The Chief Executive Officer of Mobik Energy, Joseph Cobbinah, popularly known as Kabie, has expressed deep concern over the growing obsession of Tarkwa Nsuaem’s youth with sports betting, warning that the trend is setting them up for long-term failure.

In a passionate appeal, Cobbinah described betting addiction as a dangerous social crisis that is fast replacing hard work and entrepreneurship among young people.

“The youth these days don’t like to work and want an easy way out in life,” he said. “Betting has become their life and work, which will not end well for them. It has now become the norm in the country. Some hardly go out and stay indoors just to check on betting on their phones.”

Cobbinah stressed that while betting may offer short-term gains, it cannot secure a sustainable future.

“Betting can sustain you in terms of feeding and other minor things, but it can’t sustain you in the future. Life is not about sitting in one place and playing Draft or betting on your phone. There is no magic that says you can do betting and be a better person in life,” he warned.

A Personal Lesson in Hard Work

Drawing on his own life journey, Cobbinah recounted how, despite facing financial hardship after basic school, he chose hard work over shortcuts.

With his mother working as a plantain trader and his father as a security guard, continuing to secondary school was not an option.

“I teared up since all my friends were going to school and I was home,” he shared. “But I decided to do something for myself.”

Starting in small-scale mining, he transitioned to gold trading and eventually ventured into the energy sector, building Mobik Energy into a successful business with fuel and gas stations across the region.

A Wake-Up Call for the Youth

Cobbinah urged the youth to use their energy productively while they are still young.

“You can only work hard when you are a youth, to start your life. If you wait till 50, it will be too late for you. After 40-50 years, one wouldn’t have that zeal and strength. There are some jobs that you’ll be shy to do when you’re 40,” he said.

He also highlighted the future responsibilities that betting cannot support.

“At a point in your life, you’ll marry and give birth, and you have to take care of them. Betting can’t take care of your family.”

No Shortcuts to Success

Cobbinah concluded with a sobering message about life’s realities: “No one is handed money or gold in the womb to start life, nor does God rain money on humans like the biblical manna. If you don’t go out and get something done for yourself, in the future when you’re old, you’ll realise that you have made a huge mistake which has amounted to nothing productive in your life.”

His call to action is clear: the youth must reject gambling dependency and embrace hard work, discipline, and enterprise as the only sure path to lasting success.

Tarkwa’s disappearing rivers and environmental neglect

The CEO of Mobik Energy also sounded a strong alarm over the environmental crisis unfolding in the Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipality of the Western region, particularly the rapid disappearance of rivers and streams that once sustained local communities.

“Growing up, we used to swim and play in these rivers in Tarkwa,” he recalled. “When there was water scarcity, we could depend on these rivers for water. Now, they are disappearing.”

Cobbinah cited specific examples to illustrate the extent of the damage: “There was a stream around UMaT (University of Mines and Technology) where we used to play. These days, when one passes there, the stream is no more. One river, Kawir, which was wide, is gradually turning into a stream.”

Once essential for household activities like cooking and washing, especially during weekend water shortages, many of these rivers are now barely visible, threatening the basic livelihoods of residents.

“One can’t really tell why it is so, but I think it’s nature, and once humans are encroaching more, we are losing them. Climate change has really affected Tarkwa,” he explained.

Read Also: Mobik Energy CEO raises alarm over Tarkwa’s disappearing rivers and environmental neglect