Our Bi-monthly Child Protection Basics Class held yesterday. We had a great time preaching the Gospel According to Child Protection 9.00am to 5.30pm to 2 streams of participants, eager to learn and put same to practice…

I set the ball rolling yesterday, explaining my metamorphosis to my dear audience…

18 years ago, as I began to find significant help and enduring healing through Christ Jesus from the seemingly insurmountable impacts of child abuses, I started out as a Child’s Rights Actvist, strictly employing the letters of the law and my experiences of bountiful baskets of child abuses to daringly give expression to my passion to bring to the front burner of private and public conscience and consciousness the right and responsibilities of African Child for due respect in the best interest of the Child…

As I progressed in what I believe to be a divine mandate, I began to break new grounds in my thinking. I found that focusing Child’s Rights as a cause is mere activism, which may not proffer enduring solutions for the African Child. I further found that Child’s Rights is a means to achieving an end. Generally speaking, the purpose of fundamental human rights, enshrined in the Constitutions of nations is to achieve respect for the inalienable rights of the citizens. Where the provisions of fundamental human rights does not achieve respect for the rights of the people, it is nothing but a tragic decoration elavated to a an undeserved space in the highest law of the land, the constitution…

In the same vein, I found the spirit and the mandate of Child’s Rights as enshrined in local and international laws is to achieve protection for the African Child. I found with clarity that the pivotal intention of the law and its makers, which established Child’s Rights is to achieve unassailable protection for the African Child, regardless of his/her clan or class. I further found that if the role of Child’s Rights is to achieve protection for children, then the number one responsibility of every caregiver must be to protect the child under their care…

In view of the foregoing discovery, I began to tune the sail of my Child’s Rights commitment in the direction of Child Protection. Using the combined instrumentalities of the law and universal principles of human existence, I began to create solution-oriented social programs and products, aimed at helping and empowering the primary and secondary caregivers to play their number one role in the life of the child, which is to protect the child. At that point I rechristened myself Child Protection Practitioner & Thinker…

As continue in my daily work employing the tool of Child’s Rights to achieve protection for the African Child, experience began to teach me insight that Child Protection is yet not an end. I found that Child Protection from Physical, Sexual, Emotional and Neglect Abuses is far from being an end in itself. It is at best a MEANS! A MEANS to achieve what? Yes, it is a MEANS to achieve PRESERVATION of CHILDHOOD or CHILDHOOD PROTECTION…

I found that until we all understand CHILDHOOD and what it truly represents we cannot be INSPIRED to Protect the Child. I found that abuse of any kind robs the child of CHILDHOOD; that Child Protection must achieve CHILDHOOD PROTECTION. Therefore Child Protection is the means and CHILDHOOD PROTECTION is the end. CHILDHOOD PROTECTION is the VISION and Child Protection is the MISSION. Child Protection is the CALL and CHILDHOOD PROTECTION is the MOVEMENT…

What is are the fundamental characteristics of CHILDHOOD? I think I found 6: CURIOSITY, FREEDOM, JOY, PEACE, INNOCENCE, FEARLESSNESS…

The greatest challenge in Africa today is that many primary and secondary caregivers, saddled with the responsibility of preserving CHILDHOOD were never children before because they had their CHILDHOOD thwarted; I mean that they never experienced CHILDHOOD and therefore they are not able to preserve CHILDHOOD in the children under their care. It is life principle that we cannot give what you do not have…

I submit today, with a renewed vigour that the greatest gift we can give to a child and our world is to preserve CHILDHOOD and transit him/her to complete ADULTHOOD, where he/she is able to take his/her DESTINY and his/her WORLD…

I finally, I found that most unfortunately, CHILDHOOD has gone into EXTINCTION, many years ago and majority of us DO NOT IT…

Today, I, Taiwo Akinlami, sober on my knees on the LORD’S Day declares that as I approach age 45 in a month’s time, I shall by the grace of God dedicate all of myself to helping my continent to leading a MOVEMENT with dual divine mandate: first, to Preserve CHILDHOOD in Children…Second, to Restore CHILDHOOD to the legion of adults, who lost it…

I am Taiwo Akinlami, I lead the MOVEMENT for PRESERVATION and RESTORATION of CHILDHOOD in Africa…

I hope you will join me when I come to your constituency. Do have an INSPIRED week.