News of avoidable deaths of children in different parts of the country abound these days, especially as parents appear to neglect their duties of protecting their children from harm’s way. PAUL OKAH asks a cross-section of Nigerians if children are now endangered species.
Yes, they are
Children are an endangered species. They don’t have a mind of their own and need direction. They need to be constantly watched over by their parents, especially as toddlers. There is always an instruction in the bottle and packs of medicines for them to be kept out of the reach of children because they are very curious in nature. It is very pathetic that many parents have been failing in their duties of taking care of their children. For instance, emotions are still high over the death of Ifeanyi Adeleke, son of popular music artiste, Davido, and his fiancée, Chioma Rowland, who recently drowned in a swimming pool at their residence in the Banana Island area of Lagos state while the parents were said to be away.
The little boy was left in the care of care-givers as his parents are celebrities. However, the care-givers were apparently negligent, thereby leading to his death. Even the son of D’Banj, another Nigerian musician, died in similar circumstances. This is apart from the death of other children whose parent (s) (is/are) not celebrities and is, therefore, not widely reported in the media. Children should be valued more than money in every given situation. It is not enough to leave children in the care of strangers. Nobody will take care of your child the way you do it. Therefore, while we pursue money, we should always endeavour to cater for our children and keep them away from danger.
…Amina Yakubu, civil servant
Govt should intervene
There is no gainsaying that children are already an endangered species and have sometimes been lost to carelessness of parents. The more annoying one is the fact that many people leave their children to nannies under the guise of being busy. What is more demanding than taking care of your own children? If you have too many nannies, you do not have a nanny. I speak out of experience. When we have multiple house-helps, nothing gets done in the house and the nannies would slowly become gossip mates and neglect their responsibilities. Employ one nanny with a specific job – to keep an eye the whole day on your child. Install Nanny wi-fi camera – I’ve never lived in any house without a nanny wifi Camera.
In South Africa, if a child dies from negligence, the parents could end up in jail. By law, the child doesn’t belong to the parents. Every child belongs to the state and if anything happens to the child under your care, the state will hold you responsible. Nigeria has a long way to go in this direction. The death of a child is anti-natural. In Davido’s case, it is one of the many deaths that happen in Nigerian homes. This time, it happened in a rich man’s home. The other time, a kid drowned in a well-water pit in a public compound, giving credence to the fact that drowning is the third leading cause of death for children under the age of three. Swimming pools should be fenced going forward.
I urge our legislators to enact a law to that effect. Negligent parents should be jailed to serve a deterrent to others who give birth to children they cannot protect.
…Joseph Michael, scholar
Extra care needed for children
I am one of the vocal people who believe that children are an endangered species and should be protected at all times. It is annoying that people claim to be celebrities and ignore their children, but turn around to lament after losing the children to carelessness. For instance, I am of the opinion that Davido and Chioma should be charged for negligence and for abdicating their parental responsibility. No amount of sentiments should cloud our sense of judgement and reasoning in this case. Even though there may be a spiritual angle to this case connecting both, in the eye of the law, I believe they have a case to answer. During Dbanj’s time, I said it, but my law colleagues attacked me for not being empathetic.
Maybe, if that message on Dbanj had gotten out, Ifeanyi would have been alive today because parents would have been more aware of how to make their homes child-proof. Most Nigerians don’t even know the meaning of child-proof. A bachelor’s house is different from a family home. An uncovered pool is bad; A pool is not bad, but pools are always covered before a child is brought home. This is not spiritual.
Children die everywhere because of their innocence and curiosity. That innocence that makes us love them is also their biggest vulnerability. They don’t understand danger. It’s the place of adults to understand it for them and protect them by covering the pool and keeping medicines out of children’s reach. Make your home child-proof at your level. Take medicines up higher on a shelf where kids can’t reach. Take all sharp objects up. Cover wells and pools. Turn off gas and lock kitchens. Put baby cams in your home and be able to watch on your phone, etc. They’re not expensive. Do your part before you accuse village people of being responsible for your negligence. Children are vulnerable and curious.
…Douglas Chukwu, legal practitioner
It’s saddening
It saddens me whenever I read about the death of any child, which is avoidable, in the media. Truly, many people are not worthy to be called parents. I know what I passed through before I could have my children after years of marriage, so I don’t joke with my children. While they are growing up, children are very vulnerable. They are curious, innocent and always in danger. This is why it is not good for parents to keep their eyes off their children at any minute, especially the toddlers. There is no job that is more important than your children. The other day, I heard the news of a woman drowning the children of her neighbor in Nasarawa after a bitter quarrel. If the mother of the drowned children kept watch over them, would such have happened?
I am a teacher and I know what it takes to raise children; so negligence is inexcusable.
…Rita Okon, teacher
Accidents do happen
Accidents are common with children, whether in rich or poor homes. Negligence is usually the major cause of the death of children, especially with celebrities. Many children would have been alive today if not for the negligence or carelessness of their parents. The recent case is the death of Davido’s son, Ifeanyi, earlier this month. I am not sure if there is a missing 101 education about swimming pools. When you have young kids, swimming pools are dangerous, never take it lightly or think it’s unlikely to happen to you or your kids.
Swimming pools should be gated all around. My sister has a swimming pool and trying to get into it was like trying to escape prison when the kids were younger. She no longer needs the gate because they are older and fantastic swimmers now. Even the type of material used was tested vigorously. They would push on it constantly to make sure it can’t fall or anything. All it takes is 20 seconds for a child to drown, so looking away for a minute is all it takes. Having 100 domestic help is irrelevant if your pool isn’t securely inaccessible by young children.
It’s a parent’s responsibility to ensure that their house is child proof. I will never feel like my child is safe even with maids. We have to protect our toddlers better. The combination of having experienced nannies and child proof homes is the key. Unfortunately, even the extremely wealthy can’t escape the brutality of life. We are humans, looking away for one minute doesn’t make you negligent. All it takes is 20 seconds for a child to drown. We have all had incidents when our children were growing up that were close calls. My daughter used to dive from the bed and fall because I kept forgetting that she could now move. How many of you have gone to pee for a minute, been on the phone, quickly checking on dinner or whatever and next thing you notice is your child is choking or playing with live wires or burning candles. We all have testimonies, we were not negligent, just human.
…Oje Gabriel, Businesswoman
