Modernization as a constant and progressive evolution in all areas of existence has accentuated the tendency to follow trends especially among countries less advanced economically and technologically. The appropriation of technology by developed and emerging countries has plunged the poorest nations on the planet into a total amazement which justifies the adoption of attitudes out of step with the values ​​required and advocated, particularly in traditional African societies.

But we must not blame everything on globalization or modernization. Common sense being “the thing best shared”¹, everyone has the freedom to direct their thoughts towards the paths that they think are the best, but which can unfortunately also be the consequence of the harmful influences which engulf the mind of Men in alarmist practices adopted by a part of the predominantly young population.

The pursuit of easy gains, sometimes obtained fraudulently through the misdirection of talents, continues to aggravate in society the catastrophic scale of these social scourges which stupefy young people while establishing a climate of insecurity in a world where self-awareness or the certainty of being on the right path sometimes turns out to be a deception because it is influenced by pernicious tendencies and incentives which galvanize the perpetrators of perfidious acts into a luxuriant and chimerical life whose consequences social are disastrous.

More and more we see young people who do not hesitate to exhume bodies hoping to make a fortune after selling human bones. Young people who organize themselves into gangs to sow terror in large cities. Young people who consult malicious individuals to have supposed riches without favourable outcomes afterwards. Young people who have become followers of clandestine abortions, assaults, thefts and rapes, followers of corruption, idolatry, pornographic scenes implemented even within learning establishments. Young people who indulge in pederasty to get rich, paedophilia and embezzlement among many other absurdities which are the result of a collective irresponsibility which has serious repercussions on the mentalities of younger populations.

While some hide behind passive victimization which shortens the number of years of their stay on earth because of the trauma caused by the absurdities they have experienced, others confine themselves behind their favourable positions to perpetuate their ignominies; others still very imprudent because of their young age show themselves openly perhaps without knowing that they are denouncing abominations and they are the ones we are used to repressing while they only  openly transcribe what the most prudent do obscurely under the cover of guilty impunity.

For there to be decadence there must be a reference² point which makes it possible to measure the extent of the phenomenon over time. To speak of social decadence is to recognize that the world changes and advances to the rhythms of influences and other major trends popularized by the development of new information and communication techniques. Young people have more and more problems and have found a way to resolve them and express them with worrying aggressiveness, sometimes on digital platforms, in the streets, in places of learning, in the family unit and even in the professional milieu to cite just these examples among many others.

“The tendency of adults to denigrate the character of youth has existed for centuries. Young people are often devalued by older ones, who boast of belonging to a better generation than the current one. The trend is not new: each generation easily criticizes the next. »³ But in this analysis it is not a question of focusing particularly on the reality of a conflicts between generations but rather of demonstrating with palpable evidence that over the years the evil which has always existed continues to grow and get bogged down to the point of having produced the sad reality that we observe today in particular: a youth in crisis of values ​​​​who will stop at nothing to achieve sulphurous objectives while showing a lack of respect towards others.

Three grams of cocaine powder being divided in a coastal village in kenya (courtesy of Jason Eligh).

Presentation of some cases of social decadence or deviance

The consumption of narcotics

Always in search of strong sensations and deceptive inspirations, young people are increasingly choosing to flee the reality of a reasonable daily effort to take refuge in the chimerical and scandalous pleasure that the constant consumption of narcotics provides.

The consumption of narcotics has become a fashion phenomenon whose impacts on society are disastrous. Even children of school age are having a blast. They gather in charters or small groups of individuals to enjoy life, they say, but at what cost? Some girls are raped without even knowing they have been raped. Most consumers become addicted to it to the point of committing wrongdoing. Children are getting out of control. Good values ​​are trampled underfoot by counter-values. The science of indiscipline and perversity advocated in societies where young people are losing their bearings continues to leave its mark on mentalities controlled by the consumption of narcotics.

