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Youths Day: Our Expectations In 2021 And Beyond
“Young people are on the frontlines of the struggle to build a better future for all. The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the dire need for the kind of transformational change they seek and young people must be full partners in that effort”.
This was a comment of United Nations Secretary- Gen
eral, Antonio Guterres during the 2021 International Youth Day which was celebrated worldwide on 12th August, 2021, with theme, “Transforming Food Systems-Youth Innovation for Human and Planetary Health”.
In view of this, The Tide reached out to young people to voice out their feelings concerning their hope in 2021and beyond in relation to the theme of this year’s celebration.
Miss Daberechi Nwadike, Student, Rivers State University.
First of all, I hope for a better Nigeria. I pray for good governance, that the health care system should be better equipped especially for the old people and those that cannot fend for themselves. I want good tidings generally. Also, I personally hope that my academics go well for me as a 400 level Agricultural student. I hope to do better as a person so that I can impact on people and the society.
Concerning the theme of this year’s celebration, yes, we should focus more on farming, that is farm in large quantities, food should be more from farms. I would like to farm mostly on vegetables (greens), especially so that we will not import everything from the nothern part of this country.
For health, the environment affects people, like Coronavirus, we,Nigerians do not understand that this is serious. We are walking about without facemasks. Also, environmental sanitation should be dealt with, more money should be allocated into this area because it affects lives. Better healthcare should be available, mostly old people should have a flat rate. Personally,I don’t know if medical personnels here know what they are doing.For example, my friend was treated for malaria instead of treating her for the main disease.
Youths should come out emasse and sensitize people on these importamt issues to safe guard our lives.
Oremi Georgewill, Site Engineer,
I have hope that there will be a better tomorrow for youths in Nigeria. We have to be innovative about our ideas not just waiting for government, at least we should think about what to do to put food on our tables by going on the internet to get information to improve our lives. The hope for 2021 should be positive to help our mindset.
The theme of the celebration is good. We should go into agriculture full time, as youths we have to take care of this aspect with our energy. We have to be out to produce enough food. The youth have to be innovative especially on the marketing and packaging aspect to sustain food production. We need to go the internet and get ideas and relate it to the African setting and create things to sustain our population. In Agriculture, we have different farming areas, we need to go into fish farming. For me, I can go into poultry and fish farming. I still need to improve my skills in this area, this is where government have to come in. Government can bring in the youths into agriculture to make food available, we have the strength to work, let them revive the agricultural sector to create jobs for the youths, we are ready.
On planetary health, there is need to practise good hygiene, the youth need to be clean in all. We can also teach our parents one or two things about health matters because we know so much, like what they need to eat, for example, they should eat fruits to fight germs in their bodies, do small exercises like walking to remove sweat from their bodies. They need to drink enough water to improve metabolism, infact, they need to eat healthy. Also, we should educate our parents to continue reading to improve brain and mental strength. We need to inform our family members and the society at large about these things. With all these, health issues will be minimal.
2021 is post Covid, we are hopeful that the world will come back to reality and start afresh. In Nigeria, we are hopeful that our economy will come out stronger in the midst of insecurity and other bad vices. With hope alive, things will be better in the future.
In Nigeria, agriculture is managed in crude ways and youths are not interested in handling crude methods. Government should come out with modern methods and involve the youths. There are diverse oppourtunities in agriculture which are yet to be harnessed. The youths must wake up and get things done instead of folding our hands for government to do everything. Like me, I have a little garden as a person. I grow small crops and vegetables to help put food on my table. To go into agriculture as youths, we need capital to start off. In other parts of the world, government is helping out in form of grants and funds, let our government be realistic about the agricultural sector and help the youths.
Concerning the health sector, our government is not doing well by allowing our health practitioners move in droves abroad. The government should discourage this and train more manpower in the health sector. It’s is a shame that Nigeria , the giant of Africa is lacking behind by not coming up with a vaccine for Coronavirus, with all our educated medical practitioners. Government should involve the youths more, we have ideas, we can come up with something.
It is the idea of God that family should exit. Children form part of the family. God loves family so much that Jesus was born into the family of Joseph.
Everyone’s family is good and important. Children should not look down on their family whether they are rich or poor.
Children should respect and honour their family and foster love among their siblings. They should work together and make peace in the family. They should always stand in the gap. It is good for family members to carry all along since everyone may not be doing well.
The Christianity that children learn is practised in family. Faith-based organisations do a great job in moulding children’s character. Those are the behaviours that children exhibit towards siblings in family.
Every child born in a family is there for a purpose. A baby born into a family is supplying something. It may be joy, wealth and so on. Everyone is important in a family.
Adolescents who have graduated from school but may not be contributing financially can do one or two things at home. You can engage in preparing meals at home while parents are away for a job or business. Contributing in house chores will go a long way to relieve parents of stress after a day’s job.
What do you contribute to your family, especially during holidays both in nuclear and extended family?
The family you were born is constant but friends are temporary. You can decide not to continue in friendship but you cannot cut off your family. No matter how bad you think your family is and you decide to leave home, you must surely return. Your friends can harbour you for a while.
