FRAUD DOMINATING THE MINDSET OF LADS IN THE CENTRAL REGION.

Early 2000, it was unclear when I first heard the word, "SAKAWA". As a youngster, I took it upon myself to know what it entails through questionnaire. By then, it was the elderly ones' who were seen and heard of endulging in such transactions with their penpals outside the country.

 Now, it has become so much renowned and fashionable among the younger generation; that even a twelve year old boy can give a vivid description of it and the number of "mugus" (penpals) he has and chat daily with them online.

 I was amazed hearing three junior high pupils from the public schools of about thirteen to sixteen years, gossip about this business (as they call it), on their way to school last month at Nkwanta in the Central Region, near Agona Swedru. It was around 7.00 am and the older one amongst them boasted of knowing the "new clients and fresh sites that mugus (the name given to white friends)" are found and the format to capture the attention of the clients and make drain their pockets afterwards.

 His chat went on for about thirty minutes nonstop. To my dismay, he even boasted of his latest achievements of helping his peers get money from the their white friends many times. "Though some mugus are stubborn, but we eventually grab them and they later send some dollars and electronic machines within a few days", he said. "All you have to do is to look SHARP" and persuade them with more "vibes". Another boy told his story, that he is only sent by his senior brothers to get them credit cards, to chat with their clients on phone or sometimes online. At other times too, he go out to check if the internet links in the cafés are working, then he comes back to pick their laptops and arrange for them to start working in the evenings specifically. 

The towns and cafés they do these deals were not mentioned. This, has become the daily routine for many children within Agona Swedru and its suburbs, Kwanyako, Nyarkrom, Bawjiase, Kasoa and the nearby towns for a couple of years now, leading many of them being school dropouts, failure during examinations for the fact that the child does not pay maximum attention to his books and evetually, graduate into holliganism, streetism, drugtrafficking and the likes. Last two weeks Tuesday, I had a chat with a 19year old boy who has no interest in schooling because "its a waste of time", he said. He told me he completed J.H.S two years ago and he's content with it for the fact that he can read and write.

 "I completed J.H.S last two years and its okay". "Am a businessman". Don Sketches, as he said was his name, had a tattoo of a human skull on the right hand. He had some rubber bands on his right hand, wearing a white T-Shirt, a pair of black jeans and birkenstock. In his white shirt was written, "Y3 P3 SIKA, WOSE SKULL". Seeing these inscriptions, made me draw closer to him in a friendly manner and after his phone call, we started our chat which lasted for eighteen minutes.

 He told me he can earn dollars within a couple of days so, "why waste time in school, afterall, its only a piece of paper you get and even with that, you struggle so much before you get a job for yourself, noo, am my own boss now"! Immediately he gets the client, all he has to do is to see some "mokode"(a slang for spiritual consultants, especially mallams) to "put things together and after some days, money will be flowing in my accounts from the mugu". Speaking to some parents at Bawjiase and Kasoa they all accepted that, its becoming too much and that, today, you see some young guys in porsh cars, motorcycles and spending huge sums of money lavishly. 

They therefore suggested that, our spiritual leaders in Ghana, must intercede on behalf of these young ones. Ghana needs a lot of prayers, he said. An old woman of 58years who refused to disclose her identity said that his 20year old son no longer sleep at home. From morning to evening, he hangs out with his peers and always busy going up and down, from café to café. She said it was her intention to make his son learn a vocation but refused immediately he joined that company after school, though he had a good grade, but there was no money to send him to the university so the government must see to these emerging problems and other children who are always looking for quick money within the region.