Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, the Minister of Women Affairs has counseled parents to live up to their responsibilities of raising their children well for the good of society.
On 28th September at Abuja, the minister made the call at an inauguration of a document titled ‘Parenting for Peace (P4P): Prevention of Violent Extremism (PVE) Training of Trainers’ (ToT) guide’.
She said it was the duty of parents to mold the children from childhood to ensure they grow to be trustworthy citizens.
“I usually carried out drug tests on my children when they were growing. Parents should be ashamed of themselves when a child is going the wrong way,” said Ms Kennedy-Ohanenye.
The minister also counseled the parents to be mindful of the behavior they display before their children, saying, “Children learn very fast from the behaviors of their parents.”
She said the way a woman lives with her husband at home would define how the children would grow to live.
The chief of the party of CIPP, David Garare, Said Mercy Corps was proud to work in crisis areas to cushion conflict and economic shocks while providing humanitarian assistance and building resilient communities.
Mr. Garare said over three million people in the past five years had been impacted through the organization’s peace-building, governance and conflict resolution initiatives, education, financial inclusion, and environmental sustainability.
He summed up that the organization was driven by the vision of a Nigeria where all citizens, including young women and men, are empowered, engaged, resilient, and productive.
“At Mercy Corps, our work is on gender, peace, and security; it focuses on addressing and mitigating gender dynamics that perpetuate and exacerbate conflict while including diverse groups and members of the society,” stated Mr. Garare.
The deputy chairwoman of the House of Representatives Committee, Blessing Amadi, on Women Affairs and Social Development, also said parents should create time for discussions with their children.
According to her, spending time with the children, listening, and giving them advice form part of good parenting, which parents should imbibe.
She yelled at parents to apply disciplinary standards in their homes to teach the children how to be responsible and to know the consequences of all actions, whether good or bad.
Ms. Amadi said that parents need to educate their children by guiding them to know the rudiments of education and getting involved in their assignments.
She also said parents should be interested in the security of their children at home and in school and teach them the dangers of random movements without authorization.
“The children should also be guided on the responsible use of technology devices,” she added.
