It was the day of the precious African Child on June 16, 2023 and my fingers did not receive enough strength in my bones to scribble on private or public parchment the words, love and affection that reverberate in the inner recess of my heart for the precious African children.

You see, my health and I have not got along very well in the last few days. Yet I am not the type, who succumb to the blackmail of the feelings in my bones and symptoms in my body, urging me to embrace the temporary comfort of demobilisation or immobilisation. I I just keep moving, shaming the overbearing expectations of my symptoms. Thus it was in the midst of the challenge posed by my health that I chose one of the hardest of tasks, with arduous physical exertion, repositioning my book shelves and rearranging my library. Done and I was done for, almost comatose and raising a finger became like an attempt to do an unconscious dash to land on the edge of Mount Everest.

Yet in this state of both unstigated and self-inflicted state of unwellness, my love and concerns was untouched on that day and as it has been all of my adult life.

It is sad to not that Africa in her hypocrisy has gone ahead to choose a theme for our precious children around Digital Environment to mark the day. While it may be argued that our precious children exist in the digital space and it may be important to call attention to the roles and protection within the same, I do not think it is the most pressing issue the precious African children are facing today. Ultra poverty, where particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, where 2 out of 3 children are living without access to basic needs should be in the forefront of our daily concern and discussion. A continent, which in the careful reckoning of UNESCO houses the region with the highest population of uneducated children in the word is busy pretending to be concerned about our precious children and digital environment?

Progress or retrogression begins with convesations. It is only the right conversation predicated on the objective reality of a people or situation that is capable of engendering progress. Until, we begin the right conversation, aimed at a ruthless and relentless commitment to build an Africa fit for our precious children and empower them to thrive and excel in it, Africa will continue to a land not worthy of her precious children and all their infinite God-gifted potentials and will not cease to play the last fiddle in the comity of nations by all indices necessary.

I rest my case on this part of my concern here, as I believe a word is enough, even for the fool.

Today is Father’s Day and regrettably all I will be able to say to our distinguished fathers  is Happy Father’s Day. The weariness of my soul due to the conversation I just had above forbids me to go further than this. God’s willing, I shall wrap this up tomorrow or this time next week with what I call the Frailty of Fatherhood.

Do have an INSPIRED Father’s Day Celebration

I am Taiwo Akinlami