Mr Larry Odeh, a school administrator, has underscored the need for proper upbringing of male children to ensure moral uprightness in society.
Odeh, Head of Administration, VineCare Schools, gave the advice during the commemoration of the International Day of the Boy Child, organised by the school on Thursday in Abuja.
The Day often celebrated on May 16 yearly was founded by Dr Jerome Teelucksingh, a university lecturer from the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, in 2018.
The celebration seeks to focus on the promotion of the well-being of the male child, particularly their need to feel happy, healthy and valued within family, and community.
He explained that the proper upbringing of male children was crucial to ensuring a healthy and functional society in the future.
‘Today is a day where you need to remind boys of how special they are and how useful they are to society.
‘This is because without proper mentoring of boys to ensure moral uprightness, we will have a dysfunctional society.
‘The more reason
we need to remind them of their potential and worth, have a sense of belonging so they can grow up to be more humane and imbibe good morals, as well as ensure a better society in future.’
Odeh reiterated the day was not intended to relegate or neglect the girl child, but to celebrate the boy child as the girl child was also celebrated globally.
Mr Raphael Odanaogun, Head of School (Academics), said the school decided to celebrate the boy child because the management recognised the importance of children.
‘It is our responsibility to celebrate the boy child today, because internationally today is boy child day and we value them so much, and we want them to know they are valued.
‘It is also to let them know they need to be responsible and accountable to have a better brighter future.
‘We want them to understand how valuable they are and the need for them to grow with a sense of value.
‘This is to help them become responsible and grow up to become what is morally expected of them in the society.’
Mr Chib
uzor Akubuike, a parent, emphasised the need for boys to be God-fearing, disciplined, and respectful, saying male children should be taught to express themselves.
Akubuike restated that boys should be taught to study hard to improve their grades in school, live healthily, and imbibe gratitude as a lifestyle.
Mr Bishop Adamu-Chitumu, a parent, told the boys to imbibe the qualities of their superheroes.
‘The essence of the celebration is to encourage proper upbringing of male children to enable them to become superheroes, imbibe good morals, and become professional as doctors, nurses, teachers, pilots, policemen and engineers.
‘To build the character of the male child to be kind, strong, brave and disciplined,’ he said.
Source: News Agency of Nigeria