Children’s Day: How Elizabethan Humanitarian Life is Rewriting History
Usually, the boys gravitate more to their mothers, while the general belief is that their fathers should be the ones to guide them accordingly through life. Unfortunately, most often, their fathers are so busy with work and business that they do not have much time to provide the necessary guidance for the male child. This is why the growing attention on the male gender through the recognition of a special international day and the establishment of the Elizabethan Humanitarian Life (H&H) Foundation to cater for their wellbeing in Nigeria, is a welcome development”.
The plight of the children is conspicuous in all parts of the Nigeria – with specific manifestations in the north as the Almajiri phenomenon, and child labour in the form of trading in the south. Mallam Ahmad Sajoh, former Adamawa State Commissioner of Information and Strategy, who shared his concern about the Almajiri phenomenon said that we owe it to the children to ensure their wellbeing in health, education, social provision, etc. He lamented the tragedy of the Almajiri phenomenon as a scourge that must be eliminated from Nigerian society.
He supported Mrs. Sanu’sview about the society’s perception of the male child when he said that “We are making a mistake by thinking that the physical strength of a man is equal to his psychological and emotional strength. We believe that men can bear pain without expressing emotions. This is the kind of ideas that the Children’s Day and the Elizabethan Humanitarian Life (H&H) Foundation are set out to correct.”
This same story is rehearsed in the South East where children, particularly the male gender prefer delving into trading and business without paying much attention to their education. Barrister Emeka Anolefo, who has practiced law for many years, said that the Children’s Day should be a day to reflect on the wellbeing of the children. He endorsed the establishment of Elizabethan Humanitarian Life (H&H) Foundation to focus on drawing the society and government attention to the plight of the children. He lamented the growing trend in the South East Nigeria where many young boys would prefer trading and business to education because of the motivation to make money.
The patron of the H&H Foundation Chief Michael Ade-Ojo, OON, expressed his gratitude to the international community for recognising a Day for the children. He also commended the Founder of the H&H Foundation for the boldness she took to establish the NGO to cater for children and the male gender in Nigeria. The Chairman of Elizade Motors and Founder of Elizade University said that this is a clarion call to the fathers and the society at large to take the training of the children as seriously as possible