Children are special gifts from God, and in them we find our main essence as fathers, mothers and guardians. They bring into our homes unconditional love, laughter, and joy.
They are the light that brightens up our path and reinforces our hope for a fulfilling future.
Today like other beautiful days, let us celebrate our wonderful kids and pray for their progress in all aspects of life.
Let us also remember the other children in our society who live in penury; who have nothing to eat. Some are without parents or guardians, they survive on the streets, they are abused and trafficked. We must play even a small part in helping to alleviate those common problems that make our children very vulnerable.
Our children are the most affected by the scourge of poverty in our country. Many are handicapped and face severe discrimination in our society. A lot, especially those who live in rural areas are exposed to high risk of early death due to very poor sewage systems, lack of portable water and sorely deficient healthcare services.
As we celebrate the Children’s Day today, 27th May 2019, let me resound the message that healthcare is too precious to be left to chance, it is too central to life to be left to wealth. Access to treatment should be based on one’s clinical need and not on one’s ability to pay. It is sad that in the midst of abundance, children still go to bed hungry and grow up illiterate. I believe that those children on the streets did not choose to be born into such destitution, so, we cannot abandon them to their fate and leave a breeding ground for violent machinations.
As a nation, let us wake up to the need of making the right to education enforceable. Let us rise up to the task of equipping our children with the tools they need to succeed and survive in this highly competitive 21st century. In our individual homes, may we never relent in our responsibilities of showing them the path to greatness and aiding them accordingly. Together, may we never get tired of making both moral and material contributions and supporting policies that will favor the growth and development of the children.
God bless the Children and God bless our great Nation, Nigeria.
Happy Children’s Day.