Is child adoption advisable?

Although, prior to this period, the institution of child adoption rarely existed in the way and manner as we see it today.According to the 2003 UNICEF Child Rights Law,adoption is a process of taking care of a child who is not biologically that of the adoptive parents and through it permanently take away the right […]

Although, prior to this period, the institution of child adoption rarely existed in the way and manner as we see it today.
According to the 2003 UNICEF Child Rights Law,adoption is a process of taking care of a child who is not biologically that of the adoptive parents and through it permanently take away the right and obligations of the biological parents.
Legally it is the transfer of the parental rights of a child from one set of parents to another, and once this is done the adoptive parents had been transformed legally to the parents of such child in every sense of the word.
 In Nigeria, child adoption is not a generally accepted practice as the norms and practice differs significantly among the numerous communities and places that make up the country.
This difference also exists in the various  response towards adoption, and its dimension of change. Thus the adoptive parents are also faced with the challenges of society’s full recognition of their adopted child.
The adopted child on his or her own is trapped  with the idea of  accepting  complete strangers as his or her parents, the adjustment to their way of psychological and emotional up-bringing, and care especially when the adopted is grown up.
Different people and organizations including religious ones have continued to question the morale behind child adoption because of the stigma associated with it, and partly due to the horror stories they have heard about the practice.
The stigma is further worsened by the notion that the child may find out he is not a member of the family after years of taking care of him.
They fear that he would desperately be in need of his biological parents as  it is often said that blood is thicker than water makes people ask what then becomes the fate of the adoptive parents, ‘is it to forfeit the child or engage in a battle to keep him?’
Mrs Mary Garba , a nurse said  bearing in mind some negative effects of adoption it is important to also consider the motivation behind individuals engaging in it.
According to her, some may be borne out of the desire to feel the joy of parenthood which fate has denied them of, others maybe to add more children to the their family while for some, it maybe the desire to bring healing to a child that has been abused, neglected, abandoned or unable to be cared for by his or her birth parents.
She added that when  people are driven by this kind of motivations and adopt the children through legal procedures, she sees no harm whatsoever in engaging in child adoption.
Mr. David Hosea said, it is unfortunate that not every parent is blessed with a child, hence adoption remains a means of solving critical parental needs of a childless parent.
“Sometimes the baby’s mama might have died while giving birth or the mother might have abandoned the child because she cannot afford to take care of the child, and because children are precious, beautiful and wonderful gift from God, it is important to raise that child in a loving and supportive environment like family not minding the negative implications behind adoption,” he said.
 Paul Liam said that there is nothing wrong in taking and caring for a homeless child, instead of  allowing the child to die when you have a means of extending God’s blessings to the child.
He said  the child should be told the truth about his identity  later in life and whatever be the decision of the child, it should be respected and honoured.
However, Saidu Ibrahim is of the view that child  adoption is immoral and should not be encouraged. “It is nothing more than lack of morals and patience on the part of those who venture into it,” he said.
He observed that child adoption is a shady business and an exhibition of ingratitude to the creator who has given the partakers  excess money and wealth.
James Oduoke  said that no matter how helpful adoption maybe,  it is still condemn able because it encourages unwanted pregnancy and it serves as an avenue for young ladies to earn money as people adopt through illegal means.
“If a young girl knows someone will pay her good money for a child, she will get pregnant anyhow and sell that baby for the money, this is a moral crime against the society,”  he  said.
Miss Ruth Tembe noted that contrary to the  belief of many, it is not every individual that engages in child adoption that is childless. According to her, some do that out of love for children or out of sympathy for a child without care and the desire to make them experience the beauty of family.
She stated that it is better to adopt an orphaned or abandoned child than to allow them miss their purpose in life by becoming urchins and a liability to the society.
She advised families and parents considering adoption to first understand why they need the child. She said they should also evaluate their reasons for considering adoption. “An evaluation of  an individual’s motivation for adoption has to be properly done and if the adoption is done hinging on the desire to add a family male or a female child rather than to be a parent, then the tendency will be to put your needs before the child’s needs, and this is against the morals and essence of child’s adoption.
“ It should also be for the sake of bringing home to the homeless, love and care to them and hope for the hopeless . The society should desist from considering child adoption as a crime but rather uphold the practice,” she advised.
Ugochukwu is a student at the Federal Polytechnic, Bida.