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The Session...

Think about these verses in the Bible while we begin with the discussion.

 1 Timothy 6:9-11

9: Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.
10: For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
11: But you, O man of God, flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.

I’m yet to recover from the shocking television footage of the two Kasoa teenagers and the 10-year-old boy they killed for money rituals.
The action of these youth is shocking, but you know I’m not shocked that our country has got this far and can get worse.
Could this be the result of bad parenting?
What do you think?
Views shared during the session (Bad parenting)

One thing I've noticed and I always tell my parent is that the type of training I received is not the same as my siblings who were born after 2000 are receiving.
When I say that to them, they admit it is true.
But when I ask why, they don't have any answers for me. So, the nature of training we received both from our parents in collaboration with our school has shifted.
Shifted in terms of quality; intent, conscious training, time, and so on.
Gone are the days when parents are intentional about how they train their children. Another factor could be the way we want to adopt western culture so bad that we forget where we came from.
Some parents don't care about their wards. I wonder if they know their attitudes affect these little ones.
Recently, my cousin got missing and when his dad was contacted by someone who found her, he said he was busy and that he could only go for her on a Saturday.
Our culture is lost. Look at our books now. Foreign contents.
Our syllabus, our laws in school, no use of the cane if a child is wrong, etc.
Yeah, poor parenting can attribute to that. Gone are the days when a child misbehaves any mother/adult can discipline him/her but today try and see.
You will get a mother who will boldly tell you that "Obiaa ba nye"- every child is bad which is very bad.
I also think peer pressure and (media) influence can't also be factored out. In that, the youth are easily engulfed with what they see, watch and listen to.
There are also some peers with who when you are in company, you copy blindly.
I very much remember when l was in the University, my roommate was fond of teasing me as to why l wasn't having a girlfriend and was always on me to take girlfriends/lovers.
He together with some guys set me up using a certain lady several times but to no avail. So you can imagine if l wasn't wise enough to take decisions on what l wanted, they would have influenced me badly.
What is the nature of parenting we're witnessing in modern-day Ghana?
According to Sharron Frederick, LCSW, a psychotherapist at Clarity Health Solutions, children who have little or no discipline are left to fend for themselves, which can result in injuries and also do bad things to get rich quickly.
Nowadays children are being pampered so much that you can't discipline them or sit them down for advice.
The Bible says, train up the child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it. But in our modern setting, we've gone off.
But some will say that parents who practice strict or rigid discipline (aka authoritarian parenting) do not allow their children to explore their world, which often leads to a child who becomes fearful and anxious, or rebellious.
I hope we here and youth coming up will pay more attention to our children and train them in the ways of God, teach them how to work and make money and be great citizens.

Our educational system as a cause

Can we hold our education system responsible?

Views Expressed During The Session

Okay, education to me starts from home.
If we calculate the time spent in school and the home, one would realise that we spend more time at the home than in school. If a student will be a good student, it begins from the home.
Everything depends on the home. Now to the question, our schools or education system is a big failure. We see changes every day but our educational system remains the same. It is not structured enough to accommodate students, and help them learn and practice knowledge.
Teaching jobs are now open to anyone who needs to make a living so we don't have the committed teachers we used to have. Every sector in the education system is falling apart and no one is doing anything about it.
Because the mother ship, the country we live in is falling apart and we are not doing anything about it.

THE HOME

Charity begins at home. Parents do their best, but when they get to school, they meet new people, new cultures, etc. Where they can get or are likely to pick up some attitude.
It behooves parents to help their wards to live good lives. Structures put up at home could help the child be good or bad. No matter how exposed they will be bad friends, the teachings at home will never leave them.
Our schools should teach children how they can use their talents and brain to make money for themselves not completing school SHS or University and waiting for jobs.
This happens when people don't find a job based on what they study in school.
I once asked my students whilst teaching them careers in Agriculture, how many of them want to be farmers in the future and own their job. They said, "never madam, we can't be farmers." Former President John Kufuor has urged the Ghanaian media to eradicate from their airwaves, money spiritualists, and ritualists what’s your take on this?
Is there something like money doubling in the spiritual world?

Ritualists engaged in money doubling is a big scam, do you think so?
Let's remember that the devil will not give you money for free. Now our youths are into this “sakawa” and blood money and want to get rich quickly. That's why they are dying quickly too.
I think it is all about the ego and pride of the youth. They want money badly and quickly to show off.

To quickly recap, I'd like you to give one piece of advice to the youth out there with this get money quick syndrome and how do you think the government can also help?
To the youth, they should study themselves and know what they can do better and self-train or consult others to become better and earn a living.
Also, the government should introduce more vocational schools that would help students come out with skills after Junior High School and Senior High School.
If that happens, get rich quick ideas won’t get to our youths.
The youth should identify their potentials and aims and develop themselves in that regard. You wouldn’t have to think of getting rich quickly when you know your purpose.
They should be teachable. Get mentors and ask for help.

To add up...

There is nothing like blood money that can make you rich overnight.
They advertise that they can make you rich and when you do this, they kill you.
Nobody can double your money and make you rich. If you don’t work hard, you don't have to think that someone can make you rich.

Christodia Okorley