By Angela Atabo
The Oramali Foundation, in partnership with other stakeholders, stressed
the need for mentorship, emotional support and moral upbringing for the boy-child to promote balanced and responsible society.
The Executive Director of the foundation, Chidima Oramali, made the call during the celebration of the International Day of the Boy-Child held at the Federal Government Boys College (FGBC), Wuye, Abuja.
The event had “Let’s Together Raise the Boys of Today Who Will Become the Men of Tomorrow” as its theme.
Oramali urged the students to remain obedient to parents and teachers and always uphold good values.
She also advised boys to be responsible and disciplined, adding that the foundation would sustain the initiative to support the growth of the boy-child.
She said “we are coming back in 2027 bigger and better to do more.”
The President of Women Inspire Africa, Amb. Tina Kenechukwu, said neglect of the boy-child had contributed to several social challenges confronting society.
Kenechukwu said that while attention had largely focused on the girl-child, boys also needed guidance, mentorship and emotional intelligence training.
“The society focuses so much on the girl-child and little is said about the boy-child, forgetting that they are also children who need care and direction,” she said.
According to her, proper grooming of boys is essential because they will eventually grow into men who will influence families and the society.
“If a boy-child is not properly trained, society will still not be balanced because the boys
will become men.
“A lot of the social vices we see today, including violence and kidnapping, are issues that require proper upbringing and moral guidance from childhood,” she said.
She described parenting as collective responsibility involving parents, teachers, religious institutions and the larger society.
She further urged parents to deliberately instill strong moral values in children to discourage them from criminal activities and other negative behaviours.
Earlier, the Convener of the programme, Oby Ezeilo, said the initiative became necessary because of the need to give more attention to the challenges confronting the boy-child.
She said there are many policies and activities backing the girl-child and nobody is talking about the boy- child.
“So, we decided to come together and do something for the boy-child because I teach in a boys’ school, I decided to bring the programme to my school so the students can benefit from the activities and talks,” she said.
According to her, activities at the event include a football match, talk on overcoming challenges facing the boy-child, dance competition and presentation of gifts to students.
Ezeilo urged government to ensure balanced policies for both boys and girls.
She added that boys also deserve care, support and love like the girl-child to help them grow into responsible adults.
An optometrist, Mr David Nwandu, said society often assumed that boys naturally understood life challenges without proper grooming and guidance.
Nwandu said that lack of deliberate mentoring for boys had negatively affected many of them in adulthood.
“We train the girl-child deliberately and pass knowledge across to them, but the boy-child often does not have that privilege.
“As a child, I also experienced some of those deficiencies and I am still learning now. That is why I came to encourage these boys to learn early enough and avoid the mistakes we made,” he said.
He encouraged the students to remain focused on their education, build self-confidence and embrace perseverance.
According to him, failure should not discourage young people from pursuing success.
“You don’t fail until you quit. If you fail today, you come back again and try until you get it right,” he said.
Nwandu also urged the students not to allow poor backgrounds or temporary setbacks to limit their ambitions.
“You can achieve any height you desire, but you have to be self-confident and determined,” he said.
The Principal of FGBC Wuye, Mr Ogunsina Joshua, appreciated the organisers for choosing the school and expressed optimism that the initiative would positively shape the lives of the students.
He called for support for the school’s digital technology and library projects to enhance learning among the students.
“We are expecting you next year. FGBC will continue to support advocacy that will positively shape the lives of our students,” he said.
Solomon Amaku who spoke on behalf of the students, also thanked the organisers for commemorating the International Day of the Boy Child and for encouraging boys to become responsible men in future.
Gift items such as Bibles, water bottles, books and other writing materials were presented to some students for good conduct and academic excellence.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu
