Abdul-Hamid Writes: Why the Kasoa incident didn't shock me

The sad news of the murder of the ten year old boy by two teenagers in Kasoa didn't come as a surprise to me at all for a number of reasons:

First ofTof all,a Kasoa are like the headquarter of fraud boys. I've lived in Tamale and I have enough information about Kasoa. Sometimes when you talk it's like you're envious so we have to just shut up and watch but how on earth will your mates and juniors some of whom are in school, some have never worked before, most from poor backgrounds be able to get money to afford cars, rent apartments and adorn the most expensive clothes? If you're not discipline, at your weakest, you may want to know how and possibly join them. Those kids wanted to know how and they were taught how.

In our communities now, fraud has been normalised as a profession. Not once, not twice but on several occasions I've heard one brother or another identify himself as a scammer with pride. The young Zongo girls are very proud in telling people their boyfriends are scammers. I've seen fathers drive their 25 year olds cars without asking how they got it. We've heard them offering sadaqat to imams to pray for them and there are imams who actually pray for them.

Then again, there are a thousand and one TV stations belonging to Juju men, fake mallams and fetish priests inviting people to come and double money or get help with money rituals. They're here on facebook advertising under various posts. In this country, unless you're a political opponent, the laws won't deal with you. Are you telling me there's nothing the NMC or the Communication Ministry can do to ban these people? In fact serious radio stations like Adom FM who should know better actually entertain some of there spiritualists. Who is protecting the citizen from some of these dangerous stuff?

Our leaders at the community levels, chiefs, local imams, DCEs etc must sit up. The media should protect us. Money is important but money alone won't develop this country. The media must actually do more to stop entertaining these people.

The security services know these fraud boys. Back in Kete Krachi where I come from, last year a police officer sold his car to a fraud boy. Imagine! We must be making life difficult for crooks instead of worshiping them because they have money.

There's pressure on all of us to do well and support our parents. At certain ages there's great pressure to appear to be living well and getting married or else you've failed. Funny enough, it's your own family and community who will bring this pressure. If you're not tough, you'll fall for fraud and scam.

We need proper role models to start talking. Those who work for their wealth have to start talking... Our imams and pastors must start preaching on things like this. It's difficult for the average Joe in Ghana to start living large unless after 35 to 40.

Finally, we must look at child birth. People should give birth only when they can afford to give birth and raise the kids. Everyone is giving birth but very few are parenting. Those days it took the village to raise the child and the community to keep the parents sane. These days nobody cares about anyone's child and nobody cares about what another does. In this rat race, we forget the kids behind. We don't pay attention to what they're learning on our blind side.