Give Them This Gift Else They May Haunt You Tomorrow

Whenever we see those young boys in traffic who come to wash car wind shields in hopes for cash my younger brother always says that it's best to give them something no matter how small because if they had come with a knife or worse still a gun, we would give them all our belongings.

This is true but more importantly these young boys need an education.

I recently attended a Media Dialogue on the challenge of out-of-school in children in Nigeria organised by the Federal Ministry of Education and the Child Rights Bureau (CRIB) in partnership with UNICEF and there we discussed and brainstormed on the issue and how to solve it as over 10 million children of school age in Nigeria are not in school - according to the Federal Ministry of Education.

This event held in Kano and ironically during that period there was a clash in Kaduna that led to the government imposing a 24 hour curfew. A colleague travelling through Kaduna to Kano for the event was badly beaten when the vehicle she boarded was mobbed by irate youths and she suffered a fractured arm - she is currently in the hospital.

These youths I am sure would not be willing tools for violence if they were educated as an educated mind understands the importance of tolerance, respect for human rights as well as the importance of dialogue in conflict resolution.

This is why the greatest gift you can give to your children is quality education. If you do not educate their minds, they may turn to haunt you tomorrow. 

The truth is a society cannot rise higher than the level of education her citizenry is exposed to.
The right type of education awakens your consciousness and rationality, it makes you ask questions.

I am on a journey of growth and it is a good Education has given me the audacity to ask for more from myself and life. This is the greatest gift I got. 

We must therefore strive to give our children the gift of quality education.

Be commited to this and if you are able financially, pick a child who isn't privileged and pay for their education - posterity will thank you for it.

The gift of a good education is priceless and the reward is immeasurable but dearth of it will result in a society like ours.

Remember that when the poor is hungry, the rich will not sleep and to solve the problem we are dealing with, we need to catch them young.

We should start undoing the mistakes of the past, educate the young ones, expose them to information that will renew their minds and birth a new reality. 

We must do whatever it takes to send our children to school and keep them there.

It begins with you!