Friends,


Let me add the benefit of my time as a
student and then resident in the UK.
Living in Abuja now. The first thing that I
discovered about UK-born, white, English
undergraduates was that all of them did
holiday or weekend job to support
themselves – including the children of
millionaires amongst them. It is the norm
over there – regardless of how wealthy
their parents are. And I soon discovered
that virtually all other foreign students did
the same – except status – conscious
Nigerians.
I also watched Richard Branson (owner of
Virgin Airline) speaking on the Biography
Channel. To my amazement, he said that
his young children travel in the economy
class – even when the parents (he and his
wife) are in upper class. Richard Branson
is a billionaire in Pound sterling. A quick
survey would show you that only children
from Nigeria fly business or upper class to
commence their studies in the Uk. No
other foreign students do this. There is no
aircraft attached to the office of the Prime
Minister in the UK. He travels on BA. And
the same goes for the Royals. The Queen
does not have an aircraft for her
exclusive use.
These practices simply become the
culture which the next generation carries
forward. Have you seen the car that Kate
Middleton (the wife of Prince William)
drives? VW Golf or something close to it.
But there’s one core difference between
them and us (generally speaking), they
(even the billionaires among them) work
for their money, most of us steal ours
If we want our children to bring about the
desired change we have been praying for
on behalf of our dear country, then
please, please let’s begin now and teach
them to work hard so they can stand
alone and most importantly be content
and not having to “steal” which seems to
be the norm these days.
We have Nigerian Children who have
never worked for 5 minutes in their lives
insisting on flying “only” first or business
class and using the latest cars fully paid
for by their “loving “ parents.
I often get calls from anxious parents”my
son graduated 2 years ago and is still
looking for a job, can you please assist!”
“Oh really! So where exactly is “THIS
CHILD?” is my usual question. “Why are
you the one making this call dad/mum?
I am yet to get a satisfactory answer, but
between you and me, chances are that
the big boy is cruising around Abuja with a
babe dresses to the nines, in his dad’s
spanking new SUV with enough “pocket
money” to put your salary to shame. It is
not at all strange to hear a 28 year old
who has NEVER worked for a day in his or
her life in Nigeria but “earns” a six figure
“salary” from parents for doing absolutely
nothing
I see them in my office once in a while,
26 years old with absolutely no skill to
sell apart from a shiny CV, written by his
dad’s secretary in the office. Of course,
he has a driver at his beck and call and he
is driven to the job interview. We have a
fairly decent conversation and we get to
the inevitable question- so, what salary
are you looking to earn? Answer comes
straight out – N250,000.00. I ask if that is
per month or per annum.
“Of course, it is per month”
“Oh, why do you think you should be
earning that much on your first job?”
“Well, because my current pocket money
is N200,000.00 and I feel any employer
should be able to pay me more than my
parents.”
No wonder corruption continues to thrive.
We have a society of young people who
have been brought up to expect
something for nothing, as if it were a
birthright. Even though the examples I
have given above are from parents of
considerable affluence, similar patterns
can be observed from Abeokuta to
Adamawa.
Wake up mum! Wake up dad! This
syndrome – “my children will not suffer
what I suffered is destroying your
tomorrow. You are practically loving your
child to death.
I learnt the children of a former Nigeria
Head of State with all the stolen(billions)
monies in their custody, still go about
with security escort as wrecks. They are
on drugs, several time because of the
drug, they collapse in public places. The
escort will quickly pack them and off they
go. What a life! No one wants to marry
them.
Henry Ford said “hard work does not kill.”
We are getting everything wrong in
Nigeria now, including family setting. It is
time to prepare your children for
tomorrow, the way the world is going,
only those that are rugged,hardworking
and smart working that will survive. How
will your ward fare?


Please forward this to all parents you
know

;Dgood copy nd paste ...


FTC

DEDICATED TO ALL IGBOS THROWN INTO DA LAGOON

very valid point