A sane being cannot take the life of another without having first made the liberticidal choice of being indoctrinated by the consumption of substances that are not only harmful to the health of the person consuming them, but which also make him or her a danger public safety. “Empirical evidence relating to tobacco consumption demonstrates that today, smoking predisposes to cannabis consumption and constitutes a sort of legal stepping stone towards the consumption of illicit drugs”⁴.

In Cameroon, according to figures published in July 2021 by the Ministry of Public Health, data on the handling, consumption and circulation of narcotics in Cameroon have experienced strong growth in the space of 10 years. 25% of the population has already tried a hard drug. And of the 10% who consume it regularly, 60% would be young people aged between 20 and 25.

Also read : Slippages in young milieu : what solutions? 

Among the most consumed products in Cameroon and elsewhere we have crack, GHB abbreviated as hydroxybutyric acid-gama, tramadol or “tramol”, and cannabis which are respectively a hardened substance obtained following the dissolution of both cocaine or heroin, ammonia and baking soda in a liquid for the first, a natural and sometimes synthetic substance used as an anaesthetic but also and unfortunately for bad purposes by individuals seeking sensations disproportionate for the second, a painkiller diverted from its use for insidious consumption for the third, and an Indian plant whose crushed and smoked leaves would provide a sort of sensation of well-being for the fourth.

This could explain in particular the fact that some young people organize themselves into gangs to sow terror in small and especially large towns in Cameroon. Some describe them as idle individuals or who have nothing useful to do because if that were the case, they would not persevere in such attitudes to show that they exist. But the question arises as to whether such individuals will be able to behave properly even after getting a job? Are those who engage in high- and small-scale banditry really doing this because they haven't found anything else useful to do? Have these consumers not rather found in these narcotics a real partner to enable them to be more effective in their scabrous choice?

A poorly shaped head will never be useful for society. An individual who is hardened or lacking in common sense due to an addiction to drugs will always be a danger to himself and others.

Image source : noireetpsy.org

Exhibition scenes on social networks and cyber harassment

The Cameroonian philosopher Marcien Towa⁵ maintained that the secret of Western power lies in science and technology. The appropriation of Western technology would not only be the certainty of true development but also the liberation from the colonial prejudices of a continent made up of sub humans incapable of creation. According to him, Africa is underdeveloped because it is not a technological power. This means that the development and liberation of Africa would be conditioned by ultra-progress in the fields of science and technology. But although advances in the fields of science and technology are necessary, we should not forget to do our best to not let ourselves be alienated by the fruits generated by the constant development of new techniques of information and communication because in fact, even if to escape from underdevelopment or a subordinate state it is necessary to invest in the acquisition of new technologies, we must above all not lose sight of the fact that development growing information and communication technologies have broken the limits of the forbidden to generate a refrain of aberrations in societies where young people are constantly in search of identity, success and visibility many times at all prices.

More and more we are observing young people, mostly of school age, engaging in exhibition sessions on social networks. Some do not even hesitate to make erotic video recordings anywhere, including in sacred spaces reserved solely for education and instruction, namely: schools and the family unit.

Also read :  The prevention of all forms of misconduct : the objective of quality civic and moral education

There is no longer any doubt that the family and the school, two reference and essential institutions in the education of young people, are threatened by this tendency for young people to produce deplorable images anywhere. Depravity no longer has limits. She no longer has suitable space. All spaces are favourable for the production of an exhibition scene. The development of latest generation phones has made everyone a “video maker” in other words and with a perverse connotation, a producer of immodest and legally unacceptable content. Young people have found in the constant renewal of technology the means of bringing out this joy of living which is unfortunately undermined by a premature and excessive eagerness which characterizes youth.

