I spent one year in one of the most elite universities in the world. Harvard University is home to children from some of the richest homes across the world. But you don’t see the difference between the rich children and those of us who got there by grace, on scholarships.
Some of the children are from families who built some of the infrastructure with Harvard, but nothing sets them apart from ordinary people’s children.
Their dressings do not show. And fancy vehicles are not displayed on campus. There, modesty is a cherished virtue.
It was the same at the University of Nebraska, where I spent two years. Even among the respected academics, who are called by their first names, you marvel at their modesty when you have the chance to read their accomplishments and exploits.
Here, if the son or daughter of a rich man is in Legon, everybody will know. They must show it. They must stand out from the pack of poor fellows.
In our society, we do not question the source of wealth. Not only do we celebrate ill-got wealth, but we also berate those from less privileged backgrounds.
For this reason, the fierce competition to be rich, through fair or foul means, is sinking our nation.
When we scream that we have lost our values, we fail to push our schools to make it their core responsibility. Unfortunately, the schools are perpetuating it.
There’s nothing wrong with a parent rewarding their ward with a car for completing high school (not for scoring an excellent grade). It is their money, and we cannot dictate to them how they spend it.
But we can discourage show-off behaviour in our schools, especially at the pre-tertiary level. Those parents who drove the cars to their children’s schools for the presentation were there to show off. In our society, we show off with cars.
When you travel a bit and see the kinds of cars people use as Uber elsewhere, and then return home to see cars used as status symbols, you are tempted to believe that your society is wayward.
In Lincoln, Nebraska, a caterer uses his cyber truck for his catering business, with the name of the business written on the vehicle. Here, that vehicle turns heads.
The school authorities ought to have told the parents to do their presentations at home. They should have proven that their schools are too civilised for such behaviour.
Not every young girl witnessing the vanity fair will be disciplined enough to reject a fraudulent boy with a vehicle when the society that breeds her teaches her that showiness is what matters.
Is there any wonder that teenagers are killing children for money rituals, as we saw in Kasoa a few years ago?
Shame on the school heads who allowed this to happen. And shame on those who think speaking up against such behaviour amounts to envy.
About the writer
Manasseh Azure Awuni is an award-winning Ghanaian journalist, author, and public commentator known for his investigative reporting and thought-provoking writings on governance, social issues, and national development.