W.H.O Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says older people are hardest hit by COVID-19 but “younger people are not spared.” In his words, “today I have a message for young people: You’re not invincible. This virus could put you in hospital for weeks or even kill you…”

One of the precautionary measures for curtailing the virus and other infectious diseases is what is known as SOCIAL DISTANCING.

According to Merriam-Webster, SOCIAL DISTANCING is ‘the practice of maintaining a greater than usual physical distance from other people or of avoiding direct contact with people or objects in public places during the outbreak of a contagious disease in order to minimize exposure and reduce the transmission of infection.’

Organisations in the forefront of creating awareness and fighting the COVID-19 pandemic are drumming home need for SOCIAL DISTANCING as a major tool of prevention.

But the question I am concerned about today as a keen observer and interpreter of the behaviour of our precious young people today is this: how prepared and disciplined are our precious youngsters in participating in SOCIAL DISTANCING considering the fact that SEXUALISATION is the core SOCIALISATION of most of them.

I am not sure that this something, we are adverting our minds to as primary and secondary parents.

It is my opinion that SOCIAL DISTANCING should also be discussed in view of the social and sexual lives and practices of our precious young people, whom common knowledge tells us are very sexually active.

The foregoing becomes a major issue considering the fact that our precious youngsters have been sent home from  schools(particularly secondary schools and higher institutions) and this provides huge opportunity for unholy alliances; noting that primary and secondary parents are busy at work.

It is time to begin a deliberate conversation with our precious youngsters, whose untrained and untamed sexual behaviour of most of them, (which include participation in foreplay and actual sexual intercourse) may become  a major and silent distraction to their practicing SOCIAL DISTANCING.

This is not the time to wish. ‘If wishes were horses beggers would ride.’ It is time to act with the intelligence of Securing A FRIENDLY and PROTECTIVE Environment™ for our precious youngsters, which components include KNOWLEDGE(what to do), SKILLS(how to do) and ATTITUDE (the fortitude to do).

Majority of our precious youngsters suffer from what I have defined as Reality Deficiency Syndrome™. They are not always at home or Instructed by the consequences of their actions or omissions.

They also always think they are always smart enough to escape the consequences of their actions or omissions.

I guess that is why the Director-General of W.H.O is warning young people that they are not immune against being infected with COVID-19, imploring them to watch their social behaviour at this critical time.

It is therefore our responsibility to increase their SOFT SKILLS QUOTIENT. We have developed some materials online and offline to enable you as primary and secondary parents to effectively do the foregoing and effectively broach the right kind of conversations in the areas of SOCIAL and SOFT SKILLS.

We are just a call away and DM away. Phone lines are: +2348033620843 +2348188273490 and +2348186830275

May God help us to provide the best of direction and leadership for our precious youngsters at this challenging time. Do have an INSPIRED weekend.

Yours IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE PRECIOUS AFRICAN CHILD,

Taiwo AKINLAMI
The Preacher

(C) 2020 Taiwo AKINLAMI