To justify their choice, those young people let those who seek to dissuade them from stopping know that they have the right to do with their bodies as they wish. Indeed, libertinage authorized on social networks despite some unfortunately insufficient restrictive measures, allows everyone to do what they want, to exhibit themselves as they want, to expose the parts of their body that they want, to hang out with whoever he wants and to publish the images he wants anytime without running the risk of being prosecuted. This new form of democracy which promotes the increase in virtual communities on digital platforms certainly has its usefulness, but it unfortunately contributes to shaping individuals hungry for strong sensations to the point of no longer depriving themselves of make their nudity an immodest instruments of utility. But although we must recognize everyone's right to use or dispose of their body as they wish, whether we are for or against these life choices, there is a common enemy. Bad-intentioned individuals take advantage of social media and the prowess of technology to destroy the lives of others.

If we must recognize the rights of each individual, we should also recognize that there are individuals who hide behind the possibility of appearing anonymously on social networks to harass their fellow human beings. In addition to cyber harassment there are scams. Digital platforms have become new environments favourable to embezzlement and the theft of personal information. Organized banditry favoured on the one hand by technological development, and on the other hand, the lack of decency of users as well as their greed. Evil individuals hide behind fake accounts to make victims of their dishonesty in the whole world.

Créé en 1995, l'indice de perception de la corruption diffère de la corruption réelle. Photo d'illustration Pixabay

The culture of laziness with the appearance of useful effort

Men have always sought to change their living conditions. In fact, no one enjoys living and remaining in precarious conditions. Everyone is working or making the necessary efforts to remedy this situation. Unfortunately, while some choose honourable means, others choose deplorable means.

Those who believe in work or in the certainty of obtaining good fruit as a result of work well done say that the secret of success is found in work. They are confident at work because they provide honest effort that not only contributes to their well-being, but also to that of others. Those who love work or make efforts that do not constitute an obstacle to their own freedom and that of others are aware of the fact that true success is found there. In fact, it is by following righteous paths that we become free. Ill-gotten gains and pernicious activism always have terrible consequences.

In Cameroon in particular and in Africa in general, individuals promise young people to become rich overnight that is to say with the wave of a magic wand. Even if occult sacrifices as well as the desecration of tombs have sufficiently proven to us the possibility of becoming rich in a period of time, we must still ask ourselves certain questions. How can poor individuals, living in poor countries and in a continent where the majority of populations live in extreme poverty, enrich other people? Isn’t this a scam or one of these multiple means aimed at subjecting victims to inhumane conditions? Is a person whose wealth has no legal traceability a trustworthy person or a true model of social success? Resorting to occult means to get rich is not laziness?

Men of faith say that they are "poor" but that they have the capacity to make rich people because they implicitly recognize having given their lives to the source of a wealth which gives freely and without bad intentions, that is to say not hiding behind a so-called act of charity to incite an individual to lose his soul or to empty himself of his vital substance necessary to remain eternally with God. They implicitly recognize through a “poverty of heart” that they are rich and that it is because they have drunk from the source of wisdom that they can help other people to have a culture of honest work and useful sacrifices for society. For the Men of Faith, he who wants true wealth should pray as if everything depended on God and work as if everything depended on him⁶. In other words, those who truly benefit from the benefits of the true source of wisdom are those who refrain from taking liberticidal means to succeed.

Bankers encourage their potential clients to save or take out loans because they are traders. They only lend to those who are credible because they must always have the guarantee of being repaid with interest. The money they use and lend does not come from nowhere. This money always has legal traceability even if obviously with the increase in embezzlement in Africa and in Cameroon in particular, reinforced security measures have been implemented to ensure that the money collected does not come from a mafia network or is not stolen money. True growth must always be that which results from a set of activities and transactions that respect ethical standards. If there were a real multiplier wallet, the African continent would not be so poor. Sudden wealth following a visit to an individual who would have the power to multiply money is an illusion which unfortunately exposes many young people to dramatic ends.

Choosing to become rich through deceptive means is laziness. Wealth based on lies is the consequence of a lack of sincerity that cannot be seriously justified. The culture of the least effort or the deceptive appearances of carrying out a profitable or unprofitable activity, hidden behind abominable choices are palpable consequences of the growth of corruption and the embezzlement of public funds which affect all the countries of the world and particularly those from sub-Saharan Africa.

