Take a flight of fantasy and go back to the days when children brought their friends and classmates home and their parents didn’t ask what tribe or religion they belonged to, or frown because there were extra mouths to feed;
The days when children knew that their parents income was the result of honest work;
When we waited for a nod from our parents before accepting drinks offered while visiting another home; and left the sitting room as soon as visitors arrived;
When complete strangers paid transport fares for children in school uniforms; and neighbours corrected and disciplined each other’s children;
When the children of the rich and poor attended the same public schools; and JAMB/University admission letters came by post;
When your parents beat you up if you were rude to that less privileged relative who was living with the family; and the theme song for NTA Network News meant it was bedtime;
Your parents took you to boarding school and handed you over to a Teacher whom they were meeting for the first time (pocket money and every every); and the Teacher became your Guardian;
The days when children cleaned their rooms themselves, went on errands and did other house chores;
The days when we learned diction and proper use of the English language from T.V. and Radio, and learned New words from reading Newspapers and Magazines;
I read of a time when Communities sponsored thier brightest in the pursuit of higher education; when the society disciplined it’s own, and rejected people with questionable wealth, and did not honour ill gotten acquisitions;
I was told of a Nigeria where University students had Lunch Vouchers and ate thier meals in Cafeterias;
I know of a time when a Professor Adamu Baikie was the Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin, a Professor Adamu Nayaya Mohammed was the Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar, while a Professor Emmanuel Emovon was the Vice Chancellor of the University of Jos, and the indigenous people of those places didn’t protest;
An Ahmed Makarfi attended FGC Enugu while a Frank Nweke Junior attended FGC Sokoto, and it wasn’t a one-off thing;
Yes, a Justice Sanya-olu was the Attorney General of Borno State;
Let me tell you something. Once upon a time in Kano city Muslim parents took their children to see Father Christmas at Kingsway and Leventis Stores; and Christian parents weren’t scared to hell because their children had Muslim friends;
There were days of innocence, like when residents of Ilorin converged at First Bank Plc and chased away armed robbers, yes they did.
And lest I forget; the days when schools didn’t charge parents for Report Cards; I can’t bring my head around this one.
Modernity and ever changing realities mean that old things must pass away. Our children must not pass through the things we passed through, just as we too did not experience anything near what our parents passed through, and thier parents before them.
But we can and must retain the core values of honesty, integrity, commitment, dedication to duty Citizenship and love for country. We must retain our humanity, else our society falls apart.
We can’t train other other people’s children but we can raise ours to be be model Citizens. Ultimately, we must build character in our children.
Let us save our children, please.
*James Usman Bagudu; MCIB, MFTOT, a Microfinance Trainer and Consultant is
MANAGING CONSULTANT at
TALKING POINT CONSULT