to play ball, you will be stuck at one level for a very, very, long time. Men and women of conscience, need to rise and make their voices heard from the pulpits, from the corridors of academia, industry, civil society, the legislature, the judiciary, the media and finally from the corridors of power. A national crusade must be waged against moral decadence andunpatriotic behaviour so God can bless our homeland Ghana and make our nation great and strong.
Writer: Laud Kissi-Mensah, a social commentator
THE typical itinerant salesman in Sikaman is a herbalist. He is normally a slim macho with the capacity to perambulate the expanse of area covering the triangle of Accra-Tema-Ashiaman. In short, he can walk a total of 60 miles a day, marketing a product that cures every disease, including poverty. 
The door-to-door herbal pharmacist advertises his product by word of mouth. He has nothing to do with the Food and Drugs Board (FDB). After all, his concoctions do not feature on FM stations.
Those herbalists who cannot walk to propagate the herbal gospel, liaise with drivers of mass transportation and their mates. They are, therefore, given the chance to sell their products on Benz buses that ply the routes.
Normally, the herbalist starts his sales message with a prayer and Bible study. He asks the passengers to bow down their heads in supplication to God the father, the son, the Holy Spirit.
When a herbalist asks the passengers to close their eyes and bow their heads, Moslems on board naturally feel offended. They feel that the herbalist has no right to assume that every passenger is a Christian. They think such an assumption is an affront to Islam.
So a Moslem on board will raise the hand for a point of order. He’ll remind the herbalist that it would be in his own interest to mind his language.
“Be careful the way you address people in a public place. Not every person here is a Christian,” he’d state assertively.
Of course, the herbalist will promptly ignore him, but would all the same “watch” his tongue. Who knows whether or not the Moslem brother is inspired by Quoranic zeal to defend the tenets of Islam to the hilt?
When he starts saying, “Wallahi!” and “Inshallah!” it could be the beginning of proclaiming Islam as supreme, a point which must be driven home with talibanic precision.
So the herbalist must tread carefully lest he steps on fire.
The herbalist could even add a measure of mirth to it all, by announcing that Christians on board today have very interesting company on the journey, but that should not detract from the business of the day.
The Moslem brother will weigh the words carefully and offer a wry smile.
He must be careful the occasion does not degenerate into the use of semantics and proverbial oration to deride his conviction that public utterances must be mindful of religious sensibilities. He has made his point very clear and expects that it is taken in good faith in the interest of a peaceful journey.
The herbalist will now open the New Testament and preach salvation, stating clearly that salvation can come only through Jesus Christ and NOBODY else.
The Moslem brother will now start twitching his moustache. The visible and almost revolutionary reflexes of his upper lip can be an indication that sentiments have begun superseding reason, and the outcome could well be tragic now shift uneasily in his seat.
The time has come for him to also express his right to the religion of his fore-bears. He’ll put his hand into his pocket and rise to his feet. The time has indeed come!
This article was first published on Saturday, September 9, 2006
When the cause of a particular problem like sickness, disease, sudden illness, a social issue etc. are not known, it stands to reason that resolving it becomes a huge challenge.
Citizens would understand the government when public announcements are made to the effect that government is trying to find a solution to the issue, even though it is taking a while for it to be resolved because citizens are rational beings.
On the other hand, if the solution to a particular issue is known to everybody but the government for whatever reason, is dragging its feet in resolving it, citizens become frustrated and begin to lose trust in their leaders.
One such issue is the heavy traffic along a section of the Kasoa – Odokor road. A short stretch of bad road between the traffic light at the Weija Government Hospital and the entrance to the entrance of the overhead that leads to the N1, is the cause of the problem but nothing is being done about it, day after day, week after week, month after month. Thus is clearly unacceptable.
Another issue that requires urgent attention is the lack of pavements along a lot of streets in parts of the various Municipal Assemblies. Exercise is a prerequisite for long life and healthy living and for those of us who it has become a way of life, this issue of people putting up structures right to the edge of the drains beside the roads, are making life difficult for us.
We are compelled to walk along the roads, putting our lives at serious risk. Pedestrians should never be compelled to compete with vehicles on our streets and roads. Roads and streets are made for vehicles and pavements are made for pedestrians. That is the norm. Any attempt to normalise a situation where pedestrians are mingling with vehicles is insanity.
It is the road regulations that makes it so and therefore district or municipal assemblies are to take responsibility and ensure that spaces for pavements are not encroached upon. Citizens have rights that must be protected by their leaders and making pavements available to pedestrians, is one of them.
When we hear of teachers having sex with students, it appears it is something recent. It is not a new phenomenon. It has been there since Adam. Perhaps this issue is getting much attention due to the proliferation of social media. It was an open secret in times past when Teachers were in relationships with female students and some married them immediately after completion of school.
Some teachers were also known to be having unholy interactions with female pupils but due to the times that these acts occurred, human rights issues and the awareness around it, allowed such unscrupulous teachers to get away with their crimes.
Now we are in a different era and so a Headmaster is now in hot waters. He is alleged to have raped about 19 female students and as usual, some officials tried to cover it up and are also in hot waters and their actions or inactions in the matter are under investigation.
Why the man has been allowed to roam freely without being arrested is simply mind boggling. It appears that the law applies differently, depending on who you are. This issue came to public attention sometime in August this year, yet the police had not arrested or invited this man for question regarding the rape allegation.
It has come out that he is a Constituency Secretary of the ruling party and the question in the public domain is that, is it because he is a political figure that is why he is still walking around without questioning? I believe in the rule of law so let us hold our breadth and let the proper thing be done.
The police must however be seen to be active in this matter. God bless.
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