A MISGUIDED APPROACH

A MISGUIDED APPROACH

Every parent expects to see his child or children doing well academically or become a reputable personality in the society. Parents love to see their children become medical doctors, barristers, engineers, etc, with little or no attention being paid to the academic prowess of their children.

The foremost type of education is still the informal education which entails the parent/guardian acting as a teacher who exposes the learner to the rudiments of life so as to acquire the basic knowledge and skills needed to thrive in the society. This type of education is no longer in vogue, as our parents have a misconception to this, and do not take out time to address their children’s non-challant attitude towards their studies. I wouldn’t blame; but in real sense, they are to blame.

Today, parents leave their children at the mercy of lesson teachers. They leave home as early as possible for work, to beat the traffic on our major roads, when the children may possibly be in bed, and on returning from work, the children are in bed. House-helps have taken their roles as parents, of which the affection a child is supposed to get from the parent is not there, hence, the children are exposed to a lot of social vices.

Most parents don’t know the strengths and weaknesses of their children. They expect the teacher to be able to discover the innate abilities of their children, whereas, it’s their primary role to do so

            Today, when a child opts for the Arts or commercial class, the parents decry. They start comparing their children with their neighbor’s, and you hear statements like “your friend, Obinna wants to become an engineer; Dayo wants to be a medical doctor, why can’t you also think in that direction?” Does this mean that the intellectuals are only found in the sciences? Why do some parents have a misguided approach to this?

If we all become engineers, who will be the artisans? If we all become accountants, who will be the newscasters? If parents and guardians are living up to their responsibilities, they would be able to discover the abilities of their children and wards, and guide them towards making the right career choice.

            Never compare your child with others. Everyone is uniquely made. Take out time to know your children, so as to bring out the best in them. Help them to discover their purpose, actualize their potentials and live their dreams.

THE QUEST FOR MONEY

THE QUEST FOR MONEY

 Money! Money!! Money!!! The economists would say it is a legal tender, generally acceptable as a means of transaction between two or more persons.

It is handled by everyone irrespective of their financial or economic status. It affords everyone the ability to transact business in the form of buying and selling goods and services. To an average child in the world today, when you give money to someone, it shows you love and care for such one. Is this assertion true?

 During my days at the primary and post primary levels, once you are in possession of huge amount of money, you will be quizzed by your contemporaries, of which, the school authority may be brought into play, and such person may risk leaving the school.

Every child today wants to be controlling money. Yes, the Holy Bible rightly says, “money answereth all things.” The same Holy Bible says, “Money is the root of all evil.” Does this mean that the Holy Bible is contradicting itself? No! With money you can do whatever you want, have whatever you wish and go anywhere in the world. Funny enough, it cannot buy life.

 If it were so, only the rich would thrive in this world making the quest to assail. Philosophically, being the root of all evils stems from the fact that one’s crave for it can lead to one going to any length to have it.

How many people in today’s world make money in a honest way? People compromise their integrity; get involved in shady deals at the expense of their souls. Honesty is devoid in people’s idiosyncrasies. This is why we are still where we are because we want everything to be done for us. If we have a changed attitude towards money, we would not only be the giant of Africa, but also, be among the first twenty best economies of the world in the nearest future.

If all Nigerians were honest, there wouldn’t be any case of money laundering or looting. What we hear or read from the national dailies involve individuals, groups, corporate bodies looting public funds. They transfer such funds to foreign countries, thus, enriching their treasuries. Governors, senators, ministers and other top government officials have been drowned into this at one time or the other.

 Why would a minister of aviation be alleged to have whisked away with #255 million, claiming to purchase two armoured cars for herself and any aviation-related foreign dignitaries? This is a show of shame to her personality. Is this how she manages her home?

Sometimes ago, a lawyer-turned shady businessman, Fred Ajudua, was alleged to have defrauded two Dutch businessmen to the tune of $1.69million. Will he go scot free?

          Why do we have the dichotomy between the rich and the poor? They can’t attend the same colleges, occasions, hospitals, etc.

The rich is never defeated in any quest; craves for more money, up to the point of making the poor a money-spinning machine. The poor is always poor, and is reckoned as a no-match with the rich. This has even built acrimony between these two sides.

          What then is the rationale behind our crave for money? To some, their posterity must not suffer, while to others, the system should be bastardized to the detriment of the poor.

Young folks today have sold their conscience; some teachers have lost their integrity to examination malpractice; the bar benchers have equally sacrificed justice at the altar of money. Private medical doctors will only attend to patients on the account of huge deposits; contractors have resorted to substandard materials for public usage. Why wouldn’t we remain in a moribund state as a nation?

 We need attitudinal change so as to make the system conducive for us all.