Dr. Jones Opoku-Ware, a criminologist and lecturer at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), believes that the violent clashes at the school, as well as the recent one at the University of Ghana, can be attributed to a growing taste for violence among the youth.
As a result, he believes the country should be concerned about the issues.
According to his analysis and research, there is some form of violence and mob mentality infiltrating Ghana’s youth.
In understanding and tracing the origins of this challenge, the lecturer stated that today’s youth are interested in destroying property simply to satisfy their rage.
“This is something we must face. It begins in our secondary schools and progresses to our tertiary institutions. If we do not exercise caution and deal with the situation holistically, we may end up with a bunch of violent people who will engage in lawlessness.
I am very concerned based on where I am and what I have learned. This is not the first time I’ve said it. I have stated on other platforms that the mob and violent mentality that has infiltrated the Ghanaian youth is cause for concern.
In his diagnosis, he stated that our schools, families, and religious groups had failed us.
“This is a reflection of our failing social institutions. If we want responsible citizens, our social institutions must be effective. The most critical period in a child’s life is between the ages of 0 and 7. That is where the family must raise the children to become what we want them to be in society. However, our family system has been dysfunctional for some time. We are witnessing a moral breakdown in our family systems, which is concerning.”
”If you negligent in doing all these things, the street is going to raise your children for you, and when the street raise your children for you, you will see the effects, he added.
He went on to claim that churches, mosques, and other religious organizations had also failed, with the majority of pastors selling oils and other items.
The school system has also failed us by providing inadequate basic education to our children.
He stated that our foreign counterparts do not joke at the primary level of education because they have the majority of teachers with the highest level of education.
He stressed that ”when it comes to these universities, some of the students are into occultism and socially deviant behaviours”.
”There is a complete breakdown of all the social institutions that are supposed to mould our children to become very responsible and be able to fit into the larger society. So when they come to the university, they only come to live themselves.”