The child’s first identity comes from the family. What the child learns first comes from the family.
Family is the centre of love and care. People have started playing down on marriage because of neglect on basics of family. Marriage starts today and and the next few months, it is threatened. Respect for family plays a crucial role in marriage.
No child grows without parental control and influence. If a child refuses to grow without taking instructions from parents, he may grow up being wild. There are consequences when children do not obey their parents. There are those who want to be rebellious against their parents. They should know that their length of days are tied to their parents.
Your bioligical parents know you more than every other person. There is the wisdom and knowledge your parents have that you do not so it is proper to listen to them before choosing carriers both in academics and job. A young man or woman can choose who to get married to, but a greater role in the choice of who to marry and the marriage proper comes from the parents.
They know what is best for you. No matter how modern trends will influence you and prove it wrong, parent is the key. No one can love you more than your parents because they are your blood.
A lot of parents have been traumatised due to the fact that children they nurtured and trained turned their back on them at older age. Children should not abandon their parents for any reason.
As you grow up, situations may arise in marriage when you decide it is over with your spouse, but no matter the level of provocation with your parents, they will not despise you. Parents will also play a role in that regard. Problem arises in every family but how it is handled matters a lot.
Some children honour their mentors more than their parents. Although there are parents who shy away from their responsibilities. It is important that parents take full responsibility of their children. You cannot bring a child to the planet earth and refuse to perform roles as a parent. But parents may not quantify what they spent from childhood to adolescence. That is a blessing children cannot get from another person.
There are people who have attributed their failure in life to the fact that their parents, especially mothers are witchcraft. It is wrong to feel that your mother is instrumental to your failure in life. The only way to success is hardwork.
Let money not determine the level of love for your parents. Wherever a child goes, family is constant.
Eunice Choko-Kayode
Naturally, when a child is born, it is the role of the father and mother to decide a suitable name for the child. The husband and wife normally discuss and suggest the English or vernacular name of the baby.
But sometimes, when a baby comes into a family, grandparents hearts are usually filled with joy to the extent that they want to answer present, by giving their own names not minding the fact that the biological parents have given theirs.
This happens mostly when the marriage is an inter-tribal one. It also happens even in intra-tribal marriage. Grandparents want equal representation as far as naming a child is concerned. They also have special names as a result of circumstances surrounding the birth of the child.
This is still happening till date.
A lot of people have viewed this in different ways but there is nothing wrong about it. The most important thing is that the child bears as many names as he or she can. But one thing is certain, the child must bear one name in school.
Should circumstance determine a child’s name?
Women who are more emotional are always eager to name their children considering the circumstances surrounding the child’s conception and arrival.
The issue of grandparents naming a child comes up mostly when it is the first of the family.
In naming children by some parents in the olden days, they named their children according to the days in the week in which they were born, like Sunday, Monday, Friday and so on.
You may be shocked to hear that whether a child is given 10 names by parents or grandparents, when he or she grows up, will decide to change. There are several cases where some persons decided to change especially when they feel that the names given by their parents and grandparents do not give them joy. If they are not doing well in life, they may claim that their misfortune is caused by the name their parents.
Competition among children in schools be it primary, (kindergarten) and secondary come in different forms. It can be Mathematics , debate, quiz, spelling bee,competition, from organisations like Cowbell, multi-national companies, faith-based organisations among others.
They are organised mostly for selected intelligent ones, the best among their peers to represent a class, school or group. Prizes are normally set aside for the best as well as consolation prizes for runners-up at the end of each session.
The question is, are children willing to accept defeat when they fail? As parents, guardians, can you encourage your children or wards to accept defeat instead of shouting and comparing them with others who may be performing better either in schools or outside.
Some parents may be blaming their children for not doing well in competitions. They will like to tell their children if others who may perform better have ten heads. Those group of parents blame their children for every failure.
For your children to do better in competition, the parents too must have emotional intelligence. When you continue to blame your children for failure, how intelligent are you?
Some parents always want their children to be in the 1st position and unhappy whenever they secure 2nd position. There were instances where children smashed their trophies because they never got the position they wanted to get and their parents supported them.
Children should be able to accept it whether they win or not. They should be encouraged for every performance. Discourage the issue of “shame, shame, shame, shame”.
A parent says she always tells her children to win even if they will fail. Always give them the mentality that they can win. Children should be given the impression that they can win prizes and laurels in every competition.
Parents should not isolate their children from others in the neighbourhood. Allow them to play with others. Don’t threaten your children that you may not pay their schools fees if they fail. Comparing them with others may encourage or discourage them.
Coming first or getting award as a first class student from the university sometimes does not mean that the person is the best. And if the child does not merit any award in the lower classes, does not mean that he can not merit first class also.
It should be noted that coming first in academic competition may not really mean that the competitor will be the best at work place or business.
Accepting defeat is a way to move higher. Even if a child who competed with others did not come first, there are consolation prizes for runners-up. When you advise the child to accept defeat, you are encouraging her to win in next competition.
Remember all children cannot be on the same knowledge level Their learning abilities defer.
Eunice Choko-Kayode
