…It encourages youths to embrace criminal acts for money

…You’ve role to play in stopping this, Soludo tasks churches

…Parents, traditional rulers, churches are to blame

ENUGU —IGBO is known for hard work and strong entrepreneurial spirit. They work hard for their wealth. They are not lazy and do not encourage laziness, hence they celebrate genuine wealth acquired through hard work and visible means of livelihood.

Celebrating questionable wealth is not an Igbo culture. It is therefore disappointing that today in Igbo land, questionable wealth is celebrated and adored without anybody, including the government, the church, families, and the society at large, raising questions. This, perhaps, is one of the things that fuel the security crisis in Igbo land; the drive for easy money at all costs by the youths. The question is; what has gone wrong?

You have a big role in changing the situation —Soludo tasks churches

Addressing Anglican Bishops last week during their retreat held at the All Saints’ Cathedral Onitsha, Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State, charged them to include the matter in their agenda as the church can help to find the solution for the problem.

“We now have a society where we celebrate something for nothing; where even in Christianity, we now preach that you can have a crown without a cross. We tell people that you can have wealth without work, that God is a money-doubler, only pay your tithe and you go and lie down and cover yourself with a blanket; God will multiply it 10 times.

“We no longer tell people about responsible Christianity, no, it is the hard one. If you tell them no cross, no crown, you will not be a popular one. It is when we tell a young apprentice ‘you will become a billionaire by the end of the year,’ he will say, ‘I claim it,’ how? All those roadside churches and pastors preaching all these warp theology and Christianity are deceiving the people.

“The youths, by 9:00am, are in the beer parlour drinking beer and they expect to build skyscrapers tomorrow, how? We want to hold people accountable. If you have wealth, like displaying all manner of obscene wealth and nobody asks what you do for a living? “A society where you no longer ask people what they do for a living is a society that has no future. Even the ministers of God do not ask. We celebrate wealth without work and if the church continues to celebrate this, a society gets what it celebrates,” Soludu said and urged the bishops to have the matter as one of the issues for discussion.

Bishop Sunday Onuoha of the Methodist Church and co-chair, of Interfaith Dialogue and Peace Forum expressed worry over this ugly attitude and called on institutions of the ethical compass in Igbo land to stop it. The cleric regrets that even the pulpit managers are involved in this to the surprise of the masses.

“We have a young generation that has been provoked and the moral compass has collapsed. Key institutions of ethical compass must stop celebrating flamboyant life, and arrogant display of wealth.

“Our young people sit back in the church with pain when the pulpit managers promote and celebrate the wealthy people of questionable character. Young ones in the community watch with agony when people of dubious means are given chieftaincy titles; they even watch when men of evil backgrounds get elected into public offices because they can buy their way through.

“The young people are hungry and angry and unfortunately, they resort to unethical ways of life because men who should be the role model are publicly rewarding questionable life-styles,” Onuoha said, noting that integrity is of great value.

We should go back to our customs, traditions —Ebonyi Monarch

The traditional ruler of Nkaliki Echara Unuhu autonomous community, Ebonyi State, Ezeogo Sunday Oketa advocates a return to the original customs and traditions of the Igbo as part of the solution. He blames the get-rich-quick syndrome, ritual killing, kidnapping, armed robbery, Yahoo, and other criminal activities destroying Igbo land on the abandonment of Igbo culture and proliferation of churches as well as exposure to social media.

“Igbo are independent people who struggle hard to feed themselves. Igbo are like the Jews who were created with special intelligence and gifts. They are hard-working people and engage in genuine businesses. That culture followed us until recently when things fell apart and the centre could no longer hold. Our children today indulge in many evils and criminal things just to get quick money.

“The solution is to bring back those cultures destroyed by Western culture. What we are passing through today is our sin of abandoning our original customs and traditions,” the monarch said.

Govt, the church, family and community are responsible —Prelate

The Rector, of Alive Theological Seminary of Nigeria, Owerri, Bishop Emmanuel Uzoma attributes the problem to moral decadence in almost all facets of society and notes that churches, communities, families, and governments share in the blame.

