This Country’s Children Are Dying

I personally do not want the NPP back into power. Yes I see great men like Mr. Boateng in their fold but it is in their time that I saw the worst rot unfold in this country of ours. Specifically “sakawa” (cyber fraud first by an influx of Nigerians and then by kids of all ages and then by frustrated educated youth), I saw “kwashe” (motorbikes being used to snatch mobile phones and handbags at gun and cutlass point, my own siblings were not spared, a friend had to contend with a gunpoint robbery by them, and my own business was not spared). The third one was drugs (news of influx at such a level that was unfathomable even to the point of rumored disappearance of bag loads from ships and of all places the police headquarters).

I saw children acquire great wealth via sakawa but it appeared Karma was after them, for they lost it as quickly as they gained it. I saw accidents occur with the influx of unregistered cars driven by these young kids who had acquired sudden affluence and I was a victim of one accident.

Yes the economists must have observed that our economy was given a significant boost with the explosive inflow of cash into the country from opulent and decadent whitemen hoping to ‘get some’ and honest ones hoping to find love. There were those unfortunate many that lost their money to gold scams and the promise of an African queen. But on the ground prices of goods and services had hiked massively as “new money” (albeit decadent) challenged “old money”. The ordinary bloke was obliterated as sellers of basic goods and services realized all of a sudden that they could quote high prices and still get buyers. “The sakawa boys can always afford”.

I sat in the midst of all these as they unfolded. I had just quit my research oriented job in order to find my dream in information technology. Granted, the sudden interest in internet cafes gave my Computer systems installation and networking skills a boost and put some money in my pocket but then the rot had begun. For in all these cafes that I maintained to keep running, a phenomenon was occurring. The business people, the students, the researchers, and families with distant relations who used to frequent these cafes every time I went to do maintenance were dwindling and dwindling fast. Replacing them were kids as young as 7 often in very shabby clothing, visiting the most obnoxious websites not only for visual gratification but to harvest photographs of all sorts to present to prospective sexual partners across the globe, proceeding to impersonate these often sultry looking nude facades (photographs). I could not turn them away because I did not own nor moderate these cafes. I felt the helplessness, the impotence, the desperation sweeping across the youth.

While the nation especially parents generally distanced themselves from the whole unfolding, conditioning their minds to believe that sakawa was a distant evil phenomenon that their children could never be a part of, their children (both male and female) and even spouses were bringing home spoils of this social decadence (sakawa). It is with this same distant attitude that they observe the leadership of the country and politics.

With all the knowledge in psychology that I had acquired in my 4 year stint in the university, I embarked on an observational study of the phenomenon. I decided the party I had voted into power (NPP) was the worst thing that could happen to the country (my apology to all their supporters). For what I observed was what I term “Amoral decadence”. I knew they had to go. But who was coming in their stead? I decided anyone who would address the decadence and save our children.

The decadence was addressed somewhat with the changing of government to the new administration (NDC) as they appeared to have secured internal security and our borders. But then the solution to sakawa does not lie in just clamping down on it (which has not been achieved), it is already underground and would only sink deeper. The youth need to be saved. And I am not impressed with the efforts of the current dispensation (NDC).

The youth and their parents need better opportunities; better functioning systems so they can turn away from this disturbing practice and make genuine living. We may not achieve zero rates, as sakawa is partly a side-effect of internet technology, but we can attain a high level of abhorrence for the practice of sakawa.

I knew many of these kids, I interacted with them. They are ordinary, they exhibit a high degree of embarrassment at what they do but you can see the desperation in their eyes. They are humble and polite and many of them have embarked on academic programmes with their loot. But what will happen if the reality hits them that they cannot acquire a fair waged job, not even a poorly paid one with all their investment in education? What will happen?

Those who will read this most likely can afford to cater for a child, but the allure of the sleek looking car, driven by that poor man’s son will soon be too irresistible for your child… he will also die to be like them.

Save our children. Choose a responsible government. Demand responsibility from the government. We need to make the system function better.

NOTE:

I wrote a comprehensive article dissecting cyber fraud and recommending solutions (I don’t just nag). It was republished on several other websites including Myjoyonline, cybercrimeop, modernghana, nigerianvoice etc. It also inspired a documentary by Motherboard.tv which was misrepresented by CNN. It can be found at my blog at

http://changeghana.com/home/featured-articles/cyber-fraud-in-ghana.-a-cause-for-concern.html

Here is the original Motherboard.tv documentary

http://motherboard.tv/2011/4/5/the-sakawa-boys-inside-the-bizarre-criminal-world-of-ghana%E2%80%99s-cyber-juju-email-scam-gangs

Here is CNN’s misrepresentation (insulting eh?)

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/web/04/05/motherboard.ghana.sakawa/index.html

DISCLAIMER:

NPP and NDC mentioned in this article are just alphabet soups and Mr. Boateng is a fictitious character.

By Matthew Anorkplim Loh [email protected]