According to the German NGO Transparency International in its 2021 annual report on the perception of corruption in the world, Western Europe is the least corrupt region in the world with an average score of 66/100, followed by Asia Pacific 45/100, the Americas with a score of 43/100, the Middle East and North Africa 39/100, Eastern Europe and Central Asia 36/100, and finally the region which has the lowest score in the world, namely sub-Saharan Africa with an average score of 33/100. The phenomenon of corruption is not an evil which plagues a State or a Region of the world only but a reality which exists in all Regions of the world with the only difference that certain countries are further ahead in the fight against this social issue than others. Of the 180 countries covered by this statistical study between 2012 and 2022, 25 countries progressed, 23 declined, and 131 stagnated. In certain countries this gangrene proliferates because of the constant crises and wars which do not allow for a good business climate. To these security problems we must add, among many other reasons, the violation of human rights, misappropriation of public funds, and impunity for reprehensible acts, social injustice, poor budget execution, bad governance, and weakness democracies.

In Cameroon, the problem of corruption is a real societal cancer. It has had so much time to weaken the country financially, psychologically and physically that urgent measures to gradually stem the phenomenon have become absolute necessities. An operation launched in 2006 as well as an anti-corruption commission created in the same year have so far led to several arrests, incarcerations and recoveries. While it must be recognized that significant efforts have been made, they represent nothing of what remains to be done. Several young Cameroonians very keen to get rich quickly through fallacious means and in several sectors of activity have adopted this liberticidal attitude to the point of having normalized it by giving it forms which seem to reflect the remuneration of a well done work when in reality is an orchestrated theft which denotes a lack of patriotism. Some free services have become paid services. Certain paid services have become opportunities to justify the poor quality of a service characterized by pitiful exaggerations. To these scandalous acts we must also add to complete this enumeration the open secret that constitutes certain positions of responsibility which have become opportunities for scams.

Some possible solutions

Social decadence is a long process of progressive destruction of youth which requires drastic measures to remedy the multiple ills which undermine the daily life of young people who live to the rhythm of new trends and reprehensible acts practiced publicly in certain places with total impunity. The adoption of liberticidal attitudes by young people losing their bearings in the face of constant harmful influences is not new. The intergenerational conflict it provokes is of no use. Young people have always shown a lack of decency and an extreme degree of depravity which has worsened over time despite the efforts made to stop abuses which today unfortunately are generational problems which are experiencing exponential growth because of the evolution of new information and communication techniques to the point of having become almost uncontrollable. What is has always been and is only the consequence of what has always been and whose growth has been favoured by technological development. But that doesn't mean there's nothing more to do. Everyone at their level must provide additional awareness, education and instruction efforts so that young people are better equipped not only to avoid pernicious ways, but also to have the courage to recognize that they were wrong and make the necessary efforts to get out of this deplorable state. However, it is important to point out that it is not a question of being satisfied with the feeling that could be aroused by an external influence which perhaps seeks to satisfy one's own selfishness. Rather, it is about having the certainty that the lifestyle they have freely chosen to adopt is not what is best for them because indeed, no one knows what is best for Men than Men Himself and it is in this sense that it is not enough to possess a good mind; the most important thing is to apply it correctly.¹”

Anything that allows you to make money or not is an activity. The problem lies in the quality of the choices and the desired goal. While some choose to persevere in righteousness, others choose the opposite because it is a way for them to get rich very quickly. Many young people have and continue to make their fortune through drug trafficking. They succeeded because it is a very profitable business. But at what cost? Money laundering, intoxication of young people, weakening of institutions through corruption, endangering the physical integrity of others among many others. Young people follow the movement of vicious trends because it is a way for them to have power. In fact, the one who sows terror and who also has money will always have influence.

Narcotics are real galvanizing tools to achieve sulphurous goals both on the economic and social level. A United Nations drug and crime official said in 2009 that $352 billion in criminal proceeds were effectively laundered through financial institutions. According to him during this period, the proceeds of organized crime were “the only liquid investment capital » accessible for certain banks on the verge of bankruptcy in 2008 (source Rajeev Syal, The Guardian, 13-12-2009).

