A senior counsellor and broadcaster, Rev Oscar Siripi, has attributed the love for quick money among the youth in the country to the kind of messages pastors and other religious leaders preach at their various worship centres.
According to the counsellor, religious leaders are fond of preaching prosperity to the extent that the youth are eager and yearning to become rich by all means without considering the source of their riches.
Rev Siripi said the way religious bodies or leaders praise and worship people who contribute money in churches and other worship places is a key factor to the youth trying to be rich at all costs.
“Today in our various churches, pastors and other religious leaders call different amounts of money during offertory time. People who walk majestically to the offertory bowl to show their class receive anointing prayers and prophecy,” he said.
He said the attitude of some politicians has also become a contributory factor to the youth’s yearning for quick money.
“The way politicians siphon money from the country’s coffers pushes the youth into becoming politicians,” adding that the youth view politics as an easy way of getting rich.
“You see, positions in churches these days are given to people who are perceived to be rich and could support the church during harvest or building projects,” he stated.
Rev Siripi added that pressure from some parents on their children to get rich quick is another area worth looking at.
“When a child completes school and the family or parents begin to compare them with their colleagues or friends, the obvious choice would be to engage in ‘sakawa’ and other evil means to make money.”
Rev Siripi revealed that the love for quick money in the youth had lured some of them into prostitution, stealing, gay practice, drugs and ritual killings.
He added that because many civil servants and politicians wanted to serve their parochial interests in meeting the demands of their lovers, they turn up using their pens and positions to steal state funds meant for development projects.
The counsellor said it was time society, the church and parents began to question the sources of the wealth of their members and children respectively and also preach to them that hard work pays.
“Individuals must understand that life is dynamic and it is not all about money or comparism; society must begin to investigate the sources of people’s wealth and people should understand that quick money acquired the wrong way invites curses and the wrath of God,” Rev Siripi stated.