We can not take the place of money away from our society. There is a popular saying that goes, "Money answereth all problems." There is nothing you want to do in life that does not involve money. If you are looking for an opportunity to advance in your career, you need money to pursue your dreams. If you want to learn a trade or skill, you certainly need money. If education is what you cherish, you can not take money out of the equation.
.
Therefore, we can say that money is a determining factor in how far someone can go in life—whether it comes from your own funds or someone else is bankrolling you. At some point, and in fact, every day of your life, you will need money. Since money is exchanged for the value you offer through a service or product, it is important to understand that making a lot of money requires providing a service—unless one chooses to engage in fraudulent means of acquiring wealth.
An AI generated image
Money is good, and we all want it. If anyone claims they do not like or need money, perhaps that person is no longer alive. Our society places a significant value on money to the extent that if you do not have it, you may not be considered important. Even within families, the highest giver is often the most welcomed and receives the most favour. This is not limited to families; even in religious institutions, those who give the most are recognized more than those who contribute less, especially toward institutional projects. While there may be nothing inherently wrong with this, the truth is that if someone does not have enough money to take care of themselves, they are likely to develop self-hatred or become aggressive.
As good as money is, what many people do to acquire it is worrisome. Recently, I heard on the news that many shops were shut down by NAFDAC for selling and producing fake drugs. Prior to this, there had already been widespread reports of adulterated drinks being sold in the market. How does one even explain this? I can not understand why some individuals would manufacture fake drugs that could harm others—all in the name of making money. The most pathetic part is that many of these fake drugs are meant for children, including antibiotics and malaria medications. How do these people sleep at night after engaging in such evil?
What I find even more troubling is that these manufacturers have family members who could also be affected by their actions. Imagine that about 3,000 shops were shut down for selling fake medicines—that alone shows how bad the situation is. No wonder young people die so frequently these days. In the past, people lived to be over 100 years old, but now, it is rare to see someone above 90. What can we do about this menace that has invaded our society like a plague?
Apart from this, many young people engage in rituals just to get rich quickly. I remember that when I was growing up, if you came home with money that could not be traced to a legitimate source, your parents would scold you and even disown you. But what do we see these days? Parents are now the ones encouraging their children to do what their mates are doing just to escape poverty. It is even worse now because some parents are unaware of how their children acquire money, especially with the rise of the internet. Many young people hide under the guise of being in tech or content creation while engaging in all sorts of social vices. Only a few educated parents can differentiate between legitimate and illegitimate sources of income.
Who is to blame for all this? Society? The parents? Or the government, which seems indifferent to the future of the younger generation and its citizens?
I hope society can learn to value hard work and honest living instead of glorifying fraud and frivolous lifestyles. People should also take the time to verify the jobs others do before expecting financial assistance from them. However, this may not be easy, considering that more people today need financial help than ever before.