The most disturbing phenomenon confronting our youth is the absence of space for ventilating positive attitudes in daily life. People in active life tend to increasingly accept wrong principles as the only principle. More people tend to conform to wrong principles and so have warped the psyche of our youths deleteriously in that direction.
The Light supports right principles and darkness elevates wrong principles. Wrong principles seem to pay off faster, and so most people in the choleric temperament age groups prefer to fall for wrong principles. They seem to blossom and brandish evidences of success faster than people who hold on to right principles. There is continuing combat between Light and Darkness.
Decency has withdrawn from the fray between Light and Darkness. Role models of the right variety are severely lacking.
Wrong principles of conduct loom attractive to unformed minds and in the absence of dissentient opinion given appropriate airing, what is left is garbage for the youth to copy and live by. Knowing Ones who enclave themselves in their remote strongholds are to blame. I do not consider knowledge worth having if it does not show in conduct in private and public life. True knowledge should shine forth like candle on a candle stand and radiate light. Light is forever superior to darkness and the latter must retreat at the advance of light.
It is now vital for humanity who has some light to spread to step forward and stem the ominous retreat of light under unabated advance of darkness through the seemingly rewarding overplay of wrong principles.
Consider the evolution of ‘spraying’ (of currency notes) as an art form. I saw spraying develop in Yorubaland. It evolved from the cognate nature of Yoruba society that compels identification with relations and their joy or misery, and celebrations of both. It was extended rapidly to godfathers of power and employment. Then with politics, it assumed cult significance. Only those who identify at occasions with flourish are propped up whether they qualify or not on the rungs of power. We are worse for it.
I have cousins in my own hamlet who come to our sacred ancestral grove to announce that their profession is fraud. It is hailed as a profession because the young man who unabashedly introduced his profession shows signs of affluence which is persuasive to youth. Youths gravitate to his home regularly to understudy his profession. I have had to send his name to law enforcement authorities because his line of business is bound to bring my hamlet into disrepute sooner or later. A number of my cousins who are his proteges have run into foul weather and have been put away. But that does not bother other students of the trade. The allurement is quick money and symbols of arrival at relevance which money offers.
The fact is that our community in times past actually ostracised kinsmen whose means of livelihood is doubtful. In living memory, people who were thieves were brought before the village and flogged openly if no one in a crowd of spectators to a trial stepped up and vouched for an accused of thievery or other disdainful conduct. The truth now is that sons of the icons of rectitude have so denigrated their parents and shut them up with money and what money can buy that they are now morally incapable of even standing up against their sons. That is a daunting dilemma of our times which role models of decency should stand up to combat.
Despicable conduct of adults who find position and power as levers for riding on the crest of waves of popularity and wealth have impacted on our youths with attendant blurring of margins between what is socially responsible and what is socially destructive. There is a satanic compulsion to eat and drink and make merry unceasingly as soon as money not worked for comes one’s way. It is an axiom that people who work hard for money are not usually found trifling with money and what money can buy. They are usually thrifty and purposeful with expenditure. But people who court government and strive to acquire power meant for service of the people soon turn around to create comforts of the wrong kind for themselves and their army of dependants to the detriment of youth.
In this sense, they are culpable agents of the warping of the psyche of youth who find such lifestyles captivating on account of their lack of vision of alternative choices and the severe absence of competing alternative lifestyles. Usually, vanity and profligacy attends such detrimental lifestyles. Youths gravitate because they find food and drinks and access to relevance. Soon they are rewarded with relevance and imbibe the same culture as basis of their conduct.
Their progress is alluring to other youth. There is in consequence gravitation to centres of power where profligacy is rife. New cults develop geometrically and snuff out positive role models from vain youth. In a short while, nothing is found to be wrong with purchasing agents to take examinations for privileged and rich folks’ youth. Rich folks’ youth are the brains behind secret cults that compel obeisance from established authority in defiance of positive value development in such institutions. So we have bred at least one generation of poorly-oriented youth who would need one generation of orientation to become ingredients for real national growth and development of increasing ranges of choices which I call civilisation.