Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, has charged Nigerian children to be prepared to take the world stage for the good of themselves and the country in general.
Senator Ekweremadu was addressing children in a special Children’s Day concert that involved football matches organised by Raypower Radio Station at the Agege Stadium, Lagos, weekend.
The children, drawn from different schools in Lagos, had actually taken the stage to perform songs that touched hearts and captured the mood of the nation.
Most of their songs called for peace in Nigeria.
Ordinarily, children concern themselves with their immediate needs, school work and how to be useful students. But these are not ordinary times in Nigeria.
They are times corruption is high, the economy is dwindling and insecurity has not only destroyed lives and property but has also affected the psyche of all including children who used the Children’s Day platform not only to celebrate their day but also to pass a message to Nigerians and their government.
They did that with their various songs on the stage. Ekweremadu appeared to have quickly grasped the message and responded positively by assuring the kids that “no bad thing lasts forever and what is happening now in Nigeria will soon be a thing of the past.”
He started his address by tracing the history of Children’s Day from the action of a priest in Massachusetts, USA in 1859 to the day the United Nations set May 27 aside to celebrate children of the world.
He cited Turkey where one week is devoted to children and a child is, on a particular day, made to address the country as a leader and hoped that one day a child would be made to sit as a stand-in Senate President.
He then urged them to be prepared to take the world stage and reminded them that they were better equipped to achieve greatness than his own generation.
Ekweremadu said: “I’m 50 years now. 45 years ago, when I was of your age I was in a war situation when Nigeria was engaged in the civil war and we didn’t think about Children’s Day.
When I started schooling I used chalk and slate but now you use computers and all the electronic gadgets that can help boost your education. You are all being prepared to take the world stage and must not fail to utilise the great opportunities school exposes you to. Only last week we saw 22 players on world stage during the UEFA Champions League final between Bayern Munich of Germany and Chelsea of England.
They caught the attention of the whole world and among them was a Nigerian (Mikel Obi).
It was not the first time a Nigerian would appear on such a great stage.
Nwankwo Kanu and Finidi George had been there before now. You, as well, can take that stage and even be on greater stages. But you must work hard to achieve success be it in academics or sports. You are the leaders of tomorrow and must begin today to prepare yourselves for the responsibilities of life.
I assure you that we shall have peace in Nigeria because bad things don’t last.
We appreciate the peace we have in Lagos and we thank government and people of Lagos for this.”
He thanked Raypower for organising the event. All speakers on the day commended Raypower for the event. MD Abubakar, the Acting Inspector-General of Police, through the commissioner of Police in Lagos State, said “my thinking is how to make Nigeria safe for our children,” adding that “Nigeria is undergoing some transformations that will make the nation a better place for all of us.”
Honourable Samuel Adejere who is representing Agege Constituency in the House of Representatives told the children that “once you are honest, dedicated and hardworking nothing is impossible in life.” General Manager of Raypower, Pauline Ugbodogha urged the children to be ‘’good students” and reminded them that that would be the foundation to the success they crave to attain in their various vocations.
In the football matches Ekweremadu Starlets, a female soccer team, beat the Raypower Babes 2-0 and Sarkin Yaro beat Daar United 4-3.
