What kind of children are we raising?

Have you held a conversation with a 10-year-old Nigeria boy or girl, have you tried to talk about anything Nigerian from economy, to politics or the socio-psychological framework with a teenager lately? Try talking China and it’s inroads into Africa, or the lack of direction in terms of Nigeria’s foreign policy with a Nigerian undergraduate […]

Have you held a conversation with a 10-year-old Nigeria boy or girl, have you tried to talk about anything Nigerian from economy, to politics or the socio-psychological framework with a teenager lately?

Try talking China and it’s inroads into Africa, or the lack of direction in terms of Nigeria’s foreign policy with a Nigerian undergraduate and you will be shocked at his level of understanding. For us as a people, we are besieged with several struggles, many of which other climes and societies have surmounted.  Today, I find it difficult to define “the Nigerian child”, just like the ‘Nigerian Dream’. A lot of things seem to be eroding Nigeria, I guess the only thing remaining probably is the Nigerian spirit, the resilience and the myth. 

Today, the Nigerian child can barely speak his local dialect, unless he lives in the suburb where English is restricted to pidgin. The children in that group are the ones who will never get the Montessori education because they have to make do with the now non-existent local government education authority, where Maths is taught in a local dialect for better understanding.

 The average Nigerian child is the very shadow of his/her parents today-he/she cannot recite the National Anthem, or Pledge. They are experts at foreign nursery rhymes that depict heroes alien to us, so much so that our own heroes and their labour are fast disappearing. We are so concerned about the future that we are hardly paying attention to today.

Our children do not really do the good old arts and home economics or agriculture, what we have is a mockery by Tom, Dick and Harry private schools littered all over the place.

Where are our children, the ones that who could run during the inter-house school’s competition? When last did you hear the phrase…”panel of judges, co-debaters, guests and friends…I am here to oppose the motion which says…”

A lot has and keeps changing. But should our value system be thrown away because we are evolving, because suddenly a six-year old has a phone and the only form of flogging he gets is for his parents to say “you are grounded…”

We spare the rod, we spoil the child and we are upset that corruption is eating up our fabric, like we are not the same parents who instruct teachers not to exercise corporal punishment on our children. When last did you see a child reading a James Hadley Chase, on the contrary, we watch Harry Porter with them, and do PlayStation with them; after all it sharpens their brains.

Maybe in those days we were too scared of our father, or too close to our mom, but what was so wrong with that; someone tell me what was wrong with it, that we changed all so soon, to this point where we are losing our children? 

The stark reality stares us in the face and we have to retrace our steps as soon as possible if indeed we want to raise leaders of tomorrow. 

Prince Charles Dickson, a freelance journalist can be reached at: [email protected]