As an adage says ‘money is the root cause of evil; it can push a person to heaven likewise it is capable of leading him or her to hell’. Having huge amounts of money is not a problem but what matters is through which process or how a person gets them. Money that is gotten after too much suffering is usually spent prudently while those stolen are mostly been spent prodigally. The ungoverned love of wealth for years has been the rationale that stimulated many into heinous activities, people that cut coats according to their sizes are contented with the little they earn daily; such category of people are just a few when compared with those that are ready to do anything for money.
Factually, the level of defiance and derailment from the good norms and values of different communities are implications of parental negligence and focused on garnering wealth than setting time to train their offspring well, some spend the whole day in markets, and others at places of work while children are left at homes with nannies or housemaids. Sadly, over-zealous individuals or groups of people in societies prefer to be wealthy through shortcuts, they take part in all forms of atrocities so far they could be rich and famous. It has pushed numerous into unwholesome activities, and the rate of those that engage in money ritual has lately increased; this is obvious as the rate of human bodies found dead without sensitive organs have increased.
Some people in their quest to be rich participate actively in cultism, they sacrifice loved ones like fathers, mothers, cousins, or intimate relatives; they do so without pondering on the implications, majority of them end up in life-long distress. Furthermore, some willingly agree to transport hard drugs or involve in human trafficking primarily over some amounts of money, the risk in these ventures cannot be ascertained as life imprisonment and instant executions are levied on anyone caught no matter the connections he or she has. Misappropriation and embezzlement of public funds meant to install projects for the general public are also caused by excessive love of wealth; they lead to the loss of dignity and put perpetrators alongside their families in shame forever.
Every human action comes with what triggers it, excessive love of wealth, therefore, is not an exception as influence from friends, peers, and family members play a vital role in causing it; the eye tends to believe what it sees, and the heart gradually develops interest on the frequent advices of the rich. Some people heed the bad advice of the rich better than 10 good advices of the poor. Unemployment and idleness are the second cause of excessive love of wealth, idle mind, as it is said, is a devil’s workshop in which negative thoughts meander on daily basis; bad leaders and politicians take advantage of the unemployed youths and recruit them into thuggery and agents of violence on small amounts while their loved ones are studying abroad.
Genuinely, the major causative agent of excessive love of wealth is greed and selfishness, most of those who fell into the traps of accumulating prohibited wealth are doing so due to the inability to control their egos; they end up regretting when their abominable actions are put to the limelight. Disturbingly, the skyrocketing level of poverty and economic hardship of the country also make shallow-minded citizens embrace both good and negative ventures just to get money in return, this has followed negligence from the authorities concerned especially in discharging their tasks, they failed to train people on skills and provide them with necessary tools to thrive.
To put an end to the dastardly behaviour of excessive love of wealth, parents from the scratch should be teaching children the fruits of contentment and enroll them in learning skills for them to be beneficial members of societies without waiting for government jobs after graduating from higher institutions. Governments, ministries and agencies need to eradicate poverty through empowerment, lower the level of economic hardships by stabilizing prices of commodities and orient the general public on the ills of uncontrolled love of luxuries.
Finally, parents, community leaders and all stakeholders should be acting as watchdogs over youths by ensuring that friends mingle with are of good character and politicians that sponsor thugs to deserve to be punished even if they are in government.
Mukhtar wrote from Bauchi
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