Looking back on the year 2021 we’ve seen a lot of things happen; the good, the bad and the extremely ugly.
We’ve seen events unfold before our eyes. We’ve seen the human race fight the pandemic,
we’ve seen our nation’s economy plummet like a stack of cards, we’ve seen huge fires, floods, protests.
Of all these, the most disheartening have been the tragic loss of many children across the nation.
They say children are the heritage of the Lord, the leaders of tomorrow, our fathers’ legacies
but why now has death of children become the most common occurrence in our nation?
What is happening, are children no longer safe in Nigeria? From the molestation
and death of Karen Happuch to the bullying and molestation of Don Davis down to the murder of Sylvester Oromoni Jnr,
which was followed by the ‘Badagry 8’ and then the 16 kids that got run over by a truck at Ojudu and many more.
These disasters just keep coming and leaving us with no breathing space .
Everyday you go on the media you hear #justicefor**, R.I.P** which makes it seems
like we are now in the middle of a new kind of pandemic specifically targeting the “leaders of tomorrow”.
Our major fight used to be against the starvation of children but while this is surging at an alarming rate,
illicit killing of our young ones have become ”the new normal”.
Who do we hold responsible for this?
Who do we turn to in these dark times?
How do we combat this?
Where do our grieving mothers find solace?
Sadly we have no one to blame, neither can we rely on only the government or the parents or school management to ensure child security.
But I believe that there should be a co-operation between every support system a child has.
Everyone from the government, to the parents, to the school management down to the kids themselves
have a role to play in ensuring these abominable acts don’t find a way into 2022.
After the tragic events we have experienced, being measured rather than panicked helps avoid disruptive changes and is more constructive.
Could these be some of the steps that should be taken
to ensure the children’s safety and security?
1. Should the government begin by enacting effective child protection laws and appointing social service workers
so that every child knows where to go for assistance?
2. Should parents keep their children close at all times and monitor their every move, not allowing them to develop self-reliance and maturity?
3. Should the school administration include self-defense classes in the child’s learning curriculum?
What should be done, because if we don’t do something to reduce child insecurity now, it will be too late.
We would end up raising a generation of troubled minds with few opportunities, or nothing to offer the next generation.
So, how do we ensure continuity?