The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

I have long called for the introduction of a scheme/system of National Youth Service. The late great and deeply lamented Sir Lynden Oscar Pindling, may his soul continue to rest in peace, called for the same generations ago but he, alas, was laughed to scorn and ridiculed. He opined that with the relative ease of wealth acquisition and the gradual decay in family and moral values that it would only be a matter of time before our young and not so young people spiraled out of personal and societal control. He was called everything except a child of God. Now, the chickens, which have morphed into Condors and Vultures are large and in charge.

The demise of the traditional family and an increase in rampant greed and materialism has spurned a nation of youthful gangsters and deviants who are a menace to all and sundry. Human life, for them, has little or no value. They are prone to lick off a shot or stab someone for merely looking or talking to them too hard. 75% of our households are led by females who themselves are mere children and under intense economic and social pressures just to breathe easy.

Yes, there are baby daddies when it comes to procreation, but after that most of them run to the hills, literally, to avoid or duck responsibilities. Women. with all due respect, are not wired to raise males on their own. That is a clear reason why God, in His infinite wisdom, ordained the family structure. Mind you, I am not suggesting that formalised marriage is for everyone. My own father, the late Reverend Doctor Ortland H Bodie Sr., was what one would call a rolling stone but he was always there for my siblings and myself....always. He provided abundant resources and sustenance. He is truly missed.

The PM is to be complimented on hosting a recent conclave of the causation of crime and possible solutions. Crime is not, in my view, political, even if, historically our run of the mill politicians have sought to play the blame game. I am not for this. All Bahamians of good will must come to the stark realisation that crime is not a party member of any particular party. It is, therefore, automatic that All hands are required on deck.

I submit that because of the gradual demise of the traditional family and support group that many of our younger people and the misguided older ones are now resorting to a life of criminality and bonding among themselves. They are, in short, a brotherhood with nubile females hanging out and bringing sexual comfort. My beloved brother, Kirkland ‘KB’ Bodie, a natural musical genius, penned a best seller some years ago: ‘They want a Thug’.....The sentiments are even truer today than yesterday.

Turfs are cultivated and developed for all sorts of criminal enterprises and one’s life is looked at as collateral damage. If you and I are in the same gang we look out for each other and show the love that is now missing in the traditional family, where one exists, or where there is not formalised structure. ‘You are my dog’.

It is unfortunate that according to statistics that 65% of our males are high school drop-outs and have not an ounce of marketable skills. Most of them wear their pants below the waist exposing dingy looking underwear and worse. 40% of them would have gotten at least an Associate Degree in Crime up at The Bahamas Correctional University. Many of the others are either in Sandilands talking to themselves or lying dead in their graves. We need to get a serious grip on this as a nation.

I look forward to the PM and the Ministers of National Security and the Ministry of Social Services coming up with a sensible and affordable National Youth Service in short order. The opposition is urged to collaborate, but if they refuse or play coy, the rest of us right-thinking Bahamians must move on. We need discipline; moral and spiritual education, with a small stipend to motivate our wayward youths. As the #1 rated talk show host, I am eager to assist wherever possible.

ORTLAND H BODIE, Jr

Nassau,

April 3, 2022.