As part of my personal commitment to addressing this issue, I recently organized a program titled "Say No to Drug Abuse" in several notable secondary schools in Ghana. During this initiative, I interacted with students, teachers, and school administrators to better understand the reasons behind this troubling rise in youth misconduct. I also visited several communities across the country for further research, and what I discovered was deeply concerning: the moral values and sense of discipline that once defined us as Africans are steadily declining.

One of the key drivers behind this decline appears to be the growing influence of Western cultural norms, where children are given excessive freedom and parents are often discouraged from enforcing strict discipline. In such societies classified as developed countries there are strong social safety nets, advanced infrastructure, functioning institutions, and relatively low levels of unemployment. In contrast, Ghana and many other African nations remain developing countries, still struggling with high unemployment rates, poor road conditions, inadequate hospitals, and political instability.

The result is a mismatch; we are adopting cultural systems that were built for societies with structures we do not yet have. The freedom children enjoy in the West, if copied blindly in our African context, can be dangerous. Our children now believe they can do as they please, with little fear of consequences whether at home, in school, or in the community.

One particularly harmful development has been the prohibition of corporal punishment in schools. Today, teachers in Ghana are forbidden by law from disciplining students with the cane (locally called "kpãã” or “Abaa"). While the protection of children from abuse is important, this policy has unfortunately led to situations where teachers feel powerless and students no longer respect school authority.

So where do we go from here as his lordship the learned Justice Kyei Baffour a Court of Appeal judge in Ghana would normally say in Latin Quo vadimus? In my opinion, the solution lies not in adopting more foreign methods, but in revisiting our own African systems that once worked effectively. One such system is what I refer to as "the spirit of communal parenting."

In traditional African communities, raising a child was never the sole responsibility of the biological or adoptive parents. Every child belonged to the entire community. If a child misbehaved, any responsible adult could correct or discipline that child. This collective approach instilled respect, discipline, and accountability. Children grew up knowing that their behavior was being observed not only by their parents but by every elder in the community. This sense of social responsibility created a protective moral net that is now lacking.

Sadly, this powerful African value has been abandoned. Today, community members are afraid to correct children who are not their own, fearing backlash from parents or legal consequences. For example, the “kelewele seller” cannot correct the “charcoal sellers” child when he or she is wrong. This breakdown of communal parenting has opened the door to widespread indiscipline, disrespect, and moral decay among the youth.

To address this problem, we must revive and promote the African philosophy of communal child nurturing. We must return to a culture where neighbors, teachers, and elders work together to instill discipline and moral values in our children. Laws and policies should support not undermine this community based approach to parenting.

In conclusion, Ghana and other African nations must recognize that true development cannot happen without morally grounded citizens. We must stop abandoning our time tested African values in the name of modernization. Let us bring back the community spirit where every child is seen as a shared responsibility. Only then can we rebuild a society grounded in discipline, morality, and collective progress.

GHANA SCHOOL OF LAW- MOKOLA CAMPUS.

INTERNATIONAL LAW GRADUATE – UNIVERSITY OF GHANA LAW SCHOOL (LL.M).
LLB GRADUATE- UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST.

GRADUATE – AFRICAN STUDIES, GEOGRAPHY AND PHILOSOPHY, UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST.

AFRICA IMAGE AMBASSADOR