Repressive action by public authorities as well as psychological monitoring in developing countries in particular could constitute the best solutions to fight against the negative impacts of drug consumption in Cameroonian society in particular. The tendency to want to justify aggressiveness or the choice of liberticidal means to make money and sow terror in society by the fact of not having a job is a simplistic reason far removed from the real reason for this slump which is none other than the palpable consequence of the choice of success by prohibited means and in particular the consumption and constant marketing of substances harmful to the health of those who consume them and the safety of those who live in the same environment. Even if the security crises and the recent covid-19 pandemic have plunged many people into a state of weakness that could justify the growth in drug consumption, idleness and lack of employment do not justify the growth of the consumption and even the commercialization of drugs in society. The source of the problem is elsewhere and notably in the choice of wanting to succeed and live one's life at all costs by hastily employing reprehensible means.

According to addiction experts, “hard drugs” are substances capable of causing very strong physical and psychological dependence. But even if according to these experts the problem does not lie in consumption but in abuse and dependence, the simple fact of consuming it even once already constitutes a risk of dependence; hence the need not to consume it at all or to no longer consume it and to be taken care of by the addiction care, support and prevention centre for the case of treatment seekers who reside in Cameroon because Whether “soft” or “hard,” drugs are all extremely dangerous. The fact that a large part of the predominantly young population has already experienced it is a big warning sign.

Cyberbullying has led to the proliferation of cyberbullies who take advantage of technology to expand their scale of predation. They are not limited to the children's level. They target all age categories. If proactive measures are not continually updated, the situation will be even more dramatic.

Although they are a necessary evil, NICTs have also enabled and enable the growth of devious and malicious attitudes. Anyone who only seeks “the buzz” or notoriety thanks to high traffic on their digital platforms runs the risk of losing their life or even their soul. The freedom to enjoy one's life as one wishes can sometimes be veiled in an enslavement that does not speak its name. Anyone who believes they are free to show off as they want on the internet perhaps does not know that they are the victim of a vicious circle that takes advantage of the vigour and naivety of a youth who is nevertheless well-intentioned. If before it was not easy to control and curb all indecent attitudes, today with the constant development of NICTs it is necessary to exercise even more caution. Everyone must feel involved in this fight for true freedom. The young and the old must show more responsibility on a daily basis to avoid letting themselves be destroyed by malicious individuals whose real goal is to slowly destroy this generation and the next.

The instrument implemented to reduce the extent or even eradicate corruption in Cameroon has work to do. His choice to communicate in the temples of knowledge is particularly beneficial because this phenomenon is challenging true education and the true instruction provided within schools and the family unit to produce mentalities unbridled by acts of corruption or incitements to corruption. Denunciation is hampered by the normalization of certain illicit activities which expose whistle-blowers or those who want to bring out the truth to certain death. This fight must be even more focused on education than on repression, incarcerations and restitution of embezzled funds. It would perhaps be better to reserve part of the sums recovered for changing mentalities through an education even more focused on civics and the teaching of patriotic values.

English|French

References and bibliographic orientations

[1] René Descartes; A Discourse on the Method of correctly Conducting One’s Reason and Seeking Truth in the sciences (2006), Oxford university press, 158p

[2] Baudelaire, Nietzsche and the idea of ​​decadence

[3] Are the younger generations really less strong than the previous ones? Tom Kuntz – March 2, 2022 7:30 a.m.

[4] Reuband, Karl-Heinz. “Evolution of drug consumption patterns and limited effects of penal policies: the case of Germany” revue DÉVIANCE ET SOCIÉTÉ, 2008/3 (vol.32), PAGES 303 to 323

[5] Towa M; Essay on the philosophical problem in current Africa, Yaoundé, CLE, 1971, 76p

[6] Peter of Ribadenyera, tratatus de modo gubermandi sancti ignatii 6.14

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