BY BARR YAKUBU B. GALADIMA
Children are Special gift from God and they’re to be celebrated. Hence, their Day is observed every May 27th. It is on the strength of this year’s celebration that I have set to pierce through the minds of many children in Nigeria to highlight what they’d be saying or wishing.
In Nigeria, there’s a Hausa adage that says; ‘Yara manya gobe’, (Children are the leaders of tomorrow). Truly, children are indeed the leaders of tomorrow. This is because the child can only be a leader tomorrow and not today. Since leadership has such a huge burden with a lot of responsibilities, a child may not necessarily be able to discharge them properly. Therefore, it would be fatal to place a child in a place of leadership without attaining to some requisite level of maturity. This, I believe, presupposes the coinage of that Hausa adage.
Pointblank, leadership is not a place for children; it is a turf for the mature. Those whose composition or disposition is purged of anything childish or childlike. Those who are tough, hardy, sturdy etc. These are few out of notable physical attributes a leader should possess, which a child does not have. Quite unfortunate!
Since children are the leaders of tomorrow, it follows that elders or the mature are the leaders of today. So, the expectations to offer leadership is on the elderly, not the children. In other words, there is a mountain of expectation on the mature to offer good, responsible, responsive leadership, today. The leaders of today should like Lady Portia be above board or reproach. While children, being the leaders of tomorrow, should like Oliver Twist, ask or demand for more leadership from the elders. This is because leadership is at the core of every civilization!
Can one safely say that our leaders have done so well as such should be applauded? Or if they have not done so well due to the leadership deficit which is avoidable, shouldn’t they be blamed for it? I, for one, holds the harmless opinion that leaders should be harangued for failing to offer the needed leadership. In fact, even the leaders of today shouldn’t be exempted.
One need not be a Nostradamus to say that Nigeria as presently constituted is stuck in a leadership limbo whereby same has permeated virtually to all spheres of government. So I ask, how did we get here? What did we not do rightly or over did? Perhaps, had the leaders of today exhibited some level of unquestionable or impeccable leadership qualities, we wouldn’t have found ourselves in this almost colossal mess.
Therefore, on the event of this year’s Children’s Day, the children should be asking: what legacy will the leaders of today bequeath to them? Will the leaders of today bequeath a united, peaceful, secured, economically buoyant nation where institutions and institutional frameworks are strengthened, sanitised and rejigged? Or they would have destroyed everything that the leaders of tomorrow will not even see the tomorrow, talk more of leading?
Children generally are known with certain attributes of being forgiving without holding grudges, loving, friendly, peaceable and peaceful, detribalized, etc. No wonder Jesus Christ equipped sternly that: ‘ Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.’ (Luke 18:17).
In conclusion, I submit that all leaders of today who were once children should on this occasion reminisce on their good old days of childhood with redolent nostalgia and bring to the fore all the essential good attributes of the child as they lead today. For most, verily I unequivocally say, that when they receive leadership responsibilities as little children, our nation will be a land flowing with milk and honey. But when they reject that by continuing in their self-seeking, self-serving, self-gratifying and enriching; corruption and corrupt practices; nepotism and cronyism; bigotry and chauvinism, it wouldn’t be long that Nigeria would be plunge into the abyss. God forbid!
The children, leaders of tomorrow on this day implores the leaders of today to please ‘child-down’, same way leaders of today had enjoin them to ‘wise up’!
Galadima, a lawyer and public commentator can be reached via: ybgalas@gmail.com and 09081254041(SMS only)
