Mr. Owolabi is a very strict man and a disciplinarian who has three teenagers, all girls. He is a man who doesn’t tolerate nonsense. He is so strict to the extent that no boy dared visit any of his daughters at home.

One day, he left work early and decided to trek. He asked his driver to drive his car home, saying he needed the exercise. He decided to pass the route of his daughters’ school.

As he moved close to the school, he saw his first daughter and a boy walking hand in hand, like lovers. Blood rushed to his head, and anger built up in him. The unsuspecting couple turned off the road into a path. Quietly, Mr. Owolabi crept after them.

Soon, the couple sat down on a log. They embraced and then the boy’s mouth moved towards the girl’s. Mr. Owolabi’s composure was heavily weakened.

“Stop that nonsense,” he shouted. “If you put your stinking mouth on my daughter’s, I will beat hell out of you.” At his first word, the teenagers jumped up and separated.

“Daddy…” the daughter tried to say.

“Keep quiet, Kemi,” Mr. Owolabi ordered. “Is this what I sent you to school to come and do? Ehn. Aye mi o.”

“Sir…” the boy was saying

Mr. Owolabi turned his blazing eyes on him. “Shut up, young man. Just shut up. I don’t want to hear a single thing from your mouth. If I ever see you with my daughter again, I will…I will…I will destroy you. Come, Kemi, let’s go home.”

As Mr. Owolabi dragged his daughter and began to turn, the boy spoke up with a shaky voice. “But sir, I love her. I really do.”

Mr. Owolabi paused. He calmed down considerably. He may be very strict, but he was a nice man and friends and family loved him. He considered the boy and put himself in the boy’s shoes. He was once like him, chasing girls up and down.

He knew how hormones raged among teenage boys and how curious they were about many things. He also knew how boys of his age do things to make sure they get what they wanted. That was why he was scared of boys moving close to his girls. He decided that these kids needed sound advice and not tongue-lashing.

“Come, he told the boy, and led the two teenagers back to the log. “Sit down.” He sat with his daughter on one side and his daughter on the other side. “What is your name, young man?”

“Kunle Omisina, sir.”

“Kunle, let me tell you some things. Listen, the relationship between a man and a woman is simple but delicate. You are a young man and my daughter is a young woman. When God created the man and the woman, he asked them to multiply and fill the earth.

“Humans are more intelligent than animals and are God’s image. To make filling the earth possible, he gave them feelings or emotions. He gave them the ability to be attracted to each other. I assume you have been taught about hormones in Biology. Hormones are special part of the human body. Some hormones make humans attracted to one another.

But before humans can multiply, they need to be married. And before they can be married, they must be ready in all ramifications: maturely, financially, able to take responsibilities, and so on. Before they must be married, they must court in order to know each other, to know their likes and dislikes, in order to live a long married life. Are you following me?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Now, tell me, are you ready to marry my daughter?”

The boy panicked. “Er…um. I think so, sir.”

“You see? You are not even sure. Let me tell you the fact: relationships is not advisable for secondary school students,” Mr Owolabi said.

“But sir, my grandparents dated in secondary school and they are still married today.”

“I will grant you that such a relationship exists, but they are very rare. It is like, I guess, 1 out of 200,000 relationships. Taking a chance like that is gambling.

“What can you offer my daughter right now? You are still under your parents. What can you offer my daughter except sex?”

“But sir… we weren’t going to have sex,” the boy stammered. Even Kemi looked embarrassed.

“Listen to an experienced man. In a remote place like this, hugging leads to kissing, kissing leads to handling, handling leads to sex, and sex leads to unwanted pregnancy or diseases or heartbreak. Only someone with a strong self-control can stop himself or herself in time. Taking such a chance is bad.

“Besides, sex before marriage is fornication. It is a blood covenant. And it definitely has spiritual, physical and emotional consequences. Taking such a chance is disastrous.

“My advice is you are too young to ruin your futures, the both of you. Your parents sent you to school to be a better person. It is a great opportunity that many have been searching for. Make use of this opportunity. Make something of your life so you can be useful to your family, your friends, your community, your nation and God. Face your studies for now until you are ready for marriage.

“Dating is experimental; courtship is legal. It is better to be a fiance or fiancee than to be a boyfriend or a girlfriend. I pray that God helps you.

“My advice is you are too young to ruin your futures, the both of you. Your parents sent you to school to be a better person. It is a great opportunity that many have been searching for. Make use of this opportunity. Make something of your life so you can be useful to your family, your friends, your community, your nation and God. Face your studies for now until you are ready for marriage.

“Dating is experimental; courtship is legal. It is better to be a fiance or fiancee than to be a boyfriend or a girlfriend. I pray that God helps you

“Amen,” the teenagers chorused

“Good. Remember, I will be watching the two of you. Your lives are important to me.”

When the three of them left the clearing to the main road, people passing by wondered what they were doing in there. The boy and the girl looked serious like they just learnt something valuable while the older man looked contented.

THE END

Source: https://opinionsandstories.com/a-fathers-wisdom-for-teenagers/