By Lucy Osuizigbo
Lagos – The Lagos State Deputy Governor Dr Idiat Adebule, on Monday urged parents and guardians to promote societal values in their families for the good of the state and the country at large.
Adebule made the call at the 14th Justice Muri Okunola Memorial Ramadan Lecture in Lagos.
According to her, whatever a state or country turns out to be is a function of the kind of families that constitute it.
She said that those indulging in criminal activities in the country were not born criminals, but acquired the evil habits because their families failed to inculcate the right values in them.
”The act of government starts from the individual families because the people who eventually become president, governors, legislators, commissioners and local government chairmen were first, members of individual families.
”Therefore, the way and manner we handle or operate our families is how our state and our country will be.
”People who are armed robbers, kidnappers and suicide bombers today came from individual families. When those children were born, everybody rejoiced with their families.
”It was the government of these children (the families) that had problems and this affected the children.
“As parents, we need to pay attention to our children and mould them to become responsible adults.
”If we get the government in the homes right, all will be well for Lagos and for our nation, Nigeria,” she said.
Sen. Gbenga Ashafa, representing Lagos East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, pledged the Senate’s commitment to enacting laws that would protect the rights of children in the country.
In her lecture, Alhaja Hameedat Sanni, a lecturer at Lagos State University (LASU), blamed the high rate of child abuse in society on poverty, stress, addiction, indiscipline and broken marriages.
Sanni in the lecture entitled, ‘Child Abuse: the Simple Solution,’ cited good parental care and guidance and constant prayers for God’s intervention and protection as measures to reduce child abuse in society.