“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6.

THE little girl of eight lay asleep on a pavement by the corner of the road, a tray of oranges by her side. Dressed in worn-out clothes and with no slippers on her feet, one could easily mistake her for a destitute. But Biola (not real name) is no a destitute. Rather, she had been compelled by her parents to hawk oranges while the rest of her mates study in school. Little Biola is exposed to all sorts of dangers. She could be knocked down by a car, kidnapped by ritualists or raped. Such is the lot of many of our children today.

May 27 of every year is usually set aside as World Children’s Day. It is a day we reiterate the fact that children are the future, hence the need to give them a pride of place. All over the Federation, gaily dressed school children came out in their thousands to engage in match past parades while the state governors or their representatives took the salutes. As usual, long-winding speeches were made, coupled with promises on how to secure the future of the Nigerian child. But in reality we know the prevailing situation. We live in a society where little or no attention is given to our children. Many of them lack proper feeding and are often subjected to all forms of molestation. Child-labour is the order of the day.

It is no overstatement, therefore, to say that millions of our children are exposed to very harrowing experiences. The frequent killings brought about by militants, kidnappers and terrorists have turned our children to orphans with no parents to care for them. The quest for economic empowerment have caused the once cherish family units to come under severe attacks, as divorce cases continue to grow by the day while the children are left to bear the brunt. What sorts of children are we breeding? What kind of leaders of tomorrow are we nurturing?

The Federal Ministry of Education estimated that about 12 million Nigerian children are currently out of school. What are we doing about this alarming figure? At the end of the day, most of these children would end up, as maids and houseboy to other families were they would be exploited and rendered virtually useless to themselves and to their society. Only recently, some security personnel uncovered some baby booming factories in some Eastern parts of the country where children are ‘produced’ and sold out to interested buyers like mere goods or goats to be slaughtered. What has our society turned into? What effort are we making to change these negative trends?

As parents and adults, we all have a grace responsibility to nurture our children. The government also must show more commitment to the welfare of children. The present security challenge we are now witnessing in some northern parts of the country can be traced, to a large extent on lopsided upbringing. Most of the members of the Boko Haram sect could have been more responsible citizens had they been well nurtured during their formative ages.  “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it,” Proverbs 22:6.

As a father who wallows in drunkenness, have you taken time to ponder the fact that there are thousands of couples, who are looking for the fruit of the womb? Some are willing to do anything to get a child. And here, you are not appreciating these wonderful gifts God has graciously given to you at no charge. Remember that your child did not beg to be born. It was given to you by God to be nurtured. “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward’ Psalm 127:3.

Very Rev. Msgr. Osu, Director, Social Communications,

Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos