Excessive Love Of Wealth: A Pivotal Factor That Triggers Individual And Societal Problems -By Mukhtar Garba Kobi

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 absolutely not a problem but what matters is through which process or how a person get them. Money that are gotten after too much sufferings are 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 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 group of people in societies prefer to be wealthy through short-cuts, they take part in all forms of atrocities in-so-far they could be rich and famous. It has pushed numerous into unwholesome activities, the rate of those that engage in money ritual have 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 imprisonments and instant executions are the 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 is also caused by excessive love of wealth; they led 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 exceptions as influence from friends, peers and family members played vital role in causing it; eye tend to believe what it sees and heart gradually develops interest on the frequent advices of the rich; some people heed to the bad advice of the rich better than ten good advices of the poor. Unemployment and idleness are the second caused of excessive love of wealth, idle mind as it is says 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 that fell into the traps of the 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 limelight. Disturbingly, the skyrocketing level of poverty and economic hardship of a 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 dastard behavior 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 governments’ jobs after graduating from higher institutions. Governments, ministries and agencies need to eradicate poverty through empowerments, 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 characters and politicians that sponsor thugs deserve to be punished even if they are in governments.

Mukhtar writes from Bauchi and can be reached via garbakobim@gmail.com