What is the perception of young people today about work and values? Without batting an eyelid, will some of them help themselves to the public purse if given the chance and flaunt the funds to the 'less smarter' ones? Young people are regularly subjected to a confusing state of dilemma: as older adults advise them to embrace good morals and hard work contrary to what they see and hear in the larger society.
Sometime ago, a teenager told his father that the 11th commandment of the day is "Thou shall not be caught".
The father was aghast! In my reckoning, the young man was simply 'deep' and saying the truth especially in an African setting where corruption is big issue.
And what results are we getting? We are faced with all the atrocities they are made to perpetrate.
Name it.
Is it the internet fraud perpetrated among few youths which is known as the'yahoo boys' syndrome, in Nigeria.
What about other vices such as robbery, assassinations (the elders I believe are not directly involved in the act) What really interests our youths these days? For a change there is different ' TV reality show' on business and management.
I wonder how popular this would be amongst the young people when compared to the 'Big Brother' type.
May be it is a universal challenge going by the experience of a popular American TV icon.
She claimed that some students she visited in a few schools in the US- to offer scholarship - on enquiry indicated that they would prefer I-pods and sneakers whereas some poor kids in South Africa would be happy if they could get their school fees paid with free books in tow.
The latter option she eventually carried out with $40Million of her money this January 2007, by building an excellent school for poor girls of above average academic performance.
So what can we say about the young people in many countries? What can we say about our young people's perception of values and the dignity of labour.
What I can decipher is that they want to be empowered through honest and practical policies that will help them redirect their energies to get 'good things' for themselves as in other clime and leapfrog the country into affluence through provision of jobs.
For instance, there is 'work' everywhere in black Africa but no packaged jobs for the teeming unemployed youths.