WE CAN’T HAVE A SOBER GENERATION AS A RESULT OF A TREND.

 

The hot topic in town is the eradication of alcohol consumption alongside other drugs, especially among youth. It got so popular that a particular campaign was started by the government to mobilise the youth to stay sober. The campaign is famously known as  SOBER GENERATION.  

A lot of people are talking about it, and it's clear that we can’t have a productive young generation which is not sober.

In what we can call the first strike, a lot of low-quality manufactured liquors were identified and production was shut down. A lot of them didn’t meet the health quality standards.

The common terms commonly used these days is how alcohol is not good for the health of Rwandans, even the health minister frequently elaborates is clearly.

Observing this from a distance, something feels off. How can we start a campaign to have a sober generation while giant alcohol producing companies like Bralirwa still producing alcohol? How can we keep talking of a sober generation while we are not stopping the source of what makes young people not sober?

The liquors might be discouraged, but people will find the alternative of locally approved beers. How will the young generation stay sober while giant corporations are still making money from the same problem the government want to eradicate?

It's cool to see our youthful leaders do some dances on social media, but that will not stop big corporations from producing alcohol.

Before we proceed, can the leaders of the campaign of sober generation tell us at what extent are we willing to stay sober when we see giant corporations that profit from making those beers still operating?

It's cute to see some selected industries taken down, but that can’t contribute to having a sober generation. How can we have a sober generation while some liquors are banned and there is an alternative, which is BEERS? How can we have a sober generation when there is still some version of the poison allowed by the government?

In our constitution, especially in Article 21 we decided that ‘’All Rwandans have the right to good health.’’ To have good health in this particular matter it means not having any alcohol.

A sober generation can’t be achieved by trending videos on social media, it can be achieved by having effective policies of eradicating any alcohol production.

We have been experts in explaining well what the problem is; it is time to apply the solutions by first shutting down all alcohol production, putting in place strict measures that punish anyone who produces or consumes alcohol.

If the goal is to have a sober generation, let's first cut off any source of alcohol; then we can talk about a sober generation. Before this happens, we will only see the solutions according to what we aspire to, but not the actual solution by uprooting the problem.