In Kenya, it has become accepted that riches are for those who steal

What have we done to our youth? Indeed, what are we doing to these impressionable young minds so that now they are freely admitting they are not only willing to accommodate crass materialism, they actually admire it and would, given the chance, emulate its most avid practitioners?

These are not idle questions, for in simple terms, we have of late learnt that a huge number of young Kenyans are ready to cut corners and even delve into criminality to make money, so long as they do not get caught doing it.

This is the very definition of impunity, and is what has kept this country in the shackles of corruption and decay for too long.

According to the “Kenya Youth Survey” conducted by an outfit known as East African Institute, almost half of the country’s youths admire people who have made money regardless of how they did it, while a slightly lesser figure do not mind receiving a bribe or paying one to get things done.

Now, I confess I do not put too much stock in such surveys — probably because nobody has ever sought my opinion on anything significant – but I gave this one the benefit of the doubt, for the findings appear to verge on reality.

In this country, it has become accepted that you cannot grow rich unless you steal, preferably from the government.

Let us face it; nobody in his or her right mind abhors money or possessions.

Very few people, except maybe some religious zealots, want to be poor all their lives.

Indeed, the quest for material well-being is noble, the only problem being how we go about it.

When we were young, we were told that if we worked hard in the shamba, we would have enough food to eat, and our parents would make enough money from the cash crops we tended (in my case, coffee) to pay our school fees.

NO WORK ETHICS

And when we did go to school, we were taught that if we worked hard, we would pass exams and go on to better things in life such as white-collar jobs and monthly salaries to buy us nice cars, houses and wives.

A lot of that, of course, turned out to be rubbish, but it did inculcate in us, always under strict, punitive discipline, a work ethic that has, years later, benefited many.

However, something strange happened along the way.

Those who worked hard in their shambas and in school started observing that some of their classmates did not appear to struggle in any way, and yet they ate life with a big spoon.

Is it any wonder that we seem to have tossed the work ethic out the window and now glorify any enterprise, however bent, that would make us rich without breaking a sweat?

Is it any wonder that the methods a few use to make loads of money, methods that can never pass the test of probity, are increasingly becoming acceptable and even admirable?

And is it any wonder that these are the same people we elect into political leadership and mistake their patronage using the proceeds of plunder as altruistic benevolence?

As I have indicated before, I have no problem whatsoever with making money though, personally, I have no clue how to go about it.

It is also clear that one does not have to toil to become wealthy or even reasonably comfortable; there are those who know how to work smart, and those who know how to multiply what little money they start with by making it work for them.

For such people, I doff my hat and positively envy their prowess.

A HUGE LOOT
Unfortunately, it is becoming fashionable to think that only fools work hard to make an honest shilling. And, judging from the survey, our youth have taken note.

The problem is, this cynical outlook on life is designed to benefit only a few; the rest end up doing time in jail, for they do not know that, to paraphrase Chinua Achebe, if you must eat a toad, you look for a big, juicy one.

If you do that in Kenya, you can still buy or manipulate the entire justice system and end up making yearly token trips to the courts until you die of old age, or better still, buy your way to Parliament where you even get to chair a crucial committee or two.

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