Emir Muhammadu Sanusi told us the bitter truth. Yes, some of us are careless and irresponsible parents. We need a leader to rebuke us.
Yes, the Igbo kidnappers were wrong to have stolen and sold your child, but in as much as they did not break into your house to forcefully take the child, you also share part of the blame.
You already know that a two years old child should not be left to go outside alone. He can get lost or be stolen by strangers. People don’t like the truth, but you should be jailed if you allow your child to wander into the neighbourhood and fall inside well. It is criminal negligence.
As a parent, it is not enough to just produce a child and walk away. I have a friend that has nine children but only one is living with him. The rest are sent to live with relatives and are wandering the streets without food, clothes or proper hygiene. And if his child gets missing he will ignore his responsibility and blame society.
As parents, we must provide for the material and spiritual welfare of our children. We must inspire our children by our own exemplary life and must never neglect them.
For younger children, the first rule is to protect them. Never let them out of your sight.
We are also responsible for the necessary food, clothing, shelter and medical care insofar as we are able to afford them. When we lack the capacity to provide for children, we should stop producing them.
Go into Kano communities and see babies wandering around. A child of four years crossing a busy road. If the child is not stolen he will get killed by moving vehicles and it has happened several times before.
But because we don’t keep statistics and don’t care, we lose sight of the fact that more children died as a result of car accidents, falling inside well, rivers or killed by falling trees. All due to our criminal negligence as parents.
It is the kidnapping of few that bothers us, even at that we don’t want to heed the rebuke coming from our Royal Father.
By Aliyu Nuhu