KUSH EFFECT
(Lamin Sanneh, Final Semester Economics Student, School of Education, University of The Gambia)
Date published: 9th July, 2024
Publisher: IPRO-MINISTRY, EDUSA
By: Lamin Sanneh
Final Year Economics Student
Phone: +220 2011896
Tears roll down when one thinks about the effect Kush has meted on the youths of the smiling coast of Africa.
Watching footages from afar, breaks one’s heart and fill it with sorrow. How can a country of such a youthful population be plunged into such a menace?
It baffles me to think of why one would be tempted to take in a drug that will cause his demise at once. Other drugs might give pleasure to the inhalers, but Kush, clearly, kills in a deadliest fashion than no other drug might have ever done before.
An excerpt from Center for Policy Research and Strategic Studies (CepRass) indicates that The Gambia has a youthful population of almost 60% of its 2.2 million people and are under the age of 25. Such figures should be symbolic to the country’s productiveness and show its readiness to move from the circle of low income countries with a high poverty index to at least a middle income earners in Africa. However, this is far from the actual. The government has not been very supportive in the stride to make this a reality. Anyway, that will be a separate piece. My problem and point of focus is the effect of Kush on our youthful population.
Despite the lapses of the government, I am of the view and notion that the youths should show a face of seriousness and integrity to move this tiny country to a better level with the little or no effort from the government. Has this mental modicum and zeal fashioned in the minds of these suicidal youths? Sadly, I am pessimistic about the reality of that.
According to Low-income Africa – ISS African Futures The Gambia is among the 23 Low Income Countries in Africa with so much debt. That menace should be eradicated or wined down by the government. The youths, including myself, should think outside the box and come up with pragmatic solutions to have their quota felt by all. Are we not able to reduce the unemployment rate by being job creators in our own ways? Are we not able to learn skills and become professionals in our own ways? Are we not able to bring in innovative ideas to our offices and transform them for the good of all? I know there are factors hindering some of these answerable questions, but holding all those factors constant, which may also be in dispute with the reality, I think The Gambia would have been in a better front than it is today.
I believe the effect would not have been felt if the youths were busy in meditation and contemplation of how to deal with the unfortunate of our nation. The Kush would have been cursed had the youths been busy at their workshops. The Kush market would have been deserted if the youths were busy signing business dealings with potential customers.
What is nicer than having self independence and financial freedom? Hello fellow youths, let’s make our nation and her people proud by contributing affirmatively. Let’s rethink and redo things for the betterment of ourselves and our people. It is our country. It is either we change for the best or perish.
To this end, I reiterate line 1 of our anthem: For the Gambia Our Homeland.
Article By: Lamin Sanneh