“There is moral decadence in the entire society and this is the fallout. I blame almost all sectors, the church, community, family, and government. Many churches don’t preach the undiluted gospel of morality but dwell on messages of prosperity.

“Communities celebrate wealth by conferring traditional titles on those who acquired money, irrespective of the means. Governments have failed to provide jobs due to corruption in the system. So, everyone is culpable. To retrace our steps, we must redirect our priorities and begin reorientation. The media have a lot to do in this aspect,” he said.

A retired NIPOST staff, a native of Umuodu village, Owerri, Murphy Emeto frowns at the practice, saying it is alien to Igbo culture and tradition.

“What is playing out in our cherished Igbo land is not only most uncomfortable and unfortu-nate but completely alien to Igbo custom and tradition.

“Today, the quest for quick money is in vogue, with the youths committing all types of evils to make money. And the ugly practices have taken a frightening dimension, including human trafficking and kidnapping for ransom. The fear now is that organ harvesting is taking centre stage.

“I must remind us that the famous Otokoto uprising in Owerri was a frontal attack on the nouveau riche with questionable wealth. The protest was spontaneous. Our greedy youths must be very careful. Our leaders should wake up and tackle this ugly trend.””

Parents no longer give attention to their children —Prof. Opata

In his contribution, a professor of African Fiction, Damian Opata said the Igbo society is in a period of moral crisis due to inadequate moral training of children. He further said that the lack of sanction for social deviants further propels more youths into a get-rich-quick mentality.

“The Igbo, like many other societies in the world, are going through a period of moral crisis. First, there is almost a total breakdown of parenting. In very many instances, both parents are either working or trading or engaged in various types of businesses. As such, most parents do not spend much time with their children. This means that many children are no longer grounded in the moral and ethical codes of society.

“Secondly, many parents are not concerned about how their children make money. There are instances where parents take their children to learn yahoo yahoo from successful yahooists. Another factor is the flashy and expensive lifestyle of some rich individuals. The youths know that some of these people did not make money in a legal conventional way and they are celebrated by society. These attitudes provide an excuse for many youths to do anything to get money,” he said.

Reacting, Chief Gabriel Ndubuisi, a community leader in Umudioka, Dunukofia Council of Anambra State said: “We need to start changing the mentality of the new generation. Some of the people being adored in society do not have tangible business. Imagine a situation whereby someone does not have a visible means of livelihood, but parades the town with so many expensive cars and he is hailed whenever he is seen.”

Parents and religious leaders have failed in their roles —Cleric

The National Secretary of the Church of God Seventh Day, Nigeria, Evang. Okechukwu Ukaegbu condemns this and said: “It is a manifestation of the loss of norms and values of the society. The society worships wealth. Youths now see wealth as the most important thing in life. Nothing matters but wealth.

“What is happening is best explained as a situation where society has lost its norms and values. Today, the improvement in technology is being used for internet fraud. Parents and religious leaders have failed woefully in their roles. We now worship wealth no matter how it is acquired. So, our youths have imbibed the new ‘culture’ to pursue wealth at all costs. Parents are now encouraging their children to engage in internet fraud to make money. Some students have dropped out of school to pursue wealth; what is the future of our society? We are doomed unless we retrace our steps.”

It is time to reflect on who we are —Ohanaeze chieftain

The former state Chairman of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Professor Chidi Osuagwu blames the situa-tion on the erosion of morals.

“That is what happens when you are in a state of anomie. The Igbo are subsumed in a Nigeria that is totally in disarray; in a state that is interested in the destruction of the Igbo. The time has come to know who we are. The Igbo is hurt but not destroyed totally. It is time to reflect.”

Chief Azuka Okoroigwe heapedthe blame on the traditional rulers and churches. He also named musicians who eulogize rich people irrespective of how they made their wealth . Such actions, he said, make the younger ones feel that since they are accepted in the society by the leaders, there is nothing wrong in making money through any means.