INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S DAY OF BROADCASTING(ICDB):S.A.F.E™VILLE FAMILY COMICS IN THE TRENCHES

Today, March 1, 2020 is the International Children’s Day of Broadcasting(ICDB). ICDB was created by UNICEF in 1991 and it is designed to promote broadcasters around the world to pay more attention to kids program.

One of the highpoints of the day is allowing children to be a part of programming and broadcasting process.

The theme for this year in Nigeria is NIGERIAN CHILDREN: A GENERATION TO BE PROTECTED.

I spent the day at EKO FM and Radio Lagos being interviewed by precious children from public schools in Lagos State.

I was there in dual capacity, first as Securing A FRIENDLY and PROTECTIVE ™ for Children and Family Strengthening Expert and Publisher of the S.A.F.E™VILLE Family Comics.

I granted interviews in Yoruba and English, addressing sundry issues affecting the precious Nigerian children: Rights and Responsibilities of Children, Proper Conducts on Social Media, Entertainment and the Nigerian Children, Sex and Sexuality and above all the Inevitable Roles of Children in their PERSONAL SAFETY and SELF-PROTECTION.

I highlighted our intervention through the S.A.F.E™VILLE Family Comics, which twin mission is to empower our precious children to play their inevitable roles in their PERSONAL SAFETY and SELF-PROTECTION and providing alternative entertainment contents to the morally bankrupt contents to which our precious young people are recklessly exposed.

I left the studios of EKO FM and Radio Lagos elated that I made the day of these precious youngsters, whose excitement was palpable throughout the time I spent with them.

I remain sober on my knees, as I began to ask myself two fundamental questions to which I cannot, in all sincerity answer in the favour or best interest of the precious children, whose company I thoroughly enjoyed today.

My first sobering question is: what private and public machinery are in place to develop into fullness and maturity, the raw potentials I saw and experienced among those precious souls today. Will today be allowed to be a parmanent reference points by the policy makers and the adults in the lives of these precious children in their journey to become a voice for their fellow children and also become advocates of the rights of children when they become adults? Will the little and bright flickers that I saw today live to the bright potentials of becoming a big conflagration of impact beneficial to these precious souls personally, their immediate families, their peers and society at large? Would a Zuriel Elise Oduwole, Malala Yousufzai, Greta Thunberg and the likes come out of those precious youngsters that I saw today?

I am sure it is not the intention of UNICEF that these precious children will anchor and produce programs on radio and TV stations for one day and fizzle out. The intention is to make a strong voices of advocacy for noble causes of these precious children.

The second question is: what is the private and public machinery in place to protect these precious and absorbent minds from the morally bankrupt entertainment contents out there and the impact thereof. In fact these precious souls asked me questions relating to the foregoing.

We at the S.A.F.E™VILLE Family Comics are committed to tackling headlong, these two concerns, identified above in our little ways. In fact we have given expression to this concern in the past, we will only intensify our efforts in the days ahead.

As we mark our 1st year anniversary, we are determined through our League of Greatness Africa, the name we christened our S.A.F.E™VILLE Children’s Parliament and the message of our monthly comics, we will do our best to address the foregoing fundamental concerns. We will not only address same, we will encourage others to do so. We will not only encourage others to do so, we will lead a sustained advocacy in these directions.

Sober on my knees today on these Lord’s Day, I invite us to think about these things and become faithful ambassadors of these concerns in your areas of influence.

Do have an INSPIRED week.

I am Taiwo AKINLAMI and I remain Sober on My Knees this LORD’s day as I do SOCIAL PROTECTION ADVOCACY now and forevermore.