Opening Charge

‘By parents here, I look beyond biological parents. I also envisage guardians, foster parents, leadership of institutional homes and schools, teachers and all. I refer to people from where the child receives primary instructions and inspiration for daily engagements.’

I begin our discussion today with the reverberating words of one of the greatest American statesmen and publicists, Abraham Lincoln. He soberly submits “A child is a person who is going to carry on what you have started. He is going to sit where you’re sitting, and when you’re gone; attend to those things, which are important. You may adopt all the policies you please, but how they are carried out depends on him. He will assume control of your Cities, States, and Nation. He is going to move in and take over your churches, schools, universities and corporations. The fate of humanity is in his hands.”

I guess Abraham Lincoln is trying to desperately show us why we cannot neglect the child as he is guarantee of our continuity as families, corporations and nations.

Thank you for joining me as I do this advocacy on the respect for the rights and responsibilities of the Nigerian child. I must say very quickly that our focus is the stakeholders in the life of the child. You will recall that in our last piece, we identified as one of the five basic needs of children, somewhere to belong, first a family, then a community.

The major load of enforcement and respect for the rights of the child, including teaching the child responsibilities rests on the parents. By parents here, I look beyond biological parents. I also envisage guardians, foster parents, leadership of institutional homes and schools, teachers and all. I refer to people from where the child receives primary instructions and inspiration for daily engagements.

One major factor that parents in Nigeria and Africa must understand is that we are raising children in a country and continent without a national and continental vision. It follows automatically that since the country has no vision, it has no mission and therefore has no set of values to which it is committed as a nation.

A nation’s birthing and understanding of her vision will determine her strategy or mission and her mission will show her set of values she will need to develop to be in a position to operate her mission in her pursuit of her vision. When a nation has articulated vision, it becomes the number one tool in the hands of the leader to inspire confidence in the people towards patriotism. Therefore everyone, the leader and the led, young and old, individual and corporate, private and public institutions strive to conform to the articulated vision.

The long and short of all I have been trying to say is that the State should be an overall regulatory body protecting the interest of everyone in the polity through the instrumentality of a well articulated national vision, to which the leadership are committed by example.

What happens when the state fails in this primary responsibility? Join me tomorrow as I continue this discussion. I hope you found today’s visit worth your time. Have an INSPIRED Day.

I’m Taiwo Akinlami & I Lead the TeacherFIRE™ Revolution

POINT 2 PONDER:

‘A nation’s birthing and understanding of her vision will determine her strategy or mission and her mission will show her set of values she will need to develop to be in a position to operate her mission in her pursuit of her vision.’

NOTE THESE:

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