CHILDREN’S DAY MAKEOVER

CHILDREN, OUR PRIDE, OUR FUTURE!

Uche @ 5, adorned in a Nigerian outfit.

May 27th is a day set aside to celebrate our children. Children's Day Celebration provides an opportunity for reflection on the conditions of Nigerian children. The story hasn't quite changed so much from one of lamentation. The plight of the Nigerian Child is undesirable, and ultimately the non implementation of the Child Rights Act and the benefits therein. 
Children's Day in Nigeria is seemingly reserved as public holiday for children, and some children engage in lively activities which are considered as part of the characteristics of the day. A number of children go to various stadia to actively participate in parades and marches and listen to speeches of various leaders. In some cases, there are varieties of parties to choose from, with lots of food, drinks, merriments, dancing as well as games, as the case may be. 

I remember our childhood days, children's day afforded us the opportunity to engage in match past and traditional dances at our various stadia, we always looked forward to May 27th every year as well as October 1st our independent day celebration; this is hardly the case any more. In todays Nigeria the children are left for the parents to decide what level of fun activity to engage their kids with, therefore while the celebration bring laughter and joy to a section of people it brings tears and dismay to another section. Who are these people- Children of the affluent and the not so affluent! 

The rich folks can afford a roller coaster ride and a merry go round for their children. They will say, “let’s take a trip to the Bahamas, its Children’s Day!” They are those who feel delighted watching their children ride on a luxury horse with a candy stocked in mouth and a handy toy all at hand. A rich man will say “come on, throw away your Phone and have this Blackberry Touch”. Only a well-to-do man will do all of these.

On the contrary children from the other side of the divide may not even have the luxury of fun watching the various celebration on television but will hear words like stop watching TV and go help your mom in the kitchen on a children’s day! because the child is likely to watch other children on TV stations who are enjoying themselves by reason of the season. The child from this other divide will have to hawk bread on the street to gather money for fees, their parents will tell this children how ‘big men’ do all manner of terrible things to get money. He is full of sorrow, pain, anguish and confusion. He is not a happy man.

Some Nigerian children in the game of Punch Balls

These two kinds of people are easily seen in our communities today. Sometimes there are alterations or changes in the degree of wealth and the degree of poverty. But the case remains, there are two variables of sharp conflicting terms. You are either up or down. Perhaps, in the middle, the truth remains that there is a difference. Now, because of the social barrier and economic demarcation so many of the well-to-do clique separate themselves entirely from those less privileged because we think that they are of less class. However, it is very important to note here that the Children’s Day celebration is not a thing of sect. It is supposed to be an emancipation and networking of children of varying diversities, from bottom to top. The Children’s Day celebration should take a reflexive notion in that people who are self-sufficient should think about those that are not able to measure up. In other words, the haves and have nots are to be seen doing things together, sharing and celebrating love for themselves irrespective of all differences. Children’s day is supposed to be a day marked with a lot of activities for children. But the fact remains that only a section of the country’s children actually have an opportunity to celebrate their existence. Schools organize events and activities that their students thoroughly enjoy, but there is an entire populace of young ones that are left behind on this special day – the downtrodden street children. On this notion, we add, Instead of celebrating it with pomposity in schools and clubs and fun centers, why not bring a smile into the lives of children who are less privileged. While celebrating being a child, the fortunate ones should be reminded about their good fortune to have all that they are endowed with, while there are others who can barely feed or clothe themselves. Thus, while this day was instituted to provide children with basic Rights, maybe we can make a difference to a child’s life by doing something special. Parties and celebrations happen all the time, but how about taking the unfortunate children, the homes that shelter street children and have them befriend those kids, donating clothes, toys, stationery, books, etc. This will really create a lasting impression and show the true meaning of the children’s day and we believe this will go a long way in making this years children's day a remarkable one.

We urge those who are in a better economic and social positions to please, look out for those hungry kids on the street and even in ‘hidden’ places and show them some love instead of leaving them out to nurse their pain on a day they should be happy and celebrating with other children. You don’t have to give all you have or create a scene, make it simple, a little will go a long way to reassuring those children of a future for themselves. We do hope that you who is reading this will take a step towards achieving this goal.

WMN.