The Nigerian Child: Treasured Yesterday, Abandoned Today and Wished For, Tomorrow

The Nigerian society is in love with traditions and ceremonies, no doubt. It is as a result of this that the birth of a child is often elaborately celebrated; the same way the death of a man can be celebrated. The celebration of the birth of a child is known as “Naming ceremony” and is very common among all the ethnic-groups of Nigeria, while the celebration of the death of an elderly person in the society is called funeral ceremony.  The celebration of birth among the Yoruba people of Nigeria may take place at the eighth day of the birth of the child, while that of the Anioma people may take place three months after the birth of the said child, this is called “Ipa puta Nwa” or “Igu nwa afa”. It is on this very day that the child is probably brought out for the first time to the public, and his names are made known.

But the question is what may become of the Nigerian child after a big party is thrown with people from all walks of life invited to share in the merriment. This is the major concern of this write-up. The Nigerian society in which we find ourselves obviously depicts the dual scene of ‘treasure a child today and abandon him tomorrow.” Another question is why will couple who have once treasured a child; reject him at the slightest opportunity, yet we continue to lay claim to the saying that children are heritage from God, and that they are the future of the nation?

Anyone who has closely observed the life pattern of a true Nigerian child especially the underprivileged will definitely weep because his condition draws nothing but serious emotion, the Nigerian child undergoes so much that he can bear. Only a few Nigerians are good at parenting, or how would you react to the situation whereby a father wakes up in the morning and he is taking “Awakpa” (Local gin) somewhere within the yard while the only help the wife can render to the children is give them a few infinitesimal and worthless naira notes with round dirty plates, no foot-wears, carrying the plate and crying to “Mama put” for the early morning breakfast. Such is how most children are fed in Lagos.

In Nigeria, we are also tired of seeing children abandon their education mid way into its completion and take the selling of “pure- water” along the busy roads of Lagos and other parts of the country because parents claim poverty. Many of these academically brilliant children are found everywhere in the country, irresponsible men and women take advantage of their plights and involve them illegal but seemingly lucrative businesses. This forms them beginning of prostitution and armed robbery. Many of us who can competently come to the rescue of these children often turn blind eyes on them until they grow they torment us. We are to partly blame for these situations because we celebrate our children when they newly born and abandon them when they require us most, only to return the celebration when they are made after hard times and labours in the streets.    

The plight of the Nigerian child should be of concern to us all who have the capacity to render some help. One disadvantage of the African society in general is that we tend to concentrate our help and indeed our efforts along family lines, and kindred, we believe that only those who are in one way or the other related to us deserve help from us. This idea is not only mistaken but misleading for circumstances continue to prove otherwise that helpless child living next to you or in your compound may be the very one to build or rebuild the future your children. It is a common sight to see many elderly parents driving their children to school, and the way, come across children of other parents trekking to the same school, all they owe these children is overlook them rather than convey them to the same school because of the feeling that these children are from poor homes. They are therefore seen as worthless to be conveyed in a flamboyant Jeep vehicle.

Most times too, we discover that many of parents warn us against mixing up with the children of the poor, because we believe that our children from wealthy homes will assimilate the thoughts and deeds of the poor. It is wrong, and this is one of the societal anomalies that our Local Home video Movies should set out to correct, so that we can get the best from our children. Everyday, we see the problems confronting our nation as insolvent or that which only requires divine intervention, while we are negligent of the fact that the children we see today will definitely grow into incorruptible leaders with strong sense of patriotism and ideas capable of transforming the misfortunes of the nation for good.

Several cases in which several children are born and given out as Housemaids abounds, these children are never treated very fairly by the families in which they find themselves. While we grant our biological children access to education, we deny these children exercise books, big notes, biros, pencils and rulers because we believe they are poor homes only fit for domestic works. Sometimes too, we claim to be deacons and deaconesses, well respected in our churches, yet we feel it is not the rights of these children to spend some hours in the church. Such people do not deserve the fair treatment from God in the first place and regards from human and are bound to suffer in eternal hell. The earlier, our policemen begin to arrest children who are below the age of 10 hawking within school hours while they should be in school the better for our nation.

Modern slavery thrives with “Omo odor” (Servants) whose destinies have been grotesquely and cynically transformed to money generating machine by both their parents and hosts. Certain of our parents are not worthy to be called one, when out of laziness we can no longer find money even to feed ourselves we contract our children for token fees while they are over burdened with tasks even Robots will find difficult to manage. It is shameful to find some parents arrive all the way from Abeokuta, Owerri, Ihievbe, Ichama, Kafanchan, Ugheli, Langtan, calabari, Yenagoa etc to receive money from own children’s hosts as House maids. The case of a man (now) was told of how he arrives Lagos on monthly basis to receive money on behalf of his daughter given out to an Hausa couple in though his 15 year-old daughter goes about the streets in nakedness because she is not deemed human enough to wear dresses. The late father was also welcomed with abuses from neighbours until he withdrew his daughter.

Interestingly too, when our children are born we call them beautiful and meaningful names like Oluwafunmi (God gave me) Chukwudi (There is God) etc. What God gives a Funmi that would engage more than half of her entire life time working for a strange family who never appreciates her or where is the Chukwudi that sits in his glorious throne and allow ruination of life through denial of rights of life?

The earlier we realize that Children are important not only to us but to the entire Nigerian society, the better for us. We must think positively today towards how we can be of assistance to one Nigerian child today. The Nigerian child should not be abandoned but welcomed. Make every Nigerian child your own!