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The Fate Of The Nigerian Child From The Other Side Of The Track By Olanrewaju Daodu

February 24, 2014

Ladies and gentlemen, it is either you are born in a squalor or splendor you can't share both heirloom and bottom-of-the-barrel identities. No way! Yes! You can be born poor materially and die in stupendous wealth, that is a possibility. However, how many kids in Nigeria can be this lucky? As a matter of fact, the survival of the Nigerian child from the squalor has since found expression in the index of luck in this part of the world.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is either you are born in a squalor or splendor you can't share both heirloom and bottom-of-the-barrel identities. No way! Yes! You can be born poor materially and die in stupendous wealth, that is a possibility. However, how many kids in Nigeria can be this lucky? As a matter of fact, the survival of the Nigerian child from the squalor has since found expression in the index of luck in this part of the world.

The hellish journey of this poor kid started from when his would-be parents began courting. The alloy of a half-baked, semi-literate man and never-seen-the-four-walls-of-school and unskilled lady can never be a miracle but a predictable experience-a sure and pure chemistry of trans generational poverty. The first trimester was greeted with shortage of nutrients and frequent shocks from brutal beatings. What do you expect from a man that can't provide for the needs of his immediate family? He picks quarrels at will and at slightest opportunity, his patience index is lower and he's a pure mutant of his natural self-a circumstantial beast! Don't judge! He might not be as lazy as you thought, he hasn't just  discovered his gold mine like his fore-fathers. The wife as well being stark illiterate and unskilled is by default at the mercies of her generous benefactors and sympathetic donors-if she doesn't beg,she won't eat.

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If she doesn't feed well,her baby suffers from Embryonic Nutrients Deficiency (END),no this isn't the end! After months of physiological, psychological, nutritional and physical distresses, she gave birth in a place akin to a manger-no,not Jesus' manger-she was delivered of her baby by 'Iya Abiye' at the backyard. She gave birth to a baby boy! No! He wasn't a bouncing baby boy,just a boy! The hysterical cries from the boy wasn't only deafening but also fearful. It was an unusual wailing-as if he was saying, 'Ha!This is poverty part 2' -remember he was nutrients deprived as long as the pregnancy period lasted. He knew poverty so well from the womb! You don't need to be told he was  neither born with a silver spoon nor wooden spoon in his mouth-he was an ash-and-mud licking baby. So pathetic!

Please,fast forward! Though there was no traceable and worthy educational history in his lineage, he luckily stumbled in elementary school at the age of 15- he was the oldest and dullest of the class which automatically conferred on him the chieftaincy title of, Ogbona 1. It was a worse scenario given his backward rural settlement. He has nothing on his urban and rich counterparts. It was as if he was hurled down here to a conspired doom. It wasn't his decision. The odds he is up against outweigh Mosaic-Pharoahic and Elijah-Syrian armies combined, it is a fearful and a deadly reality. The chances of survival of this poor boy cum man is very slim when benchmarked against the evil settings of the governmental structure of his environment. Bless your soul if you knew a poor kid in your community that became successful against all odds! Must the Nigerian child go through hell in other to achieve his life-long dream and goals? When has suffering become cultural feast of courage and a daring spirit?

As it stands today,the future of the Nigerian child is in the protruding bellies and bank accounts of his dream-killing, heartless and corrupt fathers and mothers who have both signed clandestine pacts to frustrate or worse, kill the vision of this innocent child. This poor child is your son or daughter yet not biological-nonetheless his or her survival hangs on your sharing ownership of his success and failure and taking responsibility for his welfare.

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Going by recent UNESCO educational reports, the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria is about the highest in the world yet we pride ourselves as the giant of Africa. Giant my foot! While there is a ministry for anything in Nigeria; Finance, Niger Delta, Education, Commerce, Health, Interior, Work and Transportation, Aviation, 'Chop-Chop' just to mention a few at both state and federal levels but nobody talks about the need for a Ministry of Children Affairs. Hold your stones! I know we have Ministry of Women Affairs that takes care of issues militating against the development and survival of the Nigerian children-nevertheless, we need to carve out an independent ministry for Children Affairs at both state and federal levels that will be saddled with the responsibilities of providing functional health programmes, catch-them-young interventions, comprehensive and inclusive education, child rights protection, rural-urban equal opportunities, international exchanges just to mention a few.

Fellow compatriots, any nation that toys with the future of her children and young people is sitting on a proverbial gun-powder. It is a crime against humanity to deprive the Nigerian child of his human rights. Woe to that country whose children hawk daily for survival.

 

Olanrewaju Daodu
Regional Representative(West Africa)
www.allternativecommunication.net

 

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of SaharaReporters

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