Just recently some business people in Nairobi in a meeting told me that some of the alleys I see in the city have notoriety for youths taking drugs, cheap alcohol but hidden in some way or at times converted into quick sessions for sexual activities especially when it is dark.
Walking around the city of Nairobi I have seen a growing business in sports bet gambling. Whenever there are football matches especially over the weekends more so English Premier League most public joints such as restaurants and pubs are fully packed across the country. The same for when say UEFA Champions leagues and other leagues are played during the week or international matches whenever they are on.
I sought to find the nexus of this with gambling and I found it is quite strong especially with youth and even adults. I don’t have a problem with gambling if it is done responsibly.
Similarly, with alcohol consumed moderately and responsibly. For drugs and illicit sex, it is a big NO. The same big NO for addicted kind of gambling or the same behaviour with alcohol or consuming the dangerous varieties.
Lately, a friend who is a good businessman confided to me that his adult child (as the others are too young) is deep in drugs. He told me as the parents they have tried to do everything possible to dissuade him to no avail. Being the only boy child in the family in the typical African set up where sons are seen as first priority heirs to wealth, the couple has done everything to make the young lad succeed even through initiating him to their business to get the experience plus taking him to a prestigious university.
However, his conduct and behaviour has always disappointed them. The father told me that they have tried even very harsh discipline but all the time it becomes worse. All possible tricks including counseling have been tried to no avail. His money demands and spending habits worries them a lot as he has to by all means look for money to buy drugs. This and many others are some of the indicators we have a drug problem in Kenya and so are the other aforementioned ills.
On illicit sex, it is worrying despite the continued HIV/AIDs menace in our society people and especially the youth are taking such activities carefree. Prostitution is also big in our society. Obviously all manner of bad behaviours are prevalent in our society. So why all this?
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I sought some information from various parties and organisations some of which are involved in fighting these vices. I have gotten a lot of useful information. Similarly, I have over time on my own accord engaged in doing research on these deviant behaviours from the affected groups of people and some of those deeply in them.
The answers I get range from economic issues (a significant part of it), social (relating to family issues, environmental conditioning) and also a bit of politics and so on. Yet still you can’t underrate the influence of modern technology such as social media and societal breakdowns. Our liberal environment, though useful for creativity, innovation and economic, political and social advancements, is also an opening to acquire bad influences from a local and global perspective.
While I really sympathize with many youths due to our economic conditions, I worry that their self-destructive activities are making their future darker than it could become. Idleness coupled with frustrations due to lack of suitable jobs or rewarding economic opportunities has driven so many of them to aforementioned self-destructive activities.
Taking the many youths to programmes such as National Youth Service (NYS), useful as it is, is not adequate if thereafter they can’t find suitable jobs. Notwithstanding the many other challenges leading youth to self-destructive activities, we have to fix the economic challenge by all means and this includes exporting labour and initiating programmes that spur great economic activities. This includes a ruthless crackdown on corruption. Corruption is the biggest economic and political destroyer. So part of the fixing is to stop it as part of the matrix to fixing our economic woes that includes these destructive elements seen in our youth.
By Harrison Mwirigi Ikunda
The Writer is a Political, Economic and Social Analyst and Commentator and the CEO – Kenya Motor Repairers Association (KEMRA).
hm.ikunda@gmail.com/kenyamotorrepairersassociation@gmail.com
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